Latest news with #HenryMusasizi
Zawya
27-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Govt revises UMEME buyout to US$118 million
Government has revised the loan request to buy out electricity distribution company, UMEME, from over US$190 million, to over US$118 million. This was contained in the Special Audit Report for the end of lease and assignment between UMEME Limited and Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) that was adopted during plenary sitting on Thursday, 27 March 2025. The report was tabled by the Minister of State for Finance, Planning and Economic Development (General Duties), Hon. Henry Musasizi. On 20 March 2025, Parliament adopted the proposal for Government to borrow over US$190 million from Stanbic Bank, on condition of confirmation of actual monetary amount of UMEME's investment by the Auditor General. Before the revised figure was passed, during plenary sitting on Thursday, 27 March 2025, Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa urged government to put into consideration the special audit report when finalising with UMEME. 'This morning, the Auditor General submitted a special audit report, verifying and confirming the buyout amount of US$118 million against the approved US$190,' he said. This however sparked opposition from Kira Municipality Member of Parliament, Hon. Ibrahim Ssemujju, who called for scrutiny of the report before it is adopted. 'We have never passed a report of the Auditor General without the MPs reading it. We have accountability committees that deal with these reports. Have you waived those particular rules that [now] reports can be passed without MPs processing them,' Ssemujju asked. Leader of the Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, questioned the move to adopt the report, saying that by so doing, Parliament would be handing over its appropriation mandate to the Executive. 'The Auditor General's report should be verified and studied, before we pass. It would be good to know what is in the report,' he said. But the Deputy Speaker guided that the special audit report, unlike annual reports does not require to be referred to a committee. 'This is a time bound report, we must sort out UMEME by 31 March [2025]. It is a matter of beating deadlines, which is in the contract. If we do not settle, UMEME will have a blank cheque to determine penalties and interests,' Tayebwa said. Hon. Ekanya Geofrey (FDC, Tororo North County) agreed with the Deputy Speaker, citing practices from neighboring countries like Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa where, he said, governments there do not wait for Parliament approval before implementing such reports. 'Special audit reports have issues of criminal in nature, but also this report is time bound. We request that Speaker invokes the necessary rules so that when Parliament takes a decision, it is within our Rules,' Ekanya said. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
Zawya
27-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Uganda: Government Tables Shs4.8 Trillion Supplementary Appropriation Bill
Government has tabled before Parliament the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2025, aimed at allocating up to Shs4.8 trillion to critical priorities including defence, security and infrastructure. The Minister of State for Finance, Planning, and Economic Development (General Duties), Henry Musasizi, tabled the Bill on behalf of government during a plenary sitting chaired by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa on Thursday, 27 March 2025. According to the breakdown, the biggest portion of the funding goes to; State House with Shs374 billion in recurrent allocations, Shs189 billion for Ministry of Defense, Shs137 billion for security, Shs16 billion for foreign missions and Shs152 billion for National Council of Sports. National Identity and Registration Authority (NIRA) gets Shs208 billion for identity card upgrades and Shs1.2 trillion for local governments. Others are; Shs246 billion for Ministry of Energy, and Shs60 billion for Kampala Capital City Authority. The Minister has also tabled several key tax bills aimed at enhancing revenue collection and streamlining tax administration. These include the Tax Procedures Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Excise Duty (Amendment) (No.2) Bill, 2025, and the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2025. The Excise Duty (Amendment) (No.2) Bill, 2025, introduces revisions in tax rates for various goods and services, including cigarettes, beer, fruit juice, motor fuel, and plastic products. A key provision allows businesses to recover excise duty on damaged, expired, or obsolete goods. Among the notable proposed changes is the tax on locally manufactured soft cap cigarettes being revised to Shs65,000 per 1,000 sticks, while imported brands will attract Shs150,000 per 1,000 sticks. The excise duty on gasoline is set at Shs1,650 per litre, while diesel will be taxed at Shs1,380 per litre. Plastic bags and sacks under specified tariff codes will attract a duty of 2.5 per cent or US$ 70 per tonne, whichever is higher. The Tax Procedures Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025, seeks to enhance tax administration by imposing stricter compliance measures and improving tax enforcement mechanisms. "The amendments will streamline revenue collection and reduce tax evasion, ensuring that every taxpayer contributes fairly to national development," the Bill document states. Deputy Speaker, Tayebwa referred the various bills to the committees on Budget and Finance for scrutiny. The Committee on the Budget is expected to report back to the House on the Supplementary Appropriation Bill by 1 May 2025. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
Zawya
27-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Government seeks tax exemptions to Bujagali, local start ups
Government has proposed yet another tax exemption to Bujagali hydro power project that will see the power producer relieved of the burden up to 30 June 2032. The proposal is contained in the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2025 that was tabled for its first reading by the Minister of State, Finance, Planning and Economic Development (General Duties), Hon. Henry Musasizi. The Bill was tabled during plenary sitting, chaired by Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa on Thursday, 27 March 2025. Last month, the same Minister tabled the same Bill, seeking to extend the tax exemption to the power company up to 30 June this year. Subsequently, Musasizi appeared before the Committee on Finance, wherein the lawmakers raised concerns about the management of preferential shares by Bujagali Energy Limited, arguing that the redemption of these shares had led to financial losses for Uganda. Between 2018 and 2021, government granted the power company similar tax exemptions. However, in 2023, Parliament rejected the request by government to award Bujagali another five-year tax exemption. Meanwhile, the proposed amendments to the Income Tax Bill, 2025 also include exemption of startup businesses established by a citizen for a period of three years from tax. This exemption, the Minister justified, is aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship, support small and medium enterprises and stimulate innovation. Relatedly, Government has proposed exempting textile inputs from Value Added Tax (VAT). This proposal is contained in the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill 2025 that was also tabled for its first reading during the same sitting. The Bill, tabled by Minister, Musasizi, outlines the textile inputs for exemption as wet processing operations and garmenting, cotton lint, artificial fibres for blending, polyester staple fibre and viscose. Others include, textile dyes and chemicals, garment accessories, textile machinery spare parts, industrial consumables for textile production and textile manufacturing machinery and equipment. The proposed amendments in the Bill will further see solar lanterns exempted from VAT and such products include, deep cycle batteries, solar lanterns and raw materials for the manufacture of deep cycle batteries and solar lanterns. 'The repeal of the VAT exemption on billets is intended to boost local production, reduce reliance on imports, and advance Uganda's industrialisation agenda,' said Musasizi. He added, 'By supporting domestic manufacturing, this measure is expected to create jobs, enhance value addition, and stimulate economic growth.' Bio-mas pellets have also been lined up for VAT exemption, with the justification that this will promote environmental sustainability by encouraging the adoption of cleaner, energy-efficient cooking and heating solutions, reducing reliance on traditional biomass fuels. Further to that, aircraft supply is expected to be zero-rated, once the proposed amendment is adopted. The proposed amendments also introduce the anti-fragmentation rule, a move the Minister said is aimed at combating tax evasion by preventing importers from intentionally splitting consignments to remain below the VAT registration threshold. 'This measure is expected to enhance tax administration, improve revenue collection, and strengthen Uganda's VAT compliance framework,' said Musasizi. Under the proposed amendments, United Nations-related agencies and specialised agencies will be designated as listed institutions. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
Zawya
12-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Uganda: House approves extra Shs4 trillion for 2024/2025 Budget
Parliament has approved a supplementary request of over Shs4 trillion that will provide outstanding certificates for road construction companies, security and completion of infrastructure for the hosting of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027. The request came under the auspices of the Supplementary Expenditure Schedule No.3 for financial year 2024/2025 where Shs1.1 trillion was spent under the three per cent provided for under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), 2015 whereas Shs3.1 trillion needed prior approval of Parliament. The Minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development (General Duties), Hon. Henry Musasizi, said this is in line with Section 24 of the PFMA. The Act provides that where the total supplementary expenditure that requires additional resources over and above what is approved by Parliament, it shall not exceed three per cent of the total approved budget for that financial year, without approval of Parliament. 'We sought and obtained approval from Cabinet to present to this House, the supplementary expenditure amounting to Shs3.1 trillion which is above the three per cent legal limit. It requires prior parliamentary authorisation before the funds are utilised by the respective votes,' said Musasizi. In a report of the Budget Committee on the supplementary request presented by Hon. Dicksons Kateshumbwa, over Shs257 billion is earmarked for completion of Hoima Stadium, commencement of construction of Akii Bua Stadium and upgrade of facilities approved for hosting AFCON. The rollout of at least 20 million doses of anti-tick vaccines requires additional funding of Shs60 billion under the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), that is also seeking an additional Shs10 billion to produce and distribute aflatoxin mitigation products. 'The supplementary will enable NARO to roll out the anti-tick vaccine by June 2025 after which the facility will be self-sustainable. The aflatoxin mitigation products are meant to uplift the standard of Ugandan products on the international market,' said Kateshumbwa. To finance the buyout of Umeme, government requires over Shs725 billion. An additional Shs60 billion is needed to fund Inspire Africa, for completion of standards and certifications, working capital to purchase coffee from farmers, branding and marketing of coffee as well as operational funds to run the factory. According to the minister, the supplementary budget will be financed through the Petroleum Fund, local revenue, non-tax revenue, domestic and external borrowing. A minority report presented by Kira Municipality MP, Hon. Ibrahim Ssemujju expressed reservations on additional funding of shs298 billion under debt servicing towards Lubowa Hospital. Ssemujju Nganda alluded to a report of the Auditor General which observed that government failed to conduct adequate due diligence on the agreements and the overall project, which he said raised doubts on the validity of the payments relative to the work completed. 'There is significant risk of financial loss for Ugandans if additional funding is allocated to the project. It is recommended that the project be halted until a special audit report is completed and Parliament can deliberate on the findings,' Ssemujju Nganda said. He also queried funding worth Shs115 billion paid to re-operationalise Atiak Sugar factory, Shs67 billion for a coffee value addition park in Ntungamo District and the funds required for the Umeme buyout. 'Your duty as colleagues is to subject every single request to the law. Is it unforeseen, is it unavoidable, and is it an emergency? That is the duty you have on behalf of the country,' Ssemujju Nganda added. Hon. Denis Oguzu Lee (FDC, Maracha County) expressed concern over the supplementary request for the Umeme buyout saying a loan request for the same, is still under consideration. 'Umeme has been recovering their costs through feed-in tariffs where they add their costs. Now they are demanding for money from Ugandans when their concession is about to expire, yet this matter has not been resolved to a logical conclusion,' he said. The Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on National Economy which is considering the loan request, Hon. Robert Migadde said the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has not presented information required for scrutinising the loan request. 'Ministry of Energy was supposed to produce a report of the Auditor General on how they arrived at the US$190 million loan request, but it has not yet come back to the committee,' said Migadde. Musasizi, said the supplementary request for the Umeme loan will be managed through borrowing from the domestic market (Stanbic Bank). The Speaker Anita Among guided that the approval of the supplementary request does not affect the loan request before the committee. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
Reuters
19-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Uganda seeks to borrow $190 million to compensate power distributor
KAMPALA, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Uganda is seeking to borrow $190 million from Stanbic Bank to compensate power distributor Umeme Limited ( opens new tab for its investments in the national grid after its concession expires next month, a senior finance ministry official said. Umeme, which is listed on both Uganda and the neighbouring Kenyan bourses, has been running a power concession in Uganda that started in 2005. The Ugandan government declined Umeme's request to extend its 20-year concession that expires next month. The concession's terms require the government to pay Umeme all unrecovered capital investments when the agreement ends. State Minister for Finance Henry Musasizi has sent to parliament a request to allow the government to borrow the money, he said in a post on social media platform X late on Tuesday.
