There are deep concerns at the National Planning Authority (NPA) about the quality of public investments, seen as the engine that would deliver the country into the middle-income bracket by 2020.Dr Joseph Muvawala, the executive director, told reporters. "I am very much concerned and the [whole] country is too." World Bank report said Uganda was not getting value for money on investments on most public projects over the past decade. The report added that this would not transform the country into a middle-income status soon. The World Bank said Uganda's projects were characterized by "endemic delays in implementation, cost overruns, and corruption means that sometimes projects come at twice the original cost." Read more

Government has been asked to lead the efforts to formalize the growing informal sector in Uganda through incentives if it is to increase the country’s tax revenue. The informal sector employs 80 percent of Uganda’s labor force since only 9,000 jobs are available in the job market.Joseph Muvawala, the Executive Director National Planning Authority said on  that government must tackle the issue of increasing domestic revenue. He was speaking during the 9th Open Minds Forum organized by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).“The informal sector is an inevitable and critical centre for transition for any developing country. We must not deal with the informal sector as a mere revenue tool but a strategic sector and this requires incentives,” said Muvawala.Andrew Rugasira the proprietor of Good African Coffee Uganda in his key note speech challenged Ugandans doing business informally as frustrating government efforts to deliver services.“We have to take responsibility by paying our taxes if we need to get better services. Our demands for good roads, schools and other services remain illegitimate cannot make demands if we aren’t contributing to the growth of our country.” Read more

For Uganda to benefit from the United States market, it must have a strategy to follow or else remain a spectator watching those countries that are organised seal lucrative deals, policy makers, trade analysts and civil society have said.The concern comes after the extension of Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), .Agoa is a preferential market access granted by the United States (US) to African countries. And as such, the US provides duty free (no tax) and quota free (unlimited) access for more than 6,400 products from eligible countries in Africa, among them Uganda.Some of the products include textiles, fruits, crafts and primary commodities such as coffee, minerals and petroleum. Among those calling for the development of a strategy so as to take full advantage of Agoa, is the chairman of National Planning Authority, Mr Kisamba Mugerwa.Read more

Uganda will need a few foreign engineering expatriates, the deputy chairperson of the National Planning Authority (NPA) has said.Dr Abel Rwendeire said the government has realised that importation of expatriates deprives local construction companies revenue and employment and thus, a deliberate move has been introduced where the two [foreign and local companies] will share work.“There is now a government policy where foreign companies subcontract a percentage of work to local engineers and companies. This will help develop the capacity of our engineers,” Dr Rwendeire said.He urged the local contractors to utilise the opportunity to get the much needed experience and use the money from subcontracts to acquire equipment.He said sharing work will also help the country not to spend a lot of money inviting the same expatriates to come and work on the same projects in future, in case there is a breakdown or renovation of any project.Dr Rwendeire made the remarks last week in Kampala while officiating at the Annual Construction and Builders’ Expo at the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) in Kampala. Read more

Tourism, agriculture and the extractive sectors will enjoy the lion’s share of public investments, in a new development plan that seeks to drive Uganda to middle-income status. The National Planning Authority (NPA) estimates that the key projects in these sectors require sh185 trillion. Of this, sh100 trillion is expected to come from the public sector and the balance from the private sector in form of partnerships.  The draft development plan awaits the approval of Cabinet and Parliament ahead of implementation.  NPA chairperson Dr. Kisamba Mugerwa warned that the plan will only be successful if the Government aligns the annual national budgets with the plan. Mugerwa and the NPA team were addressing journalists about the completion the new development plan (NDPII) last week at their offices.  Mugerwa said it is essential that the Government focuses on particluar priority areas instead of scattering the limited resources by trying to do everything at once.  Read more

A delay in the process of awarding contracts for road works costs the taxpayer $1m (sh2.5b) per month, an appalling situation that calls for early groundwork and planning to shorten the procurement process.David Luyimbazi, the director, planning at the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), said the delays have affected service delivery.“It takes about four to seven months to procure just a single project. We cannot meet the lead time to prepare the project, and this affects drawback of resources (using the allocated funds),” he said.“The level of preparing and planning is key in timely delivery of projects.”Luyimbazi said over 90% of UNRA funding is spent on procuring goods and services, adding that if delays in the tendering process are checked, a lot of government resources and time would be saved.He was presenting a paper on the effect of procurement procedures on resource absorption and project implementation in Uganda at the launch of the first national development policy forum at the Kampala Serena Hotel last week. Read more