Budget around the corner SMEs still demand reduced oil rates

By Namugerwa Martha

While the period of reading the national budget to the nation is knocking at the door, many Ugandans have reacted differently to the next financial year budget in both negative and positive responses.

The National Budget is stated to be read out on Thursday 8^th June 2017 at the Kampala Serena hotel by the minister of finance planning and economic development Hon. Matia Kasaija.

Some Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Uganda asked the government to first tackle the oil rates because when the oil rates are high affect all the prices of both commodities and transport.

“The government should reduce the oil rates because they  food prices and transport rates which affects the income and expenditure of low income people and our small start up enterprises,” SMEs said

Additionally, some parents  also asked the government to reduce on the taxes which are being imposed to the private schools because the more the government imposes more taxes on schools, the more  schools continue to increase the schools fees which makes it hard for some children to get quality education.

However, in a 91 page report on the ministerial policy statements, the committee warned that the country has a highly vulnerable debt where it noted that the country is in debt to the extent that the budget can no longer adequately provide for quality education and health services.

Ac­cord­ing to the re­port, out of the Ugx 28.99 trillion Bud­get for FY 2017/?18, only Ugx 12.9 trillion (44.8%) will be avail­able for dis­cre­tionary spend­ing, while the bal­ance, Ugx 16 tn is ear­marked for debt ser­vic­ing and pro­ject sup­port.