President Yoweri Museveni
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has summoned legislators under the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Parliamentary Caucus to discuss the escalating commodity prices and the controversial coffee deal between Uganda and Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited owned by Italian ‘investor’ Enrica Pinetti, among other issues.
Brandon Kintu, the NRM Caucus spokesperson confirmed the agenda of the Tuesday scheduled meeting in an interview with URN.
According to messages sent to the 337 NRM MPs, Herbert Kinobere, the Caucus Vice Chairperson notes that they will have the caucus meeting at Kololo Independence Grounds and requested MPs to undertake the COVID-19 tests at Parliament on Monday.
“For those who are upcountry, you can go to the nearby Ministry of Health authorized testing laboratory and test,” reads part of the message by Kinobere.
In the past months, Ugandans experienced increase in prices of essential commodities like soap, cooking oil, sugar and others leaving many frustrated. The cost of soap for example has more than doubled in the past weeks from 3500 Shillings a bar to 7500 Shillings. The skyrocketing prices have been attributed to increase in fuel prices by traders.
Last month, a section of MPs tasked government to explain the increasing commodity prices calling for the suspension of fuel taxes among others.
In response to the increasing commodity prices, the Minister of Finance, Matia Kasaija has in the past attributed the situation to geo-political tensions that disrupted supply of oil. He said that these issues are beyond the country’s policy makers.
Rosemary Nyakikongoro, the Sheema Woman MP said that they need the President or Minister of Finance to come up with a solution to ensure that prices of the essential commodities go down. She suggested that government ensures that some taxes are cut especially on the commodities that are basic.
Denis Nyangweso, the Samia-Bugwe Central MP said that they need to understand what is causing the skyrocketing prices and ensure that they slow down the rate of the price increase.
Nyangweso also said that he expects announcement of tax exemptions for example on importation of crude oil and fuel.
“We were told by the Minister that what has increased the price for soap and cooking oil is importation of crude oil. So we want to see how government is intervening. Let us have tax holiday on crude oil and fuel and these are some of the interventions we expect to discuss with the President,” he added.
What will be the way forward?