A\nShs15 billion budget has been set aside as contingency to fight the spread of\nlocusts, Accountant General Lawrence Semakula has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Appearing\nbefore the Committee on Public Accounts-Central Government, Semakula said the\nfunds are to be drawn from the Contingency Fund, just in case the destructive\ninsects cross over from Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis financial year, Parliament appropriated Shs62billion for the Contingency Fund; they have so far released Shs32billion; I can confirm that we have allocated Shs15billion for the locusts,\u201d said Semakula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Together\nwith senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, Semakula was led by\nPermanent Secretary in the Ministry and Secretary to the Treasury, Keith\nMuhakanizi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Muhakanizi\nsaid releasing money for the locusts is to forearm Uganda as the roving pests\nare ravaging parts of North Eastern and Western Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Originating\nfrom Yemen all through to the coast of Somalia, scientists believe harsh\nenvironment and the conflict in Yemen have denied the government there an\nopportunity to marshal efforts to contain the insects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kenya\nis using aerial insecticide spray to fight the locusts with the invasion\nforcing President Uhuru Kenyatta to sack Agriculture Minister, Mwangi Kiunjuri,\nwho has been criticised for making poor attempts to fight the insects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Public\ndebt<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Members\nof Parliament and the officials were also locked into an impasse after failing\nto agree on the definition of Uganda\u2019s public debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MPs\nwere keen to trap the technocrats into considering domestic arrears as public\ndebt, an admission that could potentially place Uganda\u2019s debt portfolio above\nthe safe 50 per cent of the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a trap\nMuhakanizi and his subordinates carefully sidestepped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur\nnational debt is at Shs44 trillion; if you add the arrears, the economy would\nbe on a frying pan; the biggest disservice you can do to this country is to\nhide information from Parliament,\u201d said MP Mathias Mpuuga (DP, Masaka\nMunicipality).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Muhakanizi\nadmitted to arrears being a hindrance to the growth of local companies, who\nsupply government and have to endure long, painful waits to get paid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nsaid government is working hard to end the practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Shs15 billion budget has been set aside as contingency to fight the spread of locusts, Accountant General Lawrence Semakula has said. Appearing before the Committee on Public Accounts-Central Government, Semakula said the funds are to be drawn from the Contingency Fund, just in case the destructive insects cross over from Kenya. \u201cThis financial year, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":13676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-13675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"\n