Dr. Muvawala (right) with Dr.Kisamba Mugerwa who he replaced at National Planning Authority.

Otto’s remarks come shortly after the Executive Director to National Planning Authority, Dr.Joseph Muwala told a Parliamentary Committee on Budgets that they were constrained by unfulfilled pledges by the President.

He says that every time the President visits different constituencies and districts, the electorates ask him for different things which sometimes cannot be met because of the budget constraints.

He says each leader including LC 1 to be availed with a copy of the budget and a strategic plan and that anyone who asks the president for something that is not streamlined be arrested.

Otto says that it would be dangerous for the Authority to prioritize instructions other than an approved budget.

The Chairperson of the Budgetary Committee, Henry Musasizi , conquered with Otto saying that these unbudgeted pledges result into the President promising ‘air’ to his electorates.

Musasizi says there is need for government to adopt guiding principles which it should follow while making these pledges for better implementation of government plans.

However, the minister of state for planning, David Bahati refuted claims that the President promises air and instead blamed ministries which he says fail to capture the President’s pledges for implementation.

Bahati also says that in order to reduce the 400 billion domestic arrears government has ordered all ministries to make it a priority to pay all the companies that owe them money in this first quarter and they have instructed them to stop acquiring services from companies when they know they do not have the money to pay them.

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Government had earlier this year imposed a temporary ban on Ugandans leaving the Country to seek employment abroad especially Saudi Arabia sighting reports of harassment by employers in those Countries.

The MPs however, say before investigations on the allegations can be concluded, these firms have continued to break the law with the advertisements and recruitment of Ugandans in total disregard of the law.

Rose Mutonyi Masaba the Committee Chairperson on Foreign Affairs.

Rose Mutonyi Masaba, the Committee Chairperson said was to their surprise that the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) has failed to react to these adverts of which they say are misleading Ugandans hunting for jobs.

It is against this background that the committee resolved to summon officials from Ministry of Gender to appear before them next week and explain a number of issues surrounding this matter, adding that many desperate Ugandans are hunting for risky jobs abroad and need help.

Mutonyi said the Committee also plans to summon the agencies that claim to be having licenses to explain how they follow-up Ugandans they send abroad for work because several rumors have come up about on the mistreatment of these workers and the companies that take them never come out to explain.

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The trade, industry and co-ops minister, Amelia Kyambadde reminded all Ugandan traders to always take up opportunities available to them to always exploit markets in the provided free trade zones namely in India and China which government has outsourced for them.

Ugandans can send a number of goods to the two countries duty free but it is of great concern that most of the traders have not taken up these chances and thus the loud call by the trade minister to the traders to fully aggressively take up these chances to make more money and expand their businesses. She also urges Ugandans to take up the initiative to resurrect the dis-functioning CO-OPS assuring citizens that that is where government will then come out to render a helping hand to them.

In other news the executive director, Public Procurement Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), Cornelia Sabiti says they have so far suspended over 90 companies that are contracted for different government projects and have failed to meet the required quality standards. She says, they are now putting more emphasis on ensuring that the contractors in different government entities deliver than it has been before when PPDA was just doing the monitoring work.

Sabiti also says that this will save government more monies that before have been spent on incompetent contractors who eventually cause loss of tax payer’s money.

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