KAMPALA, UGANDA: President Yoweri Museveni has summoned the National Resistance Movement (NRM) legislators for a meeting to discuss the controversial coffee deal and the country’s economic situation amidst skyrocketing prices of essential commodities and fuel.
The development was Monday morning confirmed by Dr. Kenneth Omona, the private secretary to the President in a letter addressed to the MPs of the ruling party.
The meeting is expected to take place on Tuesday (tomorrow), April 26, at Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala.
“This is to inform you that His Excellence the president will chair the NRM caucus meeting on April 26, 2022, at 2 pm at the Independence Grounds, Kololo, Kampala. The purpose of the meeting is for members to receive a brief on the country’s economic situation. This letter therefore communicates the information to you for your further management,” Omona’s letter reads in part.
Hon. Brandon Kintu the legislator representing Kagoma North who is also the caucus spokesperson confirmed the meeting saying among the issues at the forefront of this urgent meeting include; commodity prices, the controversial Lubowa Hospital project, and the coffee agreement that has sparked public outrage will be part of the agenda.
The NRM Caucus meeting comes at the backdrop of Museveni’s Easter Message where he promised to summon his party MPs to discuss a way forward to tackle the skyrocketing prices of fuel and essential commodities before subsequently addressing Ugandans on the same.
The President in the same message delivered two weeks ago also said he is aware the runaway prices “are disturbing our people.”
Ugandans will now look forward to the outcomes of the caucus meeting to see if there will be a resolution towards the reduction in the prices of fuel, transport fares, and essential commodities which have skyrocketed in recent weeks.
It should be noted that earlier this month, Government through the Finance Ministry PS, Dr Ramathan Ggoobi ruled out providing subsidies, tax or price control relief as a remedy to solve the ever-increasing prices of goods and cost of living which has left millions helpless and in need.
According to Ggoobi, such statist interventions would create more problems than they solve.
“Subsidies tend to take money to the wrong people, not the ones you intend [to help]. Here we call them mafias. They can easily organise themselves and take all the subsidies. So, the Treasury will be funding them. We aren’t going to control prices either. That is bad economics. You control prices, you create so many unintended consequences,” Ggoobi, an economic scholar and finance treasury said on April 14.
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