Donors Can't Dictate to Us - Museveni
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New Vision (Kampala)
May 2, 2005
Posted to the web May 2, 2005
Fortunate Ahimbisibwe
Kampala
PRESIDENT Museveni yesterday blasted donors, saying they could not continue to direct how the country should be managed.
"The so-called donors cannot continue to show us how we should manage the country," he said.
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In a speech read by Vice-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya at the Labour Day celebrations, Museveni said the donors' continued interference had partially perpetuated terrorism in the north.
Museveni said Uganda would cease to need the donors if the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) became able to stop tax leakages and evasions.
He said he would oversee URA operations himself, to ensure efficiency.
"Recently, I met the management of URA and their thinking is that if we can stop leakages in tax collection, we shall move to 18% of GDP. This would translate to approximately sh270b if the economy continues to grow at five to six percent," he said.
He added, "If we achieve a GDP ratio of 24%, we shall not need the practice of dealing with donors, whose meddling is partly responsible for perpetration of terrorism in the north, load-shedding and removal of tax holidays for investors that affected our development tempo."
The British government on Friday said it had withheld five million pounds (about sh6.5b) in aid due to Uganda's failure to progress towards establishing a fair basis for multipartyism.
The British High Commission said the money was part of 40 million pounds for the financial year 2004/5. Donors contribute 52% of the national budget.
Museveni said trade-related facilitation was a better way of working with donors.
The Labour Day celebrations were held at Kololo airstrip in Kampala. The theme of the poorly-attended function was "Youth Employment: An engine to National Development."
Premier Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, labour minister Bakoku Bakoru, energy minister Syda Bbumba, and state ministers Dr. Alex Kamugisha (health), Henry Obbo (labour), Maria Mutagamba (water), Naiga Ssekabira (disability) and less than 10 MPs attended. About half the chairs in the VIP section were unoccupied and ordinary people were asked to take them.
A URA report recently revealed that the total revenue collection in March was sh1.36b against a target of sh1.32b.
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Bakoku said she had presented the national employment policy to Cabinet for consideration.
"We shall have a national employment policy by next year. this year our focus is on youth employment," she said.
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