Kiwanuka commended for being an astute minister

By John Odyek and Samuel Sanya

Out-going finance minister Maria Kiwanuka has been commended for handling Uganda’s economy very well, especially during turbulent times.

Matia Kasaija, the new finance minister and other ministry officials said Kiwanuka was able to transform Uganda’s national budget from a consumption to an investment-based.

“In business, when we make sh100, 60% goes into investment while 40% to consumption.

In the Government, it was the opposite, and Kiwanuka has been able to reverse it, enabling the economy to grow,” Kasaija said yesterday.

The remarks were made at the finance ministry headquarters in Kampala, during the handover of office by Kiwanuka to Kasaija. Kiwanuka is now a presidential adviser on International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Before his new appointment, Kasaija was state minister for planning.

He described Kiwanuka as a skilled diplomat who was able to woo donors and attract sizeable funds to Uganda.

He noted that when the European Union withdrew funding to Uganda over corruption cases such as those in the Offi ce of the Prime Minister, Kiwanuka successfully convinced them to continue supporting Uganda.

Kasaija said: “I say things as I see them. By training, I am not very diplomatic. The finance minister must be exemplary, I promise to be firm and fair.”

He pledged to cater for the interest of all Ugandans. But he cautioned that he expected to become unpopular in Parliament and in the Cabinet, like it is world over.

He attributed it to the fact that people expect the finance minister to give them funds whenever they ask, even if it is not there.

Keith Muhakanizi, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said Kiwanuka brought down the double digit inflation rate to the current single digit levels.

He noted that infl ation rates had declined below the 5% target from highs of over 30% when she became finance minister in 2011.

Muhakanizi said economic growth is projected to accelerate to 6% and poverty levels to reduce to 19% of the people.

He slammed public speculation that the Government would spend more than usual in the current financial year due to next year’s elections.

No public expenditures have been exceeded so far, he explained, adding that all the supplementary expenditures were coming from savings in the payroll and surpluses created by revenues collected by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), which exceeded targets.

Muhakanizi added that during Kiwanuka’s term of office, dormant government accounts were closed, governance challenges were tackled, civil servants received salaries on time and ghost employees were removed from the payroll.

During the ceremony, the outgoing minister was flanked by her husband, Mohan Kiwanuka. She advised the setting up of a unit to address challenges associated with project implementation.

“We must ensure funds borrowed are used wisely to generate income to service the debt,” Kiwanuka said.

Boasting of her achievements, Kiwanuka said Uganda is now recognised as a world leader in achieving the Millenium Development Goals. “We successfully lobbied to host the first Post-2015 international meeting in Kampala this November.”

Kiwanuka urged the country to take advantage of two funds, one by France and another by the US, each worth $20b (sh58 trillion), which have been availed for renewable energy, water and projects in the private sector.

She said there were funds under climate change, which could be tapped for agroforestry, water management and weather forecasting.

Kiwanuka handed over two flags, one for Uganda and another for the East African Community, office keys, a stamp and the members of staff to Kasaija.

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