Youth group criticizes amendment to public finance law

The Guild President's Forum on Oil Governance (GPFOG), an association started by former university guild presidents and student leaders has expressed concern over Parliament's decision to amend the Public Finance Management Amendment Act 2015.

President Yoweri Museveni assented to the amendment on 14-November 2015 after it was passed by Parliament on 11-November 2015.

The amendment of Section 36 (2) (b) of the Act gives the minister of finance power to raise a loan to finance treasury operations on top of raising loans for the management of monetary policy.

Treasury operations are defined  as the day to day management of the government cash needs by undertaking annual, quarterly and daily cash forecasts for ensuring through investments and temporary borrowing that the government has sufficient liquidity to meet its obligations on time in line with Parliamentary appropriation. The minister is required to seek Parliamentary approval for the loan.

The amendment spells out that a loan raised for treasury operations shall not exceed 10% of the domestic revenue of government and be repaid automatically from the Uganda Revenue Authority Collections Account held in the Bank of Uganda, within the financial year.

Yoram Bayenzaki, chairperson GPFOG argues that the decision to amend the act was too soon. Bayenzaki expressed concern that Parliament might lose its oversight role in case the government borrows without their approval. The forum addressed a press conference in Kampala in reaction to the amendment of the act.

"Some officials holding public office have demonstrated that they have an insatiable desire for ill-gotten money and that they do no act in public interest," Bayenzaki. The members of the association who included Violet Senkomango, Victor Irumba and Asadhu Ssebyoto said the effect of the amendment was yet to be seen.

Ssebyoto queried whether the government would not go ahead to borrow oil money without Parliament's approval.

The act provides for the collection, deposit, management, investment, and expenditure of petroleum revenue which accrues to Government from the exploitation of the petroleum reserves in Uganda.