The public should expect higher pump prices following the increase in excise duty on fuel.
The excise duty on Petrol and diesel has been increased by shs 50 and this is expected to raise shs 62billion to support infrastructure investment.
Vivo Energy Managing Director Mr. Hans Paulsen says that the price of fuel is expected to rise, due to the increase in excise duty. He further predicts that transport and food will increase as a result of high fuel prices. Transport and food all depend on fuel, the higher the cost of fuel the higher the cost of Transport and food.
Paulsen also expressed disappointment that there was nothing said about cooking gas. He was advocating for a tax exemption on Liquefied Petroleum Gas in order to increase the usage of cooking gas in Uganda. Currently in Uganda usage of cooking gas remains low at 15% compared to western African countries with 50% due to tax exemptions.
He further noted that railway transport was not addressed yet it is key if Uganda is to lower the cost of doing business and competitiveness of the private sector.” Importation by road is too expensive. For businesses to grow and for us to achieve growth as a country, we need to increase our focus on rail” noted Hans.
He however expressed happiness that works and transport got a good share of the budget but noted that execution of the projects should be key since many roads have appeared in previous budgets but remain undone.