Fort Portal residents have expressed mixed feelings towards the 2011/2012 national budget, delivered by finance minister, Maria Kiwanuka, this afternoon.
Kiwanuka delivered her first budget as minister, outlining a range of issues including infrastructural development and tax cuts on sugar and kerosene.
They say that this year’s budget theme, ‘Promoting Economic Growth, Job Creation and Improving Service Delivery’ should be effectively implemented and not just on paper.
Rose Kabahenda, a business woman in Fort Portal says she is happy priority has been given to service delivery. She however says it should be taken seriously because in the past the government has been boasting of service delivery and yet in some areas have no drugs in hospitals, the roads are in a poor state resulting to failure to access health facilities and markets.
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Ronald Asiimwe, the chairperson Kabarole Youth Council says he is happy the government has realized that the unemployment levels are high. Kiwanuka has set aside 44.5 billion shillings for job creation. Asiimwe however says that he is waiting to see how the government will create the jobs this time, having failed to do so in the past. He cautions that youths from all the regions should benefit from the programme.
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Patrick Muganzi, a resident of Katumba says that the 2011/2012 budget does not depict the interests of the people. Muganzi says he is disappointed that there has not been reduction on fuel and food prices. To him, there was no need to reduce taxes on kerosene, as there are few people who still use it in their homes.
Muganzi says priority should have been put on reduction of petrol and diesel prices because light and heavy vehicles play a big role in the transportation of products to markets.
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Diana Kabahuma, a teacher at Kabarole Primary School says government should have reduced the prices of soap and salt. Kabahuma says that there was no need to cut taxes on sugar because some families can do without sugar but not salt and soap.
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