Parliament will, in the future, participate in the annual Ug Economic Forum organised by Next Media, a local multimedia company.

The Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, made the revelation while officiating at the closing ceremony of the week-long forum running under the theme, ‘Unlocking Uganda’s Economic potential: Strategies for sustainable growth and development’.

Tayebwa noted that the forum, which is in its fourth edition since its inception in 2020, has been long overdue and its deliberations will have a huge impact on how government business is handled.

“I want to thank NBS Television for being a media that builds and transforms the nation by giving a platform to people that matter, to inspire others. As Parliament, we should partner with you at the next forum and bring some of the chairpersons of our critical committees to answer some of those hard questions,” said in remarks on Friday, 20 September 2024,

Parliament, the Deputy Speaker said, has facilitated the resilience of the economy by promptly processing government business through appropriation and legislation, which he said are key drivers of economic management.

“We have tax Bills that are very critical for the economy, and we now want to task government more, to give us very strong reasons and research behind their tax amendment proposals, whenever they bring tax Bills in the budget process,” said Tayebwa.

“Parliament has also played a key role in amending Bills that enabled Uganda to be removed from the money laundering grey list, something we did in one week. Now your money moves easily and can trade internationally,” he added.

The Deputy Speaker commended the finance ministry and Bank of Uganda for work done in ensuring the country’s debt to GDP ratio stands at 46.9 per cent, and the resilience of the shilling that has depreciated by 0.5 per cent against the dollar in the last five years, compared to currencies of other African countries.

“This means that people who have invested in long term instruments in Uganda have seen their money gain more value. As long as you have a stable currency, you will have a stable economy,” Tayebwa said.

He also attributed the growth of the economy to the stability and good security of the country, adding that Parliament has been intentional in supporting the country’s defence budget.

Kin Kaliisa, the CEO of Next Media said the forum was initiated during the COVID-19 period, to give hope to Ugandans, especially those whose businesses were affected by the lockdown.

“We sought to bring together experts to give hope to the country and this forum has helped Ugandans to discover new ways of doing things. We create content and put it on digital platforms which go far and wide to the public,” Kaliisa noted.