The principal of the National Economic Empowerment Dialogue (NEED), Joseph Kabuleta has tasked the government to disclose profits generated from the sale of minerals if it is committed towards fighting poverty among Ugandans.
"The government has to be transparent and disclose the profits generated from the sale of the minerals such that other stakeholders are able to claim their percentages unlike now where by we don’t even know where the money is going. We want to be partakers in everything that's mined here, actually that's what we fight for," said Kabuleta.
Kabuleta made the remarks while speaking to the media about the recently passed Mining and Minerals Bill 2021.
The bill proposes that 65% of revenues generated from minerals should go to the government and 20% to the municipality/district local government. Sub-county/county gets 10% and while 5% will go to the land owner where the minerals were discovered.
"The Minerals and Mining Bill won't favour Ugandans not until they're transparent otherwise it’s another way to make people poor. The government squeezes people with taxes and yet we are getting a lot of money from minerals like gold that's not reflected on the national budget, where's that gold money going?” he queried.
Kabuleta wondered why the government passes policies that don’t work.
He cited programmes such as UPE, Operation Wealth Creation among others which he said have completely failed but the government keeps on coming up with new ideas to make Ugandans poor.
