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{
    "id": 1082732,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1082732/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 145,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tarbaj, PDR",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Ahmed Gaal",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13487,
        "legal_name": "Ahmed Bashane Gaal",
        "slug": "ahmed-bashane-gaal"
    },
    "content": " No, I am not. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. At the outset, I support the Report of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, let me raise some of these suggestions. We always talk about expenditure. We are talking about scanners and employment of staff. Let me not be misunderstood to be meaning that these things are not important. They are very important because, as we know and as we were told by the Committee, when scanners were invested in Namanga, besides Malaba being busier, we were able to get Kshs4 billion while there was Kshs2 billion in Malaba during that year under study. But, we need to look at the other aspects that are reducing revenue collections. Maybe this is the little calabash. We might be collecting something and what is collected might be going out. Are we looking at corruption? There might be high cases of corruption which we need to look at. Are we having a high cost of doing business, especially on electricity? How is our infrastructure? How are our policies? How is our ease of doing business? From the Report we were given by the Committee, we have realised that foreign direct investments in Uganda is increasing especially on tiles and steel. Why is it that these manufacturing plants are moving to Uganda and not Kenya? So, these are some of the things that we need to look at. Another aspect that I need to mention is what Hon. Duale has talked about. We have a huge border in the Northern Region which is unmanned . It is not only making economic sense but also a security sense. The (inaudible) multi-agency team along this border will go a long way to close these panya routes and minimise revenue loss and increase revenue collection. What I need to talk about is the East African integration. If we are very serious about it yet we cannot even harmonise our taxes, especially on Excise Duty, what other aspects can we do? The most difficult aspects like political integration, military integration and monetary integration might be difficult. So, it is very important that we harmonise our taxes as the East Africa community. Thank you. I support the Report."
}