VenturesNow

Uganda loses $160m in taxes over gold levy dispute

Published

2 years ago

May 1, 2023

A report by Uganda’s Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development has revealed that the country lost Ush600 billion ($160.77 million) in uncollected tax from the export of gold products since July 2021.

The report says the deficit was due to a dispute with exporters and refiners over levies.

Uganda’s Minister for Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa, blamed the loss on a dispute between Uganda Revenue Authority and more than 20 gold exporters and refiners.

“From information provided by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), only two companies are willing to pay the tax. The other companies have raised concerns, and this is being evaluated,” the minister told parliament.

The difference is linked with Uganda’s Mining Amendment Bill 2021, which proposed a levy of $200 per kilogramme (Ush746,400) on processed gold and one percent of the value of unprocessed minerals.

The rate was later increased to 5 percent of the value of processed gold and 10 percent of the value of unprocessed minerals by the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

Gold dealers protested the tax, while gold export records were not recorded by the Bank of Uganda statistics for the period. While the revenue authority published an annual statistics report capturing import and export revenues, gold never features in the reports.

Uganda, like most African countries with mineral resources, lacks the capacity to maximally explore the resources, but is hoping to develop domestic mining within its borders through the Uganda Free Zone Authority (UFZA).

VenturesNow

IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

1 day ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

VenturesNow

Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

3 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.