Browsing by Author "Mawejje, Joseph"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Adequacy and effectiveness of Uganda’s gambling regulatory framework
    (Economic Policy Research Centre, 2016) Ahaibwe, Gemma; Lakuma, Corti Paul; Katunze, Miriam; Mawejje, Joseph
    In light of the likely negative impacts of gambling, the industry needs to be strictly controlled, well regulated and effectively policed. Presently, the gambling industry is regulated by the National Lotteries Board (NLB) and is guided by the National Lotteries Act of 1967, the Gaming and Pool Betting (Control and Taxation) Act of 1968, and an addendum of statutory guidelines introduced in 2012/13. Findings from the desk review and key informant interviews reveal that many facets of the laws relating to lottery and gaming have become obsolete and are not sensitive to the new modes of gambling and the unprecedented growth of the industry. Furthermore, the National Lotteries Board (NLB) has substantial capacity problems and limited statutory powers and is not always able to effectively exercise its mandate herein inhibiting its ability to comprehensively regulate the gambling industry.
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    Discovery of Oil: Community Perceptions and Expectations in Uganda’s Albertine Region
    (Journal of Sustainable Development, 2018) Mwesigye Tumusiime, David; Mawejje, Joseph; Byakagaba, Patrick
    This study was conducted to interrogate local perceptions and expectations from the discovery of oil in the Albertine Graben of Uganda. We interviewed 50 residents (30 men and 20 women) from Butiaba and Wanseko (Buliisa district), Kyehoro and Kabaale villages (Hoima district). The villages were purposively selected to have a representation of the districts in the Albertine region where Oil discovery activities are currently being implemented but also to explore any differences in perceptions that may be linked to livelihood options of the respondents. We applied narrative analysis. Overall, we observed minimal pessimism as residents expressed concerns over environmental degradation, political tensions and land conflicts following oil activities, but there was a dominance of optimism as communities envisaged that the oil industry will create employment, infrastructural development, improved access to electricity, and enhanced social status. The findings demonstrated that communities living in areas where extractive resources such as oil and gas have been discovered tend to be more optimistic with very minimal pessimism in their expectations during the phase of upstream activities of the oil value chain. The findings challenge the dominant narrative that residents where energy development and other land use changes are being implemented tend to have negative expectations -a phenomenon known as NIMBY (Not-In- My-Back-Yard). We identify the need to develop strong institutional frameworks that harness benefits from oil to improve local livelihoods without compromising the environment and enhancing participation of locals in decision making processes.
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    How should Uganda finance infrastructure development?
    (Economic Policy Research Centre, 2017) Mawejje, Joseph; Munyambonera, Ezra
    Although Uganda has made progress in infrastructure development, the country still faces huge deficits across all sectors, including in transport, energy, water and information and communication technology that require financing beyond the public budget ceilings. These deficits in infrastructural provisioning affect the business climate and increase the cost of doing business with implications for enterprise growth and job creation. In addition, infrastructural deficits exacerbate poverty and inequality and could therefore hinder the attainment of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Addressing these deficits will require financing beyond the available public budget ceilings. This policy brief, based upon a recent research paper1, explores options for financing the scaling up of infrastructure development in Uganda. The analysis highlights the opportunities for scaling up domestic resource mobilization, improving efficiencies in public investments, options in private financing, and the potential role of the natural resource sectors.
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    Improving Tax Revenue Performance in Uganda
    (Economic policy research center, 2016) Mawejje, Joseph; Munyambonera, Ezra
    Despite efforts to improve tax revenue performance, tax revenues have not been responsive to overall GDP growth. This has resulted in a tax-to-GDP ratio that has stagnated at about 13% for some time. The stagnant tax effort has constrained government in its quest to expand public expenditure to support improved service delivery. This policy brief, based on a research paper1 that examined the principal determinants of tax revenue performance in Uganda, discusses how Uganda’s tax revenue performance can be improved. Bases on auto regressive distributed lag econometric methods, our analysis shows that dominance of the agricultural and informal sectors pose the largest impediments to tax revenue performance in Uganda. In addition trade openness, industrial sector growth and development expenditures are positively associated with tax revenue performance. We propose policies to support the development of value added linkages between agricultural and industrial sectors while emphasizing the need to unlock the potentially large contributions of the informal sector with a view of widening the tax base.
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    Macroeconomic and Sectoral Effects of the EAC Regional Integration on Uganda: A Recursive Computable General Equilibrium Analysis
    (Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), 2013) Shinyekwa, Isaac; Mawejje, Joseph
    The paper empirically examines the implications of the implementation of the EAC regional integration on the Ugandan economy. Specifically, it analyses the likely effects of the asymmetric tariff reduction on the macro variables and quantifies the sectoral growth effects on the industrial, agricultural and services sectors. It adopts the General Equilibrium Model (CGE) for the analysis based on the Uganda 2007 Social Accounting Matrix. The primary policy simulation is the asymmetric reduction of internal tariffs across East African countries under assumptions of unemployment and free movement of factors of production. Other policy simulations that change these assumptions are analysed. Results indicate that the aggregate impact of internal tariff reduction under conditions of unemployment and free movement of factors of production is positive with average GDP growth improving by up to 0.3 percentage points over the period 2008 – 2021. However, the reduction in tariffs has negative implications for tax collections with import duties contracting by 0.3 percentage points, with no significant gains in direct taxes revenues. The rise in exports to the EAC region leads to a decline in the trade deficit by 0.8 percent during the simulation period. There are also significant growth gains for agriculture, industry and services sectors with the former registering growth improvements of 1.2 percentage points and the other two 0.7 percentage points. Therefore, Uganda should optimise gains within the EAC regional integration framework through tariff reduction and free movement of factors of production. Finally, the government should address infrastructural constraints (energy and transport) to foster growth in the manufacturing sector within the EAC region.
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    Macroeconomic Effects of Mobile Money: Evidence from Uganda
    (Financial Innovation, 2019) Mawejje, Joseph; Lakuma, Paul
    This study examined the effects of mobile money—a recent innovation in Uganda’s financial-sector landscape—on aggregate economic activity and other macroeconomic variables. We first estimated the long-run mobile-money demand function using vector error correction (VEC) techniques, distinguishing between balances and transfers/transactions. We then estimated the short-run effects of mobile money on selected macroeconomic variables using structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) methods. The results showed that mobile money had moderate positive effects on monetary aggregates, consumer price index, private-sector credit, and aggregate economic activity. Mobile money balances responded to changes in monetary policy instruments, signaling possible ameliorating effects for the conduct of monetary policy. Finally, the results showed that transactional motives related to mobile money had stronger macroeconomic effects than savings motives.
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    The business climate in Uganda implications for job creation
    (Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), 2013) Mawejje, Joseph
    This brief is a summary of the findings of four business climate surveys conducted in the four quarters between April 2012 and March 2013. The purpose is to highlight the evolution of Uganda’s business climate and its implications for business expansion and employment creation. For each of the surveys we followed up and interviewed the same business establishments. Our results show that the business climate has been weak and declining in the last four quarters. In addition results show that businesses are operating below capacity and that under the current business conditions they are not likely to create new employment opportunities. Moreover, businesses have expressed dissatisfaction with the available labour force describing it as unproductive due to its perceived inadequate education, poor work ethic and insufficient capacity to innovate. We therefore make the recommendation that any measures geared towards creating employment opportunities should also consider ameliorating the business environment and equipping the labour force with the necessary skills to improve productivity.
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    The Extent of Gambling in Kampala City
    (Economic Policy Research Centre, 2016) Ahaibwe, Gemma; Lakuma, Corti Paul; Katunze, Miriam; Mawejje, Joseph
    At a time when unemployment -particularly youth unemployment- is at its highest levels, there have been concerns that the youth have resorted to gambling as a source of livelihood. However, not so much empirical evidence existed to confirm these allegations regarding the level of participation and characteristics of gambling participants. This brief, based on a baseline survey conducted in Kampala city in April 2015, attempts to fill this vacuum by providing insights into the level of participation in the gambling industry. Survey findings show that gambling is prevalent at 24.3 percent among adults with sports betting as the most popular gambling activity. The majority of gambling participants gamble as a source of livelihood as opposed to leisure, and age, employment status and gender are major determinants in gambling participation. Finally, overall community reaction reflects a fairly negative perception on gambling.