Deputy Speaker Tayebwa chairing today’s plenary sessionBy Prisca WanyenyaDeputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa has given the Ministry of Finance until next week to present a comprehensive statement on the sharp appreciation of the US dollar against the Uganda shilling, amid fears that currency volatility will drive up the cost of living.Tayebwa issued the directive during plenary on Tuesday, October 7, 2026, after postponing debate on the matter at the Ministry’s request to allow for wider consultations.“Earlier on, in the morning, I had a long interaction with the Minister for Finance, Henry Musasizi, because he wanted to get in detail the kind of statement we want for today, and I told him we want a comprehensive statement,” Tayebwa told the House.He said they agreed government needed to consult the Bank of Uganda, Uganda Bureau of Statistics and other critical players to ensure the response is factual and well-researched.Tayebwa said postponing the statement was necessary to avoid unsettling the market.“Because the Minister of Finance can come here and make a statement, it causes more trouble in the market than what would have been expected. Or it is also insufficient to explain the kind of situation we have,” he said.“So I have agreed with him that we should do this statement next week, after they have sat as a sector and agreed on the position they can come and address the nation and this House on,” he added.The debate was triggered by Leader of Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi, who said the dollar’s rise to a record high had created anxiety in an import-dependent economy.“Some people are hoarding the dollar because of the situation as it is today. So we are wondering whether the Central Bank will try to smoothen liquidity, because that’s its cardinal role as Bank of Uganda,” Ssenyonyi said.“I hope the chickens are not coming home to roost. But again, it’s important that government tells us what they are doing about this situation, because it is biting and biting hard,” he added.Ssenyonyi reminded Parliament that Bank of Uganda Governor Michael Atingi-Ego had on April 28, 2026 warned that enacting the Sovereignty Act, 2026 would destabilise the balance of payments and lead to substantial depreciation of the shilling.Mbale Industrial Division MP Karim Masaba said traders were anxious, especially those with goods in transit, and were appealing to Uganda Revenue Authority to retain the August exchange rate for tax computation to avoid price shocks.“I had received calls from some of the traders. As you know, every time the dollar rises, the prices increase and URA does the computations of the taxes based on CIF. Many of them are worried because many of their goods have arrived and some are in transit and one of the prayers was that let government hold, let URA and the Minister of Finance hold on to the previous rate,” Masaba said.Masaba also questioned why Bank of Uganda had not used its foreign reserves, reported at US$6.5 billion, to stabilise the shilling, opting instead to raise the cash reserve requirement for commercial banks.“We would expect in such a situation that these reserves would be used to stabilise the shilling, such that many of our traders do not lose out,” he said.The post Parliament Gives Finance Ministry One Week to Explain Dollar Surge as Shilling Slides appeared first on Business Focus.