Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) is under scrutiny in Parliament following the Auditor General’s concerns about government’s “double contribution” to the tax body’s staff retirement benefits, as well as high expenditure on repairing an aging fleet of vehicles.
During the September 11, 2025, plenary sitting, MPs considered the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) report on URA’s corporate services for the financial year ending December 2024. The report was presented by committee chairperson Medard Sseggona (Busiro East).
Auditor General Edward Akol revealed that in FY2023/24, the government contributed Shs47 billion towards URA staff retirement benefits. This included Shs24.6 billion (10%) to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), and an additional Shs22.4 billion to URA’s internal retirement benefits scheme — a practice auditors described as “double payments.”
However, URA defended the arrangement, arguing that the internal scheme is a critical tool for attracting and retaining staff amid rising attrition to other government agencies and private institutions offering higher pay.
Sseggona backed URA’s defense, noting that compared to other state agencies, URA offers relatively lower salaries and fewer allowances. He warned that scrapping the in-house scheme could trigger “spiraling talent attrition” and undermine the Authority’s ability to mobilize revenue.
“The Committee did not find any legal or regulatory impediment, especially considering that the amount has always been appropriated by Parliament. Withdrawing the benefit may amount to breach of employee contracts with attendant legal ramifications,” Sseggona told Parliament.
He also pointed out that URA is not the only institution running a parallel retirement scheme. Others include the Bank of Uganda, Uganda Bureau of Standards, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, and Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited.
To address inconsistencies, Parliament tasked the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) to streamline approval processes for retirement schemes across ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), and to introduce a cap to prevent budgetary distortions.
URA was also faulted for excessive spending on vehicle repairs. The Auditor General’s review found that over the last three years (2021/22–2023/24), the Authority spent Shs6.4 billion on repairing just 61 vehicles, averaging Shs106 million per vehicle. In some cases, repair costs for a single vehicle reached Shs106 million in one year.
Auditors noted that the costs were a sign of an old, uneconomical fleet.
In response, URA explained that the vehicles in question had been in service for 8–12 years, with some undergoing major engine overhauls. Of the 61 vehicles, 21 were deployed in upcountry regions, 16 were used in enforcement operations, and 12 had full engine replacements.
The Authority assured Parliament that resources amounting to Shs6.7 billion had been allocated in FY2024/25 to purchase new vehicles. Procurement for 25 new vehicles was already underway, with delivery expected in December 2025. Meanwhile, URA said the disposal of 38 old vehicles was in its final stages.
