In a bid to protect and assist 2.2 million South Sudanese refugees this year, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, together with 108 humanitarian and development partners, have appealed for US$1.3 billion (Shs 4.7 trillion). The funds will go towards supporting South Sudanese refugees and their local host communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda.

The appeal comes amid a worsening economic outlook across the region as the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine have pushed up fuel and food prices and increased unemployment. Host countries that have generously welcomed South Sudanese refugees are bearing the strain of the crisis amid staggering levels of underfunding, prolonged drought, and severe food shortages, including food ration cuts for refugees.

Launching the South Sudan Refugee Response Plan, UNHCR urged the international community to scale up support for the millions of refugees who are unable to return home as their country continues to face a fragile peace and security environment marked by cycles of sporadic violence, and the impacts of an unfolding climate crisis. Four years of unrelenting floods have inundated two-thirds of the country, damaging tens of thousands of people’s houses, farmland and livestock.

“The support will be crucial in meeting refugees’ most immediate needs in host countries, including shelter, education, health and food assistance. With women and children comprising 80 percent of all South Sudanese refugees in the region, funding for programmes to prevent and respond to gender-based violence needs to be prioritized,” UNHCR said in a statement.

The appeal also aims to provide digital cash assistance, and other resilience-enhancing initiatives such as access to finance and training, to help refugees and local communities generate income, supplement their needs and live in dignity.

UNHCR said host governments will also be supported to strengthen the asylum space and further protect the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers, as well as boost the prospects for long-term solutions. This includes improved registration and documentation and advancing ongoing efforts to include refugees in national social protection systems and enhance their access to basic services, all of which help to better prepare refugees for an eventual return.

Interventions to increase the use of clean and sustainable energy in refugee hosting communities will also be strengthened, to mitigate environmental impacts.

With only a third of funding requirements met for last year’s South Sudanese refugee appeal, the major countries of asylum in the region  the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda — were among UNHCR’s most under-funded operations.

We call for compassion and commitment to be extended to South Sudanese refugees and other people forced to flee around the world. Timely funding is crucial to ensure adequate support and protection for the most vulnerable.

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Isaac Ssenabulya has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for the murder of Maria Nagirinya, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) staff at Community Integrated Development Initiatives (CIDI), and her driver Ronald Kitayimbwa.

Yesterday, High Court Isaac Muwata convicted him after he pleaded guilty to the kidnap and double murder of Nagirinya and Kitayimbwa in Feb 2019. He apologized to the families of the deceased and asked for a liniment sentence. 

The prosecution led by Jonathan Muwaganya and Timothy Emerit had asked that Ssenabulya be given the maximum penalty of death, for killing two innocent Ugandans as a deterrent to others.

Ssenabulya was charged alongside six other people after the prosecution dropped murder charges against Raymond Okori Marckos.

Nagirinya was kidnapped on August 27, 2019 by two men who reportedly trailed her as she returned home. According to her family members, the assailants accessed her vehicle registration number UBA 570V, Spacio, moments after her young sister had just opened the gate.

The deceased is alleged to have been killed in the car before dumping her body at Nakitutulu village, Nama sub-county in Mukono District.

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Uganda Revenue Authority on Tuesday destroyed 13,391 packages of assorted beverages, gins, kombucha and vodka that were seized for not adhering to digital stamps laws in Nakasongola.

URA’s Manager Public and Corporate Affairs, Robert Wamala Lumanyika, who presided over the destruction, said that URA issued several reminders to owners to go to Nakawa, claim their goods and affix digital stamps as stipulated by the Tax Procedures Code Act, in vain.

Currently, 13 products have been gazetted for digital tax stamps and they include beer, spirits, fruit and vegetable juice, soda, wine, mineral water, cement, sugar, cooking oil, any other fermented beverages, any other alcoholic beverages, any other non-alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.

“Each of these is supposed to affix a stamp failure of which the goods are confiscated. The cost of tax stamps ranges from as low as Shs13 per bottle of bottled water to shillings 60,000 for a bulker of cement. The Public should know that this is an allowed expenditure as one is accounting for their taxes’ Wamala said.

“Moreover, the owner can enter into a memorandum of understanding if such goods are confiscated, affix stamps and pay applicable penalties for not complying”.

Products confiscated for noncompliance to Digital Tax Stamps requirements are kept in Nakawa for six months after which such goods are either auctioned or destroyed.

Wamala explained that this particular consignment could not be auctioned as the case for other goods because they need certification from Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS).

“Products without DTS are believed to be substandard and therefore not fit for human consumption. Do you remember the recent deaths registered in Arua after consumption of a spirit called X-5, which had no digital tax stamps?” Wamala said. It is such unfortunate incidents that we need to guard against”.

DTS was introduced on spirits and kombucha on 1st February 2022 and 1st May 2022 respectively.

However, some of the manufacturers affixed fake digital tax stamps in contravention of the law.

According to the Tax Procedures Code Act, a person who prints over or defaces a tax stamp is liable to pay double the tax due or Shs20 million whichever is higher while one found in possession of goods which have no stamps is liable to pay double the tax due or Shs50 million, whichever is higher.

“Penalties are punitive because we want to deter persons from engaging in the practice. Many persons who deal in unstamped goods are actually engaged in counterfeiting thereby creating undue competition from those who engage in legitimate business,” Wamala said.

URA has tried to locate the manufacturers of these drinks but it is facing a challenge of culprits who keep changing their location and brands. The URA operations are aimed at controlling illicit trade and ability to conveniently verify and trace all specified goods throughout the distribution chain.

In the first half of the Financial Year (July to December 2022), the manufacturing sector was the second best contributor to domestic revenue with Shs 2,702.90 billion (22.67%) collected. Out of this Local Excise Duty contributed 919.6 billion. In the same period, the DTS register grew with an addition of 957 clients, representing 751 manufacturers and 206 importers.

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The Inspector General of Government (IGG) Beti Kamya Turwomwe has announced the 2023 roadmap for the next declaration of income, assets, and liabilities of Leaders.

The IGG made the revelation during a press conference at Uganda Media Centre on February 21, 2023.

She said that this year’s declaration exercise will be launched on Wednesday March 1, 2023 in Lira City and will be presided over by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa, who will in effect be the first declarant this declaration year.

The exercise will run from 1st March 2023 and will close on 31st March, 2023 at midnight.

“Please take serious note that there is no provision in the law to extend this period. Therefore any leader who will not have declared by 31st March 2023 will be in violation of the law,” the IGG warned.

The IGG noted that Articles 223 (2) and 234 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and section 4 of the Leadership Code Act require political leaders and appointed leaders specified under the Second Schedule Part A and the Third Schedule Part A and Part B of the Leadership Code Act, 2002, amended in 2021 to declare to the Inspectorate of Government (IG) their income, assets and liabilities every two years in the month of March.

The previous declaration was done in March 2021.

However, this year’s declaration is only meant for Leaders and not for Public Officers.

The category of Leaders include elected political leaders from LC3 upwards to the President, people appointed by the President for instance, Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Public Institutions, Board Members of Public Institutions and Executive Leaders of registered political parties among others.

Public Officers are also supposed to declare but under a different legal provision. Public Officers are all those people, other than Leaders whose salaries are paid from the Consolidated Fund.

“For this category, the law requires that they declare their income, assets and liabilities within 3 months after being appointed to a government job and thereafter every five years in the month of April. So the next declaration for Public Officers will be in April 2026. But for clarity, only those Leaders specified under the schedule are required to declare starting from 1st to 31st March 2023,” the IGG said.

The IGG said that declarations will be submitted digitally using the IG-Online Declaration System (IG-ODS) which will be opened on 1st March 2023 and closed on 31st March 2023 at midnight.

“In case a declarant needs help, they should seek the support of the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer or Inspectorate of Government Regional Office or selected people in all Government Institutions called Focal Persons who have been trained to use the IG-ODS,” she said.

She also emphasised the fact that there are serious sanctions under the law for non-declaration, over declaration, falsification of facts and anticipatory declaration of income, assets and liabilities.

The sanctions for breach of the Code include fines, warning, caution, demotion, and dismissal from office, vacation of office, and confiscation and forfeiture of illicitly acquired assets, gifts or benefits to the Government.

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