Court of Appeal has dismissed an application by URA opposing the refund of over Shs25 billion to the Fund following the judgment of the High Court which overturned the decision of the Tax Appeals Tribunal and a tax assessment against the Fund of Shs45 billion.

URA had initially issued a tax assessment of Shs84 billion and the Fund was required to pay 30 percent of the tax assessed before the dispute was heard by the Tax Appeals Tribunal. The High Court overturned the assessment which meant that URA was required to refund the 30 percent with accrued interest. URA has never refunded the money.

Justice Oscar Kihika in his ruling delivered on March 24,2023 dismissed the application on grounds that URA failed to prove that its substantive appeal against an earlier decision of the High Court has a likelihood of success.

“The Applicant (URA) is in the process of obtaining leave to appeal, having filed a Notice of Appeal. However, having failed to establish whether or not the intended appeal has a likelihood of success, this Court is of the view that the balance of convenience does favour the Respondent (NSSF) which has a judgment in its hands. I find, therefore, that the Applicant has failed to establish that the Appeal will be  rendered nugatory if an order for stay of execution is not issued,” Justice Kihika ruled.

He also found that there was no evidence of irreparable damage that URA could suffer in the event that a stay of execution was not granted, in response to the tax body’s submissions. On the contrary, NSSF stood to suffer substantial loss since they have been in court since 2014 and since obtaining judgment in its favour, URA had without sufficient cause, held onto the 30 percent that was paid in 2014. 

NSSF Ag. Managing Director Patrick Ayota welcomed the court’s decision saying that the funds will be invested to earn a return for the members.

“This ruling gives us more confidence as we pursue the substantive case through the courts that our decision will be vindicated,” he said.

In 2013 URA conducted a Tax audit on the Fund and assessed taxes on NSSF interest paid to members. However, this was a departure from URA’s earlier position contained in November 1, 2011, letter, which had advised NSSF that the interest paid to members is allowed as a deductible expense for income tax purposes.

The Fund objected and filed a case in the high court against URA. Through an arbitration process, the assessment was reduced from  Shs84 billion to Shs42 billion but the parties failed to agree on the tax treatment of interest the Fund declares and pays to members annually.

The dispute on the tax treatment of Interest case was transferred to the tax appeals tribunal which ruled against the Fund upholding the assessment of Shs42 billion in March 2020. 

Dissatisfied with the decision of the tribunal, the Fund appealed to the commercial division of the High Court, arguing that whereas the Tribunal decided that members’ savings are not a debt obligation as they are excluded from the definition, which is provided in the Income tax act definition, this was erroneous because the income tax act does not state so. 

The Fund also argued that the tribunal treated interest paid to members as a dividend which is contrary to the definition of dividends in the Income Tax Act and that the financial impact of the tribunal ruling would effectively impair its ability to preserve the value of members’ savings.

In November 2020, the High court agreed with the Fund. In his ruling, Justice Boniface Wamala set aside the tax tribunal ruling that interest paid by the Fund is a deductible expense for income tax purposes.

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The number of road crash fatalities in Kampala has increased to 78%, the just released annual road safety report indicates. The shooting numbers are attributed to speeding, unsafe overtaking, violating traffic lights, sudden turning, and tailgating and other factors.

Produced with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the report shows that fatalities in Kampala increased from 236 in 2020 to 419 in 2021.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago report findings should inform continuous interventions to reduce road crash-related deaths and injuries in the city and guide the activities of road safety stakeholders to deliver on their mandates. The goal is to halve road traffic deaths and injuries in Kampala by 2030.

According to the World Health Organization, road traffic crashes kill nearly 1.3 million people and injure up to 50 million worldwide. More than 90% of these deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which have less than half of the world’s vehicles, and unfortunately, these deaths are preventable.

The Lord Mayor also highlighted the need to re-establish the National Road Safety Council as a lead agency in order to secure funding and develop effective strategies to tackle the issue.

The report identified excessive speed as a significant risk factor, with almost half of speeding vehicles in Kampala clocking speeds more than 5 km/h above the posted limit.

The report recommended the adoption of global standards of 30 km/h for local and collector roads, along with stricter enforcement of speed limits.

The report also highlighted low seat-belt usage in the city, with overall seat-belt use at only 41%. Adult passenger seat-belt use was at 19%, while rear-seat passengers’ seat-belt use was at 2%, and child restraint use was almost non-existent at only 1%.

The report’s authors called for increased public awareness campaigns and strict law enforcement to promote seat belt and child restraint use.

Bonny Balugaba from Makerere University School of Public Health underscores the need for increased public awareness campaigns and strict law enforcement to promote seat belt and child restraint use.

“The combination of outcomes data and road user observation data provides a comprehensive understanding of road safety in Kampala, providing an opportunity to implement effective interventions and monitor their impact.” Balugaba said.

The report revealed that the highest number of deaths and serious injuries in 2021 occurred among those aged 20 to 29 years, with almost half of the reported deaths (49.9%) occurring on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays.

The report also identified the highest-risk intersections and fatal corridors in the city, including Kalerwe roundabout (Northern Bypass), Nakulabye intersection (Balintuma and Hoima Road), and Entebbe Road.

The Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety, which supports road safety activities and coordinates with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, emphasized the need for high-quality monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to continually assess progress in reducing road crashes and fatalities.

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Minister Mary Goretti Kitutu, the Karamoja Affairs Minister is this afternoon set to appear before the Anti-Corruption Court over corruption and mismanagement of iron sheets that were meant for the unprivileged people in Karamoja.
Kitutu arrived at court following the joint investigations which were carried out by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the inspectorate of government. Last week, she confessed to diverting 3000 iron sheets for the Karamajongs.
Appearing before the Presidential Affairs Committee of Parliament Kitutu accepted responsibility for the mismanagement of iron sheets procured for the vulnerable in the sub-region.

“Some of the iron sheets were used to roof a boys’ dormitory in Situmi Primary School, Namisindwa district. The school lacked a store, hence storing them at a relative’s house,” she said.

She apologized to the committee and parliament noting that she was never guided about the project.
Kitutu requested for 12,200 iron sheets to aid her in community mobilization and peace-building missions in Karamoja.
Her January 12, 2023, internal memo to the stores’ department at the OPM read in part, “During community mobilization and peace-building missions, I usually meet vulnerable groups and karuchunas (reformed warriors) who are willing to dissociate themselves from rustling. As part of my intervention, I will be distributing iron sheets to such special vulnerable groups.”
Last month, security operatives nabbed Cotilda Kitutu, Michael Nabwaya, and Julius Wabule. The accused are the mother, brother, and nephew of Minister Kitutu. The three were allegedly selling OPM-branded iron sheets to residents of Namisindwa district, in eastern Uganda.
Kitutu is among the top ministers who benefited from the iron sheets which were allegedly meant for people in Karamoja. The ministers involved in the scandal include; Rebecca Kadaga, Jacob Oboth Oboth, Hamson Obua, Amos Lugolobi, Matia Kasaija and others.

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The Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development Betty Amongi has launched Shs3.97 billion for Uganda Women’s Entrepreneurship Program and the Youth Livelihood Program.

The funds will benefit the people of Kyankwanzi, Mbarara, Rwampara, Kazo, Ibanda, Kyegegwa, Wakiso, Kamuli, Nebbi, Lira, Bududa and other districts in the country.

Started in 2015, Women’s Entrepreneurship Program is designed to address the challenges women face in undertaking economically viable enterprises including the limited access to affordable credit, limited technical knowledge and skills for business development, limited access to markets as well as information regarding business opportunities.

Launched in 2014, the Youth Livelihood Program was designed as one of the interventions of the Government in response to the high unemployment rate and poverty among the youth in the country.

Since the roll out of the program Shs116 billion has been disbursed to women enterprises and Shs169 billion for youth.

Amongi said Shs34. 7 billion had been recovered and that is what the ministry is disbursing this financial year. In the middle of the third quarter, we had recovery of about Shs9 billion. That means that people are not only borrowing but paying back.

She said cabinet sitting on March 28, 2022, chaired by the President Yoweri Museveni directed that any money that we collect back will now be flowed back into Uganda Women’s Entrepreneurship Program and Youth Livelihood Program.

“Youth and women do not have collateral to borrow. Some of the banks require land title; vehicle logbook to borrow. To benefit from this money, you just need collateral from group members that group members are standing and saying that we are borrowing in a group and within our group will make sure we lend amongst our members and as a group will recover and give it back,” she said.

She said this intervention for the vulnerable community doesn’t need to be anchored on collateral for them to get capital to start businesses. It has also shown that many people out there are willing to work hard so long as they can get a little capital that can give them some leverage to start businesses.

She said the majority of the people who have borrowed this money and utilize it have been able to graduate from Uganda Women’s Entrepreneurship Program and Youth Livelihood Program by borrowing from banks.

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