The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), which is mandated to collect taxes in Uganda has realised it must educate and sensitise Ugandans on the importance of taxes to the country’s development, a move the tax body thinks will boost revenue collections in the years ahead.

Recently the Ministry of Finance ousted Shs 48.1 trillion as budget for the financial year 2022/2023 where Shs 25.6 trillion will be revenue from taxes and non-tax revenue sourced internally.

This means that URA should strategize towards making a 53 percent contribution of the resources towards the national budget.

For the public to appreciate their role towards the budget, experts on taxation, policy, and the economy convened at the Post Budget conference organised at Hotel Africana recently to deliberate on measures and policies that will drive Full monetization of Uganda’s economy through commercial Agriculture, Industrialization, market access and Digital Transformation.

Ramathan Ggoobi, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance and Secretary to the Treasury, said the focus for government in the FY 2022/2023 is to use fiscal policies to stabilise the economy.

“The budget is structured to reduce the amount of money injected into the economy as we fight inflation and reduce prices. It is a painful process that will bear fruits in the long term,” Mr Ggoobi said.

The budget for next financial year is based on a redistributive principal that moves money to priority areas. The redistributive principal is the reason there are no new taxes, and will also reduce on external borrowing through reallocation of already available resources. Key national priorities include the Parish Development Model (PDM) which received an allocation of Shs 1.059 trillion, enhancement of security, the rule of law and fighting corruption; sustaining economic recovery; promotion of agro-industrialisation, standards and market entry; and commercialisation of oil and gas. In addition, efforts will also look into enhancement of transport, energy and ICT infrastructure; human capital development, science, innovation and knowledge transfer; and public sector effectiveness and efficiency.

The PSST also urged URA to increase domestic revenue mobilisation without constraining businesses. He noted that the idea of budget restructuring will ensure that all Ugandans pay taxes so that businesses thrive without shouldering a large tax burden.

URA Commissioner General, John R. Musinguzi noted that there’s potential to raise more revenue from existing measures as long as more people are brought onto the taxpayer register.

“Enlarging the tax register and tax base is our focus. This FY, the tax register grew by over 800,000 taxpayers moving from 1.7m to over 2.4 million taxpayers. However, out of 45m Ugandans, seven million are estimated to be engaged in economic activities,” said Musinguzi.

Going forward, URA will enhance tax education, taxpayer services and communication to improve service delivery and foster partnerships with stakeholders for collaborative information exchange.

These efforts build onto the previous reforms that have enhanced delightful revenue service such as instant TIN issuance, business formalisation, improved contact centre, WhatsApp for enhanced client services, and a mobile tax office.

Data management, analytics and automations such as NII cargo scanners and the Electronic Single Window will guide decision making in tax administration and reduce dumping. This is in addition to DTS, and EFRIS solutions aimed at improving business efficiencies.

“Our ultimate aspiration is economic independence. No nation can attain true sovereignty without collecting enough revenue locally. We have collected over Shs 20 trillion out of great cooperation from taxpayers and we can achieve the target in next 10 days. As we close the financial year, I urge all taxpayers to remain resilient,” advised Musinguzi. Taxpayers were also urged to embrace Voluntary Disclosure and Alternative Dispute Resolution in the next few days because the revised tax law allows URA to recover all taxes with relevant penalties and interests.

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Together with UNHCR, Finn Church Aid provides further education scholarships for refugees in Uganda. The financial support empowers refugees to continue their education at the university level.

“WHEN KILLINGS in Yei became rampant, I fled to Uganda with my family for safety after witnessing many people being killed,” says Gloria Clinton Kani, one of five girls in her family, who fled South Sudan’s southern city.

Raised by a single mother, Kani struggled to study. Then she sat her A-Level exams and scored an above average 14 points in History, Economics, Divinity and Mathematics.

Initially encouraged, hope then faded for furthering her studies due to her family’s size and low income. Kani was then introduced to Finn Church Aid and UNHCR scholarships by a friend and she applied.

“Luckily I didn’t go through a lot of interviews because there were only a few girls who applied for the scholarships. And the best part, I was the only applicant from my zone,” says Kani, humbly downplaying her own academic achievements.

These days Kani is studying a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and Social Administration at the Uganda Christian University, courtesy of the FCA scholarship programme.

Education gap

Kani is one of 53 refugees being sponsored by FCA with funding from the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. Additional donations are thanks to international donors, the National Association of Partners and VOS Family.

According to Michael Tayebwa, Area Manager for the FCA Yumbe Field Office, most donors are attracted by early childhood education and primary education programmes. Therefore, less attention is given to secondary and post-secondary education which leaves a skills and knowledge gap in young people.

“FCA is the leading education implementing partner for UNHCR in Uganda’s refugee settlements. We kept reporting the need for scholarships for learners that fall by the wayside after secondary education. That can result in negative outcomes, like involvement in criminal activity or marrying too early. In 2021, thanks to funding by the National Association of Partners, we gave 20 scholarships to 14 young men and six young women.”

Selection Criteria

For a student to qualify for this scholarship, they must be a refugee residing in Bidibidi refugee settlement and have passed two A-levels. Gender balance is key — the intent is to have an equal split between male and female students.

“During selection, we considered levels of vulnerability. For instance, families headed by children were given priority in a bid to set them up for better livelihoods in future,” Michael adds.

Scholarship benefits

The successful applicant gets 100 percent tuition fees, accommodation, upkeep for the entire semester, computers or laptops, and monthly internet access. Other benefits include university charges such as study trips and specific equipment needed for a particular course, like cameras for communication students.

FCA is the co-chair of the Education in Emergencies (EiE) Sector working group together with UNHCR and the Ministry for Education and Sports, coordinating the refugee education operations in Uganda.

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City businessman Sudhir Ruparelia has distanced himself from any dealing with UMC Victoria hospital saying his Victoria University does not operate the hospital.

In May, Internal Affairs minister, Maj Gen (Rtd) Kahinda Otafiire, directed all labour export firms to take their clients to UMC Victoria hospital for body organ testing before going abroad for greener pastures. This was to minimize cases of the illegal internal tissue extraction.

Several media reports have since linked the Bukoto-based hospital to Sudhir’s Ruparelia Group.

However the tycoon has said that he does not own Victoria Hospital and reports claiming that it is his, should stop the propaganda and stop dragging his name into their drama.

“Ruparelia group has never been involved with Victoria Hospital nor what is now known as UMC hospital. Stop this propaganda.”

The labour export companies under their association of Uganda Association of the External Recruitment Agencies (UAERA), through their chairperson Baker Akantambira, petitioned the Minister of Gender Labour and Social Development, Betty Amongi complaining about the new development insisting the hospital’s actions were illegal.

In response to Akantambira’s petition, Amongi told Otafiire to get back in his line of duty and stop meandering in her lane. She noted that her ministry is the one responsible for negotiations and regulating migrant workers in the country.

Amongi told Otafiire that her ministry had already signed several agreements with the Gulf Cooperation Council which is responsible with supervising all workers seeking employment abroad especially in Arab countries.

She further revealed that during the signing of the agreement with Gulf Cooperation Council, a list of selected hospitals were assigned to test internal organs of workers.

Amongi told Otafiire that he cannot just come up and all of a sudden recommend only UMC Victoria hospital.

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Residents of Bukompe village, Kyakatebe parish in Kassanda district have petitioned the area Resident District Commissioner (RDC) and the State House Anti-Corruption Unit to reign over controversial businessman Eriya Mubiru who is threatening to illegally evict them from their land.

Mubiru is a private military contractor for the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs.

The land in question was investigated by former Anti-Corruption Unit head Col Edith Nakalema who opened boundaries of the land and found that the land was fraudulently sold to the government by city lawyer Sam Bitangaro who was arrested and remanded for the same.

Bitangaro conspired with three others and sold non-existent land to government as it moved to resettle the persons who had been evicted from Luwunga Forest Reserve in Kiboga District. The failed exercise cost government at least Shs3 billion which was donated by President Yoweri Museveni.

Col Nakalema however guaranteed residents to stay on it, until government gets them another land where they could fully be resettled.

Mr Bitangaro allegedly fraudulently sold 780 hectares at Shs1.3 billion at Bukompe, Nalutuntu Sub-county in Kasanda District. The Prosecution alleged that on May 21, 2014 at M/s Onyango and Company Advocates’ offices in Bunga, Makindye Division, Mr Bitangaro obtained Shs1.32 billion from Kiboga Twegatte Cooperative Society Ltd by falsely pretending that he had good and marketable title to land measuring 492 hectares at Bukompe, Nalutuntu Sub-county in Kassanda District.

The state further alleges that on November 5, 2014 at Mityana District, they fraudulently procured land title to Singo Block 308 plot 146, which he fraudulently acquired by causing an irregular sub-division of plot 122 that he had already sold to Kiboga Twegatte Cooperative Society Ltd.

The charge sheet indicates that on May 2, 2014, Mr Onyango being a lawyer of Kiboga Twegatte Cooperative Society Ltd, issued a land inspection report which showed that the land title for Singo Block 308 Plot 122 was false.

The Ministry of Lands upon on instructions of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit surveyed the land and it was revealed that the property belonged to Lake Wamala Farm Ltd and all overlapping titles were issued with a notice of cancellation, including that of Bitangaros.

The innocent residents were shocked to learn in 2020, a one Eriya Mubiru claimed to have purchased the same land and he is now evicting over 200 residents who have been peacefully co-existing with Lake Wamala Farm Ltd. They have cited destruction of their crops through grazing, starvation and forceful eviction to neighbouring lands where there are ongoing disputes.

This comes as a shock given the recent presidential guidelines on evictions which were expected to bring an end to such illegal evictions.

We reached out to a member of Kiboga Twegatte who stated, “Upon the intervention of Col. Nakalema there has been relative peace on the land, however in 2020, a one Eriya Mubiru came in claiming to be from State House saying that he has bought the land and we should leave the land immediately. We have been living in fear ever since and request the government to intervene”.

Mubiru has also been cited in other dubious land deals such as his involvement in the grabbing of Kajjansi Forest Reserve, a scandal that caught the attention of State Minister for Lands Hon Sam Mayanja who directed the State House Anti-Corruption Unit to investigate the incident.  

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Following several complaints of robberies, burglaries, and thefts targeting electronic devices in Mukono Municipality and places along Kayunga road, Police at Mukono embarked on operations to hunt down the perpetrators.

In the last few days, the team managed to arrest four suspects whose leader has been identified as Kitanda Allan alias Lubuka.

Lubuka was arrested with his three accomplices who were found with sharp objects like Pangas commonly known as Bijambiya and the gang members were subsequently arraigned in courts of law on allegations of Aggravated robbery, burglary and theft. The group was terrorizing residents around Mukono Municipality.

Kampala metroplitan deputy policespokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said the operations continued and on 17th June 2022, “the team intercepted people carrying suspected stolen items. A search was conducted at the home of one of the suspects identified as Nauga Reagan and Kalyango John a notorious thug who had physical wounds from gunshots believed to have been sustained during a foiled robbery in Mukono and has since been on the run.”

Several Electronics including TV sets, sharp Pangas, knives, refrigerators, gas cookers, radio hoofers, mobile phones, machines used for altering phone serial numbers and a printer used in making counterfeit money were recovered.

The same group is believed to be connected to other suspects who have been terrorizing residents in Nagalama and Mukono.

They are currently detained at Flying Squad headquarters in Kampala as investigations continue.

“We urge members of the public to always be on alert and inform their area police of suspicious characters in their communities. The Police through Community Policing will continue to strengthen its ties with the members of the public to help fight crime. We shall also trace for the owners of the suspected stolen items recovered , however we also urge those that lost their property through the crimes mentioned above to report to Mukono Police station to help identify some of their Properties just in case they are among those recovered,” Owoyesigyire urged.

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