By Frank Kamuntu
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has come under intense scrutiny from the lawmakers on the Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE) for its failure to utilise Shs60 billion as planned.
The demand for answers arose during the ongoing probe into the irregularities highlighted in the Auditor General’s Report for 2021/2022.
During the committee sitting on Thursday, 13 July 2023, the committee members pressed URA officers for specific explanations regarding the unutilised funds, which had been allocated in the budget.
During the inquiry, the Kasese Municipality MP, Hon. Ferigo Kambale, tasked the Commissioner General of URA, John Musinguzi, on the circumstances surrounding URA’s failure to utilise the funds, despite having a procurement plan in place prior to the budget approval.
“If the procurement plan was approved, which should have been used for these procurements, how is it possible that over Shs65 billion was left unutilised?” he questioned.
In response, Musinguzi attributed the matter to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had disrupted their procurement plans. He explained that the majority of the items on the procurement list were intended for the IT department, but due to pandemic-related delays and supply chain disruptions, the necessary materials, particularly micro-chips, could not be acquired.
Musinguzi further emphasised the challenges faced in purchasing vehicles due to the pandemic’s impact.
“We faced delays related to COVID-19 and supply chain disruptions, especially concerning micro-chips. Buying vehicles in large quantities has also been hindered due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic. Additionally, there were internal challenges, particularly in our IT systems,” Musinguzi stated.
The committee tasked URA officials to return with a list of tax exempted companies at the next meeting.
A day earlier on Wednesday, 12 July 2023, Musinguzi and his team were kicked out of a meeting with the committee for allegedly being ill prepared in their responses over different pieces of land the tax body had procured.
In another meeting on Friday, 14th July, members of COSASE raised concerns of corruption, irregular recruitments, promotions and cases of nepotism within the authority.
The committee had previously requested URA under the leadership of Commissioner General John Musinguzi to provide a comprehensive list of the over 3,000 staff members employed by the authority.
The chairperson of the committee, Hon. Joel Ssenyonyi, said that out of the eight highest ranking officials, six were found to hail from the same single region, which directly contradicts the principles of equal opportunity.
He stated that it was unjustifiable to have a concentration of personnel from one particular region or sub-region.
“It’s a concern that members are raising; we must make sure we keep the country together. Things like these become problematic and this one is not even a partisan issue, it is not a representation of Uganda,” he said.
Musinguzi, in response to the committee’s concerns, urged the members to delve deeper into the issues at hand.
“Let us interrogate these issues deeply and we will understand either the historical perspective or the importance of how we end up here. Just going by the names and where they come from does not paint a national character, but there are reasons to this, they can be explained,” he added.
The meeting also shed light on additional grievances raised by other committee members.
Nwoya District Woman Representative, Hon. Judith Achan, highlighted the frustrations faced by several employees at URA due to favoritism, nepotism and an unfair structure of promotions and recruitment.
Kyadondo County East MP, Hon. Muwada Nkunyinji, observed that there seemed to be a lack of representation of Muslims in the top management of URA.
Hon. Mpindi Bumali, the representative for Persons with Disabilities (PWD), criticised URA for failing to ensure equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
Mawokota County South MP, Hon. Yusuf Nsibambi, proposed that COSASE summons the URA board and the minister in charge to resolve the issues surrounding recruitments and promotions at the authority.
