By Irene Kabakama
Abel Kagumire, the Ag. Commissioner General is willing to support companies in the Petroleum and Mining sector like the Wagagai Mining Limited to ensure their compliance.
Speaking at the Wagagai offices in Busia, where he made a courtesy call on Friday, Kagumire said that by focusing on encouraging tax compliance in this sector, the URA team will be working to demystify paying tax.
The company owns gold mining of 9.24 square kilometers and has an investment plan of $200M .Mr. Kagumire noted that the gold mine project is a huge infrastructure development for the country because of its advanced technology compared to those we have in Mubende and Buhweju. The mine also takes care of the environment, staff and uses the best equipment to get the minerals from the underground.
“As URA we congratulate you for the work you are doing. We are already facilitating the tax exemption and incentives available in the law and advising the Ministry of Finance on how to support these investments,” he said.
Kagumire added that in terms of revenue collection, Wagagai mining has already paid UGX15bn and promised to contribute more as PAYE from the 3,000 additional staff they hope to employ.
“We appreciate the President ’s Vision on import substitution which is a strategy for the government in NDP II for us to depend more on what is produced here than what is imported,” Kagumire said of Wagagai ’s progress.
Tan Jiuchang, the General Manager of the Wagagai mining, appreciated the URA support especially some tax exemptions granted.
Juichang explained that Wagagai has also signed a memorandum with Makerere and Busitema universities to increase on the research and training skills of their employees. The project is expected to start operating in October 2023 and will provide additional employment opportunities to at least 3000 Ugandans.
“We expect to generate additional revenue of UGX 38 billion and to be the best taxpaying entity in the country,” Juichang boasted.
He added that this will change Uganda’s Mining industry due to the advanced technology.
