By Kamugisha Kabahweza Allan and Kabakama Irene
Following continued smuggling in West Nile, the URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi together with West Nile Leaders have agreed to have mass sensitizations to end the vice and also train enforcement officers. Musinguzi made this commitment in a stakeholder meeting held on Monday at Desert Breeze Hotel in Arua.
The engagement that constituted the State Minister for General Duties – Henry Musasizi together with other district leaders in West Nile condemned the shootings and violence against the URA enforcement officers.
The 4th Division Commander, Brig. Gen. Michael Kabango who presented the resolutions agreed upon in the previous meetings after the January incident echoed the condemnation.
“There was a total condemnation of the killings whether deliberate or accidental by security officers, the violent response by the community to enforcement and the act of smuggling and tax evasion,” said Gen. Kabango.
In the meeting, the leaders agreed that taxes must be collected for the country to deliver services amicably.
“Taxes must be collected to enable government deliver the much-needed services to Ugandans and I do not have a problem with tax collection but with the way the enforcement is carried out,”added the Koboko District Woman Member of Parliament – Hon. Taban Sharifah.
Arua Central Member of Parliament Hon. Atima Jackson Lee Buti echoed this stance noting that he was optimistic about the outcomes of this engagement in driving the region towards peaceful trade.
Musinguzi applauded the leaders for the resolutions and pledged that no more lives should be lost in revenue mobilization. He highlighted different strategies URA is putting in place to avoid the repetition of the unfortunate incidents.
These strategies include intensifying mass sensitization on taxation and its benefits, intelligence-led operations, deepening understanding of what triggers violence and intensifying training for staff attached to enforcement.
Minister Musasizi applauded the West Nile leaders for the resolutions and urged them to cooperate with URA in the execution of the sensitization campaigns and revenue mobilization initiatives to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio of Uganda from 14% to 16 %.
