By Dismas Nuwaine
URA has partnered with Pamoja Peace and Love Foundation Uganda – a movement seeking to address societal issues that undermine harmony and well-being to participate in the cleaning of Nakawa Market. This is scheduled to take place this Friday and Saturday.
The initiative is in line with URA’s Green Guard Campaign – geared towards creating awareness about environmental protection and the mitigation of risk factors to environmental conservation.
This development was unveiled by the Commissioner Corporate Services Richard Kariisa at the URA headquarters in Nakawa yesterday. He appreciated the Pamoja team for their desire to partner with the revenue body and welcomed the idea of contributing to the greater good of society.
“As URA, we are proud to work with you, but more importantly, to work for the community that we serve on a daily, so we say thank you for thinking about us as your worthy partners in contributing to this social good,” said Kariisa.
Besides pledging to have boots of staff on the ground, and being party to the cleaning, URA handed over 50 reflector jackets, 150 facemasks, a manned public address system, and Shs 1 million in cash to the Pamoja team to aid in the two-day maneuver.
Kariisa also made it very clear that this gesture shows that URA as a body is not just interested in taking from society, but it also endorses initiatives that give back to the tax-paying community.
“As a tax body, we are always looked at as people who say give me every time, but we want to take this opportunity to give back to the community that gives us the revenue that we collect on behalf of government,” said Kariisa.
Speaking about the partnership, the CEO, Pamoja Bosco Owoyesigyire appreciated the revenue body for contributing to the cause and said that the team decided to partner with URA because it has a great impact on the community and beyond.
“URA was the first corporate institution we thought about and so we tendered in our proposal which was accepted. We shall send in our yearly program and see how we can take this further,”said Bosco.
The Corporate guru also promised to dispatch a team of tax educators in the area to engage with traders, customers and service providers.
“Each one of us has interacted with the market in one way or another. It is a very big platform and we shall engage with all the stakeholders teaching them about their rights and responsibilities when it comes to tax,” said Kariisa.
