Finance Minister Henry Musasizi has urged newly recruited Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) staff to uphold integrity, professionalism and fairness as the government seeks to increase domestic revenue collection and raise the tax-to-GDP ratio to 20 per cent.
Minister Musasizi made the call on Monday during the pass-out ceremony of 174 newly recruited URA staff who completed a one-month leadership training at the Oliver Reginald Tambo School of Leadership.
He told the graduates that their responsibility goes beyond collecting taxes, saying every interaction with taxpayers should help restore confidence in URA and government.
“Every interaction with a taxpayer is an opportunity to build trust in URA and in government,” Minister Musasizi said.
He urged the officers to use responsibly the information, resources and authority entrusted to them, saying revenue administration should be anchored in fairness, professionalism and integrity.
“Your role goes beyond collecting revenue. You have a responsibility to help build a culture in which Ugandans understand that paying taxes is part of building the country we all want,” he said.
Minister Musasizi also encouraged the new staff to embrace technology and continuous learning, reminding them that their primary responsibility was to serve Ugandans.
“As you receive your certificates today, remember that this is not the destination, but the beginning of a greater responsibility,” he said.
The minister said Uganda’s economy had grown to Shs250.4 trillion, but the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio remained at about 14 per cent.
He said government wants to raise the ratio to at least 20 per cent to increase domestic financing of development and reduce dependence on borrowing.
“Uganda’s economy has grown to Shs250.4 trillion, but our tax-to-GDP ratio remains at about 14 per cent. We must strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation and raise this to at least 20 per cent to finance our development without excessive dependence on borrowing,” Minister Musasizi said.
Representing the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Joint Staff Political Commissar, Maj Gen Henry Matsiko, said effective revenue mobilisation and protection was important to the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).
“Successful revenue mobilisation and protection is a force multiplier for UPDF, because this way we are guaranteed of adequate budget support to enhance force capacity,” Maj Gen Matsiko said.
He said the UPDF would support efforts to mobilise domestic revenue, adding that the success of URA also benefits the military.
“Once URA thrives and succeeds, we equally benefit and also domestic efforts of mobilising internal sources must be supported by everyone, including UPDF,” he said.
Maj Gen Matsiko urged the new officers to protect government revenue and perform their duties with discipline and ethical conduct.
“No more sleep, no more corruption, no more laziness and no more politeness on the side of supervisors. It is not going to be business as usual,” he said.
He added that protecting government revenue was critical to safeguarding the country’s sovereignty.
URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi Rujoki said the authority had recruited 2,092 staff over the past three years.
He said 1,887 of them had undergone mindset-change training, including 708 at the Oliver Reginald Tambo School of Leadership, 817 at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi and 362 at the Education and Skills Organisation (ESO) Garuga.
“We strongly believe this is one of the best trainings that anyone before they work with us must have to understand the needs of our country,” Musinguzi said.
He assured the government of URA’s commitment to achieving the 20 per cent revenue-to-GDP target.
The Acting Commissioner of the Tax Academy, Emmanuel Bichetero, said the ideological course was not a formality but was intended to ground the recruits in public service values before they begin technical tax training.
“When you return, we expect renewed purpose and responsibility. You are no longer just new staff in URA. You are now members of the URA workforce,” Bichetero said.
