Yasiin Mugerwa
Kampala
Taxpayers in Uganda have cause to worry about the safety of their contributions after Transparency International, a global anti-graft watchdog, said in a new report that the Uganda Revenue Authority is the most corrupt tax institution in East Africa.
In the first-ever regional comparative study, URA ranks as the 7th most corrupt, coming ahead of Kenyan and Tanzanian tax bodies at positions 25 and 38 respectively, among 99 institutions sampled.
URA is currently embroiled in an internal racket where thieving staff allegedly collude with car importers to falsify car registration, in the process pocketing millions in bribes offered in place of mandatory government dues. TIs latest revelation of apparent malignant graft at URA is likely to infuriate President Museveni who told a press conference early this month that a major overhaul is in the offing to restore sanity among tax collectors.
Mr Museveni said fighting graft in URA is like taking routine bath. If there is some dirt in the URA that has accumulated again, we shall take a shower. That is not a problem, he said. Ms Sarah Birungi, URAs publicist, said they could only comment after reading the full report.
However, further analysis of the report, made public on July 2, shows that Kenya is the most corrupt country in the region. The survey done through random sampling of some 3,500 households in each of the three original East African countries found that almost one out of every pair of Kenyans is easily tempted to take a bribe. Some 10 million of the estimated 31 million Ugandans, are corrupt. The findings contradict an earlier report released by TI last month, ranking Uganda among top four most corrupt countries in the world, where bribery is considered a currency for transacting official business.
Premised on seven indicators; likelihood of encountering bribery, the prevalence, severity, frequency and impact of bribery, the average size of the bribe and the contribution of bribery to an organisations income, the newest report shows Tanzania as the least corrupt in the region. In the country-specific category, Uganda Police Force come off as the most corrupt entity followed by URA, reflecting similar results of some other previous internal surveys.
Mr Raphael Baku, the acting Inspector General of Government, concurred with the TI investigators on the latest findings. I havent seen that report, but with Police in the first position and the increasing corruption in the country, I agree, such findings are consistent with our national integrity surveys, he said. The Ministries of Defence and that of Lands; the judiciary, Mulago Hospital and power distribution company Umeme are among other corrupt Uganda institutions.
Kampala
Taxpayers in Uganda have cause to worry about the safety of their contributions after Transparency International, a global anti-graft watchdog, said in a new report that the Uganda Revenue Authority is the most corrupt tax institution in East Africa.
In the first-ever regional comparative study, URA ranks as the 7th most corrupt, coming ahead of Kenyan and Tanzanian tax bodies at positions 25 and 38 respectively, among 99 institutions sampled.
URA is currently embroiled in an internal racket where thieving staff allegedly collude with car importers to falsify car registration, in the process pocketing millions in bribes offered in place of mandatory government dues. TIs latest revelation of apparent malignant graft at URA is likely to infuriate President Museveni who told a press conference early this month that a major overhaul is in the offing to restore sanity among tax collectors.
Mr Museveni said fighting graft in URA is like taking routine bath. If there is some dirt in the URA that has accumulated again, we shall take a shower. That is not a problem, he said. Ms Sarah Birungi, URAs publicist, said they could only comment after reading the full report.
However, further analysis of the report, made public on July 2, shows that Kenya is the most corrupt country in the region. The survey done through random sampling of some 3,500 households in each of the three original East African countries found that almost one out of every pair of Kenyans is easily tempted to take a bribe. Some 10 million of the estimated 31 million Ugandans, are corrupt. The findings contradict an earlier report released by TI last month, ranking Uganda among top four most corrupt countries in the world, where bribery is considered a currency for transacting official business.
Premised on seven indicators; likelihood of encountering bribery, the prevalence, severity, frequency and impact of bribery, the average size of the bribe and the contribution of bribery to an organisations income, the newest report shows Tanzania as the least corrupt in the region. In the country-specific category, Uganda Police Force come off as the most corrupt entity followed by URA, reflecting similar results of some other previous internal surveys.
Mr Raphael Baku, the acting Inspector General of Government, concurred with the TI investigators on the latest findings. I havent seen that report, but with Police in the first position and the increasing corruption in the country, I agree, such findings are consistent with our national integrity surveys, he said. The Ministries of Defence and that of Lands; the judiciary, Mulago Hospital and power distribution company Umeme are among other corrupt Uganda institutions.
