Leaders of Ayivu Division Council in Arua City have blamed the peristent low local revenue collection over the past years to inadequate public sensitisation on different taxes and the collection process.
According to records in the division’s finance department, the council has failed to meet its revenue collection targets in the past three financial years with collections falling below the set targets.
In the 2023/24 financial year, the division set a local revenue collection target of 1.084 billion shillings but collected only 530 million shillings.
Similarly, in 2024/25 financial year, the division collected 1.1 billion shillings against a budgeted target of 1.5 billion.
The same trend continued in last financial year as the division collected 1.076 billion against its target of 1.084 billion shillings.
Anipi Ward Councillor, Etoma Lamek, challenged the division’s technical team to prioritise public awareness and engagement to ensure community members understand their tax obligations and cooperate with authorities during revenue mobilisation.
During its budget conference to plan for 2027/28 financial year, division leaders and partners also attributed poor revenue mobilisation and collection to limited identified revenue sources.
Local Government Expert at VNG International, Bada Fred, encouraged the division leadership to engage the private sector and businesses operating within the division to ensure their participation in improving local revenue mobilisation.
Meanwhile, the division’s Senior Revenue Collection Officer, Naiga Jane, urged stakeholders in Ayivu Division to play their roles in helping the council to achieve its local revenue mobilisation targets.
She noted that transfers from the central government are not stable and it is necessary to boost local revenue collection.
Ayivu Division’s main revenue sources include property tax and regulated markets established in different parts of the division.
Town Clerk Mugomba Geoffrey acknowledged the challenges of local revenue collection, describing them as setbacks that have hindered the division from achieving its targets over the past years.
Mugomba said that despite the current poor performance, Ayivu Division expects to improve its local revenue mobilisation although the progress may take time as it anticipates establishment of industries and increased investment in the area.
The Ministry of Finance has projected Ayivu Division’s local revenue for the 2027/28 financial year at 1.5 billion shillings based on previous local revenue targets and collection records-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
