The Minister of Local Government, Balaam Barugahara, has ordered an investigation into road tolls erected in Isingiro District to collect revenue from matooke traders.
Barugahara also directed the State House Anti-Corruption Unit to conduct a special audit into the collections, including how much money is collected and the amounts remitted to sub-counties and town councils. The directive followed a complaint by King James Nikizamagara, a matooke trader, who accused district authorities of imposing high taxes on traders dealing in the crop.
Nikizamagara said the district had continued operating road tolls despite a presidential directive stopping local governments from establishing such collection points. The minister said he had found individuals operating one of the road tolls with receipts showing collections amounting to three million shillings and demanded accountability from the district authorities.
Barugahara tasked the Isingiro District Chairperson, Alone Turahi, to explain how much money was being collected and how it was being remitted to the lower local governments. In response, Turahi said the current tenderer collects 97.5 million Shillings per month, which is then distributed to sub-counties and town councils.
However, Julius Ndyamuba, the Kagarama Sub-County Chairperson, challenged the figures, saying the Chief Administrative Officer, Alice Rushure, had previously informed them that monthly collections stood at only 32 million shillings.
The minister later read out figures showing the amounts reportedly remitted to different sub-counties in the previous month. Kikagate Sub-County received 4.6 million Shillings, Kakamba 3.3 million, Kashumba 5.1 million, Rugaga 4.7 million, Endizi 3.8 million, Birere 6.9 million, and Mbaare 7.4 million shillings.
The figures were disputed by area sub-county chairpersons, who said they had received less than the amounts presented by the minister.
Akim Mugisha, the Ruyanga Sub-County LCIII Chairperson and chairperson of all sub-county and town council leaders in the district, said they had earlier agreed to have a central collection point because it would be costly for each local government to collect revenue independently. However, he questioned why the district had failed to remit the money to the respective sub-counties.
Ndyamuba, who represented chairpersons from Isingiro North County, said sub-counties had previously organised themselves into three clusters, with eight sub-counties in each cluster, to reduce the cost of collecting matooke revenue.
He said each sub-county or town council used to receive one million Shillings from the collections, but after the district took over the process, the amount dropped to about 740,000 shillings. He added that local governments largely depend on matooke revenue to support their operations.
Ronald Aryeijuka, the Kikagate Town Council Mayor, John Bosco Katera, the Kakamba Sub-County Chairperson, and Shillah Tugume, the former Masha Sub-County Chairperson, said their respective local governments had not received matooke revenue for the three months they had been in office despite the continued movement of large volumes of the produce.
The minister directed Turahi to provide proof of payments made to each sub-county over the last three years. He further guided that, going forward, revenue should be collected by the district into a central pool before being distributed to sub-counties and town councils.
Barugahara had earlier proposed that each sub-county should collect its own revenue, but the district chairperson rejected the idea, arguing that it could increase cases of corruption.
The minister has since directed that all activities involving the collection of money from matooke traders using bicycles and motorcycles should stop immediately. He said the suspension will remain in place until the State House Anti-Corruption Unit completes a special audit to establish how much money has been collected, who collected it, and where the funds were deposited-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
