In Uganda, Southern and Eastern Africa Trade, Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI UGANDA) is addressing local government revenue mobilization since past December.
“In a bid to bring social services closer to the people, SEATINI explains, Uganda adopted the local government decentralisation policy in 1992 and since then, various services have been shifted to the local governments (districts) and lower local governments (sub counties and town councils). These include feeder road management, Primary Health Care, Primary education and agriculture extension. However, decentralisation has not been commensurate with the fiscal autonomy: (…) Although the Local Government Act empowers local governments to formulate, approve and execute their budgets and plans and to collect revenue and spend it, most of them are still unable to finance their budgets from locally generated revenues. With insufficient revenue, Local Governments are unable to fulfil their mandate of service delivery and as result hinder the decentralisation process. Therefore, the improvement in the process of local revenue mobilisation is key to functioning of the decentralization process and for the provision of social services such as health, education, water, roads and security. If the issues within the policy and legal frameworks, as well as the practice issues are addressed, we could register a tremendous increase in local revenue mobilisation and improved service delivery in Uganda”.
Last December, SEATINI published a policy paper on this topic, “Addressing Policy and Practice Challenges of Local Government Revenue Mobilisation in Uganda”, as well as a training manual for local government leaders to enhance local government revenue mobilization: SEATINI -Uganda and Kitgum Women Peace Initiative (with support from USAID and UKAID) are enhancing the capacity of targeted leaders to identify and collect equitable and sustainable local revenue.
The objective of the best practice manual is to “enhance the capacity of local government leaders (technical and political) to mobilise local revenues in equitable and sustainable manner at all levels. “Specifically, SEATINI states, the manual will enhance your understanding of:
- The context and essence of decentralization and local revenue mobilisation
- The legal framework for local revenue mobilisation and revenue sharing
- Local Revenue Mobilization and Management in Local Governments
- Effective mobilisation of citizens on local revenue generation”
The training is structured in 3 modules, and sessions covering a range of topics and it is planned to last for 4 days. For each session, the objectives of the session are stated and the descriptions of the content and activities involved are also provided. In particular, the sessions will cover the following topics:
- Decentralisation, Taxation and Development
- Local Revenue Mobilization and Management
- Local Revenue, Purpose, and Sources
- Legal Framework for LR Mobilisation and Revenue Sharing Framework
- Local Revenue Management Process
- Key Stakeholders in LRM
- Challenges and Remedies to Local Revenue Generation
- Accountability and Transparency
- Community Mobilisation and Sensitization
SEATINI-Uganda also published a policy brief compiled on key tax policy and practice issues with Action Aid, titled “Uganda’s Tax Regime; Missed Opportunities and Critical Challenges”.
Resources will be required by the government “to achieve its aspirations – Uganda Vision 2040 (“A transformed Uganda Society from a peasant to a modern and prosperous country within 30 years”) and National Development Plan (to attain a lower middle-income status by 2020) – “The government intends to make extra effort to increase domestic tax revenue as the main mode of financing development through the provision of essential public services, infrastructure and for reinvestment. There is no doubt that taxation plays an important role in fulfilling vision 2040 and the NDPII goals. Mobilizing domestic revenue enables government to create fiscal space and reduce dependency on foreign aid and loans”. The brief captures three major areas:
- Uganda’s Current Tax Regime
- Trends in Uganda’s Tax Revenue Collections and Implications, addressing Fiscal years 2014 to 2017
- Policy and practice Recommendations for the Government as well as Civil Society Organisations
SEATINI also hosts & coordinates the Tax Justice Alliance-Uganda, which held a press conference on 18th February highlighting key areas on Tax Policy that the Government of Uganda needs to consider during the budget process for Fiscal Year 2018/19. See the press statement here.
To produce this CSO position, still an ongoing process, and compose the press conference, Tax Justice Alliance-Uganda has carried out a number of activities among which strategizing meeting and workshops to develop the position, a strategic meeting with the Ministry of Finance – Tax Policy Department to present the CSO position, and policy dialogue. “These engagements, the Alliance says, enable us to prepare ahead of time before the Tax Bills for financial 2018/19 are presented to Parliament”.
In Uganda, Southern and Eastern Africa Trade, Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI UGANDA) is addressing local government revenue mobilization since past December.
“In a bid to bring social services closer to the people, SEATINI explains, Uganda adopted the local government decentralisation policy in 1992 and since then, various services have been shifted to the local governments (districts) and lower local governments (sub counties and town councils). These include feeder road management, Primary Health Care, Primary education and agriculture extension. However, decentralisation has not been commensurate with the fiscal autonomy: (…) Although the Local Government Act empowers local governments to formulate, approve and execute their budgets and plans and to collect revenue and spend it, most of them are still unable to finance their budgets from locally generated revenues. With insufficient revenue, Local Governments are unable to fulfil their mandate of service delivery and as result hinder the decentralisation process. Therefore, the improvement in the process of local revenue mobilisation is key to functioning of the decentralization process and for the provision of social services such as health, education, water, roads and security. If the issues within the policy and legal frameworks, as well as the practice issues are addressed, we could register a tremendous increase in local revenue mobilisation and improved service delivery in Uganda”.
Last December, SEATINI published a policy paper on this topic, “Addressing Policy and Practice Challenges of Local Government Revenue Mobilisation in Uganda”, as well as a training manual for local government leaders to enhance local government revenue mobilization: SEATINI -Uganda and Kitgum Women Peace Initiative (with support from USAID and UKAID) are enhancing the capacity of targeted leaders to identify and collect equitable and sustainable local revenue.
The objective of the best practice manual is to “enhance the capacity of local government leaders (technical and political) to mobilise local revenues in equitable and sustainable manner at all levels. “Specifically, SEATINI states, the manual will enhance your understanding of:
- The context and essence of decentralization and local revenue mobilisation
- The legal framework for local revenue mobilisation and revenue sharing
- Local Revenue Mobilization and Management in Local Governments
- Effective mobilisation of citizens on local revenue generation”
The training is structured in 3 modules, and sessions covering a range of topics and it is planned to last for 4 days. For each session, the objectives of the session are stated and the descriptions of the content and activities involved are also provided. In particular, the sessions will cover the following topics:
- Decentralisation, Taxation and Development
- Local Revenue Mobilization and Management
- Local Revenue, Purpose, and Sources
- Legal Framework for LR Mobilisation and Revenue Sharing Framework
- Local Revenue Management Process
- Key Stakeholders in LRM
- Challenges and Remedies to Local Revenue Generation
- Accountability and Transparency
- Community Mobilisation and Sensitization
SEATINI-Uganda also published a policy brief compiled on key tax policy and practice issues with Action Aid, titled “Uganda’s Tax Regime; Missed Opportunities and Critical Challenges”.
Resources will be required by the government “to achieve its aspirations – Uganda Vision 2040 (“A transformed Uganda Society from a peasant to a modern and prosperous country within 30 years”) and National Development Plan (to attain a lower middle-income status by 2020) – “The government intends to make extra effort to increase domestic tax revenue as the main mode of financing development through the provision of essential public services, infrastructure and for reinvestment. There is no doubt that taxation plays an important role in fulfilling vision 2040 and the NDPII goals. Mobilizing domestic revenue enables government to create fiscal space and reduce dependency on foreign aid and loans”. The brief captures three major areas:
- Uganda’s Current Tax Regime
- Trends in Uganda’s Tax Revenue Collections and Implications, addressing Fiscal years 2014 to 2017
- Policy and practice Recommendations for the Government as well as Civil Society Organisations
SEATINI also hosts & coordinates the Tax Justice Alliance-Uganda, which held a press conference on 18th February highlighting key areas on Tax Policy that the Government of Uganda needs to consider during the budget process for Fiscal Year 2018/19.
To produce this CSO position, still an ongoing process, and compose the press conference, Tax Justice Alliance-Uganda has carried out a number of activities among which strategizing meeting and workshops to develop the position, a strategic meeting with the Ministry of Finance – Tax Policy Department to present the CSO position, and policy dialogue. “These engagements, the Alliance says, enable us to prepare ahead of time before the Tax Bills for financial 2018/19 are presented to Parliament”.