Mbarara Councilors move to censor secretary for finance over revenue shortfalls

Mar 16, 2019

It should however, be noted that at the end of this month, council will be presenting budget estimates for financial year 2019/20 for approval, meaning only three months are remaining to end this financial year.

Mbarara district councilors have moved a motion to censor the secretary for finance, planning and administration, and the physical planner claiming that they have failed to ensure revenue enhancement, causing enormous shortfalls.

In a heated council meeting that was held on Thursday at Kamukuzi hall, councilors observed that in the financial year 2018/19, they had estimated to collect shs1.5b but so far, they are at 21% and have collected shs315m according to the finance report presented by Robert Arinanye, the Chairperson of the finance, planning and administration.

It should however, be noted that at the end of this month, council will be presenting budget estimates for financial year 2019/20 for approval, meaning only three months are remaining to end this financial year.

Deo Rukundo, one of the councilors noted that the council has been lamenting over poor implementation of some of the resolutions passed in council meetings, among which is revenue enhancement.

"We have been crying for many years and this time we no longer want the same to happen, if people don't want to do their work, the local government Act is clear, we are going to write petitions and censor some of these officers. By the way, there is a pending petition to censor the secretary for finance Bazil Bataringaya, if things cannot change, we shall table it here and censor him," Rukundo said.

Asaph Muhangi, a councilor representing Ndeija Sub County said he will be among the seconders of the motion to censor Bazil Bataringaya over incompetence.

Muhangi added that the whole district has no physical planning register to ascertain how many plans are approved and how much money is collected.

"Each plan approved is paid for because we have rates but there is no register to confirm that in the physical planning office, we have demanded for that but it has not been implemented. This means that our physical planner, Lucky Julius collects money but it's not reflected on our accounts, we demand an explanation from him and the secretary finance," Muhangi stated.

Muhangi further revealed that the physical planning department and other structures concentrate on spending, signing vouchers but they don't reason out on how to increase revenue.

"Our collecting centers are not doing their work, the revenue enhancement committees are all defunct, the executive committee has not come up with a method on how we can collect revenue, we are in a disaster, and there are holes in all our collecting avenues including tenders.

Councilors moved that functional market structures should be put in place and that the office of the physical planner be brought nearer to that of CAO for close monitoring.  

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