Kampala Capital City Authority Executive Director, Jennifer Musisi has written a resignation letter to president Yoweri Museveni.

In the letter, Musisi states that She wishes to resign from her duties as the executive director effective on December 15, 2018.

CLICK TO READ FULL LETTER 

OLD TAXI MALL , KCCA boasts of beatifying and putting to order Kampala city: COURTESY PHOTO

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The city authority contracted a foreign company TUCKSEE to provide the e-city system for 2.7m dollars.The system is employed to electronically account and manage city revenues.

The Committee on Commissions Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has however criticised the fact that KCCA failed to collect withholding tax from the vendor of the system.

The auditor general in his report ending 2014 noted that KCCA was according to the contract compelled to pay withholding tax of 6% amounting to 130,000 dollars on behalf of the contractor contrary to the law.

MP Anita Among

When KCCA tried to amend the contract the contractor lodged a complaint in the court of arbitration and on the 8th of June this year was awarded 211,000 dollars’ worth of withholding tax certificates and late payment costs of 23,000 dollars.

MPs on the committee reprimanded city officials led by the KCCA Executive Director, Jennifer Musisi, for negligently flouting local tax laws leading to loss of funds.

The Deputy Director, Sam Serunkuma, attributed the computation on a special bilateral agreement signed between Uganda and South Africa and the World Bank guidelines on procurement.

However the MPs led by the Deputy Chairperson, Anita Among, refused to acknowledge this response noting that national laws take precedence over trade rules and guidelines.

Musisi tried to argue that there was no loss of funds but was shot down by  Among and Kasilo County MP, Elijah Okupa, who insisted that any breach of the law leads to loss of money.

Among has called for a cost benefit analysis of the entire project.

Jennifer Musisi the Executive Director, KCCA

Musisi justified the expenditure of 2.7m dollars on the acquisition of the systems source code that enabled the authority to upgrade the system at will.

The MPs have asked for a list of all Court cases that KCCA is embroiled in, additionally the MP for Lubaga North Moses Kasibante led a call for KCCA to submit the professional CVs of the heads of its procurement, finance and legal so that the committee can analyze their competencies.

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Jennifer Musisi the Executive Director, KCCA

Kampala Capital City Authority  and the Solicitor General’s office are at loggerheads over the payment of property tax by educational institutions endowed by government.

An interpretation by the Solicitor General in September last year of the local governments rating act 2005 established that institutions that receive endowments from the government are exempted from paying tax..

This is an opinion that officials from KCCA have sharply criticized arguing that grants from the government are not endowments, the Executive Director, Jennifer Musisi asserts that these institutions make money from tuition and use city services making them liable to pay tax for these services.

The matter came to light when the officials appeared before the Committee of Statutory Authority and State Enterprises (COSASE) to respond to queries in auditor general’s report for the year 2013/14.

The report notes that city revenue amounting to 63.2 billion shs remained uncollected, this figure rose to 77bn shs the next year.

The city authority officials highlighted the challenges they face in collecting revenue and interventions they are putting in place to increase revenue collections.

Musisi expressed her disapproval of the solicitor general’s opinion.

Musisi also requested for an amendment to the law with regard to exempting properties in the city that are occupied by their owners. She argued that the law should be reviewed such that the rates are scaled in a progressive manner.

KCCA has always raised concerns about this law since owners of residential dodge payment of rates by claiming that they live in the houses and yet they rent them out.

She pointed an accusing finger at the affluent neighborhoods that she claims are not contributing any revenue to the city coffers.

MPs took exception to the fact that the government waived payment of property rate arrears in the FY 2015/2016 by government institutions and yet this money is appropriated.

The Committee Chairperson, Abdu Katuntu, was particularly displeased with this revelation.

He has requested for a list of defaulters of property rates to be presented tomorrow.

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Ms Sarah Birungi Banage, (R) the assistant commissioner – public and corporate affairs of URA.

In a press statement released on Thursday, Sarah Birungi Banage, the Assistant Commissioner Public and Corporate Affairs with URA dismissed as false recent media reports suggesting that the beneficiary officials had earlier ‘hatched a plan’ to share the oil bonanza saying the transaction was both legal and had duly been approved through the Attorney General’s office.

The entire team came from URA, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

“It is standard international best practice for employees to receive bonus payments/or honoraria for exemplary performance in both the public and the private sector. Equally under the Ugandan Constitution; the President has a prerogative as a fountain of honor to reward exemplary performance and this has been exhibited in the fields of health, academia, sports among others,” Banage’s  statement reads in part.

The payments which have popularly been referred to as a “presidential handshake” have caused a lot of debate among Ugandans with some members of the civil society and a section of members of parliament calling for an investigation to the transaction saying it didn’t follow the due process of the law.

According to the Observer newspaper, a section of MPs have demanded that the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, urgently institute a probe into the payments since the involved officers are public servants who draw a monthly salary for their work with government.

Paul Amoru the Dokolo North MP

Dokolo North MP, Paul Amoru, is quoted to have described the payments as “irregular, uncalled for and disturbing” and called for an immediate investigation into the matter.

“For us, as concerned MPs, from the information we have, URA should answer to the Parliamentary committee whose work directly deals with that to help us answer certain questions.It is unprecedented and dangerous,” Amoru said.

He was among MPs who called for a press conference on Wednesday in which a sizeable number of them said they want to clearly understand the source of this money and the person who authorised its payment.

Reports indicate that at least 42 officials benefitted from the bonus for their role in the capital gains tax dispute, in which the Ugandan government was awarded a combined total of USD700m.

However, Banage says there has been a lot of misconstrued information published in some dailies and online publications to the fact that payments were illegal, no approvals were obtained and that government officials ‘hatched a plan’ to share the oil bonanza.

“There is a lot of inaccuracy in the amount of money and the names of beneficiaries some of whom a former and current employees of URA. For example the following people both current and former staff of URA are erroneously included in the circulating lists namely;- Kyomuhendo Irene, Nabwire Agnes W, Nyakwera Jennipher, Nanziri Justine Stella, Wabokha Robert, Sebyala Samuel, Semombwe Charles, Patrick Mukiibi, Kateshumbwa Dicksons, Saka M Henry, and Otonga Michael Ochan,” Banage wrote.

Banage explained that contrary to the public view about the payments, all the legal processes were done before approvals were made as required by the Financial Management Act and that a Commissioner General was appointed to disburse the respective payments.

She added that the payment was a fraction of less than 1% of the total money won in the case.

Media reports have named the civil servants, who benefited, including, Ms Doris Akol, Head of URA (the initiator of the suit), her predecessor Allen Kagina who now runs the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), the former Attorney General, the former Secretary to the Treasury, and the head of Kampala Capital City Authority, Jennifer Musisi, who headed the tax body’s legal department at the time.

In 2010, Heritage Oil sold its interest in Uganda to Tullow Oil at over $1.5bn, and the Ugandan government decided to impose a capital gains tax on the sale. But the oil firms refused to pay and the drawn-out dispute went on to the UK court of arbitration, where it was concluded in 2015.

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The market was purchased from one Umar Ssekamate as a way of increasing the authority’s revenue and relocate vendors who roaming the streets to a more centralized place.

Jennifer Musisi meeting some of the vendors at the market.

However, Members of Parliament sitting in the committee chaired by Col. Fred Mwesige while discussing the matter noted that KCCA had not put the money in good use. They said most building in the market are dilapidated with most vendors failing to operate their business there sighting a high cost of operations in doing business there.

Suzan Amero,the committee’s  vice chairperson and also woman MP Amuria district, said they considering summoning City Director of Planning, the Lord Mayor,Erias Lukwago, former minsters for Kampala, Frank Tumwebaze and the KCCA’s Executive Director, Jennifer Musisi to come and explain to members were the market is not operational to the expected standards.

The MPS are also concerned on why the city authority enforcement officers continue to harass and confiscate properties of vendors on the streets.

Simeo Nsubuga, the Kasanda South MP in Mubende district questioned why there are uncoordinated finance reports from KCCA saying the authority has indicated dishonesty in the procuring process of this market.

Rubaga North MP Moses Kasibante also wondered why KCCA would invest
this huge amount of money to purchase such a market yet there are other markets located at the outskirts of Kampala which require less resources for development.

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Key speakers in this convention will be KCCA executive director, Jennifer Musisi, Uganda’s Vice President Edward Sekandi and president Museveni’s wife, ms Janet Museveni.

But Ugandans in the diaspora ask that if president government cannot allow the opposition inUgandato have rallies or peaceful assemblies why should they expect to have it easily inLondon?

Ugandans argue that Museveni and his government officials are wasting tax payers money in staging such events yet Ugandans are dying in hospitals which are ill equipped with no medicines or doctors.

Jennifer Musisi alone earns over 40 million shillings per month which is more than the UK Prime Minister, David Cameroon earns.

Ends

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