After Appointing Tax Convict to Fight URA Corruption, Museveni Announces New Anti-Corruption Unit Targeting Accounting Officers

President Yoweri Museveni has announced the creation of the Accountancy and Audit Unit, another anti-corruption unit under State House, days after he formed the Revenue Intelligence and Strategic Operations Unit to fight corruption at Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), and appointed David Kalemera, a tax convict, to head it.

David Kalemera and his team at the State House Revenue Intelligence and Strategic Operations Unit will be expected “to do an oversight on Uganda Revenue Authority operations and fight corruption within the tax administration system,” plugging gaps through which revenue has been leaking through corrupt deals, and increasing collections from taxes.

But in 2022, the Anti-Corruption Court convicted David Kalemera of falsification of customs documents. Also found guilty of the same charges were Ian Paul Ssemanda and Ronald Kazibwe. Prosecution successfully convinced court that the trio had used falsified commercial invoices and packing lists to skip some goods that were supposed to be taxed.

As he tried to defend himself in court, David Kalemera had blamed his troubles on top URA bosses. Influential URA officials at the time included Dicksons Kateshumbwa, then commissioner for customs (and now Sheema Municipality MP). He said that his attempts to ensure that Sun Belt Textiles pay Shs13.5bn in taxes had not gone well with some commissioners. In the end he faced charges of aiding the dumping of textiles on the Ugandan market.

In 2017, before the conviction, which earned him the label of tax convict, Kalemera’s contract with URA was terminated. In President Museveni’s way of fighting corruption, David Kalemera is the man to clean up the tax body from which he was dismissed seven years ago.

Now, Museveni has revealed that accounting officers have betrayed their country and that it was now time for another unit to be created to ensure that they oversee their operations as well as those of auditors.

“Going back to the Government money, now that the accounting officers have let themselves down, we are coming in indirectly,” said Museveni as he opened the Public Service Leaders’ Introspection Retreat for Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and Members of the NRM top leadership at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) Kyankwanzi, on July 08.

“Apart from the State House Anti- Corruption Unit, I am also setting up both a tax investigation Unit and an accountancy and audit unit. They will be able to investigate all tax evasions, under-declarations, money diverted by Parliament and stolen.”

Museveni’s list of units under his own State House include: David Kalemera’s Revenue Intelligence and Strategic Operations Unit, Edith Nakalema’s State House Investor Protection Unit, and Dr Warren Namanya’s State House Health Monitoring Unit. These units’ roles are a duplication of other institutions like the Inspectorate of Government, the Auditor General, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, and the Criminal Investigation Directorate of Uganda Police Force.

At the retreat, Museveni vowed to punish officials selling government jobs for Shs10m each. (Read Story Here and His Full Speech There).

(For comments on this report, story tips or sponsored content, send us a Whatsapp message on +256 705 690 819 or E-mail us on pearltimesug@gmail.com).