Rukungiri District Council has called for investigations into revenue collection in Nyakishenyi Sub county and warned that officials who fail to perform their duties could face interdiction and blacklisting from the Local Government system.
The matter was raised during a council meeting at Rukungiri District Council Hall, following a directive by the Minister of Local Government, Hon. Balaam Barugahara, that government officials who fail to fulfill their responsibilities should be interdicted and blacklisted. District Speaker Hon. Ahabwe Albert Rwamugaata directed the Finance Committee to visit Nyakishenyi within two weeks to investigate the revenue collection concerns.
He said revenue is collected in the sub county but does not appear to be reaching the district, contributing to poor revenue performance. He called for the roles of parish chiefs, Sub County chief and senior assistant secretaries in Nyakishenyi to be examined.
CUE IN……. ALBERT ON ISSUE
Nyakishenyi District Councillor Brian Bantu said consultations had found that only one of the sub county’s active markets was remitting revenue. He named Iterero, Kirimbe and Omukagaana among the active markets. Bantu said Nyakishenyi was once first in performance but now among the poorest performers in revenue collection. He attributed the decline in Nyakishenyi partly to political tensions and noted that the sub county has many villages and developed trading centres.
CUE IN…………..BANTU REMARKS
District Youth Councillor Harmony Tumwesigye said he owns a shop in Masya, Nyakagyeme, but had never received a trading licence or seen a parish chief visit to collect taxes during the past 10 years. He questioned what this meant for the district’s future. Newly installed Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Edward Bwambare Katuramu pledged to address the concerns responding to the Speaker’s call for the district to implement the minister’s directive, including ensuring parish chiefs carry out their revenue-collection responsibilities.
CUE IN……………..HARMONY, BWAMBARE & ALBERT VOXPOP
Finance Committee Chairperson Mathias Kamusiime said the committee would be ready to report on its findings within two weeks. Councilor Ananius Turyashemererwa Jegere, who represents Nyarushanje, urged stakeholders responsible for revenue collection across the district’s sub counties to fulfill their duties, saying the district was losing significant revenue.
CUE IN………………KAMUSIIME AND ANANIUS VOXPOP //////////////////
