Parliament wants Minister of Finance, Matia Kasaija, and Ruth Nankabirwa, Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, to be held liable for interfering in operations of Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), when they ordered the halting of gold export tax collections, thus costing Gov’t Shs 340.56Bn in revenue.
In April this year, Parliament started an inquiry into the circumstances, under which the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, waived taxes worth Shs 616 billion on gold exports.
The decision to start the investigation followed a motion by the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Mathias Mpuuga, to institute a select committee to inquire into the matter.
The Committee recommends that Kasaija and Nankabirwa be held liable for causing revenue loss to the government.
“It was irregular for the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development to interfere with the tax collection process. It was irresponsible for the Minister of Finance to write to the accounting officer, giving him instructions in anticipation of the amendment of the law. It was irregular for the Commissioner General URA (John Musinguzi) to act upon the letter of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development,” read in part COSASE report.
