The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), under the leadership of Commissioner General (CG) John Rujoki Musinguzi, plans to implement body-worn cameras in an effort to combat corruption, which has hampered effective tax collection.
According to an advertisement in the 22nd June 2023 issue of the New Vision, page 31, URA invites sealed proposals from qualified bidders for the supply of body-worn cameras under a framework contract.
“Uganda Revenue Authority invites sealed eligible bids from bidders for supply of body-worn cameras, date of closing bid 21st July, 2023 at 10.00am 13th floor URA Tower, bidders are also advised to visit www.ura.go.ug, process a payment registration slip, and make a non-refundable fee of Shs 100,000/=,” reads part of the advertisement.
In the new financial year 2023-2024, URA has a target to raise revenues amounting to Shs 29.7 trillion to contribute to the national budget of Shs 52.7 trillion.
According to Moses Kaggwa, the director for economic affairs at the Ministry of Finance, body-worn cameras would make it easier to track officers, know what they do, and ensure that they do the correct thing because they will be observed at all times.
“In addition to wearing it on the uniform, the forward-facing camera can be worn on the helmet or sunglasses too,” said Kaggwa.
The small video camera the tax collectors will place on their chest or shoulder collar to monitor and record on-going transactions while in the field.
Corruption, according to President Museveni, corruption is a serious issue affecting the country’s effective revenue collection, costing Uganda billions of shillings.
