There is that dramatic story about how the wealth of former Uganda Revenue Authority commissioner, Dickson Kateshumbwa shocked Yoweri Museveni when he learned of it.
“How could he have all this money?” Museveni is reported to have acted surprised after reading a 20-page dossier on the commissioner — and others in the commission. He then fired Commissioner General Doris Akol and forced Kateshumbwa and others to resign.
Mr Kateshumbwa, who is now a member of parliament for Sheema Municipality, unceremoniously resigned in 2020 (or forced to resign, according to Museveni himself ) after 14 years with Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). The allegation is that this commissioner earned about Shs 400 million a week.
During the 2021 election, it is alleged that Kateshumbwa spent over a billion shillings that even villagers, The Independent reported, nicknamed him “Mr Moneybags.”
His campaign manager, Stephen Katwiromunda told journalists, “In a place like Sheema, you can’t win an election if you do not have a billion shillings.”
Yes, just after 14 years as a public servant, this man could spend a billion on elections. Kateshumbwa’s resignation followed the sacking of then URA commissioner Doris Akol, which came on allegations of immense corruption. Museveni would say two months later that he had “cleared the corrupt crowd at URA.”
Recall that following her sacking, Akol told journalists that most of the graft in this tax collection body, he had only inherited from Allen Kagina (often praised as a top-tier public servant). Anyways, Akol nowadays works for the International Monetary Fund (IMF). What should we say?
Kateshumbwa had worked in customs, tax investigations, and domestic taxes. Like all tax-related departments, these are some really juicy positions for plum kickbacks as many, many people would rather not pay any taxes to Museveni’s government. Because the government also simply steals this money.
If there is anything to learn from the corruption of the super big shots at URA, it is that everyone at this authority is corrupt. Yes, all are rich. African tradition has never been wrong: the fish starts to rot from the head (whichever head you want to look at). Yes, the Igbo were right when they said, when mother bird is eating, the young ones watch its mouth.
As big shots focus on big businesses, the small ones focus on small businesses. And while we hold individuals personally responsible, we need to also notice that taxes in our country are designed to attract corruption.
CRIPPLING TAXES
Our tax policies and tax regimes — often designed by the IMF and World Bank — are the most crippling across the world. Can you imagine our government even levies taxes on loans for startups!
Before one sees any profits, they start paying taxes. Consider that these taxes aren’t there in Europe, and European manufacturing/ production is extremely subsidized and protected from foreign competition. The IMF forces these colonial enclaves to tax natives so bad to make sure production fails and there is plenty of space for their own foreign businesses to thrive.
Consider, for example, it is possible to import a fully-formed hand hoe (tax free – agricultural equipment) but cannot import the different parts of the same equipment and assemble it in Uganda. Because the different parts are not seen as agricultural equipment — and is thus taxed.
It then follows that a foreigner can profitably sell agricultural equipment in Uganda — because they pay no tax — but a local manufacturer of agricultural equipment is simply kicked out of the market because they cannot compete.
There are many, many IMF-sponsored pro-foreign manufacturing taxes in Uganda. (There are many such taxes in the Kenya Finance Bill 2024, which was protested, and eventually dropped. Thus, the Kenyans focus on the IMF as their enemy, thanks to wonderful public commentary in Nairobi).
BRIBERY OF SURVIVAL
The point I am making is this: because of these many stupid taxes, whose stupidity, ironically, is known to both the URA tax collectors and their victims the taxpayers, both parties have entered a relationship to avoid paying these taxes. Normally, tax collectors sound like this to their taxpayers: “I understand this tax is bad, it is stupid, it will kill your business. But if you can personally give me half the legal fee or something agreeable to both of us, I can look the other way.”
Most businesspersons are forced to agree to such an offer because should the taxman follow the law to the end, you are out of business. Because the tax was designed to kick you out of business. This explains why at any one level, being employed with URA is a gateway to immense wealth – in a short period.
This is the culture at all border control points from the airport, land and water entry-points. If you are connected enough — and dealing in fairly big shipment — your dealings are with the biggest shots in the building. The likes of Kateshumbwa. Then all your goods enter without inspection, but then ensure to send a plump cut to the big man or woman.
There is plenty of folklore about police officers whose jurisdiction touches Lake Victoria especially docks where boats and ships with merchandise from Kenya and Tanzania arrive. These posts are as sensitive and lucrative to both police and revenue collection officers.
I tell these stories as part of the campaign to identify, name and shame thieves in the different units of government. But also, to spell out a larger argument.
The devil is in the details, the structure as well. The stories are not different in Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), National Medical Stores (UNMS) or the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). And many other authorities.