MBARARA – Tension at Mbarara District is not about to cease soon since councillors have moved a motion to censor the secretary for finance, planning and administration and the physical planner over failure to effect revenue enhancement causing enormous shortfalls.
In a heated council meeting that was held Thursday, March 14, at Kamukuzi Hall, the councillors observed that in the Financial Year 2018/19, they had estimated to collect UGX1.5b but they have collected only UGX315m according to the finance report presented by Mr. Robert Arinanye, the chairman of the finance, planning and administration committee.
At the end of this month, the council will be laying budget estimates for Financial Year 2019/20 for approval.
Mr. Deo Rukundo, one of the councillors moved that there are some full-time officers who have made the council to keep lamenting over poor implementation of some of the resolutions passed.
“We have been crying for the last many years and this time we no longer want the same to happen. We are going to write petitions and censor some of these officers who are making us lament every day.”
Mr. Asaph Muhangi, a councillor representing Ndeija Sub County said he will be among the seconders of the motion to censor Mr. Bazil Bataringaya, the secretary for finance committee over incompetence.
Mr. Muhangi added that the whole district has no physical planning register to ascertain how many plans are approved and how much money is collected.
He further revealed that the physical planning department and other structures concentrate on spending, signing vouchers but they don’t devise ways of increasing revenue.
“Our collecting centres are not doing their work. The revenue enhancement committees are all defunct, the executive committee has not come up with a method on how we can collect revenue. We are in a disaster…”
The councillors moved that functional market structures should be put in place and that the office of the physical planner should be brought nearer to that of CAO for close monitoring.
Capt John Bosco Bamuturaki, the LCV chairman echoed the same saying that the morale for the local revenue enhancement committee is low.
“I am not happy with these members on the committee. We should adopt the modules we copied from Ibanda and Kamwenge were the responsible committees should make reports every month on how we are performing.”
Mr. Venance Munanukye, the deputy speaker who presided over the council, in his ruling asked councillors not to rush making censor motions saying they have no remedy to the problem.
“You can censor these members, get new ones and the problem remains…”
