Business & Management
URA trains Makerere University students to nurture future voluntary compliant tax payers
Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has partnered with Makerere University to nurture future voluntary compliant tax payers in a four-day training targeting 600 final year students from the College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS).
Dr. Ismail Kintu, a lecturer from the Department of Accounting and Finance said the tax training is premised to the fact that many students go to the field without hands-on skills.
“The training is intended to impart practical skills among the students to enable them help their parents, employers and themselves when they become active tax payers in filing returns to URA,” he said.
The training started on Saturday, October 28 and is going to run for four weekends ending on Sunday, November 4 under the theme, “Fostering voluntary tax compliance among Ugandan youths”
Dr. Kintu called for more trainings like this and he believes if these sessions are conducted for young people, sensitizing the citizens to pay taxes will be easy.
He lauded the College Management and special applaud to the principal Prof Eria Hisali for always supporting initiatives of equipping students with skills and noted that the tax training is targeting students doing Business related courses because they study taxation as a course unit in their programs.
URA trains students to register and get Tax Identification Number (TIN), to read and navigate the URA portal and get any tax information they need, filing the returns especially the Value Added Tax (VAT) returns via the Electronic Fiscal Receipt and invoicing System (EFRIS) that are on the monthly basis.
The program started in 2019 with 700 students and this is the third cohort of the training and at the end of it, URA issues students with a certificate upon assessment and attaining a 70% pass rate.
Dr Kintu has encouraged students to always look out for new information especially about tax since all fields have to pay tax once they start earning income and asked this year’s participants to be ambassadors and take on the training to other students who missed the opportunity.
Andrew Kyakonye, the Tax Education Officer at URA who spearheaded the training said this year, URA is looking at how students can be exposed to the job market, taking them through URA processes like registration, and Business Formalization, delving into how they can register their businesses for taxes and taking them through the processes of registering their businesses and the one of their prospective clients when they go out to the field.
On the same note, the program is also looking at returns filing where tax payers are expected to declare how they have performed throughout the year.
“Our target is basically on students in their final year because they are the one who will be required to issue the e-receipts and filling tax returns of their clients.” He explained.
During the same session, the students will learn Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS), an online system that helps in record keeping and issuing of on-time receipts.
“With this new web-based forms, the tax payers will be able to use EFRIS full time and they will not need to file their tax returns because the system keeps on updating the information with just a clique of the button.” He added.
URA has trained over 1,000 students of Makerere University in the past two trainings in 2019 and 2022.
The Public Investment Management (PIM) Centre of Excellence has commenced a three-day refresher training for members of the Development Committee (DC) of the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. The training, which began today in Jinja, aims to enhance the analytical and technical skills of committee members who are tasked with reviewing government projects submitted by various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
The training was today February 19, 2025, officially opened by Dr. Hennery Ssebukeera, who represented the Director of the Budget Directorate. In his opening remarks, Dr. Ssebukeera emphasized the importance of the refresher course in enabling the Development Committee to effectively conduct quality reviews and fulfill its mandate as a key gatekeeper of the Public Investment Plan. He noted that the training would improve the participants’ ability to appraise and implement public investments in line with the Public Investment Management System (PIMS) framework.
Speaking at the same event, Prof. Ibrahim Mike Okumu, representing the Centre Director, Prof. Edward Bbaale, expressed the Centre’s gratitude for the opportunity to contribute to Uganda’s PIM cycle. He highlighted the importance of the training in harmonizing the relationship between the MDAs that draft project proposals and the analysts who review them. Prof. Okumu reiterated the Centre’s commitment to building the capacity of government officials in Public Investment Management, thereby supporting the country’s development aspirations.
The need for this training was identified during the Development Committee retreat held in 2024, which revealed limited capacity among DC members in project appraisal, specifically in reviewing prefeasibility and feasibility reports, Dr Ssebukeera noted. In response, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, in collaboration with the PIM Centre of Excellence, organized this refresher course to strengthen the participants’ technical and analytical skills.
DC is a statutory committee of government that evaluates the viability of public investment projects. Its statutory composition includes: Office of the President, Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, National Planning Authority, Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), Office of the Solicitor General, Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development, National Environment Management Authority, Equal Opportunities Commission, Ministry or Work and Transport, Ministry of Water and Environment, Public Private Partnership Unit. The PIM Center of Excellence was recently admitted to the Development Committee as a non-voting member.
The training will cover a wide range of topics, including the role of PIMS in the country’s development goals, the logical flow of project profiles, costing, and the interpretation of interconnections between prefeasibility/feasibility reports and financial models. Additionally, participants will explore the role of public-private partnerships in national development.
Dr. Ssebukeera encouraged participants to actively engage in discussions, share their expertise, and apply the knowledge gained from the training. He noted that this engagement would empower the Development Committee to effectively perform its role in reviewing and approving public investment projects, ensuring they align with national priorities and deliver value for money.
The Public Investment Management Centre of Excellence, established by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in partnership with Makerere University School of Economics, continues to play a pivotal role in building the capacity of MDAs in managing public investments. To date, the Centre has trained over 300 officers and produced several research papers, reflecting its commitment to enhancing public investment management in Uganda.
The training in Jinja is expected to enhance the participants’ capacity to effectively review government projects, thus supporting the effective implementation of Uganda’s Public Investment Plan.
Business & Management
Somali Officials Complete Executive Training in Infrastructure Asset Management at CoBAMS
Six Somali government officials have successfully completed a three-day Executive Training in Infrastructure Asset Management, held at Makerere University’s Public Investment Management Centre of Excellence (PIM CoE). The training, funded by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), took place from January 27 to 29, 2025, and aimed to enhance regional capacity in infrastructure planning and management.
The training brought together senior civil servants and policymakers from Somalia, equipping them with practical knowledge and strategies for sustainable infrastructure asset management. It also fostered valuable cross-border collaboration, facilitated by UNCDF Uganda, which played a crucial role in connecting Makerere University with the Government of Somalia.
The program was delivered by experienced faculty from Makerere University’s College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS), alongside experts from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) and the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA). A special session was also led by the Makerere University Bursar, offering practical insights into financial management in infrastructure projects.
Speaking at the opening of the training, Mr. Ncube Mkhululi, the Regional Technical Advisor for UNCDF emphasized the importance of infrastructure asset management in driving sustainable economic growth. He highlighted UNCDF’s commitment to supporting capacity-building initiatives in developing economies, noting that effective infrastructure planning and management are critical to national development. He also expressed confidence in Makerere University’s expertise in delivering high-impact executive training programs for government officials.
During the closing ceremony, Prof. Bbaale Edward, the Principal of the College of Business and Management Sciences expressed gratitude to all partners, including UNCDF, Makerere University management, and the PIM CoE faculty, for their commitment to making the training a success. He emphasized Makerere University’s ongoing efforts to internationalize its research-led agenda, positioning itself as a hub for regional knowledge exchange.
UNCDF Program Manager, Mr. Joel Mundua, the commended the participants for their dedication and encouraged them to share the acquired knowledge with fellow officials in Somalia. This was reaffirmed by one of the participants, who pledged to apply and disseminate the learnings within their respective departments.
Mr. Sunday Denis Aliti, the Program Officer at UNCDF highlighted the importance of ensuring that infrastructure asset management strategies are practical, adaptable, and aligned with national development goals. He commended Makerere University for its leadership in knowledge transfer and regional training and encouraged continued collaboration between universities, governments, and international development partners to strengthen institutional capacity.
Dr. John Sseruyange, Manager of the PIM CoE, applauded both the participants and the expert trainers who contributed to the program. He reiterated the Centre’s commitment to advancing infrastructure asset management through continued training and collaboration with regional stakeholders.
As the training concluded, participants departed with valuable insights and practical tools to improve infrastructure management in Somalia and beyond. The success of this initiative highlights Makerere University’s role as a leading institution in public investment management, fostering capacity-building efforts that drive sustainable development across Africa.
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