A cohort of 174 Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) officials has graduated from an intensive military-led transformational leadership program aimed at tightening tax compliance and eliminating revenue leakages across the country.
The officers completed Intake 10/2026 of the Transformational Leadership Course at the Oliver Reginald Tambo School of Leadership and Pan-African Centre of Excellence in Kaweweta, Nakaseke District.
Officiating at the ceremony, the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Henry Musasizi, directed the graduates to curb domestic revenue leakages, stamp out corruption, and expand the country's tax net to reduce reliance on external borrowing.
Hon. Musasizi stated that domestic collections climbed from Shs16 trillion in the 2019/20 financial year to Shs36 trillion in 2025/26. He noted that the government plans to lift domestic revenue from 14 percent to 20 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the next five years.
“Our economy has the capacity to raise more. If we fix the bottlenecks, we can raise the 20% and 25% in the long term,” Musasizi said.
The Minister urged the tax body to rely on modern data infrastructure rather than over-auditing compliant taxpayers.
“We want a URA way which ensures that every taxpayer in this country pays his due taxes,” Musasizi said.
He cautioned the officers against graft, reminding them of the public services at stake.
“You don’t have to steal in order to be successful in life. Behind every shilling you mobilise is a Ugandan child who needs a school, a patient who needs healthcare, a farmer who needs a market and a country that increasingly wants to finance its development agenda from its own resources,” he added.
Hon. Musasizi pledged to follow up on a Shs4 billion presidential funding commitment to rehabilitate access roads and infrastructure around the Kaweweta facility.
Representing the Chief of Defence Forces, the Joint Staff Political Commissariat, Major General Henry Masiko, underscored revenue mobilisation as a frontline national security priority. He charged the officials to embrace the state's work-ethic drive.
“The declaration of the government of no more sleep, no more corruption, no more laziness or sitting on the fence, and no more politeness on the side of the supervisors, must be internalised by all,” Maj Gen Masiko said.
He explained that self-funded budgets directly sustain military readiness.
“Successful revenue mobilisation and protection is a force multiplier for UPDF because this way we are guaranteed of adequate budget support to enhance force capacity and capability,” Masiko added.
URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi commended the UPDF for bolstering anti-smuggling sweeps along national borders and water entryways. He committed the authority to meeting the Shs46.6 trillion domestic revenue target for the 2026/27 financial year.
“We shall not sleep, and we shall not be corrupt, and we are sure we will give you the desired results. Everything that you have learned here, you should not leave it behind. Carry it with you because we need it,” Musinguzi told the graduates.
The Commandant of the Oliver Reginald Tambo School, Brig Gen Justus Rukundo, said the syllabus was built to ground civil servants in patriotism, discipline, and operational integrity.
“This Transformational Leadership course was just a small dose, an introductory ideological dose, in your leadership careerPlease provide or paste the details of the event, announcement, or notes you would like drafted, and I will write a complete, publication-ready news story for you.
