The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The new Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Sh139 billion headquarters that is close to completion at Nakawa will significantly reduce the cost of doing business for taxpayers through provision of a modern one-stop-service-centre.
“The overall objective of the project is to provide infrastructure for better service delivery and the strategy is to have all URA back office operations in Kampala, Mukono and Entebbe converge at Nakawa in the proposed HQs building,” said URA Manager Public and Corporate Affairs Ian Rumanyika as a team of digital journalists were shown the new structure.
The twenty two (22) floor building is set to be opened on schedule on August 31, 2018.
Earlier, Assistant Commissioner Public and Corporate Affairs Vincent Seruma said the new structure also symbolises the revenue authority’s shift in strategy, with focus turning to service delivery and improved client relationships.
Seruma outlined to the media at the digital meet on Friday the operations and strategy of the Uganda Revenue Authority, that started in 1991 with collections of about sh180billion, to sh15.7 trillion that is being sought today.
He said the new URA strategy has three pillars, which are to ensure they have quality people, improve process efficiency and build strategic partnerships.
“New skills are now needed to ensure we succeed in building the three pillars of our strategy,” Seruma said. He identified analytics, IT and database skills, plus relations management as key at URA moves to educating, teaching clients to ensure compliance.
” We now aim to cultivate a taxpaying culture through provision of reliable services , leadership development and strategic partnerships,” he stressed, adding that “It is expected that URA will now offer faster and better services to clients resulting from process integration while reducing administrative costs to the taxpayer and URA.”
“There is a need to provide quality services at a single point. Our clients keep moving from premises to premises in search for URA service because of working in silos. This will be no more.”
He revealed that the new structure, that will save URA up to $3m monthly in rent for various centres in central Uganda, symbolises the move to improved service delivery and focus on building client relationships.
One area URA is already focusing on is Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs). Under this arrangement, businesses which comply with customs laws and regulations benefit from customs preferential treatments such as faster clearance of their goods through simplified procedures and reduced inspection. All this leads to reduced costs for both the business and the revenue collector.
The @URAuganda house opening officially on 31st August. #TaxChat pic.twitter.com/sqKkHdqjW3
— •NØNI• (@Revnickk) May 11, 2018
This giant of a building by is going to save Uganda $3Million worth of rent. No single donor coin was put on it. It’s all our money #TaxChat pic.twitter.com/Vx5vwMVsMm
— Bash Mutumba ?? (@BashMutumba) May 11, 2018
Key facts
▶ The URA Headquarters is a twenty two (22) floor building divided into four podiums and eighteen tower floors totaling to 26,021 square metres.
▶ The project is fully funded by the Government of Uganda.
▶ On schedule: Construction period of 36 months and post construction defect liability period of 12 months.
▶ At peak in 10 years’ time, the building will accommodate up to 1,700 staff.
▶ Structural works for the main tower, parking building and conference hall is 99% completed. Final finishes works are in process.
▶ The development also provides for a car parking structure for 360 cars plus surface parking for 710 vehicles.
▶ The total area of the parking structure is 12,923 square metres with five (5) levels for parking and the sixth level designed to house a crèche for breastfeeding staff.
▶ The building is designed to be Green with an Intelligent Building Management System (BMS) and other ICT Innovations, making it a high performance building.
▶ The building will house modern forensic and science laboratories
▶ It will facilitate a full integration of the back office service to support the self service business model of e-transactions, under one roof, while maintaining only tax payers’ service centres.
▶ Improved staff productivity through provision of adequate working environment.
▶ The proposed tower will provide modern office facilities that support URA’s current and future work methods of different departments.
