The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government, Ben Kumumanya, today chaired a multi-agency meeting bringing together the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), the Ministry of Works and Transport and other key stakeholders to discuss challenges affecting the collection and fair allocation of Park User Fees, and measures to ensure Local Governments benefit from this important source of local revenue.
Discussions focused on improving the system through which Park User Fees are collected and allocated to beneficiary Local Governments. Although the fees have been collected through URA for several years, operational challenges, including gaps in vehicle registration, validated route information and enforcement, have affected the fair allocation of revenue back to the respective Local Governments.
Speaking during the meeting, Kumumanya, said Government introduced the Park User Fees framework to streamline revenue collection and ensure transparency, accountability and equitable distribution of revenue to Local Governments.
“The Park User Fees framework was introduced to address longstanding challenges in revenue collection, including revenue leakages and informal revenue collection arrangements. Our focus now is to ensure the mechanisms provided under this framework are fully implemented so that the official system works effectively and Local Governments receive the revenue due to them,” he noted.
Stakeholders also highlighted that Park User Fees were previously among the largest contributors to local revenue in many Local Governments. They agreed to strengthen vehicle registration, validate route charts, enhance enforcement and operationalise the Park User Fees Management Information System (ParkMIS).
URA also reiterated its role in collecting and remitting Park User Fees, while stakeholders emphasised the need to sensitise public service vehicle operators on proper registration and declaration of travel routes to support fair revenue allocation and ensure Local Governments receive the revenue due to them.
