1. CAPACITY BUILDING “Customs Perspective”
Presenter
Allen Kagina
Commissioner General
Uganda Revenue Authority

2. Meaning of capacity building
Establish or
Renew or
Strengthen
skills, competencies, tools, processes and resources for customs to perform its mandate.

3. Capacity Building Focus Areas
The focus of capacity building is to increase performance in the key principle of the Kyoto convention:
Integrity
Transparency
Accountability
Predictability
Facilitation and control
Client service
Standardization
Simplification
Minimum intervention
Use of ICT
Cooperation and partnership
Continuous improvement
Compliance improvement

4. Capacity Building and Reforms
Staff remuneration
Internal audits and monitoring
Tax policy capacity building
Building a tax paying culture through accountability and transparency
The context matters
Political will
Donor confidence
Addressing patronage
Organizational culture and leadership
Human resource management

5. CHALLENGES Sustained high-level political will
Customs ownership and participation
Accurate Diagnosis and country specific responses
Realistic Government and donor expectations
Dedicated human and financial resources
Enhanced cooperation and coherence

6. History of URA prior to 2005 Character
URA ranked second most corrupt institution in Uganda
Inefficient and ineffective
Poor corporate culture
High handedness
Poor public image
Mediocre revenue performance
Low staff morale
High staff turnover
Attempts to change
Expatriates hired with no substantial change
Judicial commission of enquiry instituted into corruption and mismanagement
Three reform programs carried out
Board of Directors changed 3 times

7. Transformation of URA 2005 HR Restructuring (Integrity focus)
Modernization Program (Capacity Building)
Corporate Re-branding (Building Partnerships)

8. Transformation of URA 2005 Context Political will and support
Financial resources
Human resources

9. Capacity Building Initiatives
The URA Modernization Plan Pillars
People
Processes
Systems

10. Capacity Building Initiatives - Focus Areas
Customs
Domestic Tax
Non-Tax Revenue
Corporate Services:
HR Modernisation
Data Warehousing
Disaster Recovery
Sun System Implementation Financial Accounting System
Fleet Management
Communications Infrastructure
Integrity Enhancement Plan
Quality Services
Modern Office Concept;
Building Construction and repairs or maintenance
Public & Taxpayer Education

11. Key success factors
Proper needs identification by candidate institution
Clear and committed leadership
A capacity building plan that is fully owned by the tax administration
Financial support from government and development partners
Political Interest but not interference
Keep it simple
Address contextual issues

12. The Evidence – so far A new corporate culture – Institutional pride
High expectations
New partnerships with stakeholders
A new public image
A higher integrity profile
Greater voluntary tax compliance
Continuous change
Greater revenue yield. Surpassing targets.

13. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step”
We have made quite a few steps
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION