URA employees raise  Shs150 million to help Karamoja 

Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has said the plight of the famine ravaging Karamojong has spurred a deep-seated painful emotion among its staff hence reaching out to 1,000 households as one way of bringing hope to them.

According to the tax body, over 3250 of its staff mobilised themselves and agreed to restore smiles to the lives of these people in the sub-region. Collectively, they mobilised over Shs 150 million from individual staff contributions.

This facilitated the delivery of 10,000kgs of maize flour, 5,000kgs of beans and 2,000kgs of rice. URA’s management added assorted clothes and blankets to the homesteads in Rupa sub-country, Moroto District.

The investment profile of the region estimates that 80% of the households in the Karamoja sub-region own cattle.

According to research from the UBOS, Karamoja is one of the poorest sub regions in Uganda, with income poverty at 66% (having increased from 61% in 2017) and food poverty at 75% (having increased from 70% in 2017)

Ibrahim Bbossa Kibuuka, URA’s Assistant Commissioner Public and Corporate Affairs said they decided to step in after a series of stories from different media platforms this year highlighting the famine in the region as some people dropped dead from lack of food, while others trekked distances in search for even a little crumb to feed the rumbling stomachs.

"The culture of charity in URA has an immeasurable impact on our communities. The small gesture made today portrays our value of patriotism for the country and its people. I pray other Ugandans will show the same level of love and patriotism by sharing the little they have to better the lives of the Karamojong,” he said.