State House has initiated an investigation into the operations of Safari-Tech, a company contracted by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), after the firm failed to deliver on its promise of collecting Shs1.5 trillion in taxes.
The company had accused MTN Uganda of manipulating data, leading to a tax liability of Shs1.5 trillion, which was later reduced to Shs260 billion. However, subsequent investigations revealed that Safari-Tech had fabricated data entries, casting doubt on the company’s credibility.
The investigation follows concerns that Safari-Tech did not collect the claimed $750 million from MTN Ghana and had falsely presented these figures to Ugandan officials, including the president. The government is particularly troubled by the Shs15 billion advance given to Safari-Tech to purchase servers, which has not yielded any revenue for the state.
State House investigators are focusing on the money disbursement process, server acquisitions, and cash withdrawals, with potential implications of corruption and money laundering.
The probe will involve the Financial Intelligence Authority, and security concerns have arisen regarding sensitive data transferred to third parties.
Safari-Tech’s reputation has been further tarnished by its controversial role in a $773 million tax dispute in Ghana, where a similar back-tax claim against MTN was annulled.
In Uganda, Brendan Adiru Wadri, Head of Revenue Intelligence at State House, had advised President Yoweri Museveni against contracting the firm due to its questionable track record, but the company was still engaged with URA.
The investigation seeks to establish how Safari-Tech secured contracts and to assess the company’s methods, which have put Uganda at financial and security risk.
Story Source: The Standard News Uganda
