The Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, has urged entrepreneurs and business persons alike to ensure transparency in their enterprises and diligently honour their tax obligations, so as to promote integrity and grow the country’s finance base through taxes.
Speaking at the inaugural National Prayer Breakfast Business Forum, the Deputy Speaker observed that there has been a mismatch registered by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) where business owners with profits in billions of shillings declare minimal taxes.
"We want our entrepreneurs to commit that they will run clean business and pay taxes properly. The informal habits that helped you to start might not help you to sustain a business. If you are to run sustainable business, transparency is going to be very critical," Tayebwa said.
The Business Forum is one of the events held under the National Prayer Breakfast, which precede the national independence celebrations. The Forum was held at Parliament on Wednesday, 07 October 2026.
Tayebwa observed that government needs to promote tax compliance among Uganda’s business community, so as to provide necessary services including national infrastructure development.
“How do you expect us to build more roads, generate more power and provide you with water, when we are still hovering around a tax to GDP ratio of 14 per cent, yet the sub-Saharan standard is at 17 per cent?” Tayebwa asked.
“We can push this ratio to around 21 per cent, where we do not put new taxes on you as business people, but make sure that everyone pays their fair share of the tax. This is what we want to look at as Parliament,” he added.
The Deputy Speaker also emphasised the need to curb corruption in the private sector with a firm hand so as to promote integrity and public trust.
“The way we handle cases of corruption by government officials should be the same way we handle cases of corruption by people who frustrate the private sector. If there is a worker who steals money from a factory, we should not look at it as just a civil matter, but rather use the same iron hand because that person is stealing from Ugandans,” Tayebwa said.
He called on the private sector to engage the Legislature and highlight laws that have blocked their value chains and rates of employment, and also urged the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives to operationalise the Competition Act, 2024.
Tayebwa also encouraged leaders in the private sector to mentor young entrepreneurs with best practices, so as to ensure effective continuity in the sector.
In his keynote address to the Forum, Emmanuel Katongole, the Executive Chairman of Quality Chemicals and Industries, reiterated the significance of values in business including trust, competence, humility, discipline and integrity.
“Integrity reduces the cost of doing business. Profit must never be the only purpose of a business, because an entity that makes impact is stronger than one that is premised on making money,” Katongole noted.
He also urged government to ensure an enabling environment for new entrants into the private sector, and for the banking industry to avail avenues of affordable capital.
The co-Chairperson of the National Prayer Breakfast and State Minister for Trade, Hon. David Bahati, alluded to the theme of the 2026 Prayer Breakfast, “Wake Up, Work Hard and Build Uganda”, which he said is a practical call to action.
“Building Uganda requires a culture of work, enterprise, innovation and responsibility. Government remains committed to creating an enabling environment where entrepreneurs can invest, produce, trade and prosper,” Bahati said.
