Uganda Now Seeks To Have Churches Account For Offerings
According to local media reports, the Ugandan government aims to require religious organizations to document all donations received from followers, including offerings.
As per the report in the Daily Monitor newspaper, the Directorate for Ethics and Integrity (DEI) in the president’s office has been working on the policy since 2016.
The permanent secretary of the directorate, Alex Okello, was cited stating that the newly proposed policy emphasizes the necessity for openness in managing public resources within prayer centers.
“The biggest confusion which has been going all over the country is people think that a policy is a law. The policy just says let there be transparency in any religious institution. How you put that transparency measure in your institution is up to you,” he said.
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He said the ‘National Policy for Religious and Faith Organizations (RFOs)’ will not necessarily include taxing religious institutions.
“Religious leaders said we want to tax the money. No, we want those resources that believers give to be used properly,” he said, adding, “Government taxes taxable income. A giving in church or mosque is not an income. It is a developmental money.”
Canon Aaron Mwesigye, who serves as the director of Ethics and Religious Affairs at the directorate, mentioned that the objective of the policy is to equip religious leaders to collaborate with the government in fostering national development.
He mentioned that the policy will implement measures enabling churches or mosques to actively recognize and address individuals engaged in corruption.
Uganda Now Seeks To Have Churches Account For Offerings