Masaka City Council approves new valuation court members
City View Complex, is one of the new buildings Masaka City authorities are targeting for property tax. PHOTO | RICHARD KYANJO
What you need to know:
- The new valuation court comprises three members including a senior lawyer Mr Mathias Nyanzi Yawe as the chairperson. Others are; Ms Irene Nakate, a teacher at St. Bruno Primary School Masaka, and Mr Aloysius Bbale Mugera, an engineer.
Masaka City has approved new members of the city's valuation court to address disputes arising from property rates.
The new valuation court comprises three members including a senior lawyer Mr Mathias Nyanzi Yawe as the chairperson. Others are; Ms Irene Nakate, a teacher at St. Bruno Primary School Masaka, and Mr Aloysius Bbale Mugera, an engineer.
The trio was approved during a council meeting chaired by the Masaka City speaker, Mr Tonny Ssempijja on Wednesday.
The city valuation court has powers similar to those of a magistrate’s court. It is responsible for receiving complaints from those aggrieved by the property tax valuations from the city authorities.
It is mandated to rule on the reviews of the values, as well as declaring tax exemptions where it deems necessary and its decisions are only reviewed by the High Court.
Masaka deputy mayor, Mr Achilles Mawanda moved the motion to approve the valuation court and was seconded by Youth councillor Mr Rogers Buregeya.
Mr Mawanda told the council that they could not hold any longer to have the valuation court constituted since the hired firm, Knight Frank Uganda Ltd is in the final stages of completing the exercise of issuance of a new valuation roll for the city.
“Property tax is one of the significant sources of revenue in the city and anything that may distract or hinder its collection has to be addressed with urgency and the move to have the court handle any dispute that would rise from the property rates in time was vital,” he said.
In April, Masaka City hired the services of Knight Frank Uganda Ltd to conduct an assessment and valuation of properties in the city before they could embark on the issuance of new property tax rates.
Masaka last conducted a valuation of properties in 2014, before it was elevated to a city.
The municipal council authorities then were forced to cut the property tax rates from 8 per cent to 5 per cent after the valuation court headed by Mr John Matovu received numerous complaints over what they called exorbitant property tax rates.
According to the 2014 property valuation report, the then Masaka Municipality had over 4,452 buildings that qualified to pay property tax, but the number is expected to have doubled over the years.
A snap survey by the Monitor around the city revealed that there are at least 15 new commercial centres including plazas, hotels, and sports and recreation parks that have opened in the area in the last five years.
