Hoima Resident City Commissioner (RCC), Badru Mugabi, says accurate data within the local government is a basis for the national planning aimed at economic growth.
RCC Badru was speaking during the Non-Individual Register (NIR) stakeholders’ engagement for the Bunyoro sub-region at Kabalega Resort in Hoima City on Thursday evening.
RCC Mugabi noted that, whereas local governments are the basis of national planning, most of them have lacked accurate data.
Non-Individual Register is now a centralised database used by governments and regulatory authorities to record, track, and monitor all corporate and organisational entities.
According to Mugabi, the establishment of NIR will go a long way in improving the quality of planning at the local government level.
He also stated that as a national repository, the Non-Individual Register will provide true data for proper planning.
Non-Individual Register’s establishment came through an amendment to Section 4 of the Tax Procedures Code (Amendment) Act 2025.
RCC Mugabi expressed the government’s commitment through the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to ensure a successful operationalisation of the register.
He noted that the program will help communities tap into national business and job opportunities, including the oil and gas sector.
“Our efforts have been on ensuring that business communities register with government systems, which will help them tap into national opportunities, including supplying the oil and gas sectors, and other government opportunities. However, this has been a challenge since a majority could not embrace it,” Mugabi told the meeting.
Arthur Kwesiga, the Commissioner for ICT and Innovation at URSB, who represented the Registrar General, told stakeholders that NIR establishes a centralised, single register of all entities operating in the country, including both business and non-business.
Under NIR, he said, entities including companies, partnerships, associations, NGOs, and cooperatives, among others, must comply.
“Upon admission onto the register, an entity is assigned a unique Entity Registration Number (ERN) to identify it across all government platforms,” he said.
Kwesiga, however, spoke on the need for communities to embrace the program, noting that when entities are formally registered and identifiable, they gain access to opportunities, access to finance, government services, contracts, and markets.
“Formalisation builds credibility, enhances trust, and enables businesses and organisations to grow sustainably. Additionally, a formal entity is better positioned to attract investment, enter partnerships, and scale operations. It also ensures legal protection and recognition in all transactions,” he explained.
He expressed that the Uganda Registration Services Bureau is committed to strengthening systems that enhance transparency, efficiency, and coordination across government and the private sector.
“The Non-Individual Register is a significant step forward in streamlining how entities are identified, regulated, and supported in Uganda through a unified system that enhances coordination, improves compliance, and simplifies access to services,” Kwesiga emphasised.
Marion Tugumisirize, a Senior Registration Officer (SRO) at URSB, stated that the register is designed to support and strengthen an entity’s authentication and verification.
“The objective of this reform is to harmonise registration of data for all non-individual entities through consolidation of common user data on all legal entities and provide easy access,” the senior registration officer said.
She added that a centralised NIR will bring together authoritative data on entities in one system to facilitate the efficient use of central information through a nationwide centralised register
However, some local communities, including Mwesigwa Julius and Francis from Hoima City, expressed concerns over the system, noting that it may be a government trick to tax them more.
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