Nakivubo in trouble Nakivubo Stadium faces possible closure this month over Shs 300 million in unpaid taxes.
Nakivubo Stadium�s pavillion. The stadium faces closure due to a huge debt Quick facts Built in the 1920s, a few years after the First World War. The British colonial government erected the stadium in memory of the world war veterans. The name Nakivubo came from �Nakivumbo�, a place in Malawi where the veterans provisionally settled before going for the war. Ticket frauds and many bookkeepers that allowed free entry to many fans run the stadium into cash problems in the 1990s. The Nakivubo board suspended the stadium manager J K. Muhanguzi due to cheque frauds, which cost the stadium some Shs 9 million in 1993. Nakivubo stadium board of trustees Hajji Abbasi Kaawaase (Chairman) Zubair Galiwango (Vice Chairman) Hajji Sulaiman Walusimbi (Luwero) Florence Bagunywa Nkalubo Abbey Kabanda Eng.William Nkemba (resigned) Boniface Oryem Paminder Singh Marwaha Eugene Semujju (Stadium Manager) According to sources arrears piled up over seven years. The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) is reportedly running low on patience. The stadium�s board tried to negotiate a deal with URA on November 2 but the talks were not conclusive. URA officials now want the stadium closed. ��In fact the closure of the stadium could be as early as next week (this week),� the source said. Nakivubo officials say they will reconcile their books next week. If indeed Nakivubo were closed this week, the annual Bika Tournament would have to be played from elsewhere, most likely Wankulukuku or Mengo palace (Lubiri). The money became a burden because Nakivubo did not remit VAT charged on friendly matches, prayer gatherings, local musical f�tes and parking charges. Nakivubo is yet to recover from the resignation of a high-profile member of the management committee. Eng. William Nkemba, who had served nine years, quit his finance committee chairmanship post. Sources told The Weekly Observer that Nkemba resigned because the Born-Again engineer was concerned about the general lack of accountability, especially the way �money [is] spent on daily routine.� However, Nkemba insists that he quit �due to the workload at my workplace� and not �because of the debt.� Nakivubo chairman Hajji Zubair Galiwango supported Nkemba�s arguments. �There was just a small complaint, and we went to the [sports] minister and solved it and also fully accounted for the funds,� Galiwango said. However, sources claim some VAT money collected from local prayer sessions either went unaccounted for or was diverted to other uses. The huge tax arrear piled when the stadium was under George Kakaire. �It is dating back as far as 1998�For us, we�ve paid all our taxes,� Galiwango said. Kakaire and his board comprising Hajji Abbasi Kaawaase Mukasa, Jimmy Dean (RIP), Pius Alitema, John Bunyeyezi, Said Tumwesigye, Violet Kalisa (RIP) and Pius Kitaka were appointed in 1995. However, last year sports minister Okello Henry Oryem appointed a new board under Kaawaase. In 1993 then sports minister Amanya Mushega replaced the Nakivubo board citing ticket fraud and other malpractices. According to Galiwango, however, �It�s difficult for one to pull out money from Nakivubo and eat it.� Bwanika ________ http://www.idr.co.ug --> for your consultancy needs http://p201.ezboard.com/fugandamanufacturersassociationfrm1 ----------------------------------------------------------- Spela poker mot verkliga m�nniskor �ver Internet. �ver 60 000 spelare online http://www.multipoker.com _______________________________________________ Ugandanet mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet % UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/
