COVID-19: Moroto Municipality loses millions in revenue from closed businesses

Moroto Municipality has lost millions of shillings in revenue collection as a result of the current lock down imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The municipality, which used to collect between Shs 9 to 10m monthly before businesses were closed only managed to collect Shs 800,000 for the month of April from the municipality’s North and South divisions.

Isaiah Tumwesigye, the Town Clerk, Moroto Municipality, says these collection figures are unusually low, even in Moroto which has historically struggled with revenues due to a dearth of vibrant businesses in the area.

Nevertheless, the council usually utilises the monthly revenue to maintain hygiene within the town and cover the power bill for street lights in the Municipality.

With revenues even further reduced, Tumwesigye says the council’s ability to offer garbage collection services and bury unclaimed dead bodies within the municipality has been seriously handicapped, a situation he blamed on the ongoing lockdown.

“We are hit badly by the current lockdown because all the areas where we used to get revenue such as lodges, restaurants, bars, bus parks, and markets are closed,” Tumwesigye said.

He noted that the situation has been worsened by the outbreak of cholera disease that has killed five people leaving dozens hospitalized.

In a bid to curb the spread of a cholera outbreak that has hit the district, officials in Moroto municipality last week shut down several rental properties operating without pit latrines, blaming the deadly disease’s spread on the widespread practice of open defecation in the Municipality.

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