Women’s Rights Groups Oppose Government Plan to Access Bank Accounts

What the report says

Women’s rights organisations and other civic groups in Uganda have criticized a government proposal that would give the Uganda Revenue Authority access to individual and business bank-account information. In a briefing in Kampala, Forum for Women in Democracy executive director Patricia Munabi Babiiha said the plan could weaken financial privacy, reduce trust in banks and hurt women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises.

The concerns come after Minister of State for Finance Amos Lugoloobi told Parliament on October 15 that the government would keep pursuing approval for broader access to bank records as part of efforts to improve tax administration and curb evasion. Lugoloobi said linking tax identification numbers to national IDs would not, by itself, open bank accounts to URA, and that any access would need separate legal authorization.

According to the groups, many women entrepreneurs run businesses with limited working capital and mix household and business finances, so any freeze or scrutiny of accounts could disrupt income, food purchases, school fees and other basic needs. They also argued that women with limited legal or financial knowledge could be more vulnerable to pressure or abuse if officials gained broad access to private financial data.

The organisations cited Uganda’s privacy protections and banking confidentiality rules, and urged the Finance Ministry to withdraw the proposal in its current form. They also called on Parliament and institutions such as the Bank of Uganda and the Uganda Bankers Association to support stronger safeguards, saying tax compliance efforts should not erode financial inclusion or women’s economic participation.