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A section of civil society organisations has strongly condemned the government’s renewed proposal to access Ugandans’ bank account information, warning that the move threatens financial privacy, business survival, and women’s economic empowerment.

The protest follows statements made in Parliament on October 15 by the Minister of State for Finance in charge of Planning, Mr. Amos Lugoloobi, who revealed that the government plans to press for approval to monitor individual bank accounts. Minister Lugoloobi defended the plan, stating that granting authorities access to private financial records would streamline tax administration and curb tax evasion, despite Members of Parliament having previously rejected an earlier attempt.

Addressing journalists at the Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) offices in Kampala on Wednesday, October 28, activists urged the Ministry of Finance to immediately withdraw the proposal in its current form, citing an absence of legal safeguards against unrestricted state surveillance of private finances.

FOWODE Executive Director Patricia Munaabi described the initiative as a direct violation of basic rights.
“This move is unconstitutional, economically dangerous, and a direct assault on the privacy and financial rights of every Ugandan,” Ms. Munaabi said. “Any arrangement that grants public authorities broad or unrestricted access to private financial information, without clear legal limits, independent oversight, and effective safeguards, risks violating constitutional privacy protections and undermining financial security, economic activity, and public trust.”

Ms. Munaabi reminded the government that Article 27 of the 1995 Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to privacy and protects against unlawful searches of personal property. She emphasized that while collecting taxes is a legitimate public responsibility, it must not override constitutional limits.
“Access to bank account information must be governed by clear legal authority, necessity, proportionality, due process, and effective safeguards against abuse. A bank account is private property. Access without a court order and due process is unconstitutional,” she stated.

She further noted that the proposal contradicts Section 40 of the Financial Institutions Act, 2004, which strictly mandates customer confidentiality within the banking sector. Activists fear that stripping away these protections will erode public trust in formal financial institutions, forcing citizens back into informal cash arrangements and reversing years of progress toward financial inclusion.

Joining the call, Ms. Sophie Nampewo, the Finance for Development and Economic Justice Coordinator at Oxfam, highlighted that confidential financial records are crucial for fostering a stable business environment for local and foreign investors alike. She warned that granting broad access to private financial data could expose commercially sensitive information and burden small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“Such risks could discourage investment, constrain business growth, and weaken the private sector’s contribution to Uganda’s economic development,” Ms. Nampewo noted, adding that women in the informal economy will bear the brunt of the policy.

“For 60 percent of Ugandan women in the informal sector, access to a bank account is an important step towards financial inclusion and economic independence. According to the 2023 FinScope Uganda Survey, only 34 percent of women hold formal accounts. This move will therefore force them back to insecure cash savings at home, exposing them to theft and loss.”
Expressing similar fears, Mr. Baker Bahasha, Research Policy and Advocacy Officer at the Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA), cautioned that the economic strain of such administrative decisions will fall disproportionately on vulnerable traders.

“Wealthier individuals and large businesses may have greater access to legal advice and resources to contest disputed assessments, while women operating small and informal businesses often have fewer resources to challenge administrative decisions. Without adequate safeguards, these women risk bearing a disproportionate share of the costs,” Mr. Bahasha said.

To avert potential economic fallout, the civil society coalition presented four main demands to key government entities:
The Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development must withdraw the current draft and halt any policies seeking broad access to private banking data without adequate legal protections.
Parliament, particularly the Finance Committee and the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA), must maintain its earlier opposition and reject any legislation that lacks clear legal boundaries, judicial oversight, and safeguards against abuse.

The Ministry of Finance must subject any tax reform with equity implications to a rigorous gender and equity impact assessment in consultation with the Equal Opportunities Commission, as mandated by the Public Finance Management Act, 2015.
Key institutional stakeholders—including the Bank of Uganda, the Uganda Bankers Association, and the Uganda Law Society—must publicly defend bank confidentiality principles and champion enforceable protections for customer privacy.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis