These are days of ambitious ideas in Kampala. Born Again Christians have just completed a marathon season of worship called 77 DOGS, meaning Days Of Grace and Salvation, led by Pastor Robert Kayanja.

He is not just any other pastor, but head of the largest Pentecostal church in Uganda, the Miracle Centre, which has some one hundred or so affiliates countrywide. He is also the younger brother of John Sentamu, the Bishop of York.

On the final day of the 77 DOGS, in the congregation was President Yoweri Museveni accompanied by First Lady Janet as Pastor Kayanja delivered one of the fiercest sermons ever heard on the hills of Kampala.

Besides urging President Museveni to go on and on with his mission to help Uganda, the pastor called upon the president to tithe 10 per cent of the national budget!

The call was quite timely because since last year, budgetary proposals are discussed before the mid-June budget reading and implementation starts promptly on July 1.

Cynics dismissed the tithe call but a state tithe could be a revolutionary innovation. Generally, we understand tithing to be believers surrendering a tenth of their income to their church. Though Uganda is a secular state, the state places God ahead of all national functions. The national motto says “For God and My Country,” and all national functions including all parliament sittings start with prayers.

Tithing would greatly change the way churches are run in Uganda. Hitherto, clergymen and women do not have to account to anybody how they spend the offertory and tithe money from the followers. But then, according to the law, all public funds are subject to audit by the Auditor General. So once a tenth of our taxes starts going to the churches, then religious leaders will have to account for every penny. Remember the Constitution is supreme and any other rule that contradicts it, be it cultural, societal, religious, has to be set aside.

So if the state takes up the proposal to tithe 10 per cent of the budget, the churches will enjoy renewed confidence from a public that has been becoming increasingly suspicious of some clergymen who lead princely lifestyles as their followers wallow in poverty. Nobody will begrudge a pastor his Hummer and palace if he renders impeccable accounts every year.

But the state can also benefit from tithing 10 per cent of our Ush30 trillion ($8.4 billion) 2017-18 budget. Surrendering $840million to churches will make the faithful who constitute a majority of the population happier, and the government that takes that move can be sure of more votes than have ever been showered upon a political camp in our history.

In any case, Uganda’s budget was only Ush12 trillion barely two years ago and we were doing fine — some would say we were doing better — so tithing Ush3 trillion to remain with Ush27 trillion wouldn’t kill us.

But what about followers of non-Christian faiths? Maybe the tithe can be raised to 20 per cent of the budget to cater for all citizens’ faiths. With the government enjoying an over two-thirds majority in parliament, any proposal it wants can pass.

One question though: Would Christians continue paying tithe to the churches if the state starts doing it for them? The answer could lie in the 77 DOGS.

Joachim Buwembo is a social and political commentator based in Kampala. E-mail: [email protected]