‘Good African coffee shops closure not good for industry’

Kampala. The closure of Good African Coffee shops could have a negative impact on the campaign to brand Uganda’s specialty coffee and consumption, experts in the industry have warned.
Although Uganda is ranked second largest producer in Africa after Ethiopia, the country still earn less revenue because almost all the coffee produced is exported in its raw form.
Companies such as Good African Coffee have branded Uganda and seen the country’s coffees hit international supermarkets in the UK, USA and South Africa.
“To us the closure of Good African Coffee shops is going to affect our struggles to promote coffee consumption locally and branding the Uganda as a country or house of specialty coffee,” an industrial expert at Uganda Coffee Development Authority, who preferred anonymity, said.

On Monday Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) shut down Good African Coffee and Good African Café Restaurants owned by businessman Andrew Rugasira for allegedly forfeiting payment of taxes.
In a phone interview with this newspaper, URA head of debt collection, Mr Stanley Kabyemera, said they were forced to shut down the coffee exporting company and the Café restaurants at Entebbe Airport, Lubowa on Entebbe Road and the one in Shoprite Lugogo.
“We closed them because of tax arrears since 2010. We are demanding Good African Café a liability of Shs610 million and Good African Coffee a tax liability of Shs615million. This is what we have so far computed even the tax returns he has been filing, he does not pay,” he said.
Mr Rugasira said: “We are working on sorting the matter although we are not sure closing solves anything.”

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