Besigye rallies traders to boycott Museveni’s meeting
Traders sit outside their closed shops during their protest against Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solutions (EFRIS). PHOTO / ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Dr Besigye also said traders, just like any other Ugandans, were skeptical about paying taxes since some of it is likely to be swindled by the corrupt.
Opposition politician Col (rtd) Dr Kizza Besigye, has advised traders to desist from holding a meeting with President Museveni over the taxation question, saying the crisis that the country is experiencing is more than taxes.
Addressing a press conference at the Katonga-based Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) offices in Kampala yesterday, Dr Besigye said the traders should instead join other organised groups to overthrow what he termed as a system that depends on a partnership between foreigners and a family.
“Everybody is on the wall, including the cattle keepers, because diseases are crippling the animal industry. All people who are in the tea industry are bankrupt because there is no support for the industry. Tea now costs between Shs150 and Shs200 a kilo. There is no way anybody can maintain a farm at that cost. Cotton collapsed and businesses are monopolised by a few characters,” he said.
“The crisis is much bigger and can’t be resolved by a meeting between Mr Museveni and traders. You can’t get a solution from a problem itself. For Uganda businesses to benefit Ugandans in a meaningful and sustainable way, there has to be a change in the system. This is why I invite you and all other organised groups to link up and change the system that depends on a partnership between a family and a foreigner. It must be overhauled completely,” he added.
President Museveni will on Friday meet with representatives of city traders, who have been contesting the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solutions (EFRIS), to address the issue at hand.
The system seeks to capture the exact sales and mandate them to pay taxes to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
Dr Besigye was also concerned about the penalties that defaulters of this system would allegedly be subjected to.
He noted that traders who fail to provide a sales receipt will pay a fine of Shs6 million while those who fail to avail a machine for fiscal receipt will pay a fine of Shs500,000, be imprisoned for 10 years, or both.
Corruption
Dr Besigye also said traders, just like any other Ugandans, were skeptical about paying taxes since some of it is likely to be swindled by the corrupt.
He also explained that a high tax regime will cause the government to collect less money since people’s purchasing power will be weakened by high commodity prices.
On the issue of protecting local manufacturers, Dr Besigye alleged that some people were simply importing spare parts and assembling products in Uganda.
Mr Faruk Kirunda, Mr Museveni’s deputy press secretary, confirmed that the President would meet the representatives of the traders on April 19.
On the issue of traders boycotting the meeting, Mr Kirunda said shunning a meeting is not the solution to the issue at hand.
“Dr Besigye is a confused confuser. President Museveni is calling a meeting to find a solution to the standoff and to hear from various stakeholders. That’s his job as the President of Uganda, which Besigye is not, and it’s the correct intervention to make. In my view, Besigye is acting sadistically without considering the plight of the traders who are not working since their shops are closed yet landlords will need rent at the end of the month,” he said.
“Besigye should concentrate on his FDC issues and leave the government to do its work. Ugandans decided who to lead them through the good and difficult [times], and that’s President Museveni. Besigye fears that the President will resolve the problem and take credit. That’s his problem, not that he cares or has any solution for the traders,” he added.
