Col. (rtd) Dr Kizza Besigye, an opposition leader, has recommended traders not to meet with President Museveni on the tax issue, claiming that there is more to the country’s crisis than taxes.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday at the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) offices in Kampala, which are located in Katonga, Dr Besigye advised the traders to associate with other organized groups in order to topple the system that he described as being dependent on a partnership between foreigners and a family.
“Because diseases are ruining the livestock sector, everyone is on the same page, even cow keepers. Because there is no support for the tea sector, everyone involved in it is insolvent. A kilogram of tea now costs between Shs150 and Shs200.
There is no way anybody can maintain a farm at that cost. Cotton collapsed and businesses are monopolised by a few characters,” he said.
“A meeting between Mr Museveni and traders cannot settle the problem; it is far more significant. Problems don’t come with solutions by themselves. A systemic shift is required for Ugandan enterprises to provide real and long-lasting benefits to Ugandans. For this reason, I’m extending an invitation to you and all other organized groups to get together and alter the system that relies on a family’s cooperation with an outsider. It needs to be fundamentally redesigned,” he continued.
To discuss the current problem, President Museveni will meet with representatives of the city traders who have been opposing the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solutions (EFRIS) on Friday.
In order to require them to pay taxes to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), the system aims to record the precise sales.
Dr. Besigye was also worried about the punishments that this system’s defaulters would supposedly face.
He mentioned that vendors who do not have a sales receipt will be fined Shs6 million, and vendors who do not have a fiscal receipt machine will be fined Shs500,000, face a ten-year jail sentence, or both.
Like any other Ugandan, traders, according to Dr. Besigye, were dubious about paying taxes because they believed that some of the money would be embezzled by the dishonest.
He further clarified that since high commodity prices will reduce people’s purchasing power, a high tax system will result in less revenue being collected by the government.
Regarding the need of safeguarding indigenous producers, Dr Besigye claimed that certain individuals were merely bringing in replacement components and putting items together in Uganda.
Museveni’s deputy press secretary, Mr Faruk Kirunda, verified that the President would speak with the traders’ representatives on April 19.
Regarding the traders’ boycott of the meeting, Mr Kirunda stated that calling off the event is not the way to resolve the current problem.
“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.
