Traders under the Kampala City Traders Association (Kacita) have suspended their sit-down strike after receiving assurance that President Museveni will meet them following his upcountry election campaign.
The traders, who staged the strike to protest multiple unresolved grievances, are also pressing the government to compensate those affected by recent floods that damaged goods and disrupted downtown businesses.
Mr Issa Ssekito, the Kacita chairperson, said the dates for meetings with the Trade Ministry and the President have yet to be confirmed.
‘We have agreed to suspend the strike until further notice,’ said Mr Ssekito.
‘The minister for Kampala informed us that we are to meet the Trade minister this week and the President after his campaigns. While we wait, the government should know we are determined to have our grievances addressed,’ he added.
Mr Ssekito said the suspension is partly due to the logistical challenges posed by the floods and his own recent arrest during demonstrations.
‘Traders want to be compensated for losses caused by the floods. Closing shops at this time would have been counterproductive,’ he added. The strike, which began last Tuesday, targeted a range of long-standing grievances affecting traders. These included unfair VAT policies and the coercive enforcement of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS) by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
Traders also protested high import taxes on fabrics and garments, charged at $3 (Shs10,440) to $3.5 (Shs12,180) per kilo, as well as the non-refunding of the six percent withholding tax.
Additional concerns centred on competition from Chinese investors operating retail outlets, the failure of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to remove street vendors near major arcades, and landlords charging rent in US dollars, a practice traders said is unsustainable.
This protest follows a similar strike in August, which ended after talks with Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, but traders insist the issues remain unresolved.
‘If the government ignores these grievances, we will explore new measures,’ Mr Ssekito warned.
‘This could include refusing to pay trading licences or finding alternative channels with shipping companies. Simply closing shops no longer works-we need solutions that have real impact,’ he added.
Mr Ssekito also called for urgent presidential attention, arguing that the tax burden on traders is unsustainable.
‘Some of the money we pay is being used for political campaigns. The President must meet us to address these critical issues,’ he said.
Minister for Kampala Minsa Kabanda confirmed the President’s commitment to meet the traders once his campaign concludes. She added that the government has begun compiling lists of flood-affected traders for compensation.
‘The President has agreed to meet traders after concluding his election campaign upcountry. When the strike started, we quickly engaged the ministry of Trade, and the minister agreed to meet them,’ she said, adding that compensation of traders would follow once a verification process was complete.