The Chairperson of the Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA), Dr. Thaddeus Musoke Nagenda, has refuted the allegations making the rounds on social media platforms, mostly X, concerning his betrayal in the trader’s struggle against unfair trade policies.
According to the said fake document seen by Nexus, Thaddeus Musoke and John Kabanda, the Chairpersons of the Federation of Traders Association (FUTA), signed UGX 150 million each during a meeting in State House with the mission to abandon the traders’ advocacy for fair policies.
However, according to Nagenda, such allegations are being orchestrated by the political actors who have intentions to consolidate parliament positions after their failure to amplify the voices of traders to the concerned government stakeholders.
“They (politicians) fear us because we want to present our fellow traders to contest against them since they have done almost nothing concerning raising issues affecting traders in parliament. So their aim is to pull us done instead of doing what they are required of,” Nagenda said.
During a brief interview with our reporter on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, Nagenda applauded President Museveni for partly relieving the traders of the strict rules that had been imposed on traders by the Uganda Revenue Authority officials while enforcing the use of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS).
“As a leader, I was happy when President Museveni suspended the strict enforcement of the use of EFRIS by URA officials. However, we still request President Museveni to stop Chinese investors from retailing and supplying products, which has eliminated local traders from the supply chain,” he said.
Commenting on the way forward of the traders meeting with the president, Nagenda said that he is not sure about when Museveni will meet traders. He, however, stated that his quest for the meeting continues.
Kampala City traders have since pushed the quest to meet President Museveni to express their discontent; however, their efforts have remained futile after Museveni postponed the meeting to unknown dates. The traders want President Museveni to halt the Chinese dominance of the economy and use of EFRIS, among others.
