The bus owners operating in Kisenyi and Namayiba bus terminals in Kampala city have resumed normal work after striking over the use of the controversial taxation policy, Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solutions (EFRIS), which they claim has increased Value Added Tax (VAT).
According to Saturday Paul Muhwezi, the General Manager of Kisenyi Bus Terminal, bus owners are disgruntled with the increment in charges each bus pays at exit, revealing that before the use of EFRIS, each bus paid UGX 53,000, but it has now increased to UGX 59,000.
“We woke up in the morning and heard that the money we pay at the exit had increased. Today we started using EFRIS, and you find that while using it, each bus has to pay an extra UGX 6,000, which is why the bus owners are protesting. However, we have agreed that the buses should start carrying passengers as we plan to meet with the owner of the bus terminals,” Muhwezi said.
Umaru Matovu, the Chairperson of Western region bus operators, said that it was wrong for the bus management to increase the charges without notifying the bus operators and owners because they needed to dialogue with the leadership and agree on such changes.
“Let them call us on a round table if they want to increase the rent charges because we also have a part to play since it is us who pay the money. We should discuss whether we will manage to pay that amount or not,” Matovu said.
Muhwezi, however, said that the management briefed some bus owners about the use of EFRIS, but it seems they didn’t understand it well. He, therefore, said that the bus owners and operators will soon meet John Bosco Muwonge, the owner of the Kisenyi bus terminal, to resolve the matter.
“We talked to our boss, Muwonge, and he will mark the date for the meeting between the terminal management and bus owners. He maintained that bus owners should continue to pay through EFRIS because it’s a policy from the government that should be implemented by all business operators in the country. I will inform the public on the way forward after the meeting with the owner of the bus terminal,” Muhwezi said.
The use of the controversial EFRIS has since been protested by traders in different parts of Uganda because it’s not user-friendly and expensive. However, President Museveni advised traders to use their personal phones to implement it, as he plans to meet the traders again on June 20, 2024, at Kololo Independence Grounds to conclude on some challenges affecting the business operators in the country.
