The Democratic Party (DP) has expressed dissatisfaction with the way President Museveni responded to the traders’ grievances that were expressed through staging a closedown strike for over three days last week in Uganda’s capital, Kampala.
According to Ismail Kirya, the president of the Uganda Young Democrats (UYD) and acting spokesperson for DP, Museveni did not have a permanent solution to the issues affecting traders.
He said this during a press conference held at DP offices at City House in Kampala on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.
He added that it was even unnecessary for President Museveni to meet traders at State House Entebbe, yet the Ministry of Trade and other related ministries could solve such challenges.
“Even if you met traders, we are dissatisfied that you just gave a painkiller instead of a full-dose treatment to the traders’ pleas. The president instead referred traders to another meeting that will happen at Kololo Independence Grounds,” Kirya said.
“The matter of traders would not require an ear from the President. We thought that the Ministry of Trade and Industry or Finance would handle such an issue, but they all failed and referred the issue to Museveni.This shows how weak our institutions are,” he added.
However, Ofwono Opondo, the government spokesperson, retaliated, stating that President Museveni’s meeting with traders is a sign of providing avenues for complainers to raise all matters and peacefully resolve them.
“If the government institutions are weak, why is Norbert Mao, the President of the Democratic Party, a government minister?” Opondo asked.
Commenting on the traders’ meeting due to take place on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at Kololo Independence Grounds, Kirya asked what else Museveni was planning to tell the traders.
He accused President Museveni of politicizing the traders’ issues, stating that he is planning to start his campaigns ahead of the general elections in 2026.
“We want to ask: did the president come to meet the traders at Entebbe unprepared? Was he unaware of their issues, and why did he refer the traders to another bigger meeting in Kololo? If he did not solve the traders’ issues with their leaders, would he solve them before all traders in Kololo? That one is going to be a political rally,” Kirya said.
Opondo, however, said that business is a critical sector in the country, and since most of the traders have complained of being incognizant about the EFRIS, the meeting that is set to happen in Kololo will be more of a classroom where traders will be taught about such issues by President Museveni.
This comes after the traders’ strike was called off on April 20, 2024, after President Museveni agreed to handle the issues surrounding the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS) and to suspend related penalties for one month while further consultations are carried out.
