Importers of clothes and other garment products are planning to close shop starting October 3, 2018 in protest over what they consider unfair trade policies by the government.
United under their umbrella body, the Uganda Attire Traders Association (UATA), the traders warned that they will close shop if the government does not withdraw its plan to introduce mandatory inspection of goods in Uganda by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS).
The traders were supported in their grievances by Kampala Central Member of Parliament Muhammad Nsereko during a members’ meeting they held at JBK Hotel in Kampala.
The traders say that the UNBS came up with a policy that requires them to have their imported goods checked while in Uganda yet the same cargo was checked from the manufacturing countries.
The traders are also expected to present a PIVOC letter that describes the quality of the goods brought into a country. This they said was not bad but they doubted the capacity of UNBS to perform its duties.
Nsereko said he was ready to help the traders file a petition with court against unfair policies, advising them to stay united if they were to achieve anything.
Dick Kanakulya, the Association’s chairperson said many traders were out of stock as some of their containers had been intercepted at URA offices in Nakawa under conditions he said the traders could not clearly understand.
