The President of the Uganda National Traders Alliance (UNATA), Godfrey Katongole, has criticized opposition parties for allegedly luring traders into political fights against the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.
While addressing journalists at a press conference organized by the Kabale Municipality Traders’ Association (KMTA) in conjunction with UNATA ahead of a consultative tour with Kabale traders, Katongole reaffirmed that traders are not against the government. Instead, he emphasized their desire to work with the government to ensure their concerns are heard and addressed for the growth of the trading sector.
“There is no reason for traders to fight the NRM party if we want our issues addressed,” Katongole said. He accused opposition members of repeatedly sidelining traders’ interests for political gains.
“I want to emphasize that we, the traders, still need the government more than the opposition. There is no office of the opposition where we can go to seek services,” he added.
Katongole cited the example of Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo, who was reportedly denied a chance to speak during President Museveni’s recent PDM zonal tours, questioning why an elected Member of Parliament would oppose government programs.
He also blamed the challenges faced by traders in Kabale on poor coordination between the Kabale Municipality Member of Parliament and the ruling NRM party. Katongole suggested that Kabale traders could have been trading more actively with Rwanda if the municipality’s MP had been more supportive of government initiatives.
CUE IN KATONGOLE……..ON THE ISSUE……LUG//
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Kabale Municipality Traders’ Association, Michael Byamungu Rwastabutare, highlighted ongoing challenges at the Katuna border. Despite its reopening three years ago, Ugandan traders still face major obstacles when exporting goods to Rwanda due to extremely high tariffs.
Byamungu noted that while Rwandan citizens are allowed to enter Uganda to buy goods directly from Kabale, Ugandan exporters continue to suffer significant losses, making cross-border trade unsustainable.
CUE IN BYAMUNGU…….ON THE MATTER…….RR/ENG//
The Source Reports.
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