Agnes K. Namaganda
Politician
agnesknamaganda@gmail.com
On 18th June 2021, President Museveni announced a 42-day lockdown due to another wave of the Covid19 pandemic that was ravaging the nation. This abrupt closure of businesses is something that many traders in Kampala City had not envisaged. What’s disheartening though, is that while the President gave students a few days to scurry back to their homes when he announced the closure of schools two weeks prior to this, traders in Kampala City were not given the privilege of planning for the lockdown. They retired home that day to a Presidential Address later that evening, only to realize that they couldn’t return to their places of work the following day.
These traders have appealed to, in the least, get their merchandise and vacate premises, in order to avoid the burden of paying rent for months when businesses will be closed, however, their pleas have been completely ignored by the President. Some have products that will get damaged during the lockdown which may exceed 42 days, judging from the previous experience of extending lockdowns, but their requests have equally been dismissed. Some would want to sell their products online during this period but they have not received any consideration from the President to enable them stay financially viable. Some actually have their money locked up in the shop safes!
It is important to note that during last year’s three months of total lockdown, most of these traders were forced to pay rent for this period even though they were not working. The President did not intervene to offer financial assistance to landlords that were depending on this rent to facilitate their bank loans, neither did government give any assistance to traders to enable them recover from the effects of the lockdown. There was a verbal petition by the President for landlords to mercifully deal with their tenants but that was just about it. There was no concerted effort to make sure that traders in Kampala are purposefully nursed back to considerable financial health.
This palpable lack of concern for Kampala traders is against the backdrop of relief funds in trillions of shillings from several international organizations that were offered to the country to enable different sectors deal with the adverse effects of the lockdown. It is also clear that the President seems not to appreciate the contribution made by traders in Kampala in terms of taxes, towards the running of the country.
This lack of concern by the President regarding the plight of traders in Kampala is one of the reasons the President performed poorly in Kampala in the previous Presidential elections. The President would now be expected to be working towards improving his image before Kampala voters who happen to be these traders but he doesn’t seem to be having advisers that are pointing this out to him. It is also possible that the President may be punishing Kampala traders for voting him out during the elections however he needs to acknowledge voters’ misgivings about his government. The tax burden on traders is so high yet foreign investors keep getting waivers and tax holidays that are not enjoyed by locals.
The country was locked down to reduce the spread of infections but must Kampala traders be treated unfairly in the process while businesses in neighbouring towns, in cities around the country, plus industries, are operating at full throttle? President Museveni has solely heaped blame for the spread of the virus on the public but this is far from the truth. Even then, Kampala arcade traders shouldn’t be punished as a consequence. President Museveni is to blame for all the people that died during the second wave because as the leader, he is in charge of the country. Most deaths were at health facility level and the public was not responsible for the lack of oxygen which led to massive deaths. It is his government that manages the taxes collected from the people and they were in charge of preparing adequately for a future spike in infections, which they had foreseen correctly. With the funding received to fight covid19, health facilities were supposed to be equipped with all necessities. It was equally government’s responsibility to keep up with the vigorous sensitization and policing of the public regarding standard operating procedures to avoid a rise in infections.
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