Overview:
Traders under UNATA have raised taxation, trade order and borrowing costs with State Finance Minister Cissy Mulondo during a courtesy visit to the ministry.
The State Minister for Finance (General Duties), Cissy Mulondo, has met a delegation of traders under the Uganda National Traders Alliance (UNATA), led by its president Godfrey Katongole, to discuss taxation, counterfeit goods, trade order, tax assessment and access to affordable finance.
The traders paid a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to present their concerns, aspirations and proposals for closer collaboration with government.
Mulondo assured the delegation that their concerns would be considered and committed to a follow-up engagement to explore practical solutions.
Katongole called for stronger taxpayer education and engagement to help traders understand their obligations, improve compliance and reduce disputes with tax administrators. He also raised what he described as inconsistencies in tax assessments, urging greater clarity, transparency and fairness.
The traders further highlighted the high cost of commercial borrowing, warning that limited access to affordable finance risks pushing businesses towards informal lending.
The engagement follows a separate meeting earlier in the month, when a UNATA delegation met officials from the office of the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi. At that meeting, the traders pressed for measures including standardised tax values, lower rental charges in commercial buildings and action on rising electricity bills. Katongole said the traders also wanted government to consider reducing taxes on textile products and to review the Uganda Revenue Authority’s practice of assessing some imported goods based on weight, as well as to be consulted as stakeholders in the national budget process.
UNATA, which in 2025 ran a nationwide consultative tour reaching traders in Kasese, Masaka, Fort Portal, Gulu, Mubende, Soroti, Mbale and other centres to compile grievances into a report for President Yoweri Museveni, has positioned itself as a non-partisan voice for the business community. Katongole has repeatedly said the alliance’s mandate is to document traders’ concerns and present recommendations to the President for action.
The engagement reaffirmed the importance of continued government–business dialogue in strengthening tax compliance, improving the trading environment and expanding access to affordable finance for sustainable business growth.