KCC has short-changed traders
Mar 14, 2009
KAMPALA City Council (KCC) has hiked the trading licence fee by 100%. A trader who paid sh200,000 is now required to pay sh400,000! This is a very unfortunate situation and very insensitive of KCC. It would be normal for KCC to increase their fees if the
By Edward Musinguzi
KAMPALA City Council (KCC) has hiked the trading licence fee by 100%. A trader who paid sh200,000 is now required to pay sh400,000! This is a very unfortunate situation and very insensitive of KCC. It would be normal for KCC to increase their fees if the economy was booming, not at a time when traders are struggling with low sales due to the recession.
What justification does KCC have for the increment? For the last six years, the traders together with residents of Kampala city have dug deeper into their pockets to do the work of KCC.
For Instance:
The disposal of garbage is a responsibility of traders and residents. KCC instead collects revenue through its appointed agents.
Maintenance of roads and streets which are in a sorry state has been taken over by Ministry of Works.
Public transport is entirely private. Again, KCC through UTODA, collects revenue.
Education is under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme which is a managed by the Government and most schools that were under KCC have been closed and their premises sold to private developers.
The health services that KCC used to provide are now a thing of the past. Most clinics have been closed, and premises sold/leased to individuals. The clinics that are still open lack drugs and personnel.
Street lighting has been taken over by the Local Governent Development Programme. Traders are required to install lights in front of their shops, and where there are no shops, alleys are in darkness!
Maintenance of pavements is completely a responsibility of property owners and it is the tenants who bear the burden. Maintenance of parks no longer exists.
KCC has leased out all those areas that used to be open space. A good example is Centenary Park.
Security services are offered by the central government and are the responsibility of the police, RDCs office, ISO, CMI, etc.
Traders compete with street vendors for customers. KCC does not assist, and shop verandahs have become difficult to walk along, hence an inconvenience to traders.
When the mayor was trying to justify reasons behind licence fee increment, he gave an example of increased air ticket rates. The mayor does not need to buy an air ticket from British Airways to travel from Bugolobi to City Hall.
Secondly, most airlines have reduced their fares because there are fewer passengers. An example is the Emirates. As a public official the mayor needs to justify the reasons behind those frequent trips he makes abroad, since this is a major item on the city’s expenditure. How do we benefit from those trips?
At a time like this, when the economy is nose-diving and revenues are constrained, organisations, employ cost-cutting methods. KCC should look for ways to avoid waste. The traders already carry a heavy tax burden. We pay all sorts of Government taxes, and in addition pay for the services that KCC should be providing to the public!
Remember, when the fixed costs of operating a business are increased at a time when sales are extremely low, the first reaction is to cut variable costs like laying off workers, thus creating unemployment. The second reaction is to close the entire business, and indeed businesses are closing.
All in all, KCC has no justification to increase trading licence fees. Traders through Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA) must fight for their rights. They must demand “money for valueâ€.
The writer is a trader in Kampala
John Nagenda will be back next week
KAMPALA City Council (KCC) has hiked the trading licence fee by 100%. A trader who paid sh200,000 is now required to pay sh400,000! This is a very unfortunate situation and very insensitive of KCC. It would be normal for KCC to increase their fees if the economy was booming, not at a time when traders are struggling with low sales due to the recession.
What justification does KCC have for the increment? For the last six years, the traders together with residents of Kampala city have dug deeper into their pockets to do the work of KCC.
For Instance:
The disposal of garbage is a responsibility of traders and residents. KCC instead collects revenue through its appointed agents.
When the mayor was trying to justify reasons behind licence fee increment, he gave an example of increased air ticket rates. The mayor does not need to buy an air ticket from British Airways to travel from Bugolobi to City Hall.
Secondly, most airlines have reduced their fares because there are fewer passengers. An example is the Emirates. As a public official the mayor needs to justify the reasons behind those frequent trips he makes abroad, since this is a major item on the city’s expenditure. How do we benefit from those trips?
At a time like this, when the economy is nose-diving and revenues are constrained, organisations, employ cost-cutting methods. KCC should look for ways to avoid waste. The traders already carry a heavy tax burden. We pay all sorts of Government taxes, and in addition pay for the services that KCC should be providing to the public!
Remember, when the fixed costs of operating a business are increased at a time when sales are extremely low, the first reaction is to cut variable costs like laying off workers, thus creating unemployment. The second reaction is to close the entire business, and indeed businesses are closing.
All in all, KCC has no justification to increase trading licence fees. Traders through Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA) must fight for their rights. They must demand “money for valueâ€.
The writer is a trader in Kampala
John Nagenda will be back next week