KACITA blasts UNBS over the closure of Senana supermarket

By Evans Najuna
KAMPALA – Under their umbrella of Kampala City Traders Association – Uganda (KACITA) are currently spitting fire on the aggressive manner exhibited by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) while closing Senana supermarket on Wednesday this week.

According to the Association’s chairperson, Dr. Thadeus Musoke Nagenda, the association is deeply concerned with the invasion of their business community by UNBS and the subsequent closure of their businesses.

Dr. Nagenda revealed this during a press briefing on Thursday morning at their head office in Kampala. KACITA chairperson added that as if that was not enough, the standards body went ahead and closed their working premises. He noted that, these actions are taken on the assumption that some of the containers are not inspected by UNBS. “As KACITA, we believe in trade order aimed at ensuring fair and ethical business practices among traders and to maintain a conducive environment for economic activities” Nganda said.

Dr. Nganda further explained that, the association on a daily basis receives several petitions from its members regarding the unprofessional conduct of different government agencies like UNBS, URA in the field. Adding that the likes of Wednesday’s invasion on Senana among many others were unprofessional acts that causes extensive disruption to the business, resulting in significant financial losses and a negative public image. “As KACITA, we always encourage our members to follow the right procedures and fulfill all their obligations by paying all the necessary taxes” KACITA chairman added.

The Chairperson further revealed that, from their own private investigations, Senana Hypermarket had paid all the required taxes on the alleged container from the URA custom clearing warehouse to which he said that UNBS should have liaised with URA clearance department team for the payments confirmations or cease stores rather than invading the supermarket. He condemned the such acts because they undermine the integrity of the members but also have a detrimental impact on the wider business community.

While in his conclusion, Dr. Nganda reaffirmed the association members to remain committed in upholding the highest standards of business and assured them that the association will keep advocating for business community for conducive working environment