Traders under the Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA) have warned the government against the proposed ban on importation of second-hand clothes, highlighting its effect on local revenue.
While speaking at the opening of 16 factories at Sino-Uganda in Mbale Industrial Park, last Friday, President Museveni re-echoed the need for citizens to embrace the Buy Uganda Build Uganda (BUBU) policy if the country is to develop.
In line with this, the President proposed a ban on the importation of second-hand clothes and electricity meters in a bid to promote buying of locally-made items.
Issa Ssekitto, the KACITA spokesperson said second-hand clothes have a bigger impact on the entire country which instead should have been protected for the betterment of the economy, especially at a time when the World Bank is cutting funding to Uganda.
Ssekitto said 90% of the boutiques across the countryside, markets, and small businesses on the roads sell second-hand clothes and therefore if one is to get the bigger picture of how much employment the second-hand items have on the economy, one needs to travel across the world.
