City traders have called off their strike.
The strike that had entered a second day today has called by the Kampala City Traders Association in protest of the high cost of doing business on account of the depreciating value of the Uganda shilling against major foreign currencies.
This has been announced by the KACITA spokesperson Issa Ssekitto during a news conference at Hotel African this afternoon.
Sekito says they have called off the strike after government promised to address their issues with urgency.
He says a number of resolutions were reached during a meeting with the Trade and Tourism minister Amelia Kyambadde including carrying out a business verification exercise and headcount of all the foreign traders.
This is meant to address the issue of unfair competition presented by the petty foreign traders who have flooded the market with cheap products.
Ssekitto adds that they will hold a general meeting with the traders on Wednesday next week to brief them on the outcome of the meeting.
On the depreciating value of the shilling, Ssekitto says they are hopeful that the government will make urgent interventions to reverse the now worsening economic situation.
He however regrets the huge losses that the traders have suffered during the two day strike.
He also cites the traders’ chairman Everest Kayondo who suffered a heart attack as a result of the strike.
Kayondo is currently admitted at a private clinic in Nansana where he is steadily recovering.
Story By Diana Wanyanna.
