Kitagwenda RDC, Isaiah Byarugaba Kanyanahane showing reporters a bottle of an untaxed alcohol
The Kitagwenda Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr Isaiah Byarugaba Kanyanahane, has called upon the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to swiftly intervene and stop the rampant distribution of untaxed alcohol in his locality.
According to Mr Kanyanahane, the consequences of this illicit trade are devastating. “Our people are dying silently, and the chaos we witness in the community is because of that,” he said. “These drinks are poisonous, and that’s why we call upon the URA and government officials to intervene and save the situation.”
He added that the community has lost many young people to the effects of these illicit drinks, which are sold at cheaper prices due to tax evasion.
The RDC accused the manufacturers of deliberately avoiding tax compliance, disguising their products as exports, and dumping them in Kitagwenda and other hard-to-reach areas. “We have lost many powerful youth who take these types of Waragi because it’s sold at a cheaper price because it has not paid tax, and they end up losing their minds,” he said. “This habit of manufacturing and dumping Waragi is too much in our areas, and now we call upon the URA to take immediate action on these so-called investors.”
Mr. Kanyanahane also highlighted the financial implications of this illicit trade, noting that it deprives the government of much-needed revenue. “The habit makes the government lose taxes because the manufacturers end up selling untaxed products,” he said. “I call upon the URA to take immediate action on the manufacturers who don’t comply with government policies and end up dumping products in hard-to-reach areas like Kitagwenda, hence the government losing revenue.”
The URA introduced Digital Tax Stamps in 2019 to protect the supply chain of excisable goods and curb illicit trade. The system requires manufacturers and importers to affix unique stamps on their products, enabling URA to verify tax compliance and track products. Over 1,100 manufacturers and 300 importers have enrolled on the platform, which has been implemented in partnership with SICPA Uganda under the aegis of URA and the Ministry of Finance.
Efforts to get a comment from the URA were unsuccessful by press time, as the known number of Commissioner for Public and Corporate Affairs, Mr Robert Kalumba, was off by press time.