The Ugandan government has averted a strike of traders in Kampala over the high taxes on imported goods, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Daudi Migereko, the minister of trade and industry, was quoted as saying that the government had requested the traders to return to their business and assured them that he would consult other stakeholders to come with a solution to their grudges as soon as possible.

He told the traders that he is going to consult with the Ministry of Finance so that their complaints can be handled.

On Monday, the minister had a meeting in his office with the traders who under Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA) handed a document to the minister, complaining of the high taxes on imported products and mistreatment by some officials of the country's tax body, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).

KACITA spokesperson Issa Sekitto said that the government had not fulfilled the promises it made in May after their earlier strike.

"We are extremely disappointed that some points agreed upon when we met President Yoweri Museveni in May have not been met," he said.

He said that the URA had increased taxes on imported goods in the last three weeks, which was likely to force them out of business, adding that paying the new taxes would mean surrendering their working capital.

He warned if the government does not address their complaints by next Monday, the traders in the city and across the country would stop lodging tax entries to URA for a specified period.

The traders would call off the importation of goods or re-export until their complaints are addressed, he said.

Source: Xinhua