President Museveni has continuously made strong remarks against the continued importation of second-hand clothes, a practice that has long been common he believes it undermines the growth of local textile industries
Museveni’s comments have sparked a debate across the country, with key stakeholders such as the Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA) expressing caution about the president's stance.
The association, which represents thousands of traders, has raised concerns that such a ban could harm local businesses and would be premature given the current state of Uganda’s domestic textile manufacturing industry.
In response to the president’s call for a ban on used clothes, the Chairman of the Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA) Thadeus Musoke which represents thousands of Ugandan traders, has expressed concern over the potential economic impact acknowledging the need to develop the local textile industry but emphasized that such a transition should be gradual and well-supported by adequate infrastructure and policies.
“As a country we need to build capacity to the local textiles for us to cater for the whole country we only have capacity of only 2%., so hit the target an rely on domestic industries we need to build close to 30 industries," Musoke said.
He further stressed that a sudden and blanket ban on imported used clothes would negatively impact thousands of small businesses and traders who depend on that market for their livelihoods cautioning that many Ugandans rely on affordable second-hand clothing as a key part of their daily lives, especially in the face of rising costs of living.
Traders also attributed the continuous threats of banning the importation of used clothes in the country to investors that pressure the president to stop the importation of cloths they deal in that attract limited market.
While both the president and KACITA agree on the importance of developing Uganda’s local textile industry, the divergence lies in the approach.
Museveni’s call for an immediate ban on used clothes is at odds with KACITA’s request for the government to first address the infrastructural, financial, and technical shortcomings of the local textile sector.
