'We deliver to Ministers, MP': Uganda plans ban on sale of used clothes; 80,000 people, mostly women, to lose jobs
'We deliver to Ministers, MP': Uganda plans ban on sale of used clothes; 80,000 people, mostly women, to lose jobs
Uganda’s capital has seen the bustling Owino secondhand market as the foundation of Hadija Nakimuli’s life for close to thirty years. As a widowed shopkeeper, it has been instrumental in her journey to building a home and raising twelve children.
However, a potential ban on used clothes imports, recently emphasised by President Yoweri Museveni threatened Nakimuli and thousands of vendors. Museveni aims to “promote African clothing,” raising concerns for the future of businesses like Nakimuli’s.
The sprawling market established in 1971 employs around 80,000 people, with 70 per cent being women, according to Kampala city authorities. Joseph Barimugaya, a menswear stall owner, emphasises the trade’s benefits for everyone, including the government through taxes.
VIDEO:
What's Your Reaction?
