A week-long strike by traders and clearing agents at Entebbe International Airport over what they termed as extortion from the customs department of the Uganda Revenue Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority’s failure to regulate traffic is paralyzing business at Uganda’s only gateway.
The strike which started on Tuesday this week was called by the traders who say, have been subjected to stringent measures of tax-paying, with delays at the customs department and yet ground handling service providers such as the National Aviation Services – NAS charges the traders with no help.
The traders also accuse the Quality Assurance desk at the Uganda Revenue Authority for failure to have a focal person at Entebbe International Airport and instead traders have to travel to Kampala to have goods in Entebbe cleared.
More than 100 traders clear goods through Entebbe International Airport on a large scale every day.
The traders also accuse both the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority and the Uganda Revenue Authority of Instituting a very small and inefficient scanner that takes long to operate leaving traders to take long in cues and with heavy charges from the ground handling department of the airport.
The current cargo terminal of Entebbe International Airport is said to be limited and cannot handle goods of up to 100,000 tonnes a day.
The new cargo terminal constructed with funds from the Exim Bank of China is not yet in operation.
It is not clear when the strike is expected to end. However, the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority Spokesperson, Mr. Vianney Luggya was not available for a comment on the matter as he could not pick repeated telephone calls.
