UPC disagrees with Museveni’s ban on second-hand clothes

By Charles Katabalwa

30^th Aug 2023

The opposition party Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) has joined other Ugandans to condemn the ban on the importation of used second-hand clothes into the country.

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni while commissioning the industrial hub in Mbale last Friday announced a revival ban on the importation of used clothing into Uganda saying it stifles the development of local textile industries and that the clothes belonged to dead westerners.

The UPC Spokesperson Sharon Arch told the media during the party weekly press conference at Uganda house in Kampala that at least 90% of Ugandans benefit from the sale of second hand clothes so any ban will create more problems for Ugandans.

Arch adds that the directive should ideally lead to enhanced cotton growing with district revival of old cotton-belt as it offers the best physical and climatic conditions for cotton growing as well as abundant opportunities for development.

However UPC is concerned about the quality of Uganda products because second hand clothes and shoes on the market are better and reliable than some new items hence high demand for used ones.

In 2020, the Uganda National Bureau of Standards was forced to rescind the ban on the Mivumba importation amid outrage from importers.

Earlier in 2017 when Uganda first tried to ban secondhand clothes, it faced threats from the United States government following a petition filed by Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles – a leading exporter of secondhand clothing in the United States.

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