Activists demand for additional taxes on alcoholic products in Uganda.
NATIONAL: Civil Society members in the health sector have demanded for an increase of taxes on alcoholic products as to curb the excessive alcohol consumption in the country.
This was observed during a meeting between the Members of the Uganda Alcohol Policy Alliance and the Members of Parliament, today 26th April 2024 in Kampala.
The activists told MPs that raising taxes on alcoholic products to 35% would force manufacturers to increase the prices of alcoholic beverages thus serving the Generations in Uganda.
The Acting Assistant Commissioner Mental Health Dr. Nafsa Kukwata Ssentongo said that an increased tax on alcoholic beverages will deter groups like the Young people and the poor from alcohol consumption.
Dr. Nafsa disclosed how Uganda has kept lagging behind in development because of the people who are harmfully taking alcohol, wasting all their income.
“We need to protect the Young people, the poor people, we need to see a bit of Development in our country, we are lagging behind and these are some of the Reasons. People are taking alcohol in harmful ways” Said Dr. Nafsa Kukwata Ssentongo.
Giving his remarks the Busia Municipality member of the Parliament Hon. Geoffrey Macho said that the idea comes at a time when they are in the Budgeting process which calls for all the Committees engagement on the Matter.
“Budget process is still taking place and time is now we should lobby our brothers and sisters in committees, majorly in the committee of Health, in the Budget Committee and other committees so that alcohol becomes one of the big issues to talk about” Said Hon Geoffrey Macho.
Prof. Dr. Nazarius Mbona Tumwesigye, an Activist from Makerere University School of Public Health said that it’s evident that as taxes on alcohol increase, the number of addictions will reduce in the country.
He added that the government will on the other side increase their revenues and have less problems on alcohol much less than what Uganda currently grabs with.
“It’s with a lot of evidence which shows that when taxes on alcohol are increased the number of addictions will reduce and the government will increase their revenues plus having less problems on alcohol much less than what we have today” Said Prof. Dr. Nazarius Tumwesigye.
The decision comes at a time when the Uganda Revenue Authority URA is benchmarking ways of collecting taxes worth UGX 31.574 trillion to finance the 2024/25 national budget.
As per 2023 World Health Organization (WHO) report, Uganda was ranked the first in alcohol consumption on the African continent.
The report also shows that on average, a Ugandan consumes 12.21 litres of pure alcohol annually with Men consuming more than women, with an average of 19.93 litres of pure alcohol annually compared to 4.88 litres for women.
