By Nelson Mandela Muhoozi
Photos by Edith Namayanja
Uganda Revenue Authority’s (URA) commissioner customs, Able Kagumire has revealed that the ongoing scuffle on Aflatoxins between Uganda and South Sudan is likely to impact income tax and road user levy.
Kagumire said that although there is no direct tax that arises from the exportation of maize, maize flour or beans, the ban on crops contaminated by mycotoxins will impact the income generated in the agriculture sector.
This, he said, will in the long run affect the income tax collectable from the agriculture value chain.
Kagumire who was speaking during a Thursday meeting with Members of Parliament on the agriculture, animal industries and fisheries Committee said road user levy on foreign trucks transporting goods, including maize flour and beans to South Sudan will be affected as the number of foreign trucks transporting these products are expected to reduce.
Kagumire said the government needs to intervene to reduce the prevalence of mycotoxins, which interventions have a high budget implication with regard to design and implementation, thus impacting the country’s resource envelope.
Members of Parliament on the Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries Committee also expressed doubt over South Sudan’s results on aflatoxin in Uganda’s grain, saying there is likely to be a political motive behind the results.
“If the standards bureau of South Sudan has tested our various grans and found that there are aflatoxins, then they should be able to share results. But if they are refusing to share the results, then we have a reason to doubt them and conclude that there could be other political agenda informing their actions,” Abed Bwanika (Kimaanya-Kabonera Division) said.
Bwanika said the East African Community trade protocol is clear and provides for the sharing of results.
“Our tests follow the same procedures using the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) System. So, there is no reason to hide the results. But when they refuse to share the results, then it creates suspicion,” he noted.
He said using results that cannot be shared with a trade partner state to reject goods is very unfair.
“We argue the government of South Sudan to follow the guidelines in the trade protocol since they appended their signatures on them,” he urged.
Agreeing with Bwanika, the chairperson of the committee, Janet Okori-Moe (DWR Abim), said there is a need to engage the South Sudan government more so that we can get the details.
“We need an inter-governmental engagement to ensure we get the details of what exactly happened. For now, we can’t say that they are permanently rejecting our grain because some are doing the trade even now,” she stated.
Bwanika said that URA should do tests on products before they are exported to avoid challenges in this line.
“Let URA give traders export certificates that comply with the export countries. This way, we shall clear our image in the external markets but also minimize the loss that results from this inconvenience,” Bwanika said.
He added, “Another issue that needs to be tackled is the traceability. There is a need to track where the maize grain example comes from, how it has been grown, and other aspects.”
Kagumire said that UNBS is currently conducting a sampling and testing exercise with respect to the consignments at the Elegu OSBP warehouse.
“The consignments that will not pass the Aflatoxin test will be destroyed while those that pass will be issued with certificates of conformity and returned to their respective owners for sale in Uganda,” he said.
Background
Around June 2023, following South Sudan’s concerns regarding the quality of goods/feeds imported from Uganda, the South Sudan National Bureau of Standards (SSNBS) impounded 90 trucks at Elegu-Nimule Boarder containing maize grains, beans, maize flour, and wheat from Uganda to South Sudan that were deemed unsuitable for human consumption on allegations that they were contaminated with Aflatoxin.
Consequently, on July 2023, the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID), URA, UNBS and South Sudan Authorities convened a meeting wherein the South Sudan Authorities agreed to and immediately released 23 of the 90 trucks to URA. The 23 trucks contained 27 assorted consignments.
Statistics
According to URA, in the Financial year 2022/2023, 349 metric tonnes of maize with customs value amounting to sh137,862,711,707 were exported.
About ninety-nine percent of the maize was exported to EAC partner states.
In the same financial year, 19.8 metric tonnes of maize flour with a customs value of sh12,897,622,210 was exported while 99.7 metric tonnes of beans with a customs value worth sh73,787,784,614 was exported.
About 78 percent of the beans were exported to the EAC partner states.
The impacts of mycotoxins on trade and revenue collection above aggravate poverty which will lead to increased dependency on foreign aid to sponsor effective mycotoxin research and implementation of mitigation interventions.
