Traders in downtown Kampala, Mityana and Masaka towns kept their shops closed yesterday as the three-day strike called to protest high commercial bank interest charges on old loans got underway.
Police and other security forces were deployed in large numbers in the deserted but usually very busy Central Business District as peaceful traders either looked on or strolled about idly.
Banks with a presence around Kikuubo and Owino Market, both hubs for wholesale and retail trade did not open their downtown branches. It was not immediately clear whether the decision not to open was taken to pre-empt additional plans of the business community to instigate a run on the banks with mass withdrawals of cash.
Already grappling with the effects of a debilitating economic slow-down as 27 per cent inflation compounds an impossible cost of living situation for most Ugandans, President Museveni is reported to have quickly reached out to the business community.
Sources said he instructed Police chief Lt. Gen. Kale Kayihura to arrange an impromptu meeting which was due to convene last evening with the traders’ leaders and Makerere University academic staff representatives.
SOURCE: DAILY MONITOR
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