The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has intercepted tons of Kenyan rice concealed in cement shipment along Tororo-Jinja Highway.
This publication learnt that for the past three months, URA has recovered about 70 tonnes of smuggled rice valued at millions of shillings during routine inspections of cargo from neighbouring Kenya.
Mr Moses Wanjala Owino, Manager enforcement and border control eastern region, says that acting on intelligence, the URA enforcement team was able to intercept a truck along Tororo-Jinja Road conveying cement but upon checking, they found that in the cement, they had concealed about 3.2 tonnes of rice.
“This disparate effort of method by the smugglers has been caused by our heightened intelligence across the region by a team of enforcement,” Mr Wanjala said.
Mr Wanjala explained that mixing cement or transporting cement with rice, which is consumable, is a risk to the consumer, because cement has got a chemical component, which is very dangerous to people.
“The chemical in the cement is associated with lung cancer. We shall hand over this rice to the National Bureau of Standards for testing to see if it is fit for human consumption,” he said.
He added, “We want to call upon the traders to always buy rice and other consumables from genuine suppliers who clear their goods through the normal URA channels because some of the rice that you purchase from unknown traders, is not good for human consumption.”
He said the traders should also desist from any form of fraudulent tax evasion scheme, saying they have deployed their intelligence across the borders.
“We are doing whatever it takes to protect our border because our goal is to ensure that nothing is smuggled into the market because smuggling destabilises the market,” he said.
The officer in charge of enforcement at Malaba border said the trader was planning to take the smuggled rice from Kenya to Kampala.
“We stopped the vehicle and we told them that we wanted to confirm what they were carrying. They first told us that it was cement but when we opened and checked, we found rice,” he said, adding that smuggling is rampant in the eastern region.
The eastern Uganda-Kenya border stretches over 800 kilometres, presenting a vast expanse that is difficult to monitor effectively. Smugglers exploit this vastness, taking advantage of porous border areas, informal crossing points, and remote regions to carry out their activities.
Traders cross through the porous border points of Malaba, Busia and Lwakahakha to smuggle goods mostly wheat flour, rice, tyres, cement, cooking oil, garments and electronics more so mobile phones and computers, claiming they are cheaper compared to Ugandan.
Mr Jacob Othieno, a trader at Tororo Central market who deals in produce, said he resorted to buying packed rice from Kenya because of its cheapness and demand among Ugandans.
He said he buys a 25 Kilogram of rice from Kenya at Shs75,000 and sells it in Uganda at over Shs100,000. “This means I get more profit,” he said.
Ms Suzan Nyabonyo, another trader in Merikit town council, said traders who pay taxes are being pushed out of business by those who smuggle.
“They sell at cheaper prices because they don’t pay taxes. Some of us genuine traders have even lost clients,” she said.