Insurance body bars companies to pay KCCA trading license

Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) has rejected its members from paying trading license to Kampala City Authority (KCCA).

“I would like to inform the members of the IRA that KCCA should not continue to close down your business for lack of paying trading license. Of recent we have received reports that some of our members have had their premises closed down”, Said the IRA Executive Officer Ibrahim Kadunabi.

Kadunabi disclosed this during a breakfasting for the Chief Executive officers at Protea hotel in Kampala to update the members on the current new developments regarding their industry.

He said that KCCA is a government body like IRA which collects it revenue on tax and it is paid to government. There is no way members should continue to be harassed by KCCA.

“According to the Trade license act insurance companies are exempted from the requirement of holding trade license or paying trade license fee. We believe nobody is going to force our members to pay license to KCCA.What KCCA is doing is out of the law.

However, the KCCA spokesperson, Peter Kaujju, he refuted the claims by IRA executive officer Kadunabi.He said they will continue demand license for any person who carries out a business and earns revenue by law.

“Any person opting to carry on business in the City must have a trading license. We shall continue to cab and close down insurance premises without a license. We have relaxing and allowing business community to pay their trading license at every end financial year. We actually we need more revenue to run operation of the City”, Said Kaujju.

Kadunabi said insurance companies pay sh. 2 million to IRA allows them to operate annually.

He noted that under the new act of insurance, members have been urged to reinvest their premium in Uganda. This was done to encourage those who were taking their premium to other countries for investment to be retained here. In 2010 the Authority raised sh.8 billion of which 15% would have been invested in the new venture.

“The new venture will make their members more strong and organized as we move to the East African federation. It will also build capacity in the field expertise because of the key players who are already operational” said chairman of the Uganda Insurance Association, Mathew Koech.

By Wilfred Sanya
The New Vision Newspaper
30-April-2012