Ugandans are not happy with the new tax for the use of social media

(KAMPALA, Uganda) – A new social media tax has come into effect in Uganda, which has angered many who see the tax measure as an attack on freedom of expression.

Longtime leader Yoweri Museveni, who complained of online gossip in a March letter, urged the finance minister to raise money to deal with the consequences.

A daily advance of Shs200 (5 cents) to access all social media sites.

Service providers, including regional telecommunications giant MTN, said in a joint statement that the levy would be levied on July 1 on "Over The Top", including access to websites such as That Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.The tax will be deducted by the service providers who will then pay to the revenue service

.Many Ugandans are "bitter" because the tax "was made of bad faith, "said Ladislaus Rwakafuuzi, a prominent human rights lawyer." The reasons were anti-people, anti-social, not development-oriented, "he said on Monday.

Amnesty International has urged the Ugandan authorities to abolish the tax, describing it as "an obvious attempt to undermine the right to". By making people pay for the use of these platforms, this tax will make these channels inaccessible to the public. x low-income people, depriving many people of their right to freedom of expression, with a The government hopes to raise about 400 billion shillings (about $ 100 million) during the current fiscal year . According to government figures, about 17 million of the 41 million Ugandans are active Internet users.

This is not the first time that the Ugandan government is taking steps to reduce the use of social media in the country. February 2016, while Ugandans voted in a tight presidential election, officials blocked access to Facebook and Twitter, citing unspecified security threats. This poll, won by Museveni, was tainted with allegations of fraud and late delivery of voting materials in some opposition strongholds.

Museveni, who took power by force in 1981 and remains an ally of the United States for regional security. Decades after lawmakers last year passed a bill removing an age limit to the presidency. Museveni, who is 73, would have been ineligible to run again under a constitutional provision that barred 75 years or more from presiding over the presidency.

The reversal of the age barrier has reinforced the charges against Museveni. "Many Ugandans have been indifferent to the ills of the Museveni regime but now that they are directly taxed, they will probably wake up and start wondering how their taxes are spent," said Gerald Bareebe, a university researcher who regularly uses social media. "And I think if Ugandans learn that their money is wasted by corruption, they will put pressure on the regime for it to change."