Uganda plans to slap a new tax on social media users from July to raise revenue, which human rights activists denounced as another attempt by President Yoweri Museveni to stifle freedom of expression and quash dissent to his 32-year-rule.
The move is unlikely to go down well in a country where more than 40 percent of people use the internet. Data costs in Africa are already among the world’s highest, according to digital advocacy group World Wide Web Foundation.

Finance Minister Matia Kasaija told Reuters in a phone interview that the tax will charge each mobile phone subscriber using platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook 200 Ugandan shillings ($0.027) per day. He dismissed concerns it could limit people’s use of the internet.

“We’re looking for money to maintain the security of the country and extend electricity so that you people can enjoy more of social media, more often, more frequently,” he said.
Human rights activists begged to differ, and some took to social media to criticise the proposal.

“It’s part of a wider attempt to curtail freedoms of expression,” Rosebell Kagumire, a human rights activist and blogger, said.



Of Uganda’s 41 million people, 23.6 million are mobile phone subscribers and 17 million use the internet.

Kasaija said the proposal, to be included in the budget for fiscal 2018/19 starting in July, had been sent to parliament this week for review after the cabinet approved it.
The government blocked access to Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp during the last general election in 2016, a move used by other entrenched rulers in Africa in response to grassroots movements against them.

Among other governments in East Africa moving to regulate internet use, Tanzania introduced a law last month requiring any citizen operating a blog or website to pay an annual licence fee of 1 million Tanzanian shillings ($440). ($1 = 3,690 Ugandan shillings, 2,261 Tanzanian shillings) (Additional reporting and writing by Omar Mohammed Editing by Maggie Fick and Hugh Lawson)


http://www.okaygh.com/uganda-plans-tax-social-media-use-july/

Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently

Though Nothing Concern Me For The POST Because The Continent Named AFRICA is just full of shame.

Only in Africa Snake Swallow Millions
Only in Africa Monkey Cart Away Millions
Only in Africa Vigilant can stop SARS
Only in Africa police are proclaim to be your friends whereas they are Best of Evil you can have as one
Only in Africa Bail if Free, but you have to pay for Freedom
Only in Africa cow are more valuable than human
Only in Africa undertakers of the NORTH fund BH to kill its people all in the name of PROPAGANDA
Only in Africa BH can now advice northerners not to send girl child to school

Besides... Lemme comman Pack my bags and leave

Bubu be like...

As for me , I like that idea



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OK

That one no consign me , abeg is their any provision in our constitution Where a country can loan à leader from another country to type them....#Obama is jobless

WTF

Shittyhole

I seriously regret been born in this continent of ours. It saddens me

Most African leaders are useless

This is grossly insane

SH*THOLE

Insane government

teebaxy:
That one no consign me , abeg is their any provision in our constitution Where a country can loan à leader from another country to type them....#Obama is jobless

Obama's effort will be in vain.The people around him will see to that

The brain dead cretín Buhari will definitely like this idea

Nothing you won't hear in Africa

igbohausayoruba:
Insane government

like the one we have in Nigeria

that's why African countries will continue to lag behind.....imagine the type of nonsense they can think of as part of development......so the social media is now their problem n fear........is 32 years not enough for one to be in power?yet you wnt to curtail the media with tax payment....

SHITE.

Smh

We need it in Nigeria to checkmate those who post irrelevant topics and comments on social media

32 years in power My God

Tax on the use of social media...Ovoko!!! are they that poor

Orisirisi dey happen for Africa o! Upon say pesin struggled to buy phone and then load am with data....pesin go still pay tax to use am.....oga o!

Shebi dem son collect VAT before on phone purchase and data.......

If work dey for country, who go even find time dey go Social Media self.....useless leaders!

IamaNigerianGuy:
Nothing you won't hear in Africa

when one thought nothing new to see or hear, Africa always spring's a surprise!

Tax on use of Social Media ....!

All is well.. ...long live Africa

KillerBeauty:
32 years in power My God

the man has bn ruling uganda two years b4 I was born. Holy Moses!