Technology giant, Facebook has warned the Ugandan government that it will not go on with the planned investments in the country if the tax on their apps – Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp is not removed.
According to Kojo Boakye, the Africa public policy manager at Facebook, “the company has informed the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) that they will be taking their investments elsewhere.”
Boakye explained that the model of their investment plan will be hurt by the tax on Over the Top (OTT) services adding that the company will have to hold back on the investment worth millions of dollars.
Facebook announced its first investment in Uganda in 2017. The social networking site planned to partner with Airtel Uganda, Bandwidth and Cloud Services to extend the 770km fibre backhaul network to northern Uganda.
The tax that requires social media users to cough a daily Shs200 to access OTT platforms has been a centre of contention in Uganda since July 1 when it took effect.