Ghost vendors: Minister Magyezi halts allocation of lock-ups in new Mbarara market

MBARARA – The Minister of Local Government, Raphael Magyezi has stopped resettling vendors in the newly constructed Mbarara Central Market, following complaints of unfairness and corruption exhibited by the leaders.

This comes at a time when the already verified vendors were only left with three days to officially resettle in the redeveloped market.

About 350 out of over 1000 vendors operating from the market reported the unfairness to the minister as leaders inconsistently allocated stalls, pitches, and lock-ups. theCooperator already reported on this matter where leaders denied they had done injustice to some of the vendors.

According to Hannington Mugisha (vendor), lockups and stalls were given to tycoons in Mbarara, “A reason why we are suffering to get where to put our items.”

There is a man who works with World Bank whom I know well that paid a bribe of Shs15 million to acquire lockups in the market” Mugisha told the minister for local government, said Mugisha.

Abas Nsengimana, also a vendor, reported to the minister that the market spaces were allocated to ghost vendors.

“What happens is that each stall has been allocated to two people. The allocation committee would tell you that you will occupy this stall with another person whose identity they failed to reveal. We are still wondering how we are going to share the small rooms and with whom are we going to share?”

Winnie Begumanya, dealing in clothes, also told the minister that the market leadership and city leadership violated his earlier directive of not charging vendors rent for two months, while commissioning the market on March 19, 2022.

“People who were not operating from the central market are the ones who were allocated lockups in the new facility. For instance, there is a family which has three lock-ups…yet for us who went to Independence Park, hit by the rain and sun, and our products eaten by rats, are the ones missing to get stalls in the new market,” Begumanya said.

“Some vendors have also run to money lenders to get money to pay the rent such that their lockups are not grabbed.  During the market launch, you said we should not be charged rent fees, that we shall only be paying Shs 20,000 as a maintenance fee for two months but the city leadership is now charging us between Shs 30,000-Shs40,000 shillings before being allocated a stall in the redeveloped market. So should we think it’s the minister that deceived us or it’s the city council that is cheating us?” She asked.(RCC

It is from these cries that Minister Magyezi suspended the executive leadership of the market. Muhammad Nyombi heads it. The minister also directed the town clerk Assy Abirebe to suspend the principal commercial officer, James Agaba and his assistant, Donanti Mutahi.

“Those two [Abirebe and Mutahi], I want to direct you [Town clerk] that starting from Monday you have to stop them from working. The government will investigate them and if they find that they didn’t eat people’s money they will go back to their offices but if found they were involved in corruption, they will be interdicted,” Magyezi said.

“Chairman Nyombi and your team from today have been dismissed so whoever received money from a person to allocate him space in the market, you have only this weekend to refund that money,” the minister added.

Magyezi urged people to fight corruption. “People should not think that the market is like their banana plantation where they can earn money through corruption tendencies.”

“Whoever knows that he got a lockup but wants to rent it to another vendor is not accepted in this market. All those calling themselves landlords are not allowed because all people occupying this market must be vendors to the government, not individuals,” the minister said.

He also ordered police to arrest two vendors who were part of the allocations committee. They were among the group extorting money from vendors in order to allocate them space in the market.

These include; Joselyn Mugizi and Sharif Natwijuka who were taken by police to record statements at Mbarara Central Police Station.

The minister further directed the office of the Resident City commissioner [RCC] and the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) to investigate all leaders who sold stalls and kiosks in the new market.

“I have given the RCC and the CID only two weeks to investigate all people who have been extorting money from the vendors, also to investigate the ghost vendors who unlawfully received lockups in the new market and also investigate families which received more than one lockup in the new market,” said Magyezi.

The minister promised to appoint a new allocation committee to resettle in the redeveloped market.

“They were using duplicate papers to allocate space to the tycoons around Mbarara. The market will remain closed until we appoint a new allocation committee so take heart we shall sort all the issues in your market,” Magyezi said.

According to the minister’s earlier directive, vendors were supposed to occupy the new facility on April 11, 2022.

Mbarara central market is among the regional commissioned markets that include; Soroti, Tororo, Busia, Lugazi, Entebbe, Mbale and Kasese and even those incomplete like in Moroto, Arua, Lira and Kabale among others constructed under the Markets and Agriculture Trade Improvement Project (MATIP) meant to alleviate poverty and improvement of agricultural trade.

Mbarara Central Market accommodates 1151 vendors. They will occupy facilities such as; lockups (552), stalls (256), pitches (167), food court, restaurants, day-care, police post, and an office block.

https://thecooperator.news/mbarara-market-vendors-want-allocation-of-stalls-halted/

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