Traders in the Western Uganda district of Kasese have vowed to reward President Museveni handsomely for a new market currently under construction in Kasese town.
Construction of Kasese Central market is being carried out by the government of Uganda with funding from the African Development Bank [ADB] under the Markets and Agricultural Improvement Program project (MATIP) currently in its last phase in the country. The market is scheduled for completion in February next year.
”We are thankful to the president for this market, and come February when he comes to hand it over, we shall have a big gift awaiting him,” Wilson B. Wahemba, the Chairperson of Kasese Central Market Traders and Vendors Association told theCooperator. He, however, declined to specify the nature of gift the vendors have in store for the president.
Nevertheless, Mr. Wahemba says the market is too small to accommodate all the traders interested in occupying it.
“While we appreciate the work so far done, this market remains too small to handle the number of traders were already have,” he said.
He noted that the number of vendors has grown from 800 to 1200 ever since construction of the market started in 2017, yet the available stalls and lockups stand at 846.
According to the Mayor, Kasese Municipality, Mr. Godfrey Kabbyanga, clear guidelines for governing the new market need to be put in place early enough to ensure a smooth transition once it is completed.
“We have always had problems transitioning from makeshift to modern markets. This time a proper procedure should be followed,” the mayor said.
Mr. Kabbyanga also pointed out major shortcomings of the new market, including the fact that it has no provision for restaurants, banks, clinics and other facilities.
However, Eng. Gabriel Fataki, who is overseeing construction works, says that all the missing amenities will be catered for using the project’s contingency fund.
“This market will contain everything including banks, restaurants, places of worship and so on,” Eng. Fataki stated.
