MBARARA –Mbarara City council authorities have paid heed to the concerns of vendors by reducing the prohibitive rental fees for lock-ups in the new Mbarara Central Market.
Since June 2022, most lock-ups have remained closed and some stalls abandoned, with the poor vendors saying the monthly rental fees charged by the city council are too high for them to afford.
A council sitting held on December 22, 2022, resolved to revise the rental fees as requested by the market vendors.
“We had a council sitting towards Christmas and a number of issues were discussed. One of the issues discussed was the rental charges that the market vendors wanted us to reconsider,” the Mbarara City deputy town clerk, Richard Mugisha said.
According to Mugisha, vendors operating from the first and second floors had been asked to pay between Shs 30,000-250,000 which would generate revenue of Shs 61, 540, 000 per month for the city council.
In the revised fees, city council authorities expect to get 48,470, 000 per month. “Rental fees were revised in some cases to almost 80 percent reduction and with this reduction, we expect to get Shs 48, 470, 000 per month,” said Mugisha.
For example, Mugisha says a single and a double lock-up at level four have been reduced from Shs 80,000 and Shs 100, 000 to Shs 30,000, implying a total reduction of 70 percent.
He said lock-ups on the market’s level three have had their rent lowered to Shs 50,000 from Shs 100,000, although he said all the latest fees have not been implemented yet.
He said the city council authorities would meet with the market vendors to inform them of the new rates. “We are going to make a minute extract which will be signed and communicated by the speaker officially,” he said.
Mugisha said the council’s aim is to provide better service and provide an enabling environment for people to trade.
However, Emmanuel Muhumuza, the chairperson of the market, accused the city council of approving new rates without consulting the vendors.
“I was told that they [council members] held a meeting of which I was not a part because I was not invited. So I don’t know what prevailed yet,” Muhumuza said when asked if he was aware of the new rental charges.
It’s unfortunate that ever since they revised those charges, they have never communicated to us officially apart from coming and threatening us to pay rent,” he added.
Byansi Muhammad, a city councilor representing Kakoba division is worried that the reduction of the rental fees will have to affect the anticipated city revenue collection of about Shs 9 bln in the current financial year.
Mugisha has appealed to the vendors to cooperate with the council and pay new rental and license fees. “We expect vendors to cooperate because what we are doing is in their interest. We are also ready to listen to their concerns,” said Mugisha.
The market vendors had also protested other market fees such as gate charges, loading, and off-loading fees which now are prohibited. However, toilet charges were reduced from Shs 500 to Shs 200 per visit.
Mbarara Central Market, constructed at a cost of Shs 21 billion, accommodates 195 vendors and has facilities like a food court, daycare, restaurants, fowl cages, stalls, and lock-ups among others.
The market located in the center of Mbarara City is one of the regional markets constructed under the Markets and Agriculture Trade Improvement Project [MATIP] to alleviate poverty and improve agricultural trade.
https://thecooperator.news/mbarara-market-vendors-irked-as-authorities-demarcate-verandahs/
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