MBARARA– There was excitement as vendors started occupying the new Mbarara Central Market this week, ending the recent confusion caused by corruption allegations against some of the market and city council workers.
In 2018, government contracted Roko Construction Limited to reconstruct the market in the heart of Mbarara city within two years but the project stalled until early 2022 when it was officially commissioned and handed over to the city’s leadership.
The market would later be opened on March 16, 2022, by Local Government Minister, Raphael Magyezi, but was closed after some of the vendors accused the leaders of corruption in the allocation of kiosks and stalls in the Shs 21 bln facility.
This month has seen the first 592 commodity sellers allowed to operate in the market.
Minister Magyezi has attributed the delay in allocating spaces to corruption occasioned by selling kiosks and stalls to ineligible vendors, prompting an investigation and leading to the interdiction of the City Commercial Officer James Agaba and his assistant Donati Mutahi.
Joseline Kiconco, the Acting Principal Commercial Officer has headed the successful relocation of space in the market to vendors, having been appointed by Minister Magyezi.
The Minister maintained that the market is for the poor people and not the rich, warning Kiconco to follow all the due processes to avoid further inconsistencies.
The verification exercise was successful; over 900 vendors have already occupied the stalls, kiosks, and pitches while business is going on even late in the night.
Speaking to Jolly Muhumuza, a fruit vendor at the market could not hide her happiness, saying that the allocation of stalls this time is transparent.
“I am very happy to have come to the market and I commend the new leaders for fighting so hard to see that we enter our market,” Muhumuza.
Musa Ntaazi, a butcher, commended the 25-man verification committee that was appointed by the Minister for exhibiting transparency during the reallocation exercise.
Emmanuel Muhumuza, acting chairperson Mbarara Central Market Association confirmed that the council and the Local Government Ministry officials resolved to reallocate the original vendors first before new ones can get space for business.
Muhumuza said the redeveloped market has a 1,095 vendor capacity ready to accommodate all the vendors that temporarily occupied the independence park.
However, he said the relocation would be conducted gradually, giving priority to vendors dealing in fruits, vegetables, chicken, fish, and meat first.
Nevertheless, more than 300 vendors don’t appear on the list of those expected to get space in the market and have petitioned the Mbarara City Traders Association leadership to help them.
“We have so far received over 300 vendors who are protesting being left out,” Simon Mwijuka Seezi, the Chairperson Mbarara City Traders Association explained.
Lt. Col. James Mwesigye, Resident city commissioner [RCC] Mbarara added that they have constituted an eight-man appeals committee to receive any complaints that will arise from the relocation exercise.
“Once the resettlement of the remaining over 500 vendors is done in the first phase, a special complaints committee will receive complaints of those not on the lists, and their issues will be settled,” Mwesigye noted.
Bonny Tashobya, Speaker of Mbarara City Council said other vendors can occupy the other city markets in other divisions. “All the other vendors missing on the list can occupy other markets within the city,” he said.
According to Tashobya, the city council agreed to levy Shs 100, 000-Shs 200, 000 per year for vendors that have entered the new central market.
Mbarara Central Market is among the regional markets constructed in; Soroti, Tororo, Busia, Jinja, Mbale, Gulu, Lugazi, Entebbe, and Kasese, among others. They were constructed under the Markets and Agriculture Trade Improvement Project [MATIP] meant to alleviate poverty and improvement of agricultural trade.
https://thecooperator.news/mbarara-market-vendors-want-allocation-of-stalls-halted/
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