Soroti City leaders on the spot over sale of market stalls

SOROTI –Both the leaders of Soroti City Council are on the spot for allegedly conniving with Soroti Main Market leadership to sell stalls and lock-ups to the tycoons at the expense of the poor vendors for whom the market was constructed.

The Shs 24 billion market was constructed by the government under the Markets and Agricultural Trade Improvement Programme [MATIP] and currently hosts more than 2000 vendors.

Last week Soroti City Council embarked on a fresh verification exercise to sieve out the illegible vendors and ascertain the number of former tenants who missed the lock-ups during the first allocating process.

The verification which ended on Monday this week was led by the principal community development officer, Damali Asekenye, who is the market project officer.

This follows October 2022 directive by the Minister of Local Government Raphael Magyezi to Soroti City Council to avail him with a list of more than 2,000 vendors currently occupying the market.

During a visit to Soroti at that time, minister Magyezi was shocked to learn that some city staff and other individuals have allocated themselves more than five lock-ups each.

However, the decision by the city council authorities to carry out a fresh verification exercise has triggered a fresh uproar among those who built lock-ups in the old market that was demolished in 2018 to pave way for the construction of the modern market.

On Tuesday, a group of vendors stormed the office of the Soroti resident city commissioner [RCC], Peter Pex Pak accusing the market stalls allocation committee of selling the stalls to people who were the initial occupants of the old market.

Isaac Auta, one of the irate vendors said that before the demolition of the old market, they signed a memorandum of understanding with Soroti Municipal Council to be given first priority in the new market but this was not done.

“Most of the stalls in the market are being occupied by the political leaders, Soroti city council civil servants, and their relatives,” Auta alleged.

Rhoda Ajulo, one of the affected vendors, lamented that the stall allocation process was characterised with nepotism and bribery as the allocation committee and city leaders sold stalls to their relatives and friends.

She claimed that: “Distribution of stalls was marred with corruption and politics, they have betrayed us at the last hour and yet we signed agreements before leaving.”

However, the chairperson of lock-up allocation committee, Richard Opiding said the stalls/kiosks were allotted to the vendors following the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Local Government.

He, therefore, called upon the Ministry of Local Government to sort out the matter, explaining that the allocation committee cannot make decisions on a project that belongs to government.

Meanwhile, Soroti city principal community development officer Asekenye, who is also the market project officer denied selling out any stall to people who were not tenants in the old market.

“We successfully handled category one and two which comprise vendors who built lock-ups on council land and those who hired council-built lock-ups and rented them out to sub-tenants who are now complaining,” said Asekenye.

She advised the affected vendors to amicably settle the matter with market and Soroti city authorities.

Meanwhile, RCC Pak directed the aggrieved vendors to channel their grievances to the office of the city clerk for redress.

https://thecooperator.news/mbarara-central-market-rental-fees-cut-to-appease-vendors/

Buy your copy of thecooperator magazine from one of our country-wide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news