Vendors lose millions as fire guts Kitagwenda market

KITAGWENDA: Vendors who have been operating from Kitagwenda central market in Kitagwenda town council are crying foul after the market caught fire burning all their goods to ashes.

The fire that gutted the market Sunday morning at around 3 am burnt goods worth about Shs 120 million.

According to the chairperson of the market, Moses Arinaitwe, most of the vendors had acquired loans to beef up their businesses.

Arinaitwe said the market which has been dealing in foodstuffs has been operating daily and has been serving a population of more than 15,000 people in Kitagwenda district.

“Most of the vendors have been operating while servicing loans and we now have nowhere to start from. We call upon government to intervene in the situation because it is out of hand,” Arinaitwe said.

He said vendors are worried because the market has been their only source of income.

One of the market vendors said: “School fees time is nearing yet we have lost our businesses to the fire. Banks are demanding us but we have nothing to do now since the fire has destroyed our goods.”

The market vendors lost goods like chicken, matooke, onions, Irish potatoes, charcoal, and liquid cash among others.

Patrick Turyamureeba, the Kitagwenda town council chairperson LCIII said as a town council, they have made a great loss because they have been collecting a lot of revenue from this market and it has been the main source of food for the people.

He said as a town council they will work tirelessly to ensure they save the situation by ensuring they get another option for the people who have lost their property.

“This has been the main food market in Kitagwenda district. As a town council and a district as a whole, we are going to make sure we work on this market because it has been helping all of us,” he said.

David Tumwine, the district chairperson disaster response committee promised to engage his team to make sure they compile all the necessary reports and submit them to the ministry of disaster preparedness so that they can give some support to the people who lost their property.

“These people had acquired money from different financial institutions and they have to repay and government should come in to support them to make sure they restate their businesses back to normal,” Tumwine said.

According to the Rwenzori West Regional police spokesperson, Vincent Twesige, the preliminary investigations indicate that the fire started at about 3 am on Sunday and burnt all the stalls made of wood poles, timber, and iron sheets.

“The possible cause of this fire is a lit charcoal stove that was left in the wooden kiosk. During our investigation, broken pieces of a charcoal stove were recovered at the scene,” Twesige said.

https://thecooperator.news/vendors-seeking-government-support-after-elegu-market-fire-outbreak/

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