All dormant stalls and lockups in Kitoro Market will be reallocated to persons in search of working space and those vending on streets, the Entebbe Municipality Mayor, Fabrice Rulinda has said.
The pronouncement was made after an assessment on the status of the UGX 24 Billion Kitoro Market as the Municipal Council intensified operations against street vending.
During the exercise, on Thursday, the Mayor learnt there are over 200 stalls and lockups that have been under lock and key for more than a year.
According to Rulinda, the dormant stalls and lockups were allocated to different people, who instead decided to rent out the stalls at exorbitant rates.
“There are people who have turned this market into their personal property, they have stalls and shops where they collect their own money and they do not even remit this money to council. Everyone (vendors) should get direct tenancy from the Municipal Council,
“When we found out about this vice, I called the number that was left on one of the shops and the person told me if I do not have 7 million upfront, I shouldn’t even bother.” Rulinda said
However, according to the market leadership before the development of the modern Kitoro market, the area had two markets where vendors owned several stalls, and the same individuals were allowed to hold the same number of stalls after redeveloping the market for five years.
The vendors also accuse some Municipality officials for allocating lockups to ‘ghost owners’ unknown to the market leadership and acting in favor of only a few individuals.
About The Author
