Wandegeya Market vendors to relocate

Sep 09, 2011

Vendors operating inside Wandegeya Market on the outskirts of Kampala city have three weeks to vacate the Market, to pave way for the development of a modern shopping complex.

By Taddeo Bwambale

Vendors operating inside Wandegeya Market on the outskirts of Kampala city have three weeks to vacate the Market, to pave way for the development of a modern shopping complex.

Over 500 people operate in the Market, which is largely dominated by vendors selling cooked food, retail shops and hair salons.

The vendors have up to October 3 to vacate the Market for a new one that is expected to accommodate 4,000 traders. Construction of the new Market will take two years at a cost of sh18b.

The move will affect several vendors evicted from various city streets by KCCA on Monday, who had found space in the Market.

Wandegeya Market is one of the seven Markets countrywide to be rebuilt under the Markets and Agricultural Trade Improvement Programme (MATIP-1), supported by the Government and the African Development Bank. The other Markets are in Lira, Gulu, Mbale, Jinja, Hoima, and Kabarole districts.

The new Markets will be equipped with facilities such as fire detection systems, cold rooms, banks, clinics, basement parking lots, community halls, daycare centres and electronic price/advertising boards.

The programme is intended to benefit over 15,000 people who will operate in the markets, most which were constructed in the 1950s and are in poor shape.

Under the proposed arrangement, vendors will find alternative workplaces thereafter and return after two years when the new structures are ready.

Before vacating the Markets, all registered vendors are required to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with their respective urban councils.

Registration of vendors operating in Wandegeya Market started last week, and they are expected to have moved by October 3.

The chairperson of the vendors associations managing the Market, Hajji Mawejje Mutesasira disclosed that they were finalizing plans to acquire a nearby piece of land for a temporary market. KCCA reportedly secured sh200m for the purchase of the land.

According to Mutesasira, each of the vendors who have signed the agreements and will be issued with a sub-lease once the new complex is completed, indicating that any future sale of the area will require the consent of all the vendors.

However, some KCCA councilors on Wednesday called for a review of the process of registering the vendors, citing corruption.

The Government last week awarded five contracts to local construction firms to build the Markets at a cost of sh123b. They include Amugoli General Enterprises Ltd, Dott Services Ltd, Ambitious Construction Ltd, Vambeco Enterprises Ltd and Excel Construction Ltd.

Other 14 markets will be selected for construction and upgrading in the second phase of the MATIP project, with support from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa.

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