Decongest the city, minister tells traders

By Eddie Ssejjoba                
        
Trade minister Amelia Kyambadde has appealed to local entrepreneurs to help decongest the capital city by setting up businesses in the periphery, which she said would reduce traffic jams and help take services nearer to the people.

With more services outside the center, people would not congest the city and this would ease traffic flow.

The minister was Saturday addressing local entrepreneurs and residents of Namasuba along Entebbe Road at the grand opening of Freedom City, a multibillion shopping mall that hosts supermarkets, banks, salons, restaurants and other commercial shops.

The completed first phase of the ‘one stop-shopping’ mall has other facilities like a children’s park and discotheque among other facilities.

Kyambadde commended the proprietor, John Ssebalamu for initiating such facilities, which she said would as well help to reduce on scarcity of rental space and provide jobs. She said many landlords overcharge tenants and demand rental fees in dollars, which she said had affected most small businesses.

Ssebalamu is one of the city tycoons owning a score of commercial arcades and other businesses in the city and this was his latest addition to his business empire.

Kyambadde however said she was dismayed by a recent survey by her ministry which revealed that locally produced items occupy only 30% of shelf space in most supermarkets around the city.

“We found out in most supermarkets that over 70% of items sold area from Dubai, India, China and South Africa. We need to struggle and fight to let our products enter these supermarkets,” she said.  

She advised Ugandans to improve on the quality of locally produced goods to be able to compete for space.

In response to Ssebalamu’s request, the minister pledged to meet all local entrepreneurs to chat a way forward to the many complaints raised in different forums, including streamlining the operations of foreign investors.

  Ssebalamu said local entrepreneurs had issues which they wanted to debate with the ministry for solutions that could help boost the country’s economy.

“It is us to find solutions to our country’s problems, we therefore need to meet and discuss issues that we think are still affecting our smooth operations,” Ssebalamu said.

 The LC5 chairman for Wakiso, Lwanga Bwanika invited more investors saying the district still had more land for such enterprises.