Government suspends trade order operations

KAMPALA - The government has suspended the ongoing trade order enforcement operations across the country until further notice, following public complaints over forceful evictions of roadside traders.

Trade Minister David Bahati told Parliament that the decision was reached after receiving numerous concerns from traders, religious leaders and other stakeholders.

Bahati said the government had held meetings with the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Gender to review the implementation of the crackdown.

“The purpose of the trade order was to bring order in urban areas. We constructed markets, but people were not using them and instead buying from vendors. But we have listened to the concerns,” Bahati said.

He noted that places of worship had wrongly been affected during the operation, saying churches should not have been treated like trading businesses.

“We have suspended the operations until we do more consultations. We shall have a final meeting at the end of June so that by the beginning of July, we have a refined way of operating,” he added.

The minister also apologised to religious leaders, saying some enforcement officers used abusive language during the exercise.

The suspension follows weeks of complaints over abrupt evictions, destruction of goods and use of excessive force by enforcement teams.

Ibrahim Ssemujju asked government what would be done for traders whose businesses were destroyed, urging authorities to carry out future operations “with a human face.”

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among said the matter was inter-ministerial and government would formally communicate the suspension to Chief Administrative Officers and town clerks across the country.

The crackdown had been launched following a March 10 circular by the Ministry of Local Government directing local authorities to clear illegal roadside trading, restore sanitation and enforce designated trading areas.