Owino vendors split over redevelopment
Mar 25, 2010
ST. Balikudembe (Owino) Market vendors have disassociated themselves from plans to develop the market by the market management.
By Jeff Lule
ST. Balikudembe (Owino) Market vendors have disassociated themselves from plans to develop the market by the market management.
The traders said the project, spearheaded by Godfrey Kayongo under the St. Balikuddembe Stalls and Lock-up Owners’ Association, leaves out many traders.
“The association was formed by a group of people for their own selfish interests. This group is illegal because it was not elected by traders,†the chairman of the St. Balikudembe Market Produce, Traders and Vendors Cooperative Society, Simon Kivumbi, said.
Kivumbi was speaking at a meeting with fellow traders at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala recently.
He said Kayongo and his colleagues failed to reach a resolution with other associations to form a unifying group.
“They have been extorting money from traders since 2007 but no development has been done. We want them to account for the money they collected for the lease and re-development of the market,†Kivumbi added.
He said Police investigations revealed that one of the accounts where the collected money was supposed to be deposited had only sh37m out of sh1.7b expected to be on it.
He said most of the executive members of the association are Kampala City Council (KCC) workers who are focused on becoming landlords.
Kivumbi said KCC defied the President’s directive that ordered it not to lease the market until their legal entity is proven.
In the President’s January 19, 2009, letter to the local government minister, he said the minister should work with the Attorney General to ensure that the association is a proper legal entity and all the vendors are taken care of before leasing the market.
The traders argue that KCC defied the directive and went ahead to give the lease to Kayongo and his group.
In a February 3 letter, the town clerk, Ruth Kijjambu, notified the association on the prerequisite conditions to be fulfiled before getting the lease. But this was after the Kampala district contracts committee approved the lease.
According to a December 4, 2009, order from the High Court judge, Vincent Zehurikize, KCC was prohibited from granting the lease to the association until the interests of the sitting tenants are catered for.
Kivumbi said the market has 60,000 people but Kayongo’s group caters for only 10,000.
“We want a fresh registration so that we know how many people we have and what they do. Where do they expect the 50,000 to go?†Kivimbi asked.
ST. Balikudembe (Owino) Market vendors have disassociated themselves from plans to develop the market by the market management.
The traders said the project, spearheaded by Godfrey Kayongo under the St. Balikuddembe Stalls and Lock-up Owners’ Association, leaves out many traders.
“The association was formed by a group of people for their own selfish interests. This group is illegal because it was not elected by traders,†the chairman of the St. Balikudembe Market Produce, Traders and Vendors Cooperative Society, Simon Kivumbi, said.
Kivumbi was speaking at a meeting with fellow traders at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala recently.
He said Kayongo and his colleagues failed to reach a resolution with other associations to form a unifying group.
“They have been extorting money from traders since 2007 but no development has been done. We want them to account for the money they collected for the lease and re-development of the market,†Kivumbi added.
He said Police investigations revealed that one of the accounts where the collected money was supposed to be deposited had only sh37m out of sh1.7b expected to be on it.
He said most of the executive members of the association are Kampala City Council (KCC) workers who are focused on becoming landlords.
Kivumbi said KCC defied the President’s directive that ordered it not to lease the market until their legal entity is proven.
In the President’s January 19, 2009, letter to the local government minister, he said the minister should work with the Attorney General to ensure that the association is a proper legal entity and all the vendors are taken care of before leasing the market.
The traders argue that KCC defied the directive and went ahead to give the lease to Kayongo and his group.
In a February 3 letter, the town clerk, Ruth Kijjambu, notified the association on the prerequisite conditions to be fulfiled before getting the lease. But this was after the Kampala district contracts committee approved the lease.
According to a December 4, 2009, order from the High Court judge, Vincent Zehurikize, KCC was prohibited from granting the lease to the association until the interests of the sitting tenants are catered for.
Kivumbi said the market has 60,000 people but Kayongo’s group caters for only 10,000.
“We want a fresh registration so that we know how many people we have and what they do. Where do they expect the 50,000 to go?†Kivimbi asked.