Market traders petition Musisi over market dues

By Juliet Waiswa

OVER 200 St. Balikuddembe Market traders stormed the offices of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), demanding that KCCA intervenes on the market monthly dues charged by St. Balikuddembe Market Stalls, Space and Lock up Shops Owners Association (SSLOA).

The traders led by their chairman Joseph Lwanga mainly from St. Balikuddembe Produce Traders and Vendors Cooperative Society limited (MPTVC) carried a petition to KCCA executive director Jennifer Musisi in which they were demanding that she directs SSLOA chairman Godfrey Kayongo to stop charging the monthly market dues.

They were also demanding that KCCA stops police from harassing them on matters concerning the market.

Lwanga alleged that Kayongo hires muggers who beat up traders who refused to pay market dues. Some of the traders claim that they are charges dues in arrears of three years while others are charged monthly.

Lwanga said that they have on several occasions written to the Kampala minister, Frank Tumwebaze demanding that he intervenes in their affairs but all efforts have fallen on a deaf ear.

He explained that the traders have been acting upon the court order in which KCCA was ordered not to collect any dues from the vendors as the two were still in court on matters of the different land titles.

He  said that some traders who had stopped paying market dues as court had ordered  are beaten and some are rounded up in the market and taken too Luzira Prison over allegations they do not know.

 The Chairperson women, Susan Kusaba alleges that she was beaten and undressed by what she called Kayongo’s men.

One of the vendors one Salongo , one of the youth leaders claimed that he had spent one month in prison on charges that were not clear.

Another trader Juliet Nabuubi said that she was told to pay arrears of three months before she goes back to the market.

“I am charged sh.10,500 monthly dues and a daily fee of sh.1,000 on a sack of passion fruits,” one trader lamented.

Musisi who later held an impromptu meeting with the traders assured them that the KCCA legal team will draft an official document demanding that SSLOA management does not collect any more market monthly dues until court rules on the matter of ownership.

She said that the leadership of SSLOA were collecting the dues illegal adding that it is not remitted to KCCA, since court had blocked on ownership and leadership in the market. “Some of the issues we cannot handle now but we shall write to SSLOA ,” she said.

She said, “no one should collect any market dues from the traders. Adding that some small fee collected on traders who bring food stuff to market should be charged and the money goes towards cleaning the toilets and collecting garbage.

When contacted the chairman of SSLOA Kayongo said that those were false allegation meant to tarnish his name. He added that they have never got any document from court blocking SSLOA from collecting market dues.

“All that we are doing is being done legally. They is nothing wrong with collecting market dues. KCCA was ordered by the solicitor General to stay away from matters concerning St. Balikuddembe market,” he said.