Vendors invade Mbale streets

Hundreds of vendors have returned to the streets in Mbale city, despite several evictions after the construction of a modern market.

The vendors, operating mainly on Naboa, Bishop Wasike and Kumi roads, as well as  Cathedral Avenue, sell shoes, clothes, sugar, soap, oil, razor blades, smoked fish, roast meat, padlocks and fruits.

The Government recently constructed a multi-billion market with funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB).

However, the market remains unoccupied, with most of the vendors preferring to sell their goods on the streets.

Some of the vendors said the stalls in the market are not enough while others said the city authorities are charging exhorbitant prices for the stalls.

Some vendors with stalls still hire people to display their goods on the streets, to catch the attention of those who may not want to walk to the market.

James Kutosi, the city public relations officer, said they were shocked to see vendors back on the streets.

Kenneth Khatuli, the deputy town clerk, said they are in the process of conducting a fresh eviction exercise, to remove the vendors from the streets, but they are still constrained by resources.

He said most roads are flooded with vendors, making the traffic flow a challenge and that there has been an increase in the number of pickpockets.

Charles Wambedde, a vendor on Cathedral Avenue, said they prefer the streets because they operate with limited capital. "We have few items to sell.

How do you expect us to pay rent of sh300,000 per month?" he wondered.

Faizal Ali, a second handclothes dealer on Naboa Road, said he gets more customers on the streets, compared to when he operates inside the market.

He added that Mbale city authority did not involve vendors during the planning for the market, so those who operate small businesses cannot afford the high taxes and rent.

City residents noted that most of the vendors who have now flooded the streets are the same people who were chased off Kampala streets a couple of years ago.

At the beginning of the year, law enforcement officers, backed by heavily armed antiriot Police officers, combed the streets to evict vendors.

The eviction followed complaints by rich business owners operating on Bishop Wasike Road, Naboa Road, the Foods and Beverages Road, Pallisa Road, Republic Street and Kumi Road.

The authorities first issued a warning, followed by sensitising the vendors on the benefits of operating from the market, but many did not heed.

Kutosi said they carried out the eviction to restore order in the area, adding that they were particularly concerned that the sellers had turned Mbale city into an open illegal market and hub for phone grabbers.

Status elevation 

In May last year, the Government approved the elevation of 15 municipalities to cities. Initially, the fi rst lot to be implemented this year included Arua, Gulu, Jinja, Fort Portal and Mbarara.

They also added Soroti and Hoima. However, Mbale and Masaka officials protested the move to delay the implementation until the 2021 general election.

They were later included on the list of cities whose operations were to start at the start of this financial year.

Other issues 

Innocent Byarugaba, who runs a salon in the town, said corruption is to blame for the malfunctioning of the city.

"Mbale city authority has many challenges, garbage and street vendors are just the tip of the ice-burg," he said.

According to a research conducted in 2017 by Twaweza East Africa, a nongovernmental organisation, eight out of 10 citizens said the Government is performing poorly at controlling corruption, inflation and creating jobs.

"A clear majority of Ugandans (81%) feel the Government is not doing a good job of keeping the price of essential goods down. Similar numbers feel the government is not doing well at creating jobs (78%) and fighting corruption (79%)," the report reads.

Leaders respond 

Mbale city authorities have said garbage collection is the duty of the division leadership.

"The city authority does not collect garbage. Our role is to manage garbage sites," one of the officers at the city authority said.

"We sweep the city everyday, but after 30 minutes, the town is littered with garbage by vendors and residents," Kutosi said, adding that garbage management is expensive.

Loopholes in enforcement

Vendors accused Mbale city council law enforcement officers of consuming and selling goods that they confiscate from street vendors during eviction exercises.

The affected hawkers have appealed to the office of the Resident District commissioner and the town clerk to intervene on the matter.

"City authorities have on several occasions asked us to vacate the streets, but this does not mandate their law enforcement officers to grab our goods and take them to their families or sell them," a vendor who preferred anonymity, said.

"It's unfortunate that officers grab our goods and, instead of burning them or returning them after one has paid a fine, they take them to their families while ours go hungry," Mary Katooko, a food vendor, added.

"Some of the law enforcement officers and councillors are bribed by the street vendors so that they do not send them off the streets.

We also have youth who are deployed by the officers to sell their goods on the same streets. This makes it hard for them to enforce the law," Innocent Adiba, a resident, said.

Poor garbage management

Residents of Mbale have on several occasions criticised their leaders for failing to get rid of garbage in the city.

They said the municipal leaders have not only failed in streamlining waste disposal, but also mismanaged affairs of the city.

"The stench from the waste in the city is causing discomfort to us, but they are not bothered. These are some of the signs that they have failed to manage this town," Joan Manana, a fresh foods vendor at Mbale Modern Market, said.

Although the town was already choking on uncollected garbage, authorities said street vendors have increased the waste.

In March 2018, the director of value for money at the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), Stephen Kateregga, said towns in Uganda can to collect only 40% of their garbage, while the 60% either rots on streets or gets washed away by running water into wetlands and rivers.

They said the rate at which residents are generating waste exceeds the city's capacity to manage it. Many streets in Mbale, especially Kumi and Market streets, have rubbish littered all over.

When New Vision visited the Mbale Central Market last week, the market's upper entrance gate had been turned into a garbage dumping site.

The nearby Mbale Police Barracks was also affected by the stench.

Florence Nambozo, a tomato dealer, said heaps of garbage are liitered in many parts of the city.

She said authorities have only managed to keep Republic Street clean.

"We operate in a filthy environment, yet we pay a lot of money to municipal leaders to keep the market clean," she said.