Lord Mayor Ronald Balimwezo has called for compensation of traders who invested money in constructing stalls in markets that government intends to take over.
Mr Balimwezo said traders in markets including St Balikuddembe (Owino), Nakawa, Bugolobi and Nakasero had raised ownership concerns during his previous engagements when he served as Shadow Minister for Kampala and a member of the Presidential Affairs Committee overseeing KCCA.
His remarks came Thursday during day two of a meeting between KCCA officials and traders’ representatives, where market leadership, ownership, revenue collection, utilities and traders’ welfare were discussed.
He said although the markets sit on KCCA land, some traders had invested in constructing stalls, giving them a stake.
“They spent money on constructing some of these stalls, and therefore they must be compensated if government wants to take over the markets,” Mr Balimwezo said.
“You cannot remove a landlord from his shop because you want someone to take it over,” he said, urging government to provide compensation funds in the national budget.
KCCA Executive Director Sharifah Buzeki said the Central Executive Committee (CEC) will discuss ownership of stalls before determining the way forward.
“We have to assess the situation and see where the challenges are coming from and the way forward,” she said.
She said KCCA was preparing to conduct elections in markets where leadership terms or structures remain unresolved and would announce dates soon.
“We are going to postpone the 14 days elections sensitization because we have realised that several markets needs sensitization on electing their leaders,” she said.
Mr Balimwezo called for quarterly engagements between KCCA and traders and urged traders to resolve internal disagreements.
“This cannot be done when we are not united as the administration and technical team. I have the responsibility to supervise whatever is happening in the city,” he said.
Nakasero traders raise leadership concerns
Ms Zaituni Nakiganda, a trader from Nakasero Market, accused previous leaders of blocking traders from accessing KCCA officials.
“We have not conducted any election in Nakasero Market. We have been waiting for the baraza, but now they have announced the elections,” she said.
She also raised concerns about revenue collection and harassment, and questioned why traders pay to use toilets despite separate operation arrangements.
Mr Nsolo Yasin, Owino Market representative, said traders face uncertainty over land ownership.
“We need to know the landlord of Owino because we are working but we do not know the owner of the land,” he said.
He also flagged an electricity debt of about Shs400 million despite regular payments, and questioned management of three toilets that generate significant daily revenue.
Traders call for daycare
Ms Aisha Nakigozi, another Owino trader, called for a daycare facility within the market for traders with young children.
She also called for review of the list of traders affected by floods.
“Some Owino traders were affected by floods, yet they considered only shop owners. We request that if there is compensation for floods, the investigations should be revised because the majority were affected and were not on the list,” she said.