The morning rush in Arua City begins long before sunrise. By 5:00am, traders are already spreading tarpaulins along the edges of Idi Amin and Lemerijoa streets.
At Arua Central Market, youths are offloading sacks of onions, cabbages and tomatoes from Mbale and Masaka, smoked fish from South Sudan and Panyimur market. Along Adumi Road, second-hand clothes transported overnight from Kampala are also offloaded.
Women move in and out of corridors carrying charcoal stoves with cooked food for breakfast. Boda-bodas carrying shop owners, private and government workers wade in from the suburbs of Awinidiri, Mvara, Ediofe, Onduparaka and Manibe, as shop attendants and city workers sweep dust from verandas in the city’s crowded business centre.
But underneath the growing trade activity lies a problem city authorities can no longer ignore: Arua City’s acute shortage of commercial space to meet the demand of a growing population and expanding business activity.
The shortage has been compounded by the recent trade order enforcement, which has exposed the city’s inability to accommodate traders from the informal sector.
One trader facing the reality of hardship in accessing commercial space is Mr Ahmed Angulibo, who dealt in second-hand shoes on Onzivu Street in Arua City.
Mr Angulibo told Daily Monitor on Wednesday that he had failed to find an affordable room for his business, even after attempting to pool resources with colleagues.
Several traders whose kiosks were removed from the city have had to either store their merchandise in their homes or entrust it to colleagues for sale, but many have failed to secure alternative shops in city buildings.
‘I have moved to most of the landlords in the city and in the suburbs of Ediofe, Awindiri and Mvara, but I have failed to get any room. Others are telling me to wait as they improvise,’ Angulibo said.
Angulibo is not alone. Ms Zahara Namuli, who works with a local non-governmental organisation in Arua City, said their current office is not disability-friendly and they are seeking relocation to a ground floor, but have failed to find suitable space.
‘I thought it would be very simple, like in other cities where our offices are located, but this has not been the case in Arua City. I think people here need to invest more in housing in this city, especially in the central business district. There are not enough rooms to let,’ Namuli said.
The shortage of commercial housing is also visible as landlords convert lodges into shops to cash in on traders who failed to secure alternative spaces after being evicted from streets.
However, this trend raises safety concerns, as some modifications are being done on structures with weak foundations.
The crisis has become more visible following the trade order. Operations targeting roadside vending, illegal lockups and encroachment on walkways have exposed the extent to which thousands of traders operate without formal business premises.
Similarly, Ms Flavia Adokorach of Awindiri Ward, who ran a salon business, said: ‘In my search to relocate, I found a room, but I was charged Shs 350,000 per month. The landlord demanded three months’ rent upfront. I got stuck because I could not afford it.’
Ms Adokorach said some landlords have taken advantage of the trade order due to high demand for commercial space.
‘Up to now, I have failed to get a place because of lack of space and high rental charges. In the city centre, people are being charged between Shs 500,000 and 800,000 per month. This requires a stable business,’ she noted.
Transformation from municipality to city
The chairman of Arua City business community, Mr Moses Obeta, told Daily Monitor on Tuesday that the transformation of Arua Municipality into a city came with opportunities, but people were not fully prepared for them.
He welcomed the trade order and said it had improved organisation in the city compared to the previous disorder.
‘The trade order has been a good thing, but what we expect from the city now are engagements on how to move forward. We want to know about development plans. People are buying land as it used to be without understanding the physical plan. People need to know this,’ he said.
Across the city, unfinished commercial buildings stand alongside overcrowded arcades already beyond capacity.
Traders complain that available lockups are either controlled by wealthy landlords charging exorbitant rent or taken up by established businesses, locking out low-income operators.
A landlord, Mr Salim Onzima, said: ‘It is true we have few commercial buildings because of the high population. Over the years, we have been increasing rent due to high taxes and the high cost of living.’
He noted that if rental taxes were reduced, charges would also come down.
‘The rooms are charged according to size and location. Upstairs costs about Shs 250,000 to 300,000. The ground floor is about Shs 350,000 to 800,000. Some go for up to a million per month, especially supermarkets,’ he said.
The city’s plans
The Arua City Chamber of Commerce and Industry officer, Mr Silus Onzima, said they are working with the Uganda Institute of Professional Engineers and the Uganda Society of Physical Planners to improve commercial building standards.
‘We are in the process of reviewing the whole construction process. We must ensure that those who cannot afford housing are not excluded, and that commercial and residential development is balanced,’ Onzima said.
He said the city must return to the drawing board to properly organise shopping areas, parking spaces, public areas and housing.
As the sun sets at 6:30pm, Ms Lucy Anderu from Komite Village carries her fruits to catch the last customers and avoid law enforcers.
‘I know selling on the road is wrong, but where should I go?’ asks the 40-year-old fruit seller while balancing a basin of mangoes on Ediofe Road near the Social Centre Market.
‘The rent is too high for me to afford. Some lockups cost more than Shs 300,000 a month. I simply cannot afford that,’ she added.
Though there are several upcoming multi-storey commercial buildings in the city, many traders prefer ground-floor spaces, which they say are unaffordable. Such spaces are often taken by financial institutions, while customers also avoid upper floors.
This is reflected in unoccupied stalls at the Central Market, where vendors say customers do not want to climb stairs, leading to losses. Over 100 stalls remain empty.
Population pressure and business boom
With a daytime population of 480,000 and over 25,000 refugees integrated into the city, demand for both commercial and residential housing remains high in Arua City.
For many small-scale entrepreneurs, the streets are no longer a choice but the only available option, forcing them back into informal trading.
Pressure has intensified as Arua’s population and regional trade importance continue to grow. Situated near the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the city has become one of northern Uganda’s busiest commercial hubs.
Cross-border traders arrive daily, increasing demand for storage facilities, shops and office space.
Yet urban infrastructure has struggled to keep pace. City authorities say the previous trade disorder is directly linked to the shortage of affordable commercial housing.
According to officials, enforcement alone cannot solve congestion unless investment in structured markets and business spaces increases.
Urban planners warn that unless the city adopts a long-term commercial housing strategy, the situation may worsen. They recommend satellite markets, incentives for affordable business structures, and stricter urban planning enforcement before illegal settlements become permanent.
By evening, as enforcement patrols withdraw, vendors quietly reclaim sections of pavements they vacated earlier in the day. Under solar lights, business resumes; a daily cycle reflecting both Arua’s economic energy and the clearest sign that it has outgrown its commercial infrastructure.