Govt launches building of Mutukula Regional Market

Government has flagged off construction works for Mutukula Regional Market, a project that had failed to take off for two years.

The project had started in 2020, but stalled a few months when Covid-19 struck the country.

During the ground breaking ceremony  last week, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, the 1st deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Community Affairs, said the market will  consist of  100 shelters, 1,000 ware houses, a five-star hotel, a hospital, a day care centre, six fuel stations, lodges, among other facilities .

“People in Kyotera, especially Mutukula Town Council, should get ready to supply workers who are going to construct the market with basic things  like food and building materials so that they also gain directly from the project,” Ms Kadaga said.

She pledged to launch an investigation into the eviction of residents in sub-counties of Kabira, Kasasa, Kakuuto, Kyebe, and Mutukula Town Council.

“I think the President was given wrong information and I must brief him about this. How can an oil palm project occupy land in five sub-counties yet there are people living on it?” she wondered.

Mr Karim Karamagi ,the chief executive officer of Rural United Small Business Association Network (RUSBA), said the project is expected to cost more  than Shs1 trillion .

“We have different funders who will invest in this regional market , but we expect more than Shs1 trillion to be used upon completion,”  he said.

Mr Karamagi said markets such as Kapenguria , Makutano, Kacheliba, and Looro Market in Kenya, Ariwara Market in Congo and Bunazi in Tanzania are expected to work closely with Mutukula  Regional Market.

Some challenges

Before the launch, soldiers blocked organisers from erecting tents at the venue at Kasanvu Cell in Mutukula Town Council, insisting that the market project will encroach on Sango Bay Estate land, where government plans to set up an oil palm project.

They confiscated the chairs and tents and ordered officials from Mutukula Regional Market to vacate.

After being denied space at  Kasanvu Cell, the organisers asked the management of the adjacent Mutukula Primary School, which gave them the green light to hold the event.

Mr David Mujaasi, the chairperson of Mutukula Town Council, said the army insists that the land on which the market is expected to be constructed is part of the Sango Bay Estate.

The Minister for Defence and Veteran Affairs, Mr Vincent Ssempijja, however, dismissed claims that soldiers blocked dignitaries from accessing the proposed venue, insisting it was an issue of ‘misinformation’.

“It was not intentional that the soldiers denied us access to  the venue like it is being alleged. It is only that they did not know about the regional market investment and its future importance. The regional market has already been blessed by government and we want it to be constructed so that residents benefit from it,”  he said.

About the market

The market, which is being constructed at Kasanvu Village on Kyotera-Mutukula road, will bring together manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers and consumers from all over the East African region.

It will operate every Tuesday and Friday and will have a livestock yard, where animals such as sheep, goats and cattle will be kept temporarily for slaughter and sale on the local and international markets.