Museveni issues new rules on city markets

President Museveni on Tuesday issued new directives regarding management of Kampala City’s public markets.
This followed a meeting with the city’s top brass at State House at the behest of the head of state in the wake of controversies surrounding management of public markets.

The meeting was attended by, among others, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) executive director Dorothy Kisaka, deputy executive director David Luyimbazi Ssali, Minister for Kampala Minsa Kabanda and Kampala Resident City Commissioner (RCC) Hudu Hussein, and representatives of vendors from the public markets.

KCCA head of public and corporate affairs Juliet Bukirwa Muwanguzi confirmed the presidential directive that ownership of public markets vests in the hands of the government under the stewardship of KCCA. 

The President, Ms Muwanguzi added, further directed that market revenue collection shall be regulated by the KCCA Ordinance.

“The President also directed that the interim leadership in the public Markets should be extended till February 2022 or as soon as the Market Ordinance is set in place and that all non-licensed street vending is illegal and must be cleared off the streets to promote the formal economy in shops and markets,” she revealed.

To weed out manipulative middlemen from public markets, the President directed KCCA to appoint market masters to oversee utilities and other administrative concerns. Each market shall consequently run a vendors’ association and elect its own leaders to promote welfare.

The Cabinet last year resolved to take over all city public markets from private companies to, among others, protect vendors from manipulation. 

Leaders of private companies were kicked out and replaced with interim leaders. 

Leaders of these companies have, however, since run to court seeking compensation since they had running leases on the land where the markets are located.

The government has since embarked on a compensation process to ensure that companies which formerly managed the city markets are paid.