Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has started the process of regaining 16 government markets and city abattoirs for their smooth running. The 16 markets being taken over are St Balikuddembe (Owino) Market, Nakasero, Kisekka, Usafi, Kamwokya, Bukoto, Busega, Namuwongo1, Namuwongo II, Nakawa, Nateete, Kasubi, Luzira, Kiswa, Kinnawataka, and Bugolobi.
Ms. Dorothy Kisaka, the KCCA Executive Director, directed the outgoing leadership of the 16 public markets in the city to start preparing handover reports.
Ms Kisaka said this while delivering her speech during the World Toilets Day celebrations held at Nakawa on Sunday. She said that leaders of these 16 markets should handover reports to ensure smooth transmission of power.
“Following the presidential directive, we have asked the former leadership of all the markets to submit the handover reports, informing us of what is available in the markets, how many people are occupying the markets and the number of stalls. They should also share what is going on in those markets to get a smooth handover,” Ms Kisaka said.
“On Tuesday, we shall meet with them and hold more discussions to ensure a smooth running of the markets. As KCCA, we shall take charge of collecting market dues and administration. We shall not mistreat the outgoing leadership. We want peace in the markets,” she added.
On November 16, President Museveni disbanded the leadership of city public markets and ordered the immediate handover of the operations to KCCA.
Also about the president’s directive, he said the distribution of stalls in the said markets should be one stall per person.
Director Kisaka assured that the money collected from the markets would be used appropriately.
Kisaka said, KCCA is to construct more 44 toilets in the five divisions to ensure that sanitation side is also catered on which is on the Citywide Inclusive Sanitation Program. And the five mentioned divisions of Kampala are Nakawa, Kawempe, Makindye, Rubaga, and Central.
Ms Kisaka continue to say that 53 toilets would be constructed under the project dubbed “sanitation for million project”.
She noted that increasing toilet coverage in the city would help check sanitation-related diseases among city dwellers.
With records in the health departments of KCCA indicate that about 80 percent of all medical conditions that health workers deal with in city health facilities such as cholera, diarrhoea, and other infections emanate from poor sanitation.
The President directed that vendors shall pay periodic rental fees (monthly/annually) to KCCA, which money shall be used to pay for services such as security, garbage collection and cleaning, and electricity in open spaces and toilets.
Under the new arrangement, all vendors will be responsible for the payment of utilities within their specific stalls/lockups.
Each stall/lockup will be fitted with water and electricity meters where applicable. And the distribution of stalls should be on a personal one-stall principle.
In some markets such as Owino where stalls are shared, each person will be registered as an individual owner and KCCA shall draw a plan to allocate the vendors their own lockups/stalls in future expansion.
The President also tasked KCCA in collaboration with State House to establish one skilling centre per division for youth and that the yard at Kiseka Market should be strictly for vendors dealing in mechanics.
