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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA is finalizing plans to relocate vendors to the newly built Kasubi market.
Dr. Esau Galukande, the Deputy Director of Gender, Community Services and Production at KCCA says they are working on a second access to the market which is expected to be completed within one or two weeks before they can operationalize it.
When the market was handed over by the contractor CK Associates Limited in May 2020, it had one entrance along Hoima road in Kasubi. Now the Authority is working to establish another entrance along Namungoona road for heavy trucks delivering goods.
The entrance shall lead trucks directly to the parking and offloading area rather than the first one that passes close to the operating space for vendors.
Galukande says they thought it wiser to have a second entrance because the first one sits on sloppy land in the market where heavy trucks could easily cause accidents.
When the market was completed, KCCA said it would not open until restrictions on crowds are lifted. Government banned crowds as a measure to control the spread of the coronavirus and the authority feared that the relocation exercise may attract unwanted crowds.
Galukande says that the more than 1400 vendors who operate in the market shall work in shifts to avoid crowds. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, government directed vendors in the market to maintain a one meter distance between them and their customers.
Galukande says with this arrangement, about 800 vendors can be accommodated in the market. He says they are working with the market leadership to work out modalities of vendors working in shifts.
Kasubi market chairman, Ronald Zibu says they have completed compiling the register but says they will not relocate to the new market until they can all operate. Asked if they can relocate the 800 vendors to decongest the current working space, Zibu said this would look discriminatory.
He says if some members are allowed to take up space in the new market, those remaining may be evicted to pave way for road construction.
The completion of the market and relocation of vendors is supposed to pave way for the completion of Kasubi road junction, which was supposed to be upgraded during the expansion of Bakuli-Nakulabye-Kasubi road in 2018. Zibu has also asked government to provide them more working space.
The more than Shillings 2 billion market located about a kilometer from Kasubi junction has about 15 shelters for vendor’s stalls, a police post, children centre, office block, a perimeter wall and seven 500 liter water harvesting tanks among other facilities.
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