The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Traders in Mukwano arcade closed their shops on Tuesday protesting a decision by the management to compel them to pay July rent arrears. One of the traders said that they are opposed to the payment of rent arrears for July since they did not work.
Another trader said that even after the last lockdown, Mukwano arcade didn’t exempt its tenants for even a single month yet other landlords exempted their tenants since they hadn’t worked for several months.
Emmanuel Ntale, the chairperson united Arcades Trader’s Entrepreneurs Association said the traders have not been working for almost three months. He said the protest at Mukwano arcade would not stop there, saying it is just a matter of time before they spread to other buildings.
He called upon the property owners to understand that COVID-19 affected everyone, adding that they should act justly towards the traders. “We even came up with a solution that landlords should allow us to only pay for June though we only worked half and also pay August and the landlords forfeit July but they couldn’t,” he said.
He said that they have seen some property owners exempt their tenants the July arrears though some have refused to yet they have the most number of tenants.
A meeting convened by the police involving the management of Mukwano arcade, association leaders and trader’s representatives resolved they pay half of the July rent arrears.
Sheikh Muhammed Sulaiman who represented the traders in the meeting said they had agreed with the management to pay half of the July arrears within a period of 5 months.
However, some traders opposed the offer and accused their representatives of siding with the management to give up on their cause.
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