President Museveni purchases trucks for Lamwo market vendors

Lamwo, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has fulfilled a pledge of two lorry trucks to market vendors and farmer groups in Lamwo district. While commissioning the Ayuu Alali sugarcane project in Palabek Kal sub county, President Museveni pledged to donate the trucks to market vendors and farmers in Lamwo.

The Relief and Disaster Preparedness Minister Hillary Onek, also the Lamwo County MP says the market vendors in the district had requested the President to support them procure transport means for delivering their products to potential buyers and markets at better prices in Kampala.

In response, President Museveni pledged to donate two brand new trucks to help the benefiting farmer and vendor associations. Onek says that the president has now donated two brand new TATA trucks registration number plates UBH-747T and UBH-748T, each worth over 160 million Shillings which have been given to members of Padibe main market vendors association and Palabek market vendors association.

While handing over the trucks, Onek stressed the need for the vendors to embrace unity if they are to succeed economically empowering themselves, their households and the country.

The chairperson of Padibe main market vendors, Dorine Acayo expressed excitement that development will help them bridge the transport gap that they were grappling with in hiring private trucks. According to Acayo, the vendors have been spending more than 3 million Shillings each time to hire private trucks to transport their merchandise from Gulu and Lira which has paralyzed their businesses.

Mary Lakot, the chairperson of Palabek Market Vendors Association says the donation is a relief to them since they have always been selling off their farm produce to exploitative middlemen who take advantage of the lack of transport means to always buy their produce at giveaway prices.

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