KCCA spokesperson Peter Kaujju has told URN that the interim committee led by Jonathan Ggita was meant to hold the market until KCCA comes up with another decision on how the market should be managed. He says that the Ggita led committee has no claim over the market and should not lock out the owner of the market which is KCCA.
Kampala Capital City Authority - KCCA says that the
current leadership of Wandegeya market has no claim over the market and
therefore should respect KCCA's directive and leave the market.
On Monday, the committee leg by Jonathan Ggita was supposed to hand over management
of the market to a team of five KCCA officials appointed to takeover.
The team comprised of members from KCCA Directorate of Gender and
Community Development and the Directorate of Revenue Collection; Tonny Kawagga, James Byaruhanga, Abdul
Anguyo, Esther Kasujja and Henry Bukenya.
KCCA's team could not start work as planned as
the Ggita led committee declined to leave office saying that the vendors had
written to them asking that they continue running the market. Ggita says when they were appointed in 2013, they agreed with KCCA to run the market until vendors vote to power a substantive leadership something that has not happened yet.
But now KCCA spokesperson Peter Kaujju has told URN
that the interim committee led by Ggita was meant to run the market until
KCCA comes up with another decision on how the market should be managed. Now that KCCA has appointed it own officials to run the market, the committee should respect that.
Kaujju says
that the Ggita led committee has no claim over the market and should not lock
out the owner of the market which is KCCA. He says KCCA is engaging other government agencies like police to see that the committee leaves the market and KCCA
takes over full management next week. Previously, KCCA had only one officer
working with the Ggita led committee.
//Cue in: “Their committee is…
Cue out: …enforce the decision.”//
KCCA took a decision to suspend the
Ggita committee and appoint a KCCA team to run the market following multiple
petitions to the office of the Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and Minister for
Kampala Beti Kamya against the leadership of Ggita.
A section of vendors have accused Ggita of
denying some applicants working space, overstaying in office and threatening to arrest
his opponents.
However, Ggita says that the
management of the market has been politicized hence dismissing issues raised by
petitioners against him. He says the market is peaceful and that only a few
people politicking are the ones causing commotion.
He says KCCA should organize an
election through which vendors can vote for a new leadership as they wait for
the Market ordinance to be operationalized.
Kaujju told URN that they are
working hard to get the ordinance operationalized so that they can use it to
run the market effectively. The ordinance passed by KCCA seeks to provide a
comprehensive licensing regime for permanent, semi-permanent and temporary
markets, harmonize market dues and provide a process through, which market
leaders can be elected with term limits.
//Cue in: “It’s one of…
Cue out: …the relevant authorities.”//
Until the ordinance is out, the market will be run
by the KCCA team whose members come from who is
the markets manager of KCCA.
