He says the appeals committee is joined by the DISO and the deputy RCC and these are tasked with verifying the memorandum of Understanding between the Vendors and the Ministry and also verifying the lists.
The Mbarara
City Resident Commissioner James Mweisgye has instituted an independent Appeals
committee to verify the final lists of vendors released by the verification
committee.
The new extra layer of verification was set up following complaints from over 150 Vendors that miss Out
on the Lists that were verified by a committee instituted by the Local
Government Minister.
During the
commissioning of the 21 billion shillings central Market last month Minister
Raphael Magyezi instituted a 14-member committee chaired by the Commissioner in
charge of Markets in the ministry to verify and allocate vendors’
lockups/stalls within two weeks.
However, the
verified list released on Tuesday comprised some 200 vendors with over other
300 missing out according to the original lists registered in 2010, 2016 and 2020 that had over 600 vendors.
The newly reconstructed central Market has 485 Lockups and stalls.
Mwesigye
says the majority of the vendors raising complaints and demanding lockups are
those that sold out well knowing
that the market belongs to the government.
//Cue in:
“nabo ababire baine…//
Cue out:
…omu kukora ebihagaro.”//
He says
others are those that were included on the lists later while at the
Independence Park but initially were not in the market.
He says the
appeals 6 member committee has been set up from the verification committee that has been
in place but excludes the Chairperson of the vendors, and the commercial
officer.
He says the
appeals committee is joined by the DISO and the deputy RCC and these are tasked
with verifying the memorandum of Understanding between the Vendors and the
Ministry and also verifying the lists.
//Cue in:
“twaforming the appeal…//
Cue out: …ei
aba bagabire.”//
Jennifer
Namatovu, one of the vendors missing on the list says she had stall number 36
and signed the memorandum of Understanding but she was surprised when she found
herself missing out on the final list.
She says her
stall was given to someone else who is not known by the vendors who operate
from stalls.
David
Tumwesigye another affected vendor says he bought a lockup in 2015 and has all
the agreements he was registered on the 2016 list before shifting and again in
2020 but was shocked to be missing on the final list.
Muhammed
Nyombi, the Chairperson of the Vendors Association says they have since day one
guided vendors that are missing on the lists to approach their department
representatives on the verification committee.
He says he
was excluded from the verification committee by the minister noting that he has
no case to answer.
Asse
Babireeba Tumwesigire the City Town Clerk says vendors should stay calm but
forward their complaints to the Appeals Committee to handle them.
The Minister
Raphael Magyezi set the 11th of April as the day for Vendors to
start shifting back to the reconstructed Central Market.
