Take your fights away from city development, Masaka RCC tells feuding leaders

Masaka Resident City Commissioner Hussein Hudu has directed local leaders fighting over the rights of traders to stop disrupting development.

There was tension among after Masaka City authorities at the weekend after Hudu directed traders last Thursday to vacate their their current operation areas at the Square and relocate to Edward Avenue.

Hudu cited concerns over urban planning disruptions.

This directive, however, was met with fierce resistance from the traders, particularly those known as mubuulo, who allege neglect they were ignored during the construction of the newly erected Shs18 billion Masaka City Market, designed to accommodate up to 7,000 traders.

Nyendo Mukungwe Division mayor Mulindwa Nakumusana escalated the conflict by ordering traders to operate in the midst of Edward Avenue.

Hudu, labelling Nakumusana's actions as illegal, implored the leaders to redirect their energy towards fostering city development, rather than exacerbating internal strife.

“We are tired of NUP [National Unity Platform] leaders' conflicts; it seems they are tired of fighting themselves now. They want to engage the government but that we are not going to accept it," Hudu said.

Deputy City Planning Officer Ibrahim Mutebi echoed Hudu's sentiment, urging traders to comply with relocation directives to avoid legal repercussions.

Despite these calls, traders stood their ground, asserting their commitment to preserving the integrity of the road.

“We have made losses in these allocations and our goods have been destroyed," a trader said.

"We are appealing to them to leave us and work from here because even in Kkumbu where we were working from, we are not seeing buyers.”

Nakumusana said that the market is not making money yet they pay a lot to maintain it.

“We spend a lot of money on payments of water, electricity and other utilities that were used by traders inside the market yet the taxes we get from them is too little when you compare it to that we get from 'Mubuulo' traders," he said.

"I know that working on the road will cause traffic jams but let the vehicle owners be patient with the traders because they are to work from here for two days in a week."

The Mayor of Masaka City, Florence Namayanja, said traders operating around Edward Avenue must leave because it is a motorised area that makes trading activities disrupt road transport.