Park yard owino market on fire

With no business going on in the market, traders are raising up stoles with hope to resume business this week with the little which was left whereas others are wondering where to start from but some have been seen soliciting for money to help in the construction work.

Not only construction is taking place in the market but also authorities in the market are giving out forms for traders to fill which they say will cushion them from the loans that they are still servicing since the first
fire gutted the market way back in 2009.

However, though most of them are waiting to start from scratches others have decided to display some of the remains by the road side for customers to buy.

As usual donations have started flocking in with the first batching from Kawempe north MP Latif Ssebagala *who donated *UGX.300,000* to help in reconstruction and assured traders that he is going to push a motion in parliament for the formation of a special committee to handle their issue.

With the donation now starting to come in, some traders are not seconding the idea of giving finances to the market leadership fearing that it might not get down to the victims and some are calling for a change in the market leadership.

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Food stuffs in Nakasero Market Kampala Uganda

Addressing a news conference in Kampala, the group’s chairman Mulwanyi Taminwa said the demonstrations that will kick off on Thursday next week is meant to show their discontent over government alleged failure to address key issues affecting their economy.

Taminwa says the high cost of commodity and fuel prices, the depreciation of the shillings against the US dollar and increased power load shading which he says affecting production by local manufactures.

He says they intend to carry on with the social and civil disobedience demonstrations until government takes appropriate action.

However the police deputy spokes person Vincent Sekate says they are not aware of such plans advising them to seek police clearance for any of their planned activities.

The Bank of Uganda has in the past made several innervations before to help to strengthen the shillings against the major foreign currencies but the impact of such action have so far been minimal.

By Mugisa Isaac Mathias

The post Ugandan consumers association to protest against high cost of living first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

In their petition Owino traders demand the Kampala capital city authority to remove street vendors who don’t pay taxes and abstract their customers from going inside the market.

They want Kampala capital city authority to reduce on the taxes and daily fess imposed on them which they say is unfair to them given the fluctuation of prices of goods on the market and their working environment as well as the increasing street vendors.

Speaking to the media at their offices at St. Baikudembe Market, the vice chairman St.Baikudembe market traders association Medi Sekadito told journalists that the vendors operating outside the market have increasingly selling of their sorts of commodities ranging from House hold products to food staff at a relative low price because they don’t pay any fee.

Sekandi says this has negatively affected traders who operate inside the market because they don’t get customers as they all buy from street vendors.

He said they want Kampala capital city authority lord mayor to intervene and revise the fees that are collected from them as well as sending off street vendors the market.

By Mugisa Isaac Mathias

The post Vendors petition Kampala Capital City Authority over high taxes first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

The spokesperson of KACITA Issa Sekitto says they have given the government an ultimatum until the 31^st of July to clear and address the relevant issues they raised.

Issa Sekito

The concerns they raised include the fake foreign (especially Chinese) investors, the over depreciation of the Uganda shilling, high trading licenses fees they pay, among others.

The strike they say will start on the 1^st of August and will last a week. They say they will cease issuing their goods to URA and will not go abroad for imports.

The resolution has been reached by the traders through the country under the leadership of KACITA at diamond hotel.

Government had requested for a period of one month to address the dollar issues, a thing that the traders have rejected.

Ssekitto also says they also want all Chinese and Indians to be swept out of the small businesses by the 1^st of August.

He argues that the issue of the taxis was solved in a day while theirs are taking so long. The traders also want the President to stop despising and disrespecting them. Museveni recently said he has no kind words for traders whom he says are agents of foreign countries because they depend on importing goods from outside Uganda, which they have to buy in foreign currency.

Ssekitto has also warned Presidential spokesperson Tamale Mirundi to stop abusing traders and desist from the ill talks directed towards them, saying the traders will isolate him in public if he does not stop his acts of hatred against them.

Ultimate Media

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Many shops in Kampala didn’t open today, especially in down town where shopping malls and markets remained closed for most of the day.

Kampala Kikuubo shops remained closed on Wednesday

Issa Sekito the spokesman for Kampala city traders association KACITA says shops and Malls are all closed in protest of government’s apparent inability to deal with inflation and the weakening of the Uganda shillings against the dollar and other currencies.

Ugandans has endured 7 months of rising prices with nationwide protests erupting in April over increase in Food and fuel prices in the walk to work protests.

Last week, the Uganda shilling hit an all time low of 1750 to the dollar blamed on low dollar supply in the economy and despite the Bank of Uganda pumping in some dollars, the recovery of the Uganda shilling has been slow.

Since the start of the year the shilling has depreciated by at least 19% . Ssekito says despite the depreciation of the shilling, Uganda’s tax body insist that traders pay some taxes in dollars worsening their situation.

Kacita also says government has not put in place measures in the 2010/2011 budget to ease the cost of doing business.

Last month the governor of the central bank Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile was reported to have criticized president Yoweri Museveni for using the bank reserves for the 720 million dollar fighter jets contract.

The government has appealed to the traders to call off the strike with Trade and Industry Minister Amelia Kyambadde promising the President will meet and solve the traders’ concerns immediately he returns from his current Africa Union trip in South Africa.

By Isaac Senabulya

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According to the chairman, KACITA, Everest Kayondo, traders want dialogue between the govenmrment and organisers of walk to work protests.

He says traders also want to see the government refilling the Jinja fuel reserves, encouraging saving of food in granaries in homes, and increase the agriculture budget.

Kayondo told journalists in Kampala that traders have for the past four weeks not had smooth business as riots have engulfed the city leading them into making losses.

Ultimate Media

The post Traders advise government on solving current economic woes first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

The spokesman of the Kampala City Traders Association Issa Ssekito says, the situation is further worsened by the nature of Uganda which is landlocked.

Kampala traders

The East African Common Market Treaty, which is the first of its kind on the African Continent, was signed in 2009, by leaders of the five-member bloc of the East African Community.

The treaty allows free trade, movement and right of residence of all traders who are citizens of the five East African Community countries Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.

Ssekito told Ultimate Media in Kampala today, that Ugandan traders will be easily outcompeted by traders from more industrialized East African countries like Kenya.

He appealed to the East African Community and the Uganda government to first address the challenges faced by Ugandan traders as a result of the implementation of the East African Customs Union before moving to another step.

Countries of the East African Community Bloc have already slashed work permits for their citizens. The initiative aims at allowing free movement of labour to enable the rapid economic growth of the five East Africa Community Countries and reduce the problem of unemployment.

Ultimate Media

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