UGANDA, Tororo | Real Muloodi News | The Ministry of Local Government, in collaboration with the State House, has begun reallocating lockups and stalls in the new Tororo Central Market, a move that has left many landlords dissatisfied. This exercise, which commenced on Tuesday 11th June, 2024, aims to address over USh1 billion in rent arrears accumulated over the years.
State House official Arthur Mukasa stated that the reallocation is part of an effort “to help Tororo Municipal Council recover significant rent arrears.”
He explained that under the new arrangement, sitting tenants must pay off outstanding rent arrears before receiving allocation forms to own their spaces.
Mukasa noted that 90 per cent of the stalls and lockups had previously been allocated to wealthy individuals who sub-rented the spaces at exorbitant rates, charging USh200,000-300,000 monthly but failing to remit payments to the municipal council.
“We have started receiving cases of landlords rushing to the bank to clear their outstanding rent arrears, but we are asking what they have been waiting for,” Mukasa added.
The reallocation process involves 1,184 stalls and lockup spaces, which are now to be reassigned to poorer vendors who meet specific requirements, such as possessing a national identity card and the ability to pay government-set fees.
Landlords opposed to the move have resisted eviction, with some even threatening officials with witchcraft.
Seventy-four-year-old Samson Opio, who previously owned 1,009 lockup spaces, expressed his frustration, calling the reallocation “state robbery” after his space was reassigned to a former tenant.
He stated, “This is broad daylight robbery which is not acceptable. At my age, where do you want me to go yet this is almost my pension? We shall take the government to court.”
Another landlord, Charles Odoi, who has accumulated Shs2.6 million in rent arrears, appealed to the government for leniency.
“We accept to have erred, but we request the government to pardon us and give us a timeline to clear our arrears,” Odoi said on Tuesday.
Market master Peter Okaka highlighted the municipal council’s long-standing efforts to get landlords to clear their arrears, which had been ignored.
“Most vendors have outstanding rental arrears of 6 to 18 months,” Okaka said. “These so-called landlords have zero rent arrears from the vendors they sub-rented but have never bothered to pay the council. How then do you want the council to help them?”
The Tororo Central Market has a capacity of 1,500 vendors. The government’s reallocation strategy is intended to make the market more accessible to poorer vendors and ensure that rent payments are appropriately managed and collected.
The reallocation of market spaces has led to visible distress among the affected landlords, who have been seen pleading with government officials for clemency.
However, the government’s stance remains firm on ensuring that outstanding arrears are cleared as a condition for space allocation.
Mukasa stated, “We are working on a directive from the president to ensure that market spaces are fairly allocated and that past injustices in rent collection are addressed.” This initiative is part of a broader government effort to reform market management and support small-scale vendors in Uganda.
As the situation unfolds, the response from both landlords and tenants will be crucial in determining the success of the government’s reallocation program.
The next steps will likely involve continued negotiations and potential legal challenges as landlords seek to protect their interests.
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