Enock Ndyamuhakyi | Tayari News
KABALE – As Kabale Municipal authorities intensify efforts to clear traders from streets, walkways, and other unauthorised trading spaces in a move aimed at restoring order and improving the town’s overall appearance and functionality, vendors in Kabale have appealed to local authorities to grant them a grace period.
The ongoing enforcement targets a wide range of informal businesses, including street vendors, hawkers, unregistered mobile traders, unauthorized parking stages, street food sellers, and other small-scale enterprises operating outside designated commercial areas. The exercise is scheduled to commence on Saturday, March 28th, and has already sparked concern among many affected traders.
Several vendors who spoke to our reporter expressed frustration, saying they feel inadequately informed about the new trade order and the planned eviction.
Rogers Tumwekwase, who runs a chapatti business behind Owino Market along Bwankosa Street noted that municipal authorities had not carried out sufficient sensitization about the enforcement plan, leaving many traders uncertain about their future.
“We were not properly informed about this operation, yet we have been operating here for a long time,” he said, adding that the lack of clear communication has created anxiety among traders.
The vendors further explained that many of them had already paid rent for their current operating spaces, most of which are lockups they do not own, but they now face uncertainty about relocation, especially given that they had previously been allowed to operate from their present locations.
They also highlighted the financial strain they are already under, stating that limited capital makes it difficult to move into formal business premises or secure alternative trading spaces.
“We have already invested our little money into these places, and now we are being told to leave without alternatives,” an unidentified vendor lamented.
The vendors have therefore appealed to the authorities to provide more time before the eviction is enforced, arguing that a grace period would allow them to prepare adequately, and called on the municipal council to designate proper and affordable trading areas where they can continue their businesses legally, emphasizing that many of them migrated from rural areas in search of better livelihoods in town.
Alfonse Balya, the Chairperson of chapatti business operators in Kabale noted that the time remaining before the planned eviction is too short for many traders with little opportunity to adjust or find alternative business locations.
He criticized the lack of adequate sensitization, saying that many traders were not fully aware of the implications of the trade order. “The time given is too short, and many traders are still confused about what is expected of them,” he said.
On the other hand, Kabale Municipality authorities defended the planned eviction, stating that the exercise is part of a broader initiative to enforce the Trade Order under CAP 101, which is being implemented nationwide to regulate business operations and ensure orderly urban development.
The Kabale Municipality Deputy Town Clerk, Erick Sunday, explained that the council has been actively sensitizing the public through radio and television programs about the trade order and its requirements.
“We have been engaging the public through media to ensure everyone understands the guidelines,” he said, emphasizing that the enforcement aims to remove businesses operating in unauthorized areas in order to create a cleaner, safer, and more organized town environment.
Sunday further reassured traders that the municipality has designated markets, including Bugongi and Mwanjari, which are fully operational and capable of accommodating affected vendors. “These markets are available, and traders will not be left without places to operate from,” he noted.
He stressed that the new arrangement is meant to ensure that all business activities are conducted in proper and legal spaces.