A man transports poles for erecting new market stalls after an inferno that razed down Elegu Market in Elegu Town Council in Amuru District.
A temporary market allocated for business at Elegu Town Council in Amuru District has failed to attract traders.
District authorities allocated the market to affected traders in March this year, shortly after Elegu Border Market at the Uganda-South Sudan border got razed down in a mysterious fire on February 21.
Close to 1,000 stalls were razed down in the inferno that destroyed goods worth millions of shillings and left thousands of traders at losses. Although some traders resumed business at the market in March after the fire incident, local authorities say the majority of traders have shunned the market.
Margaret Auma, the chairperson Elegu Women Cross Border Traders Association says only about 1,000 vendors have since returned to the new market out of more than 5,000 who operated from the old market.
Auma notes that majority of the vendors alleged they were forced to occupy the site after the February inferno and accused the government of failing to come out with a comprehensive report on what exactly caused the fire. She says many vendors are now operating along the streets, their home compounds while others have rented shops within the Town Council.
She also notes that the temporary market wasn’t properly planned for hosting the vendors arguing that it floods whenever it rains, rending businesses impossible for many vendors.
Auma says the situation has left trade paralyzed and called on the local government authorities in the district to expedite processes of improving infrastructure in market to boost trade that was previously thriving in the area.
John Kato, one of the traders who lost his goods in the February inferno says he abandoned the new market site because of lack of sanitation facilities such as toilets and water. He notes that besides the sanitation facilities, the area floods after heavy rainfall, making it impossible for traders to conveniently sell their goods.
Kato says he is currently occupying a road side to sell his second hand clothes adding that he will only get back to the market once the local authorities provide better sanitation and level the ground.
Amuru District Chairperson Michael Lakony told Uganda Radio Network that the temporary market was meant to keep business afloat but notes that the individual interests of the traders pushed them to start doing business from outside.
He however notes that the district has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Danish Embassy for the construction of a modern market for traders at Elegu Town Council.
Lakony says the market will be constructed by Trade Mark East Africa adding that the process of selecting an architectural consultant to design the market is ongoing. According to Lakony, the market will have 1,000 stalls and will host thousands of traders.
–URN
