Gulu Market Vendors Locked In Bitter Fight

GULU – The fast sprouting street markets in Gulu city have teed up a fierce battle between vendors in Gulu main market and roadside traders.

Vendors in the main market are looking to tighten their grip on their trade by locking out the fast sprouting street markets that are fiercely eating into their clientele.

Gulu Main Market Vendors’ Cooperative Savings and Credit Society has asked Gulu city council leaders to stop the mushrooming street markets in the city.

Since Gulu became a city last July, there has been a meteoric rise in street vending of clothes, shoes, and foodstuffs on roads and highways.

Market vendors tipped on SACCO formation

Christine Ajo, a vegetable trader in the main market, told theCooperator in an interview recently that she hardly sells anything in the evening because street vendors take over all the streets and roads.

“Evening is one of the peak hours for our sales; it is the time the working class buys things before heading home. But all those clients are taken away by the road-side sellers,” Ajok said.

Pamela Akumu, who sells second-hand clothes in the main market, said street vending and the poor location of her stall have diminished her business in the last eight months.

Akumu said before Gulu municipality became a city, her clients would walk all the way to her stall but now they go for the cheap clothes sold along the road.

Patrick Omaya, the chairperson of the vendors’ SACCO, said street markets have undercut them yet they pay all dues levied by the city council.

“When we go to Kampala, there are some shoes we buy at Shs 10,000 and sell here at Shs 15,000. But when you go to these street markets, you find such shoes being sold at Shs 8,000, so you wonder, where do they buy their stock from? Are those not stolen goods?” Omaya asked.

There are 22 gazetted markets within Gulu city. Omaya appealed to city council leaders to ensure that all street vendors are absorbed in those markets.

“These gazetted markets within the city still have space; they should be well furnished so that the sellers enter them. Some markets have no latrines, others have no dumping space. For instance, Highland Market has a dumping space right in the middle of the market, which is a health hazard because the rubbish takes long to be disposed of,” Omaya said.

Santo Obura, the Vice Secretary of Gulu Market Vendors SACCO, said the city council leadership has failed to handle the matter.

“Street vending is affecting us because clients prefer street shopping, leaving us market vendors with very few clients. We need freedom of biashara in the markets, not on the streets,” Obura said.

Gulu City Mayor, Alfred Okwonga couldn’t be reached for comment.

Gulu Market Vendors SACCO was registered in 2019 and has more than 2,000 members.

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Court Summons Civil Servants Over Forgery

LIRA – Grade One magistrate’s court in Lira has issued summons for three civil servants accused of forging an attendance list of the annual general meeting of Ayago SACCO.

The summons were issued on April 16 after the three skipped court.

The suspects are; Felix Odongo, a businessman, Lillian Alwedo, Richard Oyuku, and Denis Omara, all primary school teachers, and Josephine Alobo, the commercial officer of Lira. They are battling two counts of obtaining money by false pretense and uttering false documents.

However, only two of the accused persons; Josephine Alobo and Lillian Alwedo appeared before Lira Grade One Magistrate Hillary Rwamiranga on April 16.

Three skipped court and they include; Lira businessman Felix Odongo, Richard Oyuku, and Denis Omara, all teachers at Ayago primary school in Lira.

The magistrate remanded Alobo and Alwedo to Lira Central Government Prison until May 1, 2021, and immediately issued summons for the three.

Court heard that the accused, on January 15, 2020, while at Centenary Bank Lira branch, without lawful authority, forged an AGM attendance list of Ayago SACCO members in Lira City West Division.
The prosecution told the court that the accused persons wanted to change signatories to the Sacco’s bank account, but were arrested before they could accomplish their mission.
State Attorney Martin Rukundo also informed the court that investigations were still ongoing.

Ayago SACCO Limited in Lira City East division was established in 2012. It is fully registered with the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives. The Sacco has 2,137 Members, 121 VSLAs, 14 institutions, and a current loan portfolio of over Shs 300m.

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51 SACCOs In Lira Get Emyooga Funds

LIRA –Fifty-one Savings and Credit cooperatives (SACCOs) in the Northern District of Lira have received Shs 30m each under the presidential initiative on job and wealth creation commonly known as Emyooga.

Emyooga was launched in August 2019 by President Museveni to spur a shift from subsistence to market-oriented production.

The government set aside Shs 260 billion to bankroll the programme with each constituency meant to receive Shs 560 million.

James Chemutai, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner of Lira, confirmed the funds have reached the accounts of the beneficiary SACCO groups.

“We have received 51 certificates, 33 are for Erute North and Erute South constituencies, and the remaining 18 for the city. All these Saccos have already received funds on their accounts, that means the president has fulfilled his pledge,” Chemutai told theCooperator in a recent interview.

“When the president launched the Emyooga program, very many people thought it was a campaign tool. They said the president was looking for votes through this Emyooga, which was a total lie. Now that politics is over, many people still thought the money would not come,” he said.

Chemutai applauded the president for honoring his pledge but cautioned beneficiaries to utilize the funds well.

“I take this opportunity to caution the beneficiaries of this money not to eat up this seed because Emyooga is a seed that the president feels should germinate and help the population get out of poverty,” he said.

He said people will be arrested for misusing the money.

The Lira Deputy Commercial Officer Santos Olade said some of the approved Sacco groups have already withdrawn their money from their bank accounts.

Olade said one performing artists SACCO in Erute South had already withdrawn up to Shs 24 million from their account.

“Emyooga guidelines require that when you have deposited Shs1million into the bank account, you end up getting Shs 3 million, so this group had Shs 8 million on their Sacco account so they got Shs 24 million,” he said.

Samuel Odongo, the chairperson of Erute South performing artist SACCO, said they will use the Shs 24 million to buy more equipment and give loans to members.

“We have a lot of experience and talent but we could not showcase it because we were financially unstable but now with the availability of the Emyooga money, we are optimistic we will have a better livelihood,” he said.

On December 11, 2020, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development wired Shs 1.5 billion to Lira district and each of the approved SACCO groups account received Shs 30 million.

Erute North constituency received Shs 500 million, Erute South got Shs 530 million and then Lira Municipality (now Lira City West) and East Divisions got Shs 560 million, which was instead wired to Lira City West Division leaving East with nothing.

Emyooga cash is largely given to Ugandans in the informal sector organized in Saccos under 18 clusters including; Boda Boda riders, tailors, taxi drivers, restaurants, welders, market vendors, women entrepreneurs, youth leaders, people with disabilities, journalists, performing artists, veterans, fishermen, private teachers, and elected leaders.

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Budget: Kwania Cooperatives Get Shs 89m

KWANIA –The district local council has allocated Shs 89,378,000 million to run cooperatives next financial year. The money will go to the 14 fully registered Saccos in the Northern district, and 917 Village Saving Associations (VSLA).

According to the draft budget presented before the council on April 19 2021 by the Secretary of Finance and Administration Geoffrey Eling Owera, Shs 89m was allocated under Trade, Industry, and Local Economic Development.

The money, according to Eling, will cater for market linkage services, cooperatives mobilization, and outreach services.

About Shs 2.9bn has been allocated to production and marketing, Shs 669m to statutory bodies, finance (Shs 216m), and administration (Shs1.7bn), while Shs 280m went to natural resource, community-based services got Shs172m, water and sanitation (Shs 582m) and Shs 967m was allocated to works and technical services among other sectors.

The draft budget was consequently deferred to the sectoral committee for scrutiny before the final approval in the subsequent council sitting as directed by Local Government Minister Raphael Magyezi.

The district, however, has a shortfall of about Shs 4bn in 2021/2022. In the financial year 2021/2022, the district projected to raise about Shs 24.5b down from Shs 28.6 billion projected last financial year.

Geoffrey Eling Owera, the finance secretary, blamed the shortfall on the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted local government revenue. Eling told the council that the district only managed to raise 20 percent in local revenue in the last F/Y interrupted by Covid-19.

Eling said key stakeholders and district leaders have to lobby for more funding to improve service delivery.

“Mr. Speaker, as leaders and stakeholders in the district, it is our full responsibility to mobilize for more funding from donors through lobbying and advocacy, this calls for concerted efforts for the wellbeing of the people of Kwania district,” he added.

Albina Awor, the chief administrative officer of Kwania, blamed the budget shortfall on the change of the Indicative Planning Figure (IPF) and a ban on charcoal burning and transportation, a major source of local revenue.

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