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Kabale, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | There was jubilation in Kabale district on Friday after the Ministry of Local Government officially handed over the Kabale Central Market to China’s Chong Chuing International Construction Company to reconstruct the market.
Chong Chuing International Construction Company won the contract in October 2019. The reconstruction of the market is under the Markets and Agricultural Trade Improvement program – MATIP III.
According to the Memorandum of Understanding, construction of the market will cost shillings 23 billion and is expected to be completed in the next two years. The project will be supervised by Sileshi Consult.
Speaking during the handover, Ben Kumumanya, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Local Government says that Kabale was about to lose the contract due to disagreements between traders and authorities. Kumumanya says that they were lucky after the High court cleared them to proceed with construction.
Kumumanya says that construction of such a market will be a very big achievement because it will boost trade and employment. He warns the contractor against shoddy work, changing designs as well as going past the time frame.
Emmanuel Sentaro Byamugisha, Kabale Municipality Mayor says that the market will have lockups, stalls, pitches, lavatories, modern restaurants, sheds, banks and microfinance offices, clinics, police post and market offices among other services. Byamugisha says that he is very proud that the construction of the market is taking off despite a few people like Simon Mashemererwa who rushed to court with intentions of sabotaging development.
Byamugisha says that if it means paying Mashemererwa all his damages and court fine, he is ready to honor as long as the construction of the market that is intended to benefit many is registering a success.
Joshua Mutekanga, one of the traders says that as traders what they want is transparency during construction. Mutekanga also demanded the contractor and Municipality authorities to display the design on a bill board for the public to view and understand.
The construction of the market had hit a snag resulting from the feud between Kabale Municipality authorities and Kabale Central Market Traders Association led by their chairperson, Simon Mashemererwa. Mashemererwa through their lawyer Timothy Twikirize of Twikirize & Company Advocates want Kabale Municipality is also demanding shillings 900 million damages from Kabale Municipality council.
Early this month, Kabale Municipal council lost a contempt of court case and was ordered to pay a shillings 150 million fine in a suit that had been filed in August, by the Association. In their application, the traders accused Kabale Municipality of defying the extension of the interim court order restraining it and its agents from evicting and demolishing the market until February 11, 2020, when the main application will be heard. However, court lifted the temporary injunction and allowed Kabale Municipality authorities to start constructing the market as the hearing of the main application continues.
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