Sometime last year, Herbert Ondoma, the chairperson of the 20-member allocations committee consisting of vendors, Arua city and ministry of local government officials, received instruction to allocate stalls and lockups to vendors in Arua’s sh34.9b new market dubbed the Grand National Cake for West Nile’s regional city.
Another committee was set up to receive, register and respond to complaints in case Ondoma’s committee did a less-than-satisfactory job.
There were 5,012 registered vendors who had signed memorandum of understanding with the ministry of local government to be given priority to use the new market, a novel solution to the old filthy market.
These were the vendors who used the old market premises before its demolition to pave way for the new development.
To ensure fair distribution, the allocations committee carried out a raffle draw, allowing vendors to pick rolled pieces of paper on which the numbers of stalls and lock-ups were written.
“The allocations went on well and there were about 300 vendors left without anywhere to sell their merchandise,” Ondoma disclosed.
The 300 registered vendors missed out mainly as a result of construction of fewer lock-ups and stalls by the contractor, Sadeem Al-Kuwait Construction Company in partnership with the Dott-services under the supervision of Joadah Consults LTD, the Joel Aita led consultant company that was supposed to do due diligence on behalf of the government.
Ondoma said for instance 400 fish mongers were registered but the contractors build stalls for 300 people, 728 produce vendors were registered and the available space is only for 500 people, 500 apparel and textile dealers were registered but space was only provided for 300 people and in the coveted lock-ups, 350 people applied but the contractor only build 98 lock-ups.
“Then tribalism, religion and politics came in which spoiled everything. Wo! I’m a Christian and I have marginalized Muslims, wo! I’m an Ayivu and I have marginalized Aringas, wo! I’m not an NRM insider….bla, bla, bla!” he revealed of the dirty behind-the-scenes game.
Herbert Ondoma, Chairperson allocations committee for Arua’s new market
Many vendors after paying rentals of between sh8,000 to sh15,000 per month to the Arua City council, vacated the premises to sell in some of the rickety temporary markets in the city center, leaving the 755 envy-drawing stalls up-stairs unoccupied.
These were some of the forecast anomalies that the German Development Agency, GIZ sent vendors and some Arua city council staff on a bench-marking visit to Gulu and Lira markets to reportedly learn how to avoid but the current impasse has left many people gasping at whether the German taxpayers’ money spent on that trip was worth the hype.
The vendors’ association and the Arua City technocrats claim that they are stuck because they fear being sued in the courts of law if they cancel the agreement with the vendors who have paid for the empty stall but are not using them.
Gloria Faridha, one of the disappointed vendors in Arua central market charges that the vendors who have blocked the usage of the polished facility are being encouraged by a politician who periodically slaughters a cow to congratulate them for their blockade.
“We have suffered for six months since we moved into the new market. The stalls are empty and people block customer on the streets since they are spread all over the town,” flunked John Anguyo, one of the handful textile vendors spending time inside the new market.
John Anguyo, the lone vendor in the textiles section of the new market
On Wednesday, Raphael Magezi, the minister of the local government is expected to drive 474.6km North-West of Kampala to address this conundrum.
