By Benjamin Mwibo
The Ministry for Works and Transport with support from KCCA, UNRA and Uganda Police has issued stringent measures with immediate effect against the street vendors as a post NAM achievement and plan,
The Non Aligned Movement Summit happened a week ago, however, in the due course, no street vendors were seen carrying out business as police and army were deployed all over Kampala streets. It is therefore upon this arrangement that the government through its bodies of KCCA, UNRA and Ministry of Works and Transport is committing to maintain and enforce the policy.
On Friday, congratulating the president and Ugandans for successfully hosting the NAM summit and G77, Gen. Katumba Wamala the Minister for Works and Transport singled out the parliamentary act of 2019 that prohibits to carry out trading of goods on road side meant for pedestrian walkways,” trading on road reserves is illegal according to the road safety act passed by parliament in 2019 and it punishable by a fine of 8 currency points or imprisonment of 8 years or both,” he said at media centre in Kampala.
Traders must leave walkways because trading is done in gazetted areas like markets. A number of infrastructure came up as a result of the Non Aligned Movement Summit and therefore Ugandans should proudly guard them, he added.
The Local Government must therefore find trading places for establishing the roadside traders,it is the role it has to play in this because as the ministry for transport, there cannot be anymore garbage on the roads due to the traders, emphasized Katumba.
The Minister also guided on the clocktower fly over, kitgum house fly over by mentioning which categories of people that shall not be permitted access to it once fully operational, for example the pedestrians, bicycle, motorcyclist and heavy vehicles or trucks.
According to the Deputy Executive Director KCCA, Eng David Luyimbazi,” KCCA is going to continue removing all the illegal structures from the road sides, installation of signs is to take place in order to inform people that vending is not allowed in all locations of frontages, all public spaces are to be decongested, regular supervision and enforcement is take on in the city.”
It is difficult to have 100% compliance despite the number of measures issued like wearing of cameras by the field enforcers, KCCA is planning to widen coverage of board room cameras to monitor and limit people that extort money from the vendors and keep them on streets, he noted.
Luyimbazi, however, encouraged the public to paint their buildings in order to keep the city smart and also noted that 445 motorcycle stages are to be gazetted, streamlined and re-organized in kampala.
