In a bid to resolve long-standing grievances in markets, the administration of local governments has been given the mandate under the Markets Act of 2023 to appoint administrators in markets.
The Markets Act, 2023 is among the 25 Acts that were recently assented to by the President on May 22,2023 as passed by the 11th Parliament. The new Markets Act 2023 has formally started to take effect in major markets starting with the Masaka Central Market .
Vendors at the Masaka Central Market are now being given a fair chance to get a stall as a means of improving the efficiency of markets and incomes of vendors under the MATIP-2 project in the ministry of local government .
Geoffrey Etedu, the Assistant Commissioner and National Coordinator for Markets in the Ministry of Local Government explained during the implementation process in Masaka that the new Act intends to streamline the management of public markets and prevent the exploitation of vendors in privately owned facilities. He says this law will encourage more production by farmers especially in the agricultural sector.
“Most of the products in these markets are agricultural, so these facilities encourage the farmers to grow more because there is market for their produce. During the construction and resettlement of vendors, we had challenges with some people claiming to be landlords because they had taken spaces in the markets and this required government to define the process by creating a law. Masaka is the first since the law was gazette on June 08 to begin the implementation of this law,” he says
The law prohibits a vendor from being allocated or operating more than one stall. It also states that a vendor who shall be found subletting their allocated stall will be ordered to vacate by the administrative authority.
The law also prohibits a person in public service within the administrative authority from owning a stall.
Masaka City Mayor Florence Namayanja says vendors would better understand the law if it is translated into local languages .
Betty Nakayiza, the interim Chairperson of Masaka Market Vendors Association, states that they are yet to receive the new law and therefore cannot provide further comment on it.
The Markets Act of 2023 empowers local governments to directly appoint administrators who will be responsible for managing the day-to-day affairs of the markets.
Under the law, the administrative unit for Kampala City is under the executive director KCCA, for Municipalities and town councils the town clerks will be in charge, in Municipal or City Divisions, the deputy town clerk is the authority while in a subcounty, the administrative head is the Subcounty Chief.
The appointed administrators have the duty to ensure orderliness in the markets, and noncompliance with their lawful orders is punishable by a fine of shillings 480,000 or a prison sentence of at least six months.
Raphael Magyezi, the Minister in Charge of Local Governments, believes that the new Market Act will help resolve the persistent issues in market management.
Impersonating a market administrator and engaging in unauthorized activities is now an offense punishable by a fine of shillings 480,000 or a prison sentence of six months.
The law also requires individuals planning to establish private markets to seek permission from the local authority, which will oversee the management and ensure compliance with set standards.
The Ministry has instructed local governments to enforce the new act, with the aim of bringing order to the market. Additionally, the new law establishes an independent and technical allocations committee responsible for assigning workspaces to vendors.
The Act replaces the outdated Markets Act of 1942 and aims to eliminate dishonest managers who falsely claim connections with higher authorities and cause disruptions in the markets.