More than 412 vendors and traders at Mbarara Central Market are expected to enter direct rental arrangements with Mbarara City Council following a visit by Minister of State for Gender and Culture Balaam Barugahara on Monday.
The minister said the changes were intended to end the involvement of unauthorised middlemen who allegedly rented out government-owned market stalls and lock-up shops to traders at rates higher than the amounts paid to the city council.
During his third visit to the market, Barugahara announced that traders would no longer be required to pay rent to unauthorised landlords and would instead make payments directly to the council under formal agreements.
Under the proposed arrangement, monthly charges will be Shs80,000 for lock-up shops, Shs30,000 for fish vendors and Shs20,000 for fruit and produce stalls, according to the minister.
Barugahara said some traders, particularly young entrepreneurs and women, had been paying between Shs150,000 and Shs300,000 per month to individuals who allegedly paid the council less than Shs80,000 for the same premises.
“Imagine renting out shops to our young people and women at a range of Shs150,000–300,000, and yet council is paid below Shs80,000,” he said.
The minister described the changes as an effort to protect traders from excessive rental charges and ensure that revenue from public market facilities goes directly to the responsible local authority.
He also said similar interventions had been undertaken in Kabale and that the initiative would be extended to other markets across the country.
The minister linked the exercise to the government’s anti-corruption efforts, including the “Expose the Corrupt” campaign, which he said would target practices that allow individuals to profit unfairly from public facilities.
Public markets are intended to provide trading space for vendors and small businesses. However, disputes over stall allocation, subletting and rental charges have raised concerns in some markets about transparency and the management of public assets.
Barugahara said the government intended to ensure that market facilities served traders rather than individuals who might be benefiting from informal rental arrangements.
He also said the reforms were in line with directives from President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) leader Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
The minister said market management audits and stall reallocation exercises would continue in other urban centres as the government pursues its anti-corruption drive.
The implementation of the new arrangement will depend on the city council’s rental records, the verification of existing occupants and the issuance of formal agreements to eligible traders.
Mbarara City Council had not provided an independent account of the allegations, the status of the affected rental agreements or the implementation timeline in the information available for this report.