Barugahara Reclaims 204 Kabale Central Market Stalls from Illegal Sub-Letters, Allocates Them to Genuine Vendors.

The Minister for Local Government, Balaam Barugahara, allocated 204 lock-ups and stalls at Kabale Central Market to genuine vendors, reclaiming them from individual landlords and government officials who had been illegally sub-renting the space.

Addressing traders at the market during his anti-corruption tour of the Kigezi Sub-region, Barugahara accused officials within Kabale municipality and Kabale District Local Government of creating fictitious landlords to claim shop ownership, undermining the rights of the intended beneficiaries. He personally signed occupancy agreements with the beneficiaries, providing them with formal documentation for their lock-ups and stalls.

Under Ministry of Local Government guidelines, all rent must be paid directly to the council, and beneficiaries are strictly prohibited from sub-renting their allocated spaces. However, some beneficiaries have been charging subtenants more than the official monthly rent of between 100,000 and 150,000 shillings for lock-ups.

The market, constructed at a cost of about 23 billion shillings under the Markets and Agricultural Trade Improvement Programme, was handed over to the Ministry of Local Government and Kabale Municipal Council in January 2023.

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