KAMPALA – All vendors operating in Kampala city will be required to register with the authority, acquire licences, get uniform with numbers.
The requirements are contained in the proposed KCCA Regulation of Street Trade Ordinance 2019.
Addressing the vendors on Tuesday, Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago said the purpose of the ordinance is to provide a legislative framework that will allow orderly hawking and vending on the streets.
KCCA hopes this will spur an increase in the purchase and sale of goods and allow for greater economic activity that will promote the welfare of Kampala residents.
Lukwago told the traders that the debate on the ordinance with councillors is still going on and once passed, will only be applicable in Kampala.
According to the ordinance, street vendors grade one and two are to pay UGX210,000 and UGX78,750 respectively, while hawkers grade one and two will pay UGX112,500 and UGX60,000 for their trading licenses.
The traders will also be required to pay for their uniform at sh50,000. The uniforms will be in different colours depending on divisions where they will be operating.
Kampala Central (green), Nakawa (blue), Kawempe (red), Rubaga (orange) and Makindye (yellow).
The traders said the ordinance has been long overdue.
“We appreciate the law and are willing to abide by the rules and regulation, but they should reduce on the charges,” Swibu Tenywa a vendor on Allan Road said.
MP Betty Nambooze, the Mukono Municipality MP, said street vending is not only a trend in Kampala but also other cities like Mexico city where vendors are given particular hours to sell their merchandise.
Sam Gombya, the Kampala Central deputy mayor, told the traders that although they will be given licenses, they should have particular areas of operation.
“We do not want to see you selling tomatoes at Bank of Uganda,” Gombya said.
Kampala Resident City Commissioner Faridah Mayanja stressed that the move is key towards fighting crime and strengthening security in the city since everyone will be easily identified.w
“It will now be easy to identify strangers unlike before where people used to masquerade as traders, yet they are criminals. In this arrangement, every trader will have a number and uniform and it will be easy to trace wrong characters,” she said.
