Hundreds of vendors in Arua municipality have defied the council directive to vacate none gazzetted areas. Arua Municipality issued an ultimatum to the vendors last December to vacate the areas by January 16 this year, but the vendors have not moved.
The vendors, who claim to have paid for trading licenses, are demanding to be given an alternative space to relocate their business. Kamure Bada the chairperson Arua town vendors association says it was Arua municipal council that gave them permission to occupy the spaces and erect structures that are being condemned.
Bada says its not possible that the vendors could have forcibly erected structures in the municipality without council approval.
//Cue in: there has never
Cue out#from municipality//
Yovan Matata, one of the vendors, says they are not ready to move unless council uses force to evict them.
//Cue in: those people#
Cue out#insecurity//
Sarah Dravu, a food vendor accuses the council of failing to deliver on basic necessities and wasting time to chance them from their area of work, yet they were issued with trading licenses.
But the Arua Municipal council town clerk Francis Barabanawe says the vendors have no choice but to move because council will do what it takes to move them. He warned that those who are resisting the directive to move will be handed over to the police.
