Over 60 banana vendors operating in Njara Banana market in Fort portal have staged a demonstration to protest a decision by the municipal council authorities to relocate them to Kitumba in East Division.
The vendors started their demonstration yesterday, vowing not to sale their bananas to residents of Fort Portal for two months. No banana vendors were seen in Fort Portal town yesterday, leaving several banana consumers to hunt for bananas in markets outside the town.
Trouble started last month, after Fort Portal Municipal council authorities ordered the vendors to vacate Njara banana market saying that it was operating illegally. The authorities also argued that Njara market is located in a sharp bend along the Fort Portal-Kampala highway, which has led to several accidents.
Stephen Basaija, one of the banana vendors says that Kitumba is very and because of the bad road it is difficult to transport bananas there using bicycles. Kitumba is 2 and half miles from Fort Portal town along Kampala road.
John Mugisa, another vendor describes the council decision to relocate them as unfair saying that the move is aimed at chasing them from business. He says that none of their customers would be willing to incur the extra transport costs to the new area.
They have resolved to stop ferrying and selling bananas to town dwellers until an action is taken by the municipal council. The vendors want the municipal to get them another market which is within town. Richard Alituha, the acting town clerk fort Portal Municipality says that Njara market was illegally started by Hussein Ismail Sebbi, chairman of the vendors.
He says the collecting center was not known in the municipality. Alituha says that the legal market is in Kitumba and the intention of relocating them to Kitumba was to expand the town and provide enough space to the vendors.
