Mbale district leaders have clashed with traders over an alleged haunting by ghost vendors.
A team of officials led by Paul Nangoli the Mbale Resident District Commissioner, faced rough time on Friday afternoon trying to convince market vendors, to vacate Mbale Main Supermarket to pave way for redevelopment.
The vendors turned rowdy and booed the officials for allegedly looking on as corrupt council officials inflate the list of vendors who will benefit from the stalls after the redevelopment with ghost.
They alleged that the final list of lockup and stall owners, which was submitted to Mbale Municipal Council is full of ghost vendors.
The RDC, Paul Nangoli, admitted during the meeting that he has received a petition from aggrieved traders that some council officials connived with the leaders of the market, to smuggle ghosts into the list of people who are to get stalls after completion of the project.
Nangoli however assured the angry traders that his office is going to screen beneficiaries to ensure only bonafide traders get the stalls.
Mtwalib Zandia, the Mayor of Mbale blamed creation of ghosts on unnamed councilors whom he claims connived with the market local leaders to create the ghosts. He says the council is going to review the list and weed out ghost beneficiaries.
The traders had earlier informed the leaders that they will only vacate the market if they sign a memorandum of understanding with Mbale Municipal Council to guarantee their lock up spaces upon completion of the project.
The more than 5000 traders also complained that Lorry Park, where they are being relocated is too small to accommodate all of them. Joseph Kimbowa, the Mbale Town Clerk, urged the vendors to embrace the project saying that it will accommodate more than ten thousand traders upon completion in two years time.
Kimbowa informed the traders that they are expected to vacate the market by 31st July to pave way for the project.
The market is to be redeveloped at a cost of more than 11 billion shillings using funds from African Development Bank-ADB.
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