Kampala Park Yard market vendors are demanding for an investigation into the one billion shillings extended to them by President Yoweri Museveni in 2009.
In February 2009, fire gutted the Park Yard Market and destroyed vendors’ merchandise worth billions of shillings. President Museveni intervened by handing out a loan of one billion shillings to the vendors to re-start their businesses.
But the market was again burnt early this month and now vendors want their leaders investigated over the use of the president’s money before more money is released to them.
Kabakumba Masiko, the minster in charge of the presidency says government is planning to extend another one billion shillings to the vendors after losing their property in the fire that gutted the market two weeks ago.
Godfrey Busulwa, the former chairperson Park Yard Market says before government moves ahead to extend another one billion shillings to the vendors, there should be accountability on the first loan given to them.
Busulwa alleges the money was hijacked by leaders of Kampala United Park Yard Cooperative Savings and Credit Society limited and that it is only a handful of vendors including the 30 SACCO leaders, who benefited from the money. The 2009 presidential loan to the vendors was channeled through the Kampala Park yard SACCO.
Busulwa says an investigation would establish how the money was used, who benefited and how much amount each one received.
// Cue in: “Twandisabye …
Cue out: …ebintu bya bwe.” //
Busulwa also claims that since the second fire burnt the yard, SACCO managers have been persuading every vendor including the ones that had not benefited from the presidential loan to write letters indicating that they lost their property and money in the fires.
He also claims that persuading vendors, who did not loose property to write claim letters, is also part of the fraud going on in the market.
José born Lukwago, a second hand shoe vendor in the market also expressed concern that the SACCO leadership also included a 17 percent interest on the loan which was not the case.
He alleges that he declined to get a loan of 800,000 shillings to boast his business because he would be forced to pay an interest of 136000 shillings per month.
But Charles Lubega, the board chairperson of Kampala United Park Yard SACCO says that the 17 percent interest was determined by the members of the SACCO to meet operational expenses.
He explains that the SACCO rents its offices at JAMAT Plaza, it has to cater for the workers and that some of the money is used in the field to truck loan defaulters.
Lubega says the SACCO is also facing challenges of tracking vendors, who receive the loan and change their businesses to other places other than working at their original stalls in the market.
He says the SACCO is considering publishing lists of the defaulters.
