Vendors operating in the temporary market at Coronation Park in Lira municipality are chocking with garbage because of the failure by the authorities to provide them with garbage skips. Early this year, Lira Municipality relocated vendors from Lira Main market along Obote Avenue to Coronation Park to pave way for the construction of a new market.
However, Lira Municipality failed to provide garbage skips leaving the vendors to litter the coronation park. Joseph Odongo, a vendor at the temporary market says that in addition to lacking garbage skips they also lack equipment such as spades, wheel barrows and forks to collect the garbage. He says that the vendors are operating in a filthy environment that exposes their lives infections.
Merry Opito say the traders have resorted to crude ways of dumping garbage. She explains that only a few workers are deployed in the market to collect and dispose of the garbage. Ambrose Ocen, the town clerk Lira municipality admits the lack of garbage skips at the coronation park. He says that they failed to provide the skips because the vendors are operating in a very small place.
//Cue in: “There is no space…………….”
Cue out: “………….you need fuel in the Lorries”//
Ocen also explains that the responsibility to remove garbage in the market lies with the central division, which is currently facing a financial squeeze. He explains that the money that the municipality should have used to collect garbage is being used to pay taxi areas of shillings 100 Million owed to Uganda Revenue Authority.
He explains that the taxes accumulated after Central Division failed to remit withholding tax to URA for a very long time from the deductions from councilors’ allowances and service providers. Last week, traders and hotel operators at Te-Obaya market released a song in which they attack the town clerk and mayor over poor waste management.
