More than 412 vendors and traders at Mbarara Central Market will enter direct rental arrangements with Mbarara City Council following a visit by Minister of State for Gender and Culture Balaam Barugahara on Monday. The minister announced that traders would no longer pay rent to unauthorised middlemen who allegedly rented out government-owned market stalls and lock-up shops at rates far higher than what these middlemen paid to the council itself. Under the new system, traders will make payments directly to the council under formal agreements, ending a practice that the minister said had left young entrepreneurs and women paying excessive charges.
According to the minister, monthly rental charges under the new arrangement will be Shs80,000 for lock-up shops, Shs30,000 for fish vendors and Shs20,000 for fruit and produce stalls. Barugahara said some traders had been paying between Shs150,000 and Shs300,000 per month to individuals who allegedly paid the council less than Shs80,000 for the same premises. The minister used a specific example to illustrate the problem: 'Imagine renting out shops to our young people and women at a range of Shs150,000-300,000, and yet council is paid below Shs80,000.' He described the intervention as an effort to protect traders from excessive charges and ensure that revenue from public market facilities goes directly to the responsible local authority.
The minister linked the changes to the government's anti-corruption efforts, including the 'Expose the Corrupt' campaign, which he said would target practices allowing individuals to profit unfairly from public facilities. Barugahara said similar interventions had already been undertaken in Kabale and that the initiative would be extended to other markets across the country. He also said market management audits and stall reallocation exercises would continue in other urban centres as the government pursued its anti-corruption drive. The reforms, he added, were in line with directives from President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and Patriotic League of Uganda leader Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Public markets have faced disputes over stall allocation, subletting and rental charges, raising concerns about transparency and public asset management. The implementation of the new arrangement will depend on the city council's rental records, verification of existing occupants and the issuance of formal agreements to eligible traders. Mbarara City Council has not provided independent confirmation of the allegations, the status of affected rental agreements or the implementation timeline.