Kajjansi Market vendors on Tuesday protested the hefty and exorbitant market fees that the Kajjansi Town Council tax enforcement team levies on them. The bitter market vendors protested before the Entebbe Municipality RDC Rose Kirabira the hefty lease fees that they pay during the Baraza (Open forum meeting) that was held at the Market. The market vendors revealed that lock-up owners pay Shs 1.8m while the Market stalls owners pay Shs400,000 as lease fees every after three years on addition to paying several other fees. The vendors disclosed that besides paying for the lease fees, they also pay monthly revenue tax (Empooza) of Shs 17,700 (Lock-up owners) while Market Stall owners pay Shs 10,000.
We are appealing to RDC Kirabira and the Kajjansi Town Council Town Clerk to help us and either review or scrap off the Lease fees because many of us cannot afford to pay the hefty tax. On top of paying for the lease fees, we pay the monthly revenue tax (Empooza), Electricity (Shs2000), Security (Shs3000), Toilet (Shs200 per visit) and water (Shs200). Many of us are single mothers and widows operating in the market and we are really finding it hard to pay the lease fees. With all the hefty market fees, how do they expect us to look after our children and educate them, a market vendor revealed.
In her remarks, RDC Kirabira tasked the newly appointed Kajjansi Town Council Town clerk Geoffrey Muganga to form a committee comprising of the Market vendors and town council officials to iron out the contentious lease fees issue. She promised to attend the meeting and have the issue resolved.
RDC Kirabira vowed to start weeding out all the rotten leaders at Kajjansi Town Council who intentionally stifle government programs and service delivery in Kajjansi in order to paint a bad image of government.
I’m reliably informed that there are leaders in Kajjansi who are intentionally stifling government programs and service delivery so as to portray a bad image of government and President Museveni that they aren’t delivering. I’ve therefore directed the Wakiso District CAO Ssemambo James to immediately arrest the former Kajjansi Town Council Community Development Officer (CDO) Ronnie Mukiibi who was transferred to Kyengera. Reports indicate that Ronnie Mukiibi misused the Youth Livelihood funds while he was still in Kajjansi as CDO. It’s absurd that government disbursed Shs62m as Youth Livelihood Funds in Kajjansi but there is nothing to show on ground, RDC Kirabira stated.
RDC Kirabira called for the immediate closure of all gambling outlets (slot machines) in Kajjansi stressing that many youth are wasting away because of gambling. Meanwhile Town Clerk Geoffrey Muganga who is barely five months in office disclosed that he inherited a mess from his predecessors and begged the Kajjansi residents for time to rectify the mistakes and uplift Kajjansi into a Town Council that they deserve to live in.
