Pallisa market operates without latrine for four years
Some of the vendors who operate inside Pallisa Central market that does not have a pit-latrine. PHOTO | KOLYANGHA MUDANGHA
What you need to know:
- The Pallisa Traders Association chairperson, Mr Ali Ogogolo, said they are operating in an inhumane environment.
More than 2,000 traders and vendors operating in Pallisa Main Market are at risk of an outbreak of contagious diseases due to a lack of public pit-latrines for the last four years.
Traders and vendors have since 2020 been using nearby incomplete buildings and private pit-latrines to ease themselves.
It is alleged that the failure to construct a public pit-latrine in the market is because of a dispute between Pallisa Town Council and three family members over the land on which the market is established.
Wrangle
The town clerk, Mr Jude Martin Aisu, on Tuesday said Mr Bin Said Muniru, Mr Sale Bin Said and Ms Safia Sale are claiming ownership of the land.
“The town council had planned to construct a three-stance pit-latrine in the Financial Year 2022/23 at Shs14.4 million and the contract was awarded to M/S Difasi and Wagana Consult [Ug] Ltd, who had initially started off the digging up of the latrine, but the Saale family stopped the contractor on grounds that the town council has no land in the market,” he said.
“To our dismay, the three family members instead started constructing lockups on the back-filled pit latrine. We notified the police but have received no response date,” Mr Aisu added.
“We had to appeal in the High Court for redress. So our case, Civil Appeal No 86/2024, is before the High Court,” Mr Aisu said.
He maintains that the land was acquired legally by the town council and the land owners were fully compensated.
However, Ms Safia Saale said the land belongs to their family and accused the town council of attempting to grab it.
The Pallisa District Chief Administrative Officer, Mr Fredrick Byekweso, has tasked the Pallisa Resident District Commissioner, Mr Dhikusooka Magidu, to convene a security meeting in order to resolve the matter.
The Pallisa Town Council Executive Committee chaired by Mr Yusuf Zomu, the LC3 chairperson, said due to encumbrances on the land, the pit-latrine should be relocated to Osupa Primary School.
“Due to the lack of a pit-latrine in the market, the people are forced to trek long distances to access a nearby pit-latrine,” Mr Zomu said.
The Pallisa Traders Association chairperson, Mr Ali Ogogolo, said they are operating in an inhumane environment.
“This place [market] is unhygienic. Most vendors have opted to shift and operate on the roadside,” he said.
