Joseph Mudhasi the vice chairperson of the newly formed Federation of Uganda Market Vendors Association (FUMVA) has exclusively confirmed to this website that they have appointed Senior Presidential Advisory and also the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID) chairperson Odrek Rwabwogo as their national patron.
He explains that the appointment of Rwabwogo resulted from the deep consultation they conducted and established that he is the rightful person to guide them on improving their business through attracting international markets since he is the one advising the President on the products sold on the international market.
He adds that the federation is going to bring together all vendor associations countrywide, especially those working in government markets.
He says that they have already registered 16 markets countrywide who participated in the election of their interim leadership chaired by Faridah Kimuli the former Nakasero market chairperson, Kamada Bukenya as the publicity secretary and others.
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Sources inside the new organisation disclosed that the move resulted from a protest that the vendors had against Hajjat Minsa Kabanda who wanted them to join his blue eyed boy John Kabanda’s Federation of the Uganda Traders Association (FUTA).
They expressed their dissatisfaction saying that Kabanda wanted to use them to achieve her political goals.
Sources also cited tax operators boss Hajji Rashid Ssekindi guiding the market vendors to form their own federation claiming that Kabanda who is a businessman operating in arcades cannot understand their problems.
Sources divulged that they appointed Rwabwogo because they are very sure that he will help them to reach the president so that their problems are worked on without passing through minister Kabanda as it was done by traders which resulted in divisionism.
Minister Kabanda was further accused of using Kabanda to mobilize market vendors to support her in the coming elections as Kampala Central legislator.
But this website has independently established that many of the members in the vendors federation are those who were overthrown from government market leadership by Minister Kabanda on orders of the President.
FUTA boss Kabanda denied the allegation of being used by the minister to achieve her political goals and explained that he was just using the minister to connect city traders and vendors to the President so as to understand their problems very well.
