The Resident City Commissioner (RCC) has ordered traders in downtown Kampala to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) or face closure.
"We urge people in Kampala to comply, we are not begging them, if they do not, we are going to close all the shops," Faridah Mayanja Mpiima, the Kampala RCC, said.
Random tour
After a random tour of shops and arcades in Kikuubo and other places in downtown Kampala, Mpiima vowed that action will be taken on noncompliance.
She was accompanied by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) deputy executive director, Eng. David Ssali Luyimbaazi and KCCA Police commandant SSP Kitumwa Rusoke.
She vowed that the city authorities were not going to continue watching as cases of COVID-19 escalate at an alarming rate.
Eng. Luyimbaazi ordered the closure of one shop in Qualicell Shopping Centre on Allen Road after the workers there failed to explain the absence of SOPs.
"As authorities, we are not going to let this happen, we have closed one shop today but the next time more will be closed. So all traders should comply by sanitising, have water for washing hands, temperature guns and wear face masks among others," Mayanja stressed.
According to Mpiima, their visit was intended to check on the traders and remind them about the seriousness of the pandemic
"We have been disappointed by what we have seen, people still think this is a joking matter," she said.
Luyimbaazi stated that during their routine inspection, they found out that the majority of the traders tend to comply when they hear that KCCA and health officials were coming to tour their places.
He was, however, optimistic that with more enforcement, there would be an improvement but warned that they would take action against traders who refuse to comply.
Betty Amongi, the Minister for Kampala, last Friday issued an ultimatum to Kampala residents to comply with the SOPs before the Government considers another lockdown.
The minister listed over 56 commercial arcades that had not complied with SOPs.
In reaction, managers and owners of the affected arcades have pleaded with the Government to give them another chance, arguing that although there was some laxity, they had taken the warning seriously.
They said they feared that another lockdown would affect the lives of many Ugandans who derive their livelihoods from the commercial centres.
Fredrick Kiyimba alias Freeman whose Freeman Foundation Arcade was listed said there were a few issues that the national COVID-19 taskforce ordered them to rectify and they fixed them. Simon Peter Lubwama, the spokesperson of Kisekka Market Traders' Arcade appealed to the Government to introduce on-the spot penalties for individuals who moved to the city without wearing a mask, saying shoppers were making life of traders difficult by refusing to wear masks or wash hands.
Godfrey Kirumira, the chairperson of city Landlords association said many arcade owners had taken the Government's warning seriously and were enforcing them although they needed to ensure close supervision of individual traders.
