It is now a few weeks since the enforcement of the trade order campaign started. The enforcement of trade order began with Kampala that had become one, big, chaotic and embarrassing capital city. Traders were trading in the middle of the roads and had made life difficult for those that were trading in organised shops.

Movements in the city was a nightmare, for both motorists and even pedestrians, because roads and walkways had become trading zones. Once the enforcement was concluded, Kampala now looks like a city indeed. Therefore, government must remain resolute in enforcing orderliness in our cities, towns and urban centres.

Of course, the usual noisemakers especially those that were benefiting from chaos are up and about, making endless pleadings to be spared. It is ridiculous that even pastors, whose makeshift churches were affected, are up in arms resisting the enforcement, as if laws that govern the rest of the society should spare them.

The cleaning of illegal trading centres was not a Kampala thing alone. The demolition of illegal trading zones is now across all urban centres in the country. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, Ben Kumamanya, in a in a circular dated March 10, 2026, addressed to all Chief Administrative Officers, City Town Clerks, and Municipal Town Clerks, outlined a nationwide plan to reclaim urban spaces and restore “trade order.”
The directive came amidst a surge in unlicensed street vending, informal settlements and unplanned structures that had increasingly overwhelmed city and town streets. He directed local authorities nationwide to enforce licensing laws and remove illegal trading from public spaces, as urban centres continue to face rising unregulated commerce.
What the local leadership should now emphasise is massive communication, such that the affected parties are told in time, such that when the demolition exercise begins, they are not caught unawares. Announcements should be made on radios and televisions and other mediums of communication such that there is no communication gap.
Kumamanya emphasised that all commercial activity must comply with the Trade (Licensing) Act, Cap 101, requiring traders to hold valid licenses and operate strictly from designated areas. He noted that migration to urban areas in search of employment, coupled with limited formal capital, has contributed to a rise in illegal street vending, hawking and informal settlements. Such “disorganized trading” adversely affects formal traders operating from legitimate shops and markets.
Some traders, however, have raised concerns about insufficient facilities and poor lighting in designated markets, arguing that compliance without viable alternatives threatens their livelihoods. Despite these concerns, Kumamanya and local officials maintain that the operations will continue until order is fully restored, while also encouraging community awareness and adherence to the Trade (Licensing) Act.
What is shocking is that some politicians have jumped on this noble campaign and are politicising to gain cheap, political capital. Hiding under the guise of defending the rights of the poor, they shed crocodile tears for the evicted, minus offering the alternative that is not chaotic trading.
It is very annoying that after government spent a lot of money and built modern market across the country, traders refused to move in and take over the stalls, preferring to trade on the roadside. A case in point is the Lukaya Market, where traders completely refused to use an organized market, which government spent hundred of millions to construct.
It is very imperative that as government we become firm and reign in on impudence. People are not trading in the middle of the road because of little income per se. It is largely the feeling that after all nothing can happen to them. Impudence and impunity have gone overboard in our country.
For a long time, Ugandans have been complaining about the chaotic way we manage our towns and cities. Every time we visit our neighbours, we are awed by how neat and organised their cities and towns are. We exalt their leadership using all the superlatives.
What is strange is the fact that when our own leaders also begin putting our own house to order by enforcing organised trade, they are attacked and government is falsely accused of against the poor. One question though, don’t our neighbours, who have organised urban trading centres, have poor people in their country? Of course, they do! The only difference that their poor obey the law and trade from the gazetted zones.
Organised trading spaces are crucial for enhancing economic growth, improving safety, and ensuring efficient, transparent commerce. By centralizing transactions, these spaces increase liquidity, allow for fair price discovery, and protect participants through regulated rules. Well-managed spaces also boost local economies, provide secure environments, and reduce urban congestion
 Finally, if don’t be so deliberate to enforce both trade order and organized physical developments, we shall loose out on achieving the much-fancied tenfold growth strategy by 2040. This is because no tourists love seeing chaotic and unplanned developments in any place because such is always associated insecurity.
The writer works with Uganda Media Centre