Rubanda District | Uganda – Vendors, residents, and customers at Bigungiro Weekly Market in Bigungiro Parish, Nyamweru Sub-county, Rubanda District, have threatened to stop paying taxes unless the government constructs a public toilet at the busy marketplace.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, September 21, several vendors expressed frustration over the lack of sanitation facilities, which forces them to relieve themselves in nearby bushes or attempt to access locked private toilets putting them at risk of disease outbreaks.
Junior Njanjare, a resident popularly known as Rutatinamparana, said the market draws more than 1,000 people weekly from Kabale, Rubanda, Rukiga, Ntungamo, and even Rwanda.
He questioned how such a large market could lack a basic public toilet despite Rubanda District having key political leaders like Finance Minister Hon. Henry Musasizi and Parliamentary Commissioner Hon. Akampurira Mbabazi Prossy. He also criticized local health inspectors for their failure to act.
Florence Kagubara, a vendor at the market, said the problem worsens during the rainy season, and the lack of proper sanitation is already driving away customers due to poor hygiene conditions.
Local leaders, including parish councilors Mugisha Medison and Dorcus Narowoza, blamed district councilors for failing to present Nyamweru Sub-county’s concerns to the district council.
In response, Rubanda District LC5 Vice Chairperson, Akampurira Kesaphari Prossy, acknowledged the issue and assured residents that the matter would be included in the next financial year’s budget. She urged the public to remain calm as the district works on a solution.
