Traders at Namugongo Martyrs Shrine are decrying the high prices of rental space. Each trader was allocated 100 by 100 feet of space where to sell their merchandise to the thousands of pilgrims.
Anita Nagawa from Kitintale who has spent 17 years selling food at Namugongo on Martyrs’ Day, says that despite the big number of pilgrims, the working space is expensive.
Nagawa said that last year they obtained the same space at 400,000 shillings and a tent at 120,000 Shillings. She says that this time round, it has doubled to 800,000 Shillings and a tent at 240,000 Shillings.
According to Nagawa, some traders have resorted to sub-renting their space.
Andrew Nsubuga, who is selling bananas said that he anticipated that there will a scarcity of bananas at the venue and he risked venturing into the business. He said that he is selling a bunch of bananas to the traders at 15,000 to 13,000 Shillings depending on the size.
However, traders operating businesses outside the Martyrs Shrine say that the rain has disrupted their businesses and destroyed some of their items. They note that they had started receiving customers, but were disrupted by the rains.
Meanwhile, authorities at Namugongo Catholic Martyrs Shrine have banned vendors from selling drinks and other merchandise during mass.
Vendors mostly selling drinks have been walking through pilgrims seated outside while mass is going on while selling their products.
The organizers say that the pilgrims should be given time to dedicate their lives to Christ while in mass.
Pilgrims from different parts of the country continue to flock to Namugongo.
