Uliwa Market users in Karonga District have attributed low market fees collection to shortage of ticket sellers.
Uliwa Market chairperson Geoffrey Mposa said this during a public expenditure tracking meeting organised by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) of Karonga Diocese to appreciate challenges traders face in the market.
He said the council uses ticket sellers who are paid 10 percent commission, an arrangement he said is not motivating enough.
“Uliwa Market can generate K80 000 per day. The current arrangement is prone to complacency as the 10 percent is on the lower side,” said Mposa.
He also said the council is also failing to remit 25 percent of the revenue to the community.”
In a separate interview, Karonga District Council principal human resources management officer Martin Mkandawire said the council has permanent revenue collectors who supervise revenue collection.
“We have employed 12 revenue collectors. So, to employ ticket sellers, we need to have establishment in government as we don’t just recruit anyhow. The next functional review will look into that,” he said.
The council’s director of finance Joyce Chindenga said the council has a huge wage bill which makes it hard for it to remit the 25 percent back to the community.
“We have projects in the 2024/25 budget in markets, including Uliwa to ensure that revenue realised is ploughed back to the community,” she said.
CCJP project officer Moses Mwakisalu commended the market users for voicing out their concerns, urging the council to intensify revenue collection by employing ticket sellers.
CCJP is implementing Fighting Inequalities Project in the area with joint funding from the Norwegian Church Aid and DanChurch Aid
