Busia Fish Traders Protest Market Licences, Halt Operations

Traders at Busia Main Market have staged a protest, closing the facility and sending away revenue collectors. Their grievance stems from the Busia Municipal Council granting operating licences to private fish trading companies, allowing them to conduct business outside the main market.

Traders claim that companies like Rendalli and Yalelo, licensed to operate nearby, are selling fish at significantly lower prices. This has led to a substantial drop in customers for the licensed traders within the main market, many of whom are Kenyan nationals who now bypass the facility.

“We pay taxes, but at the end of the day, we cannot sell because the two companies are operating at the border and taking away all our customers from Kenya,” stated Ibrahim Kisambira, a concerned trader. The main market, built under the Markets and Agricultural Trade Improvement Programme (MATIP) and commissioned in 2020, suffers from low occupancy, with less than 40 percent of its over 1,600 stalls utilized.

The fish section has historically been the most active part of the market. However, traders now express frustration, with concerns that their stock is spoiling due to a lack of buyers. Some are considering relocating their stalls to the border area to compete directly with the newly licensed companies.

Sources within the municipal council suggest the licensing of external fish businesses may be an attempt to generate revenue, as funds collected from the main market are remitted to the central government. This has led to councillors questioning the financial prudence of issuing licences with lower remittance fees to private entities.

Police intervened to manage the situation, advising the traders to form a delegation to present their concerns to the municipal council. A meeting has been planned between market authorities and fish trader leaders to find a resolution.