By Nasser Kayanja
KAMPALA — Members of the transport and informal sectors have been urged to prioritise doing business with fellow union members in a bid to strengthen their collective purchasing power and contribute to Uganda’s economic transformation.
The call follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Allied Transporters’ Union and the United Informal Sectors Forum to mobilise their combined membership and increase their influence in the market.
The agreement was initiated by the Allied Transporters’ Union Project Adviser, Fred Ssenoga, during a function held at Hotel Africana in Kampala.
Ssenoga said the initiative seeks to bring together transport sector players, including boda boda riders, truck drivers and operators, as well as bus operators, alongside informal sector workers such as traders and service providers.
He said bringing the groups together would create a strong financial base and increase their bargaining power when purchasing goods and services.
Ssenoga said the large numbers represented by the two organisations could enable members to influence market trends, negotiate better prices and contribute to the country’s economic development.
The chairman of the United Informal Sectors Forum, Uthman Mwanje, described the partnership as a long-awaited investment initiative, saying it would consolidate the organisations’ clientele and create opportunities for members to negotiate better prices and demand quality products and services.
Mwanje said the initiative would also allow the union to carefully select and negotiate with business partners from whom members would obtain goods and services.
Meanwhile, United Boda Boda Riders Association chairman Frank Mawejje urged boda boda riders to embrace the initiative, saying a united membership would create a large and stronger consumer base capable of influencing businesses and market prices.
He called on riders and other informal sector workers to support the initiative as a way of building a strong economic bloc across the country.