Stakeholder Participation and the Effective Management of Urban Central Markets in Uganda: A Case of Kabale and Mbarara Central Markets

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dc.contributor.authorNinsiima, Naris
dc.date.accessioned2025-12-10T13:41:24Z
dc.date.available2025-12-10T13:41:24Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstractThis study critically examined the extent and efficacy of stakeholder participation in the management of formal urban public markets in Uganda, with the objective of identifying strategies to enhance participatory governance for improved market administration. Despite the Government of Uganda’s ongoing investments in urban market infrastructure - aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 on sustainable cities and communities and Uganda’s Third National Development Plan (NDP III) priorities on urbanization - public markets have increasingly become sites of tension and conflict. These disputes stem largely from ineffective governance frameworks, insufficient stakeholder inclusion, and administrative deficiencies at both local government and vendor-group levels. Drawing upon Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation as a theoretical lens, this research interrogates the nature of vendor engagement in decision-making processes. The study was guided by four core objectives: (i) to identify major avenues for stakeholder engagement; (ii) to assess the level of participation in planning; (iii) to evaluate stakeholder involvement in policy implementation; and (iv) to analyse participation in management-level decision-making. A pragmatic research paradigm informed the study’s mixed-methods design, integrating quantitative data from structured questionnaires administered to vendors (n=586) and qualitative insights from in-depth interviews with market authorities and vendor leaders (n=9). Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS, while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. Ethical approval was secured from the Kabale University Research Ethics Committee and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology. Key ethical principles - including informed consent, confidentiality, and data security - were rigorously observed. Findings reveal that stakeholder participation remains superficial and largely symbolic, characterised by tokenism rather than genuine empowerment. Vendors are seldom granted meaningful influence over policy formulation or management decisions, and existing consultative mechanisms - such as focus groups and workshops - are inconsistently applied and lack enforceability. Furthermore, the absence of capacity-building initiatives, particularly in financial literacy, governance, and leadership, significantly impairs vendors’ ability to engage effectively in market governance. In response, the study proposes a Stakeholder-Centred Governance Model, grounded in four foundational principles: capacity building, integrated policy frameworks, comprehensive communication strategies, and feedback mechanisms. The model seeks to institutionalise participatory structures that reinforce transparency, accountability, and equity in urban market management. This research contributes substantively to the discourse on participatory urban governance by offering empirically grounded insights and actionable frameworks for policymakers, scholars, and development practitioners seeking to foster inclusive, efficient, and sustainable public market systems in Sub-Saharan African cities.
dc.identifier.citationNinsiima, N. (2025). Stakeholder participation and the effective management of urban central markets in Uganda: A case of Kabale and Mbarara central markets [Doctoral dissertation Kabale University].
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/3031
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherKabale University
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United Statesen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/
dc.subjectStakeholder Participation
dc.subjectPublic Market Management
dc.subjectUrban Governance
dc.subjectParticipatory Governance
dc.subjectUganda
dc.subjectKabale
dc.subjectMbarara
dc.subjectMarkets Act 2023
dc.titleStakeholder Participation and the Effective Management of Urban Central Markets in Uganda: A Case of Kabale and Mbarara Central Markets
dc.typeThesis

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