John Walugembe, the Executive Director of The Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises-Uganda, addressing the media The Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises-Uganda has urged Government to constitute a multi-stakeholder taskforce which includes MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), traders and relevant ministries to develop a coherent strategy on trade order with clear objectives.This is after Minister of State for Industry on 23rd April 2026, communicated to Parliament that Government would halt trade order operations pending further consultations.John Walugembe, the Executive Director of The Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, welcomes this development and commends Government for its timely response to their petition.Walugembe further appeals to the Government, through the Ministry of Local Government, to conduct extensive consultation with MSMEs and Traders and identify alternative workspaces.“We further appeal to local authorities to finalize local trade order strategies in consultation with key stakeholders,” Walugembe says.He also calls for an extensive awareness and communication campaign to ensure that traders, vendors, and other MSMEs appreciate the objectives of the Trade Order.“We advocate that Local Governments, Municipalities, and Cities invest in extensive awareness and communication campaigns to educate traders and MSMEs about the benefits of trade order and formalization,” he says.The Federation also notes that beyond market spaces, the government should work on an extensive plan with Industry associations to develop shared workspaces for MSMEs.“Beyond market spaces, we appeal to the Government to consultatively work on an extensive plan to develop workspaces and common user facilities for MSME. These go beyond markets, as not all MSMEs can operate in markets,” he says, adding: “These workplaces are static, but the occupants are ever-changing. Many MSMEs would start in shared workspaces and then move to their own facilities when they are confident enough to invest.” The post SME Boss, Walugembe Tips Gov’t On Nationwide Trade Order Operations After Temporary Halt appeared first on Business Focus.