Traders at the Aberdeen Road Market have referred to the newly constructed market by the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) as “fowl coop” and have therefore refused to sell in it since it was handed over to the Council more than three months ago.
The Chairlady of the Market Haja Ya Alimamy Aminata Bangura in an interview with this reporter in Krio said “we are very happy for the market, but what baffled us is the fact that the market is very small and the stalls that were constructed are only 30 for a total of 500 plus tables that the traders are currently using. We had earlier raised concern to them before they completed the work, we told them that the market was too small and that they should extend it.”
Since that was going to be done by NaCSA she explained that they approached the Freetown City Council (FCC) to construct another one as they had been earlier promised a market by now indicted Mayor George Herbert Williams during the campaign period. The Chairlady lamented that “the City Council did not do anything for us and during the handing over the Councilor for our Ward Aminata Koroma collected the keys to the market and never gave it to us.”
Haja Aminata Bangura revealed that “she did not even bother to give us the keys and we have not set eyes on it and all the doors are closed. Even though the place is very small but if the keys had been handed over to us we would have known what to do, but the Councilor has taken the keys for no reason and she has been holding on to the keys and street boys are misusing the place. The toilet is now over flowing and the place is being used by boys around the area at night to commit havoc, while others have started using the place to deposit their garbage and all this is happening because there is no control.”
The Chairlady disclosed that because they have not been given the keys and the place is too small for them they have decided “not to pay the normal market dues to City Council and the money they have been collecting they have used to dug a toilet and to take pipe borne water to the market as these are all lacking.”
Councilor Aminata Koroma in an interview over the phone said that the market is Council’s property and she was given the keys because she represents the Ward and the market will first be commissioned before the keys are handed over to the people. She said unless the market is commissioned by the Freetown City Council the place will not be used.
NaCSA was also contacted to know the cost of the project and to know whether this was an expressed need for the community at this time as this is not the first market or community center that NaCSA has constructed which the people have failed to use, but they refused to comment.
Since it has been more than three months since the market was handed over to the Council by NaCSA people are questioning when the commissioning is going to be done and the key be given to the market? One also wonders if this is not a misuse of funds which should have been diverted to other project as the site is now being used as a garbage deposit site.
By Betty Milton
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