By: Haddy Touray &Kemo Kanyi
Scores of officials and vendors at the Serrakunda Market has caste blame on the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC), Gambia Police Force (GPF) and some Senegalese vendors for the near to three days upheaval polarising the business environment at Serrakunda.
According to them, the market management committee has embarked on series of consultations with both Brikama Area Council (BAC), Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) and Gambia police Force ahead of the Wanterr feast, noting that during this meeting the Market Committee has explicitly raised the concerns of the vendors not to close access routes to their shops and stalls.
The Market Committee has visited and engaged Chairman of Brikama Area Council, Kanifing Municipal Council and Pateh Jallow at Police Headquarters to relay our concerns on the need to leave the markets accessible to buyers as Wanterr draws closer. The market Committee was assured that their concerns will be addressed, the Police have issued permit for vendors to engage in Wanterr for the Tobaski,” Sulayman Dampha, Public Relations Officer, Serrakunda Market revealed.
He added: “We were assured by the Police that the access roads to the markets will not be close with the view that these measures will allow free flow of traffic and access to shops in the market. However, it is unfortunate that our subsequent discussions with KMC and the Police did not yield any result as they persisted that Wanterr should be held which the Market vendors outrightly denied leading to the confrontations and unnecessary upheavals.”
Dampha who also serves as the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Gambia Market Union called on both the Kanifing Municipal Council to take their rightful positions in defusing the tensions, noting that the Market Committee has identified Marr Pa Dembo that can accommodate more than two hundred vendors as an ideal place to relocate the Wanterr vendors as a means to deescalate the tensions engulfing.
” Mat Fanneh, a 60 years old shop owner vented his anger to the authorities for allowing the situation. He added: “I have been here since 1991 and all this while we normally have Wanterr but access roads to the market are never closed. Before the Wanterr is organised in a way that communities like Banjul, Bakau, Latrikunda and Brikama do their own at a designated site but now everybody wants to come here and block all the access roads leading to this scuffle.”
Fatou Bah, another shop owner at Serrakunda Market revealed the appalling situation of stall owners, hinting that all roads leading to their shops have been blocked by Wanterr vendors making it extremely difficult for buyers to reach their stalls.
She blamed both KMC and Gambia Police Force for creating the situation for not acting proactively and take a decisive stance on their concerns, noting that KMC has failed in their duties to protect shop and stall owners who continuous to high taxes. She disclosed that since Monday most shops within the market remains closed depicting heavy losses to hundreds of shop owners, adding that KMC has consistently failed in all areas including providing decent toilets in the market.
Momodou A. Njie, Market Manager, KMC recounted that KMC has had apply for a permit from the Police who issued the permit for the Wanterr, adding that the problem started when Council started the implementation of the Wanterr when certain section of the market counter the decision of Council in doing the Wanterr. According to him, the decision to apply for permit and conduct the Wanterr has been discussed and approved by the General Council Meeting of KMC, noting that when the situation escalates on Monday, Council anchored another meeting to revoke the Wanterr permit with the view to quell the tensions and confrontation.
He emphasised that Council has now revoked the Wanterr permit to allow sanity to prevail, adding another Council meeting is scheduled for Thursday where final decision will be taken and a way forward be charted out that will allow free flow of business in Gambia’s busiest market.