Vendors decry unhygienic condition of Brikama market

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By BINTA BARRY-JAYE

Vendors at the Brikama market, Kombo Central, West Coast Region have decried the unhygienic condition of the one of the country’s biggest and busiest piazza that attracts many consumers and marketers from across the region and beyond.

Brikama being peopled with 77,700, vendors market ear a more unhygienic condition and disturbing odour as the rainy month commences.

The Monitor spoke to some concerned vendors who said the conditions the market has become unbearable, while anticipating the worse with the downpour of the rain, which always cause flooding in many places including the market, streets and basements.

Ms. Fatoumata Sillah, a vendor articulated that there is permanent stagnant as a result of water coming from the fish market for more than five years now.

According to her, for the fact that the Brikama Area Council (BAC) is negligent about the issue as the responsible body to ameliorate the situation is just rubbing salt in the wound.

She said the bad odour and unstoppable scrambling by flies all over the place compelled some vendors to close their stores as they are suffering and still paying their tax.

Ms. Sillah lamented that BAC is doing nothing to reolve the issue and the vendors have nowhere to go.

Making a fuss about the whole situation, she said: “We have families to feed and other needs by depending on selling at the market as our source of income.”

Isatou Ceesay, another vendor bewailed that hey are weary of the situation with the endless demand for help as taxpayers without attention or consideration from the BAC.

She said selling food in such environment is inexcusable and unwarranted.

“We had our place inside the market but due to the smelly stagnant water we moved forward closer to the highway without an option,” she explained, stating that the area council only drains the water once a month.

For Isatou, the monthly draining of the water is not sufficient to resolve the problem because the situation still persists.

Yusupha Jammeh, a fishmonger at the fish market confirmed that the water is coming from their quarter.

He said their work at the fish market has to do with water but it is also the responsibility of the authorities to ensure that the water is drained.

He also complained that the way BAC is draining the water is not correct because water comes back floods there just an hour after draining the gutter.

“We are paying D75.00 (seventy dalasis) every 5 days so they should be draining it every day like the way they are collect waste. The area council is not taking this responsible to draining the water but a committee in charge,” said Mr. Jammeh.

BAC and NEA deny responsibility
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the BAC, Mr. Lamin Singateh, in denying responsibility for draining the water at the fish market told The Monitor: “We at the council are not responsible for draining the water. It is the responsibility of the National Environment Agency (NEA). We even sometimes step in to help the agency.”

He vehemently denied the council’s collection of duties from the fish market.

He said it is the responsibility of the council to collect waste and clean the market premises, which they are doing on a daily basis.

Singhateh added that there are step bins at entrance of Nana Junction, at Gambia Transport Service Company (GTSC) bus station and at entrance of the hospital, opposite a bank, critising vendors for dumping waste on the streets rather than putting them in the bins.

He said they are dialoguing on how to tackle the issue because the situation is alarming, prompting them to think about either closing the market temporarily or find a mechanism to solve the problem.

Contrarily, the NEA Brikama branch director, Bori Demba Mansa said it is the responsibility of the department of fisheries to drain the stagnant water from the fish market.

He said the place is directly under fisheries, describing the fish market as terrible.

“We approached the BAC several times about the issue we even took them to court twice but nothing came out of it. We sent them several warning letters. NEA is doing everything possible to resolve the issue.”

He concluded that there is a talk going on between the parties concerned such as BAC, NEA, GTSC and department of fisheries to relocate the vendors to an appropriate environment for temporary closure the market.