By Sariba Manneh
Vendors at the Brikama Market have criticized Brikama Area Council (BAC) owing to the poor condition of the market saying the major market in the West Coast Region is in poor condition making work difficult for the entire vendors.
Speaking to The Voice in an interview, Awa Jatta, a vendor said the sellers at the Brikama market are facing many challenges due to the awful condition of the market citing that the market is occupied with the dirty water and refuses.
“We [vendors] don’t have enough support from the council despite the fact that this is the major markets in the region,” she argued.
Conversely, she added that despite the market being the major market across the region it has the poorest management adding, “All the vendors in the market pay their dues to the council on daily basis but yet there is no positive changes at the market.”
Abdou Hydara, a vegetable seller said the filthy water and refuse are affecting them because it is hindering the progress of their business.
Speaking further, he said the market is always dirty but added that sometimes the fish market committee will voluntarily clean some parts of the market to ensure their [vendors] welfare in the souk.
Further expressing his disappointment to the council, he told this medium that cleansing the territory of the market is not the vendor’s responsibility, noting the council is responsible for that since all the vendors are paying dues on daily basis.
Jama Ceesay, also a vendor said customers often step on her goods as a result of dirty water and refuse occupied the passages within the market. “Our goods are edible; therefore, stepping on them is not good. In fact, this is discouraging people from buying our [vendors] products,” she told this reporter exasperatedly.
Meanwhile, they all called on government through the Brikama Area Council to intervene so as to mitigate the challenges affecting their wellbeing in the market.