The initiative led by the National Roads Authority, Physical Planning, and other government stakeholders affected thousands of people across the country.
Yankuba Darboe, the Chairman of the BrikamaArea Council, addressing journalists on Saturday, said many of the vendors who were affected by the road clearing didn’t have any place to sell their products. So, he continues, it’s important for the council to also play their part by helping to organize a place that can temporarily accommodate those displaced vendors.
“We are in dialogue with developers to construct a three-floor story building shortly, but due to the situation at hand, we have to put a halt to that,” the chairman said.
He further said that they now want to concrete the floor of this area and also prepare the annex for the vegetable sellers to relocate.
Commenting on the obstacles faced by the displaced vendors, Chairman Darboe recalled that he received complaints that some of these people were finding it very difficult to buy a bag of rice because they could no longer afford it as their sources of income have been destroyed.
“The list of affected vendors we received is more than one thousand, and we are still registering. Second-hand clothing sellers we currently registered are over 140 people, vendors affected between ‘Nana Junction’ and GTSC bus station are more than 140 people, and from the Fire Service Station end coming towards the market are more than 365 shops affected. It has increased unemployment among young people because these are self-employed,” the chairman revealed.
He says the council is in dialogue with Approved Services (APS) and Supersonics to develop the former GRA complex and the annex, respectively, but that has to be delayed for them to focus on the current situation of displaced vendors to mitigate the unemployment among the people of the region.
Momodou Jawo Jallow, Nyambai Ward Councilor and chairman of the market committee of BAC said they embarked on this work to serve the interests of the people of the West Coast Region as many families are left distressed after the road clearing exercise.
Ousman Jaiteh, a market vendor at the BrikamaCentral Market, said three of his shops were affected by the demolition. He said that seeing the Brikama Area Council coming up with this initiative gave them renewed hope that they have people they can rely on if such unfortunate situations arise.
Awa Manneh, also a vendor, said it has been difficult for her to provide for her family’s needssince the demolition of stalls took effect. ‘’This is where I provide school needs for my children, fish money, and support my family in terms of medical expenses.’’
She called on the government to reconsider the decision taken.
