Traders at Adungosi market held a peaceful demonstration protesting the lack of a proper market and toilets. The over five hundred traders are accusing the County government of Busia of failing to put up a modern market as it promised one year ago after demolishing shops and other structures that had been built on the market land, “They promised that construction of a modern market would start immediately but up to now nothing has been done one year down the line,” one of them said.
The traders said they are going through a lot of suffering selling their goods in and continue to pay revenue to the County government, “Where does the money we pay daily go to? Where did the 20 million shillings said to have been put aside for the construction of a modern market go to?” They also complained of lack of modern toilets at the market, “When you want to relieve yourself at this market there is nowhere to go because the toilets we have are old and dilapidated. We need new toilets at this place,” they said.
While responding to their grievances, Chakol South Ward rep Maskini Okodoi said the commencement of the construction was delayed by lack of funds at the County, “The construction of the market didn’t kick off on time as we had planned because funds were not sent on time from the national government. But we are in the process of passing a supplementary budget from which we shall get funds to construct the market.”
He appealed to the traders to be patient promising that the construction will start in January 2021, “I’m hopeful that money will be available soon and we expect the construction to start in January next year.” According to Maskini, the construction of the modern market will be done in phases at a tune of Kshs 100 million with phase one set to cost Kshs 20 million, “Once completed, this will be one of the most modern markets in Western region. It will have an abolition block where traders will be able to even shower and go home when they are fresh.”
