Serrekunda Market Vendors Cry For Assistance

Vendors at the Serrekenda Market have called on the concerned authorities to allocate them a special place where they can sell their products. This call came as a good number of vendors were yesterday evicted from their selling points by the police. 

"We are sick and tired of moving our goods from one place to another. Every day we are asked by either the KMC police or members of the Gambia Police Force to move from the roadsides, which is the only area we have at the moment to sell our goods.

"I personally agreed with the securities by asking us to move from the roadside. This is to our own safety and protection. Besides it is the duties of the police to protect and save the lives and properties of the citizenry but we also have the right to sell our goods to make a living. We pay our duties every day to sell in the market and yet we have no place permanently to sell our goods. When will this stop? What are the concerned authorities doing about this? We need to have our comfort now,'' these were the words of one Amie Njie in a chat with the Point Newspaper.

In the view of one Babucarr Sey, who also spoke to the Point Newspaper the security personnel need to be commended for the stance they have undertaken in protecting lives.

But he was quick to add that the sellers also have rights to sell their goods and deserve a better place to do that.

"I first have to thank the securities for doing what we expect from them. They deserve a commendation and I must say bravo to them. There are a lot of accidents nowadays, so selling by the roadside is very risky and it is the duty of the police to stop it. But I must also say that the vendors have all the rights in the world to sell their goods as we are having a free market system in the Gambia and besides they pay their dues to sell. Why must they not have a place to sell their goods? The authorities must do something about this,'' he stated.

Mr. Sey also appealed to the authorities to take heart with the sellers as most of them feed their hungry families from the sale of their goods.

"I am not a vendor but am appealing to the securities to take heart and mercy with the vendors until a place is allocated for them, because most of them if not all use the money from their sales to feed their hungry families back home,'' he posited.

Another lady vendor almost 60-yrs-old, who prefers to remain anonymous, expressed her dismay in moving from one place to the other.

"It is difficult at my age, especially in this month of Ramadan moving with my goods from one corner to the other. We need to have our own area completely free from vehicle interference and other things that may make our business disturbed. We also need to be considered now as concerned Gambians,'' she appealed.

When approached for his remarks, Police Commissioner Kebbeh, Officer-in-Charge of Kanifing Division declined to make any comment.

However, futile efforts were also made to reach the Police Public Relation Officer.