PHOTO: Some of the Better Day marketers who gathered early Wednesday morning
By M. Neywon Mengonfia, mmenginfia@gmail.com
Several Marketers woke up Wednesday morning (July 14, 2021) to a sad news of the demolition of their market, but the market women are contending that the land on which the demolished market was occupying is not owned by government.
Rather, they claim that the land is private property and they accused President George Manneh Weah of being ungrateful to them, after they gave him massive votes at the ballot box in 2017.
In a very angry tone, one of the marketers said: “The President should know that it is from this same market we voted for him.”
The news of the demolition of their market named “Better Days Market” located behind Access Bank in the Red-Light Community, went wide and in few minutes during an interview, spokespersons for hundreds of marketers, who had arrived on the screen, angrily reacted to the move.
They wondered how they are going to manage when in fact they have no space in the accommodate them.
In an interview with this reporter, the marketers decried the action by the Liberia National Police and the Paynesville City Corporation for demolishing their market structures early Wednesday morning.
Beatrice Weah, the Chairperson of the Better Days Market said the action by the police and that of the PCC is a total violation of their rights to private property.
She said the market is on a private land and it is not part of the Red-Light Market as thinks by the government.
She indicated that the ongoing process is intended to give way to the ongoing road process but wonders why their market will be demolished when they are not in the first place on the road or on a government land with their market.
Madam Weah narrated that in 2006, they as market women who basically sell palm oil and other assorted goods on the road before the Access Bank was asked by the Government to leave the road. She said the reason that was given is that the marketers were causing traffic congestion and over population of the area, something she said prompted them to search for the land that the demolished market was located through a negotiation with the land owner.
She furthered that the area was a dump site which was cleared by them (marketers) and made it their market with the name “Batter Day”.
The Market women chairperson further mentioned that they are independent and are not headed by the leadership of the red-light Marketing Association.
Madam Weah furthered that even if they are to go to the designated government market in Omega, it does not have space accommodate all of the marketers adding “The place is not big and it is a wet land that needs to be developed.”
The chairperson did not hold back to disclosed that their husbands are not working and it is through the market that they are able to send their children to school and take care of other domestic things for the family.
According to her, government is not seeking their interest especially during this time, there is always heavy downpour of rain.
The market woman spokesperson used the interview to and called on the Liberian government to reconsider her decision to build their structures that were demolished by the Liberia National Police (LNP).
Also speaking was the Superintendent of the Batter Day Market, Kebeh Sumo, who disclosed that the demolition of their market came as a surprise because they are not obstacles to the Government road developmental project.
Madam Sumo said the leadership of the market is renting the area with a rental fee of five hundred (US 500.00) United States dollars every month.
“This land is a private land; we are paying rant every month,” she noted.
The leadership of the market and the land owner have entered into a lease agreement that will allow them to pay 16 thousands United States Dollars every year.
For his part, Prince Tugbeh a man claiming to be one of the administrators of the land which hosted the demolished market said they have all legal documents for the land and payments that have been made by the marketers.