While the market attracts a number of vegetable sellers, vendors complain that facilities are inadequate. They said the dumpsite is a problem for them, even though it is the mandate of the KMC to clean up the waste.
Speaking to The Standard at the Latri-Kunda dumpsite, women said waste had not been collected for over two weeks, yet according to them D10 is being collected from each vendor every day without getting value for their money.
One of the women, a vegetable vendor, expressed her frustration over the municipality’s ‘indifference’ to their plight. “Just look at us,” she said. “We are here because our families need to survive from our work. They (KMC) said they don’t have fuel for the garbage trucks to collect the waste, but I don’t think that’s true.”
Kumba Cham, another vendor, pointed to the waste and said that KMC had not cleared the bins for the past two weeks, stating that the garbage truck had to undergo repair.
Others such as Na Sally Ceesay complained that the stench is keeping their customers away and thus affecting their business. “Customers too have been complaining and some have stopped coming around this end. The smell is just awful and if the waste is not collected, all our customers will stop coming.”
A vendor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, commuting daily from Lamin village to Latrikunda market to sell bitter tomato, cassava leaves and pepper to support her six children who she said are all young, she said:
“Things are becoming worse by the day. We find it very disturbing to sit here all day because of the smell. KMC should help us by continuing to collect the waste every day to avoid spreading diseases.”
KMC is yet to react to the comments.
The press officer at the KMC office said she could not comment on the issue. “The public relations officer is only person who can comment on the issue but she is sick,’ Binta Sanneh said yesterday.
The officer in-charge of the Latrikunda office also declined to comment.
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