KONGOWEA RAMPAGE

By EMMANUEL BOAZ It was business as usual at Kongowea market yesterday after the angry Market operators broke into the market without paying for the usual levy at the gate. The hawkers complain about the exorbitant prices put in place by the council. The business men are bickering about the increase in the charges of different equipments in the market as levy. The chairman of the Kongowea Wholesale Market Mr Peter Nyaga claimed the council had put in place a 400 percent increase before it consulted the hawkers at the market. We do not refuse the increment but the rates are too high and to add onto it we were not consulted before the sudden increase,” Mr Nyaga said. The hawkers said in one voice that they are not against the increment but the way the exercise was conducted. “We were forced to pay the imposed exorbitant prices yesterday. A bag of tomatoes which we were charged at sh 20 is now increased to sh 50,” Mrs Biasha Hamisi said. The market is in a pathetic state the road leading to the market has a lot of pot holes, there is a lot of garbage all over that has not been collected and lastly there are no lavatories in the market and the ones available are dirty. Mr Suleiman Shabal a Mombasa business man and aspirant for the governors position come the next general elections said they have gone to court as concerned citizens to appeal against the increase in the rates and the issue of the identity cards when one is getting into the market. “We feel that politicians want to bring their political interests into picture,” added Mr Shabal. Speaking to the town clerk of Mombasa Mr Tubmun Otieno at his offices he said that the increase of the price was reached after an extensive consultation between the concerned parties. “We have tried our best to keep the marked clean in spite of the low rates that we charge,” said Mr Tubmun urging the hawkers not to expect a lot after giving little to the council. “However we have talked it out with the hawkers and have decided to continue paying the old gazette rate till the end of Ramathan.” The town clerk concluded.

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