Kibuye Market Traders storms out of City hall after a failed meeting with City Manager.

Chairman Kibuye Market People’s Traders Union Samwel Atito address the media after they stormed out of City Hall in Kisumu when a meeting that was to be addressed by the Kisumu City Manager-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo.

By Dickson Odhiambo.

November 8, 2018.

 Kibuye Market Traders storms out of City hall after a failed meeting with City Manager.

Business within the Kisumu City Hall has today been halted briefly after a section of traders from Kibuye Market stormed out of the premise after a meeting with the City Manager Dorris Ombara failed over a raft of issues they claim affect them.

The traders under the Banner of Kibuye Market People’s Traders Union led by their Chairman Samwel Atito and General Secretary Charles Boro had gone for a meeting today with the City Manager Dorris Ombara but were infuriated when the meeting was called off after a team led the Director of City Inspectorate told them that it was postponed to a later date.

They claim that they have held 11 meeting with the County Government without any fruitful solutions hence have sought the indulgence of the City Manager.

The Union is comprised of traders from various section that includes those trading on Tomatoes, Cereals, Tailors among others.

Upon getting information that the meeting could not take place today since the City Manager was held up in a high profile meeting, the traders quickly stormed out of the City Hall and registered their displeasure with the Management of the City Hall whom they have accused of not ready to address the grievances facing them.

They moved out of the town hall where they addressed the press and threatened that they will not remit their daily revenue to the County Government of Kisumu until the issues affecting them are genuinely addressed.

“These people at the City Hall has taken us for granted without looking into issues affecting us as traders within Kibuye Market and we won’t keep quiet until they are addressed genuinely by the concerned authority,” they say.

According to their General Secretary Charles Boro, one of the issues affecting them as the traders is the relocation of them to undesignated place between liberty and the new Government houses which they use as a market yet the place is not designated as a market and it is very squeezed hence cannot accommodate them at once.

The other issue according to the General Secretary is also of the sanitation which they claim is very much poor since they don’t have a pit latrine or toilet.

“The Condition in which we operate as traders is not pleasing at all and we want these to be addressed at all cost,” they add.

The traders dealing with tomatoes claim that they cannot do their businesses with ease because some of the revenue officers allegedly collude with some business people who bring the commodity from a neighboring country in excess but they don’t pay revenue, adding that after doing this, the scenario make the supply to be high than the demand thus allowing such traders to sell at a throw away price.

They singled out a business lady of being notorious bring the commodity in bulk from the neigbouring country and sells them even to the customers and not retailers hence this brings conflict.

Efforts to get comments from Kisumu City Manager Dorris Ombara did not bear fruit as the Journalists who visited her office were told by a Communication officer at the City Hall to wait until 3:30 pm when they would have addressed the press but by the time of going to press, a response was not yet received from the Kisumu City Manager in regard to this.

ENDS: