By Hassan I. Conteh

The Sewa Grounds market area will soon be handed over to the public for use but who stands to pay the price high after several delays by the government to complete some 1,700 stalls, plus medium lockable scale shops in the heart of the capital’s business hubbub, CBD.

The Central Business District (CBD) of Freetown is notorious known for its overcrowding atmosphere as goods sellers and business people alike would usually conduct their businesses on the streets.

Successive governments have been unable to remove these street traders from Sierra Leone busiest, and unregulated main commercial street, Sani Abacha Street.

Plans to get off the traders from the streets have fallen on each government’s deaf ears in the past.

Some haters of street sellers believe that the idea of removing Abacha Street sellers is one that is being given little attention by state authorities as the issue is “highly politicized”.

Simply put, the sellers command a larger majority in Freetown, and their allegiance to the country’s two main dominant political parties has had a strong influence on the nation’s politicking over the years.

The Abacha traders had partially helped to sweep away sitting governments as they threw support for favoured candidates running for presidency during the country’s previous general elections in 2002, 2007 and 2012.

Historically, the street selling at Sani Abacha Street gained momentum after the civil war ended in Sierra Leone in 2002.

Since then, imported goods started flowing in the street as wholesale and retail businesses flourish at Abacha and other streets like Sackville Street, Goderich Street, Wilberforce Street, Regent Street, Garrison Street, ECOWAS Street, Guinea Store, Back Street, Short Street, and many areas marked as CBD.

Despite traders have been occupying these streets out of other peoples’ growing anger and hate as trading activity causes road blockade, the essence to build a story building market at Sewa Grounds was to “decongest the CBD’’, said Traders Council’s Secretary, Foday D. Mansaray.

He is hoping that when the new Sewa Grounds market will have been built street traders are given enough priority by the government to own more stalls.

“We want those who don’t have the means of “leasing” shops to be considered since it was because of them that government had come up with this idea to remove them from the streets. They could be built other open and safe markets,” Mansaray said.

He believes traders constitute the largest players on Sierra Leone’s economy, adding that they are the “movers and shakers” of the economy.

Council’s scribe talked about the need for NASSIT (National Social Security and Insurance Trust) to include TCSL’s officials in the planning, management and implementation of the activities and programs related to the construction and running of markets, stores and shops for business people and traders in the country.

He said they had held talks with NASSIT’s managing director on the current situation regarding potential disputes that may arise among old traders, who used to own stalls at Sewa Grounds, and new batch of traders.

“The process involves to secure the stores at Sewa Grounds still remain dark to us; we don’t want this communication gap to continue.’’

“That place [Sewa Grounds] used to be an open market space for business men and women who are now selling at Rawdon Street, Garrison Street, Howe Street. Therefore, we would like to see most of these old traders and others who used to have market stalls around that vicinity to return there.”

Traders at Sewa Grounds, however; were evacuated when a plan to construct a new market by NASSIT began over the past years since around 2016.

The market area has laid fallow for years without being completed despite traders needed back the place.

However, after about seven years under construction, it is now clear that Sewa Grounds market stores will soon be handed over to business people.

Most traders have been selling on the streets of Abacha since there are no available open market spaces and stores in the capital.

The selling on many streets in the Central Business District (CBD) has been affecting the free and easy movements of people in the capital.

To stop street trading, government has lately given Abacha traders an ultimatum to quit selling on the street. But, Traders Council said, the traders could not meet the September 30 deadline to abandon the streets especially at Abacha.

They gave excuse that Sewa Grounds and other proposed markets have not started operating.

“There is still ongoing work there within Sewa Grounds.”

“When you think of the thousands of traders selling at Abacha Street, Howe Street, Garrison Street, those 1,700 stores spaces are only meant for few people; so we are calling on NASSIT to speedily start the project to rehabilitate the identified markets in the capital. We believe if the old markets are given a facelift with stores being built in layers, creating gallery or open market area on each top floor that will accommodate many traders,” said Mansaray.

TCSL’s secretary said that they are engaging Freetown City Council (FCC) and Ministry of Trade and Industry to re-construct the old markets in Bombay Street, King Jimmy, Kissy Street market on Fisher Steet, Yagan Street market along Dove Cot, Regent Road market, and Petterson Street market.

Speaking about Sewa Grounds market stalls rental by NASSIT, TCSL’s scribe fears that those who could afford to pay more money on lease might be the ones whom government would consider mostly to rent the stores.”

We as Traders Council officials, he went on, don’t like to see our members selling in the hot-burning sun and during torrential rains.

He refused to subscribe to the notion that it is they the petty traders that love to sell on the streets without being in the markets.

“Street-market selling is not an ideal place for traders; everyone wants comfort; so it’s not the traders’ wish to be selling on the streets openly in the capital.”

What we want now, he added, is for us [ Traders Council] to be involved in the planning and management of the proposed project to rehabilitate the markets we have identified so that those markets will be able to meet the daily needs of petty traders; even as small as those market owners of Beta Cola, Kolanuts of those elderly women.

Mansaray said alternative markets or open markets are important considering Freetown’s huge population of traders.

He said Council had suggested for market divisions of goods to be established by the government in which, for example, condiments goods should not be sold the same place where textiles and others kinds of goods are sold.