Traders in Ogembo, Kisii County are set to benefit from a modern market projected to be complete by July this year.
This comes after Kisii Governor Simba Arati elevated the market to a municipality in January this year.
The move is part of a raft of efforts to organize and beautify the town through building of the county administration offices, market stalls and other social amenities like a decent ablution block to decongest small scale traders within Ogembo and improve their business environment.
Arati said the government is concerned about the plight of small-scale traders and will continue to empower and provide them with a conducive working environment for business.
The stalls once commissioned will ease congestion along the roads within the town since currently the traders spread their merchandise along the roads, making them impassable especially by motorists and other road users due to congestion.
Hawkers have constructed wooden stalls across the trenches on the roadside and risk being swept away by raging floods during heavy rains.
Casper Makori, the Head of Revenue Collection at Ogembo municipality, lauded the progress the contractors had reached towards completion of the project.
“The new market is meant to offer a conducive environment for farmers to sell their crops. The farmers currently sell in open air markets thereby exposing their produce to harsh weather conditions that may lead to some of it getting spoiled consequently depreciating in value,” said Makori.
Makori noted that the new market is expected to accommodate the increasing number of traders who had piled pressure on the existing market facilities and in turn, it will increase revenue sources for the county.
Area Chief Mr. Robert Isoe affirmed that after commissioning the market stalls, any trader found displaying merchandise along the road will be penalized by law enforcing officers.
Mr. George Morara, a trader in Ogembo market said that he is looking forward to the completion of the market which will come as a great relief to them since they have been selling their produce under very harsh conditions.
“We are forced to spend money to bring produce to the market and we have to take the surplus back home since we have nowhere to store our merchandise,” he said, noting that the new market will allow them to store their produce overnight.
His sentiments were echoed by Elizabeth Ongaki who said that Ogembo trading center has never had a conducive environment for traders to vend from. She said that they have been selling by the roadside under makeshift shelters covered with polythene sheets and thanked Governor Arati for the initiative.
The market is estimated to host more than three thousand business persons.
By Misheba Alfred and Clinton Ng’ielah
