Niassa: Mecanhelas Market: lack of customer movement forces vendors to abandon the shed

 

Vendors of dried fish at the Central Market in Insaca Village, Mecanhelas, in Niassa province northern of Mozambique are selling in the open air, disregarding the pavilion built for this purpose.

Dozens of stalls remain abandoned, with vendors preferring to stay outside in unfavorable conditions, wasting the effort made in constructing the shed to offer more comfort to the sellers and their customers.

The vendors say that the abandonment of the shed is due to the lack of customer traffic inside, as only those selling near the doors have more access to customers compared to others.

"We left the shed because the business there isn’t going well, and here we follow the flow of customers," explained one of the vendors.

Another added, saying, "There are only two doors, and the people selling were those near the entrances," he explained.

On the other hand, the interviewees claim that there is a flaw in the building's structure, and therefore, they demand corrections before returning.

“We’ve informed them that they should demolish it, leave it without walls, so it would be open, and there would be more customer movement,” a vendor said.

The building is old, and no complaints have ever been made before.

The municipal authorities expressed their indignation with the vendors' claims, stating that since its construction many years ago, the building has had proper structure, and no complaints had been received. However, efforts are being made to work with the vendors to understand the real reasons behind the abandonment of the location, in order to find a possible solution.

While the dried fish vendors ignore the shed, the fresh fish vendors are still calling for a proper location to carry out their activities safely.

Efforts are being made to investigate the real motivations, in order to find a possible solution, according to Damião Lissimba, President of Insaca Village Municipality. (Jaime Paculeque)

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