VENDORS SPEAK OUT ON MARKET SANITATION CRISIS

 

A month after the president of the Malawi Local Government Association (MALGA) and Mayor of Blantyre City, Isaac Jomo Osman stood amid piles of rotting waste at Mzuzu market and ordered its immediate removal, traders say nothing has changed and their health continues to be at risk.

In an interview vendors painted out that their health is not considered as traders despite the taxes that the pay to authorities at the market. 

Agnes Phiri aged 34, who sells tomatoes and leafy vegetables, said she inhele this bad air every day and suffers from nausea due to the smell when ever she is at the market. "Despite these problems I can't stop coming here because I don't have any option, I feed my children with the same business", she said.

Peter Mhone a 41 years second-hand clothes vendor, said cases of diarrhoea are sometimes caused by the same. “Almost every week someone is complaining of stomach problems,” he said. “We are working in a place that can easily bring cholera. We are afraid, especially during this rainy season".

“Nothing has really changed,” he said. "they cleaned for a short time after the visit, but now it’s back to how it was. If there is any effort, it is not visible. We feel forgotten.”

Their accounts suggest that the clean-up directive issued in January may have been temporary a reactive measure rather than a sustained solution of removing the garbage everyday.

Cholera, dysentery and other diarrhoeal diseases thrive in environments where sanitation is compromised. For traders who spend up to 10 hours a day at the market, the risk is constant. Not only to vendors but also all citizens who buy food at the same places.

Mzuzu market remains a symbol of resilience for thousands in the northern city. But resilience, traders argue, should not mean enduring preventable health hazards.