Some traders and visitors to the Tamale Central Market have expressed concern about the poor sanitation situation in the market following the onset of the rainy season.
They said the market was always flooded and muddy after rains- displacing them and making the market unattractive for buyers to come in to transact business with them.
They expressed the concern in an interview with the GNA in Tamale. Whilst the traders blamed themselves for indiscriminately littering the market, buyers also blamed the traders for not sweeping and collecting the refuse before displaying their wares and other items including foodstuffs.
A petty trader, Madam Rebecca, said the rains mostly left the market muddy- displacing them thereby halting business activities.
Business woman, Hajia Yussif Fatima also blamed the poor state of sanitation in the market on indiscriminate disposal of refuse saying: “When the rains come, people throw rubbish indiscriminately, which ends up choking our gutters and leaving us with bad smells”.
Mr Iddrisu Zakaria, a cobbler, blamed the situation on the part of the sanitation authorities since tolls were collected from them but issues of keeping the market clean for traders were not being properly addressed.
Miss Aisha, a buyer, said she preferred asking a neighbour to buy her items instead of going to the market when it rained because of how unpleasant the market looked.
The traders and visitors to the market, therefore, appealed to the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly to come to their aid by positioning dustbins at vantage points in the market to help in disposing refuse.
They also called for work on gutters in the market to allow for free flow of rain water to prevent floods.
