Two female officials of the Market Association in Louisiana Township, Montserrado County are seeking the intervention of central government to change the deplorable condition of the general market. They are presently changing some of the damaged zinc and replacing few new sheets on the building. This is done nearly every year since the previous zinc has outlived its usefulness. Recounting efforts of the district past leadership at the National Legislature , they said the former Representative of District #1 Lawrence Morris rendered tremendous assistance in the construction of the market building by providing zinc for the structure they are now occupying.
In a joint interview, both Oretha K. Tamba the Table Director and the Assistant Table Director Howa N. Korfehalso made a passionate appeal to the current Representative RugieYatu Barry to reach out to them and address their plight in order to rehabilitate the Louisiana General Market. Besides the makeshift of the market building, other factors of improvement are Water and Sanitation for the facility.
The Table Director said the women of Louisiana hugely supported Representative Barry in her campaign bid to the legislature and they are now in need of her oversight to prioritize their request to the government for the renovation of the market building to a modern standard.
Madam Tamba also outlined challenges like market loans to empower themselves. She said regulating the influx of marketers and commuters along the major highway through Louisiana at the intersection to the market drive has been a challenge since the establishment of the market in 2005…
“Things are very hard with us in the market because others have refused to leave the roadside to join us in the market and the buyers often stopped on the main road instead of reaching in the general market to buy. We started the market on the main road and we were told that it was a private land. We had to move to where we are now. But it is still a problem since we came over at our major market ground because of others that refused to come along. There are always complaints to the local authorities on the safety of the road whenever the president of the republic and other VIPs are travelling in this direction. Trucks hauling sand and rocks are risky but you still have the road occupied by motorcyclists, tricycles, and marketers on the roadside.”
The heads of the Table Market, both Oretha and Howa ascribed that the market building did not meet full completion during the onset of its construction and still remains a makeshift that requires swift intervention as the rainy season fast approaches. The structure according to them is not conducive and needs urgent attention for reconstruction works.
Louisiana Township has approved two days as weekly market days which include Wednesday and Saturday. They are generally acceptable and recognized days that dwellers within surrounding local communities of Montserrado County usually attend on the days spelled out for regular business activities. Louisiana Market is also a major trade center to White Plains, Crozierville, Harrisburg, Fendell and Caldwell and a supplier of major markets in Monrovia and its suburbs. It is also believed that standardizing the market in Louisiana could bring enormous economic dividends to the people of the locale.
The Assistant Table Director Howa N. Korfehemphasized that marketers selling along the road risk accidents and it is one of the reasons why they are calling the attention of the national government to remove sellers from the roadside who claimed they are on private properties and have nothing to do with the general market.
“We are concerned about their safety but they don’t see it that way. Let them come in the market, we have place for them here because this market belongs to all of us.”
She said they always suffered at the hands of criminals that break into the makeshift structures where they normally stored their goods and any project aimed at improving the market must take the construction of warehouse into account for proper and safe storage.