Small businessmen in Laini Saba shopping centre have asked the market municipality to construct business sheds for them.
The purpose of these sheds will be to enable the traders conduct their businesses even during bad weather without being affected.
The businessmen said they pay daily revenue to tax collectors in the market. If the market management uses the tax collected to build sheds and later lease the sheds at an affordable price to business operators in the market that will boost their business.
A young businessman in the area, Stephen Kimiti, sells fresh maize in the market. Kimiti said he has been facing hard times when working because he is forced to be in the sun daily.
“Since there are no sheds in the market, my maize dries up real quick leading to me incurring losses since nobody wants to buy dried maize,’’ said Kimiti.
A fruit vendor in the area, Elizabeth Nyakang’i a said that small traders are the ones contributing towards the economy’s growth despite the graft and stealing of public funds by leaders who are in power.
“If sheds and kiosks are constructed, our businesses will be boosted as we will be operating our business any time, even if it rains because we will not be affected,’’ she said.
‘‘Sheds help to keep the good quality of products. At times sun rays reaching perishable products reduce the quality of the products thus increasing chances of them rotting,” said Dolpine Mogaka, a vegetable vendor in the centre.
Another small scale trader in the centre, Uintah Onchego said that at times, their business operations are disrupted by flooding rain water that carries away their commodities thus making them incur huge losses.
The condition of the market during the rains is pathetic and customers are not motivated to purchase a commodity which is not a good thing for the traders.