The completion of the Gatunga ESP Market in Gatunga, Tharaka Nithi County is a major milestone for small scale traders and vegetable vendors who have been operating in the open air for many years.
And, after operating in the open, braving the hot sun, rain and wind, the traders are eagerly waiting for the day the project will officially be opened for them to use with some describing it as historical.
According to the latest report by the State Department of Housing and Urban Development, the project is now 99 percent complete.
“The days of working under the sun are over, we will never be rained on again and our business will grow,” Market Chairman, Paul Muriungi said. “As traders we are happy with the pace in which the project has taken,” he added.
“Many of us have been operating in the open and now we are preparing to move in, we have organized ourselves very well,” said Muriungi, noting that vegetables and groceries will be on the ground floor while clothes, eateries and cyber cafes will be stationed on the first floor.
“We are very happy because this market is going to change our lives because we have been using sticks and wood to build our individual stalls and sometimes they are demolished but the government has built using concrete and steel which are durable and long lasting,” he added.
However, he called on the government to consider expanding the market in the future, citing the number of traders who are looking for space in the new facility. “We have traders selling second hand clothes, shoes and many other items and they all want space here so some will be left out,” he said.
Mr Benson Rangira, the foreman at the site, says that the people are elated by the construction and completion of the project. “People are very happy with this project and they long for the day they will be allowed in,” he said.
He said that the project is going to boost the local economy, noting that already it has created employment for about two hundred people who have been working as skilled and unskilled labourers.
President William Ruto said he is going to transform the lives of Mama Mboga and Boda Boda traders and I think the construction of this modern market will go a long way in achieving this goal, he said.
“With such a big market, transporters like the Boda Boda operators will get business and the traders will get a dignified place to do their business,” he said.
The market is equipped with cold rooms for storage of perishable goods like vegetables and groceries and a dry room for cereals. “Things like tomatoes will be stored in the cold room, this will protect traders from losses,” he said.
“We are doing final touches, basically the project is ready, it is complete,” said Maureen Cherono, a storekeeper. “We have been testing the electricity and lighting system and everything is good, the people are very happy,” she stated.
During the Market Day which happens weekly on Wednesday, the traders display their merchandise along the streets and on the pavements, making movement difficult but the construction of the market is expected to end this quagmire.
“This place is often congested on market days because we have one of the busiest markets on Wednesdays because there are many people, so the construction of this market has come at the right time and it will help a lot,” said Cherono.
“This market has created employment opportunities because the market will host many traders hence creating a lot of employment to the locals and people who come from outside,” she added.
Gatunga ESP Market is also equipped with an ICT hub to enhance e-commerce, a spacious social hall for meetings and other group events, sanitation facilities and public washrooms, a room for lactating mothers to breastfeed their babies and children’s playing ground.
