Onitsha Chamber Worried Over Street Trading, Reckless Driving
By Juliana Nwachukwu/Ngozi Okoli/ Nkiru Anakor
The indiscriminate street trading and reckless driving by bus and tricycle (Keke) operators in Onitsha, the commercial nerve centre of Southeast zone, is now a source of worry to Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ONICCIMA).
Sequel to the illegal activities of the traders, bus and tricycle operators, the President of ONICCIMA, Chief Kevin Obieri, reiterated that Anambra State Government must live up to its challenges by implementing the laws guiding street trading to save the residents of the State, especially Onitsha and its environs from embarrassment being experienced on the road.
"Anambra has a robust law against street trading which at some point facilitated the movement to modern and model markets at Building Materials Market Ogidi, flour market, cosmetics, among others.
"The unregulated nature of street trading presents a wide range of problems which include, traffic congestion, health risk as traders dump wastes into drainages and on roads, thereby littering the environment.
"There is also loss of revenue by operating outside the approved government points as street traders are likely not to pay the required taxes but line up pockets of false government agents.
"Also, almost all street traders make use of make-shift structures that are made of combustible materials which can not guarantee safety of lives and property within the environment of trade," he explained.
The ONICCIMA boss also condemned in strong terms the reckless driving by both shuttle bus and tricycle (Keke), operators, adding that they worsened the situation by opening up unapproved motor parks on the ever-busy highways.
"Tricycle and shuttle bus operators open up parks on the busy roads and markets. They simply create make-shift parks or clear bushes to set up parks near major roads without approval or consideration.
"This is worse on all the stretches of roads leading to Nkwelle-Ezunaka from Magazine Avenue junction. Surely this is not Onitsha, city of our dream. In order to combat these problems, government should take immediate actions to regulate street trading and indiscriminate parks and enforce the laws.
"It has to enforce the laws through establishing public policies mandating that all trade must occur within designated market spaces or traders be allowed to organise their own markets.
"They should be educated on the dangers inherent in street trading and ensure traders' management personnel are on ground to coordinate free flow of traffic at various markets junctions/roundabouts or as a permanent solution, fence off the markets," he posited.(MOI).
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