Fish vendors removed from downtown Maputo, unhappy with Mercado Janet

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Fish vendors removed from downtown Maputo, unhappy with Mercado Janet

8:10 CAT | 24 Oct 2017

Notícias

Fishmongers who used to operate in front of Maputo Fort in central Maputo are complaining about the lack of water and refrigeration at the Mercado Janet where they have been relocated.

Adapting to Mercado Janet on Vladmir Lenine Avenue, where they have been for about a week, has not been easy for the fishmongers, who already want to go back to their previous location by the ‘Fortaleza,’ at the intersection of Samora Machel Avenue and Ngungunhana Street near the Maputo Fishing Harbour.

The fishmongers have put up a poster redirecting customers to their new location but say turnover has fallen.

Énia Maúte, who has sold fish in Maputo since 2000, says: “We are not getting the customers, and this is forcing us to lower our prices. For example, we used to sell a kilogram of shrimp downtown for 2,000 meticais, but here all we can get is 1,500.”

Our Noticias reporter found empty stalls in the fish section of the new market. Some blame the lack of customers, but many only open shop in the late afternoon, as they did before.

On Thursday morning, Municipal Police were still visible at the Fort to discourage any who might be tempted to return to their old venue. They remain there until dark.

“Even when we buy fish to resell, the Municipal Police takes our product,” Alcinda Mulungo complains.

Local police spokesman Joshua Lai told Noticias that the fishmongers were warned in advance and that the measure is final.

“The sale of fish on the public road was an affront to public health. The place smelt foul because the water used to clean the fish was thrown out onto the public highway. This gave an important tourist attraction a sorry outlook,” he said.

At the start of operations on Monday last week, the Municipal Police seized 150 kilograms of fish from sellers who refused to leave the area.

Source: Notícias