In a press release dated November 1, 2024, the mayor of Yaoundé, Luc Messi Atangana, announced the completion of the extension work of the Mokolo market, the largest and busiest in the capital, which also suffers from insecurity problems due to the presence of many pickpockets.
This new infrastructure, according to him, includes the construction of large hangars, shops and an open space dedicated to the sale of food, capable of accommodating more than 1,500 vendors. He called on all street traders and those who occupy the streets and sidewalks of the Mokolo (in particular the place called Mokolo Elobi) and Elig-Effa areas to return to this new site from Monday, November 4, 2024 until November 20, 2024 at the latest. “If they fail to comply within the prescribed time limit, the spaces they are currently occupying illegally will be vacated by the police,” he warned.
This initiative is not the first of its kind. During a visit to the market extension site on June 12, Luc Messi Atangana had already ordered traders to return to the new space, granting them a deadline until September 1, 2024. Unfortunately, little progress had been noted by that date. “This extension is being made to relocate traders from the Mokolo market who do not have suitable spaces to carry out their commercial activities and all the street vendors who occupy the roads in the Mokolo market area,” he said during his visit to the site. He also specified that this space must also accommodate all owners of shops, workshops and other businesses that anarchically and illegally occupy the road from the Tsinga-Fecafoot crossroads to the Mokolo market, as well as tomato sellers from the 8th market.
This measure aims to free up public roads, currently congested by informal traders, in order to ensure smoother and safer traffic in the capital. The Yaoundé Urban Community (CUY) detailed that the new space, with an area of 1.5 hectares, will have 250 shops and boxes, 2,700 counters, as well as sanitary facilities, an administrative block, a police station, an infirmary, a restaurant area and a parking lot that can accommodate up to 60 vehicles. The initiative is part of the city’s efforts to combat the illegal occupation of public roads and to improve the working conditions of informal traders by providing them with modern and adequate infrastructure.
SBBC