Hundreds of traders at Kibuye market have been exempted from paying tax after a fire destroyed their property.
At the same time, Governor Jack Ranguma has ordered engineers and architects from both the national and county government to immediately begin planning for reconstruction works.
The market was razed by a fierce fire that broke out last week in which goods worth millions of shillings was destroyed.
Mr Ranguma ruled out construction of permanent structures but called on leaders from the region to pool resources and ensure there are temporary structures where the traders can continue with their activities as they await the mega-modern Kibuye market.
He said he would negotiate with the banks where the traders had taken loans to give a temporary stay on repayment awaiting the return to normal business.
“As a county government, we will give the traders some money to enable them kick-start their businesses,” said Ranguma, who later directed revenue collectors to exempt traders at Kibuye market.
The county government is engaged in an ambitious Sh350 million project to transform Kibuye market into a modern one that will accommodate over 6,000 traders.
Kibuye is an open air market whose operations could be disrupted once the April rains start.
The transformation, which will be under the Kisumu Urban Project (KUP), will accommodate traders of groceries, second-hand clothes, carpentry, retail shops, jua kali artisans and tailor shops among others.
Kibuye has been experiencing many incidents of fire and the new building has mini pillars that will automatically collapse to allow fire engines to access the market in the event a fire breaks out.
The three-storey building will also have a central foyer, which will be an open space for day traders selling their goods during the day and at night.
The governor asked the leaders to stop politicising the tragedy and instead consult and work together in order to come up with a workable solution for the affected traders.
“I urge politicians to keep off unnecessary politics and sit down with me because I have welcomed their interventions to help us rebuild Kibuye, as it is a major source of livelihood for our residents,” said Ranguma.
Identify Gaps
He called on the politicians and other leaders to together identify gaps and not run parallel activities that may not bear fruit.
“For instance, an MP cannot say he wants to buy bricks for the traders yet we do not support permanent structures in the market.
This is a good reason why we should work together since the county government has a bigger plan for Kibuye market,” said Ranguma.
The county boss was speaking when he visited the market to console the affected traders.
Gubernatorial aspirant and Ranguma’s fierce critic Hezron Makobewa asked the City Manager Doris Ombara to find a way to compensate traders for the losses they incurred.
Dr Makobewa also called on the county government to establish several water points within the market to cushion the traders in case of fire.
The fire was alleged to have been caused by an electricity fault owing to on-and-off blackouts on Friday evening.
The strong winds worsened the situation as the fire spread to other shops so fast that it took the help of youths to bring down structures to prevent the flames from extending to other shops.
The situation was made worse by the first fire engine arriving at the scene with no water. It took more than an hour for the engine to refill the tank before returning to the market.
The fire started at around 8pm on Friday night and went on till Saturday morning, after it had consumed almost the entire market.
