Africa-Press – Angola. Street vendors in Lobito (Benguela) insist on selling their products along the EN100 National Road, risking accidents, despite appeals to the contrary by the local administration.
From the early hours of the morning, the vendors place their benches a few centimeters from the road, after the Africano roundabout, on the way up to reach the upper part of the city.
In this section, the movement of vehicles is accentuated, mainly at peak hours, with emphasis on motorcycle taxi drivers traveling in the opposite direction, as it is a one-way road, despite the presence of traffic regulators.
In the upper part of the city, at the exit of the Bela Vista district, is located the well-known “Praça do Catuma”, where vendors are positioned on both sides of the road, causing constant pedestrian crossings, some to shop and others to pick up food. the taxi, which also stops anywhere.
Witnesses claim that every day there is a risk of being run over or collisions between vehicles, sometimes forcing sudden braking, dangerous maneuvers or long traffic jams.
Tereza Vicente, a salesperson for over 20 years, said that she sells in Praça do Catuma due to the influx of customers, which makes her business flow.
“I’m a single mother and selling in this place, every day I manage to take some money home and feed my children”, she argued.
In turn, young Carlitos Chipesse, 17 years old, street vendor, commonly known as “zungueiro”, feels motivated because he has a daily bill of between two and five thousand kwanzas which, in addition to helping the family, he invests in the purchase of material school and clothes.
Some citizens are of the opinion that it is possible to deactivate these improvised places because the National Police have been removing people from there, when high-level government caravans pass by.
To prevent risks, the Municipal Administration of Lobito entered into a consensus with the owner of a vast yard, next to Sócrates Dáskalos Avenue, to place them provisionally.
Meanwhile, the Tchapanguele market, the largest and most important in the city since the 1960s, is under construction from scratch, within the scope of emergency works by the Provincial Government.
This market will have four halls that will house 1,400 stands for 3,300 stallholders, according to ASGC works manager, Manuel Gregório.
“They are being adapted because they will be separated by type of goods, from food products, building materials and others”, said the contractor.
According to the project, which you presented, in addition to the sales area, the market will also have other services, such as the administrative service, a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), a refrigerated area for the conservation of perishable products, a parking for vehicles and access roads for taxis and public transport.
On the other hand, the Compão market, although smaller in relation to that of Tchapanguele, will have similar conditions, according to Lobito municipal administrator, Evaristo Calopa Mário, when speaking about the city’s structuring projects, in one of his interventions in the Administration.
As preventive measures, depending on the behavior of street vendors and street vendors, the AML has been sensitizing them on a daily basis, instead of taking a coercive measure, according to the administrator of the markets, Raúl Manuel.
That person in charge argues that in the place made available by AML, in addition to having security conditions, sellers can carry out their activity without any damage or concern.
The city of Lobito concentrates more than half of the population in the upper part of the city, in larger neighborhoods such as Alto Liro, Lixeira, Centralidade and the emerging ones.
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