(3 minutes read)
· Traders in Burkina Faso irked by shut down of their
businesses in the lockdown days demonstrated in Ouagadougou (capital
city) to press their demand for opening the markets in the county at
the earliest.
· On an experimental basis, on 20 April, the authorities
reopened the large market in Ouagadougou followed by Bobo-Dioulasso,
the second largest market in the country , raising high hopes among
traders that the government would follow suit in other markets as
well.
Traders in Burkina Faso irked by shut down of their businesses in
the lockdown days demonstrated in Ouagadougou (capital city) to press
their demand for opening the markets in the county at the earliest.
Most of the markets have been closed since the fourth week of March
and still the plight continues without any notice from the government
as to when the lockdown will be lifted.
The incidence of Covid- 19 is not very high in the country, when
compared to the developed world. So far, virus has caused 42 deaths
out of 623 confirmed cases. But the health infrastructure in the West
African country is very fragile. Forty markets in the country have
been closed to avoid people from crowding up. Bukina faso has a total
population of 3 million people.
According to ground level reports emanating from the country, traders
and people who are making a living out of the markets including the
ordinary citizens are feeling the pinch of the lockdown. They blame
this as a political aggrandizement and blame that it was the rich who
have this disease and spreading it to others. Days together in the
lockdown, they complain that their day to day existence is threatened.
On an experimental basis, on 20 April, the authorities reopened the
large market in Ouagadougou followed by Bobo-Dioulasso, the second
largest market in the country , raising high hopes among traders that
the government would follow suit in other markets as well. Their hopes
were dashed when the government tried to delay the reopening of the
market, which according to the government sources, can create health
hazards.
The demonstrators, mostly young men and women,had set up roadblocks on
tracks and roads to prevent traffic, which was removed by the police.
Agitators are complaining that since the market was closed since 25th
March, there is a heavy shortage of food articles. Neither the
government nor the private agencies are coming forward to help them
meet their basic food requirements. Their one point agenda is
immediate reopening of the market and they assure that all safety
measures would follow to avoid social contacts.
It is reported that the government is considering the gradual lifting
of the lockdown and at the same time wants to put in place all health
restrictions. Traders complain that if the government could open two
large markets, what prevents it from doing so in smaller markets
where the crowd visits are much lesser than the other two markets.
The pandemic has had its toll on the country’s fragile economy. The
annual growth is likely to be 2%, instead of 6.3% initially
estimated.
