The groundbreaking construction of Chogoria ESP Market that is expected to significantly boost the local economy is now 92pc complete, according to the latest inspection report from the State Department of Housing.
According to the report, the contractor is currently putting the final touches on the project whose completion is expected to boost trade and socioeconomic development in Tharaka Nithi County and surrounding areas.
Once opened, the market will provide small scale vendors, who have been operating in the open for years, with a dignified environment to do their business, complete with ICT hub, social hall, cold and dry storage as well as a room for lactating mothers to breastfeed their babies, among other things.
The new market which has seen local small-scale traders and Mama Mboga beaming with optimism has already boosted business in the area since hardware and other building materials were locally sourced.
The project opened employment opportunities as skilled and unskilled labourers were hired from the surrounding community, the report says.
“Labour sourced within the locality while local sourcing of construction materials has boosted the area ‘s economy,” it adds.
Mr Lawrence Kirimi, who sells fast-moving household goods, plastics and utensils, the traders further said that the new market is going to cushion them from losses since they will no longer be operating in the open.
The main market also has supporting facilities such as the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) hub and internet infrastructure to boost e-commerce, ablution blocks, social hall, hotel, sanitation and waste management and modern and secure vendor stalls.
“I have been doing this job for fifteen years and we are very grateful to President Ruto for building a market for us here because we have been experiencing many challenges. For instance my goods were at one time swept away by water,” said Kirimi.
“It was raining and then all my merchandise was swept away with the water. We are very grateful because we didn’t even have land to build the market here but our President intervened until we found a space to build a market for us,” he said.
“Very soon, we are moving in ,” he said, heaping praise on President Ruto for honouring his 2022 election pledge.
According to him, President Ruto’s pledge to transition the country from a third-world to a first-world was steadily becoming a reality citing infrastructure development such as modern markets, Affordable Housing Program (AHP) and roads.
“We are honouring our promise to give Mama Mboga and other traders decent places of work, one market after another. The traders have been conducting their activities in open air, exposed to rain, scorching sun, mud and dust,” President Ruto said recently.
“Now they have a dignified market, with cold storage among other facilities. This is the true meaning of bottom up,” he added.
Forming the bulk of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), women traders in Chogoria have been keeping a close watch on the construction, some even doing their own separate inspection to ensure that project is completed within the time given.
“I am very happy, because we were selling outside in the open, getting rained on, battling mud and braving hot temperatures; there were a lot of challenges because Chogoria had no land to build a market but this has been made possible through the leadership that we have of our President President William Ruto,” said Mrs Bundi.
