January 25, 2021
By Mohamed M. Sesay
Petty traders Bar and restaurant owners within the Central Business District of Freetown have decried the recently announced partial lockdown and curfew measures. They are saying it is bound to have adverse effect on their businesses.
On the 21st January 2021, government through the National Covid-19 Emergency Response Center (NaCOVERC) announced a partial lockdown restricting movement from Freetown to the provinces except for essential workers. That release also captures the re-introduction of a night curfew starting from 10:00 PM to 5:00 PM, and the restriction on Bars and Restaurants not to operate during weekends.
Talking to A-Z Multimedia Corporation, the Chief Executive Officer of Med Fast Food Restaurant located at Wilberforce Street PZ, Alhaji Mohamed, he vented his displeasure over the partial lockdown especially the aspect dealing with the closure of Bars and restaurants during weekends.
He said the partial lockdown has reduced their working days from twenty-six working days, to twenty-two working days. He acknowledged the lockdown as part of measures to control the daily increase of the transmission rate of the novel coronavirus, but argued that the closure of bars and restaurants during weekends would have no impact in curtailing the spread of covid-19.
He added that the best measures from government would have been a mandatory use of facemasks by deploying police and the military personnel in every corner of Freetown.
“I wish the government will send out officers both the police and the military on the street and give them the full power to arrest anybody who refuses to put on facemask rather than closing bars and restaurants during weekends.
“What impact will this create when bars and restaurants are closed, then people are jam-packed in market places without facemask?”
Hassanatu Kamara, a petty trader at the Garrison Street Market said the partial lockdown would have a huge economic effect on them because she said most of their goods come from the provinces. She added that she is a single parent and that her survival is based on petty trading.
She lamented the fact that she is widow taking care of her family, relying on the little daily profit they make from petty trading.
Also speaking to A-Z Multimedia Corporation, the Chairman for the Market People of PZ, Tejan Kabba, also stated that the night curfew would definitely have some negative economic impact on his membership.
He disclosed that they operate three shifts; shift one sells from morning till 4:00 PM, another shift would start from 4:00 PM till 9:000 Pm and the last shift takes over from 9:00Pm till in the morning hours.
He pointed out that the night curfew would greatly affect certain category of his people especially those who sell at night.
He is therefore pleading that government should at least push the curfew from 10:00 to 12:00 so that his people at PZ could have some space to find their living amidst this covid-19 economic hardship.
Chairman for Kroo town Road Market Abdulai Bah, also told A-Z Multimedia Corporation that the partial lockdown has a potential of negatively affecting the economy, where petty traders will be at the receiving end.
He joined other who subscribe to the view that the partial lockdown would result to hike in prices of goods and services especially food stuff and other commodities.
Abdulai Bah added that the E-passes for essential workers and goods would soon be issued by way of bribery to further compound the economic meltdown.
