MCAs now want Kidero to give Muthurwa market a facelift
Members of the Nairobi City County assembly have urged City Hall to refurbish Muthurwa market.
The market gives City Hall a daily cess collection of between sh 150,000 and sh 170,000 with over 10,000 traders operating in it.
A report tabled at the assembly by the committee on trade, tourism and cooperatives states that City Hall had abandoned maintenance work at the market despite earning significant revenues from it.
“The market have over 10,000 traders operating in a 24 hour economy, an indication of a county facility with a huge socio-economic potential that if sustainably tapped could benefit to both the residents and county government,”stated the Committee chairman Wilfred Odalo.
The committee also noted that the market has poor lighting, burst sewers, muddy roads, congestion, pickpockets and lack of clean running water.
“The City Council’s floodlights have never functioned and people are at the mercy of muggers once it is dark,” said Mr Odalo.
Makongeni MCA Peter Anyule Imwatok demanded for AN audit of the revenue collected in the market.
He said that there was need to digitalise revenue collection in the market and claimed cartels have been pocketing cess money from traders.
“Muthurwa market is operated by cartels who collect money and little reaches the county. Therefore we need to digitalize the system to earn the county more revenue, “said Mr. Imwatok.
He also claimed that City Hall employees collect money from lorries which bring produce as early as 3 am for themselves and only start to collect for the county from 8 a.m.