Goods worth millions of pounds are believed to have been burnt to ashes on Wednesday evening at Yei’s main Dar-es-Salaam market.
The cause of the fire at the market that hosts tens of traders, majority of them dealing in food items, remains unknown.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj Thursday morning, Justin Luate, the Yei River County Chamber of Commerce chairperson, said the volume of the goods burnt was huge and that rescue efforts came too late
“There was a response, but you know our fire brigade is not well equipped. They rushed to the center and tried their best to get to Yei town for a bigger tanker, but unfortunately, they were empty and required refilling. The entire processes took time and they got to the scene when it was too late,” he said.
Luate said the total loss was high because the fire hit the market point where goods from different parts arrive.
Nelson Tereka, a fishmonger who lost all his stock, urged the government to investigate the cause of the fire to avert a similar occurrence in future.
He said he got a call at around 8pm that the market was on fire but on arrival, he realized that there was no access as the route to his stall was engulfed in the inferno, which ended up consuming his entire stock.
“I am calling upon the government to investigate the cause of the fire so that a similar incident does not happen again in the future,’’ said Tereka.
Another trader identified as Susan Kiden said, she deals in cereals and onions and the accident had cost her dearly and that it would be difficult to re-start her business.
“I don’t know what to do because everything is gone. It is up to the government to see what it can do to help us.’’
Luate said the Chamber of Commerce would call an emergency meeting to assess the damage and consider lobbying for support from the development partners.
“The way forward is that we have to call an emergency meeting today then form a committee to assess the damage, and then make plans to seek support from the development partners, the government and other well-wishers,” he said.
Yei River County Commissioner Aggrey Cyrus Kanyikwa said the incident had affected many livelihoods and there would be revenue loss for the government. He advised the market operators to be more vigilant in future.
That was the second time such an incident had happened at the Dar-es-Salaam market. There was a fire outbreak at the market last year, whose damage was, however, minimal.