Wading In The Mud Of Muea Market

By Isaac Forchie, Cindy Samba & Christelle-Isabelle Kilakenyuy (UB Journalism Students On Internship)

It seems like every farm product in the country is sold here on Thursdays and Sundays and people come from almost every part of the country and beyond to buy.

Buyers also come from neighbouring Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, etc. This market has, arguably, been described as one of the biggest food markets in Cameroon but its deteriorating conditions has left many bewildered.

Some of the local products sold include cocoyams, sweet potatoes, yams, cassava and tubers of all sorts. Also, every kind of vegetable found in the country could easily be found here. Besides these, general merchandise is sold too.

Most of these products are cultivated and sold by local farmers who live in this vicinity. They are indebted to the fertile volcanic soil near Mount Fako, where the market is found. But how do the people survive the deplorable market conditions, has been the unending question most visitors have often asked.

According to a certain Adamu, who makes a living by loading cars near the market, foreigners come to the Muea market especially during harvest periods when local farm products are in abundance and consequently cheaper.

On how they make a living from the market, a cocoyam seller, Mama Kum Jacinta, who could be about 50 years old, said; "We suffer a lot, the distance from the farm to the market is long and we spend a lot of energy transporting foodstuff. The roads are bad and cars are not available to transport our goods.

Council officials are always demanding tax for whatever thing we sell. Besides that, we are expected to pay market dues that permits us to sell." Most of the market women expressed similar difficulties on how they battle to make a living by selling foodstuff in the market.

Mama Kum argues that they make little or no profits but they must sell to put food on the table for their families. Most of them complained that they are unable to make profits because they are forced to sell right in the market, which is usually very muddy especially in the rainy season and therefore inaccessible to customers.

But a council worker, who did not want to be named, explained that these women are forced to sell inside the market so as to avoid traffic congestion they cause along the roadside. To discourage the women from occupying the road, police officers, at times, seize their merchandise and cause them to pay a penalty before recovering them, he said.

However, Mama Kum and her friends argued that the council should at least build the market with a good drainage pattern so as to avoid mud. They said their cries for the market to be ameliorated have often fallen on deaf ears, despite threats to march to the mayor's office.
These sellers said there are no toilets in the market and that trashcans are always over flowing though they say they pay market dues and council taxes.

Not only sellers are affected by mud in the market. Also, buyers have always had tough times making their way through the market. Another problem buyers face is rising cost of goods.

A group of women, who buy and resell cocoyams, revealed that basic foodstuff like cocoyams have become very expensive since demand is very high. They said sellers try to recover every expenses made between the farm and the market while foreigners are also prepared to pay any amount they are charged.

Besides just buying the cocoyams, which they would resell in bigger cities, they pay at least FCFA 200 per bag to local council authorities. They also pay loaders as well as drivers before their goods can reach their destination. They claimed that they also pay tollgates on the road as well as market dues where they sell.

According to this group of women who come from Douala, the Muea Market is nearer to them and so they would spend less coming to buy there. They said the only other available market is found in the West Province.

But looking at the muddy, dirty and haphazard market, one would hardly imagine the huge economic impact it has on the surrounding population. The Post learnt that hundreds of millions are made out of this market on a weekly basis by both the vendors and the council authorities that collect taxes from it.

Over the years, even though the average family depends on the market for its survival, the market only gets worse with little done to improve the situation.