No stall, no job for Johnson
A MARKET vendor who was asked to dismantle his stall recently in Nakasi, Nausori, will have to look for a job to send his two children to school.
Anare Johnson, 52, of Nataleira, Dawasamu, said he was not in a position to earn money and buy books, uniforms and stationery for his children.
“I am not able to prepare for my children’s back to school needs because I have to earn an income,” he said.
“I just bought a brush-cutter to cut grass.
“I think the Fiji Roads Authority wants to widen the road on the site where I was selling my produce so the council told us to dismantle the stall.
“For the past five years, I was selling my vegetables here and this was the only source of income for me and my family.”
Mr Johnson said he had no money at this stage to buy his children’s books, bags, uniform and stationery.
“I have to return to the village and look for some jobs there cutting grass.”
WITH less than a week before the start of the 2021 school year, Sanaila Qalobogidua sat on the roadside with his family and watched as his relatives took down their only source of livelihood, a roadside market stall on Vishnu Deo Rd, Nakasi.
He was at a loss as to how he would resource his children when classes began on January 19.
But his biggest concern is putting food on the table for his family.
Mr Qalobogidua said he and his family decided to cut their losses and take down their family stall after they were issued a notice by the Nausori Town Council on January 6.
“We were warned to take down the stalls or the council would forcibly remove it if we failed to comply,” he said.
“We decided to take it down ourselves so we could use the material again instead of the council bulldozing everything away.
“My wife lost her job early
last year because of COVID-19 and since then this stall has been our lifeline.
“My wife’s grandfather owned the stall and it has stood here for more than 10 years.
“He passed away recently and the stall holds a lot of sentimental value for our family,” Mr
Qalobogidua said.
“This isn’t just our bread and butter. This market has carried us through some of our most trying times.
“We have shed tears with our regular customers, they can’t understand it and our children can’t understand it either.
“We told our children they might have to delay starting school because we don’t have money for stationery.
“We are lucky to earn $5 to $10 a day, but we’ve already built relationships with our customers here. If we start all over again in the Nausori Municipal Market or the Laqere Market and that too with the added expense of going to and from there, what is the sense in that?
“We are disappointed that they can suddenly give us a notice like this, especially a week before school.”
Nausori Town Council and
Nasinu Town Council chief executive officer Anurashika Bari said Government had decided to stop roadside vendors and they had to relocate to market spaces that were available.
She said it was the council’s duty to enforce government decisions.