Mahajanga traders refuse to leave pavements
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Lexpress
Traders in Mahajanga are refusing to clear the pavements despite the expiry of the deadline set by the municipality, which plans to evict them. The operation has raised fears of clashes between occupants and municipal officers after a dialogue attempt in Ambovoalanana failed, reports L’Express.
Traders occupying the pavements and public road between Mahajanga City Hall and Analakely market are refusing to leave, although the deadline set by the municipality has expired. Their eviction is scheduled for Friday 23 October, amid fears of a confrontation, reports L’Express Madagascar.
The municipality had granted these occupants a final 48-hour extension, after a formal notice was sent a month earlier. The area concerned stretches for about 400 metres; the shops and vehicles severely slow traffic, with some road users taking up to half an hour to cross it, according to L’Express Madagascar.
The municipality also wants to move cooperative vehicles to a site behind the avenue. Traders and transport operators who refuse this reorganisation are to be evicted, according to instructions reported by L’Express Madagascar.
