Mother hurt by closure of market

National

MOTHERS from Sogeri, Laloki and Brown River in the Kairuku-Hiri district, Central, are concerned that they have nowhere to sell their fresh produce after the closure of Gordon Market in Port Moresby.
The market has been closed indefinitely since the end of last month for major redevelopment,  jointly funded by governments of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Ellie Willie, a widow from Daru in Western, whose late husband was from Koiari, told The National yesterday that the closure had severely affected her family’s only source of income.
“I am a widowed mother and my first son is doing his studies at the University of Technology in Lae,” she said.
“I am a hardworking mother who grows garden crops like corn, banana, greens and other vegetables.
“I sell them at Gordon Market to earn income to pay for school fees as well as meet the needs of my family.
“We came here and sell our garden produce in bulk to mothers who buy from us to re-sell.
“We don’t have any market place available to sell our produce and we are being really affected big time.”
Willie said mothers from Laloki, Brown River and Sogeri were all affected.
They want the responsible authorities like NCD Governor Powes Parkop, Central Governor Robert Agarobe and the National Capital District Commission to allocate a temporary market place for them to use.
President of Safe City Safe Market for Women’s Association, Mesta James, said safety and welfare of mothers was by authorities when they failed to allocate space for a temporary market.
“Our mothers at Gordon can’t go over to Boroko or Kaugere because there are people already there,” he said.
“Simple mothers and their families are already being affected big time, not only in the city but also those who also live outside of the city.”
James called on NCDC, Parkop and Moresby North-East MP John Kaupa,  to address the issue by allocating a temporary market space.