The Editor,
While I support the idea of clearing this area and many other markets of congestions to keep the city clean and business-friendly, I strongly believe that the city authorities and the government should have given proper advance notices and some incentives to encourage a smooth transition to a new and improved market hall. I certainly dislike the manner in which the entire exercise was conducted, especially given hardships faced by our poor and destitute mothers and marketers. The City Major should have had several awareness meetings to prepare our marketers for relocation. Do not use coronavirus as an excuse to destroy properties and stop their livelihoods.
I like to see similar measures taken in many places in Monrovia and in many major cities across the Nation, including the famous Red Light Market. However, these measures must be taken with humanity and some incentives to allow for a smooth relocation. The Red Light Market has become a criminal hub and the Government of Liberia along with the City of Paynesville must take serious measures to de-congest and relocate marketers. It’s within the rights of national and local governments to take corrective measures for the safety and security of our people. However, these measures must be taken with consultations with the Marketing Association and their memberships.
One of the legal roles of the City Mayor is not to mandate the painting of businesses a certain color. This is legally and morally wrong. Therefore, I’m in shape opposition to any mandate by the City Mayor of Monrovia to have businesses painted blue, white and red. This is a Constitutional Democracy and not a communist nation. No one should impose such a draconian order on businesses. The City of Monrovia has every right to demand the cleanliness of the city, but not to demand and impose a law that businesses should be painted a certain color. This is completely against our organic laws and must be challenged legally.
With regard to painting taxicabs yellow, this is an international norm. The Government of Liberia decided to paint all commercial taxis yellow. This is legally acceptable. It’s intended to identify commercial vehicles plying the street for safety and security reasons. It’s also a security measure to enable law enforcement officials to differentiate commercial vehicles from ordinary vehicles. It’s within the right of any nation to order taxis or commercial vehicles to be painted a certain color for uniformity. Many nations use yellow and some use colors of their choice. Liberia happens to choose yellow.
Tony Leewaye