Isiolo town modern market to be completed in 3 months
The Sh545 million Isiolo town modern market that Governor Abdi Ibrahim Guyo said will be completed in three months' time.
The long wait by hundreds of traders for completion of the Sh545 million Isiolo town modern market might soon be over after Governor Abdi Ibrahim Guyo said the works would be completed in three months’ time.
Lamenting about the contractor’s slow pace, Mr Guyo ordered Municipality Manager Osman Halakhe to ensure the work is expedited.
“Funds are available and the little hitches were due to the contractor's laziness. The issues are being addressed so that the market is operational in the coming three months,” Mr Guyo said, while launching Sh35 million bursaries for 8,000 needy secondary school, college and university students.
Delayed completion of the market that will accommodate 1,000 businesspeople continues to expose traders to suffering as majority have to lay their wares along the busy Isiolo-Moyale road, risking their lives.
Sole financier
The market project has also been rocked with controversy over the source of funding, with the county repeatedly insisting that it was the sole financier, even as some leaders said it was jointly funded by the county and the national government.
The governor, during his inauguration in August last year, promised to prioritise completion of the market, a Sh345 million stadium and an export abattoir that has stalled for more than 15 years, before initiating new ones.
Mr Guyo, however, said the state-of-the-art sporting facility, whose construction started in May 2019, will take longer before completion because “it had not been constructed according to the required standards”.
The second phase of the stadium’s construction will consist of terraces and a pavilion opposite the already established one, as well as laying of a tartan track and the pitch.
“It requires an upgrade to international standards and I will reach out to the (Sports) ministry to seek funding and see how much we can allocate (as a county) so that work commences as soon as possible,” he noted.
Local trader, Ms Deka Boru, is optimistic following the announcement and asked the governor not to renege on the promise.
“We have waited for too long for the market to be completed. We hope Guyo is not making empty promises,” she said.
