By Chol D. Johnson
The Juba City Mayor, Christopher Serafino Swaka, has called on citizens to accept the market standard shops’ organisation after more than 10 shops were destroyed by fire in Konyokonyo Market.
Speaking on Tuesday to the media after a fire destroyed more than 10 shops in Konyokonyo, the Juba City Mayor, Christopher Serafino, called on citizens to accept market-standard organisation.
“We early started a strategic standard market organisation, to protect our citizens because once there is a fire outbreak in the market, there should be access to safety to prevent the spread of the fire,” Serafino said.
In his remarks, Serafino urged citizens to cooperate with the government to improve market standards in Juba.
“You have to work hand in hand with the government to organise the market such that once there is a fire in the market, the government can intervene early and secure the situation.”
Serafino said fire outbreaks occur in any city and that this is not the first incident, but emphasised that the most important issue is market-standard organisation in the city. He urged citizens to cooperate with the government on market organisation because it is for their safety.
He explained that on Tuesday morning, shops selling accessories and mobile phones in northern Konyokonyo market burned to ash. The cause of the fire outbreak was not confirmed, but it is alleged that an electrical short circuit caused the fire.
Serafino said the city council will form a committee to investigate the cause of the incident in Konyokonyo Market. He appreciated the city council and organised forces for their quick intervention after the fire outbreak.
He noted that the fire brigade responded and stopped the fire from spreading, which led to only more than 10 shops being burned.
“I want to appreciate all the citizens, city councils, and organised forces for their support to stop the spreading of fire and secure the shops from theft during the fire outbreak,” he appreciated.
He added that there were no casualties because the city council and organised forces were able to control the situation.
Meanwhile, Mohamad Ali Mukhatar, a Sudanese businessman, said the government should prioritise market-standard organisation to avoid such incidents.
“These burnings in the market have been repeated for the third or fourth time. I urged the government to prioritise standard construction of concrete buildings,” Ali expressed.
Ali said the burning of shops in Konyokonyo market was a matter of luck, not choice, and that it could have been caused by electricity or something else, though no one knows for sure.
He added that concrete buildings are better than iron sheet construction because if one shop catches fire, it spreads to all the shops.
“Concrete shop buildings are far better than the iron sheet shops’ construction, which can help in stopping the fire from spreading to destroy other shops,” Ali said.
Ali further said that Juba City should adopt a standard market organisation by constructing concrete shops.
Dawod John Gai, an accessories and mobile phone seller whose shop was burned, said the fire started early in the morning at 7:40 a.m.
Gai said the cause of the fire seems to be an electrical short circuit in the market that led to the burning of 10 shops.
“The fire broke out at 7:40 am, and it seems to be an electrical short circuit that caused the fire,” he said.