HCC enforcement team demolishing the illegally built market stalls at the Fijian Quarter last year

DESPITE being ordered by the Honiara City Council (HCC) to do away with illegal market stalls, market vendors still continue to do their marketing at illegal areas within the city’s CBD.

Concerned locals are calling on HCC to quickly solve this situation in finding suitable land areas for market vendors so that such illegal practice would stop.

According to the concerned citizens, some market vendors whose market stalls were cleared by the HCC Law Enforcement last year are now in the same position setting up their illegal stalls and doing selling again while others are now along other drainage site areas amongst shops and other buildings.

Angus Jevu, amongst the concerned locals, said such continuous practice only paints a bad image towards Honiara city especially from tourists and overseas visitors.

Late last year, hundreds of market vendors were left miserable as their market stalls were demolished by the Honiara City Council (HCC) Law Enforcement Officers.

Despite complaints raised for the inconvenience the operation will cause, the HCC Law Enforcement Officers had no other choice but to remove them according to the city’s ordinance.

The demolition of market stalls is part of HCC’s operation to clear all illegal market sites within the city’s boundaries.

The first illegal market site that was first closed down by HCC was the 01 market at White River and later the operation moved to the Con Street market area.

All market vendors are now urged to do their marketing at the two allocated locations allowed legally by HCC and that is at the Central and Kukum Markets.

According to the HCC City Clerk recently, HCC will still try their best to find suitable ways to address the inconvenience this issue is causing for the public.