Dissatisfied with the non compliance of some traders to open their shops on Mondays over fear of uncertainty, the President General, PG, Anambra State Amalgamated Traders’ Association, ASMATA, Chief Humphrey Anuna, during Monday sit-at-home exercise read riot act to them, vowing to sanction defaulters.
He reminded them that the state government has put every arsenal in place aimed at confronting headlong any forces preventing them from carrying out their legitimate business activities on Mondays.
“Consequently, market chairmen must make sure that all the market gates are kept open and ropes used to barricade market gates removed every Monday. If anyone complains about fear of loss of wares let the person tell me directly about it.
“Any market that fails to open will bear her consequences alone because government has placed security everywhere. You do not nurse any fear of unknown,” he further warned.
On illegal structures clustering all over the markets, the PG inaugurated a 10-man Illegal Structures Demolition Committee that will ensure only approved structures are allowed to exist
Inaugurating them he stated that market chairmen must present to the committee approval for structures permitted to stand when the committee storms any market adding that without approval such structure must be demolished on the order of the ASMATA PG.
The ASMATA PG consequently warned the chairmen to demolish all the illegal structures in their markets adding that enforcement team has already begun the demolishion.
“I, the PG will approve any demolition exercise they will embark on and after such demolition the committee will give report on how the demolition exercise is carried out,” he stated.
He warned traders at all the plazas that disturb market chairmen from carrying out their functions to desist in their own interest as their actions would no longer be tolerated.
He also reminded the chairmen of the need to ensure prompt payment of their Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, stating that those who embazzle government IGR risk jail term.
“Again, all the chairmen should not fail to pay their IGR and on time because if government arrests you for embezzlement no magistrate will release you,” he posited.
