Livestock traders at the Tourou market in Parakou are not happy. They expressed their discontent through a press conference on Thursday, August 3, 2023.
The tension arises from a fee issue between the livestock traders at the Tourou market and an intermediary association that deals with the city hall authorities in Parakou. According to Baruka Media, the association responsible for the dispute has not been paying the full amount of monthly fees demanded by the municipality.
As per the speakers at the press conference, the association is only paying 500,000 francs per month to the municipality instead of the required one million francs. However, the conflict escalated when the association decided to increase the fee collected from traders, raising it from 2250 to 4250 francs. The increase happened when the municipality refused to accept only 500,000 francs.
The speakers argue that this increase is unnecessary because the 2250 francs collected from them are more than enough to pay one million francs to the municipality and save some money for the association. They urge the city authorities to take responsibility by replacing this association with another structure. Otherwise, they threaten to vacate the premises.
