Market traders in Benin prepare for difficult transition as sprawling Dontokpa market faces closure
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Dantokpa Market has been a bustling trade hub for around 35,000 vendors in Cotonou.
00:06This historic site, roughly the size of 25 football fields, is facing closure for security
00:12reasons, forcing shopkeepers to relocate.
00:16Since its opening, Dantokpa has experienced about 20 destructive fires.
00:22One seller, Jose Sude, who has been in the woven fabric business for two decades, shares
00:27her concerns.
00:29Westerners come here, as do Nigerians, Burkina Beys, Congolese, Senegalese, I have customers
00:36from all over.
00:37When we're forced out of this market, where will the customers go?
00:41Where will they find us?
00:44The upcoming closure of Dantokpa will force shops to relocate to different sites based
00:50on their trade.
00:51But sellers and customers are worried about losing the market's central location and
00:56easy access.
00:58We still don't know where we'll go.
01:00We don't have enough money to look into getting a spot in the new markets yet.
01:05If we get moved, on top of what we already pay for transport, it's going to be tough.
01:10We currently spend 100 francs to get to the market, it could go up to 1,000 francs.
01:14This will definitely impact everyone.
01:16In response to the controversy surrounding the market's closure, the president of the
01:20Women and Artisans Group of the Market of Benin, Emy Aouissou, is raising awareness
01:26among female traders about the changes coming their way.
01:33Today the market has expanded, it's entered into homes, we can't even identify its boundaries.
01:39Our concern today is the proper management of this relocation considering how many of
01:43us there are, how to ensure that it accommodates so many people so that everyone finds a place
01:48there.
01:49That's the fundamental concern in our association.
01:54Although no demolition date has been set yet, closing the market feels like the end of an
01:59era and the loss of a place deeply rooted in Vodun culture.
02:04In preparation for the transition, about 20 new markets have already been built to replace
02:09Dontoupa, designed to meet international health and hygiene standards.