PH
Food vendor in various parts of Mombasa County may be affected if the County government implements its move to shut down their business during rainy season to avert disease outbreaks.
The County ministry of health revealed that most food vendors operate in areas prone to floods and may experience outbreaks of disease such as cholera and the County has taken necessary measures to implement that.
Speaking in Mombasa, the County executive in charge of health Mohammed Ibrahim Abdi said that during rainy season Mombasa experience floods and its drainage systems are affected too, so the County may be forced to shut down such income generating activities to protect locals health as well.
“We understand this will affect many women and youths in many parts of the County but it is better that way than threatening the lives of out own people” added Abdi.
Mr. Abdi mentioned areas like those of Likoni, Magongo in Changamwe and Bombolulu and Kisauni in Kisauni Sub county as areas experiencing an increase of such small businesses which are not favorable during rainy season.
“We need to protect Mombasa county residents or else we will lose lives utbreak as it already happened last year where 8 people including two inmates at Shimo la tewa prisons perished because of Cholera outbreak” he noted.
However, some of women selling fish and other Swahili foods among them Bhajia and Viazi Karaiat Likoni have opposed to the move saying that such activities are their only source of income and shutting them down means living them with nothing.
Some of the food vendors at Likoni in Mombasa. the county government has said that it may be forced to shut down their small scale businesses during the rainy season to avert outbreak of diseases.
