Tough times for the fishmongers evicted from the Sham roundabout, the central market of Thiès, and the public roads. These fishmongers, while supporting the clearing operations launched by the authorities, are demanding the handover of their new fish market, the construction of which was completed several months ago.

Today, thanks to strict police control, traffic is flowing smoothly at the Sham roundabout near the central market, after nearly ten days of operations to clear the public roads. Fishmongers, identified as the main occupants of the road, are requesting the opening of the new fish market, built at a cost of 2 billion CFA francs, on the outskirts of the city, on the road to Tivaouane, in the municipality of Thiès-Nord.

“We are being wrongly accused, but we are the first to support this decongestion project. We know that the roadway isn't meant for selling. We believe the government can't build a 2 billion CFA franc fish market while we stay here. It doesn't make sense,” declared the fishmongers of the GIE And Suxxali Sunu Liggey, which represents the entire fishmongering community of Thiès-commune. They are urging the authorities to open the market as soon as possible to see if “the fishmongers will move to this new Diassap fish market or not.”

Sherif Sambou, technical advisor to the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy, assures that everything is ready. “From the project's conception to its completion, stakeholders have been at the heart of the market development process. Today, we are making the final adjustments. A team recently visited, tasked, among other things, with quality control. We are currently in this phase, before officially accepting the facility and proceeding with the inauguration.”

In Thiès, fishmongers welcome their involvement, which they say has earned them unity within their GIE, while awaiting the appointment of the director of the new fish market, the 5th of its kind in Senegal.