The President of the Maputo City Council, Eneas Comiche, ordered the dismissal of the administrator of the Chicken and Magumba Market (Fish Market), after in recent weeks the vendors demanded compensation for the transfer of the old market and were unhappy with the fees charged for the stalls in the new premises.

Eneas Comiche, explained, this Wednesday, that the space where the old Fish Market used to work, then called, "The Fight Continues", belongs to the city council and it can do whatever it wants. He also said that the market was informal.

"Regarding the destination of the space where the market 'The Fight Continues' once functioned, we understand that it belongs to the City Council and it was up to this institution to determine the destination to be given, either for public use or for a public-private partnership," Comiche reiterated.

In this regard, the mayor said there was no room for any kind of compensation for the people who carried on their business there.

"On the 17th of the current month, I received the vendors, listened to them and explained to them that there is no room for compensation," said Eneas Comiche.

The transfer of the "A Luta Continua" market occurred six years ago, and according to the "Carta de Moçambique", "the transfer of the vendors who carried out activities in that space required the improvement of working conditions, without compensation, in accordance with article 14, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Posture on Markets and Fairs".

This whole process, which did not include compensation as the workers claim, was conducted by the Ministry of Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries (MIMAIP), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in coordination with the Maputo Municipal Council (CMM).

The Municipal Police and the Police of the Republic of Mozambique prevented the march of the vendors of the Fish Market. They are frustrated also by the fees charged for the rent of the stalls that cost up to seven thousand meticais. "Even to do our biological needs we have to pay".