Traders count losses as fire guts Nyanza market

NYANZA – Traders whose properties were not insured were left devastated when a fire gutted their merchandise in Nyagisozi market in Nyanza District this week.“I lost everything, including goods and money. Even my identity card was lost in the fire. I do not know what the future holds,” a woman whose property was destroyed bemoaned.According to local authorities, property worth about Rwf19.8 million was destroyed by the fire.When The New Times visited the area, on Thursday, some of the shocked vendors were trying to re-roof their premises.It is suspected that the fire was accidentally started by a trader who was preparing food from his wooden kiosk on Tuesday. Sources told this paper that the man had petrol in his kiosk. They believe that could have ignited the fire.Local authorities identified the man, who went missing after the incident, as Herman Kanani. The fire broke out at around 7.30p.m, leaving at least six shops burnt to ashes while several others were partly damaged.Some traders claimed they had kept hard cash in their shops, implying that the money had also been destroyed.“We saw a huge cloud of smoke in the skies only to see that shops were burning like dry grass. Traders and residents tried in vain to save their property,” an eyewitness only identified as Kabutera said. Paulin Mutabaruka, the executive secretary of Nyagisozi sector, promised to explore possible ways of helping the traders who suffered losses.“We are considering various avenues to help those who were affected. We might assist them in securing loans, through the Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme [VUP], in order to help them restart their businesses,” he said.Nyanza District mayor, Abdallah Murenzi, urged traders to insure their properties against such incidents.

National

Traders count losses as fire guts Nyanza market