Loading outside the park: A practice that continues in Kandi

Since the advent of decentralization, there's a tough-skinned practice in Kandi town. This is loading outside the park. This incivility is not without consequences for the populations and the municipal administration of the city of Kandi.

Loading outside the park is the cause of many cases of traffic accidents in Kandi. Furthermore, this phenomenon hinders the mobilization of resources for the proper functioning of municipal administration.. And it was with the aim of putting an end to this practice that a crackdown was announced by the mayor. This decision was taken during a bipartisan meeting between union officials of urban taxi drivers and municipal authorities on 18 May 2021.

Indeed, It emerged from this meeting that to regulate loading outside the park within the city of Kandi, five (05) points were identified by mutual agreement with those responsible and also the sale of tickets made by the town hall. “We will take all measures for rigorous monitoring of the provisions in order to put an end to this bad practice with the collaboration of the populations” declared Wahabou Seidou first deputy to the Mayor of Kandi representing the municipal authority during this session. Taking the ball, union officials very early on held awareness sessions for their union members, history of changing the situation.

Unfortunately it did not bear fruit. Proof, this practice still continues in the commune of Kandi and is taking on an appearance of no return. “Loading outside the park affects us who go to the loading points. Because those who do not surrender considerably lower prices, hence our misfortune”, suggested Y. Razak, Taxi driver. “This is what causes us to lack customers in our parks most of the time”, adds G. Gabriel, union member. Jacques, teacher,  believes that it is always better to take a taxi to the parks “I once forgot one of my packages during my travels. But from my return to the park, I found it. This is proof that taking a taxi in our parks ensures the safety of our luggage and our goods”, he underlines while inviting stakeholders to comply with the new provisions. Mamoudou, very upset, denounces the delay in the town hall in starting to repress. “The town hall has made tickets available to us for a very long time but the repression is still slow to start” he laments.  All eyes are now on the town hall for an effective start of repression in order to bring this decade-old phenomenon into the past in the capital of the Alibori department., Kandi.

Bachir ISSA