This week, the new public market "La Coupe" of Pétion ville, who had been partially destroyed by the earthquake of January 2010 and ravaged by fire in February 2011, has been inaugurated.

The reconstruction works of this new market, an area of 6,000 m2, have cost $230.000 and were funded by the U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Lors de la cérémonie, where were present, he municipal authorities and Kenneth H. Merten, the Ambassador of the United States in Port-au-Prince, Claire Lydie Parent, Mayor of Petion-Ville, welcomed the support of the Government and the American people who "will allow to the Town Hall to continue to implement its policy which consists to change the image of the commune [...] Our slogan: sidewalks for pedestrians, streets for cars and the markets for the merchants" has not changed, she advised, urging them to make a good use of the market.

For his part, the U.S. Ambassador, said that his country "had a great pleasure to help the Haitian people notably through the financing of projects to improve the quality of life. [...] This is a good example of what the American people and the Haitian people can do together", welcomed Kenneth Merten, who also called on merchants to use the market in the right way, by reminding them that when they display their products on the sidewalk, they are at risk of traffic accidents, often fatal

If some merchants have welcomed this initiative, others believe that same with this new market in case of fire, firefighters will not have means to make a rapid response, they also criticize the size of the market that they consider insufficient to enable them to successfully sell their goods... "The merchants are like in a hole and not visible enough"...

BF/ HaitiLibre