PAYNESVILLE, Montserrado – Early morning shoppers in Paynesville were frustrated on Wednesday when business owners shut down their stores for several hours and staged a peaceful protest at the National Legislature on Capitol Hill.

At the popular Red Light Market, stores remained closed up to midday on Tuesday as consumers were seen sitting around the shops waiting for their reopening.

Beatrice Wesseh, a regular shopper, informed The Bush Chicken that it was sad and very surprising for all stores to close at a time when she urgently needed to buy goods.

“I am on my way to Ganta, and my stay here up to midday will cause a serious problem for me,” Wesseh said. “I have a cheaper car that is carrying me so if I don’t go; it means I have to pay extra money for my goods.”

Wesseh comes to Monrovia every Monday to buy locally manufactured alcoholic drinks on Tuesdays before returning to Ganta to sell them. However, this time, she had to face the worst case scenario by allowing the cheaper car to go without her goods.

“I always buy more drinks from RITCO around eight in the morning and try to leave by ten but it’s too embarrassing for me today to stay here and don’t even know when they (store owners) will open,” Wesseh said.

At the Capitol building in Monrovia, business owners under the banner of Paynesville Business Association, Inc  filed a petition to George Weah, the Montserrado County senator, requesting the intervention of the National Legislature in the saga.

According to the petition filed by members of the Association, the Paynesville City Corporation has allegedly been continually harkening municipal taxes without regard to the economic status of their businesses.

The petitions read: “The City Corporation has ignored that they are not the only government agencies that we pay taxes to. Despite us paying huge amount for garbage fees, the Paynesville City Corporation (PCC), they empower Communities Based Enterprises (CBE) to collect money from us on a weekly basis, ranging from L$100.00 per week to L$200.00 to collect our dirt.”

The petitioners noted that the PCC has been unnecessarily fining businesses without regard to the city’s ordinances. They say that the PCC sometimes closed these businesses without due process.

The shutdown of several stores in Paynesville paralyzed economic activities Tuesday as consumers, especially retailers, could not get their goods in time.

Contacted via mobile phone, PCC declined further comments on the matter, noting that it has clarified the issue on radio talk shows in Monrovia.

Featured image courtesy of Flickr’s ladybugblue