More than 50 restaurants located along Bujumbura City Market commonly known as ‘Chez Sion’ were closed in the morning of July 17. Restaurant owners have implemented the decision of the Bujumbura Mayor to close restaurants and bar that neither have drinking water nor toilets.
Closed restaurants along Bujumbura City Market
“We have not opened restaurants this morning. The Mayor of Bujumbura City had asked us to temporarily close them because they do not meet hygiene standards,” says Elie Ndikumana, an owner of one of the closed restaurants adding that he and his colleagues had already started to clean up the places around those restaurants.
Mr Ndikumana believes that the owners of the closed restaurants do not have sufficient means to meet hygiene standards required by the Mayor of Bujumbura. “We will do our best but will not be able to install toilets and taps inside restaurants,” he says.
Freddy Mbonimpa, Mayor of Bujumbura City alongside the Bujumbura municipal doctor decided to temporarily close restaurants and bars of the town lacking water and toilets. The decision was made during an inspection visit conducted on July 16 in various areas of Bujumbura.
Mr Mbonimpa said the visit was organized within the framework of reducing cholera epidemic that has already affected more than 80 people in Bujumbura since June 5.
Silas Habimana, the head of village market in which these restaurants are located says that restaurant owners are working hard to clean the village so that the mayor lifts this measure. “Many families earn a living thanks to these restaurants. The owners of the closed restaurant need to resume their activities as soon as possible,” says Habimana.
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