By Ernest Kpehe Moibah | Bomi County Correspondent
Tubmanburg, Bomi County-As Liberia’s economy continues to strain under the weight of inflation and limited job opportunities, the ripple effects are being felt in one of the country’s most vital sectors—the informal marketplace.
At the Joseph Town Market in Tubmanburg, market women say daily business has slowed to a crawl, leaving many of them struggling to feed their families and keep their small businesses afloat.
“We come here early in the morning and stay until late evening, but some days we don’t even sell 500 Liberian dollars,” lamented one vendor. “People are not buying like before — everyone is broke.”
‘We Are Only Surviving by Grace’
Assistant Superintendent for Development in Bomi County, Massa Neneh says the economic hardship has significantly reduced purchasing power among citizens, forcing market women into financial distress.
“Business transactions have been very slow,” Madam Neneh told reporters. “The market women are really feeling the pinch of the economy. Customers don’t have money to spend, and that means these women can’t sustain their families.”
She explained that many vendors depend solely on daily sales to buy food and send their children to school, but with falling sales, even those basic needs have become difficult to meet.
“We are calling on the government to create jobs for our young people,” Madam Neneh urged. “If the young people have work, they will have money to buy from the market, and the economy will start to move again.”
Vendors Call for Job Creation and Empowerment
Her call was echoed by several other market women who pleaded with the national government to create more employment opportunities for young men and women in Bomi County and across the country.
They believe that creating jobs and empowering small businesses could inject life into the local economy, giving people the means to buy food, clothes, and other goods sold in the markets.
“We are not lazy people,” said another vendor selling vegetables. “We just need our customers to have money. When they suffer, we suffer too.”
A Harsh Reality of Everyday Survival
The Joseph Town Market—once a bustling trading hub where women sold everything from palm oil and rice to charcoal and local produce—now reflects the grim reality of Liberia’s economic downturn.
Stalls are stocked, but buyers are few. Many vendors are resorting to small credit sales, hoping their customers will pay later, even as their own families go to bed hungry.
A Cry for Economic Revival
The plight of Tubmanburg’s market women mirrors a broader national challenge. Across Liberia, citizens continue to feel the effects of rising prices, limited income opportunities, and slow market activity.
“We are trying our best,” said Madam Neneh. “But the truth is, people are suffering. The government needs to do more to empower local businesses and create jobs. That is the only way things will improve.”
As the hardship deepens, the voices from Tubmanburg’s market, tired yet hopeful, echo a simple plea shared by many across the country: a chance to work, to earn, and to live with dignity.
