The Australian funded Lorengau Market is perhaps one of the best in the country. Manusians have been complaining the whole year though as to why the opening was delayed.
However, after its opening on the 25th of August this year, it is still not being fully used and most of the marketers are still using the temporary sites.
A concerned Manusian, Renih Hawaii Moat, attracted a lot of support as well as criticism for blaming the authorities for charging high bench fees.
"It belongs to the people of Manus, a gift for the people, so we have the right to question why high fees were charged, resulting in those empty benches,’’ he said.
A frequent market lady, Theresa Paul, when interviewed said the rumours that there were gate fees as well was not true, however she agreed the bench fees were too high for ordinary market women.
"If you have to sell your produce over a week, 30% of your income ends up as market fees. It's only K3 per segmented space but extending that to a week can cut into one's income. At the moment, the market is still quite empty so perhaps they should reconsider the fees,” she said.