Bamenda, dumping grounds for second hand clothes

The Bamenda population is switching from readymade goods, commonly called ‘Chinese’, to fairly used ones known as ‘okrika’ and the business is booming.

But the okrika or secondhand goods; clothes including under wears, shoes and mattresses, kitchen utensils and so on are becoming environmental and health hazards after they have been used.

After using ‘okrika’, Cameroonians in this part of the country discard them in trash cans that are later emptied into streams around. The cause of floods in town has been attributed to the fairly-used clothes and other items. The use of these secondhand items, medics have revealed, lead to health hazards like scabies or general skin diseases, especially when not well disinfected.

The secondhand products, shipped from European and Asian countries to Cameroon, used to be appreciated by the public, but now seems to have stirred the Bamenda public to go in for them more than ever, abandoning readymade goods.

Séverin Kaipa, a dealer in fairly-used goods told The Post that he prefers selling secondhand goods, because, many customers like to buy goods that are unique, rather than readymade goods, which are common. The prices of the secondhand products he sells range from FCFA2, 000 to FCFA 5, 000.

Another dealer in secondhand articles, Obina Che, told The Post that he prefers selling ‘okrika’ shoes’ since they are well made and last longer. He added that customers pay well for them and, so, he makes a lot of profit. At the end of the day, he continued, he goes back home with not less than FCFA 200,000 as profit.

He remarked that customers often buy the secondhand shoes during festive periods and during the back-to-school period.

Dorothy Monju, a consumer of secondhand products said she prefers those from Europe.

“I love to buy fairly-used goods for my kids and even for myself because they are affordable, solid and last longer. The only disadvantage is that they can cause fungi infections such as “jetti-jetti”, if not properly washed before use; but, still, I prefer them to readymade which fade away during usage and are very expensive for no good reason.

Contrary to these views, a readymade trader, Mbah, said his goods are of different categories and prices, so, the customer cannot pay for a cheap good and expect to get a quality product. Mbah said he started the business as a secondhand product dealer but later diverted to readymade goods because of the low profit he used to make from ‘okrika’.

Another readymade dealer who owns a shop, Amstrong Kum, observed that he hasn’t as many customers as before, attributing the slump in business to poverty. He said he imports his goods from Italy, Austria, and China, reason why they are expensive.