Street vending: Has City of Kigali relented on banning hawkers?

In July this year, city officials issued stringent regulations that were meant to curb street vending. Among these regulations was a directive to fine street vendors and buyers Rwf10,000 each. The vendors, locally known as “Abazunguzayi” were ordered to relocate to established markets with officials citing poor sanitation, accidents, being some of the problems caused street vending. Vendors however, have been reluctant to leave the streets with various excuses including lack of financial capacity, few customers in the markets, among others. The call on street vendors to leave the street seems to have fallen on deaf ears because street vending is still on the go and vendors are found all around the city, selling clothes, fruits and vegetables, among other products. The crackdown on street vendors is characterized by cat-and-mouse games between them and DASSO or Irondo agents. Thus, street vendors often have no stable selling points but wander to avoid arrest or confiscation of their products. A shop of bags in dowtown. Legitimate vendors decry lack of customers due to street vending. / Steven Muvunyi They show no readiness to adopt the directive and some of them have vowed that they will not stop the practice. According to Mugenzi, a street vendor, they cannot stop something they earn a living from. “I worked in those markets but spent the whole day without a single customer. Then I decided to go back on the street and this is my source of income and my life depends on this. So I cannot leave it,” he said. “We will never go in those markets because we don’t have anything to take there. Look, I am selling one wallet and a belt. How will I go to a selling point with such simple objects? How will my kids survive? But here, I can sell anything,” added Claude Rukundo, another vendor. Vendors said that constructing markets is not enough and suggest that the government should do ‘publicity’. Street vendors in downtown. / Steven Muvunyi “When you operate in that market, you may get customers like twice a week! You cannot take there simple and few products. That’s why we refuse to go in those markets. “They should construct markets but also do publicise and mobilize people to go there,” said a woman who preferred anonymity. Buyers also have little willingness to stay clear of street products. “The problem is not with us, but with vendors. If they take them out of the street, we will go in markets. But if I can find a product nearer, there is no point going far,” said a man only identified as Damascène. However, some buyers don’t buy items on the street which, they say, are substandard. A woman selling tomatoes on the street in Kinamba. / Steven Muvunyi “I never buy clothes on the street because most of them are deceptive. You may buy trousers that look good and brand new, arriving home, you only find it too old and almost torn because you got it in the dark,” said Thassien Habineza, a Kigali resident. Despite hindrances to ending street vending, city officials believe the problem will end. Bruno Rangira, City of Kigali PRO said getting street vendors off the street is a process and that hawking in Kigali will soon end. “In the 2014/2015 financial year, vendors were given startup money but most of them put the money to wrong use. So we decided to support them in other ways like getting them a work station which they can use for a year without paying for it,” he said. According to Rangira, 12 markets to accommodate street vendors have been constructed across the city. A woman carrying fruits on the street. / Steven Muvunyi “They will be accommodated in those new markets and the rest will be integrated in existing markets. More than 5000 former street vendors have been accommodated in such markets. Ending street vending is a process. We are encouraging vendors to form cooperatives and work together. This helps vendors with few commodities to put together their stuffs and work. Some of them have already started. We are working with all stakeholders to deal with the issue and we follow them up regularly to find a sustainable solution,” he said adding that street vendors do not pay taxes while those in markets pay and this affects legitimate businesses.” Rangira added that the products sold on the street are often smuggled or stolen. Buyers are also robbed, among other risks. He, therefore, calls on people to avoid selling or buying items off the street. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Street vending: Has City of Kigali relented on banning hawkers?