Details of what Wa Iria’s Bill on hawkers says.
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| Hawkers displaying their wares along the pavements of Commercial Street Thika, right outside regular shops. |
The Hawkers and Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and
Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2018 aims at
providing a legal framework for recognition, protection and regulation of
hawkers and street vendors in all counties as primary pillars of economic and
social development by putting in place an identification mechanism and minimum
standards of operation.
It also aims at providing hawkers with a conducive
and scare-free atmosphere to carry out their business without fear or
harassment, eviction or extortion either from police or government officials.
It also proposes to compel county governments to give
hawkers a 30-day notice before evicting them.
The Bill, among other things, also plans to structure the
hawking business into cooperatives and create a national regulatory Authority
to manage the trade. It also proposes trade zones in addition to setting up of
specific times that hawkers will be allowed to conduct business in cities and
major towns besides training for the traders.
Licensed hawker.
Hawkers will have to apply and acquire a registration
certificate from the agency, which will allow them to apply for a licence from
their respective county governments.
“A person designated by the authority shall be the registrar
for the purpose of registering all hawkers and street vendors operating in Kenya,”
states the bill.
Speaking in a media briefing a day after handing over the
Bill to Senate Speaker Ken Lusaka, Wa Iria, who is the Bill’s sponsor, wondered why
the government still treats street vendors and hawkers as criminals yet they
form a vital cohort in the country’s economy. He said that hawkers must be
recognised as economic facilitators in Kenya, pointing out that in developed
countries, hawking has been structured and it has yielded success.
“They (hawkers) contribute over Sh3.6 trillion annually to
our country’s economy, but they are treated as criminals and it is time we stop
criminalising the informal sector,” said the governor.
According to the governor, hawkers should be used as
frontline marketers for locally produced goods and products and should be able
to attend trade fairs. He added that
Chinese companies take advantage of local hawkers and use them to sell their
electronic wares. The money in the long-run goes back to help develop China’s
economy.
“Hawkers are the link between producers and buyers and
should be respected and empowered. They should be provided with uniforms and
badges for easy identification. The errant ones should be disciplined through
their saccos,” the governor said.
“That’s why I’m drafting this Bill to legitimise the sector
and end the insanity that has been witnessed before,” he added.
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| Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria, Senate Speaker Ken Lusaka and MMC Africa Law Team Leader Edward Muriu after presenting the Hawkers and Street Vendors Bill (2018). |
Designated spaces and
times.
He noted that the Bill will also help improve the
relationship between traders who own supermarkets, shops and stalls and the
hawkers.
“Hawkers have no assigned places to sell their wares. They
come and occupy the space outside the entrances of various shops and sell the
items sold in these very premises. We will address this in the Bill,” Wa Iria
said.
The governor asked lawmakers and county governments to
support the Bill, saying it will also help create jobs for the youth.
“It will also settle the discontent of hawkers when it comes
to the prescribed fees and charges that they pay which they have often
complained are arbitrary,” Edward Muriu, the team leader of MMC Africa Law,
said.
From next week, the governor said, they will start engaging hawkers across the counties and other important stakeholders, including those from academia, to get views from them aimed at finding a lasting solution to the issue.
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