Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria has said his hawkers’ Bill will restore sanity in the sector and command respect for the vendors.
He said the private member’s Bill that is being drafted will incorporate the input of hawkers to ensure their interests are safeguarded. Wa Iria said he will hold a hawkers’ conference to provide a forum for them to air their views.
The Bill, the governor said, will also seek to have hawkers’ zones established in towns and along busy roads, where hawkers will freely sell their wares.
Wa Iria said hawking has employed millions of youths in the country, yet it is treated as an illegitimate trade.
“It is socially immoral for county governments to have a contingent of officers chasing after hawkers and confiscating their goods every day. It is not illegal to be a hawker,” he said on Friday in Gatanga.
Hawkers, Wa Iria said, pay more revenue than other traders since they are charged daily. “Hawkers pay an average of Sh50 daily, translating into Sh18,000 per year,” he said.
He said vendors suffer constant harassment and are treated in the most inhumane ways. Hawkers are arrested and charged in court daily, the governor said.
The Bill will also enable hawkers to join saccos to strengthen their trade and help them grow economically. “This will help them to get representation that will champion their cause and enable them to be recognised as legitimate traders,” Wa Iria said.
According to the governor, hawkers should be used as frontline marketers for locally produced goods and products. They should be able to attend trade fairs, he said.
link between producers, buyers
He said 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.
Wa Iria said 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.
Wa Iria said there are allegations that hawkers have in the past been killed by enforcement officers in Nairobi county.
“That’s why I’m drafting this Bill to legitimise the sector and end the insanity that has been witnessed before,” he said.
The governor asked lawmakers and county governments to support the Bill, saying it will also help create jobs for the youth.
Last week, Wa Iria
said the Bill will be tabled before the assembly in a month for debate and probably the other 46 counties will consider the idea and legislate “because we have hawkers and small traders across the nation”.
He said 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.