More pain is looming for small-scale traders ( hawkers) in Nairobi as City Hall plans to increase hawking charges.
Hawkers will have to part with Sh50 daily to be allowed to hawk within the county. Initially, the charges were Sh20
This is highlighted in the proposed Nairobi City County Finance Bill, 2023 which is before Nairobi County Assembly.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration aims at increasing revenue collection for the city.
As early as 7 am, hawkers camp brazenly along various streets, lanes and avenues within the Central Business District blocking roads and pavements, crowding out pedestrians, contributing to garbage menace and blocking business entrances denying business to legitimate traders.
Along Latema and River roads, the hawkers are stationed from mid-morning to evening, always alert to impending sweeps by enforcement officers.
It's always a cat-and-mouse game along Ronald Ngala and Mfangano streets between the hawkers and enforcement officers.
Tom Mboya Street has also been converted into a hawking zone as some hawkers allegedly steal, pickpocket and commit other crimes.
Still, a lot of people buy from hawkers. Over the years, these 'CBD owners' have proved they cannot be evicted or persuaded to move, despite vigorous attempts by successive county governments. Heavy-handed roundups don't work. They just surge back.
However, Sakaja plans to make the impossible, possible by relocating the hawkers from uptown.
This will not only reduce congestion from the pavements and streets but also give them a specific place to operate from.
In his Sh42.3 billion budget which was passed by Nairobi MCAs last week, Sh100 million was allocated for the relocation of informal traders (hawkers) from the main streets.
In his manifesto, Sakaja said his administration would not chase hawkers from their bases of operations but instead allocate them places to operate from.
Sakaja already constituted a multi-sectoral team working to find alternative areas for hawkers so that the CBD decongestion plans do not unnecessarily disrupt their businesses.
The team has already inspected various lanes in the lower CBD and has started demarcation works, as well as clearing dirt in the areas to make them habitable for trade.
Various lanes, including Turkana, have already been painted, ready for hawkers to be allocated spaces.
“We did public participation with the hawkers and the leadership in CBD, we have marked 29 streets and back lanes that we are already preparing, Dubois road is the first one which will be the model street,” he said.
Other areas earmarked for paint works include Sotik, Posta and Kirinyaga.
At least 6,000 hawkers have registered with the county.
