Bylaws avenues of harassment, hawkers say

Street vendors across counties have told senators to abolish all existing bylaws.

The vendors who spoke on Tuesday during the public participation of the Street Vendors Bill 2019 said the bylaws are outdated and used by the inspectorate officers to harass them.

Elias Mwangi, a CBD street vendor at Accra Road, said the bylaws are not recognised by the county government. 

Nairobi city bylaws state that each person engaging in hawking must have a badge and wear it at a conspicuous place.

"Despite even the traders owning badges and producing them to county government officers, they still fail to recognise and acknowledge them and we end up being arrested and fined," Mwangi said.

The Senate’s Trade and Tourism committee led by its chairman Charles Kibiro also heard that continuous harassment by the askaris has disrupted their mode of operation.

"We get arrested and taken to City Hall. Once we pay fines, we are released but our items are not returned to us which is a double loss," another vendor said.

County governments were also faulted for not including the vendors during public participation. 

Veronica Ngugi, a trader from OTC, said they are not included when the county government is making laws that affect them.

"It is best that county governments include all stakeholders in the public participation to get our views too," she said. 

A vendor from Nyeri county said, "We contribute a lot to the economy but we are not involved in the law-making process." 

The Kenya National and Highway Authority was mentioned to have been oppressing the street vendors at Githurai Market. 

The market's chairman Edwin Kairo said the authority has disrupted the peace of traders every July once the budget is passed by the National Assembly. 

“After elections and once the government allocates money to Kenha, the officers come on the ground and chase vendors away despite us being allowed to trade but the county government,” he said. 

The street vendors were, however, okay with relocation but asked the government to officially allocate a market from where they can be allowed to conduct their businesses. 

Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria, who sponsored the bill and was in attendance, said If it is passed, it will also help more people familiarise themselves with the street vending business. 

"People will be attracted to this business because of its structure. By passing this bill, you will not only be creating employment for many youths but also generate more revenue for all the 47 counties," Wa Iria said. 

The committee’s chairman Kirinyaga Senator Kibiru said they are dedicated to finding a solution for the street vendors. 

"We shall look further into the bill and highlight our findings," he said. 

The Street Vendors Bill 2019 seeks to establish a framework to regulate street vending. It is aimed at protecting the livelihoods of the itinerant traders at a time most county governments are intent on driving them out of town.

According to the proposed law, each county government shall come up with a street vending zone plan and submit it to the county assembly for approval.

Trade executives will be responsible for the registration of validly licensed vendors in their respective counties.

Counties will also have the power to renew any vending license.

They may also decline to renew or suspend a license for not more than 12 months if a vendor is in breach of any provisions of the proposed legislation.

Edited by R.Wamochie