Sakaja in fresh attempt to relocate hawkers from CBD streets
Nairobi City County Government has made a fresh attempt to hawkers in the Central Business District (CBD) to the backstreets and lanes in order to reduce congestion on the major streets.
A notice by the County Secretary Godfrey Akumali indicated that the hawkers shall be allowed to operate in the designated backstreet lanes along Kirinyaga Road and Tom Mboya Street between 4 pm to 10 pm from Monday to Saturday.
The CS said the hawkers shall not be allowed along Moi Avenue, Haile Selassie Avenue, Latema Road, Ronald Ngala Street, Mfangano Street, Kenneth Matiba Road, Hakati Road, and River Road.
“Nairobi City County government hereby notifies the hawkers within the Nairobi CBD that hawking merchandise shall only be allowed in the backstreet and lanes from 4 pm to 10 pm from Monday to Saturday. The designated backstreets are within Tom Mboya and Kirinyaga Road,” Akumali said in the notice.
Akumali stated that the walkways are strictly to be used by pedestrians and not by hawkers.
The county secretary made it clear that those found contravening the set restrictions would be prosecuted as stipulated by the Nairobi City County Government by-laws.
The move comes at a time the number of hawkers across the city has almost tripled.
It is always a struggle for survival of the fittest between the hawkers, matatus, pedestrians, and shop owners.
Last year, members of the city’s county assembly (MCAs) passed a motion directing the Nairobi County government to relocate street traders to designated backstreets and regulated pop-up markets.
The motion, moved by Umoja 1 MCA and Minority Whip Mark Mugambi, tasked the county executive under Governor Johnson Sakaja to allocate designated market zones and register hawkers.
This motion was built on the Nairobi City County Pop-Up Markets and Street Vending Act of 2019, a law created to regulate hawkers in Nairobi but has yet to be fully implemented.
“As a capital city, for a long time, we have failed to ensure that the vendors are regulated. We want to ensure that they operate within a regulated environment and that there can be mobility within our city,” Mugambi said.
Under the 2019 Act, all street vendors must secure a license from the county government.
The law also calls for a database of vendors, tracking their locations, contact information, and types of goods sold.
Governor Sakaja’s attempts to move hawkers to designated backstreets in 2023 faced pushback from traders who cited poor conditions in these areas.
In response to these criticisms, the county set aside Sh100 million to improve trading conditions in the designated backstreet locations, including shade structures and other necessary upgrades.
However, the 100 million project failed after the county failed to take into consideration the number of hawkers as the structures did not fit their number.
“We did not take into account the number of hawkers in the CBD when we started the project. We built the structures, but we realized that their number was huge. You cannot move some of the hawkers to the back lanes and leave others on the streets. It was a big failure for us, but we have learned our lesson.” County Executive Committee Member for Finance Charles Kerich previously stated.
The Informer Media Group contacted Akumali for clarification on whether the executive had consulted with the hawkers and if they were going to build more stalls on the backstreets.
By the time of publishing this story, the CS had not responded to our queries.
