Some operate from fixed premises in small kiosks, others are mobile vendors such as wheelbarrow men. It’s a common phenomenon that any city dweller or anyone passing through city centres has to buy at least a drink, fruits, a pair of shoes, or a piece of cloth from a street vendor.
We cannot thus undervalue the contribution of street vendors to Uganda’s economy particularly their vital role towards employment and income generation, growth of the informal sector, as well as the vibrancy of the city. Besides, they also contribute to local government revenue in form of licenses and rates to local authorities. What is a city without people?
Over the years, street vendors mainly in Kampala city have been considered ill-mannered, less important, attached to poor sanitation, disorderly, and at times associated with criminality within the city.
It is presumed that some gangs disguise as street vendors only to end up committing social evils such as theft. The lack of clear policy guidelines on the management and control of street vendors could be one of the factors behind the inhuman nature in which vendors are evicted from streets particularly in Kampala.
The Local Government Act (1997) does not provide guidelines or framework within which street vendors should operate. The Kampala Capital City Act (2010) provides for village urban councils and street committees whose role does not define how they will manage street vendors.
Under the Third Schedule of the Act, one of the functions and services of KCCA is to prohibit, restrict, regulate, or license the sale or hawking of wares or the erection of stalls on any street, or the use of any part of the street or public place for the purpose of carrying on any trade, business, or profession.
However, the by-laws on this have not been provided or if they exist, they have not been popularized by Kampala city authorities. The failure to provide clear policy guidelines on the management of street vendors will imply perpetual fights between the city enforcement teams and the street vendors.
Needless to say, many vendors are injured during forceful evictions and arrests, some die, and their little property is lost in the process. In countries like India, Argentina, UK, USA, Philippines, Thailand, and Brazil, there are clear national policy guidelines and ordinances on street vending.
That way, street vendors are not treated as ‘problems’ but partners for development. This further reduces their vulnerability to mistreatment by law enforcement teams. In Kampala city, street vending provides employment and livelihood to a myriad of single mothers, teenage mothers, orphans, internally displaced persons (IDPs), rural-urban migrants especially those from Karamoja region, and the urban poor in general.
Oftentimes, street vendors have sought support and rescue from politicians who sympathize with them but with less policy advocacy. Political office bearers have tended to be reactive and responsive to cases of street vendor evictions and mistreatments with minimal concrete advocacy towards policy reforms.
Going forward, Uganda needs a national street vendors’ policy to protect the rights and economic freedoms of street vendors. These should not be limited to by-laws within Kampala city, but also across all cities such as Masaka, Mbale, Mbarara, etc, town councils, and municipalities in Uganda.
The policy should prevent any form of bribery and extortion from vendors, mistreatment, and define how vendors will be managed. Where zoning of street vendor locations is proposed, the policymakers should adopt a Participatory Action Research (PAR) or survey approach to consult potential victims before they are relocated to new vending places.
The underlying assumption proven by studies is that vendors are at times relocated to locations that are unfavourable to them and their customers which eventually ruins their would-be income and ultimately adversely affecting their economic freedom.
It is time for Uganda to adopt a national street vendors’ policy to prevent future cases of vendor mistreatment and promoting street vending as a business model within the law.
The author is a researcher at Gateway Research Centre Uganda
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