Hawkers to Have Vending Zones Following Senate Proposal

Hawkers countrywide could soon have a sigh of relief if the new proposal to assign them special vending zones in all 47 counties is passed by the senate.

The itinerant traders have been having it hard as most county officers have strived to drive them out of towns in efforts to keep the towns clean and reduce human congestion.

The new proposal, dubbed as The Street Vendors Bill 2019, seeks to protect the livelihoods of the street vendors through the construction of vending centers in every county.

The proposed law suggests that each county will have to come up with a street vending zone plan and submit it to the county assembly for approval.

In the plan, the data of every street vendor and potential operational areas within the county should be well outlined.

“A county executive committee member may designate a specific street, building or zone to be a vending zone for a specified period not exceeding five days,” read the bill.

Counties will be divided into three zones namely; restriction-free vending zones restricted vending zones and no-vending zones. All these zones will be managed by the County Executive Committee (CEC) member in charge of county trading activities.

Every county shall be responsible for constructing temporary markets for the hawkers, installing essential facilities to ensure tidiness.

CEC shall register valid vendors within the county and award each with a license. The awarded license shall have details such as; the name of the applicant, type of license, vending location, contact details of the applicant, type of goods or services to be sold, time and date of vending activities, type and registration number of vehicle and any other important detail prescribed by the county government.

Hawkers will be under their respective counties and whenever they breach the terms of the contract, the county might withdraw or refuse to renew the license.

“A stationary street vendor shall not sublet, transfer, assign or otherwise alienate any vending space, stall or property allocated to them under this Act,” states the bill proposed by the Kirinyaga Senator Charles Kibiru.

The trade Cabinet Secretary shall be charged with the responsibility of setting up a street vendors unit that will be in charge of business and registration fees.

“The unit will liaise with relevant bodies responsible for planning and infrastructure for the proper planning and design of street vending zones within major infrastructure areas in the country. It will also collect and utilize data relating to street vending for planning and efficient management of the vendors,” says the senator in the bill.

This bill will help reduce human congestion in urban centers and enhance cleanliness and easy monitoring of hawking activities.

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