Kenya needs a solution for small traders

by Laibuta Ole Kai Kai on Thursday, 07 October 2010 at 08:41

Kenya needs to support and protect the rights of small-scale urban traders if it is to address the glaring inequality and poverty in the country. Small-scale trading, such as hawkers and roadside stalls/kiosks, contributes about 18 percent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and supports 77 percent of the Kenyan urban workforce, yet is routinely failed by local councils who do not provide basic services and harass and solicit bribes from traders. I do not want to use the stereotype term "hawkers"

"Small traders have become gardens for local authorities to harvest money, harass, arrest and violently evict. Their business sheds are demolished without notice, theri goods looted or confiscated and never returned," .
Nearly one in five traders (18 percent) have experienced harassment or violence from city council officials and askaris, while 13 percent have at some point been evicted by the council. 11 percent have had goods confiscated, with half of the goods never returned.
Over half of traders do not pay the official licence fees to the city council, which at Ksh 25 per day can amount to more than a quarter of their weekly profit. One in four traders surveyed earn less than Ksh 500 ($7) per week. A third have experienced harassment when seeking licences and have been charged up to double the official price.
"While the licence fee is a legal requirement, the council should remember that it has a duty to provide basic services in return. Access to water, electricity and garbage collection affects how efficiently small businesses can be run. Yet most traders have to pay large amounts of their meagre income to private vendors because these services are not provided by the city,"
While nearly two thirds of the traders now have access to water, an overwhelming 93 percent of those get it privately. The city council provides water to just four percent of the traders. Less than half of traders have access to electricity, and the vast majority who do (81 percent) obtain it through dangerous illegal connections due to the lack of council supply.
The government must  ensure traders’ rights enshrined in the new constitution are respected, and to implement supportive policies such as creating permanent trading spaces, reducing licence fees, recognising traders’ associations, improving access to small loans and credit schemes, and clamping down on harassment. Most people from experience belive that the Kenyan government is not supportive of small traders.
Thir is need to  inform traders about their rights and legal processes, by engaging with local authorities and coordinating traders’ associations. about Three quarters of traders are not aware of their rights, and the majority do not understand and have not been informed about council regulations and court procedures. With over 100 different traders’ associations operating across Nairobi and council officials interpreting laws differently in various locations, there is a need for much greater coordination and information.
"There is need  to help dialogue between poor traders and the city council, so that both understand each other better. At the moment authorities see traders as a nuisance to ignore or exploit, while traders see officials as a source of harassment to be avoided wherever possible,"
Mistrust of authorities is apparent, few ever report rights violations and harassment, and even those few very rarely to the police. Corruption continues to be a major concern, with many having at some point bribed a council official or police. Most paid bribes in order to avoid arrest and continue trading.
The Kenya government and local councils must find a viable solution for local traders.