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How hawking in the city could be enhanced By Jimnah Mbaru This Sunday, let us start by commending the Minister for Local Government, Emmanuel Karisa Maitha and the Nairobi City Council for undertaking to register hawkers operating within the Nairobi Central Business District and its environs. Thanks to this new approach in management of small businesses in the city, we now know that, officially, there are 16,000 hawkers, or in other words, small business ventures operating in the city centre. Hawking is serious business This figure interpreted means that hawkers form one of the largest groups of people doing business in the city. Considered collectively, their turn over would be well beyond Kshs 5 million a day. At 16,000, hawking is definitely an important employment option that has been thriving in an under performing economy. This has been going on with little or no support from the Government and it is hoped that registration of hawkers will be inclined towards sorting out the mess in the industry in various other ways. Consider that should each one of the registered hawkers employ three employees, we would be talking of 48,000 people in self employment, a figure that could go a long way in meeting the figure of 500,000 jobs as pledged by during the campaigns. This is important statistics that will help economists, city planners, the central Government and other stakeholders, to not only understand the role hawkers play in the economy of the city, but also help in lending order to the way small businesses operate in the city. Registration should be continuous A word of caution though. It is important for city planners to know that the number of hawkers will continue to grow in the coming days. For instance, the number of hawkers in the city will have grown beyond the current figure of 16,000 at this time next year. Using the same logic will yield the fact that at this time last year, there were fewer hawkers than there are today. As such, a mechanism needs to be put in place for the continued registration of Kenyans who wish to join hawking business in the coming days. Such a mechanism would help forecast and make annual projections on the dynamism in the sector. It needs no belabouring the fact that hawking is an outlet for school leavers who cannot get formal employment. Secondly, there have been complaints that some of the hawkers were not registered for one reason or another. To encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship in the city as means of increasing income generating activities, the ideal situation would be to operate with a policy that does not discriminate against hawkers who want to join the informal sector or those who may have been pushed out of business for one reason or another and wish to make a comeback. In this respect, need arises for the continued registration for all traders who wish to join the sector. Utilising potential hawking spaces Attendant to the registration of hawkers in the city has been allocation of designated areas, mainly alleys and back streets for trading purposes by hawkers and traders. This is a move in the right direction. However, this idea could benefit from further value adding. Since security is paramount in promoting hawking in the city, it would be important were the City Council to legislate a by law to ensure landlords have their buildings lit both in front, sideways and at the back at night. This would serve to attract customers to the alleys and back streets while at the same time encouraging hawkers to display their wares in these places without fear of falling prey to criminals. Also, need arises for city planners to consider erecting stalls, stands and sheds which would be utilised by the hawkers as is the case in the cities like Mexico. The Government and the City Council could move a step further creating more hawking business in main streets during weekends and during certain times when traffic flow on the said streets is low. For instance, the part of Moi Avenue between the Kenyatta Avenue intersection and Khoja Mosque could be closed to traffic on Sundays allowing trading there. On Saturday afternoons, Biashara and Muindi Bingu Streets could also be closed to traffic such that potential customers have access to hawkers. Luthuli Avenue could be entirely closed and designated a hawking street. Such a move would be beneficial in that on days and times when the motor vehicle traffic is lowest, hawkers and their customers would be able to interact freely, utilising city facilities that would otherwise be idle. In the due, the closure of streets to motor vehicle traffic during weekends and off peak hours would become a permanent feature in the city, attracting customers and increasing the volume of trade and cash flow, a cardinal rule in economic vibrancy. Another suggestion we would make is that many streets are virtually devoid of traffic at night. By improving street lighting and putting in place other security measures such as friendly policing, such streets would experience 24-hour trading phenomena, as is the case in other world-class cities. In the long run, the Government should focus on developing alternative spaces for hawker businesses in the city. We have in the past suggested the creation of trading space atop the Nairobi River and the relocation of the Nairobi Railways Station as just such creative ideas that could open up space for hawking. A handicap associated with hawking has been that it congests the city and creating such trading spaces would be a step in the right direction in decongesting the city. Hawking can be clean business Concerns have been raised that hawking piles up dirt and waste matter in the city and therefore has a negative influence on cleanliness. Here, we would propose that as in other cities like London, need arises for undertaking cleaning services at night say from Midnight to dawn. For the cleaning to be even effective and efficient, the city council should consider investing in vacuum cleaning machines and vehicles. This machine would do the job better and faster such that in the mornings, Nairobians and visitors coming into the central business district will find the city spruced up, quite a boost in improving the environment within which business and pleasure can thrive. In addition, a campaign could be undertaken where hawkers are made to understand their responsibilities and the ethics that go with their sort of business. As a result they would be motivated to dispose of litter in bins and other refuse facilities provided by the council and other stakeholders. As it is, blaming hawkers for all the rubbish pile up clogging the city is addressing half the problem, as there are very scarce, and in other cases no refuse dumping facilities. Other residents of the city could also be enjoined in the campaign to 'Keep Nairobi Clean' by dumping refuse in the right places. The benefits of hawker friendly policies Putting in place such hawker friendly policies and implementing them would help create about 200,000 jobs annually. This figure is arrived at by putting into consideration the fact that as conditions for hawking business improve, more traders will join the business while the already existing hawkers will become more profitable and employ more people. We have mentioned above that hawking probably accounts of volume of business averaging Kshs 5 million a day. We have also argued that hawking is a means through which the Government could raise indirect jobs. With such a turnover, hawking is without doubt a major contributor to taxes, a means of revenue collection by the Government. Creating capital for hawking Beyond registering the hawkers, need arises for the Government to work together on a plan to facilitate access to credit facilities by Hawkers at easy terms without the undue demands to have collateral. The micro finance sector is able to offer loans in this manner without demanding tangible assets as collateral. As it is the hawkers have to make do with meagre investment resources that are not sufficient enough for business development. Also much as the hawkers have the instincts and acumen for trade, they would benefit from training in as such areas as credit acquisition, basic bookkeeping and accounting practices and simple banking procedures. With the implementation of such ideas, we would soon see a number of hawkers graduate from the streets and join the middle class business sector. Indeed a number of retail and wholesale shop owners will attest to the fact that their business graduated from hawking business. Letting all persons intent on hawking would serve to entrench an entrepreneurial spirit in the city with positive implication for economic growth in this and employment generation in this new era. Let Kenyans trade! The writer is the Chairman
of Dyer and Blair Ltd., a stock broking company, a member of the
Nairobi Stock Exchange. E-mail address: mbaru@dyer.africaonline.co.ke
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