At least 200 hawkers and outdoor traders based in Lamu Old Town have voiced their dismay over the Lamu Municipality’s move to evict them from working within the streets of Amu Island.
The move the hawkers have stated, will destabilize their business operations, with some stating that they have occupied some spots for more than 20 years.
Speaking to the media during a hawker’s caucus meeting held at the Lamu Youth Alliance Offices, Jane Mwangi, popularly known as Mama Mihogo stated that the one week notice that the County Government gave them to find a new premises was not sufficient.
“We would have preferred if the municipality gave us at least one month rather than forcibly evict us from places that we have occupied for many years as they have done,” Mwangi stated.
Sentiments echoed by Mohammed Omar, an outdoor vendor who stated that the move to evict the hawkers was ill informed considering the current national government’s support for small businesses.
“Governor Timamy should re-consider his directive to force us out of the streets and if not should allocate us a new place of business since the present market at Mkunguni Square is fully occupied,” he said.
In a letter obtained by KNA addressed to the hawkers, Lamu Municipality Chief Officer, Alex Jimbi, directed the hawkers to move out of the Lamu (Central Business District (CBD) streets to make Lamu streets more passable for people, donkeys as well as hand carts.
However, Paul Karanja, a kiosk owner based in the busy Zinji CBD area whose premises is set to be demolished, said that the move should come with a stop-gap measure to ensure the vendor can continue to sustain their livelihoods.
“Hawkers already pay Sh 30 per day to lay their wares along verandahs which the Lamu municipality collects religiously every day,” Khadija Shekuwe, a fresh fish vendor whose sea front premises was knocked down last month following Governor Timamy’s directive that all the businesses that have encroached along the Lamu sea front area should move out.
She said that the County Government should move fast to secure a new vending area for the hawkers.
Muslim Women Advancement of Rights and Protection Lamu Coordinator, Umulkher Ahmed, stated that her organization will be seeking an audience with the County Government executive in a bid to find a resolution between the two parties.
“The hawkers particularly, female hawkers are the ones hard done by the move to evict them from operating within the streets of Lamu,” the activist said.
She further called on the County Government to pursue vendor-friendly policies, that would improve trade, create informal job opportunities, as well provide revenue for the county.
Lamu Municipality Chief Officer, Alex Jimbi, in a separate interview, said that the move to evict the hawkers was informed by the County Government’s decision to rehabilitate the Lamu Old Town area.
“In as much as we want the vendors to operate within the Lamu Old Town, there needs to be structure and organization around the Amu Old Town area,” Jimbi said.
He further said that the move to evict the hawkers is informed by the Lamu Municipality’s plans to implement the Amu Old Town Integrated Development Plan in a bid to aid the area retain its World Heritage Site status.
“There are plans to develop new areas where the different vendors will be operating as is the case in Zanzibar, where the hawkers operate in a structured manner rather than the case here in Amu where sellers operate in encroached spaces leaving very little pathway for humans and animals,” the Senior Municipal Official said.
