Hawkers in Nairobi are threatening to paralyze activities at the Central Business District over recent ban imposed by Governor Johnson Sakaja.
The new directive bans hawking activities along the walkways and limits them to backstreets and lanes where they will only be allowed to operate from.
“All walkways within the Central Business District are strictly for pedestrians and not for trading,” read the notice
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Operating hours have also been limited from Monday to Saturday and from 4pm to 10pm with the zones limited from Tom Mboya street to Kirinyaga street.
Hawkers through their association have opposed the new guidelines and threatened to march to City Hall to demand the right to conduct business in CBD without restrictions.
“We have families and responsibilities to cater to, that is why we are requesting to be allowed to conduct business even if it’s in the basements. We will organise ourselves and not enter the road. Just let us continue trading here,” they said
They continued by decrying the poor state of the designated areas saying that they have are congested hindering their way of doing business.
“Hawkers are all over, you can hardly find a space to walk on. Customers avoid coming to the CBD because of the hawkers forcing us to opt for deliveries. This places our businesses in jeopardy, yet we pay for the license,” they said
