GCC fails to bring hawkers to order

Lerato Maleke | Wednesday March 19, 2014 14:30

 

The report states that consultative meetings were held in 2012 and 2013, concerning the Hawking and Street Vending Regulations. According to these consultative meetings, it was clearly stated by the mayor, Haskins Nkaigwa, City Clerk, Agnes Seragi and deputy clerk, Lebuile Israel, at the May 9, 2012 meeting that hawkers/vendors must remove their trade paraphernalia when they knock off.

Then followed the September 13, 2012 meeting exclusively for Princess Marina Hospital hawkers, following a complaint by the hospital that the trade wares left by the traders in the hospital area contributed to a rat infestation at the hospital. The report states that a decision was taken that the hawkers remove their trade wares from the hospital precinct when they knocked off in the evenings. Further, GCC and hawkers agreed that effective from September 16, 2012, they would carry away such trade wares. “Regrettably even to date some of the traders do not remove their trade wares,” states the report.

On June 22, 2013 another meeting was held between hawkers and GCC officials at the civic centre to restate the instruction given to hawkers to remove their trade wares when they knock off in the evenings but to no avail. A similar meeting was held on July 3, 2013 at GCC Gaborone West town hall but again bore no results. On July 23, 2013, Seragi repeated to the traders that they remove their trade wares but to no avail.

According to the report, in mid 2013 the by- law unit used a public address system to warn vendors/hawkers in all of Gaborone especially the bus rank, train station, BBS mall, Maruapula mall, about the standing instruction to remove their trade wares and to begin to do so without delay.

The report concludes that the council cannot afford to position itself as an advocacy group for the informal sector traders to the exclusion of other community interests, including privately leased fixed premises of traders in malls and even council tenants in council owned properties at the bus rank. “From a public health perspective these trade wares are a potential danger in that they serve as a hiding place if not a breeding place for disease causing organism,” says the report.