Politics made street vending look right

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OPINION

The eviction of street vendors from Kampala has revealed how politics can make wrongs appear right. It also shows the enormous task facing the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) if the city is to look and function like a true capital.

Over the years, vendors started operating on the city’s streets, mostly around Nakivubo Mews, and gradually spread to Namirembe Road, engulfing a large section of downtown Kampala. Ben Kiwanuka Street, Luwum Street, William Street and the Arua Park area were all colonised by vendors selling all sorts of merchandise.

Vendors also started occupying parts of Kampala Road, beginning from the Bombo Road direction and areas opposite the Bank of Uganda. If this trend had continued unchecked, the entire city would eventually have been taken over by street vendors.

On some streets, there were open cooking spaces. Food was prepared and sold right on the roadside. Lower sections of William Street had charcoal stoves burning throughout the day as food vendors operated as though it were perfectly normal. The fact that they attracted customers seemed to legitimise the practice. These bad habits gradually became entrenched. It increasingly appeared acceptable to cook and sell food in the open. Customers themselves encouraged it.

Many people found it normal to buy from the streets rather than enter a shop. In some places, vendors even blocked entrances to shops, leaving one wondering whether shop owners were attempting to expand their businesses outdoors. That may have been the case in some instances. But it is also true that some vendors had grown their businesses to a significant scale, importing merchandise and selling it directly on the streets.

The erection of wooden stalls in the city centre demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the authorities. These vending operations were choking the city. Streets became impassable. Many city dwellers had long abandoned trips to the city centre because of the chaos and congestion. Some streets were no longer motorable. During festive seasons such as Christmas, the situation became unbearable.

With the eviction, the city is now breathing again. Road sections that had been occupied by vendors are being greened, with grass being planted. When vendors occupied these spaces, they were never visible. The few trees that had been planted were stunted amidst the bustle of the vendors. Now they have regained life.

Seeing pictures of Kampala free of vendors reveals the extent of the mess that had been created. With the streets cleared, the needs of the city have become even more visible. Vendors had been sitting on broken pavements and damaged walkways. Their presence masked the dirt and cracks on buildings. Their activities had hidden the underlying decay.

With vendors off the streets, the problems are now clearly visible. KCCA has moved to clean up. Road kerbs are being painted, while grass and trees are being planted. These are good steps. But with the streets now clear, pavements and walkways must also be repaired. Roads should be regularly cleaned so that the black tar is visible rather than the brown dust that has long covered them.

Building owners should be directed to repaint their premises. Railings should be polished and maintained, and windows properly cleaned.

Taxi parks must also be improved. Not only the parking spaces, but the taxis themselves require attention. Some commuter taxis have rotting seats infested with bedbugs, yet the operators appear unconcerned. They, too, must rise to the standards of a changing city that is striving to become cleaner and more orderly.

There are voices opposing the eviction of vendors and the effort to restore order in Kampala. Some cite the convenience of buying goods on the streets, although this claim is questionable. Others speak of the rights and inclusion of the urban poor. What they overlook is that several malls have opened up, providing working spaces for traders.

In addition, vendors can still operate from their homes by marketing their merchandise online and using bodaboda delivery services. There are also markets across the city, and KCCA maintains that many stalls remain available.

The vendor problem has dogged Kampala for years. In the past, Kampala City Council attempted to remove vendors from the streets, but repeatedly failed. Attempts were made in December 2000 ahead of the 2001 elections, and again in July and September 2001. Another effort came in April 2002 under Operation Safe City, and in 2006, an ordinance was passed banning street vending without permits.

In 2010, ahead of yet another election, authorities again tried to clear vendors from the streets.

Politics kept the vendors on the streets, and they opportunistically leveraged the political climate to operate. The city was long seen as opposition territory, first under the control of the Democratic Party and later the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). Later, with the creation of KCCA and the election of Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, the issue took on a new political dimension. Lukwago, first as an independent, then FDC, courted the vendors and insisted that they were not illegal.

In November 2016, he said: “Street vending is not illegal, according to the KCCA Act. What KCCA needs to do is license them [street vendors] and allocate for them streets where they can sell their merchandise.”

KCCA, however, maintained that the vendors were operating illegally and should instead occupy the many empty stalls in city markets.

This dispute evolved into a political contest. Lukwago, as an opposition politician, was seen as defending ordinary people. KCCA was portrayed as a government instrument suppressing the rights of the poor. Street vending was gradually reframed as a right. Ahead of elections, government officials and politicians from the National Resistance Movement often softened their stance and allowed vending to continue in a bid to win votes.

The opposition had long dominated Kampala politics. But in the latest elections, the tide shifted slightly in favour of the NRM, which made some inroads by capturing the Central division parliamentary seat and securing several councillor positions in the city.

On the other hand, the Lord Mayor weakened his own position when he publicly opposed the plan by businessman Ham Kiggundu to redevelop the Nakivubo Channel by constructing shops above it. He lost that battle and the election. Since then, he has shown little appetite to champion the vendors, although he has continued to criticise the eviction.

The incoming Lord Mayor, Ronald Balimwezo of the National Unity Platform, will find a Kampala that has finally experienced a period without street vendors. Having observed the difference, reintroducing them will be challenging. The real test will be whether this moment of order can be maintained.

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