THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN: Three cheers for Ssebaana.
May 05, 2002
KAMPALA City Council mayor John Ssebaana Kizito deserves a pat on the back for having gathered enough courage to dispatch hundreds (or rather thousands) of vendors, the majority of whom are believed to have voted for him in the mayoral contest, from the s
With Paul Waibale SeniorKAMPALA City Council mayor John Ssebaana Kizito deserves a pat on the back for having gathered enough courage to dispatch hundreds (or rather thousands) of vendors, the majority of whom are believed to have voted for him in the mayoral contest, from the streets. What is more, the exercise was executed in a peaceful and orderly manner. Consequently, not a single vendor can claim to have suffered physical injury or loss of property in the process. The peaceful bona voyage had seemed a remote possibility in the days when FM stations constantly broadcast angry vows by vendors not to quit their illegal venues on the streets unless President Museveni personally made a physical appearance before them and urged them to leave.The vendors’ vows were supplemented by threats to “roast†the mayor or any council agents who dared attempt to implement the eviction process. Against that backdrop one had reasons to fear that bulldozers would have to be employed to dislodge the vendors, but there was such serinity in the process that you could have heard a pin drop.Certainly, the vendors’ claim that Museveni had guaranteed them perpetual sanctuary on the streets was the worst unmitigated lie of the century. All that the President promised was that the City Council would ensure that those displaced from the streets were availed alternative venues where to conduct their business. By the time the City Council issued the vendors an ultimatum to quit voluntarily or face forceful eviction, enough number of empty stalls had already been identified in the various markets in Kampala. The President’s deal had been duly implemented.In any case, the accusation some of the displaced vendors and their sympathisers that the Movement has abandoned the vendors after they had voted for Movement candidates cannot deceive even a baby in arms. It is common knowledge that the street vendors (or at least the big majority of them) were in infamous Nasser Sebaggala’s group (ba-seeya) who religiously complied with his instruction to vote for Besigye and Ssebaana. If ejecting from the streets amounts to letting them down, which in my submission it does not, then it is Ssebaana who has let them down. They cannot expect to reap where they did not sow.Whatever the vendors might or might not say, their eviction from the streets of Kampala was a step in the right direction. The Kampala City Council itself is the first beneficiary because it earns revenue in terms of licences from shopkeepers whose business had been severely handicapped by the street vendors. Even Green Boat Entertainment was finding it difficult to raise the required amount from the parking of vehicles from the city because several parking bays were occupied by street vendors. Obviously, the shopkeepers are the best benificiaries, now that they can carry on their business without the interference of the street vendors who sold similar goods at cheaper prices. This was not fair competition. While the shopkeepers had to pay rent, VAT and other taxes, and pay for licences to operate, the street vendors had a completely free ride.It is not possible to do justice to this issue without mentioning another category of beneficiaries — the Pedestrians. This group has had the misfortune of being denied the right to walk along the pavements or even at the side of the roads by vendors who spread the mecharndise all over the place. It is now possible for one to walk along Luwum Street, William Street, Ben Kiwanuka Street and several others without being forced into a battle with swarming cars for space in the middle of the street. Some FM stations are already complaining that the vendors have been unfairly treated because they have been deprived of their livelihood. In fact some vendors have used some of those stations to voice the threat that since they now have no work, they will resort to robbery, pick pocketing and other crimes. There is no justification for such misconceived ideas. The vendors did not descend upon the streets from heaven. They hailed from various markets in Kampala and have been availed the opportunity to go back. Surely, there is no logic in the argument that as long as people earn a living from an illegal activity, they should be allowed to perpetuate that activity to eternity. If any vendors prefer graduation into robbery to joining the markets and occupying the empty stalls identified, then they have a date with Maj-Gen Katumba Wamala, which it is not my duty to interrupt.Ends