The Quest for Survival

On 16 March 2010 council authorities, for Kitwe City situated on the Zambian Copperbelt, demolished some illegal makeshift market stalls at Kabala Shopping Centre which is in Nkana East township.

This is the second time this has happened, the last time was in June 2009.

Word going round is that the plot on which these structures were put up has been bought by a business enterprise who intend to build a modern supermarket.

We are not going to discuss about the pros and cons of this action by the city authorities.

What is in mind is, how can these marketers, who have a desire to make a living be assisted to make this dream come true ?

A walk around in most African cities and towns reveals a horde of street vendors selling all sorts of merchandise varying from fruit and vegetables to electronic gadgets. Some vendors even sell charms which they claim can improve the libido of men , cure all sorts of illnesses and even bring luck to their customers !

Most of these marketers are poor and have no other means of livelihood apart from selling in the markets or on the streets.

A good number of them are coming from families with problems brought about by loss of employment due to the world economic crunch of 2009 or the death of the bread winner.

In an effort to minimise the number of illegal marketers the Governments, through local authorities, have built a number of markets from which they could operate from.

Due to their poverty, a lot of these are not capable to operate from these markets due to rental fees which are beyond their ability to pay them.

There is also some accusation, from some quarters, about the alleged corrupt way in which market stalls in these modern markets are allocated.

Due to increased unemployment, the number of people who have resorted to selling goods has increased to a level that even the markets being built by the local authorities can not accommodate all traders. This is what has brought the accusation of corruption.

When I visited Europe in the mid 80s I was impressed with the way street vending was organised. In most cities the city square was used as a market on designated days.

People selling goods would converge on the city square and sell their goods from mobile stalls such as caravans . At the end of the day, all traders would clear the city square leaving it spotless clean.

Due to the higher levels of unemployment in Africa, this arrangement may not work.

However, when I visited Tanzania in 2008 , I found that one part of the city of Dar-es-Saalam called Karioko was a huge marketing compound. All sorts of traders are found in this area and one can buy anything one is looking for. They are allowed to trade during the day. They have to clear the streets around 20 hrs. The marketers are required to put all the rubbish left from their trading in huge refuge collectors.

These are cleared by council workers during the night. I noticed that the marketers were very disciplined as far as cleanliness was concerned.

Because of the large number of people trading in Karioko market compound there is a security risk. The authorities have put in place measures to ensure the security of the traders and customers.

The issue of street vending is not unique to any country .

Authorities should put in place measures to ensure that it is controlled. This will result in minimum harassment of the marketers who are entitled to make a living.