National Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives of the National Assembly has proposed a Bill to legally recognise, regulate and protect street vendors from harassment as well as ensure a conducive environment to do business.

According to the Vice-Chair of the Committee Maryanne Keitany, the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood) Bill, 2023, will define how street vending should be recognised, protected and regulated in the country and set minimum vendor standards.

Speaking in Kakamega town during a public participation forum on the Bill, the vice-chair said the essence of the problem that the Bill intends to tackle is the recurrent harassment of street vendors by law enforcement agencies, uncontrolled disposal of waste and loss of livelihoods without legal redress.

“Many of us in this hall are familiar with traders, who have invested their savings in stock, sometimes sell land to raise capital and one day wake-up to find their goods confiscated and their businesses ruined in individual enforcement proceedings.

In response to the constitution, which gives every Kenyan a right to earn a dignified living, the Bill would put a functional legal basis on that right,” she explained.

The Bill proposes a framework of vending zones n Part III, with classification of three types of zones; restriction-free vending zones, restricted vending zones and no-vending zones.

The restrictions are also designed to bring vendors and petty traders into the tax bracket as Kenya’s cash-strapped government maps out ways of sealing massive deficit in 2026-27 budget, estimated to be Ksh1.1 trillion.

Members of the County Executive Committees for Trade would be required to survey all existing street vendors, designate the vending zones using a county vending plan and publish the designations in the Kenya Gazette.

The committee explained that places such as town and shopping centres with high pedestrian flow would be classified as restriction-free zones, whereas sensitive areas including state lodge or hospital entrances would be identified as no-vending zones.

The Bill affirms that no zone shall be considered a no-vending zone until the county survey is done and completed and a vending plan prepared. The provisions of the Bill on registration and licensing drew a lot of debate in the forum.

Part IV makes street vendors register with the respective county governments and obtain a vending licence, which would classify the vendor as a stationary vendor or a mobile vendor.

The committee emphasised that the Bill will give some physical and online delivery of licence applications, which was welcomed by participants who noted that digital accessibility will lessen the bureaucracy that puts off vendors in rural and peri-urban centres.

A vending licence will include the name of the vendor, the type of license, location where the vendor operates or services, contact details, type of goods or services, as well as – where applicable – information on disability registration. The details deemed critical in tracking crime and enforcing security.

The licence would be renewable on an annual basis and vendors would be expected to apply to renew the licence at least thirty days before expiry.

Participants welcomed the quiet possession provision that hold  that the authorised officers are only allowed to seize goods under specified circumstances and must provide a receipt informing the owner of the specific goods that have been confiscated, their approximate value, the reasons they were confiscated and the place and date within which they may be recovered.

They said the move will make arresting officers accountable and end situations where goods that are confiscated are not documented.

Further, under the Act on protection against harassment, the Bill under Section 26 specifically prohibits the conduct of officers of national or county governments, acting without a legitimate purpose will be liable to conviction of such acts, will face a jail term not exceeding a year and a fine not exceeding Ksh200,000.

A participant from Ikolomani Joseph Joshua asked the committee to give special consideration to People Living With Disabilities (PLWD) and students by reducing the licensing fees.

“The definition of terms such as public interest and national security in Section 7 to allow the county executive committee members to place conditions or restrictions on selling in restricted areas was too broadly worded and could be abused to justify arbitrary eviction of vendors,” he added.

Joseph Joshua contended that the imposition of a fine of Ksh10,000 daily on the vendors who failed to vacate a designated place after the expiry of a notice was disproportionate to the daily income of vendors.

He suggested that a progressive system of penalties starting with warnings and with lower penalties depending on the daily turnover of each vendor.

A youth, representing the Chieroi Market David Ekombe separately raised issues about whether vendors could register in more than one county and whether the Bill intended to limit the number of hawkers working in a street.

Participants were told that the intent of the Bill is on multi-county licensing, which means vendors with businesses in more than one county may receive licenses in each county by paying the required fees, since counties primarily seek licence fees to fund service delivery.

Another participant, Esther Kavaya, however, raised concern over poor sanitation and drainage systems within many major towns in the area and asked the county government to improve on the same.

The committee’s sessions were presided over by Vice-Chair of the Committee Maryanne Keitany (MP-Aldai), members Anthony Oluoch (MP-Mathare) and Wario Adhe Guyo (MP-North Horr), who promised to incorporate views gathered during the forum.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Godfrey Wang’anya