These night street vendors!

By Our Correspondent 

By 5pm, both corporate and downtown people are leaving the city, the night street vendors are preparing for their session. Some women are preparing katogo, chai (tea), fast foods(potatoes chips and  the like),  mulokonyi (cow hooves), fruits, groceries and a few arranging their general merchandise that includes textiles(second hand clothes).

These night street vendors are about 20k+ who operate from Entebbe Road(Queensway), Namirembe Road, Kafumbe Mukasa Road, William Street, Luwum Street, Burton Street and many others. These traders often use candles and rechargeable torches/Lighters to provide simple lighting,

They also lay their merchandise on bare ground. The mothers carrying their babies on the back or sleeping on the mats laid on pavers/bare ground.  They don’t work when ever it rains. These traders also don’t save any penny because their is some kind of batter trade on the streets that if you sell let’s say pineapples you have to go back with some kgs of posho and the sauce for tomorrow’s breakfast and lunch for the kids.

These traders are sometimes attacked by thieves/kifeesi on their way back home. The simple things authorities can do are:
1.Provide adequate lighting on the streets to facilitate these traders carry on their work smoothly

2.Provide long-term micro financing with low interest rates to these traders to enable the traders sustain their businesses.

3.Provide modern improved display stalls on the streets for these traders to give customers a good shopping experience.

If the above is implemented, KCCA has aright to collect taxes from these traders for example if all the 20k night venders contribute about 500/= per night the government can collect about 3.6billion per annum (500×20000)×365=3.6 billion.

The street food vendors all appeared to be hardworking and enthusiastic. But their reality is stark—many are one family or health crisis away from losing everything. In Kampala, selling food on the street is technically illegal, and the Kampala City Council Authority intermittently cracks down on local vendors.