Kathmandu has become a land of
opportunity for many informal micro entrepreneurs. Even on rowdy
walkways, vendors are seen selling goods ranging from foodstuff to
clothes and electronic items. With cumulative urban migration and
unemployment, selling goods on the streets has emerged as the best
alternative means of earning a livelihood for many urban dwellers.
Requirement of low skills and small financial input also makes it a
superlative choice for entrepreneurs. Vendors play an important role in
the urban economy, offering necessary items to average income-earning
households. Moreover, they act as marketing agents for many small-scale
industries that produce cheap consumer goods.
However, the sustainable management of haphazard street vending is a
concern. While street vending has given thousands of families access to
economic opportunities, it also presents a problem of encroachment and
congestion on the roads. Many pedestrians in Kathmandu have time and
again complained that unmanaged street vendors are creating disturbances
in the city and obstructing vehicles and pavements. Yet at the same
time, the number of street hawkers are rising these days because of the
public demand for mobile services and cheap consumer goods. Street food
too has emerged as a unique and popular informal sector of business in
Kathmandu. With such trends in mind, instead of creating legal barriers
that could prevent street vendors from selling their wares, the
government should seek a solution through which vendors can thrive
sustainably without obstructing traffic or being subjected to public
complaints.
Systematic assimilation
Issues concerning street vendors cover a broad spectrum including
the economic circumstances of vendors, their legal working hours,
issues of public space and the amount of bribes they have to pay in
order to remain in the market. Similarly, as an unlicensed business,
they enjoy neither safety nor security at work and are constantly
vulnerable to harassment from the municipal police. The entire existence
and nature of the street market is particularly informal, without any
legal base. The street markets have been sustained through public
interest and a successful ‘hide-and-seek’ relationship with local
authorities. A 45 year old cloth vendor inside Purano Buspark said, “We
run as soon as we see municipal police. If they catch us, they take away
our things. We have to sell these goods because this is the only way we
can feed our families.”
Our development plan mainly regards urban spaces as
mono-functional, ascribing spaces for a certain purpose and operating
accordingly. For the systematic assimilation of street vendors in urban
planning, it is essential to view urban spaces as multi-functional and
multi-purposed areas. If we look at the international scenario,
Singapore’s government has
managed to build an environment where street
vendors are recognised as an essential part of city business; they have
been integrated into the city’s organised hawker centres. Licensed
vendors in Singapore are required to pay rent as per the criteria and
the government has promoted vendor’s goods as a symbolic feature of
Singapore’s traditional life, which attracts thousands of tourists each
year.
Legal provisions
The provision of an urban public space for micro enterprises
remains a significant policy challenge that needs to be addressed
further in development plans. Areas with street vending activities show
that this financial movement can be a structural platform that could
create jobs for surplus labour in Nepal. Countries have credited street
vending for generating employment and a survival income for the marginalized urban population. A research study entitled “Street vending
and public policy: A global review” has shown that when urban
management policies incorporate vendors, there are positive impacts on
numerous fronts such as entrepreneurship, employment and social
mobility.
Similarly, vending is an economy friendly enterprise because it
thrives under cases of economic recession as well as financial boom. As
the economy picks up in urban areas, the demand for street vendors will
rise, and more people will take up the occupation. Those migrants
seeking an economic platform could also be attracted to the vending
sector. Additionally, street vending acts as an immediate solution for
declining employment during periods of recession, resulting in growth
of the number of vendors.
The common problem faced by street vendors is their rightful and
legal existence in the urban informal sector. Therefore, they are
deprived of social security, facilities, and dignity in the workplace.
Certain areas where street vendors can sell their wares should be
identified and demarcated by the state authorities. The street vendors
can then be made aware of the benefits of functioning in these areas.
They must also be provided with direct incentives and facilities like
basic substructures such as a proper workplace, toilets, drinking water
and other rudimentary services. If places with proper legal protocols
are identified for the use of street vendors, and if the space is
managed properly, then vending will no longer be a problem in Kathmandu.
---A
version of this op-ed piece appears in print on December 12, 2017 of
The Kathmandu Post
>>>http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2017-12-12/managing-street-entrepreneurs.html
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