Hawker menace: Why the Sh700m Nyambera Market could be Kisii County’s hope for order
At the moment, Kisii town is one big Tower of Babel. The noise—from hawkers and bars downtown—is matched by the unending congestion on narrow and increasingly crowded streets. The town’s streets have effectively become trading floors, with countless hawkers occupying pavements, road reserves and, in some cases, the entrances of established businesses. But Kisii Governor [...] The post Hawker…
Kisii town in Kenya is currently a chaotic environment, with hawking and bars creating noise and congestion on narrow streets. The town's streets have transformed into trading floors, with countless hawkers occupying pavements, road reserves, and even shop entrances. Governor Simba Arati believes that the proposed Nyambera Modern Market, funded by the national government at a cost of Sh700 million, could resolve the issue of accommodating informal traders without impeding the town centre.
The current congestion in downtown Kisii involves pedestrians, motorists, shopkeepers, and hawkers competing for limited space. Hawkers often force pedestrians onto the carriageway by selling clothes, shoes, foodstuffs, electronics, and other merchandise along pavements. When vendors position their goods near established shops, they block entrances and compete for customers, causing frustration for both traders and shopkeepers.
Traders acknowledge that they are not opposed to informal businesses but demand order and organization. They want a system where everyone pays rent and follows the same rules, preventing one person from blocking customers meant for another. Joshua Kebengi, a cloth dealer, noted that congestion negatively impacts customer experience, as individuals must navigate through hawkers, vehicles, and pedestrians to reach their desired destination.
Mobile phone operator Kamau Joseph echoed this sentiment, stating that congestion hinders businesses that rely on quick customer visits.
Governor Arati believes that relocating street vendors to the Nyambera Modern Market would provide an organized alternative to operating along busy streets. The modern market would offer designated trading spaces, allowing vendors to conduct business in a commercially designed environment. This relocation could free up pavements and road reserves, improve traffic flow, and create a cleaner and more accessible urban center.
However, authorities must ensure that the new market provides affordable spaces, sufficient customer traffic, security, sanitation, and reliable transport links to prevent traders from abandoning the market and returning to the streets.
The success of the Nyambera plan largely depends on striking a balance between traders' survival and the overall cleanliness and orderliness of the urban environment. If authorities implement the relocation fairly and consistently, Nyambera could become a turning point in resolving Kisii's long-standing street-vending problem, offering a balance between the right to earn a living and the right to a clean, orderly, and accessible urban center.
Written by urgent.news from KahawaTungu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
