Kisumu Governor Prof. Anyang Nyong’o has ordered immediate ban on street vending in Kisumu City.
All traders and hawkers selling their wares on the streets, he said, will be accommodated at the ultra-modern Uhuru Business Park.
The 5,000 capacity market built in collaboration with the national government has been vacant for a year after its completion.
All traders from Lwang’ni, Akamba Line, Fontala, Konyando, KPLC, Back Street, Winmart and Varsity Plaza who were displaced during the revitalization of Kisumu port and the upgrading of the railway line, he said will operate from the new market.
The city management, he added, was working on guidelines on how the traders will operate at the market saying no traders will be allowed on the streets.
He cautioned the traders against violating the regulations saying those found culpable risked losing their business stalls.
“We will ensure all traders are settled inside the Uhuru Business Park. It has been confirmed that trading in the streets is not only unhealthy but exposes the traders to various hazards. This will apply to all markets in the county,” he said.
He directed traders who were allocated stalls at the market and were trading on the streets to move in immediately or lose the spaces.
While issuing a notice to cartels out to take up spaces at the market illegally, Nyong’o said the county government will use the biometric system to ensure that all the bonafide traders are settled.
“We will deal firmly with traders who have been harassing traders and allocating themselves stalls without following due process,” he said.
To ensure cleanliness at all the markets in the area, Nyong’o said mechanisms have been put in place for regular environmental cleanups with the collected garbage taken to the new waste to energy project site at Kasese in Muhoroni Sub-County.
By Jane Beatrice and Chris Mahandara
