after which they are often tired, stressed and busy with other obligations (such as caring for dependents).18 In order for street vendors and their associations to influence policy, they need to be organised with wellestablished effective channels of communication with urban authorities.19 In 2019, the KCCA Regulation of Street Trade Ordinance 2019 was discussed. The purpose of the ordinance is to provide a legislative framework that will allow orderly hawking and vending on the streets. Under the proposed ordinance, all vendors and hawkers are expected to register with KCCA, have a special street trading license, identification numbers, uniforms, among other issues. KCCA’s hope this will spur an increase in the purchase and sale of goods and allow for greater economic activity that will promote the welfare of Kampala residents. According to the ordinance, street vendors grade one and two are to pay sh210,000 and sh78,750 respectively, while hawkers’ grade one and two will pay sh112,500 and sh60,000 for their trading licenses. The traders will also be required to pay for their uniform at sh50,000. The uniforms will be in different colours depending on divisions where they will be operating. Kampala Central (green), Nakawa (blue), Kawempe (red), Rubaga (orange) and Makindye (yellow).20 To ensure that the law becomes an effective instrument for gender justice, we demand the following: 1. Government to implement the ‘KCCA Regulation of Street Trade Ordinance 2019’ including the translation of the law into different languages to enhance legal knowledge among the street vendors. 2. Government clarification on just and fair regulations including license fees, designation of spaces and time of operation. 3. Designation of a women street vendors’ leadership representative at different levels of decision making – in political parties, Council/ Local Government, Parliament, Market Associations and Traders Associations.
Security and Violence against Women A secure environment is a prerequisite for any type of business, yet for women street vendors, security is a major concern while they are working and travelling to and from their places of work. Street vendors worry about their own security, and the security of their goods and customers. They view security and safety as an economic priority, and not simply one of personal safety. As a result of this some vendors have formed voluntary associations to fight crime, while the police are often viewed as collaborators since they do not arrest some known criminals. The women street vendors have also resorted to moving in groups of five between 2:00am – 6:00am in the morning to enable them buy fresh merchandise at a wholesale price. The insecurity in the streets is sometimes used as an excuse to evict street vendors. In Uganda, sites for street vending are viewed by urban authorities as dens for thugs and robbers. The Uganda case study has observed that aggravation of city thefts and insecurity in Kampala were used by the city authorities as grounds for
Graeme Young (2018): De-Democratisation and the Rights of Street Vendors in Kampala, Uganda. Available online via https://www. researchgate.net/publication/326355554 18
Winnie V. Mitullah (2005): Street Vending in African Cities: A Synthesis of Empirical Findings from Kenya, Cote D’ivoire, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Uganda and South Africa 19
Juliet Waiswa (2019): KCCA to regulate street vendors. Available online via https://www.newvision.co.ug/news/1503255/kcca-regulate-streetvendors 20
Making Her Visible
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