The socio-economic implications of the displacement of street vendors by Kampala Capital City Authority from Kampala city.

Abstract

The research intended to establish the socio – economic implications of the displacement of street vendors by Kampala Capital City Authority. The study was guided by a number of objectives that is to say; to find out the social implications of displacement of street vendors by KCCA from Kampala city; to find out the economic implications of displacing street vendors from the streets of Kampala and to find out how the street vendors cope up with the displacement in the city. The study took a survey research design whereby qualitative approach was used while collecting and analyzing information from the primary and secondary data sources. It was carried out in Katwe located in the city of Kampala which involved street traders, residents of Kampala and the local government officers from its divisions. Street vending business in Kampala involves many people who enter in such kind of business with different reason which include unemployment, family neglect, business failure, and most of individuals enter the business for the sake of survival. But as the vending business is conducted on the street of the city, the society attain congestion on the pathways, the environment becomes untidy, thieves use such place where vendors operators as avenues of grabbing other people’s properties, some practitioners sell substandard goods to the customers, poor relations do exist between vendors and shop attendants, while some vendors also lead to noise in the environment. The management of KCCA tend to come in and displace street vendors in order to resettle them in other places with an organize manner such as market centres, reduce on congestion, marginalise theft on the street, improve on the sanitation levels with a clean and tidy environment and revenue collections are also enhanced with well settlements that are licensed and registered with the regulatory authorities. Vendors are normally affected much with the displacement as they become unemployed, poor standards of living, poverty becomes rampant, dependency on spouse income increases, migrate to villages to participate agriculture which results into government loss of popularity, conflicts arouse between vendors and traders under the management of KACITA. The study examined the economic implications of displacing street vendors from Kampala city and findings revealed that unemployment increases as practitioners stay jobless, income inequality among nationals widens, household income reduces, standards of living become poor, shop attendants enjoy increased market for their goods, poverty among the local population increases and corruption grows as vendors try their level best to persuade enforcement officers to leave them in business. Vendors cope up with situation after being displaced and findings revealed that abandonment of their current employment opportunities make them seek for employment in the formal sector, practitioners become dependents, participation in the agricultural activities increases, joint ventures are established, rural urban migration becomes the order of the day as others seek for credit facilities make them financial institutions. Basing on the findings, different recommendations were drawn which include proper sensitization, prohibiting vending of certain items, provision of legal licenses, abolition of vending from some areas among others.