The authorities relocated some of them through setting up what have euphemistically been called holiday markets at five different locations in the capital. Additionally, the hawkers were given assurances that they would be fully rehabilitated in order for them to go on with their trade.

The eviction of the hawkers from the many pavements in the city was undertaken without prior thought being given to their rehabilitation. With a long period having elapsed already with precious few signs of the hawkers being rehabilitated fully any time soon, it makes sense to argue that their welfare now needs serious looking into. There is, first, the humanitarian aspect of the issue. These hawkers, with their families, live a precarious existence. That implies that having them do business at the designated holiday markets, which again cannot accommodate all of them, only means adding to the pressure they constantly live under. There is then the very glaring fact that hawkers form the lowest tier in the overall supply and distribution chain and as such numerous people at the lower middle class level are the prime beneficiaries of their trade. When such a tier is dispersed, it is not just the hawkers themselves but their buyers as well who run into difficulties. What the hawkers have traditionally done is engage in informal trade which constitutes a goodly portion of monetary transactions and which trade has now been disrupted.

It is, therefore, time for the authorities to take a long and purposeful look at the plight of the hawkers. Caring for them, through giving them secure places where they can ply their trade, ought to be a priority. Any form of tokenism cannot be of any help to them. We therefore urge the authorities that they take measures without delay for the early rehabilitation of the hawkers.