New rules give "peace of mind" to hawkers, open air vendors

New regulations for street hawkers and open air market vendors, which came into effect on May 2, provide "security and peace of mind", according to the parliamentary secretary in the Economic Services Ministry, Edwin Vassallo.

Mr Vassallo said in an interview that regulations on hawkers were last updated about 50 years ago.

There are about 1,500 street hawkers who each pay a licence of Lm20 annually and 1,200 market vendors whose annual licence costs Lm30.

The new Trading Licences Regulations, 2002 were published in the Government Gazette of April 30.

Until these regulations came into effect, things were done by default, Mr Vassallo said.

Under the old regulations, for example, street hawkers could not stay in one place unless they were actually serving clients. But they were not usually asked to move on unless reports were lodged against this practice with the police.

The new regulations stipulate that street hawkers may carry out their commercial activity from any place in any street either by hawking or by parking their vehicle, subject to the various conditions - such as that no nuisance or inconvenience is caused to neighbours or passersby.

They must park their vehicle, if any, within a permitted parking space, making sure no inconvenience is caused to the flow of traffic;

When street hawkers carry out a commercial activity from a fixed place, the place where they park their vehicle must not be within a walking distance of 50 metres from the entrance to a commercial premises, and for such a purpose, a fixed kiosk shall be deemed to be a commercial premises;

No objects may be placed on the pavement or any other part of the street; and when hawkers carry out their commercial activity from a fixed place they shall park their vehicle at a walking distance of at least 75 metres from each other.

"Actually, there were a considerable number of court summonses issued to hawkers who were found to have parked in one place to sell their wares.

"The new regulations look after the interest of hawkers, shop owners and residents.

"They provide hawkers with definite regulations of how to go about their business," Mr Vassallo said.

He said that the regulations also covered the business hours, days of business and names of the established open air markets - something which was not specified up till now.

The regulations remove the old practice of "first come first served" at open air markets because now vendors have their own space clearly marked in paint on the ground.

Moreover, the regulations allow close members of a family to substitute the licence holder when the owner is indisposed.

"The government felt the need to issue these regulations because of the growing number of people applying for such trading licences," Mr Vassallo said.

"The demand for such licences is indicative of a vibrant economy," he added.

The government will soon be publishing a legal notice which will include regulations on how local councils should manage open air markets in their locality.

This will ensure that only those hawkers assigned a place in an open air market will be able to carry out business there.

Regarding the City Gate area in Valletta, Mr Vassallo said that a few vendors had a licence to sell bread but no more licences would be issued.

The temporary licences that used to be issued during the Carnival and Christmas periods would now no longer be granted, he said.

Asked what would become of vendors at City Gate hawking necklaces and other trinkets, henna tattooists, portrait artists and other painters, Mr Vassallo said that such sellers were up till now considered as buskers.

The regulations, however, seem to represent only a partial picture of what street vending means to local councils.

Marsaxlokk mayor Carmelo Bugeja said the local council wanted to revamp the promenade to make it accessible to fishermen, so they could carry out their day-to-day tasks such as drying and fixing their nets, and transfer the open air market up the road leading to St Lucian tower.

"The council had suggested that the market could be moved close to the football ground but the government objected to this idea. All that Marsaxlokk gets from the 200 hawkers on Sundays is mounds of rubbish which cuts into the coffers of the council to the tune of Lm9,900 annually to clean up.

"But the government did not approve the local council`s request to charge hawkers a fee for cleaning up.

"I do not see the reasoning behind open air markets unless it is for perishable goods such as fish and vegetables. What`s the point of having hawkers selling clothes and shoes among other items when there are so many shops selling these wares?" Mr Bugeja wondered.

The mayor said that today he would be giving instructions to have the road leading up to St Lucian Tower marked in yellow, carving out the places where hawkers can set up their stalls.

The problem of cleaning up after hawkers was also highlighted by Rabat mayor Rudolph Grima who said that the council spent over Lm500 per year to clean up the mess left on Sundays.

"People have to understand that a fee charged to hawkers to cover cleaning expenses will be used by the council to provide a service to residents in St Rita Street, where the market is held, and in neighbouring streets."

About 80 hawkers use the open air market in Rabat.

Regarding Valletta, the regulations state that only street hawking of bread, milk, flowers, kerosene and gas in cylinders shall be carried out in Valletta and the Grand Harbour area, mainly to protect stall owners at the enclosed market in Merchants Street.

Dominic Abela, president of Ghaqda Bejjiegha tal-Monti of Valletta, said that the new regulations did not affect the 115 hawkers who operated from Merchants Street during weekdays and at St James Ditch on Sundays.

Referring to the number of licensed street hawkers, Mr Abela complained that "the higher the number of hawkers, the less business will come our way," and noted that business had been dwindling regularly over the years.