The plight of Petty traders at Kariakoo area is still unsolved

THE exercise of evicting petty traders commonly known as “Machingas” from conducting their businesses in restricted areas from the main central business district in the city of Dar es Salaam seems to have bore no fruit, the survey by Business Times can reveal. The operation which started five years ago, is being steered by the Dar es Salaam City Council with the aim of clearing the city centre streets of congestion. This is a move to ensure the implementation of a properly planned Sustainable Development Cities Programs which was introduced by the city fathers almost a decade ago. Contrary to the expectations of many people, the exercise by no means seems to have failed as many petty traders who had been evicted from their original trading areas can be seen back in full swing from where they had been allocated. A spot check by this paper reveals that, most petty traders have clogged narrow congested streets while others have almost blocked important passages, thus rendering some difficulties of movements of goods and people around, an aspect that is contrary to the integrated city’s planning development systems.


A Woman is seen with a bunch of onions which she has spread on the ground in front of the famous Kariakoo market in Dar es Salaam. Such merchandise arte spread on the ground surrounding the market posses a health hazard to consumers. On the backlground pone can notice a heap of uncollected filthy on a truck which during rainy seasons fumes with horrible smell.
Along the famous Congo Street, business is back as usual and the presence of traders around seems to have redoubled than before, their increased number has surpassed the number of city council’s askaris who usually keeps on chasing them in hot pursuit without success. Critics of the business environmental surrounding commends that, “the city fathers have proved failure to curb with the increasing number of petty traders who flock daily in the city”.Along the busiest Msimbazi street, one can see petty traders with their merchandise spread on the ground and others holding them while standing in narrow street pavements and along pedestrian walkways thus causing inconveniences to passersby as well as window shoppers. Petty traders do their business in extremely pathetic situation and sometimes it becomes quite intolerable to do shopping especially after taking a glimpse of the edible products like condiments such as onions, tomatoes and other consumable products which are normally spread on the ground and exposed of in an unhygienic manner.