Campaign against street traders [Archives:2005/815/Local News]

By Taiz Bureau
The Public Works Bureau in Taiz and its branches in al-Mudhaffar, Cairo and Salah districts are launching a fierce campaign against on-streets sellers, iron box merchants and those whose goods are displayed in front of their shops. The Public Works Office used heavy machinery to remove the violations amidst enraged sellers who denounced the acts considering it an attempt to deprive them of livelihood and undermine their lives.

Yemen Times met with Eng. Mansour al-Bahr, Director of a PW office, who said that this procedure is done according to the directives of the leadership of the governorate and the local council. “We want to ameliorate the face of the city and remove the defects of Taiz streets in order to brush up the “dreamy Taiz”, and become like other modern cities.

Asked about alternatives to solve the possible unemployment of the sellers, he answered that there are popular marketplaces where hawkers and with-no-shop traders can go. “We have markets made for the purpose of displaying and selling their goods. But they do not want to move there.”

Some of the traders complained that they had procured licenses for their iron boxes to display goods from the Municipality. “We have officially accredited contracts,” one of the salesmen said.

Yet Eng. Al-Bahr said they are outlawed and the “campaign includes everyone with no exception.”
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