With the chaotic scenes surrounding the political structure in Mauritius, it would be easy to succumb to elitism and remain focused on the likes of Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo, Roshi Bhadain or even Rakesh Gooljaury for that matter. Yet, on the other side of the coin, the Mauritian population has a lot more to worry about than lose sleep over the next quote that Bhadain is going to pick from his little book of quotes.
One of the main issues plaguing our system, for what seems to be an eternity, has been the treatment reserved to hawkers. This week, several hawkers operating near the Victoria bus terminal in Port Louis were barred from their workplace by the police. The lack of a consensus on an alternative solution after all these years is difficult to comprehend.  
However, that is not an issue originating from the Alliance Lepep, although their incompetence did not make things any better. According to Hyder Raman, the president of the Street Vendors’ Association, the solutions proposed by Paul Bérenger and Navin Ramgoolam when they were prime minister were far from being good enough.

To be fair, before laying on any further blame, it would be a good idea to re-evaluate the situation before it came down to this. As they have done for years now, municipal authorities and shopkeepers argued that hawkers were working illegally. As a way to make things right without a ban on their operations, it was suggested that the hawkers move to a new location where they could work legally and without paying rent. At face value, it sounded like a great idea… except to the hawkers!

They would have to give up on a prime commercial location where they have worked for decades. Instead, they would be compelled to move to what they believe is a tiny new place where their merchandise was not going to be protected from the erratic weather. On top of that, several hawkers did not manage to secure a stall at the new location.

Although their trading has been extremely unfair on law-abiding shopkeepers, many hawkers do not believe that they are working illegally, having done it for so many years. Like Lutchmeenaraidoo whose excuse for his controversial loan was that he had taken a similar loan before, hawkers hoped that precedence would make their situation legal. Unfortunately, that is not the case. It is no excuse for the lack of dignity with which they have been treated though. 

Rather than let arrogance guide us, it might be time to look at what other countries are doing to deal with hawkers. For example, Singapore built well-equipped hawker centres and offered them for low rent. Then the authorities encouraged the hawkers to diversify the products they offer through training and investment. It has done wonders to their local economy.

“There are solutions out there.”

Surely, if our decision-makers open up their eyes and put in a little effort into it, there are solutions out there.  It is time to fix this for good! 

For more views and in-depth analysis of current issues, subscribe to Weekly for as little as Rs110 a month. Free delivery to your door. Contact us: touria.prayag@lexpress.mu