January 04, 2021

The uncertain fate of roadside vendors in Afghanistan

topic:	Economic Inclusion
located:	Afghanistan
editor:	Shadi Khan Saif

Maintaining the delicate balance between ensuring social justice and writ of the state is what statesmanship and basics of good-governance are all about.  

It is quite intriguing to note the Afghan government’s ‘National Meal’ program getting rolled out in most parts of the country to give essential food aid to millions. It runs parallel to a more robust ‘Urban Discipline’ drive by the municipal authorities in some of the major urban centers that aims to remove millions of poor street vendors from roadsides.

Apparently, there are no links described between these two major operations affecting the lives of many in this war-ravaged country amid harsh winter, raging insurgency and a crippled economy. 

The meal program, as per officials, has more to do with the devastating consequences of jobs and income sources lost due to the coronavirus pandemic. Yet, the bulldozing of roadside carts to instill so-called ‘urban discipline’ is more for building general perception about the writ of the government, and establishing security and order.

The missing link here is a lack of in-depth study of the informal economy and indeed the black economy that preys on the millions of poor street vendors. There are hardly any figures on how many households are likely to suffer the sudden abolishment of roadside enterprises. 

Just like many other countries in the region, these roadside enterprises thrived in Afghanistan over the past two decades despite experiencing harassment, humiliation and sudden evictions. Now, with the authorities seeing them as an utter nuisance, their sudden uprooting would eventually cause panic and unrest at a time when it is least needed for the country. 

These hawkers represent an economy that not only employs thousands, but serves an even bigger chunk of the society with affordable services and goods. On top of it, due to the lack of a regular framework, those engaged in roadside enterprises have bought themselves political and security patronages through bribes and sociopolitical linkages that might fire back much harshly at the government in case of evictions.

So, simply overlooking them would not help maintaining the balance between social justice and writ of the government. The best way would be to lead this demographic out from darkness and streamline it towards a more sustainable economic environment through well-orchestrated plans of replacements that are in everybody’s interest.

There are some fascinating modules to follow, particularly from the far-east Asian countries and even some cities in India where all stakeholders joined hands to reshape their cities for good by accommodating the traditional roadside vendors without breaking any rules.

Image: Asian Development Bank

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