In Dakar and its suburbs, the government has decided to evict aprons and itinerants from markets and other sales areas. This has thrown the future of these young people into uncertainty. Cheikh Gawane Wade, president of the National rally of informal sector actors (Rasi), condemns the eviction of street vendors and calls on the government to find alternative sites for them. 

From Colobane to Rufisque, via Keur Massar, Bargny and Diamniadio, the anger of street vendors is growing. Cheikh Gawane Wade, president of the National rally doe actors of the informal sector (Rasi), is outraged by the eviction of street traders in Colobane. « It’s a violation » of the rights of these traders, he thundered. « You know, the situation is very delicate in Senegal, where the rights of informal sector vendors in general are being persecuted. Yet there are rights and recommendations, such as decent work, which has been ratified by Senegal. And the Senegalese authorities, having ratified these charters, have not respected what they say. Because the vendor is a worker, and decent work considers any worker who does a job to be employed a worker who enjoys all his rights. Senegal is in the process of trampling underfoot the rights of those working in the informal sector, particularly street vendors. That’s what we’ve come to denounce today at the show, and to really talk about these problems so that we can find solutions », says the president of Rasi.

Read the column – Wandering in Colobane

Although he welcomes the Prime Minister’s visit to Colobane, Cheikh Gawane Wade is not entirely reassured. « The Prime Minister went down to Colobane and he really gave people hope, but that’s not enough, because the evictions are still going on. And we want the evictions to stop and for us to sit down together, with the State and the local authorities, the platform of informal players, to find solutions », he says.

Today, there is a long-term battle to be won: the resettlement of these young people who find their daily bread on the streets and around the markets. Cheikh Gawane Wade suggests developing these areas, in the same way as businesses buy land to set up their facilities. « Why don’t we buy land to put street vendors back to work? » asks Mr Wade, who points out that street vendors need to be trained. The setting up of the Rasi a year ago was in response to a desire to provide the State with an interlocutor.  Insofar as, according to its president, « they cannot speak with everyone ». He called on the authorities to involve informal sector players in the decision-making process, to avoid the mistakes of the past. « Abdoulaye Wade gave out canteens, but what happened next? A lot of funds were released and the promoters paid. The canteens remained in the hands of the promoters even though they had cashed in the money. This issue needs to be reviewed. There were 3,500 canteens », he warned. « We’re not playing politics, » he insists. Rasi will be submitting a memorandum to the new authorities with a view to ensuring that the concerns of itinerant vendors are better addressed. It is calling for the « repeal » of law 76, which it says treats « street vendors as criminals », despite the fact that the informal sector accounts for « 82% » of Senegal’s GDP. He sees the failure to resolve the case of itinerants as « a time bomb » that the new regime must « defuse before it’s too late ».

Bamba Fall denounces the “politicization” of eviction operations in Dakar and its suburbs

Mr Wade was speaking on the sidelines of the second edition of the regional trade fair for entrepreneurs under Ohada law (Saredo), which is being held in Dakar from 8 to 12 July 2024 on the theme: « Promotion of the status of the entrepreneur under Ohada law, a powerful lever for the development of players in the informal sector ». Saredo brings together several Ohada member states and the diplomatic corps.

By Amadou MBODJI / ambodji@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH