sort yourself before you go to nairobi parks

Visitors to the Central and Uhuru parks will now have to fend for themselves after the City Council of Nairobi evicted traders operating within the park environs.

A notice given to the traders by Leah Oyake, Director of Environment states that degradation of the parks, loss of order and high levels of insecurity are the causes of the withdrawal of their permits from July, 30 2012.

One of the evicted traders said that licenses to operate within the parks expire on December, 31 2012 and the council is being unjust withdrawing them before the due date.

According to documents provided by the trader, they have paid at least six thousand shillings to acquire the City council of Nairobi Business permit and the Department of environment clearance certificate for issuance of a trading license, to operate within Central and Uhuru Park.

“We have paid to work here, how then can we be involved in these insecurity issues. If there is disorder it is the council that should bring order, they should also bring security and not involve us, “the trader said.

The trader added that the notice received last week on Wednesday was responded to by a letter from the traders to the Director of Environment.

“When we go there, they say they are in a meeting. We are still waiting for their response, before we plan our demonstration,” the trader said.

The notice further states that “the withdrawal of permits will give the council an opportunity to develop a framework where traders will be able to do their activities without compromising the primary purpose of the exceptional recreational grounds.”

Traders sent off by the council include photographers, soda and confectionaries, ice cream venders, swings and bouncing castle operators.