the government is at it again. about 3 weeks ago, a government order to close all kiosks and other informal road-side businesses, like newspaper sellers, water vendors, and the kids that sell sweets and biscuits from over-stuffed boxes they so carefully balance on their tiny heads. the logic is that these individuals are not paying tax and so cannot conduct business until they register as formal shops. the discourse is that if you are not paying taxes, you are not building your nation.
i spoke to several of these informal sellers. the majority are men as the dirty work of informal business is not seen as a place for women. the kiosks tend to be ramshackle wooden structures that have been patch-worked into a recognisable shape while the remainder are mbati (sheet metal) match box-shaped structures that are emblazoned with the logos of international companies like coca-cola or Heineken beer.
kiosks are found every few blocks, they provide a stock of basic goods. soda, beer, water, cooking oil, rice, soap, batteries, candles and the like. instead of walking the up to 2 hours to get to the local, government-run market, Rwandans hopped out their back door for these basics. the kiosk in my neighbourhood often proved a life-saver. unexpected guests and you need 6 soda pops? no problem. eric has them. electrical power cut again and flash-light not working? no worries. eric has batteries.
not only a location of convenience, the kiosks are centres of community life. many of the participants in my research reported to me that they did not like to be alone. when alone, the memories of genocide, or the hunger pangs of poverty, dominate their thoughts. hanging out at the kiosk is an acceptable past-time and one that provides a sense of camaraderie and sense of place. if you can find your spouse, child, work-mate, check at the kiosk. more often than not, you’ll find your missing at the kiosk.
but no longer. the government has outlawed the existence of kiosks and owners are no longer able to trade until they turn the kiosk into a “proper” store front. what counts as proper is not clear; what is acceptable is registration with Rwanda Revenue Authority and payment of local, regional and national taxes…. as for the street sellers, all i can say is that they no longer populate Butare’s main road. where they have gone and what they are doing to survive on what was already a tenuous existence is anybody’s guess.
my first question upon hearing the new law to close down informal businesses was, “is there an international meeting coming up?”. it is well-known that African governments, and Kigali is not exempt, sweep up “vagabonds, street urchins and other unsavories” when other Heads of State come to town for conferences. it is, as Foucault would say, a classic display of sovereign power.
but no, there was no international event that was been stage-managed. it was bona fide government policy instituted at the highest levels, swiftly and deftly as is usually the case in Rwanda, with immediate and lasting impact on the lives of ordinary Rwandans.
to add insult to this injury, the government then decided on another (seemingly) whim, to outlaw taxi-motos on all of Kigali’s paved roads. the decision was made without forewarning and taxi moto owners and operators woke up yesterday (21 August) to find that they could no longer offer their services. Kigali is a city built on the top of seven hills, with the population leaving in the valleys and working in the peaks. with reliable and cheap transport from the outlying parts of the city to town, the city is at a virtual stand-still. the official argument is that the taxi motos are dangerous to life and limb, with the majority of Kigali’s traffic accidents occurring at the wheel of a the small two-wheelers that have been modified to carry passengers and a bag or briefcase.
Rwanda’s english-language daily, The New Times, reports that actually cars and motos are in the same number of accidents. and i’ve been in Rwanda long enough to know that the official story is usually VERY far from reality. the question is, how is driving these policies that touch the working lives of a great many Rwandans? what i see is that the authoritarian government is instituting policies that serve a large policy agenda. what i can’t figure out is what is really driving these recent actions.
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