The issue of inadequately regulated street vendors who prop up stalls all around the island ahead of events like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day is currently being tackled administratively, GRTU CEO Abigail Mamo explained.
The street vendors who set up on the side of roads and other noticeable locations have been a headache for legitimate businesses for years as they have repeatedly been accused of being the reason why a drop in sales is being observed around this time of the year.
The vendors usually sell gifts such as flowers or soft toys.
“Our members have given up on this. Every year they never fail to tell us how unbelievably disappointed they are.”
The GRTU has been doing a variety of things to improve the situation, Mamo explained, such as going on-site and lodging reports with the police themselves.
As it stands, the local council grants a permit which would not be for this kind of activity, but only intended to be used by those setting up stalls during village feasts.
When a report is made to the police, the vendors show them the permit and they take it to be the correct one as they would not have the technical know-how of this particular procedure, Mamo maintained.
“Right now there is the Open Markets reform and we are trying to organize it through our participation in the consultation, so that police will no longer be responsible for the enforcement of such things.”
Mamo noted that the entity responsible was suggested to be the Commerce Department who know what the laws are, and how they should be applied.
“From our end we will be able to ensure that the law is being applied appropriately because, right now, we are at a loss.”
Open Market Reform
November saw the publishing of the white paper on reforms related to open markets, and the new structure set up essentially removes dispute resolution and market stall allocation from local councils, and instead transfers them onto a triumvirate of entities.
The open market board will be responsible for advising the minister responsible for commerce on all issues related to local markets, to conduct studies into the local market sector and advise the government on policy issues, to monitor the work of different enforcement authorities, and to address complaints regarding operations of local markets.
The board will be made up of a chairman, a deputy chairman, and representatives from the local council’s association, the Malta Competition and Consumer Authority, the Police Force, the Environmental Health Directorate, the Government’s department responsible for market hawker licenses, along with a member from any other entity which the minister feels has a bearing on the co-ordination of local markets. The board will have a three-year term.
There will then be an open market compliance promotion unit, which will be responsible for making sure all hawkers are compliant with the existing regulations, and a stall space and permit unit, which will handle licensing within the local market sector.
Other proposals include certain amendments to the trading licenses act in terms of matters related to the issue of permits, obligations of hawkers, the extent of involvement required from the local councils, and areas marked out for hawkers.