DESPITE THE PASSAGE OF NEW LAWS, STREET VENDORS ISSUED CITATIONS

  • 26/07/2022

Kuwait City: Despite published reports about legal loopholes in the street vendors regulation, which has been in effect for 40 years without amendment, particularly since it is considered cancelled following the issuance of new laws on the Kuwait Municipality, municipal teams are still issuing citations based on this regulation, which is based on Law No. 15/1972. Inspectors from the municipality branches’ inspection teams in all governorates are continuing to issue citations to these vendors without considering the eligibility of that violation or legal reference. It came as surprise when a record number of citations were issued against these vendors in two days during the past week. For example, the supervisory team in Ahmadi Municipality issued 72 citations against a street vendor during one of the tours in the governorate. 


According to municipal authorities, there are no new instructions for stopping street sellers from violating the previous ordinance. The municipality had previously lost numerous cases involving these vendors. The regulation is one of the older regulations, and its change has become an urgent necessity to avoid legal problems for the municipality as a result of its many shortcomings.

 It allows the municipality to issue a license to a 14-year old street vendor in violation of the Juvenile Exploitation Law. The regulation applies actually in the legal procedures, while not being implemented as a whole, which supports the necessity of amending and redrafting it, and stopping the violation procedures until new ones that regulate the work of street vendors or prevent them are issued.

    

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