By Peter Odhiambo

The Kenyan National Alliance of Street Vendors and Informal Traders (KENASVIT) was officially launched on the 18th April 2006 at an event at Safari Club Hotel (Lillian Tower) in Nairobi. The launch followed KENASVIT's registration with the Attorney General's office in February this year.

In 2004 an Interim Steering Committee was tasked with spearheading the formation of the national alliance and a consultative process in the main urban centres for the drafting of the constitution.

The constitution was adopted in March 2005 and KENASVIT's national office bearers were elected at a meeting in Mombasa by the founding urban alliances.

The official launch brought together about 90 participants from street traders' and informal trader organisations and local authority and central government representatives. Also present were organisations and structures that have worked supportively and cooperatively with street traders and the urban alliances: the Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi; Unitarian Universalist Service Committee representatives; the Kenya Land Alliance; Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) and the Kenya Human Rights Commission.

The KENASVIT launch was officially opened by the Director of Small Enterprises on behalf of the Assistant Minister for Labour and Human Resources.

KENASVIT’s development partners from Unitarian Universalist Service Committee provided a training course for national executive committee members on conflict resolution and negotiation skills on the day before the launch. On the day following the launch they had the opportunity to visit the Nairobi, Kisumu and Migori alliances.

The official launching of KENASVIT has announced to the entire nation of Kenya that there is a street vendors' and informal traders' body they can work with on matters related to the sector. The launching occasion was successful and enabled various stake-holders involved in the sector's development to interact and get to know each other.

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