Giza governorate to open market for street vendors

CAIRO - 28 October 2018: Giza Governor Khaled Abdel Aal announced establishing a market for street vendors near Sayeda Aisha Square in the value of LE 2 million ($112,360) and that constructions will be completed soon.

The market is part of a plan to renovate the square located in Khalifa neighborhood in the value of LE 60 million ($3 million). Streets vendors occupying the sidewalks and roads have been removed by municipal authorities last week.

Sayeda Aisha Square is named after the Sayeda Aisha Shrine that was founded in the 14th century and renovated in 1971. Sayeda Aisha is the great granddaughter of Prophet Mohammed.

The Ministry of Interior removed in January unlicensed markets and street vendors surrounding the Tomb of Saad Zaghloul. The vendors had occupied the streets and blocked the roads, crippling the movement of vehicles and pedestrians.

The police filed against the vendors 55 reports of operating unlicensed shops, roads occupation, and environmental pollution.

Saad Zaghloul is the leader of the 1919 Revolution against the British colonization in Egypt which started in 1882 and ended in 1956. He founded El-Wafd Party one year before becoming prime minister, from January 1924 to November 1924, during King Fouad I reign. Prior to the revolution, he was the minister of education for four years, and the minister of justice for two years. Zaghloul was exiled twice by the colonization to Malta and Seychelles.

The tomb of the patriotic figure is located in Cairo's downtown, where the number of street vendors, occupying its main streets, increased remarkably amid the January 25 uprising. However, they were later removed in August 2015 and relocated to a nearby complex in Torgoman neighborhood.

Traffic congestion is one of the major problems in Egypt. In order to end the chronic crisis, Cairo governorate preceded Giza by confronting vendors who set up shops on sidewalks and streets, often near metro stations.

In April 2015, dozens of street vendors in Ramses Square were moved to a neighboring parking lot at the Ahmed Helmy bus station.

In October 2015, a total of 3,000 vendors were removed from the center of Helwan and were relocated near metro stations in Toshka and Ein Helwan neighborhoods.

Many attributed the high number of street vendors in the streets of Egypt to the absence of police forces in the aftermath of the 2011 uprising.