JEDDAH, 14 March 2006 — Hamza Bamihriz, a souvenir stall operator in downtown Jeddah, expressed his fear yesterday of losing all the money he had invested in his micro-enterprise.
“I’ve invested SR15,000 to manage and operate this stall, and now this could all get wiped out,” he said with frustration.
Bamihriz, a Yemeni, is one of hundreds of expatriates illegally managing stalls under names of Saudi owners around Jeddah. Usually the Saudi owner gets a small percentage for his name and the rest of the work and profit goes to the expatriate partner.
Now the municipality is cracking down on these vendors, saying only Saudis are allowed to set up the hundreds of vending operations that can be seen in Jeddah’s streets.
Municipality spokesman Ahmad Al-Ghamdi said that the new regulations are aimed at organizing the streets, bringing food vendors under the aegis of the Health Ministry, as well as replacing expatriates with Saudis.
A special task force has been formed in order to perform periodic checks on stalls making sure they don’t deal with counterfeit items and that the foodstuffs are sold under precise health regulations, he noted. Stalls will also be required to meet suitable architectural design that matches the surroundings.
The municipality has specified locations for setting up business stalls. They will be permitted only in open spaces in front of public facilities such as mosques, beaches and celebration halls. The new regulations also define government agencies that are responsible for enforcement.
The sizes of stalls should not be over six square meters, and the owner does not have the right to rent it to someone else. The municipality has the right to request the movement of the stall location if necessary. Owners will be expected to relocate their stalls within a week from receiving a notice.
Bamihriz, however, feels as though he’s already been put on notice — that he’s not welcome to run a business in the streets of Jeddah.
