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Message: [QUOTE="Nehanda, post: 23622, member: 2262"] The Gambia Police Force started clearing roads on January 13, 2025, and EFSCRJ has been closely monitoring this exercise. The National Roads Authority manages highways in the Gambia. Local councils handle smaller roads in towns. The police help enforce the law. They support these agencies. Street vendors are common in the Gambia. They sell goods on roads, highways, and near markets, as they do across Africa. However, there are not enough proper spaces for them to sell their goods. New roads in the Gambia do not include areas for vendors. The Bertil Harding Highway is one example. This means people have to sell in the streets. It makes things harder for everyone. Most roadside vendors are poor and make very little money, but they have to support their families. They need to buy food, pay rent, and send their children to school. EFSCRJ worries about these vendors. If they are forced to move, where will they go? The government should make better spaces for them to sell their goods. The police need to be kind when clearing the roads. Vendors are not criminals. They just want to earn an honest living and are in a tough spot. EFSCRJ thinks the police should not punish vendors harshly. Taking their goods or fining them is not fair. The vendors have nowhere else to go. The government needs to do more to help. They should build markets and other spaces for vendors. Then, the roads would be clear and safe, and vendors would still be able to make money. Everyone should pay attention to this issue. We need to think about the vendors, not just the roads. The government has to find good places for them to move to. Leaving them with no options is not right. [/QUOTE]

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