– Launches sweeping enforcement operation to restrict street vendors today
Monrovia – The Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) will launch a sweeping enforcement operation this week to clear unauthorized street vendors from the capital’s business district and major thoroughfares, implementing long-dormant ordinances designed to restore urban order.
Monrovia, a city established in 1822, barely 25 years before the Declaration of Independence in 1847, passed its City Ordinance laws decades later in the 1970s, as the city experienced its population growth. In 1950, the City of Monrovia’s population was estimated at 35,150 people. According to the World Population Review, by 1970, the city’s population had grown by 6.28% from a steady growth rate of 2.78% in 1951 and subsequent years recording 164,121 people.
With such an increasing growth in the city’s population in 1970, city authorities passed the City Ordinance No.1 law, which forbids littering in the streets to maintain its tidiness and protect the health of all.
Beginning today, a specially trained MCC task force will target six categories of violations: unpermitted vendors, sidewalk obstructions, sanitation offenders, prohibited goods sellers, restricted zone operators, and non-compliant merchants. The multi-week campaign aims to dismantle makeshift stalls, remove abandoned vehicles, and compel store owners to keep merchandise within their premises rather than spilling it onto walkways.
“Monrovia’s transformation begins with reclaiming our public spaces,” an MCC release says, emphasizing the dual goals of improving pedestrian mobility and public health. The operation specifically prohibits vending within 200 meters of government buildings, medical facilities, diplomatic missions, and educational institutions – areas notorious for chaotic congestion during peak hours.
City engineers have identified 2,000 available stalls across five designated markets as relocation sites for displaced vendors. “We’re not eliminating livelihoods – we’re organizing them,” assured MCC’s Department of City Beautiful, referencing completed surveys of alternative selling spaces. Vendors occupying the new slots will undergo orientation on waste management and stall maintenance protocols.
The crackdown enforces multiple sections of City Ordinance No. 1 (Sections 2-7,10) and Ordinance No. 3 (Section 3), which authorize fines ranging from LD 5,000 to LD 25,000 for violations. Task force units will conduct daily spot checks to verify permits, inspect sanitary conditions, and monitor compliance with spatial regulations in approved vending zones.
A parallel public awareness campaign warns residents against paying municipal taxes to unauthorized collectors, directing payments instead to the newly established One-Stop Shop at City Hall. This follows numerous reports of fraudsters impersonating revenue agents along Broad and Randall Streets.
The initiative has drawn mixed reactions from Monrovia’s estimated 15,000 street vendors. While some welcome the promised market sanitation upgrades, others fear losing prime selling locations. Environmentalists have somehow attributed the disorderly look of the city to illegal street vendors. In October of 2021, Laurent Delahousse, the former Head of the European Union Mission in Liberia expressed his disgust about the filthiness of Monrovia, as he said the city (Monrovia) is “dirty and disgusting” after the pouring in of donors’ aid to clean up the city.
Ambassador Delahousse addressing a forum organized by the Monrovia City Council disclosed that he was “a bit surprised” by what he saw. “Monrovia is a disgusting city, it is a dirty city. Of all the capitals I have seen in my previous posts in Africa, I have not seen one that is as dirty as yours,” the EU Ambassador asserted. Ambassador Delahousse at the same time admonished officials of the city of Monrovia to address the issue of waste that continues to pose a serious challenge for the Monrovia City government. “A clean city is an asset; it creates jobs and probably that is what Liberia needs most,” Ambassador Delahousse stressed.
Initial Efforts
In February of this year, the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) unveiled a sweeping set of measures aimed at organizing petty traders and street sellers across the city, set to take effect on Monday, February 26, 2025. The initiative, designed to foster collaboration between vendors and the municipal government, sought to create a cleaner, more orderly urban environment while ensuring the free flow of pedestrians and vehicles.
However, street sellers in central Monrovia expressed dissatisfaction with the new regulations, urging the MCC to conduct a thorough assessment of the streets listed for restrictions and to engage in meaningful dialogue before implementation. Vendors argued that while the measures are well-intentioned, they could have severe economic consequences for families reliant on street vending in Liberia’s already challenging economic climate.
Abraham Konneh, Chairman of the Mechlin Street Sellers Association, emphasized that while street selling is a “privilege” and not a right, it is a global phenomenon that cannot be ignored. He called on the MCC to establish clear regulations that create a conducive environment for street vendors while designating specific streets as off-limits for vending. Konneh warned that removing sellers from sidewalks without proper planning could worsen the struggles of family breadwinners.
“The government should develop a roadmap to transition individuals away from street selling,” Konneh said. “However, if this is not feasible, the MCC should identify areas within central Monrovia to build additional markets to accommodate the growing number of street vendors.” He noted that the existing market on Water Street is already overcrowded, and the population of street sellers in Montserrado County continues to rise.
In a public service announcement issued Tuesday, the MCC outlined specific zones where street selling will be strictly prohibited, as well as designated areas where vendors will be permitted to operate under regulated conditions. The new regulations are part of the city’s broader efforts to enforce City Ordinance No. 1, Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10, and City Ordinance No. 3, Section 3, which mandate the MCC to maintain cleanliness and regulate street vending activities.
Effective Monday, February 24, 2025, street selling will be banned in high-traffic areas such as Broad Street, Carey Street, Ashmun Street, McDonald Street, Warren Street, Johnson Street, Lynch Street, Buchanan Street, Center Street, Gurley Street, Randall Street, Mechlin Street, Newport Street, Water Street, UN Drive, Capitol Bye-pass, Ramps, Tubman Boulevard, and Avenues.
