The Bhutanese Leading the way.
During the Question and Answer session in the parliament, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Employment Karma Dorji answered the enquiries of Members of Parliament (MP) regarding street vendors.
The MP of Mongar Constituency questioned the minister regarding street hawkers who are restricted from doing business at popular religious sites by the police and Thromde, asking about plans and strategies being initiated by the Ministry to allow the vendors to run their business. She stated that most are earning their livelihoods through this business to feed their family.
The Minister in response shared that the street vendors, as they operate without any business license is called the informal sector and are not looked after by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment (MoICE) but rather the Local Government and Thromde offices. However, understanding their troubles, the Ministry with relevant stakeholders have discussed and came up with a solution.
“On 5 June, the Ministry, Thromde office, Gyalsung project, and Bhutan Chamber for Commerce and Industry (BCCI) discussed to come up with a solution to carry out their business and on 19 June and will be ratifying some regulations for the street vendors to allow them to carry out their business. Locations will be identified as well and trainings will also be given to them for cleanliness and waste management,” said the minister.
