Touts, hawkers do roaring business outside govt offices

The proliferation of illegal fruit and vegetable vendors in front of the offices of the Ministry of Labor and the Passport Department have brought calls from citizens for those bodies to intervene and stop the illegal practice, Al-Madinah daily reported yesterday. Penalties for violating the laws on illegal vending range from prison to deportation.
Citizens have also complained about men hanging around ATM machines to help people pay fees at a bank where they do not have an account. These expatriates use their ATM cards to pay the person's fees in exchange for a cash payment that covers the fees and a service charge.
Fahd Al-Maliki said he often observed such violations take place under the nose of officers and officials from these departments.
Hussam Al-Saadi said it is a national imperative to stop such practices. “Violators should not be permitted to do business on streets and sidewalks, or wait near ATMs or to set up kiosks for services," he said, stressing the need for increased patrols in front of government offices such as the Ministry of Labor and the Passport Office.
Ali Muhammad, an expatriate with a valid iqama, said he was hawking vegetables on the streets in order to feed his family in a lawful manner. He added that there were a number of hawkers who did not have iqamas but worked like him.
Another citizen, Abdullah Al-Shamrani, agreed with Al-Maliki in his demand to increase police presence in front of government offices.
Defending the Passport Department, however, spokesman of the department in Makkah province Lt.Col. Muhammad Al-Hussain said his department and Jeddah municipality hunt for such hawkers. “We make continuous efforts to stop such violations. We also send patrols and special teams to places where violators are likely to be found,” he said.