Editor,

RE: "Nyarugenge traders decry policy banning display of goods on shop verandas” (The New Times, November 24). I sometimes wonder why local leaders and the City of Kigali officials take such reckless decisions that affect mostly small businesses. Imagine banning the display of goods on the traders’ own shop and space with an excuse of hygiene, is this for real? 

Some leaders need to understand how businesses operate before taking such abrupt decisions. Display of goods is part of marketing and it helps traders attract customers for their business survival and it’s those businesses that pay taxes and create jobs for Rwandans.

Any decision that negatively affects businesses in Nyarugenge – a central business district (CBD), hence a place for businesses – must be thought of beyond hygiene and security because both can be enforced and achieved rather than banning the display of goods on verandas.

Livingstone