Rwanda's capital wants to clear its tidy streets of hawkers

A general view of Rwanda's capital Kigali, March 26, 2014. REUTERS/Edmund Blair

KIGALI (Reuters) - Already boasting one of the cleanest urban centres in Africa, authorities in Rwanda's capital want thousands of street hawkers to form registered co-operatives or find formal work as they try to raise taxes and make the city even tidier, the mayor said.

Kigali has a reputation for order that is rare on a continent of sprawling and often chaotic conurbations, and lately officials have stepped up measures against hawkers on the street, which activists say can be draconian.