Offer more help to struggling hawkers during Covid-19 outbreak

More than two weeks after the Covid-19 outbreak alert level was raised from Yellow to Orange, there is an obvious dip in foot traffic at hawker centres.

While the hawkers whom I spoke to appreciate the one-month waiver on their rents offered by the Government, a few added that they were considering the worst-case scenario of handing their stalls back to the National Environment Agency (NEA), which runs hawker centres.

The NEA should consider medium-term plans if the situation does not improve in the next two months.

If it desires for our hawker culture to receive Unesco recognition and truly cares about the welfare of hawkers, who are mostly lower middle-income Singaporeans, I would like to make these suggestions:

Could fees for table-cleaning and dishwashing be reduced at NEA-run hawker centres and those outsourced to social enterprises, since footfall has slowed?

For hawkers who are losing money, the NEA should consider instituting a grace period by allowing them to shut down for a few months without penalising them financially. This will not compromise the public interest, as there are many other stalls at a hawker centre.

Tough times call for flexible responses.

Have views on this issue or a news topic you care about? Send your letter to voices [at] mediacorp.com.sg with your full name, address and phone number.