91 3.8.4. Spatial patterns in urban areas
The South African government realises the configuration of the informal market and its importance in providing for the previously disadvantaged and the poor. The significance of the spatial pattern within South Africa is an issue as the post-apartheid government inherited the apartheid and colonial spatial planning (Skinner, 2008) and it is a difficult task to alter the spatial setting which is characterised by widespread segregation. It is a social-class based environmental setting, with poor residents on the outskirts of industrial parks/city centres.
The urban design is also unequally distributed and pavement and street space used for informal street trading activities is limited. Access to resources is limited. Currently, the South African government has a role to play in improving the livelihood of the poor by supporting the informal market through urban spatial configuration and deregulation, rather than providing tax incentives (Beall, Crankshaw and Parnell, 2002).
The inauguration of the new democratic government in 1994 set a new agenda to promote, encourage by encouraging, and support the Black community socially and economically.
Attempts to connect the isolated townships on the periphery of the cities, via transport and land use planning, need two critical subjects for adjusting the spatial fragmentation that exists in South Africa (Skinner, 2008). The goal is to try and dissolve the prospect of isolation of Black communities from the cities’ industrial and city centre opportunities.
Traders have been given the opportunity to access these strategic locations (with transport nodes and middle class consumers), however, they have not been included within the existing spatially planning frameworks in the cities. Although these traders have been given access, the process has not been inclusive, thus there is a need for them to be formally incorporated into areas of high congestion so that they may operate effectively (Skinner, 2008).
92 informal economy activities within the legal context. Previously, legislation saw informal economy activities as degrading to the environment and threating to the country’s social and economic stability (Tshofuti, 2016; Brown and McGranahan, 2016). But in 1991 street trading was acknowledged as a business activity contributing towards the economy (Business Act No. 71 of 1991). The Business Act was focused on giving informal traders with rights to operate protection from local authorities and other counter acting bodies of privilege. The Act gave local authorities the role of regulating the industry, rather than controlling or managing it, however, there have been reports of traders being exploited, harassed and even evicted by authorities due to the absence of documentation.
In March 1995 the White Paper on the National Strategy for Development and Promotion of Small Businesses was formulated (White Paper on National Strategy, 1995). The Document outlines the role of government in relation to all categories of the informal economy. It sets out the initial role of creating a platform that assists and supports development initiatives (Chalera, 2007). Participatory approaches were constructed within the 1998 White Paper on Local Government, in which the community is included in the process of finding suitable strategies to attract economic and social resources for the poor to enhance their livelihoods.
Various areas within the country developed in different patterns, and both the government and the private sector worked together on approaches for managing and facilitating, along with the community, the informal economy’s operational systems/environment (Chalera, 2007). Durban had an adaptable environment for informal operations since it had a government Department of Informal Trade and Small Business Opportunities, while Johannesburg had a wider platform for operation, presenting a wide range of opportunities and access benefits (Skinner, 2008).
Spatial inequalities in income, health, education and poverty present significant economic and political challenges for the local governments of many areas in South Africa. While evidence of the extent of spatial inequality in South Africa is still seen, a growing body of work has also documented the existence of spatial inequalities in many forms in various other countries such as Asia, Europe, and Latin America (Kanbur and Venables, 2005a, 2005b; Kanbur, Venables and Wan, 2006). Because rapid economic growth is often associated with uneven regional and urban development, policy makers are also concerned that development with irrelevant policy implementation is likely to exacerbate rather than reduce spatial inequalities. Despite these concerns, there seems to be little consensus on the causes of spatial inequality and how policy makers should respond to growing spatial inequalities. There are various spatial policies that have been implemented in South Africa that oversee development to ensure social and spatial justice in cities. The following table
93 lists the existing spatial legislation in South Africa, summarising their guiding principles and what they entail concerning the informal market.
94 Table 3.2: Spatial Planning Frameworks
Existing Legislation
Guiding Principles Informal economy Integrated/Less Integrated / Not Integrated
SPLUMA -Provision of effective, efficient sustainable, comprehensive and coordinated system of spatial planning and land use management.
-Spatial planning and land use management promote socio-economic inclusion.
-Remedies the imbalances that exist as a footprint of past disabilities to ensure equity in the implementation of spatial development and land use systems.
Less Integrated:
Although It does not say anything specific about the informal market.
SDF -Ensure that the SDF is accessible to a wide audience; achieve support for the SDF from all stakeholders, and propose spatial interventions that will effectively address common spatial issues facing municipalities and assist with achieving the desired spatial form.
-Be a spatial manifestation of government – wide programmes in accordance with the sound principles contained in Chapter One of the DFA.
-Be central to the achievement of the vision and objectives of the respective municipality.
-Facilitate alignment of various sector plans (strategies for facilitating alignment).
-Address spatial inefficiencies.
Less Integrated:
Stakeholders in the preparation of the SDF include the following:
-Civil society organisations such as civics, ratepayers associations, heritage organisations, business chambers, informal traders organisations and farmers‘ unions.
95 -Facilitate the urban/ rural interrelationship and sustainability of rural
areas.
IDP -Poverty reduction.
-Sustainable municipal development.
-Sound environment.
-Better service delivery.
-Local economic development.
-Partnership approach.
-Spatial integration.
-Monitoring and evaluation.
-Implementation management.
-Capacity building.
Integrated:
(Different with various municipalities) The policy guidelines related to promotion of economic growth, income and employment generation have to be considered by:
-An analysis of economic structures, trends and potentials during the analysis, at least in category A and C municipalities (for smaller category B municipalities this task may be too ambitious);
-Involving the business community (including informal sector representatives) in the public participation process;
-Making sure that each municipality establishes an employment generation/LED strategy as part of its IDP (category B municipalities may be given guidance through joint district-level strategy workshops to comply with this task);
-Deciding on measures for improving the institutional framework for private investment and for informal sector activities; and -deciding on areas for municipal service partnerships and on measures to promote such partnerships. In other words: IDPs
96 have to include an LED promotion strategy.
PDA -Provide adoption, replacement and amendment of schemes.
-Provide for subdivision and consolidation of land.
-Provide for the development of land outside schemes.
-Provide for the phasing out or cancellation of approved layout plans for the subdivision, development, alteration, suspension and deletion of restrictions relating to land.
-Closure of municipal roads or public places.
-Enforcement of the Act and Schemes.
-Provide for compensation.
-Establish a tribunal.
- Provide for planning and development norms and standards.
Not Integrated
NDP The NDP positioned the following as key ingredients for success:
-The active efforts of all South Africans.
-Growth, investment and employment.
-Rising standards of education and a healthy population.
- Fighting corruption, transforming society and uniting the country -An effective and capable government.
-Collaboration between the private and public sectors.
-Leadership from all sectors of society.
Not Integrated
LAP The aims of these guidelines are to: Integrated:
97 -Highlight best practice and improve the quality of local area plans,
especially in relation to their content and consistency with higher-level plans, thereby improving the quality, consistency, effectiveness and efficiency of decision making on planning applications and the quality of development in general.
Improve community and institutional participation in the process of preparing or amending local area plans.
-Enhance the co-ordination and provision of essential public infrastructure within the planning process.
-The improved connectivity networks, wider pavements and active market spaces will provide space for 80% more registered informal traders, increasing from approximately 8,000 in 2016 to 14,400, promoting sustainable local livelihoods through access to larger markets, smart city infrastructure and business support. All registered traders will have easy access to adequate facilities including clean ablutions, waste management and lockers for their goods.
-Increased legal informal trade.
-The emerging spatial responses designed to address constraints facing the informal economy are designed to support and protect the informal sector in suitable trading areas in identified:
•Streets with wider-pavements,
•Around public transport hubs and other facilities with high levels of pedestrian movement,
•Market Space,
-In addition to support for the informal sector, these activities should be well managed to avoid conflict with other city users.
LED -Developing a holistic strategy aimed at growing local firms.
-Providing a competitive local investment climate.
-Supporting and encouraging networking and collaboration.
-Encouraging the development of business clusters.
-Encouraging workforce development and education.
Less Integrated:
-Strategy 7: Ensure optimal opportunities for development of the informal sector.
98 -Closely targeting inward investment to support cluster growth.
-Supporting quality of life improvements.
LUMS -Uses/rights permitted only with the written consent of the local municipality (Clause 22): Informal business.
Not Integrated:
SDBIP -Projection for each month 1. Revenue to be collected by source and operational and capital expenditure by vote.
-Service delivery target and performance indicators for each quarter.
Not Integrated:
PGDS The five national and six provincial priorities include the following:
-Job creation (Decent work and economic growth); education; health;
rural development, food security and land reform;
-Fighting crime and corruption; and -Nation-building and good governance (State of KZN Province Address February 2010).
Integrated:
-The 2011 PGDS will need to provide an overarching framework:
-strategies to ensure that the fundamentals are in place to support, promote and enhance economic activities ranging from informal sector business activities to the activities of large multi-nationals.
-Interventions, albeit not exhaustive, include:
-Developing infrastructure for local markets.
-Support for the informal economy,
-Life support for local enterprises.
-Skills development to support local production.
- These rural service centres will include, and some have already emerged to include, a combination of the following activities:
- Informal trading / market area, DIEP A policy has the following purposes: Integrated:
99 -It makes local government’s approach and principles clear.
-It forms the basis for appropriate and workable legislation.
-It provides the basis for common action by different government departments.
-It provides the basis for making decisions about allocating resources for management and support.
-It provides the basis for making agreements with other stakeholders about what the roles of local government and other groups should be.
-A long term policy goal for some is to support the move of informal economy workers into the formal economy. However, it appears that the formal economy is in-formalising rapidly; the informal economy offers diverse opportunities for absorbing those who have lost their jobs, and for new entrants into the economy.
The informal economy is here to stay, not only in Durban, but internationally.
-The formal and informal parts of the economy are mutually interdependent. The good health of one depends on the good health of the other. It is difficult.
- To promote growth of smaller enterprises, if the overall rate of economic growth is slow.
-Management of the informal economy in the past has concentrated on people trading in public places, such as street vendors, and in municipal markets. With the growing importance of home based and outdoors informal work, and changes (again internationally) in the uses of public and private space, local government has to revise its role and responsibilities.
-To date, much of the support for the informal economy in South Africa, through national SMME policy, has been focused on medium size enterprises and has not been very successful. Not enough support has been given to the poorer segment - the very small operators in the SMME sector, sometimes called
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survivalists. At national level, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) acknowledges its lack of success overall in supporting SMMEs, and especially poorer ones. Private training and support providers in the city and region are nearly uniformly missing the poorer operators and survivalists.
-There will always be a tension, for local government, in reconciling its own formality, and rule-bound procedures, with the fluidity and change of the informal economy.
- Local government has to balance the need for job creation, in both formal and informal parts of the economy, with the need for orderly management of the city and of residential areas.
National Science and Technology Forum (YEAR); State of KZN Province Address February 2010)
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