The Buffalo City Public Transport Sector: The Formalisation of the Minibus Taxi Industry
Map 4.2 Mdantsane
Source: https://www.google.co.za/search?q=map+of+mdantsane+south+africa
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The economy of Buffalo City is largely driven by finance, government, manufacturing and trade. With the opening up of the South African economy under neo- liberalism to the global market and trade liberalisation over the past decade a more, there has been increasing pressure on firms to become globally competitive. Buffalo City has been no exception to this pressure to foster economic growth, and the municipality has sought to position itself as a worthy site for foreign investment.
Buffalo City Municipality (BCM) is currently promoting economic development and employment creation through two main initiatives: the expansion of the Department of Local Economic Development and Tourism, and the development of the Revitalising Buffalo City Plan of 2006. The Department of Local Development and Tourism focuses mainly maximising on the economic development potential of the Buffalo City urban centres. In recognising that the only sustainable base for achieving the municipal’s development goals is a sound, employment-rich economy, the Revitalising Buffalo City Plan is aimed at transforming the municipality into an effective, financially-sustainable development agency in line with recent and proposed legislation.
The 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa in fact states that a municipality must become local agents of socio-economic development. And this constitutional requirement is reinforced by relevant legislation and programmes about the functions and responsibilities of municipalities (such as the Municipal Systems Act of 2000 and Integrated Development Plans which are enacted every five years by each municipality).
This means that dedicated projects are to be undertaken over the life span of IDP (5 years).
The new municipal boundary demarcations which created Buffalo City Municipality in 2011 are meant to provide a stronger basis for constructive developmental interventions.
4.2.1 East London and the growing informal economy
East London is called Buffalo City by the local population, and has a population of approximately 880,000 people. Mdantsane, which is part of the East London/Buffalo City complex, is a large sprawling black township. It is mostly a residence for blue collar workers working in East London, though it also caters for a small middle class of public servants who live mostly in Unit 17 (Nodal Economic Profiling Project, Business Trust & DPLG, 2007 Mdantsane). Because of its dormitory status historically and because it remains as an insignificant source of formal employment, residents in Mdantsane rely on public transport (and notably the minibus taxi industry) for purposes of travelling to and from work in East London and often for shopping as well. It is estimated that up to 100,000 commuters use the
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public transport system on a daily basis from Mdantsane to East London and surrounding areas.
After Port Elizabeth, East London is the second largest industrial centre in the Eastern Cape Province with the motor industry as the dominant employer. For example, there is a major Delmar plant that is located next to the harbour and it manufactures Mercedes-Benz and other vehicles for the local market as well as exporting to the United States and Brazil.
Other industries include clothing, textiles, pharmaceuticals and food processing. There is also a concerted drive to stimulate investment in East London, made possible by the East London Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) which was established in the West Bank in 2004. The sectors with the steadiest growth rates in East London are manufacturing, trade and accommodation, transport and communication, and financial and business services.
Like other urban centres in South Africa, East London and Mdantsane continue to be characterised by high levels of urban unemployment, low incomes and deep poverty. Almost one-third of Buffalo City’s adults are unemployed in terms of access to the formal economy and there are growing numbers of people working within the informal sector. The BCM therefore highlights the significance of the informal sector and its contribution to economic activities in the local economy (BCM Annual Report, 2011/2012). The report goes on to mentions that
After a period of economic improvement from 2005, the unemployment rate in Buffalo City again started to trend upwards, especially during the period 2008 and 2009. The number of people employed in Buffalo City shrank from 267,332 to 261,882 jobs, representing a loss of 5,400 jobs over this period. The number of unemployed people increased accordingly to 82,000 during the period under discussion (BCM Annual Report, 2011/2012:14).
In this socio-economic context, the city centres in East London and Mdantsane abound with informal registered and unregistered businesses.
As with South Africa more broadly, there are significant linkages between the formal sector and informal sector in East London and Mdantsane. The existing literature shows that, historically under apartheid, the informal sector in East London and Mdantsane, and in particular informal trading, was a significant source of debate and conflict in the city (Holness, Nel and Binns, 1999; Hart and Rogerson 1989). For example, Holness, Nel and Binns argue that “by 1984 there was a total council ban on hawking in the city centre, and even purchasing from hawkers was made a punishable offence” (1999:189). Combined with national protest action against apartheid as a system of racial domination, this resulted in a crippling black consumer boycott of white businesses in 1985. With the birth of democracy,
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street trading continues to play a significant role in the lives of the marginalised urban poor within the city and surrounding areas.
There is significant informal trading taking place in the centre of the city of East London, as well as along Mdantsane Qumza Highway (the transport route between East London and Mdantsane). Indeed, the East London city centre and Mdantsane Highway remain the areas with the greatest concentration of informal traders; they are also sites for spatial and economic conflict between the formal and informal sectors in seeking to establish a clientele base (BCM IDP, 2011–2016). Given the fact that the central business district (CBD) in East London is the focus of the transport systems and economic activities within the city and Mdantsane more broadly, its attraction to informal traders is clear (Holness, Nel and Binns, 1999). Indeed, unlike other CBDs in South Africa (such as in Port Elizabeth), the CBD in East London has not been ‘gutted’ and it remains a viable and vibrant economic hub.
A CBD in Mdantsane is also spoken about, and this refers specifically to the business activities that take place in one key spot along the Mdantsane Qumza Highway. This is a formal shopping mall with a number of concentrated informal traders. Map 4.3 shows the location of the Mdantsane Qumza Highway CBD. On the map, the CBD is located in Mdantsane Unit 2. In this CBD, many informal traders (as shown in map 4.4) sell their goods on the streets, and this CBD is the location of the main taxi rank. The central market here is named after Qumza Highway, the main road that runs through Mdantsane from East London city centre to an industrial area called Fort Jackson.