ORIGINS, DEFINITION AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE INFORMAL SECTOR IN SOUTH AFRICA
4.4 POLITICAL DEBATE ABOUT INFORMAL SECTOR
above. YOur perceptions of street vendors remain confused and much
conditioned by the streets of London and Singapore." (Seminar, July 2000: 14)
Yet, in reality urban centers have always been a place of dialogue, interaction and trade between rich and poor. The goods sold by street vendors are often cheap and many people of different classes buy from them. Why can't they be seen as an opportunity rather a threat to the well being of a city?
Rampartab, in his study of 'Competition, Co-operation and Co-existence among informal and formal traders: Verulam case study' found no evidence of the often claimed threat by the formal sector of the informal sector. He argues that Yrather competition, co-existence seem to be a real possibility."(Rampartab, unpublished paper, submitted for Masters degree thesis 2001)
I happened to be the facilitator of the Mayor's conference at the KwaZulu-Natal Chapter of the African Renaissance Festival held between the 27th to the 31 st
March 2001. The Mayor's conference took place on the 28th of March 2001.
What follows are verbatim quotes of different Mayors about the question of informal traders.
Present at the conference was the Mayor of Blantyre, Malawi, one of the biggest municipalities or local assembly as they call it in Malawi, with a population of about 2 million people. This is what Mayor Charles Samme had to say about informal traders:
"Cleanliness in Blantyre is a major problem. Vendors from rural areas trade without authority. How do you ask them to vacate? We would like them to leave the street in the interest of cleanliness and hygiene." (Samme Charles,
unpublished speech) Given this mayor's perspective, it is likely that the policies his council will adopt will discourage or severely curtail the operations of the informal sector. From this extract, Mr. Samme's attitude towards the sector is clearly demonstrated. He associates informal trading with filth and unhygienic conditions. His own understanding influences the choice of solution. In this case, he chases informal sector away.
In response to this statement, the Mayor of one of the ten district Councils in KwaZulu-Natal, which happens to be very rural and very poor, UMkhanyakude District Council also known as District 27, Councilor Mthombeni said:
... Protect and strengthen the informal sector and develop our people where they are - in the streets. Both Durban and Johannesburg started as informal cities. It is the colonial mentality that makes us think in a classical way, and hence some of us want to see clean streets free from the pollution and obstruction caused by street traders. We think in terms of our standards as owners of expensive cars as opposed to putting ourselves in the shoes of poor people trying to earn a living in the street.
We cannot afford to get rid of them. We must rather encourage them to clean up their mess. We must develop them where they are: in the street.
In China they use motor bicycles to sell in the street. We cannot afford having clear streets. People are unemployed and people are hungry. So they search for their survival in the streets. If you want to move straight without street vendors, then go to Hell! (Mthombeni, unpublished speech, 2001)
Obed Mlaba, the Mayor of Durban Metro, which happens to be one of the richest cities in South Africa and Africa as a whole, had this to say about the informal sector of the economy:
Our informal sector is growing at a fast enough pace to make up for the collapse of the formal economy. There is a herbal indigenous market which we had to recognize and regulate with a R42 milli.on annual turnover
comprising some 2000 practitioners who were given by us (the city council) space to trade and consult with their patients in privacy. The average profits that each of these traditional healers- informal traders' makes is R6000 a month. We believe that this is in line with our new democratic dispensation. We have also identified a huge square, which shall accommodate informal traders involved in craft, clothing and herbs.
(Mlaba, O. unpublished speech, 2001)
The attitude of both Mayor Mthombeni and Mlaba tend to encourage the growth of the informal sector. It is not surprising to see friendly policies towards this sector in their own cities or towns. For example, councillor Mlaba in the extract above tells us how council contributed to the growth of the herbal informal traders by creating an enabling environment. He could even tell us the monetary value of this sector.
What exactly is informal trading? Mls it an unregulated nuisance clustering up city pavements or the great black hope of a revitalized South African
economy?"(author unknown, extract from an unpublished paper) These are some of the questions that occur as one tries to define this phenomenon. Some see it as a form that is used to address the unemployment rate in South Africa. Some see the informal sector as only for those who struggle to make ends meet. The Deputy Traffic Chief and Head of the Informal Trade Forum in Pretoria, Mr. Elias Mavhandu, supports this view and has this to say about informal traders: "We
strongly discourage this kind of business as the informal trade is for those who struggle, not for rich people to get richer. "(Muvhandu, unpublished paper) Depending on what we mean by informal traders, this kind of thinking might be problematic if one was to look at the taxi industry, for example, and claim that it is a formal trade. Probably to define what informal trading is one will have to look at what constitute a formal trader. This will then enable us to see who falls outside that category.