This chapter examined the street trading environment in the Msunduzi Municipality, Pietermaritzburg. According to officials from the Msunduzi Municipality and the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business, the current Street Trading Policy is outdated and needs to be revised to regulate the continuous growth of street-based enterprises. Only two phases of the Street Trading Policy have been implemented in the CBD. Challenges in implementation include formal business employment of street traders at demarcated sites and stalls, foreign street trader occupation of stalls meant for South African citizens and follow up of registered traders on the Municipality‟s database regarding rental payments and lease agreements.
Street traders in Pietermaritzburg are dominantly African females, followed by African males and Indians as the second dominant racial group involved in street trading. Four trading locations in Pietermaritzburg were examined with varying numbers of formalised
research and rapid proliferation of survivalist enterprises, the numbers of street traders in Pietermaritzburg differed from 3000 to 4000 in 2007.
The Raisethorpe CBD is a hub of economic activity and serves as a centre of business for surrounding suburbs. Formal banking institutions, supermarkets, street traders, restaurants, insurance agencies, travel agents, schools and a private hospital form part of the Raisethorpe CBD making it unnecessary for people to travel to the CBD for goods and services. Therefore, the Raisethorpe CBD is significant in the overall street trading landscape of Pietermaritzburg.
Lack of information on the role of street trading in the city‟s economy and contribution of this income to the household economy is a gap in current literature on the household food security role of street trading in Pietermaritzburg. This study was conceptualised to address this gap; determine the income gained from street trading; how this income is used within the household and contribute more widely to literature on the role of the informal sector in food security. To investigate the household food security role of street trading, innovative participatory research tools had to be selected to investigate food security, street trading income and the trace the use of street trading income within the household. Chapter five discusses the selection and application of participatory research tools to evaluate street trading as a food and livelihood security coping strategy.
CHAPTER FIVE:
METHODOLOGY
5.1 DESCRIPTION OF SURVEY AREA
Mayrhofer‟s (2001) study revealed that from four key trading locations in Pietermaritzburg, Indians were the second largest racial group engaged in street trading.
Although this study did include two African traders, ten participants were Indian. Every effort was made to secure the participation of African traders but due to reasons beyond control (such as the fear to participate resulting from coercion from trader organisations, and acting as fronts for formal shops and foreigners), street traders in Church and Pietermaritz Street did not honour interview appointments or refused to participate.
The area selected for this study was Raisethorpe, Pietermaritzburg. Research participants operated micro-enterprises on Old Greytown Road, specifically the area between Mysore Road and Balhambra Way (refer to figure 4.4). This strip of road is dominated by supermarkets, garages, photo studios, traditional Indian stores and spice shops and is a bustling centre of economic activity serving as a shopping destination for the suburban areas of Northdale; Allandale; Mountain Rise; Orient Heights and Newholmes.
Raisethorpe informal market was an „enclave market‟ similar to Warwick Junction in Durban, as most informal traders and customers were Indian (McKeever, 1998). All traders were exposed to climate extremes that make business difficult to conduct. The number of traders varied on different visits to the site, from Monday to Thursday but numbered 15 on average. On Friday and Saturdays there were about 20 to 25 traders operating in the area. Data was collected in November and December 2004.
Informal traders in Raisethorpe sell a range of goods from fruit and vegetables, clothing, CDs and DVDs to phone services. The traders operate on the pavement and from vans, under gazebos and under umbrellas and the shelter of formal shops. Traders have no fixed infrastructure and many use public toilets and either source water from formal
proper stalls, water and sanitation facilities. High rates of crime plague many traders.
Shop owners complained that traders created an unfair competitive environment by selling the same goods at cheaper prices.
Raisethorpe was identified as a suitable survey area for a number of reasons. The researcher investigated traditional trading areas in Pietermaritzburg such as Freedom Square, Retief, Pietermaritz and Church Streets. Traders in the Church Street Mall area were not approached by the researcher as these traders had proper infrastructure and this study focussed on traders who were operating without infrastructure and services as this sector had not been previously researched.
The trading areas along Church Street, Retief and Pietermaritz Street were unserviced and sites are not clearly demarcated. Street traders along Church, Retief and Pietermaritz Street are close to taxi ranks that serve Northdale, Eastwood, Woodlands and Copesville (between Church Street and Loop Street). These areas have a high crime rate and the presence of a female researcher on these streets spending three to five hours per site was not recommended.
As a result, traders operating two kilometres away from the taxi ranks along the bottom- end of Church Street were approached by the researcher to participate in the study. The aims of the study were explained by an assistant in IsiZulu. However, many street traders were reluctant to participate, explaining that they could not leave their trading site and had nobody to assist them while they participated in the study. Those who agreed to participate failed to honour interviews.
The methodology used for this study was an in-depth case study and the application of several complicated qualitative tools that required expert understanding. The skill and competency required to apply qualitative tools is unlike that of surveys where numerators have to be trained to apply the questionnaire and record answers on a pre-determined questionnaire.
The tools used in this study required immediate analysis and follow up questions that could only be done by the researcher. A qualified bilingual (IsiZulu and English) research assistant could not be hired and trained due to financial constraints. For this reason, the tools had to be applied in English, which necessitated that research participants be English first language speakers. All traders approached along Church Street, Retief and Pietermaritz Street were IsiZulu first language speakers.
The African Council of Hawkers and Informal Business (ACHIB) is the dominant trader organisation in Pietermaritzburg. According to reports, ACHIB coerces traders to become members, once traders become members, they can only purchase supplies from ACHIB affiliates (Baijoo, 2007). It is possible that traders in the city centre were afraid to participate for fear of chastisement from this organisation.
After scouting other locations such as Failsworth and Manchester Road, Raisethorpe was evaluated in terms of its racial profile and the infrastructure street traders had access to.
Traders in Raisethorpe were willing to leave their sites for three to five hours and be interviewed at a local office and willing to disclose the income gained each month and how they used this cash to meet family needs. Of approximately 25 traders of mixed race, 17 agreed to participate in the study. During data collection five decided not to participate and the study was left with a sample of twelve traders (two African and ten Indian).
Admittedly, this case study sample is small but the nature of the investigation required in- depth interviews and relationship building to develop trust with respondents in order to understand the coping strategy elements that typical survey research is not able to achieve.