Assessing the challenges faced by informal street traders operating in Durban, South Africa
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Jul 31, 2021
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Abstract
Purpose: The informal sector consists of all unregistered businesses operating as street vendors and home-based businesses. Although these businesses employ about 6 out of every 10 workers worldwide, they encounter numerous challenges in carrying out their daily operations. Therefore, in this chapter, the challenges faced by informal traders located in the Durban central district of South Africa’s Kwa-Zulu Natal province are investigated.
Design/methodology/approach: This study employs the qualitative research approach utilising structured interviews to obtain data. The Snowball sampling method assisted the researchers to obtain the required data and was analysed using Content Analysis.
Findings: The results shows that, lack of business space for trading and storage, lack of funding to expand business, poor hygiene and the lack of ablution facilities for traders as well as municipal harassment were the major constraints of the informal operators.
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References
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Mahadea, D. and Zogli, L.K.J., 2018. Constraints to growth in informal sector activities and formalisation: A case study of Ghanaian slums. The Southern African Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, 10(1), pp.1-9.
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Nuru M.A. and Devi, S. U., 2016. Challenges faced by informal traders in Gondar City, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development 3(3): 137–141.
Raihan, S., 2010. Informal sector in Bangladesh: implications for growth and poverty. Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 53(2).
Rogan, M. and Skinner, C., 2018. The size and structure of the South African informal sector 2008–2014: A labour-force analysis. The South African Informal Sector, pp.77-102.
Sassen, S., Galvaan, R. and Duncan, M., 2018. Women's experiences of informal street trading and well-being in Cape Town, South Africa. South African Journal of Occupational Therapy, 48(1), pp.28-33.
Simon, C.P., Witte, A.D., Eakin, K., Schoettler, R.G. and Ziegert, A.L., 1982. Beating the system: The underground economy. Boston: Auburn House Publishing Company.
Siqwana-Ndulo, N.2013.The informal sector in South Africa: Women street traders in Durban Part 1. Available:http://www.polity.org.za/article/the-informal-sector-in-south-africa-women-street-traders-in-durban-part-1-2013-05-13 (Accessed 20 August 2020).
Statistics South Africa, 2017. Quarterly Labour force survey (online).Pretoria: government printers. Available: http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=10884 (Accessed 24 April 2021).
Akinbode, J.O., Adekola, P.O, and Salau, O.P.2016.An evaluation of financing challenges of informal entrepreneurs in Southwest, Nigeria: Journal of business management (online), 2(3):76-81.Available: http://www.palgojournals.org/pjbm-abstract-october-2016-akinbode-et-al-76-81/ (Accessed 15 April 2021).
Alvi, M.2016.A manual for selecting sampling techniques in research (online).Pakistan: University of Karachi. Available: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/A-Manual-for-Selecting-Sampling-Techniques-in-Alvi/f24ab50089188e2ef38cd0df9b33e074eeb98a1b (Accessed 1 July 2021).
Arias, J., 2019. Informal Vendors in Johannesburg, South Africa. Penn IUR Series on Informality Informal Vendors in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Bengtsson, M., 2016. How to plan and perform a qualitative study using content analysis. NursingPlus Open, 2, pp.8-14.
Chimucheka, T.and Rungani, E.C. 2013.Obstacles to accessing finance by Small Business operators in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality: East Asian journal of business management (online),3(2):23.Available: https://www.researchgate.net/project/SMMEs-SMEs-in-the-Eastern-Cape-Province-of-South-Africa (Accessed 15 April 2020).
Dobson, R., Skinner, C. and Nicholson, J., 2009. Working in Warwick: Including Street traders in urban plans. School of Development Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Ferman, P.R. and Ferman, L.A., 1973. The structural underpinnings of the irregular economy. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 8(1), pp.1-17.
Fourie, F., 2018. Creating jobs, reducing poverty: Why the informal sector should be taken seriously and enabled properly. Econ 3x3.
Frey, B.S., Weck, H. and Pommerehne, W.W., 1982. Has the shadow economy grown in Germany? An exploratory study. Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv, 118(3), p.499.
Fundie, A.M.S. and Chisoro, C., 2015. The Challenges Facing Informal Traders in the Hilbrow Area of Johannesburg. Kuwait Chapter of the Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 4(6), p.46.
Fusch,P. and Ness L.R.2015.Are we there yet? Data saturation in qualitative research (online), 20(9):9-7.Avalable: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol20/iss9/3/ (Accessed 24 April 2021).
Gamieldien, F. and Van Niekerk, L., 2017. Street vending in South Africa: An entrepreneurial occupation. South African Journal of Occupational Therapy, 47(1), pp.24-29.
Harrington, A. & Chopra, T. (2010). Denying Kenya’s women access to land rights. Justice for the poor research report no. 2/2010. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/30531/526740WP0P11101on1Harrington1Chopra.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y . Accessed Mar 30 2015.
Hart, K.1973.Informal income opportunities and urban employment in Ghana. Journal of modern African studies (online), 2(1): 61-89.Available:http://www.jstor.org/stable/159873 (Accessed 24 April 2020).
Hieu, N.T.M., Giang, N.T.H., Ngoc, V.T.M., Duc, N.V. and Quan, T.T., 2014. Does the informal economy mitigate poverty and how does it work?: the case of Vietnam.[online] Available: https://idl-bnc-idrc.dspacedirect.org/bitstream/handle/10625/54695/IDL-54695.pdf?sequence=1 (Accessed 15 April 2021).
ILO (2021). Informal economy [Online]. Available https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/employment-promotion/informal-economy/lang--en/index.htm (Accessed 21 May 2021).
International Labour Organization, 2015.Transitioning from the Informal to Formal Economy (online).Geneva: International Labour Office. Available: https://libguides.ilo.org/informal-economy-en (Accessed 21 May, 2021).
International Labour Organization, 2018.World employment social outlook. Geneva: International labour office. Available: https://www.readkong.com/page/world-employment-and-social-outlook-trends-2018-ilo-8561885 (Accessed 27 February 2020).
International Labour Organization, 2018.World employment social outlook. Geneva: International labour office. Available: https://www.readkong.com/page/world-employment-and-social-outlook-trends-2018-ilo-8561885 (Accessed 27 February 2021).
International Monetary Fund, 2017, South Africa, 2017 article IV consultation—press release; staff report; and statement by the executive director for South Africa. Available: http://www.treasury.gov.za/publications/other/imf/2017/IMF%20Art%20IV%20report.pdf (Accessed 21 June 2021).
Kolm, A.S. and Larsen, B., 2016. Informal unemployment and education. IZA Journal of Labor Economics, 5(1), pp.1-36.
Magalhães, B.C., 2015. Switching from informal to formal labor market in Brussels: What changes for live-out domestic workers?. Universitätsbibliothek: Johann Christian Senckenberg.
Mahadea, D. and Zogli, L.K.J., 2018. Constraints to growth in informal sector activities and formalisation: A case study of Ghanaian slums. The Southern African Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, 10(1), pp.1-9.
Muthusamy A and Ibrahim M S (2016), Problems Faced by Informal Workers in Different Sectors in India, Indian Journal of Applied Research, 6 (4).
Nkrumah-Abebrese, B. and Schachtebeck, C., 2017. Street trading in South Africa: a case of the Tshwane central business district. Acta Universitatis Danubius. Œconomica, 13(3).
Nuru M.A. and Devi, S. U., 2016. Challenges faced by informal traders in Gondar City, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development 3(3): 137–141.
Raihan, S., 2010. Informal sector in Bangladesh: implications for growth and poverty. Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 53(2).
Rogan, M. and Skinner, C., 2018. The size and structure of the South African informal sector 2008–2014: A labour-force analysis. The South African Informal Sector, pp.77-102.
Sassen, S., Galvaan, R. and Duncan, M., 2018. Women's experiences of informal street trading and well-being in Cape Town, South Africa. South African Journal of Occupational Therapy, 48(1), pp.28-33.
Simon, C.P., Witte, A.D., Eakin, K., Schoettler, R.G. and Ziegert, A.L., 1982. Beating the system: The underground economy. Boston: Auburn House Publishing Company.
Siqwana-Ndulo, N.2013.The informal sector in South Africa: Women street traders in Durban Part 1. Available:http://www.polity.org.za/article/the-informal-sector-in-south-africa-women-street-traders-in-durban-part-1-2013-05-13 (Accessed 20 August 2020).
Statistics South Africa, 2017. Quarterly Labour force survey (online).Pretoria: government printers. Available: http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=10884 (Accessed 24 April 2021).