Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Informal Traders

latest news & developments
South Africa must resist two dangerous temptations simultaneously: the temptation to demonise all foreign nationals and the temptation to silence every concern about illegal immigration through accusations of xenophobia. (Paul Botes)

Where does patriotism end and xenophobia begin?

There is something deeply dishonest about how few South Africans discuss immigration. They have become comfortable with moral grandstanding while communities collapse under the…

Occupational hazards: Women informal cross-border traders in Zimbabwe have much to contend with, between violent hold-ups to the effects of Covid-19 on their business. Photo: Phill Magakoe/AFP

Covid-19 border closures hit Zimbabwe’s women traders hard

The past 18 months have been tough for women cross-border traders, who saw their income vanish when borders closed

Volunteers and local workers take part in the clean up operation at the looted Bara Mall in Soweto, on July 15, 2020. – Many South Africans, taking matters into their own hands in a country where few rely on a chronically failing state, have started to clean up and repair. And the South African presidency even tweeted its thanks to “those who clean up”. (Photo by LUCA SOLA / AFP)

Rebuttal: Township malls should be rebuilt

Tshepo Mokholo’s article on township malls misses some Kasi’s economic and social points

The City Deep fresh produce market before sunrise.

Not all of Jo’burg’s street traders can sell their wares under lockdown

Street traders are central to food security in Johannesburg. But since being declared an essential service under lockdown, street trade in South Africa’s biggest city has…

According to Statistics South Africa’s most recent quarterly labour force survey, there were almost three million workers in the informal sector at the end of 2019. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Covid-19: ‘Unemployment benefits will not be extended to the informal sector’

Almost three million workers are not covered by measures implemented by the department of employment and labour to lessen the economic effects of the coronavirus

Increased accessibility to housing subsidies, acceptance of alternative building materials and the opportunity to create jobs makes a strong case for sustained economic and social development.

The informal economy is necessary to deal with the unemployment crisis

It is more connected to the broader economy than we realise and should be supported

A man looks at clothing items in the Nyabugogo Market in Kigali. (Jean Bizimana/Reuters)

Kigali’s trade-off: Sell and be arrested or starve

At first glimpse, Rwanda’s capital is a model African city: clean, organised, beautiful. But behind the gleaming facade, not all is well

Professor Steve Tollman

Used clothing industry oils the informal economy

Johannesburg’s hub of second-hand garment traders – run under the leadership of the African Traders Organisation – woos trendy and indigent customers.

Home Affairs is on the up

But the thriving informal economy situated near the department’s Marabastad offices is now feeling the pinch, thanks to its increased efficiency.

Paddy Kearney (left, with Archbishop Rubin Phillip) believed that failure to act on injustice was not an option. (Rajesh Jantilal/AFP)

Economic tides hurt small traders

Macroeconomic events go right down the line to those struggling to make a living on the streets.

The International Trade Union Confederation estimates that nine in 10 workers in Africa have informal work.

A permanent job is hard to find

Precarious work is becoming the norm as bosses increase their levels of exploitation.

Cross-border trading.

Gender equality is a right, but it’s about economic growth too

In each of the SADC’s 15 member countries, millions of women traders are putting SADC’s vision into practice.

A court has ruled that metro officers who could not account for goods confiscated from one street trader were liable to pay compensation.

Municipality impounding informal traders’ goods ‘unlawful’

The eThekwini municipality’s power to impound and confiscate the goods belonging to traders was found to be unconstitutional, invalid and unlawful.

Hawkers’ fruit bruised by legislation

Informal traders were swept off Jo’burg’s streets in October and although the city now appears to have embraced them, their future remains uncertain.

Tshwane: ‘There is no widespread harassment of hawkers’

The city’s informal traders say they’re the victims of arbitrary, violent removal from their stalls, but Tshwane denies its police harassed them.