This research report investigates the impact of skills development programmes on the informal traders in the City of Johannesburg (COJ). The research would like to determine if skills development provided by municipality has benefited individual traders, in terms of financial performance and increased employment. The researcher will ascertain the progress between informal traders who receive training and those who did not participate in the training programme. The report would further establish if there were any impacts at all. Was the impact directly influenced by municipal training or was because of some externalities such as trader’s innovation or trader’s organisations? To what extent has training been able to reduce the skills gap in the informal business? This research is responding to the lack of previous work on the impact of training offered to informal traders. There is a strong commitment on the part of COJ to dialogue with informal traders. Informal trading is regarded as integral part of broader economy (The Star: 2006: 21). The research was conducted through in-depth interviews with informal traders operating at Metro Mall in the City Business District (CBD). The researcher conducted interviews with service providers and municipality. The hypothesis suggests that informal traders who receive training are more productive than those who did not participate. The lack of skills in the informal business prompted the COJ to deliver skills training in an attempt to improve the condition of the informal traders. (Simon McGrath 1994), referred to this scenario as “planning for what was traditionally unplanned”. The argument is that training does not make successful informal traders. The report will argue that while training is important to informal traders who arrive in Johannesburg lacking skills, training should be monitored and be accompanied by incentives for example to help those who may not have a start-up capital. The selection criteria will have to be reviewed such that most informal traders are given equal opportunity to acquire skills necessary for the development of their business. As long as these factors, remain un-addressed there are limited potential growth in the informal business. Training should be an integral process linked to various structures such that survivalist activities are replaced by sustainable entrepreneurial business. The duty of the planners as the practitioners in the built environment is to ensure that informal trading coexist with formal business without one affecting negatively on the other. They also have a duty of influencing municipal decision-makers in ensuring that informal traders training programmes reinforce the enabling environment that would allow them to benefit and improve their business undertakings. This may be accomplished by restricting competition from illegal informal traders operating outside the mall, providing incentives to informal traders after the training and organise special events that would attract more customers at the mall. This is because “planning is a profession concerned with the management and development of human beings and their settlements within urban and rural settings. It is about the organisation of human activity in a way that will help to realise their hopes and dreams for future” (www.wits.ac.za/depts/wcs/archschool.html).

This study investigated the experiences and survival strategies of informal traders in Mthatha, paying more attention to women. This has included their daily activities to sustain themselves and improve business performance. It has however elaborated on the reasons why people engage themselves in informal trade. Literature review shows that the reasons why people are involved in this form of trade are mainly due to unemployment, lack of education and lack of knowledge. The significance of this form of trade to the economy cannot be underestimated. Emphasis was laid on the challenges encountered by these traders. Such challenges include lack of access to financial facilities such as credit and savings; lack of shelter; harsh weather conditions and harassment and confiscation of their goods by Metro Police. The methodology of this study is primarily based on both quantitative and qualitative methods of research. Several data collection instruments were used. These included questionnaires, participant observation, in-depth interview and photography. Fifty questionnaires were administered to the informal traders and an interview schedule was used to gather information from members of the community and municipality. Description of study site, ethical consideration, limitations and delimitation has equally been presented. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS and manually. The results revealed that informal trading is a survival strategy to a large population of the people in Mthatha and the only source of income. Most of them are breadwinners who support a large number of dependents.

Magister Philosophiae (Land and Agrarian Studies) - MPhil(LAS) / In the Western Cape, snoek (Thyrsites atun) is a target for small scale fisheries. This fishery is comprised of recreational, subsistence and traditional line fisheries in the province. Snoek contributes 40% to 50% of the line fish which is landed. This thesis sought to identify the roles which are performed by informal snoek traders in certain Cape Town coloured1 townships in the snoek value chain. There are various aspects of this fish which heightens its importance in the Western Cape. Snoek is significant in the provision of food security for many poor and working class individuals and households within the coloured townships of Cape Town. Snoek is an omega 3-rich fish and is one of the Cape’s most well-known gastronomic traditions. It provides affordable and easily absorbable proteins, vitamins and minerals for township people. Poor people mostly rely on starches and fail to afford the most expensive protein sources like red meat. The snoek trade also helps in the creation of jobs and enables people to earn cash income. The study revealed that there is specialisation and division of labour between snoek traders and fishers. Snoek is sold via the auction system at the various landing zones scattered all over the Western Cape. It was observed that the snoek value chain is dominated by men and there are few women in the value chain who sell or clean snoek. Informal snoek traders ply their business next to shops or on the sides of busy roads using ‘bakkies’2 from where the fish is flayed and sold to the waiting customer to emphasise its freshness. Snoek traders create convenience by bringing fresh fish to customers in the townships. They also assume risks which come with venturing in business. Some snoek traders engage in multiple livelihood strategies by diversifying income generating activities rather than relying on one income source. Among the several challenges which snoek traders confront, one pressing challenge they need to address is their lack of organisation which prohibits them from speaking with one voice. The snoek value chain should be more efficient so that it keeps supplying the much needed nutrients in the townships. Both primary and secondary data collection techniques were used. Snoek traders face a myriad of challenges which require the authorities to address. They have no access to infrastructure with sanitary facilities. The other problem they face is that they are disorganised amongst themselves which weaken their cause. Traders and fishers would like to see the real transformation taking place within this snoek fishery. Traders are convinced that there is corruption within the fisheries department and many have lost faith in the system.

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / During the year 2000 Zimbabwe faced a multiplex of challenges linked to political and economic dynamics generated from its Fast Track Land Reform Programme (Raftopoulos, 2009). The country plunged into land grabs (dubbed Third Chimurenga) led by the war veterans, motivated by economic freedom and emancipation for the black majority. Thus began the economic decline and the exodus of citizens leaving the country in search for employment opportunities and better living conditions abroad. As expressed by Raftopoulos (2009), the problem of economic hardship and perpetual uncertainty worsened in 2008 due to the violent elections that were held in the country which resulted in rampant killings and a hyperinflation that saw the Zimbabwe dollar plunge into trillions. Many families were displaced as people were forced to flee to neighbouring countries including South Africa in search for a better life as well as opportunities. Zimbabweans entered the South African job market which had already begun struggling due to the economic recession experienced in 2008 (Matshaka, 2009). This left many Zimbabweans unemployed and with many survival challenges. In order to survive, many of these refugees started learning creative arts and crafts with the hope of using their skills and capabilities for self-employment. It is within this context that this research investigates the coping mechanisms used by Zimbabwean refugees in combating the challenges of unemployment and poverty by trading through craft markets in Hout Bay as a means of survival and livelihood. The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) was used as a theoretical lens through which to examine the livelihood strategies of Zimbabwean refugees as a means of survival. With regard to the selection of research design the mixed methods approach was used to broaden the width and depth of assessment. This included both qualitative and quantitative methods in order to collect data relevant to the research question.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / The Quarterly Labour Force survey by Statistics South Africa (2019) portrays a very bleak future for the South African economy and labour force. The unemployment rate is 27.6% and youth unemployment stands at 55.2%. The National Development Plan (NDP) recognises the relevance of the informal sector and the value that it will contribute to the economy and to solving the challenges of unemployment in South Africa. The NDP projects that the informal sector, which includes domestic work, will create between 1,2 and 2 million new jobs by 2030. Few studies have been conducted on informal trading projects. This study explores the case of a ‗transitional‘ informal enterprise support project aimed at micro-enterprise development wherein 10 informal traders in Cape Town took occupancy of provincial government-sponsored kiosks on 9 May 2016. The Long Street kiosks (LSK) offer 10 traders per year a unique trading opportunity in the CBD free of rent and service charges for a period of one year, with access to a unique and potentially large market. The purpose of this study is to critically examine the role played in the informal enterprise development project by the Western Cape provincial government through its project manager, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT). This research attempts to investigate aspects of project design such as the selection criteria of the informal traders for the project, and selected results such as whether the project provided the traders with enough market exposure to the formal economy and whether their businesses were improved by participation in the project. The qualitative research approach was used for this study of the LSK project, which was a single case study, as both a unit of analysis and as a research method. The study involved a combination of two approaches, namely desktop research followed by interviews and focus group sessions. The study found that a number of limitations and shortcomings in the conduct of the project impacted on the mixed results and success achieved, pertaining to selection criteria, lack of financial and other resources, training, market-related problems, skill set limitations as well as environmental factors such as transport. The study nevertheless cast useful light on potential changes and recommendations that could enhance the project going forward and provides new insights on the complex relationship between the informal and formal ii economies and their relative potential for addressing the challenges of employment and economic growth.

Abstract The central concern of this study is the nature of informal economic activities among urban traders in Harare, Zimbabwe. The study focuses on a particular flea market and describes the precarious lives of a sample of informal traders. It is shown that, as through much of Africa, the market is a social as well as an economic nexus. It is not only the site of economic production and exchange constituting the survivalist activities that are increasingly important in the collapsing Zimbabwe economy, but also the site of diverse social relations. The thesis also shows that the formal and informal are part of the same deeply segmented economy and not two distinct, separate economies. The extended case study method is used to describe and analyse the nature of informal trading activities among traders dealing in four types of goods commonly found at the flea market: clothes and shoes, DVDs and video games, arts and crafts, and second-hand books. Primary and secondary sources, interviews with policy experts, researchers and activists, a total of 70 semi-structured interviews with traders and participant observation, over a period of one and a half years were used to obtain data on the nature of the informal economy in the current Zimbabwe crisis, and to profile these traders. The thesis describes the daily lives of the traders, their social characteristics and work histories, and the social relations of trust and reciprocity which enable them to source their goods. It is shown that the majority of the traders live an extremely precarious existence marked by low, unstable incomes. However, they should not be viewed as passive victims of the economic crisis, as they demonstrate qualities of resourcefulness and innovation. Nor are they totally excluded from global circuits of production and exchange. Global connections are identified and shown to be relevant to the sourcing and sale of goods. These connections suggest an alternative way of conceptualising globalisation.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / The Quarterly Labour Force survey by Statistics South Africa (2019) portrays a very bleak future for the South African economy and labour force. The unemployment rate is 27.6% and youth unemployment stands at 55.2%. The National Development Plan (NDP) recognises the relevance of the informal sector and the value that it will contribute to the economy and to solving the challenges of unemployment in South Africa. The NDP projects that the informal sector, which includes domestic work, will create between 1,2 and 2 million new jobs by 2030. Few studies have been conducted on informal trading projects. This study explores the case of a ‗transitional‘ informal enterprise support project aimed at micro-enterprise development wherein 10 informal traders in Cape Town took occupancy of provincial government-sponsored kiosks on 9 May 2016. The Long Street kiosks (LSK) offer 10 traders per year a unique trading opportunity in the CBD free of rent and service charges for a period of one year, with access to a unique and potentially large market. The purpose of this study is to critically examine the role played in the informal enterprise development project by the Western Cape provincial government through its project manager, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT). This research attempts to investigate aspects of project design such as the selection criteria of the informal traders for the project, and selected results such as whether the project provided the traders with enough market exposure to the formal economy and whether their businesses were improved by participation in the project. The qualitative research approach was used for this study of the LSK project, which was a single case study, as both a unit of analysis and as a research method. The study involved a combination of two approaches, namely desktop research followed by interviews and focus group sessions. The study found that a number of limitations and shortcomings in the conduct of the project impacted on the mixed results and success achieved, pertaining to selection criteria, lack of financial and other resources, training, market-related problems, skill set limitations as well as environmental factors such as transport. The study nevertheless cast useful light on potential changes and recommendations that could enhance the project going forward and provides new insights on the complex relationship between the informal and formal economies and their relative potential for addressing the challenges of employment and economic growth.

This study focused on the impact of vegetable sales on household income of hawkers in the Limpopo province. A stratified sampling technique was used. The population of hawkers was selected from the five district municipalities of the province. Three major towns from each district were randomly selected for 366 questionnaire administration. Multiple regression analysis (linear, semi-log and double-log) was used to determine the impact of vegetable sales on the household income of hawkers. The outcome of the study revealed that, nine independent variables had a significant impact on the vegetable sales of hawkers when the linear regression model was applied. On application of the semi-log regression, 11 independent variables had a significant impact on the vegetable sales. Ten independent variables had a significant impact on vegetable sales when considering the double-log regression. The cross tabulation of total sales according to districts showed that an average of 1.6 respondents earned less than R200 which is close to, but lower than R174 which is the poverty line measure in South Africa. The study showed the degree of significance of different variables that have an impact on hawkers’ vegetable sales. Vegetable hawkers generate enough income from their sales to live above the poverty line. The recommendation was that the local municipalities should build new markets and improve the infrastructure of existing markets, and also provide proper sanitation and clean water to avoid unhygienic situations in hawkers’ markets. / Agriculture and  Animal Health / M. Sc. (Agriculture)

This study focused on the impact of vegetable sales on household income of hawkers in the Limpopo province. A stratified sampling technique was used. The population of hawkers was selected from the five district municipalities of the province. Three major towns from each district were randomly selected for 366 questionnaire administration. Multiple regression analysis (linear, semi-log and double-log) was used to determine the impact of vegetable sales on the household income of hawkers. The outcome of the study revealed that, nine independent variables had a significant impact on the vegetable sales of hawkers when the linear regression model was applied. On application of the semi-log regression, 11 independent variables had a significant impact on the vegetable sales. Ten independent variables had a significant impact on vegetable sales when considering the double-log regression. The cross tabulation of total sales according to districts showed that an average of 1.6 respondents earned less than R200 which is close to, but lower than R174 which is the poverty line measure in South Africa. The study showed the degree of significance of different variables that have an impact on hawkers’ vegetable sales. Vegetable hawkers generate enough income from their sales to live above the poverty line. The recommendation was that the local municipalities should build new markets and improve the infrastructure of existing markets, and also provide proper sanitation and clean water to avoid unhygienic situations in hawkers’ markets. / Agriculture and  Animal Health / M. Sc. (Agriculture)

The study focuses on the regulation of informal trading, specifically street traders, within Polokwane Local Municipality. Municipalities required to manage street trading, and to deal with the challenge of increasing numbers of informal traders, which is affecting the formal trading economy. A small income and the limited ability of the government and the formal business sector to provide sufficient employment opportunities to people in the economically active age categories are two of the main reasons for informal trading in South African cities. As a result, the informal street trading sector plays an important role in providing a security net for millions of unemployed in the South African economy. However, informal street trading is not without its problems (Willemse, 2011:7). Often people blame government for not creating employment. When government is unable to provide sustainable employment to all the people, informal jobs emerge. Thus informal trading has become the only option for survival. Informal trading is a major source of income for the majority of the urban poor and therefore requires a properly regulated environment to address issues of income and unemployment for the poor. This study undertook to investigate how Polokwane Local Municipality regulates informal trading in the city of Polokwane. The research method employed in this study is qualitative. The main finding of the study is that because informal trading plays a significant role in creating employment, it must be well regulated and supported by the municipality in order to be organised. The main recommendation on the basis of this finding is that there should be a new approach, especially in terms of enforcement of by-laws. Most informal traders have applied for permits and have been waiting for a response from the Polokwane Local Municipality for years. In this regard, most of the informal traders are dissatisfied with municipal treatment of informal trading in the city. This dissatisfaction is also caused by lack of consultation.