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This research project focused on the narrated lives of woman informal street traders. Ten women from the Warwick Junction market in Durban, South Africa, of varying ages, were interviewed. The women selected participated in two interviews, one narrative interview and a follow up in-depth open-ended interview based on their life narrative. Thematic analysis was conducted thereafter; through this process recurring themes relevant to all participants were identified and discussed. Five dominant themes resulted from the thematic analysis: ‘Economic challenges’; ‘Politics, police and permits’; ‘Work’; ‘Being a woman’ and ‘Support’. The findings of this research showed that economical challenges were a substantial issue for several of the women, many of who grew up in poverty and remain trapped in the poverty cycle. Disturbingly, several women highlighted how local authorities and corrupt police showed little regard towards trader’s opinions and several women nostalgically recollected trading conditions before 1994. Many of the women were the sole breadwinners for their families, supporting children and grandchildren and great emphasis was placed on the importance of their work as a means of economic survival and financing their children’s education, as schooling was understood to be leverage out of the poverty cycle. The supportive role of the women’s communities was a significant feature in their lives. Several overarching social networks became resources in times of crises. The need to utilize the community as a supportive network was largely due to the lack of formal support women informal street traders received from local authorities. This research raises concerns over the City’s perceptions of, and approach towards, informal street traders, specifically in the last decade. Furthermore, this study highlights the need to broaden understandings of the means of coping used by women in contexts of poverty, constant vulnerability, and exposure to frequent psychologically disturbing trauma.

M.A. / „Street trading is an activity which involves the selling of goods or the supply of services for a reward in a public road‟ (City of Johannesburg, 2009b: 5-7). This minor dissertation is an examination of the conditions and aspirations of street traders in Johannesburg‟s Central Business District (CBD), specifically Kerk Street. The underlying rationale is the fact that, while there is a small, but growing body of literature on street traders in South Africa, there is little on street trading in the Johannesburg CBD. Moreover, to the best of the researcher‟s knowledge, virtually none of this deals with the views and aspirations of the street traders themselves. This dissertation is based on the following research question: How did the conditions and aspirations of street traders in Kerk Street change between 2005 and 2009? Fieldwork was conducted in two phases: 2005/6 and 2009. The separation in periods of study, and the opportunity it provided for comparison, was unintended and largely as a consequence of work pressures. But it proved unexpectedly beneficial. The researcher‟s original concern was to discover how traders viewed their existence and detail of the developments that they would like to see. Conditions were clearly poor and tales of dissatisfaction were predominant in informal conversations and formal interviews. When the researcher returned to the field in 2009, the assumption was that conditions would be the same, allowing me simply to update my earlier assessment. However, this was not the case. Whilst much was familiar, some conditions had improved and the traders were relatively more positive about their situation and more optimistic about the future. It is clear that the Johannesburg City Council has intervened to introduce improved conditions, and this contributed to improved morale amongst traders. It is recommended that there be continued engagement between street traders, the City of Johannesburg, and official bodies, namely the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), Central Johannesburg Partnership and Metro Trading Council. This will serve as inspiration for more traders to learn how to grow their businesses, to ensure that infrastructure around trading is further improved, and to increase adherence to and acceptance of relevant by-laws concerning the traders.

Informal sector participation has been described as a trap associated with impoverishment (Cassim, 1982); as the survivalist responses of marginalised persons with no alternatives (Habib, 2005); yet it has also been described as potentially dynamic (House, 1984). The former conceptions prescribe an identity to informal sector participants, with little consideration given to individual potential and individual action as means to escape impoverishment and a survivalist condition. An entrepreneurial orientation is associated with increased earnings in certain environments according to Lumpkin and Dess (1996), a process orientation that can be learned. Research testing the relationship between entrepreneurship and performance has been problematic due to the different definitions offered by different entrepreneurship scholars (Cunningham and Lischeron, 1991; Lumpkin and Dess, 1996). In this context, entrepreneurial orientation as a construct was utilised to overcome these challenges. Entrepreneurial orientation or certain of its dimensions have been associated with positive effects related to performance (Chow, 2006; Coulthard, 2007; De Clerq and Ruis, 2007; Jantunen, Puumalainen, Saarenketo, and Kylaheiko, 2005) or with negative relationships (Naldi, Nordqvist, Sjőberg and Wiklund, 2007). Innovativeness, competitive aggressiveness, risk taking propensity, autonomy and proactiveness, the dimensions of an entrepreneurial orientation (Lumpkin and Dess, 1996), and the effects of certain contextual factors were tested as to their associations with entrepreneurial performance. Entrepreneurial performance was defined in this context as a construct comprising earnings and continuance satisfaction. In terms of entrepreneurial performance, the contention of Lumpkin and Dess (1996) that an entrepreneurial orientation is associated with learning: the how of entrepreneurship, or the learnable process conception of Stevenson and Jarillo (1990), was also tested by investigating contextual factors and how they shaped an entrepreneurial orientation and contributed to entrepreneurial performance. ii In this context a quantitative investigation of informal sector street traders and providers of street-side services was undertaken using a survey format. The specific relationships influencing entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial performance were investigated. Results contested assumptions that prescribed a theoretically permanent and immutable survivalist orientation to certain informal participants in that education and learning related factors were found to be associated with entrepreneurial orientation and increased earnings. Entrepreneurial orientation was found to be associated with increased earnings along the dimension of risk taking propensity, and higher levels of autonomy were found to be associated with continuance satisfaction. The relationships between entrepreneurial and contextual factors were investigated and insights developed regarding potential street trader upliftment.

Magister Economicae - MEcon / The informal economy in South Africa has been associated with a lack of growth, and it is believed that people would pursue businesses in this sector to overcome the cicumstances of poverty. Street trading, which is the most visible sector of the informal economy, has been blamed for urban decay and the negative impact it has on the urbanisation of different cities across South Africa. Such views have contributed to the challenges of street traders and have affected how they make a living. Street trading is a growing phenomenon in the Central Businesses Districts (CBDs) where many are people dependent on the practice of street trading for livelihoods. This study sought to understand the contribution made by the street trading enterprises in sustaining migrant street trader livelihoods and well-being in Durban. The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) was applied as a conceptual framework to investigate the degree to which migrant street traders can improve their well-being and cope with the vulnerability context. The core elements of the SLF connect for migrant street traders to achieve desired livelihood outcomes. Using a case study research approach, the study sampled 12 migrant street traders for semi-structured interviews and 30 migrant street traders for the questionnaire. The study involved migrant street traders who sell clothing apparel at the Workshop flea market in the Durban CBD. The study applied a sequential mixed-method approach for data collection and data analysis. Empirical findings on quantitative data provided an insight into the different types of migrant street traders enterprises and the factors that propel migrant street traders to start street trading enterprises. Qualitative data provided insight that may not have been obtained by quantitative methods. Qualitative empirical finding’s inception point is the migration aspirations and opportunities of migrant street traders. The data highlights the role of networks in facilitating the migration process and providing support. Whilst the vulnerability context continuously poses major challenges for migrant street traders, the capital stocks from which migrant street traders draw from are crucial to deal with the shocks, seasonality, trends, and other challenges. Findings indicated the capitals enable migrant street traders to achieve a better life that they have reason to value, extend their capabilities, enhance well-being, and most of all achieve desired livelihood outcomes. The study revealed that social capital and human capital are crucial for sustaining livelihoods. Evidence from the study further revealed that street trading and the livelihoods of migrant street traders were highly dependent on the city they had chosen as their destination point when leaving the country of origin. Therefore, traders migrated toDurban not only for economic reasons but also for its geographic location and liveability. Although street trading operates in the vulnerability context, evidence from the study points to ways in which aspects of street trading in Durban may contribute to sustainable livelihoods and the enhanced well-being of migrants.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

This study examined how isiXhosa-speaking women street traders in Cape Town's Langa Township exercised agency in responding to similar structural constraints and opportunities that affected their livelihoods. Drawing on Giddens's Structuration Theory and Sen's Capabilities Approach, I unpacked and conceptualised agency as five dimensions (reflexivity, motivation, rationality, purposive action and transformative capacity). This analytical framework was then used to assess the ways in which women from a poor township community exercised their agency as street traders. A case study methodology (n=25) was adopted using participant observation and in-depth interviews. Miles and Huberman's thematic coding approach guided the qualitative analysis. The study found that structurally imposed constraints were rooted in class, multiple sources of power dynamics, and material constraints related to health; while opportunities emanated from market mechanisms of supply and demand, community social support systems in the form of social capital and social networks, family support and statutory social welfare programmes. Other key findings included resistance to patriarchy, cultural norms and practices, such as submission to abusive partners and unreasonable demands from extended family members. The findings report structure and agency as mutually constitutive in so far as familial circumstances, previous work experience, social capital, educational achievements and temporality either reinforced or diminished the participants' agency. Three profiles of agency among the women traders emerged from the data. The profiles demonstrated varying degrees of enablement (most enabled, moderately enabled and least enabled) and that individual agency was a distinguishing factor. Reflexivity, as a dimension of agency, presented as more fluid and malleable than the other four dimensions. The findings show that agency is reasonably elastic and it can expand capabilities and opportunities for enablement. Finally, the study proposed a diagnostic tool for assessing and enhancing agency with potential applications in entrepreneurial training for development. My study contributes to a theoretical understanding of the concept of agency, the role it plays in development at a micro-level and criteria for assessment. Furthermore, lessons learnt from the profiles can be applied to development practice and entrepreneurial training among African women traders.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / Street trading is a highly contested activity in South Africa because of the different interests held by the government, other stakeholders and street traders. The contradictory nature of the relationship between government and street traders has led to exclusionary policies and practices put in place by the government to regulate street trading. These exclusionary practices have negative effects on the livelihoods of street traders. Female traders are more vulnerable and at greater risk than their male counterparts. Organised labour movements have largely focused on formal sector workers, leaving the rights of informal workers largely unregulated. In recent years there has been an emergence of informal sector organisations seeking to protect the interests of street traders and influence informal trading policy. Although seldom researched, a number of informal sector organisations have emerged in South African cities. / 2023

Thesis (M. Sc. (Microbiology)) --University of Limpopo, 2019 / Informal street traders and traditional health practitioners at Ga Maja (Limpopo Province) primarily offer consumers semi-processed herbal concoctions that are indicated to have blood-cleansing, immune-boosting, detoxifying, antidiarrheal, antiHIV/AIDS and pain-relieving therapeutic properties. The focus of this study was to validate the pharmacological effects and safety of these herbal concoctions as indicated by the traders. Five herbal concoctions and their medicinal plant recipies used for their preparation were purchased from five independent traders. A laboratory concoction was prepared according to the traders’ instructions. Possible microbial contaminants were identified using Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-offlight mass spectrometry and VITEK 2. Nutritional content of the concoctions was determined by a plasma atomic emission spectrophotometer. Qualitative phytochemical analysis was determined using standard chemical tests and thin layer chromatography. Total polyphenol content was quantified calorimetrically. Antioxidant activity was quantified using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing power assays. Antimicrobial activities were determined using a broth micro-dilution assay and bioautography. Anti-HIV-1 reverse transcriptase activity was used to determine the antiviral potential of the concoctions. Anti-inflammatory activity was determined using the cyclooxygenase inhibition assays and possible cytotoxic effects of the concoctions were evaluated using MTT cell viability assay. Growth on potato dextrose and nutrient agar plates indicated heavy microbial contamination. Sodium, potassium and zinc were most abundant in the concoctions. The concoctions had similar phytochemical profiles, and together with plant decoctions consisted primarily of polyphenolic constituents. Generally, some plant decoctions had higher antioxidant (EC50: 15.71 – 40.87 µg/mL) and antibacterial (MIC: 0.04 – 0.63 mg/mL) activities. The antimicrobial activities of the concoctions were as a result of synergistic effects of the compounds because no single compound was observed to have antimicrobial activities on the bioautograms. Combination studies showed that the combination of crude decoctions from different plant species resulted in reduced antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal activities. The laboratory concoction had higher anti-HIV reverse transcriptase activity (EC50: 2.90 µg/mL) than the positive controls used (EC50: 36.65 – 40.90 µg/mL). The concoctions also demonstrated considerable antiinflammatory activity. The lack of standardisation of phytomedicines reduces their xxi pharmacological potential and consistency. However, this study validated the ethnopharmacological use of the different plant species and herbal concoctions towards the treatment of human immune-deficiency virus, pain caused by inflammation, infectious diarrhoea and for immune-boosting. This study also highlighted the complexities associated with combinations of aqueous extracts and the importance of appropriate knowledge on which plant species are to be mixed to enhance their therapeutic properties. Although the concoctions did not exhibit cyctotoxic effects, toxicities may arise from endotoxins produced by the microbial contaminants. Hygienic processing and packaging are essential to ensure that consumers receive quality products that are safe to consume.