Interlacing threads of public space, local governance and street trading: a case of Ray Nkonyeni Municipality.
Date
2022
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Abstract
Street trading may offer a viable mechanism to fill the gap in the national efforts to eliminate poverty
and unemployment, given the insufficient employment prospects in the formal economy. This is
largely due to the significant socioeconomic impact the informal sector, specifically street trade, in
this case, has on the lives of many South Africans. This study sought to explore how Ray Nkonyeni
Local Municipality managed potential conflicts between its obligations to promote socioeconomic
development and the challenges brought on by the continued growth of street trading; how street
traders perceived how the municipality was managing street trading; and what conflicts, tensions, and
alignments manifested in the process. This qualitative case study research sought to explore, describe
and apprehend how street traders made sense of their experiences of street trading within Ray
Nkonyeni Local Municipality, using semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and
document analysis.
The findings of this study imply that street trading, as a component of the informal economy, offers
a genuine opportunity and inclusive mechanism for resolving the deficiencies of the formal economy.
However, as the findings of this study demonstrate, conventional notions of street trade cannot
provide a suitable means of enabling municipalities to execute their developmental role in fostering
local economic development. For instance, findings reveal that while there was hope that street trade
was developing into a crucial tool for guaranteeing economic inclusion, there were still several
obstacles that prevented its success in the context of local economic development. For example, one
of the primary issues, as stated by both the street vendors and the municipal was the second-grade
status afforded to street trading as a socioeconomic contributor. Thus, as argued by Lefebvre (1991),
to capitalise on the potential of street trading as a viable socioeconomic booster, municipalities and
street traders must actively mobilise and manipulate spatial elements.
Thus, it is recommended that street traders organise themselves into associations so that they can
voice their concerns as a group; that municipalities must, with support from national and provincial
governments, set up mechanisms to enable street trading to become a serious contributor to local
economic development; and that street trading is recognised as a legitimate vehicle for fostering local
economic development.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.