ECA/ATPC Inception Workshop on Mainstreaming Gender into Trade Policy

1. United Nations Development Fund for Women UNIFEM SHARING THE FINDINGS OF THE BASELINE STUDIES ON WOMEN IN INFORMAL CROSS BORDER TRADE IN AFRICA ECA/ATPC Inception Workshop on Mainstreaming Gender into Trade Policy Addis Ababa, 21-22 April 2009

2. INFORMAL CROSS BORDER TRADERS • Outside Musina train station, this woman had just placed her luggage on the ground to rest when a voice emanating from the platform announced, “… hurry-up mama, the train is about to leave!” She gathered her strength, grabbed her belongings and staggered on. - Picture courtesy of Moshe Sekete • (Source IOM Photo Exhibition on WICBT in Southern Africa)

3. CONTENT OF THE PRESENTATION • Basic information on the UNIFEM Feminized Poverty Programme (FPP) • Why the choice of WICBT? • Objectives of the baseline studies on WICBT • Research methodology • Research findings • Focus of Phase II of the FPP • Some recommendations

4. BASIC INFORMATION ON THE FPP • Project title: Strengthening Responses to Create Wealth and Reduce Poverty for Women in Informal Cross-border Trade in Africa • Programme Duration: 1st phase: January 2006 – December 2008; 2nd phase: 2009-2010 • Potential regional partners: AU, RECs, ADB, CODESRIA • Possible UN Partners: UNECA, ILO, UNDP, IFAD, FAO, IOM • Estimated total budget: USD 8,000,000

5. BASIC INFORMATION ON THE FPP Strategic focus: • Deepening understanding and knowledge of women in ICBT • Strengthening the capacity and organizing of WICBT to increase the profitability of their activities and bargaining power • Strengthening the capacity of intermediary organisations and institutions to analyze, advocate and actively influence trade policies and poverty reduction strategies so that they can benefit WICBT • Supporting the review and revision of laws, regulations policies, systems and practices that discriminate against WICBT and hinder their access to and control of productive resources and markets.

6. WHY THE CHOICE OF WICBT? • Official sources report an average value of informal cross border trade in the SADC Region: US$ 17.6 billion per year (Southern Africa Trust, August 2008) • ICBT contributes for 30-40% to intra-SADC Trade • 70% of informal cross border traders are women. • Main foodstuffs traded in 2006/7 are maize (97,000 MT), rice (6,500 MT) and beans (10,000 MT). 8 • ‘By ignoring informal cross border trade, SADC member States could be overlooking a significant proportion of their trade’. IOM Photo exhibition on WICBT

7. WHY THE CHOICE OF WICBT? • Trade is the most important source of employment among self-employed women of SSA providing 60% of non-agricultural self-employment (ILO 2004). • In West and Central Africa, WICBT “employ 1.2 people in their home businesses; support on average 3.2 children as well as 3.1 dependants who were not children or spouses.” (Oculi n.d.: 8). • Contribution to national GDP: 64% of value added in trade in Benin; 46% in Mali and 41% in Chad (Charmes 2000, cited in ILO 2004). • WICBT address vital issues of livelihoods such as food and income security, Yet they are neglected by mainstream trade policies and institutions, thus undermining the profitability of their activities Photo IOM: Zimbabwe borderwith South Africa

8. OBJECTIVES OF THE BASELINE STUDIES • To identify the global, regional and national policy and regulatory frameworks that have an impact on ICBT • To scan the overall operating environment of WICBT • To analyse the economic and social position of WICBT • To analyse: • the nature and intensity of women’s activities in ICBT; • their determinants and constraints; • the mapping of their locations within the production and value chains at different levels as well as their routing patterns; and • their coping strategies • To identify the responses that should be provided for addressing those issues and barriers at the policy level as well as in terms of service provision; and • To develop baseline data and indicators for programming in order to enhance women’s engagement in and benefits from ICBT.

9. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY • Desk-based studies of secondary research • Focus group discussions • Institutional survey (COMESA and SADC) • In depth individual case studies • Surveys of women and men ICBT conducted in various border points in: • Southern Africa: Swaziland (400) and Zimbabwe (457 respondents) • Eastern Africa: Tanzania (95) • Central Africa: Cameroon (400) • English speaking West Africa: Liberia (400) • French speaking West Africa: Senegal, Niger, Guinea, Togo (600)

10. RESEARCH FINDINGS • The research has confirmed that: • Cross border trade contributes to poverty reduction, employment and wealth creation • There are gender differences in the types of goods and services provided by WICBT • WICBT face various constraints and adopt various coping mechanisms • There are several levels of accountability to address the issues faced by WICBT

11. RESEARCH FINDINGS • Cross border trade contributes to poverty reduction, employment and wealth creation as shown in tables 1, 2 and 3 Zimbabwe Liberia Swaziland Tanzania Traders by major/main source of income for family

12. RESEARCH FINDINGS Zimbabwe Liberia Cameroon Swaziland Tanzania Traders by reason for engaging in ICBT and by sex

13. RESEARCH FINDINGS Traders by use of income from cross-border trading and sex Zimbabwe Liberia Cameroon Swaziland Tanzania

14. RESEARCH FINDINGS Impact on Government revenue • In Liberia, 66%) of respondents felt that government lost potential revenue from ICBT through corruption. A further 9% of respondents said that the increasing number of border points added to the difficulties for government of collecting and accounting accurately for revenue • In Cameroon 12% of male traders and 42% of female felt that ICBT caused government to lose revenue. Reasons offered included non-declaration of imported products and thus non-payment of taxes, and endemic corruption among tax officials and police which meant that collected revenue did not end up in the state coffers. • The Tanzanian team was given access to records of the Tanzania Revenue Authority at two of the border posts. Examination of these records suggested that collections from small traders (defined as amounts less than USD 500) were contributing in a small, but increasing, way to government revenue. • In Zimbabwe, 84% of the interviewed traders (89% of men and 78% of women) said that they paid the required duties for the goods they imported into the country. In Swaziland, 52% of interviewed traders said that they paid the required import duties, with a further 48% reporting that they paid only part of the required duties.

15. RESEARCH FINDINGS What are the goods and services traded by WICBT? • Most of the goods traded by WICBT are agricultural commodities. For instance, in Liberia, agricultural goods account for the majority of imports and exports (70% of women and 67% of men respondents). The Liberian report notes that most of the agricultural goods traded are produced by the traders themselves. • More women (60%) than men (40%) are involved in the imports of industrial products, and the composition of goods shows gender-specific differences, with men engaged in higher value items such as watches and radios, while women tend to specialize in textiles (including used clothes), plastics and stationery. There is a similar pattern with the mineral and forest products, with women trading mostly in imports of kerosene and beads, while imports of gasoline fuel are done exclusively by men who also dominate trade in gold and silver jewelleries. • Trade in services (transport, money exchange and warehousing services) is dominated by men, while women are mainly involved in carrying loads on their heads across and within the border markets.

16. RESEARCH FINDINGS • Constraints faced by WICBT: Weak trade-related institutions, services and resources:

17. RESEARCH FINDINGS • Constraints faced by WICBT: Weak trade-related institutions, services and resources

18. RESEARCH FINDINGS • Constraints faced by WICBT:VAW

19. RESEARCH FINDINGS • Strategies used to overcome challenges by sex Liberia Cameroon Tanzania

20. RESEARCH FINDINGS • Charter of Accountability for addressing the issues of WICBT

21. DISCUSSION OF SOME METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES • High level of suspicion on the part of the traders about the objectives of the study (namely the fear that it could be used for taxation or other punitive purposes). • Difficulty in defining common criteria for informality. The definitions vary according to countries. • Difficulties when asking about income and other financial details of traders’ businesses, and distinguishing between gross and net income. • The reported patterns show the profile and situation of the particular traders who were interviewed. They cannot necessarily be extrapolated to make generalizations about all informal cross-border traders in a particular country or sub-region

22. QUESTIONS ARISING FROM THE RESEARCH • Do WICBT opt for invisibility? Does visibility hamper profitability? How can they be supported without ‘exposing’ them for heavier taxation? • Is Informal Cross border trade a viable economic option in the long run or should we aim for graduation? Would graduation be relevant for such small scale businesses? • How can WICBT be effectively supported, taking into account the volatility of their activities and the numerous and complex trade regimes? • What would be the best entry points for institutional and policy change in favor of WICBT? • How to address data related challenges so that their activities could be better captures in national accounting systems and statistics databases of the RECs?

23. FOCUS OF PHASE II OF THE FPP • Three pillars: • Support to actions directly benefitting WICBT • Promote policy change in support of WICBT, at two levels: • Sub-regional level with the RECs • National level • Enhance knowledge sharing on WICBT to inform policies

24. FOCUS OF PHASE II OF THE FPP • Amplify collective voice of WICBT in national, subregional and regional trade foras • Promote women cross border traders’ access to services, social safety nets, information on trade agreements and protocols, skills, finances and market opportunities (including graduation) • Support traderelated institutions atregional, sub-regional and national levels to betterdeliver for WICBT • Enhancestatisticaldatabases of RECs and NSO to makeavailable GDD on WICBT

25. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION