Douglas Cohen (SALGA) & Pat Horn (StreetNet)

1. KZN 2012 REGIONAL AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT Raising the profile of informal trade management as a key municipal service delivery function Douglas Cohen (SALGA) & Pat Horn (StreetNet)

2. Presentation Content • Context of the Informal Economy in SA • Share the Rationale behind a Municipal Policy • Overview of the SALGA Informal Economy Guidelines • Formalisation? Organisation? What traders want? • Decent Work (ILO) • Partnerships and Support

3. Problem Statement (extract from SALGA National Conference / LED Commission Report) • In terms of local economic development (LED), not only is it going to become much more visible from a municipal leadership this year and next, as government pushes much harder to address joblessness, poverty and inequality, there needs to be a substantial re-think of the current LED approaches aligned to the NGP including taking a much more inclusive and proactive stance in support of the formal & informal economies

4. Context of the Informal Economy in SA • 2.2. million people (more than 1 in every 6 people who have a job) • In the SA context, it is a vital social safety net • The informal sector is a continuum from survival to SMME and a similarly flexible approach is required • Contrary to many perceptions, informal-formal economy linkages are considerable, and support local economies

5. Context of the Informal Economy in SA The informal trading sector produces about 12% of Cape Town's economy and employs 18% of its economically active residents Source http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/ehd/Pages/informaltrading.aspx

6. Context of the Informal Economy in SA • Street vending is a dominant work activity in South Africa’s informal economy. In 2007 there were over 500,000 street vendors in informal employment, of whom about 360,000 were women. • As a share of jobs in non-agricultural informal employment, street vending comprises 15 per cent. • Compared to home-based workers and street vendors, waste collectors are a much smaller sub-group of workers. • Estimates using the Population Census 2001 and the LFS 2007 suggest between 45,000 and 85,000 waste collectors in South Africa. Source: South Africa’s Informal Economy: A Statistical Profile Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing Urban Policies Research Report, Gabrielle Will No. 7 April 2009

7. Context of the Informal Economy in SA • The informal economy is growing and here to stay • As thus collectively we need to: • Embrace and acknowledge the informal sector in the development of local economies • Redefine of what it means ‘to be employed” and therefore widen the current debate on job creation in SA.

8. AsiyeeTafuleni African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town City of Cape Town City of eThekwini City of Ekhuruleni City of Joburg City of Tshwane COSATU Dora Tamana Cooperatives Centre (DTCC) Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department of Economic Development Department of Trade and Investment – Informal Business GIZ International LabourOrganisation Khanya-AICDD LED Network Mbombela Municipality Metro Trading Company Norweto/Diepsloot Informal Traders Forum Public Affairs Research Institute (Pari) SA Cities Network SALGA provincial offices SANTRA StreetNet Women in Informal Employment Globalizing and Organizing • The purpose of the guidelines is NOT to: • Define a set of prescriptive rules to be imposed on municipalities. • Position SALGA as the “referee” or as an ongoing hand-holder.

9. Rationale for a Municipal Policy • The informal economy is important to both the economy and poverty alleviation. • There has not been a uniform policy to support those working in the informal economy. • Current regulation is inconsistent. • The focus current laws is towards revenue collection, policing and restrictive administration. They do not create support mechanisms or an enabling environment for the informal economy. • By-laws vary from municipality to municipality, some still reflecting outdated approaches

10. Rationale for a Municipal Policy • It is imperative for local government to move towards: • Having LED friendly Informal Trade Policies and By-laws in Place • Combining law enforcement, infrastructural and spatial policies with a business approach as a means of creating an enabling environment for informal traders • Planning with & NOT for Informal Traders • Each municipality should define its own set of stakeholders depending on the type of services being addressed.

11. Informal Sector Stakeholders Partnerships, Management & Operations Informal Trade By-laws` Informal Trade Policy Guidelines Informal Trade Policy Municipality

12. Overview of the SALGA Informal Economy Guidelines- Policy • Policy Operational Parameters • Development of Policy Statement • Defining Core Principles which are pillars that underpin policy itself; • An explanation of how policy itself should be operationalised; • Defining informal/street trading support strategies • Outlining of operational parameters which indicate processes and procedures being followed in including, informing and addressing the informal/street trading, home care, waste mgmt sectors. • Developing / adopting By-laws • Operation and ongoing review.

13. Overview of the SALGA Informal Economy Guidelines- Policy Statement • A Policy Statement could include the following: • The ….. Municipality acknowledges the relevance and role of the informal/street traders in contributing to the overall economic development of the municipality. In this context, therefore, the municipality endeavors to continuously create an enabling environment where the informal/street trader is able to operate optimally. • Promoting viable alternatives which enhance the growth of informal/street trading, while assisting traders graduating

14. Overview of the SALGA Informal Economy Guidelines- Policy Statement • Advocating for and facilitating an integrated approach to managing informal/street trading; • Establishing managing and maintaining sustained linkages between and among formal businesses; • Developing and instituting appropriate systems and procedures of allocating, utilizing and controlling resources for the benefit of informal/street traders; and, • Introducing and adopting efficient monitoring and evaluation tools and procedures

15. Overview of the SALGA Informal Economy Guidelines- Policy Principles • Core Principles: • Economic, Social, Spatial, Legal, Health & Safety • Cross-cutting Themes: • Stakeholder management: identification, engagement, managing them for sustenance • Communications: strategy, mechanisms and feedback • Resource Planning: effective planning, assessing and effecting development of human and financial resources

16. Overview of the SALGA Informal Economy Guidelines- Operationalisation • Operationalisation of policy objectives is achieved through effective stakeholder management, appropriate communication strategies and proper planning and execution of human and financial resources • This is fully exemplified in the following objectives

17. Overview of the SALGA Informal Economy Guidelines- Role and Responsibilities • 1. Defining the Role of the municipality • Establishment of institutional structures to manage informality • Engaging informal traders to become partners • Creating forums for communication and managing stakeholders • Education and awareness on informal trading policy and operational issues • Creating an enabling environment for both sectors, thereby enhancing joint and inclusive management of formal and informal traders

18. Comments, discussion and input welcome www.led.co.za

19. Informal trade management as a key municipal service delivery function

20. Resolution concerning decent work and the informal economy • Adopted at the General Conference of the International Labour Organisation meeting in its 90th session, June 2002: • www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc90/pdf/pr-25res.pdf • www.ilo.org/public/french/standards/relm/ilc/ilc90/pdf/pr-25res.pdf • www.ilo.org/public/spanish/standards/relm/ilc/ilc90/pdf/pr-25res.pdf • International framework representing consensus between governments, employers’ organisations and (formal and informal) workers’ organisations

21. FORMALISATION .........What do informal traders want ?? • Recognition in law of workers in the informal economy; • Integration of indirect taxes and other revenues already paid by informal workers into official tax systems (in accordance with the principle of progressive taxation); • Extension of social security to all; • Statutory negotiating forums, including at local government level; • Participatory budgeting, at both national and local government level; • Formalisation into genuine worker-controlled cooperatives; • Transformation of the informal economy into social solidarity economy.

22. Organisation of informal traders • While there have been many obstacles on the way to unity, consensus among informal traders in South Africa about the need for an independent representative organization (not created by government authorities or the private sector) has become stronger and stronger. • South African informal traders' organizations have had the opportunity to meet national informal traders' organizations in other African countries and cross-border traders' organisations. • They have seen that most policy development in these countries has taken place in response to strong organization of informal traders. • In March 2011 in Windhoek, as a result of cooperation between StreetNet and SATUCC, the SADC meeting of Ministers of Labour for the first time adopted a resolution on developing policies to combat poverty among informal traders and all workers in the informal economy by promoting decent work in the entire SADC region.

23. Women in the informal economy organise and speak with one voice- May Day 2010, Maputo

24. StreetNet and SALGA:working together to do more • StreetNet engaged in SALGA provincial Summits on informal economy in Free State and Eastern Cape around developing participatory and inclusive informal economy regulation and policies • StreetNet and COSATU organised informal traders to make input into SALGA’s Municipal Informal Economy Guidelines during SALGA LED consultation process • Informal traders’ organisations in 9 provinces, working towards establishment of South African national informal traders’ alliance, are in support of the SALGA guidelines – a good start for inclusive LED planning

25. working together to do more • Progress has been made since 2003 in building provincial alliances of street vendors and informal traders – now there are unified core organisations in 7 of the 9 provinces. • In KwaZulu-Natal, Ubumbano Traders Alliance was formed in 2011, uniting 19 organisations and street traders’ committees in Durban who now speak with one voice. • StreetNet and Ubumbano Traders’ Alliance members visited Newcastle Municipality at invitation of LED department – met representatives of different departments and found impressive level of inter-departmental cooperation and commitment to inclusive policies and participatory processes. • Ubumbano Traders’ Alliance now working with informal traders’ organisations in Newcastle and Ladysmith.

27. Mahatma Gandhi - "Action expresses priorities." Discussion? Questions? etc