Chloë Lead with Sithulisile Moyo Informal workers constitute a critical component of the city’s economic fabric, sustainability and development within the State. Thousands of informal workers operate in public spaces in Durban to earn decent livelihoods to support their dependants. This has alleviated poverty and economic hardships faced by families surviving far below the minimum … Read more
Sithulisile Moyo PART 1: #narratives of an informal worker: Treat us with dignity “They need to stop impounding our goods. Find other ways to harass us. Sondl’ imndeni ngalamatafula”. It’s in the wee hours of the day at an informal settlement in Kwandengezi, MaNgcobo is busy preparing for the long day ahead working at … Read more
Sithulisile Moyo The ILO reported that around 2 billion people in the world work in the informal economy. That is more than 61% of the world’s economically active population. In South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the informal employment ratio is well above 80%. In developed countries it is only around 18%. The informal economy secures … Read more
Zilungele Nkosi The Know your Rights’ initiative aims to educate and equip informal workers operating in public spaces with legal knowledge which plays a direct and indirect role in their day to day lives. There is a general lack of knowledge and awareness about the municipal by-laws which tends to make life difficult for traders. … Read more
Claire Singer and Tasmi Quazi Influential street trader John Makwicana passed away from a lingering illness on March 7, 2018, at the age of 71. John was an inspiring figure amongst Durban’s inner-city community of informal workers, where he worked as an informal trader for 21 years. He served as the chairperson of Traders Against … Read more
Tasmi Quazi As AeT concluded 2016, it provided the opportune moment to reflect on our organisation and our work. We identified over 20 things on a list, but will share the top 16, wide-ranging events and project work which have impacted and continue to impact the organisation: 1. Cape Town @Work: AeTs’s replicability AeT delivered … Read more
Tasmi Quazi On 13 and 14 April 2016, a conference exclusively for women traders – believed to be the first of its kind in Durban – was held with the support of the Foundation for Human Rights and implemented by Legal Resources Centre (LRC) and Asiye eTafuleni (AeT). The conference deliberated on the significance, opportunities … Read more
Tasmi Quazi In August 2015, WIEGO published a case study on Vending in Public Spaces and the Law written by Phumzile Xulu, which is a review and analysis of the experiences of Asiye eTafuleni’s (AeT) law programme involving legal education and advocacy with informal workers (also referred to as traders). The case study is based … Read more
Richard Dobson & Tasmi Quazi In the course of Asiye eTafuleni (AeT) implementing its project based work, we have been conscious of the hardships that confiscations and other punitive actions by enforcement officials place on informal workers. One such event that emerged was the case of John Makwicana, a legally compliant trader in all aspects … Read more
