Seen but not heard: Urban voice and citizenship for street traders

By Alison Brown, Michal Lyons on January 01, 2010

Abstract:
This book chapter compares traders associations in four cities - Dakar, Accra, Dar es Salaam and Kathmandu. Focus is on the value of individual and collective social capital gained from formally registered associations as well as from informal social networks. In Dakar, associations are to a large extent controlled by Muslim brotherhoods. Both informal and formal traders are embraced by the associations. Powerful wholesalers have their own association that has been in conflict with hawkers. After riots by hawkers in 2007, the president helped establish a national federation of street traders. Market organisations in Accra are structured along product lines. These associations are often single-sex, single ethnicity, chaired by hereditary market queens. The product associations often have welfare functions and help members with saving and loans, as well as deal with the practical aspects of managing the market space. In addition, the markets have market committees representing all product associations in advocacy to the local government. In Tanzania, informal traders are represented by many small associations that come together in two umbrella organisations, VIBINDO (Association of Small Businesses) and KIWAKU (an association of clothes sell-ers). These have aimed to defend traders from evictions with little success. Representation of informal traders in Kathmandu is relatively weak. The strongest advocate for rights of the poor is a national NGO, Bhrikuti Mandap, which provides social welfare benefits for the poor. Some markets have traders associations that collect rents and invest in the market space. The Nepal Union of Street Vendors is affiliated with the national trade union movement. However, the organisation is still new, and the unions have suffered from political repression.

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