Street vending help to fight unemployment

Sibusiso Ndlovu ACORNHOEK PLAZA- Sewing and selling traditional clothes is a way of generating money to Florence Mathebula. The 62-year old lady from Ka-Zitha has been selling traditional clothes for more than 29 years at Acornhoek plaza. After her husband left her for some years she became a street vendor in order to support her three children, who were four and ten years by then. Like Florence many poor people enter vending business because they cannot find jobs in the formal economy. Street vending thus serves as a “refuge occupation” for them, where low barriers to entry makes it possible to earn a subsistence income. While poverty, equality and unemployment remains a problem in South Africa, it is likely that in the coming few years we may see many people especial young people joining the vending business. Sewing is not an easy task as it consumes time and energy but for Florence this is a time for “fishing” money. Today, many people purchase traditional clothes for a number of reasons, such as to promote a cultural identity. Godfrey Hlayisani Ndlovu is an expert in Public Management, Ndlovu says street vendors sell their product at a cheaper and reasonably price unlike formal business sector. “What is more interesting is that informal business sector is growing, we are likely to see in the coming few years to witness the high number of people flow to street vendors because consumers are slowly withdrawing their support from formal business sector to street vendors”, explain Ndlovu. Street vending is one of the most significant categories of informal work for women. The low costs of entry and flexible hours make street vending an attractive option for poor women; for many, it is the only option. In South Africa, women represent the majority of street vendors.