BOTSWANA INFORMAL SECTOR ASSOCIATION

THEME: Building Back Better Post Covid-19: Improved working Conditions and Inclusive Social Protection System

1. I stand here on behalf of the Botswana Informal Sector Association (BOISA). We are humbled to be invited to be able to share the work that we do.
2. BOISA was formed in 2012 with the mandate to enhance the capacity of informal traders and workers, and to advocate for an enabling and conducive trading environment for the informal traders. The covid 19 pandemic exposed some limitations in the BOISA’s Constitution, this led BOISA to review and amend the constitution to cover informal workers, BOISA also came up with a 3 year strategic plan that will serve as a tool to guide the organization in the next three years. In our presentation, we use the term informal economy to refer to both informal traders and informal workers, it is difficult to separate the two, they are intertwined or interrelated.
3. Statistics Botswana’s 2018 Botswana Multi-Topic Household Survey Report defines an informal sector business as one that is not registered with the registration authority such as Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA), having an informal bank account or none at all, with a maximum number of five paid employees. BOISA therefore strives to ensure that informal workers and businesses are successful as this in turn fosters economic diversification, poverty alleviation, employment creation and economic growth. Through its advocacy, BOISA also strives to advance five of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, being Goal number 1 of No poverty, Goal number 3 of Good health and well-being, Goal number 8 of Decent work and economic growth, Goal number 9 which speaks to Industry, innovation and infrastructure, and Goal 10 which focuses on Reduced inequalities.
4. We speak on Preventative social welfare state as a Driver of Economic Growth and Social Justice. A welfare state is defined by the ILO as a state that is committed to providing basic economic security for its citizens by protecting them from market risks associated with old age, accidents or sickness.  In short, it is a state that is committed to protect and promote the health, economic and social wellbeing of its citizens.  I will be biased towards informal traders and workers. The Government of Botswana has many policies that are aimed at improving the welfare of its citizens, however, the informal sector is one area where the Government has not performed satisfactorily, a lot needs to be done to improve the economic and social welfare of informal sector traders and workers.  It is for this reason that BOISA has taken the responsibility to highlight the challenges faced by informal sector employees In Botswana with the aim to promote their welfare and better working conditions. BOISA also provides the pivotal support services to informal traders and workers by among others assisting with advocacy and representation at critical platforms, transitioning from informal economy to formal economy, promotion of lawful and ethical conduct in business, training workshops and capacity building, market penetration, rescue and recovery plans during times of economic hardships and natural disasters. We have so far registered over 11 000 members across the country, our goal is to register more members, however we are currently faced with budgetary constraints, we are however hopeful because a conference such as this will help us to network with potential sponsors and partners, our Minister of Labour, Mma Mokgethi has given us hope as she mentioned that her Ministry would like to form partnerships with non state actors, this is our opportunity to hold conversations with her Ministry.
5. Data from the Statistics Botswana’s 2018 Multi-Topic Household Survey Report and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development’s 2015 Project to Conduct an Informal Sector Study for Botswana estimated the Annual Economic Output from the Informal Sector in Botswana at P7,875,730,039. In their 2021 Report the UNDP stated that the informal sector in Botswana employs over 191,000 people. However, most of these workers are not covered by social protection, hence their increased level of vulnerability during shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and economic hardships.
6. The informal economy in Botswana therefore will increasingly continue to be the mainstay of countless people’s livelihoods. The high rate of unemployment, propelled by job losses during Covid-19, and the growing population has compelled many unemployed people especially the youth and women, to resort to informal trading to feed their families, thus leading to the growth of the informal economy as a significant contributor to the reduction of poverty, employment creation and economic diversification.
7. But as instrumental as we are to the local economy, informal traders and workers operate under very trying and difficult conditions, and our sector is besieged by many challenges that need urgent and decisive intervention in order to protect their livelihoods . The Covid 19 pandemic dealt a heavy blow to our members, most of them lost their jobs and many were forced to close down their businesses, sadly some had to close their businesses as no policies are in place to protect informal traders against fierce or unfair competition from chain stores, we at BOISA believe that to protect informal sectors against this unfair competition, the Government must ensure that traditional food such as chicken feet (Menoto), fat cakes (Magwinya), Offals (Serobe), Pounded meat (Seswaa), Home made bread (Mapakiwa, or diphaphatha) should be reserved for informal traders, furthermore Traditional attire (Mateisi) should also be reserved for informal traders (We note that Mateisi are being sold in some Chinese shops at give away prices). Most Informal traders are still struggling to recover from the adverse effects of Covid 19. Informal traders, especially those involved in cross-border trade face other challenges such as language barriers e.g. those who travel as far as Mozambique and Tanzania face communication challenges.  The other challenge faced by cross-border traders is one of poor relationships with border officials in some countries, and because they do not qualify to open bank accounts, they are forced to buy foreign currency in the black market, this exposes them to being robbed as some of these illegal forex traders at times masquearade at plain clothes police officers and take all their cash, stock and other belongings.  Furthermore cross border traders have to use lifts or hitch-hike when travelling outside the country, this exposes them to human trafficking and attacks.  At times cross border traders are caught up in strikes and demonstrations especially in one of our neighbouring countries, we call on our embassy in Pretoria and our consulate in Johannesburg to issue travel warnings especially during times of strikes or civil unrests.
8. It is most unfortunate that most of our members in the informal trading did not benefit from the P1000.00 Covid relief funds facilitated by the UNDP, which would have gone a long way to cushion this impact. We believe that the disbursements of the covid relief fund to informal traders could have been more equitable, impactful and accountable, had the Government involved us as BOISA.
9. While some of our members were still struggling to recover from the devastating effects of Covid 19 the other operating conditions, laws and regulations that make it difficult for the informal traders to survive. For example, we learnt through the social media week that the local authorities had embarked on demolition of informal traders’ structures in Gaborone; this was done without any consultation with BOISA. We are inundated with enquiries from our members who have learnt that the local authorities intend to construct structures for informal traders who sell furniture by the roadside in Old Naledi, we appreciate these efforts by the local authorities, however we appeal that we should be engaged as we will be in a better position to respond to queries from other informal traders whose structures were demolished and want to know why informal traders at Old Naledi are receiving preferential treatment.
10. The spaces on which Informal traders operate from belong to the local authority and the informal traders have no right or claim to them. They are therefore regarded as squatters and can be evicted at any time and can even face charges for illegal land occupation. As such most operate in poorly made structures that do not shield them against the most adverse weather conditions, and most, unbelievably, do not have ablution facilities where they can relieve themselves. This is not only a health risk but is erosive of the most fundamental tenets of human dignity, and sustainable solutions must be put in place.
11. Another example is the ban on importation of vegetables. which was done without consultation with BOISA and our members, leading to more of our shelves being empty during this transition as proper planning, preparation, price and other logistical consultations was not done to avoid these challenges.
12. The consistently increasing fuel and basic commodity prices are also making it difficult to operate, as it subsequently increases all other costs of supplies including exorbitant transport overheads, further decreasing any residual profit margins of the informal traders.
13. The new Anti Tobacco Bill that is currently under review (Tobacco Control Bill No. 9 of 2021 was discussed without consultation with BOISA, and this threatens to further decapitate our industry due to the unreasonable demands placed on the informal traders for specific licensing subscriptions, ban on selling loose cigarettes and other prohibitions. We maintain that had we been consulted, we would have, together with government, found mutually beneficial stances that do not threaten the viability of small businesses that rely for a large portion of their profit margins on this resource.
14. Most Informal workers and traders do not qualify to open bank accounts due to the hefty bank charges and complex requirements and administrative processes. This is risky as they are forced to keep their monies at home, exposing them and their families to getting burgled. Furthermore, when they travel to buy stock in other countries, they are forced to carry hard cash with them and many have been hijacked or robbed on these travels.
15. To address this, we plan to engage local banks to come up with banking services that are tailored to suit the informal traders, providing less stringent application requirements, simplified opening of the accounts and most importantly, subsidised banking charges.
16. In conclusion, we strongly believe in the vision that with the right support structures and a conducive business environment with enabling legislation, an informal trader today, however small, is a potential registered SMME and subsequent corporatized business of tomorrow, which would pay tax to government, employ more Batswana and which other institutions such as banks can gain patronage and considerable profits from.
17. That potential however, will only be realized if the government creates an enabling environment for the informal traders and workers to thrive, through consistent consultation and appropriate, nurturing, and conducive regulatory environment for the sector. On the same breath private sector equally comes to the table with innovative policies, programs and products that enable the sector to flourish. BOISA will strive to negotiate with employers and policy makers to promote employment that respects the fundamental rights of workers in terms of conditions of work, safety and remuneration including the respect of the physical and mental integrity of the workers in the exercise of their employment. Most workers in the informal sector work under deplorable conditions and are denied basic rights such as decent working conditions, delayed wage payments, protective clothing, inadequate or lack of social protection and bargaining rights which are vital cogs in decent working conditions.  This harms their economic security, wellbeing and empowerment, it further makes them vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and various forms of harassment.  Many cattle herders, farm workers, domestic workers as well as workers in most retail outlets, work without employment contracts and without conflict resolution mechanisms in place, this makes it difficult to address their grievances, furthermore this makes it difficult for labour officers to mediate their cases.  BOISA calls for improved working conditions for informal workers, this includes contracts of employment, regular health and safety inspection in work places and decent wages, it is sad to note that we still have informal workers who earn less than P1100.00, yet they are expected to cover basic needs such as food, clothing shelter, medical care as well as transport to and from work, let us remember that the transport costs, coupled with inflation have worsened the welfare of informal workers and nothing has been done to cushion the informal workers against the rising cost of living. We appeal to policy makers (Minimum wages Board) to involve us in discussions on minimum wages for domestic workers and farm workers.  We also call for a tribunal that deals with disputes involving informal workers, the industrial court has a huge backlog to deal with, labour disputes involving informal workers mostly revolve on small claims such as notice pay or leave days, these are small matters that should be addressed at a small claims court or a specialized court for informal traders, we also call on policy makers to empower labour officers to award default judgment in the event employers fail, refuse or neglect to attend to hearings or mediations.
18. Let me Once again thank you for affording us this opportunity to share our voice as informal traders and workers. It is our belief that policy makers and local authorities will follow your good lead and recognize us who are in the informal economy as a critical cogwheel of the economy, and in turn actively engage us when making decisions that affect informal sector traders and workers.

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