Why brutalising food vendors is counterproductive

Despite the key role this sector plays in the well-being of Africa’s urban poor, many countries maintain violent enforcement of colonial era laws that criminalise both buying and selling in informal arrangements.

Rather than resorting to draconian measures, governments across the continent must find ways to engage with informal workers that will ensure Africa’s urban populations have adequate access to safe and nutritious foods.

Often violent shutdowns of informal markets are justified by concerns about food safety and tax evasion.

But some research has indicated that these concerns can be overblown.

It has also revealed that violent government responses are counterproductive.

Multi-country epidemiological research conducted by International Livestock Research Institute has found that food safety hazards exist in informal market foods.

But the risk of illness is not necessarily higher than it is from foods purchased in supermarkets.

Studies in Brazil have suggested frequent crackdowns reduce incentives for informal workers to invest in improved food safety equipment and practices.

Concerns about informal vendors skirting tax payments are also based on misperceptions about how informal markets function.

The international development organisation Women in the Informal Economy Globalising and Organising has been conducting research on informal market accounting in six developing countries.

It found that most informal vendors in fact do pay taxes and fees.

This is either through a chairperson in charge of their market or directly to city municipal authorities.

The common conditions of informal markets do create real food safety concerns that must be addressed.

Vendors often don’t have access to electricity, waste disposal, or clean water.

And ensuring they are tax compliant requires accounting systems for collecting taxes and fees.

But several countries have recently begun instituting promising attempts at productively engaging informal vendors.

This is done in ways that address government concerns about safety without resorting to complete or violent shutdowns that diminish access to food.

Government sponsored training on food safety is one effective measure.

In Kenya, a recently established Dairy Traders Association provides training on basic hygiene and quality testing for informal milk traders.

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