Authors : Gift Donga, Hlanganipai Ngirande and Knowledge Shumba
Abstract: There has been an expansion of the informal economy globally, in both developed and developing countries. Among those joining the informal economy are Zimbabwean cross-border traders coming to South Africa. However, despite the economic benefits which are offered to the informal cross-borders, governments are typically concerned about the negative aspects of informal cross-border trade. The Zimbabwean government in June 2016 imposed the Statutory Instrument 64 (SI 64/2016) import regulation on a list of goods mainly from South Africa because it perceived informal imports as presenting unfair competition to domestic industries. This study thus explored the impact of the SI 64/2016 on informal cross-borders trading in South Africa. The study also provides an overview of the informal cross-border trader’s demographics, the informal trader’s work history and the policy responses to be adopted to support these cross-border traders. This study used a positivist paradigm that ensures that there is a gap between the researcher’s subjective bias and the objective reality being studied. The study is descriptive in nature with a purposive sampling survey method being used to select the respondents. A quantitative research method was used. A self-administered questionnaire targeted at 42 Zimbabwean informal cross-borders trading in South Africa was utilized to gather data. Findings from this study revealed the respondent’s general negative perceptions towards the introduction of the Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016. This study does not only fill a gap in the literature on informal cross-border trading activities but also conclude by making key policy recommendations. The most notable being of the Zimbabwean government bringing informal traders into the formal economy which can be done through simplifying legislation and regulations governing trade as well as educating the informal cross border-traders on proper formal procedures.
Gift Donga, Hlanganipai Ngirande and Knowledge Shumba, 2018. The Impact of Zimbabwe’s Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 Import Regulation on Informal Cross-Borders Trading in South Africa. The Social Sciences, 13: 368-375.