Presidential intervention and the changing ‘politics of survival’ in Kampala’s informal economy

Abstract

In theory, urban governance involves non-state actors and the state working together in formally institutionalized ways to make collective decisions and provide urban services. However, in developing country cities with highly informalized economies, the processes that underpin 'real' governance often reflect informal bargaining power much more than formal institutional frameworks. This paper uses the case of Uganda's capital Kampala to explore how political configurations subvert structures of city governance, with particular attention to the increasing engagement between President Museveni and particular groups of informal workers. We present empirical research on market vendors and motorcycle taxi (boda-boda) drivers showing how this engagement benefits both the informal groups and the president. Increased political competition has created an environment where informal groups seeking to protect their livelihoods can tactically leverage a presidential intervention in their favour, helping them evade the policies and regulations of the City Council. Meanwhile, the president has used these interventions to build support in a city that was largely lost to the opposition. These processes have progressively undermined already weak formal institutions for urban governance.2

Taming the “Rogue” Sector: Studying State Effectiveness in Africa through Informal Transport Politics

“…42 One report found "more than 4,000" drivers in Kampala alone in 2003, while another reported 15,979 in November 2007. 43 The Chairman of one of Kampala's boda-boda associations put the figure at 40,000 in 2010, 44 which matched the general consensus and accords fairly well with the growth rate cited above. In 2009, growth was such that in one of Kampala's five administrative divisions, which already accommodated around 5,000, the number of boda-boda drivers expanded by twenty or thirty every day.…”

Urban Informality and Small Scale Enterprise (SME) Development in Zambia: An Exploration of Theory and Practice

“…The president's intervention favored the vendors in such a way that local authorities were the ones who received the president's blame for intending to evict the vendors. In such ways, SMEs especially those with constraints of operating spaces have managed to conduct their businesses even in undesignated areas simply by establishing clientelistic and patronage relationships with politicians [51]. A similar scenario occurred in 2011 when the then president Michael Sata ordered local authorities in urban areas to let vendors operate in any place they wanted without any harassments or evictions [53] after the vendors lobbied for the president's intervention.…”

“…Additionally, it is argued that in cities that are highly informalised, urban governance comprises more than just formal institutional frameworks but also involves informal bargaining [51]. This is one way in which SMEs in Zambia have managed to operate through their informal urban groups amidst constraints.…”

Investigating the Links between Political Settlements and Inclusive Development in Uganda: Towards a Research Agenda.

“…Interview (28 February 2012). 18 More recent research also shows how informal groups in urban areas have used electoral competition to drive bargains with the President in ways that secure votes for the regime from previously oppositional areas, whilst further undermining formal governance institutions (Goodfellow and Titeca, 2012). Decentralisation has been critical to extending the reach of the coalition into rural areas, and has recently been extended through districtisation and the appointment of Deputy RDCs.…”