The politics and regulation of street trading in Dar es Salaam

Flags and Shields: Muslim Socialities and Informal Livelihoods in Dar es Salaam

“…By 2006, almost three in five households (57 percent) in Dar es Salaam were dependent on informal livelihood activities as a means of generating income (Babere 2013, 104). In the first decade of mageuzi , local authorities had been more accommodating toward informal economic activity, but from the early 2000s to the present day, traders operating in public spaces have faced increased pressure to be registered and licensed, and have been subject to routine crackdowns and evictions from prime locations (Brown & Lyons 2010, 41–2; Babere 2013; Bahendwa 2013, 155; Msoka & Ackson 2017; Steiler 2018; Malefakis 2019, 19–29). In addition to the largely ineffectual nature of regulatory interventions, the wider governance challenges surrounding the informal economy in Dar es Salaam are further complicated by low levels of participation in operators’ associations: the membership bodies of these organizations are poorly representative of the operators most exposed to difficult circumstances, and they have done little to resist the eviction of informal vendors from prime locations by city police (Brown & Lyons 2010, 34–35; Babere 2013, 273).…”

Towards sustainable livelihood in the Tanzanian informal economy: Facilitating inclusion, organization, and rights for street vendors

“…For a long time, street vendors in Tanzania were regarded as covered under the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Policy of 2002, but their status has never been fully recognized; instead they have almost always been treated as unwanted intruders (Lyons and Msoka 2010;Msoka and Ackson 2017), 'rebels' (Brown 2017), or 'refugees' (Brown et al 2015) with regard to the existing legal environment. It has been noted that the tension between street traders and municipal authorities stems from two main realities.…”

“…Although the Constitution guarantees the right to work to every Tanzanian, street trading is covered by neither commercial nor labour laws (Ackson 2015). Despite simplification of licensing procedures in recent years, becoming properly registered in accordance with existing business, financial, and tax laws on the national and municipal levels remains a tiresome and costly process, making compliance almost impossible (Lyons et al 2014;Msoka and Ackson 2017).…”

Improving young women’s working conditions in Tanzania’s urban food vending sector

“…Street food vending is a popular types of informal employment that is available in most parts of the world, though it is particularly popular in the Global South. It became the most viable incomegenerating activity for many unemployed people and rural-urban migrants in developing countries owing to the malfunctioning of industrialization and the deficiency of markets for agricultural produce (Msoka and Ackson 2017). Tanzania's economic slump and unemployment of the early 1980s, the retrenchment of public employees in the 1990s, and the high unemployment levels of the 2000s forced women and young people into the street food vending business.…”