Abstract
Taking the case of informal cross-border traders from Southern Africa in Johannesburg, human mobility is discussed as one of four productive factors that are key to regional integration. Employing three levels of analysis—regional, national and local—discussion is confined to economically active persons. Key Southern African Development Community (SADC) instruments relating to human mobility are also discussed. Existing and corresponding national and local legislation, by-laws, policies and practices are investigated to highlight the extent to which SADC members implement regional instruments. Using in-depth interviews with informal cross-border traders in Johannesburg from SADC countries, the findings show the absence of supportive legal-institutional regulatory regimes to promote the activities of immigrant traders. This demonstrates that an important element in the SADC integration project is unwelcome or ignored.
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Notes
- 1.
As a means, regional integration provides opportunities for member states of a regional bloc, for example, to meet the objective of expanding markets for domestically produced goods and thus contribute to development.
- 2.
The eight RECs include the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), SADC, the Union du Maghreb Arabe (UMA). See http://www.au.int/en/recs/. [Accessed 26 November 2012].
- 3.
Angola, Botswana, the DRC, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa , Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- 4.
The Tripartite Free Trade Area, dubbed the COMESA-EAC-SADC FTA, is an initiative of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC) and SADC that seeks to integrate and establish an FTA of the three regional organisations and 26 member states of the three RECs on 10 June 2015.
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Nshimbi, C.C., Moyo, I. (2018). Informal Immigrant Traders in Johannesburg: The Scorned Cornerstone in the Southern African Development Community Integration Project. In: Adeniran, A., Ikuteyijo, L. (eds) Africa Now! . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62443-3_17
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