Tuesday 10 July 2012

Tanzania’s White Elephant: when will we ever learn?

The Dar city authorities built the Machinga Business Complex with a loan from an investment bank, reputably worth USD 71 million. It was designed as a centre for small businesses. It is a disastrous white elephant – 3 large 5 storey buildings with cage like stalls in narrow ranks. Apart from the outside stalls on the ground floor, with some suitcases and kanga cloth traders, it is virtually empty. It was inaugurated 2 years ago and is based on a Chinese design. We spoke to some of the administrators – they are apparently thinking of converting the top floors into offices. 

Machinga Businss Complex
Empty stalls in Machinga

No one will go there to buy our goods!


Across the football pitch on the other side stands the real market for local kanga cloths – there is a dirt floor, leaking corrugated iron roofing and the stalls are wooden self-constructed benches. There is no storage space so the traders rent places in nearby houses. But business is good and many cooperative members are able to pay for school fees for their children from the sales. The kanga cooperative has 200 members and democratically elects its council every year.

Anton, Cooperative President 
Anton at his stall 



The cooperative President and TUICO Branch Secretary, Anton, explained they were never consulted about the new market. 

“Why haven’t you moved to the new complex?” the visiting representatives of TUICO (Tanzanian Union of Industrial and Commercial Workers), and StreetNet asked.

“It is much too expensive – they are charging Tz$ 60,000 per month and the stalls are much too small – it doesn’t suit our needs and no customer is going to climb up the stairs to buy cloth from us there.” 

“What would make you move there?” Nora Wintour, StreetNet campaigns coordinator asked.

“They would need to bring down the costs substantially and change the design of the stalls.  And we would need to think about better public transport to get to the building", a woman cooperative member explained.

Second-hand clothes seller
A bit further away is the Ilala second-hand clothes market and vegetable market. The cooperative members there are also members of TUICO and give the same story -  “We can’t move there because it is much too expensive – here we are charged $200 per day but there it is too much.  And people don’t want to carry heavy loads of clothing upstairs like that –and there is no transport.  This market is here because it is near the out-of-town buses and the sellers can arrive easily and take their goods to the buses easily.”

Behind the second-hand clothes stall is an informal fruit and vegetable market.  We met the Chawana coconut sellers cooperative, also a member of TUICO, and the vegetable sellers cooperative.  “We used to work around the main central market at Kariakoo.  But then the police drove us away so we came here.  We are only allowed to trade between 6am-10 am.  When the police blow the whistle, it is time for us to leave. We try and push for longer,  we want to trade all day. And the police are often not correct-  they should charge us Tz$ 200 every day but sometimes they can ask for more- up to Tz$ 1000 or else they will take our goods. Here the police make things very hard for the street vendors,” one of the avocado sellers explained. 
Ilala vegetable sellers on the street
Coconut sellers cooperative -need to be near transport


It is sad to think what benefits there might have been for the over 50,000 street and market vendors in Dar if they had been consulted about their needs before investing in a building that no one wants nor uses.  Would that the city authorities had listened, as StreetNet slogan says: “Nothing for us, without us!”


Saturday 7 July 2012

Tanzania: New Manifesto Campaign gets underway

"'TUICO will assist its members in Tabata market to find a solution to many of the problems they are facing. The traders pay a daily tax to the ward but they get no services in return. Indeed, only recently the charcoal sellers have been issued notice that they must vacate their site on July 23rd but they have not been offered an alternative site.  Is that just?", stated Majura Jones, Assistant General Secretary of TUICO.
TUICO leaders and charcoal sellers, Tabata Market-                    






























































    





















































    Evicted by the local ward from their site with no alternative location offered.Is this just?
The StreetNet affiliate, the Tanzanian Union of Industrial and Commercial Workers (TUICO) has started to implement the New Manifesto campaign.  The organisation has drafted a new policy on informal economy workers and set up a 10-person task force on the informal economy. TUICO has identified 12 markets which will be surveyed for the New Manifesto and will then compile the results and validate them in a workshop.  The New Manifesto of Tanzania will then be published and distributed to TUICO Branches, local authorities and MPs.  The campaign will culminate in a march in the centre of Dar-es-Salaam, when the New Manifesto will be handed over to senior members of government.  The task force will monitor and follow up on the implementaiton of the demands in the New Manifesto. 

Ilala traders -once the whistle blows we have to leave
Agnes at  Tabata Market- no water or services at the market


"It is clear that TUICO can assist the market and street vendors to negotiate for better working conditions and defend themselves against eventual situations of police harassment or other forms of abuse," added Majura Jones.  "There are too many situations when traders are subjected to arbitrary treatment and their contribution to the national economy is not recognised nor valued. For instance, at Ilala market, the coconut and vegetable sellers can only trade between 6am -10 am. Once the police blow the whistle, they are meant to pack up and leave. We think the New Manifesto campaign can highlight these situations and set a new agenda for improving the working environment of street and market vendors,"' he concluded.

Monday 2 July 2012

Sao Paulo Victory for Street Traders

radio interview with Sao Paolo street vendors June 27 2012

Listen to a radio interview with the Sao Paolo street vendors after they hear of the decision that the Supreme Court has revoked their own decision and that vendors that held licenses in January 2012 will be able to retain them after all.  "It's a victory for sure- but for how long?", one vendor says. 

 Maira Vanucchi, StreetNet Brazil coordinator commented:

It's a real victory for street traders in Sao Paolo today! It was really moving.  There were 2000 street traders and others at the vigil waiting to hear what would be the result. When they heard that the decision of the President of the Tribunal of Justice Ivan Sartori had been revoked, the traders were overcome with joy, shouting and singing, hugging each other.  It was wonderful to see!  The Mayor Kassab will not destroy street traders' livelihoods in Sao Paolo.

 Português abaixo:

Maira Vanucchi, coordinador de StreetNet Brazil comenta:

Vitória das vendedoras e vendedores ambulantes hoje em São Paulo! Foi muito emocionante. 2 mil trabalhadores na vigília esperando o resultado do julgamento dos 25 desembargadores, na hora do resultado CONTRA a decisão do presidente do tribunal de justiça de SP, desembargador Ivan Sartori, que impedia a atividade da categoria, os trabalhadores vibraram de alegria, cantando juntos, chorando, se abraçando, foi lindo demais!

Kassab não vai extinguir os trabalhadores ambulantes da cidade de SP!
Viva a força dos(as) trabalhadores(as) unidos(as)!!
Gente, tem vitórias que fazem tudo fazer sentido de novo!