Economic Empowerment and Livelihood

The impact of xenophobia-Afrophobia on the Informal Economy in Durban CBD, South Africa

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The renewed incidents of xenophobia, which engulfed South Africa, dented this country’s
image, continentally and internationally. These occurrences invoke an unresolved question,
thus: Can xenophobic attacks be attributed to tighter or discriminatory immigration policies
or are people caught in quandary for socio-economic survival? Similarly to the pogroms in
Poland against Jews, xenophobia left fatal scars, not only amongst Africans and non-
Africans, and has affected the informal economy negatively. This article explores the impact
of xenophobia on the operations of the informal economy on which the poor depend for
socio-economic survival. For the most part of April-May 2015, the streets of Durban were
deserted because of the xenophobic attacks on non-South African businesses, particularly
those owned by Africans from different parts of the continent. Fear was planted in the city of
Durban, which in turn led to the decline in economic activity, both formal and informal
sectors, with the later bearing the most brunt. The city was turned into a battle field whereby
Afro-hatred was perpetuated with the intention of causing bodily harm and making
deportation threats. Nationals from other African countries, mainly Nigerians, Somalis,
Malawians, Zimbabweans, Mozambicans, Ethiopians and Congolese were accused of taking
jobs meant for locals and suffocating their businesses as well as taking their women. In fear
of their lives, non-South Africans were forced to close their businesses and to go into hiding.
This article argues that the impact of xenophobia is a double-edged sword and has farreaching
implications for both South Africans and non-South Africans as the local city
dwellers depend on the services provided by informal businesses. The article uses both
primary and secondary data. The empirical data was extracted mainly from the street traders
and hawkers eking a living in the informal sector.

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Publication Information

: ., 2015

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Language

English

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Subject(s)

Informal Economy
Xenophobia-Afrophobia
South Africans
non-South Africans
Durban CBD

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Article

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