The Washington Post takes a closer look at life in the informal sector in Congo, profiling people
…whose daily survival depends on creating something out of nothing, from the jobless teacher selling ices on the corner, to so-called passers whom travelers pay to get through the chaotic airport, to a growing number of street hawkers such as Waka who roam the wide boulevards selling bananas, or knockoff Roberto Cavalli fashions imported from China.
These are the people who get no assistance from the government and face a lack of jobs in the private sector. To survive, they have to put their entrepreneurial potential to work. The key point is that they are often teetering on the edge of survival, with virtually no opportunities to grow their business ideas into something bigger, more sustainable. What’s even more disheartening is that these people often see no end to their misery.
Sometimes, sitting there, they plotted various means of escaping the country that seems to them a jungle prison. “All of us here would like to change nationality,” said Kasiala, who imagines crossing into Angola someday or making his way to Paris, if he can save enough money. “Mainly, that’s my everyday thinking, because I can’t make it here.”
In South Africa, apparently, the government is counting on the informal sector to fill the employment gap. However, as people who have worked extensively with (and in) the informal sector would suggest, a much better approach is changing the incentives structures so that there is more job creation in the formal economy. Maybe then, people like Kasiala in Congo, will not feel so helpless.
Published Date: December 08, 2006