ECA/ATPC Inception Workshop on Mainstreaming Gender into Trade Policy

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United Nations Development Fund for Women UNIFEM
SHARING THE FINDINGS OF THE BASELINE STUDIES ON
WOMEN IN INFORMAL CROSS BORDER TRADE IN AFRICA

ECA/ATPC Inception Workshop on Mainstreaming
Gender into Trade Policy Addis Ababa, 21-22 April
2009
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INFORMAL CROSS BORDER TRADERS

• Outside Musina train station, this woman had just
  placed her luggage on the ground to rest when a
  voice emanating from the platform announced,
  hurry-up mama, the train is about to leave! She
  gathered her strength, grabbed her belongings and
  staggered on. - Picture courtesy of Moshe Sekete
• (Source IOM Photo Exhibition on WICBT in Southern
  Africa)

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CONTENT OF THE PRESENTATION

• Basic information on the UNIFEM Feminized Poverty
  Programme (FPP)
• Why the choice of WICBT?
• Objectives of the baseline studies on WICBT
• Research methodology
• Research findings
• Focus of Phase II of the FPP
• Some recommendations

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BASIC INFORMATION ON THE FPP

• Project title Strengthening Responses to Create
  Wealth and Reduce Poverty for Women in Informal
  Cross-border Trade in Africa
• Programme Duration 1st phase January 2006
  December 2008 2nd phase 2009-2010
• Potential regional partners AU, RECs, ADB,
  CODESRIA
• Possible UN Partners UNECA, ILO, UNDP, IFAD,
  FAO, IOM
• Estimated total budget USD 8,000,000

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BASIC INFORMATION ON THE FPP

• Strategic focus
• Deepening understanding and knowledge of women in
  ICBT
• Strengthening the capacity and organizing of
  WICBT to increase the profitability of their
  activities and bargaining power
• Strengthening the capacity of intermediary
  organisations and institutions to analyze,
  advocate and actively influence trade policies
  and poverty reduction strategies so that they
  can benefit WICBT
• Supporting the review and revision of laws,
  regulations policies, systems and practices that
  discriminate against WICBT and hinder their
  access to and control of productive resources and
  markets.

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WHY THE CHOICE OF WICBT?

• Official sources report an average value of
  informal cross border trade in the SADC Region
  US 17.6 billion per year (Southern Africa Trust,
  August 2008)
• ICBT contributes for 30-40 to intra-SADC Trade
• 70 of informal cross border traders are women.
• Main foodstuffs traded in 2006/7 are maize
  (97,000 MT), rice (6,500 MT) and beans (10,000
  MT). 8
• By ignoring informal cross border trade, SADC
  member States could be overlooking a significant
  proportion of their trade.

IOM Photo exhibition on WICBT
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WHY THE CHOICE OF WICBT?

• Trade is the most important source of employment
  among self-employed women of SSA providing 60 of
  non-agricultural self-employment (ILO 2004).
• In West and Central Africa, WICBT employ 1.2
  people in their home businesses support on
  average 3.2 children as well as 3.1 dependants
  who were not children or spouses. (Oculi n.d.
  8).
• Contribution to national GDP 64 of value added
  in trade in Benin 46 in Mali and 41 in Chad
  (Charmes 2000, cited in ILO 2004).
• WICBT address vital issues of livelihoods such as
  food and income security, Yet they are neglected
  by mainstream trade policies and institutions,
  thus undermining the profitability of their
  activities

Photo IOM Zimbabwe border with South Africa
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OBJECTIVES OF THE BASELINE STUDIES

• To identify the global, regional and national
  policy and regulatory frameworks that have an
  impact on ICBT
• To scan the overall operating environment of
  WICBT
• To analyse the economic and social position of
  WICBT
• To analyse
• the nature and intensity of womens activities in
  ICBT
• their determinants and constraints
• the mapping of their locations within the
  production and value chains at different levels
  as well as their routing patterns and
• their coping strategies
• To identify the responses that should be provided
  for addressing those issues and barriers at the
  policy level as well as in terms of service
  provision and
• To develop baseline data and indicators for
  programming in order to enhance womens
  engagement in and benefits from ICBT.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

• Desk-based studies of secondary research
• Focus group discussions
• Institutional survey (COMESA and SADC)
• In depth individual case studies
• Surveys of women and men ICBT conducted in
  various border points in
• Southern Africa Swaziland (400) and Zimbabwe
  (457 respondents)
• Eastern Africa Tanzania (95)
• Central Africa Cameroon (400)
• English speaking West Africa Liberia (400)
• French speaking West Africa Senegal, Niger,
  Guinea, Togo (600)

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RESEARCH FINDINGS

• The research has confirmed that
• Cross border trade contributes to poverty
  reduction, employment and wealth creation
• There are gender differences in the types of
  goods and services provided by WICBT
• WICBT face various constraints and adopt various
  coping mechanisms
• There are several levels of accountability to
  address the issues faced by WICBT

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RESEARCH FINDINGS

• Cross border trade contributes to poverty
  reduction, employment and wealth creation as
  shown in tables 1, 2 and 3

Zimbabwe
Liberia
Swaziland
Tanzania
Male Fem Male Fem Male Fem Male Fem
ICBT 64 83 96 91 85 48 24 60
Spouse formal employment 25 0 1 3 0 20
Spouse informal employment 6 0 0 0 0 8
Salaried employee 2 8
Farming 0 0 3 4 0 5 64 28
Remittances 0 0 0 0 0 3
Other 6 17 0 2 15 18 10 2
Total 101 100 100 100 85 68 100 100
Traders by major/main source of income for
family
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RESEARCH FINDINGS

• Traders by reason for engaging in ICBT and by
  sex

Zimbabwe
Liberia
Cameroon
Swaziland
Tanzania
Male Fem Tot Male Fem Tot Male Fem Male Fem Male Fem
Income 63 61 62 65 70 68 33 86 64 75 71 81
Employment 29 53 41 40 33 35 70 50 69 79
Food security 37 25 31 12 33
HIV/Aids 3 0 1 0 0
Share ideas 9 3 6 3 3 3 10 47 3 8 5 8
Other 15 36 6 3 2 8
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RESEARCH FINDINGS

• Traders by use of income from cross-border
  trading and sex

Zimbabwe
Liberia
Cameroon
Swaziland
Tanzania
Mal Fem Tot Ma Fe Tot Ma Fe Ma Fe Ma Fe Tot
Reinvest in business 77 69 73 79 79 81 18 17 67 75 52 26 38
Food for household 89 78 83 68 69 69 20 20 73 76 88 87 87
Personal effects 51 64 58 11 12 73 55 76 66 71
Rent 51 67 59 68 69 69 13 14 30 20 33 38 36
School fees 51 53 52 36 36 36 15 16 30 60 76 81 79
Household gadgets 46 44 45 4 2 27 18
Health care services 29 22 25 72 70 70 17 18 33 30 71 72 72
Build a house 70 64 65 40 23 31
Save in susu club 33 30 30
Save in bank 41 42 41
Other 2 1 15 3 18 9 13
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RESEARCH FINDINGS

• Impact on Government revenue
• In Liberia, 66) of respondents felt that
  government lost potential revenue from ICBT
  through corruption. A further 9 of respondents
  said that the increasing number of border points
  added to the difficulties for government of
  collecting and accounting accurately for revenue
• In Cameroon 12 of male traders and 42 of female
  felt that ICBT caused government to lose revenue.
  Reasons offered included non-declaration of
  imported products and thus non-payment of taxes,
  and endemic corruption among tax officials and
  police which meant that collected revenue did not
  end up in the state coffers.
• The Tanzanian team was given access to records of
  the Tanzania Revenue Authority at two of the
  border posts. Examination of these records
  suggested that collections from small traders
  (defined as amounts less than USD 500) were
  contributing in a small, but increasing, way to
  government revenue.
• In Zimbabwe, 84 of the interviewed traders (89
  of men and 78 of women) said that they paid the
  required duties for the goods they imported into
  the country. In Swaziland, 52 of interviewed
  traders said that they paid the required import
  duties, with a further 48 reporting that they
  paid only part of the required duties.

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RESEARCH FINDINGS

• What are the goods and services traded by WICBT?
• Most of the goods traded by WICBT are
  agricultural commodities. For instance, in
  Liberia, agricultural goods account for the
  majority of imports and exports (70 of women and
  67 of men respondents). The Liberian report
  notes that most of the agricultural goods traded
  are produced by the traders themselves.
• More women (60) than men (40) are involved in
  the imports of industrial products, and the
  composition of goods shows gender-specific
  differences, with men engaged in higher value
  items such as watches and radios, while women
  tend to specialize in textiles (including used
  clothes), plastics and stationery. There is a
  similar pattern with the mineral and forest
  products, with women trading mostly in imports of
  kerosene and beads, while imports of gasoline
  fuel are done exclusively by men who also
  dominate trade in gold and silver jewelleries.
• Trade in services (transport, money exchange and
  warehousing services) is dominated by men, while
  women are mainly involved in carrying loads on
  their heads across and within the border markets.
  

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RESEARCH FINDINGS

• Constraints faced by WICBT Weak trade-related
  institutions, services and resources

Liberia challenges Male Fem Total
Terrain 38 41 40
Type of roads 48 53 51
Number of other crossing points 70 77 74
Estimation of trade not monitored 13 13 13
Communication facilities 28 38 35
Housing conditions 32 36 34


Liberia main problems Male Fem Total
Heaviness/Bulkiness of goods 18 11 13
Long distance 12 18 16
Poor road 12 11 12
Many checkpoints 2 12 9
High taxes 22 4 9
Sexual harassment 25 33 31
Others specify 8 10 9
Total 100 100 100
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RESEARCH FINDINGS

• Constraints faced by WICBT Weak trade-related
  institutions, services and resources

Cameroun Male Female
Access to credit 31 19
Multiple control posts 29 20
High cost of transport insecurity 18 19
Multiple/arbitrary taxation 16 14
High cost of communication 3 12
Poor accommodation storage 2 17
Total 100 100
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RESEARCH FINDINGS

• Constraints faced by WICBTVAW

Tanzania Male Fem Total
Imprisonment or detention 48 40 43
Loss of goods to officials 86 81 83
Being beaten 24 19 21
Rape 55 26 39
Forced to pay bribes 71 77 75
Ambushes and robbers 43 30 36
Fights 26 11 18
Sex for favors
Liberia Male Fem Total
Imprisonment or detention 21 23 22
Loss of goods to officials 25 27 27
Being beaten 8 9 9
Rape 8 9 9
Forced to pay bribes 74 70 72
Ambushes and robbers 1 1
Fights 12 12 12
Sex for favors 4 5 4
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RESEARCH FINDINGS

• Strategies used to overcome challenges by sex

Liberia
Cameroon
Tanzania
Male Fem Total Male Fem Male Fem Total
Giving bribe 85 86 86 28 36
Stay away from border 5 5 5
Take action as individual 62 53 57 71 57 63
Join group/form group 28 41 36 4 3 19 38 29
Influence decisions by attending meetings 8 5 6 88 87 87
Others 10 9 9 43 26 5 6 5
No strategy/resign oneself 24 35
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RESEARCH FINDINGS

• Charter of Accountability for addressing the
  issues of WICBT

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DISCUSSION OF SOME METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES

• High level of suspicion on the part of the
  traders about the objectives of the study (namely
  the fear that it could be used for taxation or
  other punitive purposes).
• Difficulty in defining common criteria for
  informality. The definitions vary according to
  countries.
• Difficulties when asking about income and other
  financial details of traders businesses, and
  distinguishing between gross and net income.
• The reported patterns show the profile and
  situation of the particular traders who were
  interviewed. They cannot necessarily be
  extrapolated to make generalizations about all
  informal cross-border traders in a particular
  country or sub-region

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QUESTIONS ARISING FROM THE RESEARCH

• Do WICBT opt for invisibility? Does visibility
  hamper profitability? How can they be supported
  without exposing them for heavier taxation?
• Is Informal Cross border trade a viable economic
  option in the long run or should we aim for
  graduation? Would graduation be relevant for such
  small scale businesses?
• How can WICBT be effectively supported, taking
  into account the volatility of their activities
  and the numerous and complex trade regimes?
• What would be the best entry points for
  institutional and policy change in favor of
  WICBT?
• How to address data related challenges so that
  their activities could be better captures in
  national accounting systems and statistics
  databases of the RECs?

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FOCUS OF PHASE II OF THE FPP

• Three pillars
• Support to actions directly benefitting WICBT
• Promote policy change in support of WICBT, at two
  levels
• Sub-regional level with the RECs
• National level
• Enhance knowledge sharing on WICBT to inform
  policies

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FOCUS OF PHASE II OF THE FPP

• Amplify collective voice of WICBT in national,
  subregional and regional trade foras
• Promote women cross border traders access to
  services, social safety nets, information on
  trade agreements and protocols, skills, finances
  and market opportunities (including graduation)
• Support trade related institutions at regional,
  sub-regional and national levels to better
  deliver for WICBT
• Enhance statistical databases of RECs and NSO to
  make available GDD on WICBT

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• THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION