Trading Places: Cross-Border Traders and the South African Informal Sector

Non-South African street traders are often portrayed in the South African media as “illegal”, ill-educated, new arrivals who take opportunities from South Africans and money from the country. The findings of this study challenge some of the basic myths about non-South African street traders and their activities. The study also makes policy recommendations for changes in both immigration and customs policy on informal cross-border trade. The study examines the participation of non-South African street traders in regional cross-border trade and its implications for customs and immigration policy. The study focuses on traders in the handicraft and curio sector, as they are significant participants in cross-border trade. The report is based on semi-structured interviews with 107 non-South African (73 from the SADC region) and 21 South African traders of handicrafts and curios in Johannesburg and Cape Town. We also interviewed 22 South Africans who were employed by non- South African traders and 23 Zimbabwean curio sellers in Harare and Masvingo, Zimbabwe. We then interviewed key informant traders as well as local government officials and representatives of the South African Department of Home Affairs. Mozambican traders, under-represented in the study, will be the subject of a subsequent report. The findings of this study contradict or challenge much of the conventional wisdom about the informal sector and the migrants who work in it. Myth: Participants in the informal sector are poorly educated and illiterate or semi-literate. In this study, over 90% of non-South African respondents had some secondary education. Nearly 40% had a formal qualification. Over two-thirds had some form of further education or training; and 9% had some university experience. With one exception all the South African respondents had some secondary school education. Myth: Informal sector participants are poverty-stricken and desperate people engaged in a struggle to “survive”. The majority of respondents are pursuing a future as small entrepreneurs. Less than 50% were interested in finding formal employment and less than 5% were actively seeking employment. Some 29% said they had entered the business because they “enjoyed” trading and selfemployment and 7% categorised themselves as artists. Myth: Foreign migrants are flooding to South Africa to flee a desperate situation at home. Some 27% of the sample cite as the reason for coming to South Africa the opportunities offered by South Africa’s tourist market; 24% cited the strength of the economy or the rand; some 17% spoke more generally of South Africa’s attractions. Myth: The presence of non-South African traders is a new phenomenon. Most non-SADC traders are recent entrants. However, most traders from the SADC region have been travelling to South Africa to trade since at least 1990, and some before. Myth: Non-South Africans want to settle permanently in South Africa. Some 71% of readers identified their home country as their “permanent home”. Only 4% said “South Africa”. The overwhelming majority of married respondents and those with children said they did not want to bring their families to South Africa. Myth: The participation of non-South Africans in South Africa’s economy is a net drain on the country. Foreigners drain wealth, they do not create it. Cross-border traders invest the majority of their profits within the country in the (formal) retail and manufacturing sectors. Traders assist South African exports by taking goods out of South Africa to sell in the region. Over 56% of all non-South Africans, but 78% of SADC respondents, take goods out of South Africa to trade. Only 27% do not. Exported goods include electronics, appliances, clothes, shoes, household goods, and foodstuffs. These items are South African products which are being promoted by industrial and SADC export policy. Estimates of the value of goods taken out of the country range from R500 to R10000 per trip. The majority take out goods valued between R2 000 and R3 000. Most traders returned home between four and eight times a year. Official South African policy is to encourage trade with its SADC partners. There is no sound economic reason why such trade should be monopolised by large South African formal sector companies. More than 50% of traders spend between 40% and 50% of their earnings in South Africa. Myth: Non-South African street traders compete unfairly with South Africans and take away economic opportunity. More than 20% of foreign traders employ South Africans in their business operations. Only 15% of traders did not bring goods with them to sell. Curios, wood and stone carvings comprise 90% of the goods imported. The remaining 10% consisted of wire, clothes and crochet work and leather goods. Mozambican traders bring vegetables, nuts, and cloth. None of these products are readily available within South Africa itself. Myth: Non-South African traders from the continent have all entered South Africa “illegally”. Most traders from the region enter on visitors visas, which allow people to enter but do not officially allow them to trade. There is no system of trading permits in place. African traders from outside the SADC region tend to be asylum seekers or refugees who are allowed to trade. Most traders pass through official border posts and pay duty. Some 63% said they had problems with customs officials. Most cited the high cost of duties, bribery and overcharging. Myth: The Aliens Control Act is a suitable and efficient instrument for regulating cross-border trade. The present system of restrictive regulation has negative consequences for informal cross-border traders as well as for the South African government. The issue of single-entry visas increases the workload of the issuing officers as traders have to constantly re-apply. Costs to government and traders are high. The ambiguous visa status of traders and complex tariff schedules present opportunities for corrupt Home Affairs and Customs and Excise officials as well as police. Duties paid at the border are a significant drain on the profit margin of traders. They also come with costs to the Department of Customs and Excise who have to administer the gathering of relatively small amounts of duties against complex tariff schedules. Based on the findings of this study, various policy recommendations can be made: The introduction of a new temporary permit category for individual informal sector cross-border traders, as recommended in the Draft Green Paper on International Migration, should be considered. The permit would allow multiple entry, reducing administrative costs and releasing Home Affairs officials to deal with more pressing concerns. It would also remove the ambiguous status of non-South African traders, remove opportunities for corruption and improve the regulation of the system. A duty free allowance on goods carried by persons holding a trading permit should be considered. It would reduce administrative costs for Customs and Excise officials; free them to pursue smugglers of illegal goods; reduce opportunities for corruption; and encourage the development of small enterprises. Reciprocal arrangements should be negotiated with neighbouring countries to ensure that South African traders are not disadvantaged. Training in accounting and marketing should be introduced for South African informal sector participants as black South African entrepreneurship was suppressed by apartheid. The Department of Arts and Culture could follow the example of the Zimbabwean government and offer training in traditional skills in arts and crafts as South Africa currently only produces a small range of handicrafts and curios for the tourist market. Access to start-up capital is problematic for new entrants to the market. Micro-financing schemes should be considered as they would place South African traders in an advantageous position. At the same time as South African traders have been attacking non- South African traders, the South African government has endeavoured to build trade links with neighbouring and other African states. The study places the activities of informal cross-border trade within the wider context of regional trade networks and flows of goods. The policy recommendations made here reflect the move to free up regional trade and a concern that small entrepreneurs should not be disadvantaged

No. 17: International Migration and Good Governance in the Southern African Region

Southern Africa has a long history of intra-regional migration, dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. Migration was probably the single most important factor tying together all of the various colonies and countries of the sub-continent into a single regional labour market during the twentieth century. However, entrenched patterns of migration have undergone major restructuring in the last two decades. Southern Africa is now a region on the move (McDonald 2000). Several broader changes underly this shift towards greater and greater intra-regional mobility. First, the end of apartheid, a system designed to control movement and exclude outsiders, produced new opportunities for internal and cross-border mobility and new incentives for moving. The ensuing integration of South Africa with the SADC region brought a major increase in legal and undocumented cross-border flows and new forms of mobility. Second, the region’s reconnection with the global economy has opened it up to forms of migration commonly associated with globalization (Crush and McDonald 2002). Third, growing rural and urban poverty and unemployment have pushed more people out of households in search of a livelihood. One aspect of this has been a significant gender reconfiguration of migration streams (Dodson 1998). Fourth, HIV/AIDS has also impacted considerably on migration. Not only is the rapid diffusion of the epidemic inexplicable without reference to human mobility but new forms of migration are emerging in response (Williams et al. 2003; IOM 2003a). Finally, the countries of the SADC are still dealing with the legacy of mass displacement and forced migration. The impact of the Mozambican and Angolan civil wars continue to reverberate. Recurrent civil strife in the rest of Africa has generated mass refugee movements and new kinds of asylum seeker to and within the region. The cessation of hostilities and threat has confronted countries of asylum with issues of repatriation and integration. Policy responses as the local, national, regional and continental scale must take into account the extraordinary dynamism and instability of migration forms and patterns in the region. Governments wedded to legal frameworks of control and exclusion are finding it increasingly difficult to cope. The fundamental policy challenge is to move the states of Southern Africa to a regionally-harmonized and consistent set of policies that emphasize good governance, sound management and client-centred service delivery (Klaaren and Rutinwa 2004). In addition, because migration is a cross-cutting phenomenon, it needs to be integrated into all facets of state policymaking and planning, including programs and strategies to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality. For this to happen, migration’s key role needs to be documented by researchers and recognized by policy-makers

Categories of counting: Constructions of South African national identity in South Africa's

African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented 8 May [1999].The boundaries of modern nation-states delimit the territory controlled by the state. The designation of places or ports of entry on the borders of modern nation-states allows the counting of movement in and out. Immigration and migration statistics, however flawed, reflect the state's desire to know who is entering and leaving its territorial jurisdiction. They are, therefore, part of the process whereby a state constructs knowledge about the people that inhabit its territory. Immigration statistics also indicate who the state is prepared to receive as new members of the nation, and on what terms. Accordingly, the collection and presentation of immigration statistics, and the categories used to classify and count, are deeply embedded in the national project and the construction of national identity. When collecting information on those who enter, the state chooses what it wants to know. Who and what it decides to count reflects what it sees as important information as well as its concerns and anxieties about itself and the nation. The way that the information is categorized, ordered and displayed provides further insights into the priorities and preferences of the state. Methods and categories of counting in South Africa, as well as the way these categories were ordered in immigration returns, changed over time. Change was particularly apparent at moments when the state was consolidating or seeking to reinvent its notions of national identity. Immigration statistics, therefore, also tell a story of changing constructions of national identity and the priorities and anxieties of the South African state

Not quite white? not quite black? not quite South African?: Constructions of race, nation and immigration in South Africa

African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented 25 March 1996This paper will examine the development of immigration policy, legislation and practice from 1913 to 1939. It will explore how constructions of race have informed official discourses around immigration as well as their manifestation in legislation and practice. Immigration legislation is a tool used by governments of nation states to control who will be allowed to become new members of the nation. While immigrants can be seen as potential builders of the nation; they can also be seen as potential contaminators, particularly of the blood of the nation. Examining who is considered to taint the nation, the undesirables or the unwanted will be used to uncover the intersections between official ideas about race, nation and blood and the ways that they are manifested practices of control. The category of discourse and the use of discourse as an analytical tool is not unproblematic. The paper will both identify and pay attention to some of the gaps in the ways that discourse has been used to uncover processes of power and control. The paper will first clarify the way that the term discourse will be used here. It will then examine the period between 1913 and 1924 when initial attempts were made by the Union to exclude undesirable immigrants. Third, the debates leading to the implementation of the Immigration Quota Act of 1930 will be explored. Finally, the paper will examine the discussions behind the enactment of the 1937 Aliens Act. There are essentially three basic categories or types of immigration to South Africa, white, contract and clandestine. The legislation discussed here was largely directed at controlling white immigration. The paper will, therefore, focus on attempts to control the entry of white immigrants, and in particular, Jewish immigrants. Non-white immigration to South Africa has a distinct history. It was largely controlled by separate legislation or bi-lateral agreements or circumvented legal controls altogether. Because of the unique histories underlying non-white immigration, it will not be discussed here. Others have looked at immigration in this period. Bradlow (1978) presents a detailed but uncritical historical account in her thesis "Immigration to the Union 1910-1948: Policies and Attitudes". Government records from 1924 onwards were closed at the time she was writing limiting her access to the debates that took place around the introduction of the 1930 and 1937 Acts. Shain (1994) in the Roots of Antisemitism in South Africa provides a background to this paper. His analysis focuses on the creation of popular images of Jews in the print media, novels and plays. He establishes how antisemitism was woven through South African (white) culture from the early years of settlement at the beginning of the nineteenth century. He does not address to any great extent how the antisemitism of white society was expressed within the state. So, it is hoped that although this ground has been visited before this paper will present new insights as well as original material. The paper ends with an examination of the debates underlying the introduction of the 1937 Aliens Act. This Act together with the 1913 Immigrants Regulation Act has formed the basis of almost all subsequent legislation controlling the entry of aliens to South Africa. The draft Aliens Act released at the end of 1995 is again founded on the 1913 and 1937 Acts. This paper should therefore not be seen as an episode in history but a prelude or an introduction to discourses that are developing today as the nation state of South Africa is reconfigured

Biomacromolecule-ligand interactions

The interactions and binding of various ligands to biomacromoleculcs e.g. DNA and proteins finds widespread application in the design and development of novel pharmaceuticals. DNA has been identified as the target molecule for a number of drugs and carcinogens and the supramolecular synthetic approach has led to the discovery of a range of bimetallo iron cylinders that bind to DNA inducing remarkable structural effects. The cylinders arc chiral and the enantiomers were separated on cellulose packed in paper or in a column. The optimum mobile phase for efficient separation was found to be 90% acctonitrilc: 10% 0.02 M NaCl. The (M)-enantiomers of the parent cylinder have been found to bind to DNA in the major groove. I Hydrophobic methyl groups were added at various positions on the ligand backbone. UV/visible absorbance, circular and linear dichroism were used to investigate any interactions of the metal complex with DNA with the aim of investigating any sequence preference or selectivity upon binding. Competitive binding studies and molecular dynamics simulations were used to probe the binding geometries of the enantiomers of the parent cylinder and two methylated cylinders to DNA as the exact site of interaction of the (P)-enantiomers of the parent cylinder was unclear. It was concluded that the methylated bimetallo iron cylinders bind to DNA and provide major groove recognition and may show some sequence preference. Circular dichroism was used to structurally characterise a range of buanosine-rich oligonucleotides (GRO's) and to investigate their interactions with a nucleolar protein - nucicolin. Biological/anti-proliferative activity has been related to the ability of the oligonucleotide to bind to this protein. It was found that nucleolin does bind to a biologically active GRO in the presence of K+ and induces a structural change in it

No. 17: International Migration and Good Governance in the Southern African Region

Southern Africa has a long history of intra-regional migration, dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. Migration was probably the single most important factor tying together all of the various colonies and countries of the sub-continent into a single regional labour market during the twentieth century. However, entrenched patterns of migration have undergone major restructuring in the last two decades. Southern Africa is now a region on the move (McDonald 2000). Several broader changes underly this shift towards greater and greater intra-regional mobility. First, the end of apartheid, a system designed to control movement and exclude outsiders, produced new opportunities for internal and cross-border mobility and new incentives for moving. The ensuing integration of South Africa with the SADC region brought a major increase in legal and undocumented cross-border flows and new forms of mobility. Second, the region’s reconnection with the global economy has opened it up to forms of migration commonly associated with globalization (Crush and McDonald 2002). Third, growing rural and urban poverty and unemployment have pushed more people out of households in search of a livelihood. One aspect of this has been a significant gender reconfiguration of migration streams (Dodson 1998). Fourth, HIV/AIDS has also impacted considerably on migration. Not only is the rapid diffusion of the epidemic inexplicable without reference to human mobility but new forms of migration are emerging in response (Williams et al. 2003; IOM 2003a). Finally, the countries of the SADC are still dealing with the legacy of mass displacement and forced migration. The impact of the Mozambican and Angolan civil wars continue to reverberate. Recurrent civil strife in the rest of Africa has generated mass refugee movements and new kinds of asylum seeker to and within the region. The cessation of hostilities and threat has confronted countries of asylum with issues of repatriation and integration. Policy responses as the local, national, regional and continental scale must take into account the extraordinary dynamism and instability of migration forms and patterns in the region. Governments wedded to legal frameworks of control and exclusion are finding it increasingly difficult to cope. The fundamental policy challenge is to move the states of Southern Africa to a regionally-harmonized and consistent set of policies that emphasize good governance, sound management and client-centred service delivery (Klaaren and Rutinwa 2004). In addition, because migration is a cross-cutting phenomenon, it needs to be integrated into all facets of state policymaking and planning, including programs and strategies to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality. For this to happen, migration’s key role needs to be documented by researchers and recognized by policy-makers

Uneven spaces: core and periphery in the Gauteng City-Region

Peripheral areas of the Gauteng City-Region – like small towns on the edge, large peri-urban and commercial farming areas, sprawling dormitory townships, huge swathes of displaced urbanisation in ex-Bantustans, and remote industrial and mining areas – are all poorly understood. Yet there is evidence that many of these areas are undergoing rapid change, with profound implications for many current policy debates including what to do about inequitable economic growth patterns, how to manage ongoing population movements in the post-apartheid period, where best to locate large public housing schemes, and so on. Uneven spaces: Core and periphery in the Gauteng City-Region, GCRO’s sixth research report, comes from a clear recognition that despite the comparative wealth of Gauteng and its role in driving the national economy there are places of relative ‘peripherality’ in the GCR that require attention. The report is also a response to a strong focus in the existing literature on the physical and economic core of the province, the City of Johannesburg in particular. By contrast there is a relative paucity of analysis on less central parts of the city-region. The work is the result of a research partnership between the GCRO and the South African Research Chair in Spatial Analysis and City Planning (SA&CP), in the School of Architecture and Planning at Wits University. GCRO’s Dr Sally Peberdy wrote the first part of the report entitled ‘Uneven development – core and periphery in Gauteng’. Prof Philip Harrison and Yasmeen Dinath from SA&CP compiled the second part, ‘Gauteng – on the edge’. Both parts, albeit through different modes, consider transitions in the social- and space-economies of outlying places. The first part investigates the dynamics of peripheral areas in Gauteng through the lens of theories of uneven development. Showcasing a wealth of data and maps generated from the Census and GCRO’s own Quality of Life surveys, it analyses the multiple ways that spaces may be peripheral. These include unequal access to housing and services; the spread of income, household assets and employment opportunities; variations in perceived quality of life; and so on. The analysis builds from an initial binary delineation of parts of Gauteng as either ‘core’ or ‘periphery. It then progressively nuances our understanding by showing that notions of core and periphery are relational, that processes of change across what may be counted as core or periphery are often indeterminate and contradictory, and that there are often ‘peripheral’ areas in the heart of the GCR, and ‘core’ features in areas conventionally regarded as on the margin. This section concludes with thoughts on the role of government in creating, sustaining and ameliorating multiple forms of peripherality, The second part of the report asks the question ‘what is happening along the geographic edge of the GCR?’, and seeks to answer this both through the lens of scholarship on edge cities, peri-metropolitan areas, and agglomeration, as well as through a number of in-depth case studies in six types of peripheral areas: 1. Areas with extractive economies (Carletonville); 2. Industrialising ex-mining areas (Nigel-Heidelberg); 3. Areas with state-implanted industry (The Vaal, including Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark and Sasolburg); 4. Decentralised growth points (Babelegi); 5. Agricultural service centres (Bronkhorstspruit); and 6, Recreational hubs (Hartbeespoort). Through its exhaustive narrative accounts of the development of specific places on the edge of the GCR, this section of the report compellingly highlights the importance of history and timing, and asks us to consider how urban development drives economic development and vice versa. Although ‘core’ and ‘periphery’ are artificial constructs, these terms gesture at very real spaces of uneven growth and development. The two parts of this report, different but complementary, considerably deepen our understanding of what is going on in parts of the city-region that are less well researched, and help focus the attention of policy-makers concerned with the causes and effects of – as well as possible solutions to – spatially uneven development outcomes.AP201

The nutritional status of pre-school children in Malukazi : a study of nutritional status using anthropometric measuments and dietary intake, and selected ecological factors which may impinge on nutritional status, in 3-6 year old children in Malukazi.

Thesis (M.Med.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1991.Nutrition education is recognised as being of value in the prevention of malnutrition. However, in order for it to be effective, an in-depth study of the community prior to the implementation of any nutrition education programme is essential. A study of the nutritional status of pre-school children in Malukazi (an informal, unplanned Black township in the greater Durban area) together with background information on the household and the childminder was therefore undertaken, so that recommendations for a nutrition education programme in the area could be made. The relationship between nutritional status and certain ecological variables was also studied in order to determine which of these, if any, was a significant factor in the development of malnutrition. Nutritional status was assessed by using anthropometric measures (height and weight) and dietary intake (24-hour recall and food frequency). Background information obtained included socio-economic status; food purchasing, preparation and storage patterns; intrafamilial pattern of eating; food taboos; clinic attendance; and the childminder's sage, educational level, body size, nutritional knowledge and attitude towards nutrition education. Information was obtained by means of face-to-face interviews using a single, trained interviewer. The incidence of low weight-for-age was relatively low and that of low height-for-age ("stunting") considerably higher (14,2% and 47,3% below the 3rd percentile respectively), indicating that chronic malnutrition is a serious problem in this community. Information on dietary intake showed that intakes of several nutrients notably energy, calcium, vitamin A, ascorbic acid and vitamin D were low for the study population. The percentage of total energy provided by the various macronutrients was however in line with recommendations, which tends to indicate that the greatest need is for an overall increase in food intake. Of the ecological variables studied, only two were found to be significantly associated with the incidence of malnutrition. These were the number of children cared for by the childminder (p=0,04) and whether or not the household grew their own vegetables (p=0,02). The degree of malnutrition found to exist in this community, together with the unsatisfactory level of nutritional knowledge of the childminders and their apparent willingness to learn more, revealed the desirability for further nutrition education in this area. Recommendations regarding future nutrition education programmes for this community based on the findings of the study are submitted

No. 69: Calibrating Informal Cross-Border Trade in Southern Africa

Informal cross-border trade (ICBT) is a significant feature of regional trade and international mobility in Southern Africa. The exact number of participants and economic importance of this trade is unknown because no official statistics are collected. Despite its obvious presence at every border post throughout the SADC region, ICBT remains largely invisible to policy-makers. Indeed, in government circles it is more often associated with smuggling, tax evasion and illegality than with innovation, enterprise and job creation. On the research side, there is a growing body of case study evidence that ICBT plays a critical role in poverty alleviation, food security and household livelihoods in Southern Africa. But its overall character and significance is unknown. With this in mind, SAMP initiated a project to examine cross-border regional trade at a selection of important border posts throughout the region. This research led to a number of country reports that provided rich insights into ICBT in particular countries. This report combines the data collected by each of the country teams and analyses the data set as a whole. The first issue addressed in the report is whether ICBT traders are a homogenous group. The research shows that this is far from being the case and that more attention needs to be paid to different types of traders and trading activity. Second, the report examines the activities of cross-border traders including the types of goods traded, the sources of those goods and where they are sold. While the majority of traders purchase goods from formal outlets in their countries of destination, most of these goods enter the informal economy on their return home. Third, the report examines financial transactions at the borders showing that most traders pay extremely small amounts of duty, which hardly justifies the effort of collecting it. On the other hand, only a small minority collect the VAT they are owed when they leave the country of purchase. Finally, the report itemizes the problems and challenges faced by informal traders when crossing borders. In total, the SAMP survey covered 20 land border posts connecting 11 Southern African countries using a threefold methodology. First, all people crossing through the selected border posts were monitored over a 10-day period and the number of ICBT traders counted. Second, the interactions of traders with customs officials were observed and the types, value and volumes of goods declared and duties paid were recorded. Third, a sample of traders was interviewed using an origin and destination (O&D) survey. During the course of the exercise, more than 205,000 people, including 85,000 traders, were counted passing through these border posts. The transactions of over 5,500 traders with customs officials were monitored and over 4,500 traders were interviewed. The study demonstrates that informal cross-border is a complex phenomenon and not uniform across the region, or even through border posts of the same country. However, the overall volume of trade, duties paid and VAT foregone, as well as the types of goods and where they are produced, indicate that this sector of regional trade should be given much greater attention and support by governments of the region as well as regional organizations such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), SADC and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The major findings at the regional level were as follows: Demographically, women comprise a significant proportion of traders and constitute the majority of traders crossing through nearly half of the border posts surveyed, including one of the busiest at Beit Bridge between South Africa and Zimbabwe. At the same time, an unexpectedly large number of men were also involved in ICBT. Malawi and Zambia had significantly more male than female traders, for example. Most ICBT is bilateral in character; that is, traders tend to operate between their home country and one other country. Trading into a third country is comparatively rare. At the same time, the vast majority of traders crossing into a country with goods to sell are citizens of that country. ICBT by traders of other nationalities is uncommon. Although South Africa is a major source of goods purchased by traders, the absence of South African informal traders was very noticeable. The reasons why South Africans do not participate in ICBT requires further exploration but it stands in marked contrast to formal sector regional trade where South African companies predominate. ICBT is a neglected market opportunity for small-scale South African entrepreneurs and the obstacles to their participation need to be better understood. The majority of traders travelled frequently to other countries for short visits (sometimes for less than a day) to buy goods to sell in their home country, or to sell goods that they had bought for that purpose in their home country. Only 13% of respondents bought and sold goods while travelling (two-way trading). Frequency of tracel also varied both within and between countries, with traders in the Namibian (42%) and Zambian (25%) surveys being most likely to travel every day. Others travel at least once a week (Mozambique, 67%; Zambia, 34%). Some travel less frequently, but at least once a month. Very few stay more than a month in another country. The types of goods carried by informal cross-border traders vary widely, but at most borders the trade was dominated by food, especially groceries and fresh produce. Again, there was considerable variability at different borders. New clothes, household and electrical goods comprised a significant proportion of the stock of some cross-border traders. Other goods identified in the survey included second-hand clothing, petrol, alcohol, car parts and construction materials. Traders mostly source their goods from the formal sector of destination countries. A small proportion obtain their goods from informal markets in other countries. Many traders acted as wholesale importers of goods, selling the goods they carried across borders to vendors in informal markets. Others sold from their own stalls in informal markets, door to door, or to networks of family, friends and other individuals. A small proportion sold to retailers and restaurants in the formal sector. The value of goods carried by traders indicates the complexity and diversity of this sector. A significant cohort of traders appeared to be survivalists as many said they carried less than ZAR500 worth of goods. However, at least some of these traders travel frequently with low-value loads, rather than infrequently with high-value loads. Most traders travelled with loads in the range of ZAR1,001-5,000. A small cohort of traders travelled with loads worth more than ZAR15,000. Informal traders make a relatively significant contribution to duties collected at border posts. During the 10-day survey period at the 20 border posts, ZAR3,750,000 was collected from 1,780 traders. Duties collected varied between and within border posts. In some surveys the value of duties paid per trader was less than ZAR50. Interestingly, duties were being incorrectly collected at some borders between Southern African Customs Union countries (for example, between Botswana and Swaziland and South Africa). Traders said they were willing to pay duties, but wanted amounts reduced and the process to be more transparent. Although most traders buy their goods in the formal sector, few claim VAT when leaving the country of purchase. Many did not know they could do this while others said that the systems are too complex and time consuming. Traders who do not claim VAT back make an unintended contribution to the fiscus of the country where they buy their goods. Responses to questions about treatment from officials at the borders were generally positive but varied between and within border posts. Larger and busier posts generally received less favourable reviews. The scope and scale of informal cross-border trade across the SADC suggests that it makes a significant contribution to regional trade and the retail economies of the region and is consistent with the stated aims of both the SADC and COMESA to promote intra-regional trade. Small-scale cross-border trade could, if promoted and supported, provide a route to the development of pro-poor trade policies that could have a direct impact at the household level. If trade policies for the region are to be successful, the activities of these entrepreneurs need to be included in planning processes. ICBT comprises a significant component of regional economic activity for most countries in Southern Africa. It is highly visible at border posts throughout the region. Only amongst policy-makers and governments does it remain largely invisible

Biomacromolecule-ligand interactions

The interactions and binding of various ligands to biomacromoleculcs e.g. DNA and proteins finds widespread application in the design and development of novel pharmaceuticals. DNA has been identified as the target molecule for a number of drugs and carcinogens and the supramolecular synthetic approach has led to the discovery of a range of bimetallo iron cylinders that bind to DNA inducing remarkable structural effects. The cylinders arc chiral and the enantiomers were separated on cellulose packed in paper or in a column. The optimum mobile phase for efficient separation was found to be 90% acctonitrilc: 10% 0.02 M NaCl. The (M)-enantiomers of the parent cylinder have been found to bind to DNA in the major groove. I Hydrophobic methyl groups were added at various positions on the ligand backbone. UV/visible absorbance, circular and linear dichroism were used to investigate any interactions of the metal complex with DNA with the aim of investigating any sequence preference or selectivity upon binding. Competitive binding studies and molecular dynamics simulations were used to probe the binding geometries of the enantiomers of the parent cylinder and two methylated cylinders to DNA as the exact site of interaction of the (P)-enantiomers of the parent cylinder was unclear. It was concluded that the methylated bimetallo iron cylinders bind to DNA and provide major groove recognition and may show some sequence preference. Circular dichroism was used to structurally characterise a range of buanosine-rich oligonucleotides (GRO's) and to investigate their interactions with a nucleolar protein - nucicolin. Biological/anti-proliferative activity has been related to the ability of the oligonucleotide to bind to this protein. It was found that nucleolin does bind to a biologically active GRO in the presence of K+ and induces a structural change in it.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo