Social Sciences & Humanities Open 6 (2022) 100316

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Social Sciences & Humanities Open

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Regular Article

A catastrophic threat to the already vulnerable towards 2030: Impact of

COVID-19 lockdown on livelihood outcome of informal cross border traders
in Gweru, Zimbabwe
Beauty Dzawanda a, *, Mark Matsa a, Melanie Nicolau b
a
Midlands State University, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Private Bag, 9055, Gweru, Zimbabwe
b
University of South Africa, Department of Geography, Private Bag X6 Florida, 1710, South Africa

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Informal cross-border trade (ICBT) is one significant part of intra-Sub-Saharan African (SSA) trade. This eco­
Informal cross border trade nomic activity goes a long way in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, by providing employment in
COVID-19 pandemic poor communities, and thus helps in poverty reduction by providing a significant contribution of income into
Lockdown
households. For these reasons any disturbance to ICBT in SSA is a serious threat, since it affects the most
Livelihood outcome
vulnerable groups of societies. This research examines the impact of COVID-19 on the livelihood outcome of
SDGs
informal cross border traders (ICBTs) in Gweru, Zimbabwe using the case of Global Village Flea Market. The case
study design was used, employing qualitative data collection techniques. This research design was chosen as it
enabled generation of in-depth understanding of what actually transpired on the ground during the lockdown
period. The main sources of data were in-depth interviews with the ICBTs and owner of the flea market. Thirty
three ICBTs were selected at the flea market using convenience sampling technique. Results revealed that COVID-
19 pandemic had an impact on ICBTs livelihood outcome by causing the global economic retreat of nations,
shutting down of borders, shutting down business operations and social contact. There were challenges in
acquiring income during this COVID-19 lockdown period since the traders were not allowed to go to work and
this presented difficulties in the quest to achieve SDGs 1 and 2 by 2030. Their situation was further worsened by
rise in prices of basic commodities which occurred during the lockdown when they were not operating and also
by lack of assistance from the government. Sixty one percent (61%) of the respondents who had few savings from
the business, that were meant to purchase new stock, had to use these to buy food and pay rentals during the
lockdown period. This meant that they no longer had capital to purchase new stock when business resumed. The
study recommends the government to provide assistance to ICBTs during the occurrence of such pandemics or
situations that result in lockdown of nations.

1. Introduction May 2020 more than 600 000 people had succumbed to the disease
(World Health Organization, 2020). Various governments imposed
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) originated in Wuhan, lockdown measures and closed down their national borders to enforce a
Hubei Province, China in the last months of 2019 (Zhang et al., 2020). limitation of human movement and goods, in an attempt to contain the
By mid-2020, the virus had spread and expanded across the world at an spread of COVID-19 infections (Chirisa et al., 2021; Kudejira, 2020).
astonishing rate and in so doing not only challenged the existence of the COVID-19 has raised the global levels of poverty, hunger and un­
human population on earth (Roy, 2020; Zhang et al., 2020), but also employment, and potentially jeopardised the achievement of the various
every aspect of their daily lives. On January 31, 2020, the World Health Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 (United Nations, 2020).
Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic as it The United Nations (2020), reports that should lockdowns continue,
constituted a public health emergency that was of an international there could be a decline in the world gross product that would lead to
concern (Zhang et al., 2020). By the middle of 2020, nearly 17 million millions of people losing their formal employment and resulting in a
confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections were recorded globally, and by global poverty headcount that will increase by as much as 100 million

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (B. Dzawanda).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2022.100316
Received 28 October 2021; Received in revised form 11 July 2022; Accepted 13 July 2022
Available online 19 July 2022
2590-2911/© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).
B. Dzawanda et al. Social Sciences & Humanities Open 6 (2022) 100316

people. It is also expected that the levels of hunger will increase, and the Africa, Mozambique and Zambia) while some will travel as far as
number of people that will face acute food insecurity will double to Tanzania, Dubai and China to purchase goods for resale (Dzawanda,
about 265 million by the end of 2020 (United Nations, 2020). The Nicolau, et al., 2021).
negative economic consequences of COVID-19 is likely to be felt more The 2019 Labour Force and Child Labour Survey (LFCLS) Report
acutely by the more developing countries in the world, with a higher published by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) in
negative impact on children, women, and the elderly. COVID-19 is likely February 2020 indicated that as of May 2019 the unemployment rate of
to hinder the achievement of prosperity driven SDGs by increasing Zimbabwe was 16.4% compared to 4.8% in 2014. The report also
hunger and poverty. In many countries, funding that was originally indicated that of the employed population around 2.2 million were
earmarked for development will now have to be used to mitigate informally employed and this account for approximately 76% of the
COVID-19 and this will be negative for other sectors. Exactly how total employment in the country (Zimstat 2020). Although the report
negative this impact will be will depend on how human societies and does not distinctively give an account for the proportion of informal
governments respond to the COVID-19 crisis (United Nations, 2020). employees that participate in ICBT, it has been documented by many
Zimbabwe registered the first patient with confirmed COVID-19 on authors (Chikanda & Tawodzera, 2017; Zimwara & Mbohwa, 2015),
the March 21, 2020, and by the third week in November 2020, a total of that ICBT contributes significantly to the labour force indicators on
9046 confirmed cases and 265 deaths were registered (Kudejira, 2020; which LFCLS are based. The LFCLS report was published at a time when
US Embassy, 2021). Although, the first wave of infection of the popu­ COVID-19 had spread across the world (Kudejira, 2020) and had nega­
lation has been relatively low compared to other parts of the world, the tively impacted on the economies of many countries in the developed
pandemic has negatively impacted on many Zimbabweans whose live­ and developing world.
lihoods depend on precarious economic activities such as informal cross A study by Chikanda and Tawodzera (2017) reveals how ICBT have
border trade (ICBT). Following the declaration of the COVID-19 as a provided employment to many youths. The impact of this phenomenon
global pandemic by WHO, the government of Zimbabwe declared the can be illustrated by Zimstat (2020) that recorded the finding of the
pandemic a national disaster on March 17, 2020. On the March 25, LFCLS report that youths constituted about 2.5 million people of the
2020, South Africa (the main destination of ICBT in Southern Africa), working age of the population. While ICBT plays a crucial role to the
imposed a national lockdown and this included the closure of its bor­ sustenance of the Zimbabwean economy, the scale of contribution of this
ders. The Zimbabwean government followed suit by imposing a industry has been greatly affected by the lockdown of COVID-19
nationwide lockdown under the Statutory Instrument 83 of 2020, the pandemic. Dzawanda, Matsa, and Nicolau (2021) conducted a study
initial phase of lockdown was for three weeks (from March 30, 2020) on how COVID-19 impacted the informal sector in Gweru as a whole and
and later extended by two weeks until May 04, 2020 (Government of it was revealed that poverty cases escalated as a result of lockdown
Zimbabwe, 2020). These restrictions required that the population be measures that were implemented to combat the virus. Although the
confined to their places of residence and could only leave their homes if study partially looked at ICBT as one form of informal business, it did not
they are employed as essential services workers or to buy basic house­ provide precise details on the experiences of informal cross border
hold commodities or medication. Statutory Instrument 83 of 2020 also traders, who rely heavily on selling imported goods from neighbouring
closed the national borders for all except for those returning to their countries for survival. This study was then carried out as a follow up,
home country (Government of Zimbabwe, 2020). From 16 May to July treating ICBT as a distinct group, considering that ICBT is a vital source
21, 2020, some relaxations in the lockdown measures in the country of employment for many people in the informal sector after the collapse
were made, only to be returned to a harder lockdown from July 21, of the conventional industrial sector in Zimbabwe. It was considered
2020. From September 2020 the country eased the lockdown somewhat crucial to find out how the COVID-19 pandemic had affected or is
allowing for everyday activities and the opening of businesses to resume threatening the achievement of SDGs through ICBT where many people
within certain conditions. While the national lockdown is intended to are employed in Zimbabwe. Considering that the COVID-19 pandemic
slow the spread of COVID-19 it required public activities to cease and struck Zimbabweans at a time when the economic situation of the
most informal markets (except for essential food and fuel businesses) to country was already suffering, the following questions were posed:
close. These measures have had a severe impact on the operations of the
ICBT. This is largely due to the fact that the success of the economic • What has been the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on livelihood
activity in ICBT, depends on crossing the regional and international outcome of informal cross border traders towards the achievement of
borders to buy goods for resale at local informal markets that have SDGs?
historically required social contact between customers and market • Did the ICBT dependent households receive any assistance from the
traders to facilitate an economic transaction. government during this pandemic lockdown, and if so, how helpful
Some studies (Chikanda & Tawodzera, 2017; Kamete, 2017; Man­ was the assistance?
jokoto & Ranga, 2017) have shown that ICBT played a vital role in • What strategies should be implemented to boost the recovery of
cushioning the vulnerable poor households against the effects of food informal cross border trade post-COVID-19 in order to achieve SDGs?
and financial crises (Ndiaye, 2010). Although ICBT started in the 1980s,
it became an important alternative livelihood strategy after the effects of Using these questions as a baseline, this paper therefore examines the
the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) in the 1990s impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on livelihood outcome of
that transformed Zimbabwe into a highly informal economy through informal cross border traders (ICBTs) using Gweru, Zimbabwe as a case
worker retrenchments (Chikanda & Tawodzera, 2017; Gaidzanwa, study.
1998; Kurebwa, 2015). As a result ICBT contributed to the positive
livelihood outcome of the traders and those who depended on this 2. Theoretical framework
economic activity for their survival. Livelihood outcomes are generally
what household members achieve or gain through their livelihood ac­ This paper utilised the sustainable livelihood framework by the
tivities and strategies and could include but not limited to income, Department for International Development (DFID). According to DFID
improved food security, asset accumulation and increased well-being (2020) a livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets and activities
and health in the community (Mchopa & Jeckoniah, 2018; Steinbrink required for a means of living and is sustainable when it can cope with
and Niedenführ 2020). Market opportunities for ICBT were created by and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its ca­
the decline in formal sector jobs and fall of the manufacturing sector pabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining
(Chikanda & Tawodzera, 2017; Zimwara & Mbohwa, 2015). Many the natural resource base. The framework was developed to help un­
people travel to the neighbouring countries (mostly Botswana, South derstand how the livelihood strategies operate to achieve livelihood

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outcomes. More so, the traders had poor social capital, in terms of network and
In a nutshell, the framework depicts stakeholders as operating in a connections, hence they could not get any form of assistance for them to
context of vulnerability, within which they have access to certain assets. survive during the lockdown period. As a result the COVID-19 pandemic
Assets gain weight and value through the prevailing social, institutional and the lockdown measures presented shocks to the ICBTs and made
and organizational environment (policies, institutions and processes). their livelihood assets to become more vulnerable as the pandemic
This context decisively shapes the livelihood strategies that are open to emerged when the ICBTs were already living in a vulnerable environ­
people in pursuit of their self-defined beneficial livelihood outcomes ment struck by economic crisis. This paper is anchored on this frame­
(Kollmair & Gamper, 2002). work in trying to explain how the livelihood strategy of ICBTs was
The vulnerability context frames the external environment in which affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and impacted on their livelihood
people exist. Critical trends as well as shocks and seasonality, over which outcomes.
people have limited or no control, have a great influence on people’s
livelihoods and on the wider availability of assets (Carney et al., 2000). 3. Methodology
The approach is founded on a belief that people require a range of assets
to achieve positive livelihood outcomes. Therefore the SLF identifies five 3.1. Study area
types of assets or capitals upon which livelihoods are built, namely
human capital, social capital, natural capital, physical capital and financial Gweru is the provincial capital city of Midlands province, which is
capital. Policies, institutions and processes can determine access to assets among the five provinces where 81% of COVID -19 cases have been
and influence decision making processes (DFID, 2020). Livelihood recorded in Zimbabwe (OCHA, 2020). It is located 285 km south-west of
strategies comprise the range and combination of activities and choices the Capital City Harare and is at the center of the country as shown in
that people make/undertake in order to achieve their livelihood goals Fig. 1. Gweru is the transport hub of the country where rail and road
(De stage et al., 2002; DFID, 2020). Livelihood strategies are direct links interconnect, linking directly with South Africa, Botswana and
dependent on asset status and policies, institutions and processes. Mozambique, which makes Gweru vulnerable to viral (and other) dis­
Livelihood outcomes are the achievements or outputs of livelihood eases like COVID-19 from neighbouring countries and even nationally.
strategies, such as more income, increased well-being, reduce vulnera­ According to the most recent National Population Census the total
bility and improved food security (DFID, 2020; Kollmair & Gamper, population of Gweru was estimated at 158 233 (73 768 males and 84
2002). 465 females) and a total of 41 149 households (Zimstat, 2012). The city
In the context of this paper the vulnerability environment is the is divided into low, medium and high density residential areas with the
COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown period which impacted on the largest suburb being Mkoba, a high density residential area that is
business and livelihoods of informal cross border traders. Policies that divided into 21 villages or residential entities. The high density suburbs
were introduced by the government of Zimbabwe as a result of the in Gweru are characterised by poor households who are financially
outbreak of the pandemic influenced access to different forms of assets constrained and high unemployment. It is in these suburbs that the
or capital by the ICBTs to continue operating under the lockdown period majority of ICBTs reside. Industries include Bata Shoe Company, chrome
and consequently affected their livelihood outcomes. These policies smelting plant (Zimalloys) and Anchor Yeast making company. However
represent the structures and processes under the SLF which affected these companies have significantly downsized due to economic chal­
tangible and intangible assets of the traders which they need to earn a lenges in the country forcing many people to join the informal sector
livelihood outcome. The strict lockdown and stay at home order resulted particularly ICBT. Global Village Flea market is the main and privately
in traders losing their financial capital, in terms of income, as they were owned flea market located at the center of the Central Business District
not operating. It also caused the ICBTs to lose access to transport, as a (CBD) in Gweru.
physical asset, as they were not given permission letters to move since
they were not considered essential services to operate under lockdown.

Fig. 1. Map of Global village flea market in Gweru Central Business District, Zimbabwe (Source: Authors).

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3.2. Materials and methods size of 6 people, 24% had 5 people, another 24% had 4 people, while
12% and 9% had a family sizes of 3 and 2 people respectively. 45% of the
The research used a case study research design employing qualitative respondents had reached ordinary level, 30% attained tertiary level
data collection techniques. This research design was chosen as it enabled education, 15% reached Advanced level whilst 9% had lower secondary
generation of in-depth understanding of what actually transpired on the education. Generally, this shows that the majority of traders in this flea
ground during the lockdown period. Data collection tools used included market were educated and it also reflects the challenges of employment
in-depth interviews which were used to collect data from ICBTs and the in the country since all the respondents indicated that they were un­
owner of the Global Village Flea Market. Permission to carry out the employed in the formal sector.
study was sought from the owner of the flea market who was asked to
sign a consent form as proof of agreement. However the consent form 4.2. The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on livelihood outcome of
was sent to him through email and his feedback was also given via the informal cross border traders
same platform to reduce contact and reduce chances of the spread of the
virus. The consent of ICBTs that participated in the study was also sought 4.2.1. Trading business amid lockdown period
when the researcher was collecting data and this was granted verbally. All the respondents (100%) indicated they stopped the business of
Purposive sampling was used to select Global Village Flea Market by selling imported clothes at the flea market completely during the first 35
virtue of its being the city’s major market from which ICBTs operate. The days of lock down period (from March 31, 2020 to 04 May). They
research was carried out during the peak of the lockdown in the city explained that it was impossible to move around during this phase as
(June to July 2020) and this made it difficult for the researcher to access people were supposed to be confined to their residential homes and the
all the flea markets mostly as the majority of city council owned flea law enforcing agents were very strict. Anyone found loitering outside
markets were dismantled in the first and the hardest of lockdown (Level their homes would get arrested. The following statement was quoted
2) and had not yet been relocated. The only flea market which had from a female aged 35years to explain the situation:
managed to resume business was the privately owned Global Village
There was no way we could conduct business because police officers
Flea Market. Hence it was easy for the researchers to collect data from
and soldiers were moving around our residential areas looking for
the informal traders from this flea market. During this lockdown period
law offenders and if you were caught outside your home they would
the owner of the flea market had organised the traders in such a way that
beat you or even prosecute you.
they would make turns to come to work in order to ensure social dis­
tance since the flea market stalls were too close to each other. Therefore, From this statement it can be deduced that the lockdown period
the researchers had to utilise convenience sampling to select the par­ significantly affected the livelihood outcome of ICBTs. It was very
ticipants of the research, that is, those who were available during the difficult to survive during this period since they had no other sources of
day of data collection automatically became the participants in the income and could not conduct their normal business even at home due to
research. This resulted in a total of 33 ICBTs participating in the research strict lockdown restrictions (Chagonda, 2020). As per the SLF these were
including the owner of the flea market. Data were presented and ana­ the capitals or assets of ICBTs that were affected by the vulnerability
lysed using thematic analysis following the themes guided by the caused by COVID-19 lockdown and in turn they impacted negatively on
research objectives. livelihood outcome of ICBTs thereby exacerbating poverty levels making
it difficult to pursue efforts of achieving SDG 1 of ending poverty and
3.3. Limitations of the study SDG 2 of ending hunger ad achieving food security. The worst-case
scenario was that the pandemic came at a time when the country was
This research had limitations that it only focused on one flea market already suffering economically and many people were depending on
which was open during the time of data collection due to lockdown hand to mouth services operating informally in the cross-border trading
restrictions of COVID-19 pandemic. It was difficult to reach other traders business (Chagonda, 2020). More so the livelihood outcome of informal
operating in other flea markets of Gweru urban area as these flea mar­ cross border traders had been severely affected by the cash crisis and
kets were closed and some had been demolished during the COVID-19 virtual cash economy which had resulted in premium exchange rates for
pandemic. Another limitation of this research was the small sample foreign currency (Dzawanda, Nicolau, & Matsa, 2021). All this worsened
size that was used. It was difficult to engage all traders in the flea market the vulnerability context of ICBT as a livelihood strategy in terms of the
as study participants since they were making turns to come to work as SLF.
part of social distancing during the tight lockdown restrictions. There­ Twenty one percent (21%) of the respondents then indicated that
fore convenience sampling was utilised to try and incorporate all the after the 35 days of the lockdown when some restrictions were relaxed,
traders who were available during the day of data collection. All of the they started trading at home whilst 79% of the respondents indicated
participants were them interviewed using in-depth interviews to get as that they did not trade at all during the whole period of the lockdown
comprehensive information as possible. and they only started trading business when they resumed work on the
15th of June.
4. Results Those who indicated that they started trading at home explained that
they did this through online platforms where they would advertise their
4.1. Socio demographic characteristics products on social media (WhatsApp) groups and when they reached
willing customers they then liaised with them on how best they could
Sixty seven percent (67%) of the respondents were females whilst deliver the products. Some mentioned that they had created a rela­
33% were males. This means the majority of traders operating in Global tionship with some constant regular customers so these ones would call
village flea market were females. These results go in line with what was and order some products which they would deliver. However, they
discovered by Chikanda and Tawodzera (2017) in their study that fe­ reiterated that although they managed to get a few sales it was not as
males were the majority in ICBT. In terms of age, 36% of respondents much as when they were doing normal trading business at their flea
ranged between 26 and 35 years, 30% were between the ages of 36–45 market bases. The 79% which indicated they were not doing any trading
years, 18% were between 46 and 55 years whilst 15% were 18–25years. business during the lockdown period explained that it was difficult to
On marital status 39% were married, 36% were single, 18% were collect their stock from the flea market which was located in the Central
divorced whilst 6% was widowed. Sixty one percent (61%) of re­ Business District (CBD) since only those with permission letters to move
spondents indicated that their households were female headed whilst were allowed to get into town. They also indicated that the private
39% were male headed. 30% of respondents indicated they had a family owner of the flea market was not willing to let people collect their staff

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from the flea market and those who managed had to really negotiate with the owner to pay in instalments.
with him since they were now suffering at home. The Global Village Flea Market owner explained that when they
The private owner indicated that they closed the flea market from the closed for lockdown in March a few trader-tenants had managed to pay
first day of the lockdown up to the 15th of June when they were allowed May rentals in advance since they had explained to them that they would
to temporarily reopen after relaxations on some restrictions were made get exempted from paying rentals for April only. He further mentioned
under level 2 of the lockdown. He also mentioned that a few managed to that the reason for exempting them from paying rentals for only one
collect their stock from the flea market to sale at home after the first month was because he was also renting the place and his landlord had
21days of full lockdown. not exempted him from paying the rental fees hence he had to pay the
rentals of the place from his own pocket which was a huge cost and a
4.2.2. Sources of income during lockdown period challenge on his part.
Sixty one percent of the respondents indicated that they had no He indicated that not all of the traders were able to pay the rental
sources of income during the lockdown period and this made them use fees in advance; some finished paying their instalments during the
the profit from ICBT that was meant to buy new stock for sale. This was lockdown period. They called the owner when they had the money and
also confirmed in a study undertaken in Ghana by Adom et al. (2020) would agree on when and where to meet for collection. Seven tenants
where it was revealed that traders utilised their business capital in failed to pay the rental fees and they withdrew from being part of the
taking care of themselves and their families during the lockdown period. flea market. However, replacement was not difficult as they were some
A female aged 52years was quoted saying: traders who were desperate to have a place in the flea market arena.
The President of Zimbabwe signed into law the deferment of pay­
Before coronavirus, I used to buy goods in South Africa and Botswana
ment of rentals during lockdown and this was under the Statutory In­
for resale in Zimbabwe, and it was my only reliable source of live­
strument (SI) 96 of 2020 as a means of cushioning tenants from COVID-
lihood. When COVID-19 came, it killed my only means of survival.
19 economic shocks. This SI deferred payment of rentals without the risk
The income has dried up, I have been just sitting at home since
of being evicted, disposed from land or sued from May until end of
March.
lockdown. Tenants were allowed to pay rentals staggered in equal in­
Thirty nine percent of the respondents said they tried to find means stalments over three months for each month under lockdown without
of getting income during the lockdown period. The following statements interest. The respondents explained, however, that no landlord took
on how they tried to find means of earning income were quoted: heed of the presidential decree and so they had to find other means to
A female aged 37 years: make sure the rentals were paid in full. They also indicated that home
landlords only accepted instalments but paid within the same month not
I was selling groceries at home since people were being restricted
to be spread over a period of 3months like what the president had
from getting into town to buy groceries, so it was easy to get cus­
decreed. This shows that in practice this decree was not effective. DFID
tomers. I bought these groceries, before the lockdown period in bulk,
(2020) argued that policies, institutions and processes can determine
from South Africa and Botswana to sustain my family but I was
access to assets and influence decision making processes. However, in
forced to sell some of these in order to get money to buy essential
this paper it was revealed that poor policies and processes actually de­
food stuffs like mealie-meal and meat.
nied ICBTs access to assets for them to continue earning a positive
A man aged 42 years: livelihood outcome, in order to achieve SDGs, during the lockdown
period as outlined by the SLF.
I had links with truck drivers who drove trucks across borders with
whom I liaised to bring me groceries in bulk from Messina, South
4.2.4. Challenges faced on provision of food commodities
Africa for sale since this was an opportunity to make money at home
All the respondents (100%) indicated that it was very difficult to
during the lockdown period as it was difficult for people to get into
provide sufficient food for their families during the lockdown period.
town to buy groceries. I only sold essential food stuffs like rice,
Nyabeze and Chikoko (2021) argued that families in the informal sector
macaroni, flour and mealie meal from Messina because it was
were facing challenges to meet their daily food demands which made
cheaper to buy from there and also these food stuffs were in demand
them to cut their consumption as a way of adjusting to the income
in residential areas.
shortages. The following statements were quoted to explain the
Some of the policies that represent the structures and processes situation:
under the SLF that were introduced to curb the spread of the COVID-19
An 18 year old man remarked:
virus compromised the attainment of livelihood outcomes for the
informal cross border traders, operating in the informal sector. For We had to scale down and reduce on meals since it was no longer
example, border closures and the resulting denial of access to markets possible to afford living a normal lifelike before the lockdown period.
under strict lockdown also presented an existential threat to the liveli­
A 55 year old female lamented:
hood outcome of ICBTs which presented threats to the achievements of
SDGs 1 and 2 (Mashapure et al., 2021). Resnick et al. (2020) noted that We could no longer afford basics like bread and we reduced meals
the closure of borders meant that for traders, income literally dis­ from three to two per day, in the morning and evening only. Some­
appeared overnight. Quartz Africa (2020) also observed that informal times we would only reserve meals for children in the afternoon.
traders have precarious financial realities and cannot survive without
A 38 year old man reminisced:
some form of daily trade, more so, they do not have the luxury of bank
savings, and online commerce to be able to stay indoors or isolate for These movement restrictions resulted in tuck shops and some food outlets
extended periods. in residential areas hiking prices unreasonably to the extent that prices
spiked every two days. Some would go to the extent of selling in foreign
4.2.3. Payment of rental fees amid lockdown currency yet they would have bought using Zimbabwean dollar. Silo roller
All the respondents indicated that they were paying rental fees of flea meal, for example, which was sold at $70 Zimbabwean dollars in su­
markets since the lockdown began. They were only exempted from permarkets would be sold at US$5 (an equivalent of $250 Zimbabwean
paying rent for one month, which is April, the month of initial lockdown. dollars at the time of research).
On resumption of trading business on the 15th of June 2020they were
In addition to loss of income, their situation was further exacerbated
asked to pay full rental fees of $60 USD per month for May and June.
by the fact that prices of basic commodities rose unjustifiably during the
Since it was difficult to get the rental fees in full, they had to negotiate

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lockdown when they had no access to income and this meant an increase government owned passenger transport parastatal, ZUPCO which
in food insecurity and hunger issues amongst the traders, making it however, had a very limited fleet of omnibuses.
difficult to achieve SDGs 1 and 2. A study undertaken by Skinner and
This created a situation of long queues waiting to board the buses to
Watson (2020) in South Africa also revealed that informal traders were
and from the city center, the site of their workplaces. This created an
struggling to feed their families. Spiralling prices of basic commodities
inconvenience for many who had no private vehicles. Even though the
and escalating bills have been a feature of the persisting socio-economic
informal cross border traders at Global Village flea market were allowed
crisis for some time (Chikanda & Tawodzera, 2017; Dube & Casale,
to open after the restrictions were relaxed, it was difficult for their
2019; Dzawanda, Nicolau, & Matsa, 2021). Although the rise in prices of
customers to reach out to them due to travel restrictions which remained
goods started way back, as noted by various authors, its impact was
strong on the general public particularly those who had no permission
largely felt during the lockdown period since the traders were not
letters to enter the Central Business District. Adom et al. (2020) argued
operating to acquire income. This was also confirmed by Nyabeze and
that lockdown travel limitations limited the daily commute of people to
Chikoko (2021) when they asserted that the situation was fuelled by the
the city center and this implied a total loss of income for those operating
soaring inflation which eroded people’s few savings. Hence, as per the
in the informal sector, particularly the informal cross border traders,
SLF, their livelihood assets such as financial capital, in terms of income,
who depend on hand to mouth services. According to the SLF this
and social capital, in terms of social networks and customers, were
actually meant that the physical capital of the traders, in terms of access
affected. In turn this rendered the traders more vulnerable during this
to transport, was disrupted during the lockdown and as a result rendered
period and their food security was affected which made it difficult to
them vulnerable in the operating environment thereby affecting their
achieve SDG 2 of ending hunger. The situation was further worsened by
livelihood outcome and consequently hampering the achievements of
the fact that, ICBTs did not have access to transport, as physical capital,
SDGs, particularly SDG1 and 2.
to access cheaper basic commodities supplied by supermarkets in the
The owner of Global Village flea market was quoted saying:
CBD and this caused the small business owners in residential areas to
further escalate prices of goods to residents. This was also observed by With the continuously depreciating Zimbabwean dollar, almost all
Resnick et al. (2020) when he indicated that in some border towns re­ bills started escalating unreasonably, which included water and
strictions have led to price jumps as high as 50% for certain commodities electricity bill charges that we required on a daily basis at Global
and such closures have had a downstream effect on the food access of Village. The worst part was that we rarely used water due to water
ICBTs. This also worsened the vulnerability context of the ICBTs as per rationing hence the bill charges were not justified.
the SLF.
The traders also indicated that the rise in electricity and water bills
was not only experienced at Global Village but in residential areas as
4.2.5. Strategies implemented to cope up with challenges of food provision
well. One 25years old female remarked:
All the respondents (100%) indicated that it was very difficult to
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) just increased the
cope and adapt to the challenges they were facing in terms of food
charges to the extent that it became difficult to use electricity for
provision. They mentioned that it was stress after stress and having
cooking and to manage the situation we only used it for lighting and for
sleepless nights throughout especially the first 35 days when it was total
electrical gadgets like fridges. As a result we had to use other means of
lockdown. Adjustment to these challenges was very difficult since this
energy for cooking like gas and firewood. Unfortunately, due to the high
COVID-19 lockdown was announced suddenly and created a lot of
demand for these, since everyone else was resorting to this as an alter­
depression for the traders. This was mainly because majority of informal
native, their purchase price also escalated.
cross border traders depended on hand to mouth work culture which
largely exposed them to hunger and food insecurity during the lockdown
period since they were not capable of satisfying their immediate needs 4.4. Assistance from government during the COVID-19 lockdown
from the daily profit. This was also observed in a study undertaken in
Ghana by Adom et al. (2020) where it was revealed that staying at home All the respondents (100%) indicated that they did not get any form
due to lockdown restrictions subjected the informal traders to harsh of assistance from the government. They mentioned that they had all
living conditions. Nyabeze and Chikoko (2021) argued that lockdown registered for assistance through the management of Global Village Flea
measures have exposed workers in the informal sector to absolute Market but nothing came. The private owner of the flea market indicated
poverty as their activities were banned. This affected efforts to meet SDG that he actually registered everyone in the flea market as an organisation
1 and 2. However 21% indicated that when the lockdown restrictions to the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) but there was
started to be relaxed after the 35 days they tried to sell some of their no feedback. A 35 year aged man was quoted saying:
products. They used the money acquired from this to purchase groceries
Do we have a government? If we have then it is a selective one
in bulk using United States Dollar because it was cheaper to buy gro­
because we have seen some reports being broadcasted on television
ceries in bulk using this currency than using Zimbabwean dollar. They
that people were receiving assistance, and we wonder what kind of
mentioned that they were now selling their products in foreign currency
people they actually saw fit to get assistance than some of us who
hence it was easier to access the United States dollar as long as customers
were suffering and struggling during this lockdown with no source of
bought their goods.
income at all.
4.3. Other challenges faced due to COVID-19 lockdown This quote clearly indicates that the ICBTs had lost trust in looking up
to the government for any form of assistance. The major reason for this
Despite challenges on food provision, respondents also faced chal­ could actually be that the government of Zimbabwe rarely provided
lenges related to movement since the lockdown began. Now that they support to the ICBTs, instead it sought to destroy the sector by intro­
had resumed work it became more difficult since they had to travel to ducing many policies against it. Resnick et al. (2020) argue that
town and back home on regular basis for trading business. The following Zimbabwe has a history of cracking down on informal traders. This
statement was quoted from a 38 years aged man: clearly supports the SLF because the traders did not have social capital in
terms of social networks and this presented a challenge in them getting
All private transport operators were banned from operating when the
assistance during the lockdown period which affected their efforts to
lockdown restrictions were relaxed and the transport system that was
achieve SDG 1, of ending poverty, and 2, of ending hunger. Worse still
operating was provided by the government in the form of
due to their poor financial capital, the traders could not manage to
insure their businesses so that in the event of such unforeseen events

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B. Dzawanda et al. Social Sciences & Humanities Open 6 (2022) 100316

they can get assistance which made them vulnerable to hunger and were no longer buying from them because they thought they were the
poverty issues thereby threatening the achievement of SDGs 1 and 2. ones bringing in coronavirus into their country.
These findings also made it clear that Zimbabwe does not have a na­ Respondents who indicated that they were crossing international
tional wellbeing program that provides assistance to all individuals and borders on their own explained that they imported from Messina, South
families in need, such as food stamps, disaster relief and unemployment Africa and Lusaka, Zambia using undesignated areas to enter into these
compensation. The concerns of not having a national wellbeing became neighbouring countries. The following statements were quoted from
apparent during the Coronavirus epidemic in 2020 as was also experi­ those who illegally crossed the border:
enced in Nigeria. However, these results differ from the findings of the A 36 year old female explained:
study undertaken in Ghana by Adom et al. (2020) where the informal
During this lockdown I import goods from Messina and use
traders acknowledged efforts by the Ghana government to assist them
“malaitsha” a person who has close link with police officers and
through the provision of economic relief packages. This calls for Zim­
soldiers working at the border both on Zimbabwean and South Af­
babwean government to learn from this example.
rican sides. I use private transport from Gweru to Beitbridge where I
meet with the “malaitsha”. The “malaitsha” bribes the police officers
4.5. Methods used to import goods during the lockdown period
and soldiers guarding the undesignated entry point, then we cross
through the Limpopo River on the Eastern side of the border post, at
All the respondents indicated that they don’t have sufficient stock to
a place referred to as “emlanjeni.” Upon reaching Messina in South
continue operating and if the borders remain closed, it will be very
Africa we buy the goods and then the “malaitsha” organises road
difficult for them to sustain the trading business. Romanello (2022) and
transport to ferry the goods to the Limpopo River. To transport the
Resnick et al. (2020) noted that the closing of borders in several
goods across the river we use donkey powered scotch carts. Upon
Sub-Saharan countries has meant that the profits of traders vanished
reaching Zimbabwean side we use private transport to ferry the
overnight. Twenty respondents (61%) indicated that they had not
goods to Gweru.
resumed importing whilst 13 (39%) respondents indicated that they had
started importing illegally since borders were closed for business. The A 28 year old man explained:
unbearable condition pushed these traders in breaking the lockdown
I import from Zambia and pass through the designated border post
regulation by the Zimbabwean government as also noted in Ghana by
but using agents whom I pay US$40 to transport me to Lusaka and
Adom et al. (2020). Of those who indicated that they had started
back to the border post. These agents have links with officials
importing, 5 (38%) traders indicated that they were importing through
working at the border and they bribe these to transport us to Lusaka
agents whom they referred to as runners whilst 8 (62%) traders said that
and back. I then use private transport to ferry goods from the border
they crossed illegally through undesignated posts to bring in goods.
post to Gweru.
The following statements were quoted from the respondents who
indicated that they imported using agents: These informal connections between the traders, “malaitsha” and the
A 48 year old female remarked: police officers present social networks that are used by the traders in
order for them to earn a livelihood during difficult times as per the SLF.
When I resumed business on the 15th of June under lockdown level
These social connections present corruption and connections with the
two (when some restrictions had been relaxed), I was importing
law enforcers in a bid to survive under harsh circumstances (Mashapure
goods using Messina runners and Zambian runners. These were
et al., 2021). It should be noted that this move by the traders exposed
agents operating in Messina, South Africa and Zambia whom I
them more to become victims of the COVID-19 virus since no tests were
communicated with and sent money via Western Union so that they
conducted when they returned and they would mix and mingle with
could buy the goods for me and send to Zimbabwe using truck
customers and families putting them at risk as well. Quartz Africa (2020)
drivers. Firstly I would send pictures of the products I wanted to the
argued that informal trade has high risk for COVID-19 as it often in­
runners.
volves close person-to-person contact and cash-based transactions. This
Another female aged 34 shared: move of illegally crossing the border during the lockdown period is a
strong indication that ICBTs were prepared to do anything for survival
I accessed information on products through social media because
despite government’s efforts to stop their operation and it also means
some shops in Messina had created online WhatsApp groups adver­
ICBT was a vital source of income and survival to their families and had
tising the goods they had in stock and I would send this information
the potential to reduce hunger and poverty cases.
to the runners so that they could buy goods from these shops. The
runners were connected to truck drivers plying the South Africa-
4.5.1. Availability of capital to increase stock
Zimbabwe route via Beitbridge Border Post regularly, so after
All the respondents (100%) indicated that they no longer had suffi­
buying the goods, the runners would give them to the drivers and
cient capital to import goods for sale to supplement their stock. The
provide me with contact details of the truck drivers for communi­
respondents explained that the capital they had was spent on buying
cation. The runners charged between 10 and 15% of the total price of
basic commodities and groceries during the lockdown period. The
commodities ordered. There was no payment of duty using this
following were statements quoted from respondents:
process since the border was closed due to COVID-19 lockdown.
A 35 year old female:
On analysing this quote it is clear that although this was a cheaper
When we resumed work on the 15th of June the rate of buying by
method compared to the cost they used to incur when they used to cross
customers had significantly reduced because many people were now
the border by themselves it was a risky method since there was no
focusing on providing basic goods and services for their households
guarantee and security that one would receive the goods after paying the
and spending money on buying clothes was really a luxury for many
runner. More so, in terms of variety they were limited since they were
which they could not afford. If it continues like this it is going to be
only dealing with few shops that advertised their goods online during
very difficult for many of us to sustain this business in the light of this
the lockdown period because when they crossed the border they had the
pandemic.
opportunity and freedom to move around and select preferred goods on
their own. The process of using agents was quite long, where sometimes A 30 year old man:
it would take a week or more to receive the goods, unlike crossing the
The little income we are getting from sales we are actually saving it
border on their own which took just 3days to South Africa and back to
for July rentals which is approaching and we cannot manage to get
Gweru. The respondents also indicated that some of their customers

7
B. Dzawanda et al. Social Sciences & Humanities Open 6 (2022) 100316

extra money to put aside for capital to import new stock. It will take cross border traders by giving them trading licences at designated flea
years for us to fully recover from the effects of this pandemic in ICBT. markets through city councils (Dzawanda, Nicolau, et al., 2021).
Therefore for informal cross border traders to have access to the loans
A 40 year old female:
from the government there is need for them to become registered and
Yes, the coronavirus is killing people, but when the virus is gone we create social networks or connections and formal groups that have ac­
are going to experience spike in poverty as a result of issues related to cess to different forms of capital, decision makers and influencers as per
the pandemic. Without our source of income, our children will not the SLF. It is only through this approach that the voice and existence of
get enough food and this will result in malnutrition. Our children will the informal cross border traders can be recognised from micro to macro
not be able to go to school. level. However, given the fact that Zimbabwe employs more than 80% of
the population in the informal sector (Dzawanda, Matsa, & Nicolau,
The private owner of the flea market also indicated that the volume
2021; Mashapure et al., 2021; Nyabeze & Chikoko, 2021), it also raises
of people entering the flea market had reduced compared to before
concern as to why this sector is not strongly supported and protected in
lockdown. He also indicated that the traders were now selling their
policy making considering that it has a potential to contribute to the
goods in foreign currency which was very expensive to get using the
achievement of some SDGs that include the poverty eradication and zero
Zimbabwean dollar because of the premium exchange rates. This also
hunger goal. ICBT has been noted to have greatly contributed to the
contributed to reduction in sales as the majority of the people in
achievement of some Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and SDGs
Zimbabwe were getting salaries in the weaker Zimbabwean dollar.
(Dzawanda & Matsa, 2021), therefore it is imperative for the govern­
Those who were importing using Messina runners indicated that they
ment to ensure it incorporates the informal sector in its policy making to
had borrowed some of the money which they used so sustain their
sustain livelihoods of many people who depend on the sector for
business and they were even not sure if they were going to be able to
survival.
repay the debt.
4.6.1. Formalisation of ICBT
4.6. Strategies that must be implemented to boost ICBT business amid and When asked whether they wanted to be formalised the respondents
post COVID-19 lockdown indicated that they did not want to be formalised as they were not aware
of any benefits of getting formalised except that they would become
The major thing which the respondents indicated to boost their income prey for government through Zimbabwe Revenue Authority
affected trading business was provision of loans by the government or (ZIMRA). They explained that it was better to operate as informal
any private organisation that is payable at low or no interest rate. They traders than formal traders since formalisation could only expose them
mentioned that this was necessary for them to get capital to increase to more tax payments by the government. The private owner indicated
their stock since majority of them were not even sure what they were that Global Village Flea Market as an organisation was registered under
going to do when the stock they had is finished. They also indicated that formalised private flea markets and they were also registered under
the government should assist them with groceries during the period of ZIMRA. He mentioned that each tenant contributed US$6, a 10% to the
lockdown as this will prevent them from continuing using the money presumptive tax which was taken from their rental fee ofUS$60. He
meant for investing into the ICBT business for consumption. A single explained that as an organisation they were formalised and registered
mother aged 34 explained how difficult it was and she was really although their tenants operated on an informal basis. He further
requesting for help. She was quoted saying: explained that it would be unfair for them to get formalised individually
because it meant that they would get charged twice. These findings
I am likely to quit this job if things continue this way but again I don’t
reveal that the major reason for the traders to prefer operating infor­
have anything to depend on for survival. My son is looking up to me
mally was because they were evading payment of tax and other costs of
and he is the one who has made me to remain in this business despite
the formalisation process.
how difficult it is. I really don’t want to be taken advantage of by
men, when you have a little income of your own you retain your self-
4.7. Measures employed to control the spread of COVID-19 at Global
esteem. I have a Diploma in Transport and Logistics but there are no
Village Flea Market
formal jobs out there and if one manages to get one the salaries are
far less and this has forced me to join ICBT for survival. So we are
The private owner of the flea market explained that they were only
appealing to the government to have mercy on us, or any charity
allowed to reopen business after complying with the measures that were
organisation to assist us in these difficult times.
stipulated by the government under World Health Organisation (WHO).
The private owner of the flea market explained that it would be best He explained that no tenant or customer was allowed to enter the flea
if government could assist the traders with capital to boost their trading market without wearing a face mask and that the flea market had one
business. He also mentioned that since it was not clear when exactly this entry and one exit point where all tenants and customers would get
COVID-19 would end it was necessary for the traders themselves to start sanitized and have their temperatures checked upon entry into the flea
being innovative in this ICBT business and adopt the use of online selling market. Traders who crossed to other countries to import goods on
to boost their sales. On this he further explained that some customers coming come back are not allowed to enter the flea market for seven
had challenges in coming to the CBD on a daily basis and the best way for days for quarantine purposes. However they were not tested to check
the traders to advertise their products was to utilise the online platform whether they had contracted the virus or not, they only used assumption
amid COVID-19 lockdown. that if they did not have symptoms of the virus after seven days they
However, considering that no social network existed between the were free from the virus. They were asked to put the imported goods
two it is quite difficult to even think that this can be a possibility in the outside where they were sanitized first before entering the market.
short term. There is a lot of contradiction as far as the operation of There was also an arrangement that for every two tables, only one
informal cross border traders and the position of the government, in person must come per day which means the tenants had to arrange
relation to the informal cross border traders in Zimbabwe is concerned. amongst themselves on who comes on which day. The one who would be
At one end the government seems to be against the operation of the present would sell for the one absent that day. This way trader-tenants
informal cross border traders through various policies such as the Rebate practised social distancing.
policy of 2016 and advocating for formal registration in cross border
trading (Dzawanda, Nicolau, et al., 2021). At the other end the gov­
ernment seems to be indirectly supporting the operation of informal

8
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5. Conclusion CRediT authorship contribution statement

The research concludes that COVID-19 lockdown had a severe Beauty Dzawanda: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation,
impact on the livelihood outcome of ICBTs. This greatly affected their Writing – original draft. Mark Matsa: Writing – review & editing, Su­
sources of income and as a result the traders were forced to scale down pervision. Melanie Nicolau: Writing – review & editing.
or to reduce meals in order to survive amid COVID-19 lockdown, making
it difficult to achieve SDGs 1 and 2. The situation was exacerbated by the Declaration of competing interest
fact that there was no assistance that the traders received from the
government or any organisation to cushion them during this difficult The authors declare that they have no known competing financia­
period. The resilience to import during these difficult times when they linterestsor personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
resumed work showed that things were not well at home as they seri­ the work reported in this paper.
ously needed money to look after their families and acquire basic
services.
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