Abstract
Economic issues are typically at the heart of migration decisions globally. Disparities in incomes between countries play a major role in motivating people with different levels of skills to migrate from Africa to countries with more developed economies in search of secure livelihoods and improved quality of life. South Africa, an upper middle income country, is the leading migration destination country in sub-Saharan Africa because of its buoyant economy. Research has focused on cross-border migration to South Africa while less attention has been on migration among low-skilled migrants from West Africa. We conducted an ethnographic study of 13 low-skilled Nigerian migrants working as street traders in a flea market in Durban. South Africa. Findings indicate that migrants were motivated to travel to South Africa because of misinformation from migrant returnees as well as friends and family resident in South Africa about their potential for considerable economic success abroad. Some were stuck while planning to use South Africa as a transit country to other countries in Europe and North America. Migrants encountered many challenges that prevented them from achieving their dreams of living a better life overseas and ended up as street traders in the flea market. There they endured a lesser quality of life than in their home country but were ashamed to return home preferring instead to eek out a living, and to request and receive financial support from their families at home. Findings have implications for migration policy highlighting the need for innovative ways of disseminating accurate information to potential migrants and assisting migrants to return home. Further research on migrant integration to host country and reverse remittances will be of great value.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Migration is thought to be positively related to development in the sense that remittances from migrants help sustain families, build houses and run businesses which create employment. Return migration is also seen as contributing to development because the returning migrant would come with more skills and money to invest and could also create jobs that will boost the local economy.
See also the Special issue of Population, Space and Place on West Africa, volume 10, 2004
This is not to suggest that all cross border migration is illegal. There exists also legal migration which is enhanced by immigration laws which is favourable to members of the South African Development community.
The definition of low-skilled migrants employed in this study is broad and includes all those with less than tertiary education or those who did not complete tertiary education.
In South Africa, it was estimated that, in 1998, over 20,000 traders in Durban generated a total annual revenue of R500 million in informal outlets, including street vendors, shebeens, spazas, tuck shops and private persons (Durban Unicity Council 2001).
The Rand to Naira exchange rate is attractive; at the time of the study 1 South African Rand was equivalent to 25 Naira, the Nigerian currency
All the real names of the participants have been excluded to protect anonymity and confidentiality. The names used in this paper are pseudonyms.
Follow up ethnographic study in 2011 showed that this participant went back to Nigeria in 2008 because he had not fulfilled his dream of getting a formal job and integrating into the formal economy and could no longer work in the flea market.
Given Chwukwu’s behavior. It is possible that he did not present the true picture of the cell phone business. It could be that he is not as successful as he portrayed himself. He could be working on behalf of a company for which he receives salary or commission or he could be working in partnership with a number of friends. Whatever the case, the impression that May had about Chwukwu being a wealthy or successful businessman may be exaggerated.
This is even truer for participants who intend to use South Africa as a transit point. They come prepared with substantial money to sustain them in the country for a long time and even request financial support from their home country from time to time.
The shame of acknowledging failure made participants reluctant to request help from their families in their home countries but those who summoned the courage to request assistance did receive financial support.
For further discussion of the link between income and migration and income selectivity, see Gelderblom (2006)
References
Adedokun OA. The rights of migrant workers and members of their families: Nigeria. UNESCO series of country reports on the ratification of theh UN convention on migrants; 2003.
Adepoju A. Continuity and changing configurations of migration to and from the Republic of South Africa. Int Migr. 2003;41(2):3–28.
Adepoju A. Internal and international migration within Africa. In: Kok P, Golderblom D, Oucho JO, Van Zyl J, editors. Migration in South and Southern Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press; 2006. p. 26–45.
Ajakaiye O, Lucas REB, Karugia JT. Africa’s resurgence and international migration: an overview. J Afr Econ. 2006;15(2):141–60.
Bernard. Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. 2nd Edition. Altamira Press, New York; 1995. p. 585
Black R, King R. Editorial introduction: migration, return and development in West Africa. Population Space Place. 2004;10:75–83.
Clemens MA, Pattersson. New data on African health professionals abroad. Working Paper 95, Center for Global Development, Washington DC, 2007.
Crush J. Covert operations clandestine migration, temporary work and immigration policy in South Africa. Cape Town: Southern African Migration Project; 1997.
Crush J. Migrations past: an historical overview of cross-border movement in Southern Africa. In McDonald DA, editors. On the border: perspectives on international migration in Southern Africa. SAMP and St Martins Press; 2000. 12–25.
Devey R, Skinner C, Valodia I. The state of the informal economy’ State of the Nation. Final draft. Pretoria: HSRC Press; 2005.
De Haas H. International migration and national development: viewpoints and policy initiatives in countries of origin: the case of Nigeria. Report for Radboud University, Nijmegen and Directorate General for International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands. 2006 Working papers Migration and Development series Report 6.
Docquier F, Marfouk. International migration by educational attainment (1990–2000). In: Ozden C, Schiff M, editors. New York: Palgrave Macmillan; 2006.
Durban Unicity Council. Durban's Informal Economy. Policy Memo; 2001.
Epstein GS, Gang IN. The influence of other on migration plans. Rev Dev Econ. 2006;10(4):652–65.
Fajana S. The Nigerian informal economy instigating decent work and pay, and national development through unionization. Employee Relat. 2008;30(4):372–90.
Gelderblom D. Towards a synthetic model of migration. In: Kok P, Golderblom D, Oucho JO, Van Zyl J, editors. Migration in South and Southern Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press; 2006. p. 268–90.
Hunter N, Skinner C. Foreign street traders working in inner city Durban local government policy challenges. Urban Forum. 2003;14(4):301–19.
International Labour Organisation. Module Eight: the informal economy and HIV/AIDS in An ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work. International Labour Organisation. Geneva. 2001.
International Organisation for Migration. Migration facts and figures. www.iom.int/jahia/. 2003.
International Organisation on Migration. Migration in Nigeria: a country profile. Geneva: International Organisation for Migration. 2009.
Kok P, Gelderblom D, Van Zyl J. Introduction. In: Kok P, Golderblom D, Oucho JO, Van Zyl J, editors. Migration in South and Southern Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press; 2006. p. 1–24.
Landau LB. Forward. In: Landau LB, editor. Forced Migrants in the new Johannesburg: towards a local government response. Johannesburg: University of Witwatersrand; 2005.
Lekogo R. Francophone Africans in Cape Town: a failed migration? In: Cross C, Geralderblom D, Roux N, Mafukidze J, editors. Views on migration in sub-Saharan Africa. Proceedings of an African migration alliance workshop. Cape Town: HSRC Press; 2006. p. 207–19.
Lucas REB. Migration and economic development in africa: a review of evidence. J Afr Econ. 2006;15 suppl 2:337–95.
Mafukidze J. A discussion of migration and migration patterns and flows in Africa. In: Cross C, Gelderblom D, Roux N, Mafukidze J, editors. Views on migration in sub-Saharan Africa. Proceedings of an African migration alliance workshop. Cape Town: HSRC Press; 2006. p. 103–29.
Maharaj B, Moodley V. New African immigration to the Durban Region. Can J Afr Stud. 2000;34(1):149–60.
Massey DS. Patterns and processes of international migration in the twenty-first century: lessons for South Africa. In: Tienda M, Findley S, Tollman S, Preston-Whyte E, editors. Africa on the move: African migration and urbanization in comparative perspective. Johannesburg: Wits University Press; 2006. p. 38–70.
McDonald D, Mashike L, Golden C. The lives and times of African migrants and immigrants in post apartheid South Africa. SAMP Migration Policy Series No 13. 1999.
Neuman L. Social Research Methods:Qualitative and quantitative approaches (7th Edition). Pearson Education. New York; 2009
Parker R, Ehrhardt AA. Through an ethnographic lens: ethnographic methods, comparative analysis, and HIV/AIDS Research. AIDS Behav. 2001;5(2):105–14.
Peberdy S. The participation of non-South Africans in street trading in South Africa and in regional cross-border trade: implications for immigration policy and customs agreements. www.queensu.ca/samp/transform/peberdy1.htm. 2006/12/05. 1997.
Peberdy S, Rogerson C. Transnationalism and non-South African entrepreneurs in South Africa’s small, medium and micro-enterprise (SMME) economy. Can J Afr Stud. 2000;34(1):20–40.
Preston-Whyte E, Sember R, Parker R. Introduction: why ethnography in research on HIV/AIDS. In HIVAN handbook on ethnography in action 2005. Durban; 2005.
Quarsingh F. Market Mania Metrobeat. October 2006 Issue 93. 2006.
Reitzes M. Undocumented migration: dimensions and dilemmas SAMP Migration Policy Papers. www.queensu.ca/samp/transform/reitzes1.htm. 2006 Dec 05. 1997.
Riccio B. From ‘ethnic group’ to ‘transnational community’? Senegalese migrants’ ambivalent experiences and multiple trajectories. J Ethn Migr Stud. 2001;27(4):583–99.
Riccio B. West African transnationalisms compared: Ghanaians and Senegalese in Italy. J Ethn Migr Stud. 2008;34(2):217–34.
Rogerson CM. Urban poverty and the informal economy in South Africa’s economic heartland. Environ Urban. 1996;8(1):167–79.
Rogerson CM. International migration, immigrant entrepreneurs and South Africa’s small enterprise economy. In: Crush J, MacDonald D, editors. SAMP migration policy series. Cape Town: Institute for Democracy in South Africa and Queen’s University, Canada; 1997.
Tiemoko R. Migration, return and socio-economic change in West Africa: the role of family. Population Space Place. 2004;10:155–74.
Togunde DR, Osagie SO. Icons of progress: returnees’ effects on decisions by Nigerians to migrate to the US. Int Rev Mod Sociol. 2009;35(1):115–35.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Akintola, O.O., Akintola, O. West Africans in the Informal Economy of South Africa: the Case of Low Skilled Nigerian Migrants. Rev Black Polit Econ 42, 379–398 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12114-015-9211-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12114-015-9211-8