In terms of the “informal economy,” it is important to first lay the groundwork and understand this term. According to the Chr. Michelsen Institute, informal work is that which is not recognized, protected, nor recorded by the public authorities. Informal employment comprises roughly 90 percent of new jobs in urban Africa.[1] Additionally, the percentage of women (approximately 62%) is much greater than the percentage of men (about 55%) in this category. [2] The chart below uses data from the 2009-2010 Uganda National Household Survey to depict some of these statistics on a nationwide scale. 
The Nordic African Institute has done some research in this area and one study in particular, titled “Collective Organization among Informal Workers in African Cities” highlights the notion that by making the city markets’ management private, conditions for vendors and their organizations have changed. This study notes that the informal economy has seen a huge surge in the last few years, which is evidenced by the increasing number of city markets and street vendors found in Kampala – population censuses indicate that trading is one of the most common income activities in the city.[3] Amidst the
existence of vendor organizations, the Ugandan government decided to decentralize and privatize city markets, which has resulted in private companies or cooperative societies managing the vast majority of the markets within Kampala District.
The largest market in the country, the St. Balikuddembe Market (also known as the Owino Market), operates under a special arrangement between private companies and vendor organizations – the vendor organizations are allowed to exist in the market. This is not the case in many markets, however. Organized vendors face certain obstacles as a result of market privatization. As such, an umbrella body of org
anizations of informal workers, as well as the emergence of relationships between informal workers groups and trade unions are on the rise,
as these informal workers struggle to survive and
thrive in Kampala’s bustling economy.
The second way of approaching “the informal” in Kampala relates to health conditions. The National Water and Sewage Corporation’s Kampala Sanitation Program, which commenced in February of 2010 strives to improve sanitation of the city – particularly the urban poor residents in the Nakivubo catchment - through a variety of ways.[4] Undertaking measures such as the extension of pipelines, addition of sewers, construction of Nakivubo Sewage Treatment, addition of a new pumping station at East Bugolobi, and the generation of power using solar energy and methane gas produced during the sewage treatment p
rocess, the city of Kampala is working on its environmental and sanitation circumstances. The ultimate goal of this project is to improve sanitation services in order to increase coverage to 30% of Kampalans who live in informal settlements.
Lastly, the third interpretation of “the informal” concerns the refugees within Kampala, which is primarily related to resettlement agreements. Quite a struggle exists between urban refugees and the Unite Nations High Commissioner for Refugees over the distribution of third-country resettlement slots. Meant to homogonize the city, it is argued that it has contributed to a form of legal diversity. Resettlement has become a method of migration to the West, but a complex process that involves informal arrangements and legal practices has caused a significant amount of tension in trying to tease out the intricacies of resettlement.
Thus, the informal can be seen in terms of commerce, living standards, and legal methodologies. This diverse meaning of the word speaks to its encompassing nature. The cases observed in this post are tied together by a common thread – these scenarios involve problematic situations, consequently demonstrating a response of the Kampalan people and a desire to improve themselves and their city while fighting for their rights.
Works Cited:
African Development Bank Group , "Kampala sanitation program." Accessed March 30, 2012. http://www.afdb.org/en/projects-and-operations/project-portfolio/project/p-ug-e00-008/.
Lange, Siri. Chr. Michelsen Institute, "When women grow wings: Gender relations in the informal economy of Kampala." Accessed March 29, 2012. http://www.cmi.no/publications/publication/?1563=when-women-grow-wings.
Lourenço-Lindell, Ilda, and Jenny Appelblad. The Nordic Africa Institute, "Collective organising among informal vendors in Kampala." Accessed March 29, 2012. http://www.nai.uu.se/publications/news/archives/072lindell_and_appelblad/.
Sandvik, Kristin Bergtora, 2011. 'Blurring Boundaries: Refugee Resettlement in Kampala—between the Formal, the Informal, and the Illegal', PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review 34(1): 11–32.
Uganda Bureau of Statistics , "Uganda National Household Survey Report 2009/2010, hapter 4.0: Labour Force and Time use." Accessed March 29, 2012. http://www.ubos.org/UNHS0910/chapter4_employment in the informal secto outside agriculture.html.
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