Everyday forms of resistance and claim making in Durban South Africa

ABSTRACT

South Africa has high levels of visible protest, which occur in parallel with less visible forms of protest. This paper considers the quieter forms of resisting in Durban drawing from two cases studies: informal street traders and shack dwellers. It applies Scott’s concept of ‘everyday resistance’ and Bayat’s notion of ‘quiet encroachment’. Street traders represent an ‘invisible’ power, preferring to avoid engagements with authorities and undermining power structures through a repertoire of daily trading tactics. Shack dwellers are more of a ‘visible’ power where protest is entrenched as part of the settlement ‘culture’ reflecting an ‘offensive’.

Abbreviations: NGO: non-governmental organisation; ABM: Abahlali base Mjondolo; ANC: African National Congress; SEDA: Small Enterprise Development Agency

KEYWORDS:

• Protest
• resistance
• encroachment
• claim making
• power

Acknowledgement

I am very grateful to Phezu Ntetha, Cathy Sutherland and the anonymous reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Toyi-toying is a form of a dance employed during protest typically along with the singing/chanting of political songs and slogans.

2. The Masakhane Campaign was launched in 1995 to promote ‘civic responsibility’ by encouraging the payment of rates and taxes by all South African citizens. The campaign was later envisioned as an outreach initiative to promote communication between elected officials and citizens.

3. Operation Vulamanzi was implemented in 2003 supported by the Anti Privatisation Campaign and the Coalition Against Water Privatisation. It took the form of township residents bypassing privatised water ‘control’ measures such as pre-paid meters, tricklers and re-routing piping to access water for free.

4. Operation Khanyisa was launched in 2001 and involved illegally reconnecting Soweto households to electricity supplies by the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee. It is estimated that some 3,000 households were re-connected during the campaign. The term ‘Operation Khanyisa’ was co-opted by the national electricity regulator Eskom in 2010 and framed as a campaign to stop electricity theft.

5. The Free Basic Water Policy was introduced in 2001 to satisfy the constitutional right to water – it entails the provision of a basic amount of free water per month per household. It was initially introduced universally. The Free Basic Electricity Policy was introduced in 2003 and entails the provision of a basic amount of free electricity per month to indigent households.

6. 1 US Dollar is equivalent to 13–14 South African Rands.

7. Maize – eaten off the cob or ground into a coarse flour known as ‘pap’. A staple diet for many South Africans.

8. Izi NyokaNyoka are a group of people who can be hired (for a fee) to illegally connect households to the main electricity grid. These households would therefore not receive electricity bills. The isiZulu meaning of the word is ‘snakes’ and is used pejoratively in official circles to denote ‘electricity thieves’.

9. StreetNet is an international alliance of street vendors formed in Durban in 2002. It works to organise street vendors, market vendors and hawkers with the aim of promoting an exchange of information and ideas of critical issues facing traders.

10. Ubambano is a trader’s alliance affiliated to StreetNet representing the interests of informal traders in Durban.

11. Between 1994 and 2001 over one million low cost houses eligible for government subsidies were built under the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). The RDP was formulated to address socioeconomic inequality, social service shortfalls and poverty at the time of South Africa’s transition to democracy.

12. The Red Ants are a private security service contracted by local/provincial departments to undertake evictions. They are recognised by their red overalls.

13. A ‘fib’ is defined as a typically unimportant lie.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shauna Mottiar

Shauna Mottiar is Director of the Centre for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. She holds a PhD in Political Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Her research interests include civil society, social movements and social protest. Her research has been published in various journals including Development & Change, Social Dynamics, Democratization, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, Politics & Society and Politikon. She teaches two Masters Courses in Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal: Civil Society & Development and Social Policy.