**4. Discussion**

The results points to the fact that RTF vending infers a constant search for opportunities outside formal employment. It assumes a continuous management of the complexities associated with living and working beyond formal institutional norms [3]. The analysis of the field evidence confirms that vending of RTF as economic activity has a long history in the Ghanaian economy but the realities of the times—Increasing urbanization, lack of job opportunities and accumulation of poverty in Ghanaian cities appear to be changing the dynamics [38]. The occupation has become a competitive arena not because of the increasing number of people involved but because it has become the mainstream economic activity for a large section of the urban population, particularly women. The occupation, just as any informal activity is witnessing a new wave of complexity, unpredictability and culture sensitivity which has necessitated the need to adopt new methodological and conceptual approach particularly in terms of sourcing for continuous supply of raw material and competing for customers [28].

So far the analysis points to the fact that RTF is no longer a preserve for the poor but a popular delicacy for both the rich and the poor. Again, the significance of RTF vending is its significance in the normal food value chain. The results confirms that the sector plays an important role in employment creation by providing incomes to unskilled and semi-skilled workers who otherwise would be unemployed. Studies have shown that in Africa the sector provides 50–75% of employment [39], and 72% of non-agricultural employment [26, 40]. Chen [7] estimated that 93% of new jobs created in sub-Saharan Africa during the 1990s were in the informal sector while nearly 90% of the labor force in Ghana comes from the sector [26]. Despite the overwhelming contributions the sector makes to the overall GDP, it still remains in the shadows of the formal economy. The sector does get the needed recognition in the national development discourse. In many instances, RTF vendors suffer side-lining and aggressions from city authorities. What is more, they do not have the needed collateral to attract the needed funding that could boost their operations and enhance their output. They are also not protected by the large portions of the labor law in Ghana partly because they are

**457**

ise land' of prosperity.

*Urban Design, Space Economy and Survival in the City: Exploring Women's World of Work…*

not unionized. Though the Traditional Caterers Association is supposed to articulate their interest in national development discourse, the research revealed that this voluntary organization lacks the teeth to bite, a situation that was also espoused by

The results from the analysis provides the basis for a proper conceptualization of the significance of the informal sector. The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the informal food vendors' motivations are based on their lived experiences in the city and the economic stature and social responsibility. From the results, it can be seen that RTF vending was a normal and familiar activity, not deviant and somehow unnatural as posited by Simon in 2015 [41]. It is for this reason that [41], theorizes that the frequent connection between informality and poverty as too naive and in need of unloading. The findings therefore indicates that any policy intervention for the informal sector that is premised on only the survivalist perspective can potentially generate uninformed – and ultimately misleading and misguided—Policy [6, 42]. To understand and appreciate the importance of informal food vending in the urban space economy, Carmody and Owusu [43] and Myers [12], suggest that it is important to seek a more ontological approach that can

This article locates the possibilities for rethinking and researching urban employment through the analytical frame of informality, drawing from qualitative research conducted in Kumasi. It draws on how over the last three decades, women in urban Ghana have used vending of RTF as a means to lunch themselves sustainable jobs. From the findings, selling RTF can no longer be described as just a 'survival activity' for a few marginalized people in the city but a means of contributing to the overall national income. This is because for majority of them, their daily incomes were far higher than that of the legally set minimum wage by the State. For the RTF vendors, they are engaged in a full time job by using their creative entrepreneurial skills and responding uniquely to the void of state provi-

The overall findings blur, complicate and raise legitimate questions about earlier propositions that the all informal sector activities only mops up excess or entrenched workers. Rather, the study has revealed that the sector is a vibrant and entrepreneurial part of the economy which can stimulate economic growth and job creation. This paper therefore argues that employment in the informal sector is no longer a journey, but has become the destination for many. Based on the findings the paper recommends that there is the need to establish an enabling environment and supportive regulatory framework that can accommodate informal sector workers. Such a framework can incorporate the sense of grassroots organization in which case informal enterprises can be represented at all levels of national development. That framework can strengthen the Traditional Caterers Association such that they can have the power and ability to lobby and influence decisions on behalf of members. As a matter of urgency, it is proposed that the Government need to unequivocally recognize and admit the importance of the informal sector and find ways to encourage its growth, though not at the expense of the formal sector. Indeed the greatest strength and advantage will be to establish a symbiotic relationship between the informal and formal sectors so they can work to complement each other. It is believed that this dualism that can lead the urban economy to the 'prom-

sion of equal opportunities and access to basic urban employment.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89673*

explore and elaborate on its complexities.

**5. Conclusion and recommendation**

the UN-HABITAT in 2013 [22].

*Urban Design, Space Economy and Survival in the City: Exploring Women's World of Work… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89673*

not unionized. Though the Traditional Caterers Association is supposed to articulate their interest in national development discourse, the research revealed that this voluntary organization lacks the teeth to bite, a situation that was also espoused by the UN-HABITAT in 2013 [22].

The results from the analysis provides the basis for a proper conceptualization of the significance of the informal sector. The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the informal food vendors' motivations are based on their lived experiences in the city and the economic stature and social responsibility. From the results, it can be seen that RTF vending was a normal and familiar activity, not deviant and somehow unnatural as posited by Simon in 2015 [41]. It is for this reason that [41], theorizes that the frequent connection between informality and poverty as too naive and in need of unloading. The findings therefore indicates that any policy intervention for the informal sector that is premised on only the survivalist perspective can potentially generate uninformed – and ultimately misleading and misguided—Policy [6, 42]. To understand and appreciate the importance of informal food vending in the urban space economy, Carmody and Owusu [43] and Myers [12], suggest that it is important to seek a more ontological approach that can explore and elaborate on its complexities.

## **5. Conclusion and recommendation**

*Sustainability in Urban Planning and Design*

*concluded.*

**4. Discussion**

*all they know is tax. If you do not pay then they will cease your things", she* 

Another 53 year old vendor corroborated the narratives of Asantewaa:

*"I use to be a member of the Traditional Caterers Association but since 2009, I have not attended any of the workshops they organize because I realize those of us the city authorities know are the ones they have been chasing for tax and those who don't go, nobody worries them. Since I stopped, nobody has come to ask me of tax".*

The responses and field observations suggest that the only interaction that occurs regular between city authorities and the RTF vendors is in the area of tax collection. Insightfully, the study revealed that unlike other informal vendors who are constantly evicted from the streets of Kumasi (see Owusu-Sekyere et al. [17]), the RTF vendors laid claim to their business location without harassment though without any proper documentations. The empirical evidence revealed a disjuncture between expectation of policy implementation on the city's space management and

The results points to the fact that RTF vending infers a constant search for opportunities outside formal employment. It assumes a continuous management of the complexities associated with living and working beyond formal institutional norms [3]. The analysis of the field evidence confirms that vending of RTF as economic activity has a long history in the Ghanaian economy but the realities of the times—Increasing urbanization, lack of job opportunities and accumulation of poverty in Ghanaian cities appear to be changing the dynamics [38]. The occupation has become a competitive arena not because of the increasing number of people involved but because it has become the mainstream economic activity for a large section of the urban population, particularly women. The occupation, just as any informal activity is witnessing a new wave of complexity, unpredictability and culture sensitivity which has necessitated the need to adopt new methodological and conceptual approach particularly in terms of sourcing for continuous supply of

So far the analysis points to the fact that RTF is no longer a preserve for the poor but a popular delicacy for both the rich and the poor. Again, the significance of RTF vending is its significance in the normal food value chain. The results confirms that the sector plays an important role in employment creation by providing incomes to unskilled and semi-skilled workers who otherwise would be unemployed. Studies have shown that in Africa the sector provides 50–75% of employment [39], and 72% of non-agricultural employment [26, 40]. Chen [7] estimated that 93% of new jobs created in sub-Saharan Africa during the 1990s were in the informal sector while nearly 90% of the labor force in Ghana comes from the sector [26]. Despite the overwhelming contributions the sector makes to the overall GDP, it still remains in the shadows of the formal economy. The sector does get the needed recognition in the national development discourse. In many instances, RTF vendors suffer side-lining and aggressions from city authorities. What is more, they do not have the needed collateral to attract the needed funding that could boost their operations and enhance their output. They are also not protected by the large portions of the labor law in Ghana partly because they are

food vendors' appreciation the laws governing their operations.

raw material and competing for customers [28].

**456**

This article locates the possibilities for rethinking and researching urban employment through the analytical frame of informality, drawing from qualitative research conducted in Kumasi. It draws on how over the last three decades, women in urban Ghana have used vending of RTF as a means to lunch themselves sustainable jobs. From the findings, selling RTF can no longer be described as just a 'survival activity' for a few marginalized people in the city but a means of contributing to the overall national income. This is because for majority of them, their daily incomes were far higher than that of the legally set minimum wage by the State. For the RTF vendors, they are engaged in a full time job by using their creative entrepreneurial skills and responding uniquely to the void of state provision of equal opportunities and access to basic urban employment.

The overall findings blur, complicate and raise legitimate questions about earlier propositions that the all informal sector activities only mops up excess or entrenched workers. Rather, the study has revealed that the sector is a vibrant and entrepreneurial part of the economy which can stimulate economic growth and job creation. This paper therefore argues that employment in the informal sector is no longer a journey, but has become the destination for many. Based on the findings the paper recommends that there is the need to establish an enabling environment and supportive regulatory framework that can accommodate informal sector workers. Such a framework can incorporate the sense of grassroots organization in which case informal enterprises can be represented at all levels of national development. That framework can strengthen the Traditional Caterers Association such that they can have the power and ability to lobby and influence decisions on behalf of members. As a matter of urgency, it is proposed that the Government need to unequivocally recognize and admit the importance of the informal sector and find ways to encourage its growth, though not at the expense of the formal sector. Indeed the greatest strength and advantage will be to establish a symbiotic relationship between the informal and formal sectors so they can work to complement each other. It is believed that this dualism that can lead the urban economy to the 'promise land' of prosperity.
