An assessment on the contributions of the informal sector on Community development: a case study Buwenge town Council Jinja District
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Date
2015-08
Authors
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Publisher
Kampala International University, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Abstract
The study carried out in Buwenge town council was to conduct an assessment on the
contributions of the informal sector in development of Buwenge town council. The study was
guided with three objectives that included examining the role of informal sector in development,
establishing the challenges facing the informal sector and establishing the strategies that can be
adopted to improve the performance of the informal sector.
The study was descriptive in nature. It involved the use both qualitative and quantitative research
approaches. The researcher adopted a questionnaire as a research instrument was information
was sought from the respondents of Buwenge town council with a sample of 60 respondents.
The research found out that the informal sector contributes to development of Buwenge town
council to a small extent through aspects like provision of cheap goods and services, household
incomes, employment, tax revenue for government, provides of capital for transformation into
formal sectors, Influence transport network provision and Reduction of social pressures. A small
extent contribution was attributed to the challenges that the informal sector face that were seen to
include Difficulty in accessing finances due to restrictive Legislation, almost non- existent
training and extension facilities related to technology transfer, Inadequate information on
business opportunities, Lack of accurate and reliable data, on skills inventory, competition from
cheap imports, discriminatory attitude by private sector, donors, and formal sector
services/products and Poor physical infrastructure facilities, the prevalence of realm of
challenges prompted to seek if there has been government intervention in improving the state of
affair which was found majorly negative, strategies were there for sought from the respondents
on what they feel government and other stakeholders need to address for improved performance
of the informal sector, this included extension of credit facilities for improving operations,
Establishing supportive environment and regulations, establishment of guiding parameters for
operation, Improving infrastructure, Provide access to training and Increase ability to obtain
property.
The researcher advances the following recommendations. The fact that informal sector play a
role in the development of Buwenge town council indicates the need by the participants to the
sector to harnessing their activities, consolidating the existing one and seeking to expand on the
operations in order to enable them earn a living, Should incorporate all aspects of togetherness if
necessary merging in order to expand into corporate entities. Restructuring the education system
to focus more on the vocational and explicitly related to self-employment and business
development. The government should devise ways of providing credit to the SMEs to start
operating. The various banks should lower the interest rates on the loans as well as remove the
requirements for securing a loan to levels which the informal artisans and hawkers can access
funds and the government should ease the process of registering and opening a business so as to
facilitate and encourage the formalization of the informal sector.
Description
A research dissertation submitted to the college of humanities
and social sciences as a partial fulfillment of the
requirement award of bachelor’s degree of social work and social administration of Kampala International University
Keywords
Community development, Informal sector