2022 Volume 2 Pages 65-82
Informal Cross Border Traders (ICBTs) are commonly observed throughout the African continent. Without any official trading approval, ICBTs travel frequently to import or export various goods. As ICBTs benefit local communities as well as their households, they could be considered as an embedded social system of the borderlands in African countries. Although they have not been very attractive either to African governments or international societies, efforts for the formalization of ICBTs have been made in the previous decades. The COMESA Simplified Trade Regime (STR) is an evolutional example designed to benefit ICBTs by reducing their burden at border posts. However, the STR has not been actively used by ICBTs. This study will analyse why ICBTs choose to cross borders informally as well as the paradox between their formalization claims and actual practices. Based on a detailed literature review of relevant surveys, this study focuses on the fact that the majority of ICBTs are divorced mothers, which might make them stay away from formalization.
