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Street barbers in the city spaces of Durban

The Durban city spaces are alive with possibilities, and opportunities to some people. In this story I will be interviewing street barbers for how they run their businesses and how they meet the everyday demands. The informal part of Durban is what makes Durban the playground of South Africa. Its part of the culture of our city. It has a lot to offer including offering a different view of what they perceive Durban as.

I went all out to explore the Durban city spaces. As I was walking down, the pavement was alive with street barbers , informal traders, shoe repairs, Chinese electronics and corn chips in the floor. But my attention got caught by the street barbers who fall under informal traders. As I was staring at their informal tents they use as their business shelters I just wanted to know more and more about their services and the advantages and disadvantages they face every day to run this type of business. So I went out and asked to conduct an interview with them it was suprising at how they welcomed me in the tents I made my way inside and sat in the crates they use as chairs.

My 1st question to Mr. Okocha was what business expectations he have for the 2010 upcoming world cup. The response I got had no excitement in it. The man believed that the 2010 world cup won’t bring much of a change to his business because he believes that the tourists who will be visiting the country won’t be interested in informal barber shops. I, however, believe he got it all wrong. Not all tourists are interested in the glossy life of Durban, some will be here to explore the inner Durban no one is paying attention to (including vendors, nightlife of Durban, shisa nyama). Then next question I asked was what led him to opening this type of business. He answered by saying that is was unemployment and because it was an easy business to start. He said that it is not that complicated compared to informal tradres who sell food that might get rotten if not bought. He mentioned how a machine won’t get rotten if people don’t come to him for hair cuts and how it does not cost him much in terms of expenses. He explained that he makes much profit in summer because people get a lot of haircuts then, but in winter not many people go for hair cuts because their heads are usually covered due to the cold of the winter season. Per day he makes about R250, with each hair cut costing R15. The disadvantage with this business is that there are lot of competitors gathering around in one place so that is what makes it hard for him to make higher profits.

One of Mr Okocha's worries lies within the municipality trying to tax them for their services and forcing them to get permits. Street barbers make a small turnover yet the government wants to tax them. The barbers in Mooi Road (where Mr Okocha’s barber shop is located) were once threatened to get business permits to render their services there or their business shelters would be evicted and their equipment taken away from them. He stated that he doesn’t sleep at night fearing that the police might keep their promise and come back and take their business equipment away from them

The city spaces in Durban have a lot to offer to anyone willing to make use of them. The Durban municipality is not treating the street barbers in a good way. How are they expected to make a living in Durban? I learned a lot after doing this research. With the 2010 world cup around the corner, this might be a chance for informal traders to earn high profits and take their businesses to greater heights.

by sakheni mfeya