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Congo in Conversation
Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, April 2, 2020. Vendors and shoppers at Kituku market on the shores of Lake Kivu. Congo has one of the highest rates of informal workers in the world with about 80 per cent of urban workers involved in the informal economy, according to the World Bank. The Trade Union Confederation of Congo estimates that nationally the informal economy represents an astronomical 97.5 per cent of all workers. © Moses Sawasawa for Fondation Carmignac

Congo’s Informal Economy

byMoses Sawasawa
May 1, 2020
in Economy
Reading Time: 3 mins read

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, April 2, 2020. Vendors and shoppers at Kituku market on the shores of Lake Kivu. Congo has one of the highest rates of informal workers in the world with about 80 per cent of urban workers involved in the informal economy, according to the World Bank. The Trade Union Confederation of Congo estimates that nationally the informal economy represents an astronomical 97.5 per cent of all workers. © Moses Sawasawa for Fondation Carmignac

With today being International Workers’ Day, I wanted to show how millions of Congolese rely on some form of daily trade or street commerce. We don’t have the luxury to observe social distancing or to remain indoors for days or weeks.

Congo has one of the highest rates of informal workers in the world, with about 80 percent of urban workers involved in the informal economy, according to the World Bank. Congo’s Trade Union Confederation estimates that, nationally, the informal economy represents more than 97 percent of all workers.

I took these photos at Kituku market on the shores of Lake Kivu on April 2, the day after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Goma. The country had closed its borders and declared a state of emergency the week before. The capital, Kinshasa, was under confinement, and health officials were calling on all Congolese to observe social distancing. 

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, April 2, 2020. Vendors and shoppers at Kituku market on the shores of Lake Kivu. Congo has one of the highest rates of informal workers in the world with about 80 per cent of urban workers involved in the informal economy, according to the World Bank. The Trade Union Confederation of Congo estimates that nationally the informal economy represents an astronomical 97.5 per cent of all workers. © Moses Sawasawa for Fondation Carmignac
© Moses Sawasawa for Fondation Carmignac

But many people were still out conducting their daily business. Here in Congo, most of the population lives on $2 per day and has to work to survive.

At Kituku, traders bring their goods from the islands to sell here and to buy things to take back with them. Authorities had announced that the daily vendor tax of 1,200 Congolese francs ($0.70) would be suspended during the pandemic, but officials at the market still insisted that it be paid. This led to a big argument and the market women were shouting and complaining. But in the end, it was resolved and the tax was paid.

People working in the informal sector don’t have much in terms of savings, and often don’t have electricity for refrigeration. This means that people cannot buy food for more than a day or two at a time. This creates a constant demand for small-scale trade at markets like Kituku.

Even now, the market is still operating. Vendors have to wash their hands upon entering, and are supposed to respect social distancing. But for us here in Congo, respecting a meter of distance in the market is impossible. Informal trade involves close contact and cash transactions passed from hand to hand.

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, April 2, 2020. Vendors and shoppers at Kituku market on the shores of Lake Kivu. Congo has one of the highest rates of informal workers in the world with about 80 per cent of urban workers involved in the informal economy, according to the World Bank. The Trade Union Confederation of Congo estimates that nationally the informal economy represents an astronomical 97.5 per cent of all workers. © Moses Sawasawa for Fondation Carmignac
© Moses Sawasawa for Fondation Carmignac

At the same time, informal workers lack any form of social protection and Congo’s health care system has many problems. A family member falling sick can bring financial ruin. So people are still going to markets not because they don’t care about their health, but because it is an absolute necessity.

Tags: CoronavirusGomaLabor
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Moses Sawasawa

Moses Sawasawa

Moses Sawasawa is a freelance photographer based in Goma, covering humanitarian issues, culture, health, and daily life. He is the cofounder of Collectif Goma Oeil, which promotes positive images of Congo.

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  • “It’s been 26 years since we came to venerate our Pope, and this is the only way to mourn, always chic, well groomed, well dressed, and well scented.” said Gael Basaula, who was born in Brazzaville and who was wearing a colored sequin jacket and dyed yellow hair.
 
Each year, on February 10, Sapeurs in Kinshasa return to their origins. On the official Day of the Sape, they gather in all their finery at a cemetery in city’s Gombe neighborhood to pay tribute at the grave of Stervos Niarcos, often considered the official founder of modern sapeurism. Also known as “the Pope,” Niarcos died in Paris in 1995.
 
📷  Kinshasa, DRC, February 2021 © @makangarajustin for @fondationcarmignac
 
🔗 Read full article “Congo’s Sapeurs Revisit Their Roots” online. Link in bio.
 
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« Il y a 26 ans que nous venons ici vénérer notre Pape, et c’est le seul moyen d’exprimer notre deuil, toujours chics, soignés, bien habillés et parfumés. » témoigne Gael Basaula, natif de Brazzaville arborant une veste pailletée multicolore et des cheveux teints en jaune.
 
Chaque année, le 10 février, les Sapeurs de Kinshasa retournent à leurs racines. Pour la date officielle du Jour de la Sape, ils se rassemblent vêtus de leurs plus beaux atours dans un cimetière du quartier de Gombe et y saluent la mémoire de Stervos Niarcos, souvent considéré comme le fondateur officiel de la Sape moderne. Baptisé le « Pape », Niarcos est mort à Paris en 1995.
 
📷 Kinshasa, RDC, 10 février 2021 © @makangarajustin pour la @fondationcarmignac
 
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📷 Araribóia, Maranhão. Paulo Paulino Guajajara,
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Dans la continuité de la journée internationale des forêts, nous vous proposons cette semaine d
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In the continuity of the International Day of #Forests, we invite you this week to explore in images the vision of Tommaso Protti, 10th Carmignac Award laureate, on the Brazilian Amazon.
 
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Dans la continuité de la journée internationale des forêts, nous vous proposons cette semaine d
  • FORESTS
 
In the continuity of the International Day of #Forests, we invite you this week to explore in images the vision of Tommaso Protti, 10th Carmignac Award laureate, on the Brazilian Amazon.
 
📷 Jamari National Forest, Rondônia, May 19, 2019. A military police officer stands in what was previously an illegal mining site in the Jamari National Forest. This protected forest area is constantly targeted by illegal miners and loggers and requires round-the-clock supervision. The police officers provide armed assistance to park rangers who refused to be photographed. Once the loggers have removed the wood from the forest, it is taken to nearby irregular sawmills. Using falsified documents, the wood is sent to Brazil’s industrialized South or abroad to Europe, China or the United States. In recent years, invasions and illegal logging of protected forest areas have increased. Almost 10% of Brazil’s national territory is made up of protected forest.
 
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  • Traditional Mai Mai militiamen ride on a motorcycle in the village of Mabuku in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, an area infested with armed groups. Some Mai Mai groups have attacked Ebola treatment centres and have threatened to kill Ebola responders. The effort to stamp out this Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo, the second largest in recorded history, took nearly two years, as front-line health workers struggled against rising hostility and distrust.
 
Mabuku, DRC, 2019. @finbarroreilly
 
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Patrouille motorisée de miliciens Maï-Maï dans cette région infestée de groupes armés. Certains groupes Maï-Maï ont attaqué des centres de traitement Ebola et menacé de tuer leurs personnels. La lutte contre l’épidémie d’Ebola, la deuxième la plus importante de l’histoire, a mobilisé pendant plus de deux ans des personnels de santé confrontés à une vague d’hostilité et de défiance.
 
Mabuku, RDC, 2019. @finbarroreilly
 
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