Including Urban Informality for Economic Development in Masvingo City, Zimbabwe

The informal sector has been excluded in the development of cities despite playing a big role in providing livelihoods to a lot of urban dwellers. Their contribution to the city economy has been marginalized despite the size of this sector and the contribution to livelihoods of the urban poor. City space has therefore continued to be contested arena as urban poor are fighting for access to city space. The research examined the role the informal sector can play in city of Masvingo. The research utilized a mixed methods approach to data collection, where both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed. Questionnaires, semi structures interviews and field observations were employed. Interviews were done with key informant in various sectors dealing with issues of informality. The field observation were done in transact walks in areas occupied by urban informality. The research found out that the informal sector in City of Masvingo is playing a critical role in employment creation and therefore is providing sources of livelihood to a lot of people but the city authorities are doing very little to help the development and growth of the informal sector. Hence the economic contribution of the informal sector has been marginalized.


Introduction
Cities of global South are dynamic places where transformation is the result of political, economic, social and spatial processes. As a result of these transformations cities of the global south are developing to be areas of contestations, tension, complexities and encounter, (Huchzermeyer, 2011). They are facing growing dilemmas of unemployment, wage cuts, and drastic reduction of quality of social services (Huchzermeyer, 2011, Houghton, 2010. The growing tendencies towards neoliberal urbanization processes in most cities of global South have trapped the urban poor in the cycle of poverty and exclusions. Activities of urban poor are not included in the development of cities hence the urban poor have been struggling to access city space for economic activities in cities of the global South because the policies in these cities have no space for them. The adoption of neo-liberal urbanization processes in cities of global South is therefore responsible for the wide spread incidence of exclusion, poverty and consolidation of inequalities (Parnell and Robinson, 2012;Gulsoni and Pedroni, 2011). These cities have been experiencing living conditions that are constantly militating against building positive livelihoods for the poor and hence negatively impacting on their quality of life (Parnell and Robinson, 2012).
The neo-liberal urbanization initiatives with its emphasis on world class city have prevented the adoption of development initiatives that address the needs of the urban poor (Marcuse, 2009;Huchzermeyer, 2011). As a result, urban informality has been living in the peripheries of cities' provisioning systems. These areas are always deprived of essential services and therefore living in environments that are life threatening. UN-Habitat (2010) argued that rapid urbanization process in cities of the global South is associated with increased slum dwellers as these cities are holding 90% of world's slum dwellers.
These cities therefore require a paradigm shift, where development initiatives are reengineered to promote pro-poor development, which should see development needs of urban poor forming the development agenda. However in neo-liberal urbanization process these development initiatives are overshadowed by growth oriented development, where cities follow development initiatives that improve their global competitiveness at the expense of the needs of urban poor (Houghton, 2010). Zimbabwe is one of the countries that adopted the neo-liberal economic policies in late 1980s and this had rapacious effects on the economy and livelihoods of urban poor. The programme of Economic Structural Adjustment Programme had devastating effects on the job market, where a lot of companies down-sized or closed down their operations resulting in massive retrenchments (Brown, 2001;Potts, 2006).
The industry is now estimated to be operating at capacity levels of around 35%, (Basera, 2013) and is failing to provide employment to its ever increasing job seekers. The economy is therefore now more than 80% informal. The neo-liberal policies have been responsible for massive retrenchments country wide which has resulted in ballooning informal activities throughout the country. The formal sector has been declining and during the period 2000-2008 its contribution dropped to as low as 10%, (Government of Zimbabwe, 2002). The shrinking of mainstream economy was accompanied by exponential rise in urban informality, which is currently estimated to be responsible for 80% of the employment in Zimbabwe (Government of Zimbabwe, 2002;Basera, 2013).
Zimbabwe's economy is now 80-90% informal but this growth was realized against a host of repressive and very hostile regulatory system that work to stifle and stunt the growth of urban informality in the country. The informal sector has therefore been fighting for the right to the city especially their right to contribute to the development of the city. This has created contestations between urban informality and the city authorities where the city is fighting to suppress the development of the sector and the informal sector is fighting for expression in the city. The denial of the informal sector to use spaces in the city centre is therefore a denial of these people's right to the city, (Chigwenya and Dube, 2018). The purpose of this research is to examine the integration of urban informality in the development of the city of Masvingo. The research also examined what the city of Masvingo can gain in the integration of urban informality by comparing what other countries are gaining in the integration of urban informality.

Materials and Methods
The research was done in the city of Masvingo and it employed a mixed methods approach to the inquiry where both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed. Questionnaire was the main quantitative method used to collect data from people in the informality. The respondents were systematically chosen from various sites occupied by urban informality. A systematic random sampling was used to identify respondents, where register for informal practitioners was used to systematically chose respondents. A total of 100 questionnaires were administered to systematic randomly selected informal sector practitioners in the city of Masvingo.
The questionnaire was complimented by in-depth interviews carried out with key informants in the city. Interviews were carried by 25 purposively selected heads of departments in the city, the government and Civic organizations in the city of Masvingo. Key informants from the city of Masvingo were heads of departments in planning, health and housing and community services. Form the government, the department of Physical planning and the Environmental Management Agency was used. Quantities data was analysed using a computer package called SPSS to produce tables and cross tabulations. Data from qualitative methods was thematically analyzed.

Situating Masvingo City's Planning in Contemporary Urban planning Systems
Urban planning in the 21st Century is to grapple with a lot of problems that are emanating from the rapid urbanization and neo-liberal urbanization. The current global rate of urbanization has reached unprecedented levels, where more than 66% of the world's population is expected to be living in urban areas by the year 2030 (UN-Habitat, 2010). This is posing a big problem in urban areas that are failing to support the growing populations due to the shrinking formal sector (Jeppesen et.al., 2006, UN Habitat, 2010. The rapid urbanization is not matched by a corresponding expansion of the formal sector so as to provide employment and livelihoods to these growing urban populations. This has resulted in urbanization poverty and the associated growth of livelihoods of the poor. In city of Masvingo the formal sector has shrunk to between 10-20%. This shrink has seen the rising of urban informality and the livelihoods for urban poor. In the city of Masvingo the informal sector is now the major occupier of city space, where it is estimated to be occupying between 80-90%. The formal sector has been ever shrinking since the adoption of Structural Adjustment Programes at the turn of the century. The industrial capacity utilization level has been on the down spiral as it is currently below 20%. At one time in 2009 the national industrial capacity utilization went down as low as 6% (Saungweme, 2012). The shrinking of the formal sector meant the shrinking livelihood opportunities. This resulted in growing incidence of informality in many cities of Zimbabwe including the city of Masvingo. The rapid urbanization coupled with the shrinking of the formal sector has therefore been associated with rising urbanization of poverty and growing incidents of urban informality.
The rapid urbanization and the proliferation of urban informality have caught the city of Masvingo unaware and as a result they have been failing to plan for them. Despite the proliferation of the informal activities in the city, the city has not integrated urban informality in their development. Up to now the city has no policy on urban informality despite with the rising prevalence of the phenomenon. The urban informality despite occupying more than 80 percent of city space have not been planned for in the cities hence some of them are found operating is undesignated spaces. The city still operate on a piece meal approach to issues of informality, hence the informal sector remained outside city's economy. Urban informality has no space in the city of Masvingo hence the majority of them are involved in running battles with the city authorities, who are determined to clear their streets of urban informality.
Urban informality in the city of Masvingo is accused of operating undesignated spaces which are, lacking a lot of essential service. The twin problems of rapid urbanization and the urbanization of poverty resulted in the urban poor developing livelihood strategies for survival in the face of rising poverty. The informal sector is the only viable form of livelihood for the urban poor. This has resulted in rising incidents of urban informality in many cities of Zimbabwe. By 2012, it was estimated that more than 80% of the workforce in the country were in the informal sector (Zimstat, 2012). However the growth of the informal sector has not resulted in the integration of the sector into the mainstream economy of the city of Masvingo. The city has not developed strategies to integrate livelihoods of the urban poor hence it has been sidelined in the development of the city, which is a disenfranchisement of their right to the city. The city of Masvingo still relies on the colonial pieces of legislations that do not recognise informal activities. According to one official representing the informal sector he said: "....It is surprising that right now when the world over is recognizing and promoting informal activities, the city of Masvingo still uses colonial statutes that criminalize activities of the informal sector...these statutes were developed long back when urban informality was not an issue in cities…" The informal activities have therefore remained in the peripheries of the city's development agenda characterized by lack of essential services such as water, electricity and sewer. Their livelihood strategies are in most cases not supported by the traditional planning and management systems of the city. Even informal activities that are operating in previously designated formal spaces have these services cut off and they are now operating without water, electricity and sewer services. Informal activities as new urban land uses that are coming up as a result of urbanization of poverty are finding it difficult to be integrated in the mainstream economy. The informal sector is therefore poorly provided for by the traditional planning practices (UN-Habitat, 2010;Pannell et.al. 2007). The lack of essential services in the informal sector is a denial of these people's right to the city, because according to Lefebvre (1968Lefebvre ( , 1996 every city inhabitant has the right to receive services from the city authorities for them to enjoy urban life. Figure  1. below shows the water provision in the informal sector by the city of Masvingo. What is obtaining in the water provision is also happening in other services such as refuse collection and provision of power as all these services are not provided to the informal sector. The figure above shows that the majority of the people in the informal sector are not connected to water, even those who say they are connected they only mean they have the infrastructure but there is no reticulation of water because the city authorities had discontinues the provision of water. The informal sector is therefore not included in the development of the city because the cities continue to develop without informality. Due to poor service provision the informal activities are operating in life threatening environments characterized by overcrowding and lack of infrastructure thereby exposing operators to all vagaries of the weather. Most of the informal operators are operating in streets and some streets especially in the Mucheke home industries are completely closed because they have been turned into work spaces. The majority are housed in make-shift structures that are made of plastics and other waste products. The urban informality in the city of Masvingo is always involved in running battles with the city authorities who are chasing them away from the street and open spaces where they are operating from in an attempt to clear the city of informal activities. The informal sector, due to poor provisioning are therefore exposed to elevated risk from extreme environmental hazards. Lack of resources and skills in the informal sector severely expose the vulnerability of urban informality because they cannot cope with such extreme conditions which expose them to elevated risk of disease contraction, (Parnell et.al., 2007).
The city of Masvingo criminalizes urban informality because according to city bylaws informal traders are regarded as hawkers and they are illegal activities. The city is therefore empowered to confiscate their goods and fine them. The city authorities are therefore always on high surveillance in the streets to remove the informal activities from their streets. The informal sector is therefore operating outside the city centre at some disused open space along Mucheke River. The city has been driving the people in the informal sector out of the city centre and this is a complete denial of the people in the informal sector's right to the city.
According to Lefebvre (1968Lefebvre ( , 1996 every city inhabitant has the right to the city centre and to enjoy city life. The forced removal of informal activities from the city centre is therefore a disenfranchisement of these people's right to the city, (Chigwenya, 2019). The informal sector has however been fighting for the right to access the city centre through illegally operating in the streets of Masvingo and this has created coalitions and contestations in the city. The poor planning and lack of provisioning for the urban poor has resulted in informal activities operating in marginal and risky areas usually characterized by steep slopes, proximity to sources of pollution and lack adequate services and infrastructure (Parnell et.al 2007). Parnell et al. (2007) further argued that, the spaces lived by the urban informality are also not visible in the government policies and social welfare systems mainly because they are not planned for and they are not regarded as part of the city sphere. This has excluded the urban poor in the development of the city and again it is a denial the people's right to the city. Lack of important services in most areas where the informal sector are operating is evidences of lack of planning for the urban poor. The informal sector is not regarded as a legal space user in the city hence lack of important services such as water, sewer and power.
This grossly violates their right to the city especially the right to access the city center and city services.
The arrests and the surveillance therefore means that people in the informal sector are denied access to the city centre and this is a denial if their right to the city. This also mean that they are not allowed to make an expression in the city they live hence they are not allowed to shape a city according to the desires of their hearts (Harvey, 2003(Harvey, , 2008. This exclusion is a fundamental disenfranchisement of their rights to the city, because according to the theory of right to the city, every city inhabitant should have a voice in the development of the city and create a city according to the desires of their hearts (Harvey 2003, Lefebvre 1996. Harvey (2003Harvey ( , 2008 further argued that every urban inhabitant has the right to contribute to the shaping of the city according to the desires of their hearts. This means that the needs of all city inhabitants should be allowed to make an expression in the city. However the city of Masvingo does not have even a desk that deals with issues of urban informality as they are not even consulted on issues of city development and even on issues that directly affect them For example the city of Masvingo is making unilateral decisions that affect the people in the informal sector without consulting them. The people in the informal sector were recently forcibly relocated from the original market near the railway station to Mucheke River without consultation. This location falls short of all qualities that can call for human settlement. It is just an open space in the city periphery close to Mucheke River. Table1. Below show the perceptions of people urban informality on consultations that are done in various sectors of urban informality in the city of Masvingo. The majority feels that they are not consulted and the city is developing without their inputs. Source Survey 2019 (n=100) The informal sector in the city of Masvingo has therefore been suffering continued marginalization in the management and planning of the city. This marginalization does not auger well with the provisions of the New Urban Agenda that calls for social inclusion and fostering livability and vibrant urban economy (UN-Habitat, 2017). Paragraph 80 of the New Urban Agenda, further points that contemporary cities need to adopt adaptive planning process that reflect city level issues. The exclusion is therefore not sustainable and goes against the tenets of sustainable development and just city, which calls for development initiatives that involve and address the welfare of every city inhabitant including the poor and marginalized groups of the city, (UN-Habitat, 2010).
Urban informality is often neglected ahead of the needs of affluent groups of the city thereby marginalizing them in the development of the city (UN Habitat, 2010, Harvey, 2003Huchzermeyer, 2011). Such marginalization perpetuates social and environmental injustices; hence there is need for a change in the way planning is done in urban areas so as to embrace inclusivity and sustainable urban development. Urban planning should create a just and inclusive city, where all city inhabitants have access to benefits of the city and also contribute to the development of the city (Fainstein, 2006(Fainstein, , 2008Sandercock, 1998).
The situation obtaining in the city of Masvingo where activities of the informal sector are criminalized creates contestations in the city, for example in Masvingo the city authority is always on surveillance to flush out all activities of urban informality from their streets and the people in the informal sector are always fighting to access city space. They have therefore devised methods to circumvent the municipal police. Some play a cat and mouse game with police but others have resorted to nocturnal ways of accessing city space, where they come into the streets in the evening to sell their wares.
This kind of relationship is not sustainable for the city and also goes against the principles of new urbanism that calls for traditional planning systems to change the way they do their business so as to accommodate the urban livelihoods that are coming up as a result of urbanization of poverty. These new livelihoods need to be incorporated in the urban planning and management systems for sustainable and just city. Therefore is the city of Masvingo needs to move away from their exclusive planning practices that only cater for the most affluent and neglect the urban poor. Urban planning in the 21st Century regards rights of all citizens as fundamental to city governance because they democratize city spaces.
There is no need for confrontation, coalitions and contestation between the city authorities and the informal sector, rather there should be engagement so as to get better ways of integrating livelihood strategies of the urban informality. The surveillance systems by the municipal police and other security agencies that are experienced in the city of Masvingo to remove informality out of the city centre are therefore not sustainable. The new urbanism calls for embracing the city's diversity and plan with them. Informality has rather proved to be permanent feature in many cities and has been providing livelihoods too many people who could be otherwise could be destitute in the cities. Cities can no longer afford to develop without informality because the sector has proved to be the major driver of economies (Chigwenya and Mudzengerere, 2013;Huchzermeyer, 2011;Roy 2005Roy , 2009. Cities therefore need to adopt more inclusive urban planning methods that include all the city inhabitants and also provide for all city inhabitants in order for every city inhabitant to enjoy urban life. Lefebvre (1968) regards a city as an oeuvre, which should give every city inhabitants the right to enjoy urban life. The neo-liberal planning approaches adopted by many cities in the global South have no space for urban informality as they do not plan for them. However urban poverty is a reality in most cities of the global South, which calls for a paradigm shift in the way cities do their business (Roy, 2005;UN-Habitat, 2010, Parnell et.al., 2007Huchzermeyer, 2011).
In the city of Masvingo the informal sector is always at the mercy of city authority as they are chased away from their areas of operation and some decisions are just made unilaterally without consulting them. This is a denial of the people in the informal sector of their right to the city because they have the right to shape cities according to the desires of their hearts, (Harvey, 2003(Harvey, , 2008(Harvey, , 2012. For example they were also not consulted when the council hiked their daily levies at Chitima market from USD 1.00 to USD 2.00 and this resulted in massive uprisings in the informal sector that drew the intervention of resident minister who intervened to stop the proposed hikes (Chigwenya, 2019). At another time the people in the informal sector have again to use the office of the resident minister when the city had decided to close their market for some proposed designs, which were roundly denied by the people in the informal sector. The sidelining of the informal sector in the running of the city is therefore a denial of their right to the city because as city inhabitants they have the right shape their city according to the desires of their hearts.
According to UN-Habitat (2010), most of the planning in cities of the global South are transplants from their colonial masters who have no experience of urban poverty and urban informality, hence they are found lacking in addressing issues of urban poverty and informality. The Zimbabwean planning system is a typical transplant from the British engineering type of planning that does not tolerate any unplanned activities such as the informal sector (Kamete, 2007;Potts, 2008). These transplanted planning practices are not adapted to the realities of the cities of the global South hence are responsible for the sufferings that are experienced by the urban poor in these cities. UN-Habitat (2010) further argued that the problems experienced by the informal sector are a result of inappropriate, inadequate and anti-poor planning and management policies, which do not recognize informality and livelihoods of the poor. Such planning approaches have been responsible for accelerated inequalities, swelling parallel economy and expanding slums, which militates the provisions of sustainable urban development. . Cities of the global South need to develop new planning and management systems that reflects the real situation in their cities, which encompasses issues such as urban poverty and the swelling livelihoods of the poor. These realities need to be considered as an urban imperative by adopting an adaptive planning (UN-habitat, 2017).

Informality and the economy in Masvingo City; Counting the loses Exclusion
The Zimbabwean informality presents a unique picture, where the government of Zimbabwe exhibited an oscillating behavior between denial and partial acceptance of the phenomenon of informality (Potts, 2006). Soon after independence in the 1980s the government of Zimbabwe adopted the British type of planning that never tolerated the activities of urban informality. It employed all it can to try and suppress the activities of informal sector. Later, after the adoption of Structural Adjustment Programs which was associated with economic down spiraling, cities adopted a tolerant attitude towards informality. They allowed the activities of the informal sector to operate by just turning a blind eye to their operations. They however never r legalize their operations as there were statutory instruments that legalize them. Cities just allowed them to operate even though their operating statutes deemed them illegal.
The partial acceptance saw the proliferation of informal activities in many cities of Zimbabwe. The informal sector grew as a parallel economy sustained by people who were retrenched due to economic structural adjustment programmes. The partial acceptance ended in 2005, at the height of political polarization when the government swiftly made a u-turn to adopt a zero tolerant attitude towards urban informality. They destroyed all forms of informality in urban areas in an operation called Operation Restore Order/Murambasvina that affected nearly more than 1, 4 million people throughout the country (Potts 2008). They accuse informal sector for fomenting political upheavals that were happening throughout all urban areas. All informal activities were destroyed in the Operation Restore Oder.
This operation recorded the biggest human disaster by the government to its people. It was a total denial of the people in the in formal sector of their right to the city because they were denied access to city spaces. Urban informality was therefore not allowed expression in cities of Zimbabwe. The informal sector therefore was excluded in the city's development agenda and their contribution to the development of cities has been excluded. However studies by ILO (1973ILO ( , 2000 showed that the informal sector is a very import part of the city's development. Urban informality is a very good source of employment as it is giving livelihoods to millions of the urban people. Studies in Kenya and Ghana showed that informal activities are very useful in poverty reduction and employment creation. It therefore means that the city of Masvingo is not benefiting from the possible source of employment because of their denial of activities of urban informality. According to the Government of Zimbabwe (2002) the informal sector is approximately constituting over 80percent of non-agricultural workforce in the country but all this is not recognized as legal users of urban space. These figures are not included in national statistics, hence the economic contribution of the informal sector is excluded in the development if the city. Urban informality has also been handy in many urban areas as a source of livelihood in situation where the formal sector has been shrinking and failing to provide livelihoods to urban inhabitants (Kamete, 2013). The informal sector according to ILO (1973) is the most efficient way of producing and trading items as they avail goods and services that could otherwise been unavailable to the people due to logistic problems that are inherent in the formal production system. It is therefore unjust for city authorities to deny people in the informal sector access to city space as this is important for their livelihoods.
The continued harassment that the people in the informal sector continue to suffer in the streets of Masvingo city is a violation of their rights to the city and the right to appropriate city space. Every city inhabitant has the right to appropriate city space in order to enjoy urban life (Lefebvre, 1968(Lefebvre, , 1996 The informal sector are a critical component of city development because it gives livelihoods to the vulnerable groups of the urban society hence it should be given space for its operation in the city. Promotion of livelihoods of the poor in development is the most sustainable way of development. Activities of urban informality are importance in economic development and in many cities they are no longer regarded as activities of the marginalized but urban informality is a way of urbanization (Roy, 2009). The informal sector in the city of Masvingo has also grown the same in importance as alluded by one of the respondents; …. The informal sector is no longer a sector for the disadvantaged but everyone is involved in informal activities. ……people in the police, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector and the government are in the informal sector....gone are the days when the informal sector was dominated by the elderly and women... urban informality is the new way of urbanization…" This shows that informality has grown in importance in the economy of Masvingo city, which therefore warrant inclusion in the development of the city. The exclusion of the sector in the development of the city is not only a denial of right to the city but a loss of the significant contribution of the sector to the economy of the city. The informal sector is contributing more than 45 percent of gross domestic product of the economy of sub-Saharan Africa (Kamete, 2013). It is no longer sustainable to continue harassing them as it is happening in the city of Masvingo, where municipal police is always on the surveillance to flush out urban informality from city streets. The city should rather embrace the phenomenon of urban informality and include it in their development for a sustainable and inclusive city. The people in the informal sector argued that well known people in the city like heads various organizations such as the city council, the government and even the private sector have diversified their livelihoods into informal activities.
The informal sector in the city of Masvingo is now occupying approximately between 80-90% of city space, which shows that it's now the major city space user (Chigwenya, 2019). It also shows that it is the major player in the economy of the city hence it deserves inclusion in the city's development. If all this space was not occupied by urban informality, the city would be near a ghost town because of the shrinking of the formal sector. Despite this contribution to the economy of the city, the informal sector is still not recognized as legal land user in the city, which means that the city is losing a lot. In South Africa the government has taken steps to integrate the sector into the mainstream economy by creating institutions that support the development and growth of the informal sector, which shows inclusivity of the city.
The informal sector is very efficient in using indigenous resources, which make it the best industrial option given the little inflows of foreign direct investment in many African cities; (Potts, 2008). The city of Masvingo should therefore develop a more tolerant attitude towards informality by embracing it as a way of urbanization. This will allow the informal sector to contribute to the development of the city and shaping the city according to the desires of their hearts, (Harvey, 2003(Harvey, , 2008. This will also allow the people in the informal sector to enjoy their rights to the city especially the right to participate to the development of the city and the right to develop a city according to the desires of their hearts. However the city of Masvingo has no structures and processes that promote the development and growth of urban informality. The city has not amended its colonial legislations that continue to criminalize activities of urban informality. These pieces of legislations that are stifling the development and growth of informal sector include; the Hawker License Act, Regional Country and Town Planning Act, the Environmental Management Agency, and Company Registration Act. In all these pieces of legislations there are no provisions for the operation of informal activities. The above mentioned legislations are used to deny the people in the informal sector access to city space. For example all traders in the city are expected to have a hawker's license in order to operate in the city and the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act allows urban activities to operate in zoned areas, but informal activities are not zoned in any area as city apace user hence has no space in the city. Such regulation needs to be amended so that they allow new land use such as activities of urban informality to access and operate in the city centre. In so doing the planning instruments will be reflective of what is obtaining in their cities. The informal sector needs to be planned for and given space in the city for a just, inclusive and sustainable city. City of Masvingo should realize that continued insistence on old planning and management systems that are exclusionary are no longer working in contemporary cities, which calls for adaptive planning that address the needs of the vulnerable groups, (UN-Habitat, 2017). The traditional planning approaches exclude urban informality from participating in the development of cities. Masvingo City should also realize the opportunity offered by the informal sector in terms of offers employment for thousands urban dwellers and then try to integrate for urban informality in the mainstream economy for them to harvest the benefits offered by the informal sector in terms of giving livelihoods to city inhabitants. The city can also provide training to informal practitioners in form of business management and entrepreneurial skills that could allow people in the informal sector to effectively run their small businesses. Such services have helped to integrate the informal sector into the main stream economy in South Africa.
In South Africa they are providing training and credit facilities to the sector to allow urban informality to operate successful business more effectively (Potts, 2008). This government intervention is improving the working conditions of people in the informal sector, which is lacking in the city of Masvingo where urban informality is working in environmentally hazardous conditions. The South African government is also providing the Khula Enterprise Financial facility targeted to financial institutions as credit guarantee schemes so as to reduce risk of loans borrowed by people in the informal sector and their Ntsika programme is meant to provide management and entrepreneurial skills in the informal sector so as to improve their skills in running their enterprises. They have gone further to introduce technological transfers in the informal sector for improved productivity. All these initiatives are done to improve business in the informal sector.
In Ghana the government managed to put in place incentives that allowed the informal sector to develop effectively through establishment of advisory board that advises people in the informal sector on how to effectively manufacture their goods so that they meet international standards and they have managed to produce goods that fairly compete with imported goods. These initiatives managed to stimulate demand for goods and services from the informal sector, which in turn helped to create more employment opportunities (Deborah, 2007).
In this way, the informal sector is given the chance to contribute to the development of the city and as a result it will create inclusive cities where all city inhabitants are allowed to develop the city. The government of Ghana went further to take a deliberate move to improve the human capital in the informal sector through training programmes that improved production in oil and cassava in the informal sector (Deborah, 2007). It therefore goes without say that supporting the informal sector will yield better results than suppressing the sector. All these interventions are not available in the city of Masvingo, where activities of urban informality are still being criminalized and unsupported by city institutions. The available institutions are rather suppressing the growth and development of urban informality and as result they are not harnessing the development potential of urban informality.
Supporting urban informality will make the sector more productive because in some cities where there is enough support, it is performing even better than the formal sector for example in Kenya and Uganda the informal sector managed to match the formal sector in terms of generating employment (Jackson, 2012). In countries where the sector has been well natured, the informal sector is no longer a sector for the poor and the marginalized groups of the urban society, rather it is the new form of urbanization (Roy, 2005(Roy, , 2009, where even the highly educated people are taking informal activities as a career option (Jackson, 2012). It therefore shows that if the informal sector if well natured it can contribute significantly to the well-being of people and also help in economic growth.
The situation obtaining in some of the city of Masvingo where there is no even a policy on urban informality is not good for sustainable and inclusive city. The inclusion of urban informality in the mainstream economy will create resilient cities because informal activities can significantly contribute to the development of the economy, for example in the sub Saharan Africa the informal sector has been responsible for more 45% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), (Kamete 2013). In many other developing regions the informal sector has been contributing significantly to economic growth for example in Latin America the informal sector has been responsible for creating between 83% and 93% of newly created jobs respectively (Devey, et.al., 2006).
The situation obtaining in the city of Masvingo where most of the informal activities are operating in undesignated places without critical services is therefore an environment that can only function to stunt the development of the informal activities. The support of the informal sector can go a long way in driving cities towards sustainable and inclusive cities. In Masvingo there is very little consultation and involvement of the people in the informal sector in the development of the city despite the fact that the informal sector is commanding a huge share in economic development. Nationally it is estimated to contribute more than 60% of the GDP (Government of Zimbabwe, 2002).
The informal sector can therefore be the bedrock of economic development in city of Masvingo if enough support is given to the sector. This potential contribution of urban informality, therefore calls for a paradigm shift, to adopt more embracing urbanization policies, which integrates urban informality in the development of the city. The top-down and technocratic approaches to planning practiced in the city of Masvingo can rarely achieve this, hence there is need for more participatory approaches that will see all the diverse populations of the cities being involved in the development of the city. This will create an inclusive city where all city inhabitants are contributing to the development of the city. The hierarchical and rigid planning system finds it difficult to respond to the needs and changes that are in the field (Therkildsen et.al., 2009). The city of Masvingo does not have any platform for participation of the marginalized groups like the informal sector in the development of the city. Table 2 below show the structures that are available for in the city of Masvingo for the participation of urban informality in the development of the city. Source: Survey 2019 There are generally no platforms for the participation of the informal sector in the development of the city and this marginalization means that the people in the informal sector are not participating in the development of the city. However they can play a critical role in the development of the city. There is therefore need for inclusion of urban informality in the development of the city so as to take advantage of the development potential of informal activities Participation of various groups in city development will create a shared vision of the city, where there are less contestations and coalitions. In this way it will bridge the democratic gap between the city and the civic society and it also helps to bring cities close to the realities of the urban life (Watson, 2007).
This inclusive governance will cultivate the culture of citizenship and a transition into inclusive city (Menegat, 2002). This will ushers in a shared vision of the city which can also result in sharing of costs between the city and its citizens. The physical planning approach adopted by city of Masvingo does not produce inclusive city as it is always isolated from the realities on the ground and such approach does not promote democratic decision making and as a result most of these plans are not effective especially with regards to the delivery of the needs of the marginalized groups of the city. The involvement of the informal sector in the development of cities in Masvingo will not only bring about democratic decision making but will also result in a just cities where the right of the marginalized groups of in these cities are realized. It will also create resilient city where various forms of livelihoods complement each other in supporting the city systems. Fights, antagonism and contestations are negative to the development of the city, but engagement and involvement will create a better place for every city inhabitant.

Conclusion
The relationship between the city authorities and urban informality in Masvingo city is characterised by contestations and coalitions, where the city authorities are fighting to remove the informal sector from the streets of the city. The city does not have a policy on urban informality which should provide guiding principles in the development of informal activities. This exclusion is obtaining despites the huge contribution of the sector in providing livelihoods to a lot of people in the city. The informal sector is not contributing to the development of the city as they do not have platforms to participate in the de development of the city. There are colonial pieces of legislations that are still operational in the city, which are used to criminalize marginalize urban informality. This is a denial of these people's right to the city because the informal sector is denied the right to access city centre. The informal sector is not allowed to make an expression in the city because the city's development policy does not recognise informality as a legitimate urban space user. This is obtaining despite wide spread prevalence of poverty and livelihoods of the poor. The city authorities are only interested in creating clean cities, which does not have space for livelihoods of the poor. The contribution of the informal sector to the economy of the city is therefore marginalized. The informal sector can help in the creation of employment but all this has been denied in the city Masvingo because of marginalization and criminalization of urban informality. This is not good for a just and sustainable city and is also against the dictates of new urbanism, which calls for pro-poor development interventions. The New Urban Agenda also calls for inclusion and urban governance and adaptive planning that suit the city level realities. Pro-poor development interventions should be focus on promoting the livelihoods of the marginalised groups of the society such as the activities of urban informality.
The city of Masvingo has therefore done very little in terms of integrating the informal sector in the mainstream economy; hence they are losing in terms failing to tape the development potential in the informal sector. Urban informality can produce goods that can enter international markets put this is not utilised in the city, which does not recognise urban informality as a legal land use. They have moved very slowly in the integration process and they are losing a lot on the contribution of the informal sector such as creation of employment contribution to the well-being of the urban poor. The local authority has been trying to develop a city without informality due to their neo-liberal urbanization processes. This is denying people in the informal sector the right to build a city according to the desires of their hearts. All city inhabitants have the right to make a city according to the desires of their heart.
The informal sector can contribute significantly to the development of the city, which therefore calls for its integration into the main economy. There can been significant gains in cities through integration of urban informality through creation of employment and production of goods that can bring in foreign currency. Urban informality has been a good source of livelihoods to a lot of people, which can be used to improve the conditions of city inhabitants. There is need for inclusive urban policies that gives all city inhabitants the right to participate in the development of the city. This will go a long way in creating a just and inclusive city. Further studies should examine how city legal instruments can be realigned so that integration of urban informality can be done. It can also be examined how activities of urban informality can be integrated in the city centre.