Cross-border entrepreneurship is one source of livelihood that is transforming people’s lives, especially those with limited resources and educational qualifications and those in need of supplementary earnings to complement meagre formal earnings. However, despite strides made to make this avenue worthwhile, this Zimbabwean study shows that hidden hindrances still persist from procedural and structural barriers from road entry point management systems. To people with disabilities (PWDs), the impact of these hidden barriers is severe to the extent of obstructing their optimum progression into cross-border entrepreneurship.
This article sought to interrogate some veiled challenges in border management systems affecting PWDs’ quest to venture into cross-border entrepreneurship. This angle has, to this end, been timidly addressed as most organisations and legislation have concentrated on making things work for the majority of the populace.
Qualitative phenomenological method in which researchers’ lived experiences, review of literature, ideas and opinions is complemented by secondary survey data from a road entry point management system study in the Zimbabwean setting.
Cross-border entrepreneurship has potential to transform people’s lives: 1) road and border management systems’ procedural and structural complications present hidden challenges impeding PWDs’ entry and optimum participation in cross border entrepreneurship, 2) people with disabilities are not automatically dependents; in fact, most have dependents looking up to the, 30 social construction of disability persists and must be curbed and 4) there is a need to institute a ‘stakeholders triad approach’.
The existing road entry points’ management systems are not informed by considerations from PWDs, hence the existence of hidden challenges. Cross-border entrepreneurship can open significant livelihood avenues to PWDs. A stakeholders ‘triad-approach’, proposed herein, can solve some of the policy discrepancies as it recommends utilising inputs from PWDs, research and policy-makers.
Small to medium entrepreneurship (SME) is emerging as a viable source of livelihood and large-scale empowerment. In Zimbabwe, the springboard for most entrepreneurs at this level is in the cross-border trading (Muzvidziwa
The approaches in addressing REPMS challenges adopted by countries seem to be ignorant of the impact of the existing REPMS on PWDs. Of late, much effort has been done revamping systems of their weaknesses culminating in adoption of ‘healthy’ infrastructure and procedures in most cases with the intention of improving passage for all. However, despite progress made towards empowerment, the world is leaving some groups behind (Hanass-Hancock et al.
To date, PWDs still face a myriad of prejudices in different commonplace experiences fuelling their exclusion in activities that are of economic value (Jaeger & Bowman
By highlighting the importance and extent of cross-border entrepreneurship in modern day life, this article situates the importance of REPMS into this debate. It brings out issues of hidden disablers as core elements of discussion showing that some hindrances that PWDs are facing are not naturally occurring because of their physical disabilities but they are a result of omissions or commissions in design and implementation of REPMS infrastructure and procedures. A study on various Zimbabwean REPMS brings secondary insights that are used herein to expose those not so obvious border-systems-related challenges affecting the progression of PWDs into cross-border entrepreneurship. Most PWDs are found in developing countries (Quarmby
The study is of importance in aiding the empowerment agenda to enable optimum participation of PWDs in cross-border entrepreneurship. The study brings out findings on existing REPMS to expose the hidden challenges affecting PWD. This study also adds to the body of knowledge of the general structural and procedural hindrances in movement of people across borders and possible ways to alleviate them.
The design used herein combined review of literature and qualitative phenomenological approach in the Zimbabwean REPMS setting. Crucial to this research is the researchers’ lived experiences in which one of the researchers is a person with disability and PWDs empowerment activist. This brought in the aspect of qualitative phenomenology to this study. Phenomenological study is one that capitalises on lived experiences (Hosken
These borders were picked at random after first stratifying the 16 border points on Zimbabwe’s territorial lines by their geographical location. Each of the four locations thus contributed one border to the study.
Ethical approval to conduct the study was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (ethical clearance number: HSS/1165/015D).
Although the main thrust of this article revolves around REPMS and entrepreneurship, this part tackles the concept of disability. This lays the foundation into rationalising this whole article by attempting to answer a number of sub-questions, such as:
What informs policy makers to make some decisions without considering PWDs’ plight?
What causes society to offer mere sympathy rather than empowerment to PWDs?
Are all PWDs dependents?
How do social labels impede empowerment of PWDs?
There is popular perception that PWDs are dependents (Barnes
Day to day expenses associated with human needs.
Human needs | Functions related to the need | Associated basic activities and expenses |
---|---|---|
Physiological needs | Air, water, food, clothing and shelter | Utility bills, food and clothing, rentals and accommodation |
Safety needs | Personal security, financial security, health and well-being security, safety security, etc. | Home security systems, medical insurance payments, financial investments, etc. |
Social belonging | Friendship, intimacy, family, etc. | Social club fees, etc. |
Esteem | Those that eliminate inferiority by giving the sense of contribution | |
Self-actualisation | Getting to being the best of one’s potential | Children’s school and other fees |
Self-transcendence | Altruism and spirituality | Tithes and other offerings as stipulated in various religions |
To be able to meet these daily financial demands and more, PWDs must be empowered to fend for themselves in their conditions. This means alleviating the barriers to their participation in available opportunities. United Nations (
An evolving concept and that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society of equal basis with others. (p. 1)
This means one’s abilities are reinforced or limited by the attitudes that a community holds and the conditions that the environment offers. A community with retrogressive attitudes can push someone’s abilities down whilst a progressive community can avert the loss of abilities. The same applies to the environment – the availability of an enabling environment can go a long way in curtailing what one can and cannot do. The issue of the ‘dependents’ tag is also linked to these attitudinal barriers. The ‘dependents’ tag, indicated above, comes with several consequences. It affects PWDs’ psychological disposition as biological factors and social factors interact in creation of a disability (Wendel
Finally, the ‘dependents’ tag leads to the creation of several hidden hindrances as policy makers fail to prioritise the plight of PWDs in their planning because once PWDs are classified as having little value then very little will be done to provide them equal access (Jaeger & Bowman
Although PWDs fall into all those groups, they should have been afforded their own category as initiatives in the said groups will not necessarily address their plight. Such prejudices reduce their levels of access in society (Jaeger & Bowman
However, the removal of the ‘dependents’ tag does not come through rhetoric. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Optional Protocol covers everything from their rights through to empowerment issues. For them to be able to fully enjoy their rights, there is a need for awareness and provisions of empowering strategies. Empowerment comes through provision of enablers to ensure the independence of PWDs. One such, as listed in the convention is entrepreneurship. The world over, entrepreneurship has emerged as a viable source of livelihood (Tawodzerwa & Chikanda
Cross border trading is changing people’s lives for the better (ESCAP
Cross-border entrepreneurship and any other informal entrepreneurship in general, is less capital intensive and normally start informally (Marunda & Marunda
There are no deterrent educational qualifications requirements for entry. Some survey respondents indicated having only elementary education (Zimano
There are public and private bodies assisting those venturing in cross-border entrepreneurship. In Zimbabwe, several opportunities are availed through the Ministry of Small to Medium Enterprises and Cooperatives Development. This was established in 2002, as the then Ministry of Small to Medium Enterprises showed the government’s realisation of the sector’s growing importance (Chivasa
Although self-employment is categorised as vulnerable employment by the United Nations (
Cross-border entrepreneurship can be one’s form of employment from early adulthood years up until later years of life. Survey respondents median age was 31 years (inter quartile range was 19 to 60 years) (Zimano
There is a ready market for cross-border entrepreneurs’ goods and skills (Titeca & Kumanuka
The cross-border entrepreneurship provides supplementary income for enterprising formally employed individuals. This is because of the flexibility it offers in terms of working hours. Some people in formal employment travel to neighbouring countries over the weekend to get stock. They then go by ‘handbag’ retailing in which they move around with small wares for sell at their workplace, in their neighbourhoods and places of worship. As such, even PWDs need to go an extra mile even in cases where they get social security grants from governments. These grants are usually insufficient to meet all their basic needs (Ned & Lorenzo
To this end, it is clear that cross-border entrepreneurship is less capital intensive, open even to people with lower qualifications, provides supplementary income for families and exposes players to new markets and knowledge amongst several other advantages. These advantages are most likely the rationale behind calls to help PWDs to venture into entrepreneurship enshrined in Article 27(f) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Optional Protocol as it talks about the promotion of self-employment opportunities, entrepreneurship, venturing into businesses and cooperatives development (United Nations
The challenges faced by people in cross-border movement of goods and trade are either tariff barriers (TBs) or non-tariff barriers (NTBs). Tariff barriers are wide and varied taxes imposed on imports in order to protect local industries by making imports more expensive than domestic products (Farlex Financial Dictionary
However, even though TBs create hindrances for cross-border SMEs because of their feeble financial muscle and meagre technical know-how, this article is not to prioritise TBs issues. This is because TBs do not selectively affect people because of their physical abilities. The thinking is that anyone with the financial strength (through self-financing or loans) and technical knowhow (personal or through consultations) can properly register a company and competitively operate above board regardless of being with or without disabilities. As such, the focus from now will be on NTBs. These have a selective impact on people depending on one’s physical abilities. Non-tariff barriers, unlike TBs, are usually difficult to quantify or measure and are often hidden (Manzella
Non-tariff barriers are factors, besides taxes, that impede the flow of trade (Xiong
There are two types of REPMS in SADC: the one-stop-border-post (OSBP) and the two-stop-border-post (TSBP). The OSBP system is in use at Chirundu – the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe (Kassee
Procedural NTBs relate to the way things are done. On the other hand, infrastructural NTBs pertain to the hindrances from interaction with the hard and soft components of the entry point. Infrastructure in place contributes to the experience of living with disability (Swartz & Scheider
Procedural and infrastructural non-tariff barriers on entry points.
OSBP | TSBP |
---|---|
Law manpower Absence of sound legal framework Absence of strong commitment to ethical practices and insincerity towards harmonisation Inadequate skilled manpower with border management skills |
Less interaction amongst agencies Border efficiency management skills not implemented Procedures not streamlined Absence of clear objectives on ICTs usage to ensure optimum use Entry points working less than 24 h a day Limited use of sound support structures like the cargo pre-clearance systems Lack of enough border management skills |
Incompatibility of systems and absence of systems interface Hard infrastructure not informed by soft infrastructure OSBP not implemented at most border posts Network system not allowing interconnectivity and systems lacking interface OSBP not existing in a series along the whole corridor |
Absence of single window system Poor road networks around the border areas Absence of physical structure to separate outward bound from inward bound traffic to avoid mixing Systems not fully automated |
ICT, information and communication technology; NTBs, non-tariff barriers; OSBP, one-stop-border-post; TSBP, two-stop-border-post.
Non-tariff barriers listed above affect all entry point users; living with disability or not. Some of the NTBs result in unprecedented clearance delays. This comes with its associated vices like loss of goods, physical body strain leading to fatigue and corruption as people try to use unorthodox means to hasten their clearance amongst several other challenges. However, over and above this, by their negative impact, the NTBs create hidden disablers for PWDs. Most of these issues are consistent with those highlighted under ‘accessibility’ issues; Article 9, in the
Accessibility issues entail the rights to equal participation in ways free of mental or physical constraints (Jaeger & Bowman
The procedural NTBs listed above culminate in delays. Firstly, there is the issue of multiplicity of players and duplication at the entry points. According to Widdowson and Holloway (
Contemporary border management reflects a complex interplay between a variety of actors in international trade, both across government through its public sector agencies and between government and the private sector. (p. 95)
Various ministries are involved in REPMS operations, including those involved in revenue collection, animal and plant quarantine, transportation and vehicle inspections, immigration and security (Zimano
There is evidence that the employees manning borders in different departments lack or choose not to implement contemporary border efficiency management skills (Zimano
Another procedural NTB listed is that all but one, Beitbridge, entry points do not operate 24 h. The relatively busy entry points like Plumtree and Chirundu only get seasonal waivers to operate 24 h. With the absence of proper holding areas, such operational hours present challenges to PWDS especially those with the albinism condition. Albinism is an inherited condition in which ones’ system does not produce melanin thus becoming prone to sunburns and subsequently skin cancers (eds. Parker & Parker
Zimbabwe’s climatic regions 4 and 5 receive annual rainfall below 600 mm and are characterised with severe dry spells (USDA
The low performance and utilisation of information and communication technology (ICTs) also present infrastructural NTBs on entry points. Embracing the e-business models, as well as putting measures in place to ensure that the ports operate effectively can lead to effective trade performance in the SADC region (Makochekanwa
However, there is evidence that systems lack compatibility, network systems do not allow total interconnectivity, the systems are not fully automated whilst systems also lack interface (Zimano
The proper use of signs, symbols and verbal cues at entry points is very limited. These researchers made a random check of the signage at entry points to great disappointment and confirmed Munyanyi’s (
Considering that an entry point is a meeting point for several people using several vernacular languages, the visually impaired person will have to go an extra mile to find those who speak their local language. Given the ever increasing undisputed importance of information, there is a need to ensure access for PWDs (Jaeger & Bowman
Another infrastructural challenge is that there is only one entry point under the OSBP system. The existence of only one OSBP in the SADC region leads to discordances in the flow of people’s movement. The OSBP system at Chirundu ensures fast clearance for travellers (WTO
Directly related to the efficiency of the operations at the entry points is the state of the road networks leading to the border points. Zimbabwe has a poor road network riddled by potholes and narrow sections. This makes travelling by road very uncomfortable for all and sundry. According to Watermeyer (
The challenges faced by PWDs because of REPMS presented in the theory and literature findings section are merely an eye opener.
The centrality of the problem is that it is ‘very hard to understand disability if one has neither experienced a disability nor been close to someone else who has a disability’ (Jaeger & Bowman
Stakeholders’ triad in the removal of road entry point management systems hidden disablers.
Having brought out all the stakeholders’ place, a lot of initiatives will be proposed. In line with the barriers discussed in this article, the following interventions, summarised in
Interventions to alleviate hidden disablers.
REPMS Identified challenges | Intervention | Impact to PWDs |
---|---|---|
Systems not fully automated Network system not allowing interconnectivity and systems lacking interface |
Fully embrace ICT to enhance smooth flow of information in various media forms | Remove communication breakdown challenges |
Absence of single window system Limited use of sound support structures like the cargo pre-clearance systems Procedures not streamlined |
Harmonise systems and streamline procedures | Reduced mobility challenges as players will be housed under one roof |
Entry points working less than 24 h a day |
Introduce longer opening hours preferably 24 h |
Reduced exposure to harsh weather conditions |
Poor road networks |
Road rehabilitation | Reduced back pain and strenuous travelling experiences |
Lack of enough border management skills Absence of strong commitment to ethical practices and insincerity towards harmonisation Inadequate skilled manpower with border management skills |
Enforce the training and implementation of BEMS and increase manpower | Improved border-environment culture allows all to access services effectively |
BEMS, border efficiency management skills; ICT, information and communication technology; PWDs, people with disabilities; REPMS, road entry point management systems.
As presented in
This study is confined to experiences at Zimbabwean entry points. As such, experiences reported herein may be more pronounced or reduced because of other factors such as cultural and economic factors that are purely Zimbabwean. For future researchers, the use of entry points from other countries to bring comparative experiences can be useful to bring more insights on how other countries’ systems are enabling or disabling PWDs’ optimum participation in cross border entrepreneurship.
This article has discussed hidden factors in border management systems affecting PWDs in their quest to venture into cross-border entrepreneurship. This angle has, to this end, been timidly addressed as most organisations and legislation have concentrated on making things work for the majority of the populace. People with disabilities have been, to date, widely viewed as dependents. The assumption being that empowering the able-bodied inadvertently caters for PWDs as the able would take care of PWDs. However, evidence has shown that this has culminated in the social construction of exclusion that disempowers PWDs. In this article, it has been argued that most PWDs are not dependents; in fact, most have dependents under their care. It has also been shown that cross-border entrepreneurship by road is a source of livelihood in Zimbabwe. This situated REPMS infrastructure and procedures in the debate showing how they can be a source of empowerment if properly constructed and implemented. On the other hand, this article has shown how the REPMS can result in some hidden hindrances impeding the active and productive participation of PWDs in the field of cross-border entrepreneurship if improperly constructed, maintained and managed.
What is required is to draw policy makers’ and PWDs’ attention to these pertinent issues in REPMS. It is the duty of all to see to it that PWDs get out of the ‘dependents’ brackets and go out to see how they can fit into the emerging empowerment frameworks. In so doing, they will add their voices based on practical experiences to issues raised in this article on the best way the existing REPMS can be dealt with to eliminate the hidden challenges. The policy makers must embrace these and more ideas to ensure that the total empowerment of PWDs and their participation in society becomes a reality. The creation of a working triad for key stakeholders will help bring together the lived experiences, the research findings and analysis, and the political will necessary for the comprehensive addressing of challenges in REPMS. Governments must take it upon themselves to deliberately speed up initiatives such as harmonisation, streamlining of procedures, implementation of BEMS, provision of friendly holding halls at entry points, utilisation of ICT products and rehabilitation of road networks amongst other things for the good of all and the direct empowerment of PWDs. These initiatives directly remove challenges linked to communication, mobility, strenuous travelling conditions and extreme weather conditions’ impact on skin, and travellers’ security amongst other things which emerge as imperceptible obstructions because of procedural and infrastructural commissions or omissions. Above all, the earlier all the stakeholders take these issues seriously, the earlier the arguments presented herein will make sense to all and the earlier their issues will be prioritised in mainstream policy considerations.
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
F.R.Z. researched entry points at the doctoral level under F.R.’s supervision. This brought insights into operations of road entry point management systems. A.C. provided key insights into the experiences of PWD from lived experiences. K.M., an educationist, provided key insights into the social construction theory. All authors then put equal contributions into data analysis, drafting and coming up with the full article. F.R.Z. took care of the rest of the draft consolidation.
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the authors.
Malaitsha/Magumhagumha are vernacular words used loosely to refer to people who do the informal facilitating and courier in cross border trade.