Critical aspects regarding the legal regulation of the informal sector

Abstract

Given the future importance of the informal sector in Africa, this paper discusses the interaction between law and the informal sector in Kenya. It highlights seven areas which need legal reform: the role of law in defining the informal sector; the question of expansion of the availability of business premises to the informal sector in view of the general shortage of business premises; the legal protection of informal sector employees; the informal sector participants' inability to mobilize collateral for credit acquisition; the role of the Kenya Bureau of Standards in ensuring the quality and competitiveness of informal sector products; the protection of innovations and inventions in the informal sector; and the availability of special tax breaks and other incentives to the informal sector. The legal reforms the author proposes may equally apply to other African countries