Push and Pull Factors for the Commercialisation of Street Begging in Kampala City: A Case Study of Central Division.

Abstract

WANDERA STEPHEN (2011-M092-20051) Push and Pull Factors for the Commercialisation of Street Begging in Kampala City: A Case Study of Central Division. Commercialisation of street begging has become one of the social menaces in Kampala City Central Division due to its consequences such as child abuse and night robbery. Despite these consequences, little effort has been undertaken to study the causes of proliferating rates of this practice. This study, therefore, set out to examine factors influencing the commercialisation of street begging in Uganda taking Kampala City Central Division as a case study. The specific objectives of the study were to identify the push factors that influence the commercialisation of street begging, to identify pull factors that influence the commercialisation of street begging, and to identify the challenges faced by street beggars on streets of Kampala City Central Division. The study adopted a descriptive case study design basically qualitative in approach to study a sample of 98 respondents. Data were collected using interviews, observation and self-administered questionnaires. These participants were selected using convenient sampling technique with the exception of key informants from government ministries and institutions who were purposively selected. Findings identified a range of push and pull factors that influence the commercialisation of street begging in Kampala City Central Division. The factors basically included wars, land conflicts, and domestic problems on the push factors‟ side, and high income expectations, social amenities and peer pressure on the pull factors‟ side. It was further established that street beggars face a lot of challenges on the streets and these basically included lack of basic necessities of life such as food, clothing, shelter, and security. It was concluded that the factors influencing the commercialisation of street begging in Kampala City Central Division were multidimensional, hence it is recommended that a multidimensional approach to tackling the problem of street begging would be ideal. Key Words: Push, Pull, Factors, Commercialisation, Street Begging, Kampala City.