1.2 BACKGROUND

The architectural space that accommodates the marketplace programmes for the stakeholders is customized to suit their potential investment opportunities. The marketplace, in the no man’s-land, has lucrative opportunities that can boost the economies. No man’s land has no rules which limit the trading opportunity. The construction method of using the rammed earth, sun-baked earth bricks, and rocks, the material that was dug on-site, minimises the construction costs and enhance community participation. As well as to resolve other specific issues listed below: • To link split communities • To create a drifter’s practical central realm • To fully develop underutilised programme opportunities within the context • To propose shelter with the economic programme that will inspire and efficiently empower the local ordinary people

1.2 BACKGROUND

There are historic African trade centres that existed in Africa before colonisation. These trade centres include the Egyptian Pyramids, Mapungubwe, and Great Zimbabwe, among other market centres. These trade centres’ architecture shows significant influences from its geographical locations' cultural patterns, beliefs, and physical features. People used to travel across the continent and traded freely without conditions and system hindrances. In 1884 the conference held in Berlin authorised the colonisation of Africa by western countries. The Berlin conference led to the introduction of goods and human border control systems. The introduction of national boundaries without the consent of the African people negatively changed the livelihood of Africans. Ethnic groups were split by national boundaries, affecting culture and trading amongst various tribes. The mission of the Berlin conference was to ensure that each European country that claimed possession over a part of Africa must bring civilisation, in the form of Christianity, and trade to each region that it would occupy.

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Figure 3 Interrupted ethnic homelands (Michalopoulos and Papaioannou, 2017)

The partitioning of Africa came with systems that favoured the Settler' agendas in Africa only, and these were directly imposed on the natives forcefully and ignored their trading systems (Mensah, 2015). The specific ports of exit and entry are located on the national boundary with control procedures on these borders. Markets and trading patterns amongst these people changed with the control measures at the port of entry monitoring the movements of goods and people. The two-control system introduced is Customs to control the movement of goods and Immigration to control the movement of people. The customs duty fee is now paid at the borders to discourage markets from the other national boundaries and local markets ethnic homelands. Immigration introduced visas issued to people crossing the border at a fee that makes people pay to get permission to go across and work and the days allocated on the visa for the person to stay on the other side of the boundary per visit. They are an annually limited number of days a person can stay on the other side of the boundary. People crossing the Beitbridge have the number of visit days detected by the officials that is unfair to the travelers as this affects their plans. Some visa applications can take a maximum of 8 months to be approved, which is an inconvenience.

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