Challenges and Complexities of the South African Economy

2021 ◽  
pp. 2-25
Author(s):  
Fiona Tregenna ◽  
Arabo K. Ewinyu ◽  
Arkebe Oqubay ◽  
Imraan Valodia
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Data ◽  
Growth Path ◽  
The South ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
Key Characteristics

This chapter discusses the key characteristics and core challenges of the South African economy in the post-apartheid era. South Africa shares some commonalities with other African and middle-income economies, yet has a unique history and some distinctive economic features. South Africa’s economic complexities and challenges are discussed here with reference to six comparator countries. We examine South Africa’s growth path, considering the low rates of economic growth as well as the lack of structural transformation and the unsustainable and non-inclusive nature of this growth. The ‘triple challenges’ of poverty, inequality, and employment are both a manifestation of the nature of this growth path and a constraint on overall growth. This is also briefly evaluated in the context of the political economy and policy context of growth and development in South Africa. The chapter reviews South African economic data, with a focus on microeconomic survey data.

Ethnic Factors in the Evolution of the South African Military

1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 21-28
Author(s):  
Cynthia H. Enloe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Institution ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Ethnic Factors ◽  
The Military

Virtually all of the literature concerning the politics of South Africa analyzes the dynamics of that system within the frameworks of racism, authoritarianism, and repression. Yet, strangely, the political institution which is necessarily the bulwark of such a system—the military—has attracted scant attention except in terms of strategy and armaments.

The Oxford Handbook of the South African Economy

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
The South ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Strategic Issues ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Depth Analysis

While South Africa shares some characteristics with other middle-income countries, it has a unique economic history with distinctive characteristics. South Africa is an economic powerhouse with a significant role not only at the southern African regional and continental levels, but also as a member of BRICS. However, the country faces profound developmental challenges, including the ‘triple challenges’ of poverty, inequality and unemployment. There has been a lack of structural transformation and weak economic growth. Ongoing debates around economic policies to address these challenges need to be based on rigorous and robust empirical evidence and in-depth analysis of South African economic issues. This necessitates wide-ranging research, such as that brought together in this handbook. This volume intends to provide original, comprehensive, detailed, state-of-the-art analytical perspectives, that contribute to knowledge while also contributing to well-informed and productive discourse on the South African economy. While concentrating on the more recent economic challenges facing the country, the handbook also provides historical and political context, an in-depth examination of strategic issues in the various critical economic sectors, and assembles diverse analytical perspectives and arguments that have implications for policymaking.

From Pigmentocracy to Representocracy

2018 ◽  
pp. 203-260
Author(s):  
Vineet Thakur
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
Institutional Structures

This chapter traces the post-apartheid transformation of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in South Africa. It argues that in the first decade of transition, the Department remained preoccupied with the process of internal restructuring, which was successfully achieved. This caused structural pains as many of the old white diplomats left the service, robbing the Department of crucial expertise. In these years, the political leadership played a stronger role in the South African foreign policymaking. While Mandela’s foreign policy formulation was ad-hocist, Mbeki relied on institutional structures. However, rather than emphasizing on strengthening the DFA, he created new institutional structures under his integrated governance scheme which, ironically, further centralised foreign policymaking. Consequently, the DFA was further marginalized.

A Case for a Transforming Christology in South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 310-326
Author(s):  
Jakobus (Koos) M. Vorster
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
African Literature ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
South African Literature ◽  
Lost In Translation

Abstract In the South African discourse on the political relevance of Jesus Christ, a vast array of conceptions of Jesus emerged over the years of the struggle, the liberation, the quest for spirituality and the theology of reconstruction. This discourse has taken place within the framework of the two broad historical movements of a “high” and a “low” Christology. In a recent thought provoking and informative article Mouton & Smit investigated four of the dominant discourses on Jesus in contemporary South Africa.1 They surveyed the discussions of Jesus in the popular news and newspaper debates, academic circles and scholarship, the worship and spirituality of congregations and believers, and public opinion about social and political life. After reviewing a huge corpus of South African literature on concepts of Jesus they ask the question whether Jesus was lost in translation in the South Africa of recent times. This article is an attempt to take the argument further. First of all, the investigation will provide another outline of the Christologies in the recent South African discourse within the broad framework of a “high” and a “low” Christology. The concepts under consideration are the spiritual Jesus, the political Jesus and the historical Jesus. Then a case will be made for the transforming Jesus of the Kingdom of God as a corrective on the Christologies of Apartheid, the liberation struggle and the modern-day post-modern projections of the historical Jesus.

The 1952 Jan Van Riebeeck Tercentenary Festival: Constructing and Contesting Public National History in South Africa

1993 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ciraj Rassool ◽  
Leslie Witz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Public History ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
National History ◽  
Political Project ◽  
The 1950S

For all approaches to the South African past the icon of Jan Van Riebeeck looms large. Perspectives supportive of the political project of white domination created and perpetuate the icon as the bearer of civilization to the sub-continent and its source of history. Opponents of racial oppression have portrayed Van Riebeeck as public (history) enemy number one of the South African national past. Van Riebeeck remains the figure around which South Africa's history is made and contested.But this has not always been the case. Indeed up until the 1950s, Van Riebeeck appeared only in passing in school history texts, and the day of his landing at the Cape was barely commemorated. From the 1950s, however, Van Riebeeck acquired centre stage in South Africa's public history. This was not the result of an Afrikaner Nationalist conspiracy but arose out of an attempt to create a settler nationalist ideology. The means to achieve this was a massive celebration throughout the country of the 300th anniversary of Van Riebeeck's landing. Here was an attempt to display the growing power of the apartheid state and to assert its confidence.A large festival fair and imaginative historical pageants were pivotal events in establishing the paradigm of a national history and constituting its key elements. The political project of the apartheid state was justified in the festival fair through the juxtaposition of ‘civilization’ and economic progress with ‘primitiveness’ and social ‘backwardness’. The historical pageant in the streets of Cape Town presented a version of South Africa's past that legitimated settler rule.Just as the Van Riebeeck tercentenary afforded the white ruling bloc an opportunity to construct an ideological hegemony, it was grasped by the Non-European Unity Movement and the African National Congress to launch political campaigns. Through the public mediums of the resistance press and the mass meeting these organizations presented a counter-history of South Africa. These oppositional forms were an integral part of the making of the festival and the Van Riebeeck icon. In the conflict which played itself out in 1952 there was a remarkable consensus about the meaning of Van Riebeeck's landing in 1652. The narrative constructed, both by those seeking to establish apartheid and those who sought to challenge it, represented Van Riebeeck as the spirit of apartheid and the originator of white domination. The ideological frenzy in the centre of Cape Town in 1952 resurrected Van Riebeeck from obscurity and historical amnesia to become the lead actor on South Africa's public history stage.

scholarly journals The Corona Virus and Migration Governance in South Africa: Business As Usual?

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franzisca Luise Zanker ◽  
Khangelani Moyo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Border Fence ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Business As Usual

The South African response in dealing with the Corona pandemic needs to speak to the realities of all people living in the country, including migrant and refugee communities. Reflecting on this in light of ongoing research on the political stakes of migration governance, we find that the virus response shows little change in the government agenda when it comes to dealing with refugees and other migrants. Veritably, we see that the pandemic may even be an excuse for pushing through already-aspired to policies. This includes the securitised agenda behind the sudden building of a border fence to close off Zimbabwe and the xenophobic-rhetorical clout behind the lockdown rules about which shops are allowed to remain open. The temporary stay on renewing asylum seekers permits counts as a perfunctory exception. We show that each of these developments very much play into politics as usual.

scholarly journals Industry strategies in the parliamentary process of adopting a sugar-sweetened beverage tax in South Africa: a systematic mapping

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Safura Abdool Karim ◽  
Petronell Kruger ◽  
Karen Hofman
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
The South ◽  
African Region ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Industry Response

Abstract Background In 2016, the South African government became the first in the African region to announce the introduction of an SSB tax based on sugar content as a public health measure to reduce obesity. This tax was introduced against the backdrop of South Africa having a large sugar production and SSB manufacturing industry, as well as very high unemployment rates. The introduction of fiscal measures, such as a SSB tax, has been met with well-coordinated and funded opposition in other countries. Methods The aim of this study is to describe and analyse the arguments and strategies utilised by industry during policymaking processes to oppose regulatory actions in LMIC. This study analyses arguments and strategies used by the beverage and related industries during the public consultation phase of the process to adopt the South African SSB tax. Results Industry opposition to the SSB tax was comprehensive and employed several tactics. First, industry underscored its economic importance and the potential job losses and other economic harms that may arise from the tax. This argument was well-received by policymakers, and similar to industry tactics employed in other middle income countries like Mexico. Second, industry discussed self-regulation and voluntary measures as a form of policy substitution, which mirrors industry responses in the US, the Caribbean and Latin America. Third, industry misused or disputed evidence to undermine the perceived efficacy of the tax. Finally, considerations for small business and their ability to compete with multi-national corporations were a unique feature of industry response. Conclusions Industry opposition followed both general trends, and also introduced nuanced and context-specific arguments. The industry response experienced in South Africa can be instructive for other countries contemplating the introduction of similar measures.

Ethnic Factors in the Evolution of the South African Military

1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 21-28
Author(s):  
Cynthia H. Enloe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Institution ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Ethnic Factors ◽  
The Military

Virtually all of the literature concerning the politics of South Africa analyzes the dynamics of that system within the frameworks of racism, authoritarianism, and repression. Yet, strangely, the political institution which is necessarily the bulwark of such a system—the military—has attracted scant attention except in terms of strategy and armaments.

The South African Women’s Theological Project: Practices of Solidarity and Degrees of Separation in the Context of the HIV Epidemic

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 2-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley Haddad
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
African Women ◽  
The Political ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
The South ◽  
Hiv Epidemic

Abstract It has previously been argued that the HIV epidemic is the new kairos in South Africa. The Circle of African Women Theologians has been at the forefront of theologising this crisis, particularly as it affects women. This article seeks to analyse the HIV work of six South African Circle writers namely, Denise Ackermann, Christina Landman, Madipoane Masenya, Sarojini Nadar, Miranda Pillay and Beverley Haddad. The focus of this analysis revolves around the “degrees of separation and practices of solidarity” inherent in their work. The first part of the article deals with each theologian in turn. It then identifies common threads and differences in their work employing the methodological framework of African women’s theology as outlined by Sarojini Nadar and Isabel Phiri. The article concludes with a discussion of the particularities of the South African women’s theological project and argues that the work of these six women does not deal sufficiently with “difference” or “solidarity” thus limiting their influence on the political HIV project.

scholarly journals Is Law Enforcement in South Africa Losing the Fight Against Commercial Crime?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Budhram ◽  
Nicolaas Geldenhuys
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
South African ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Detection Rate ◽  
The South ◽  
Official Statistics ◽  
Police Service ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
South African Police

The South African Police Service (SAPS) is finding it increasingly difficult to protect victims from the scourge of commercial crime which threatens the economy, corrodes scarce and valuable resources, and inhibits growth and development. Official statistics from the SAPS show that the annual detection rate in respect of reported fraud cases was 35.77% in 2014/15 and 34.08% in 2015/16. Although the detection rate for serious commercial crime for 2014/15 is reported as 94.8% and 96.75% for 2015/16, it is likely that these figures are inaccurate and in reality are much lower. This article provides an overview of the incidence of commercial crime, assesses the detection rate reported by the SAPS and seeks to determine whether they are losing the fight against these crimes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document