Deproletarianization in the Peri-Urban Interface: Transforming Labor Relations in Polokwane, South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 44-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Smith
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Labor Relations ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Unemployment Rates ◽  
High Unemployment ◽  
Surplus Labor ◽  
Job Opportunities ◽  
Persistent Unemployment

High unemployment rates and the search for job opportunities are defining characteristics of the modern day South African economy. As apartheid era labor and land controls continue to break down, many households find themselves searching for work in an economy characterized by surplus labor. Examining high unemployment rates through the theoretical lens of deproletarianization provides an explanation of persistent unemployment and poverty more complex and complete than others. Research conducted in Polokwane, South Africa demonstrates increasing peri-urbanization as a physical manifestation of these changing labor relations. 1In an era dominated by global capitalism, theoretical engagements help explain household poverty, the failure of South Africa's economy to absorb excess labor, and how persistent unemployment contributes to a recon-figuration of space in South Africa's urban and peri-urban areas. The research team used a combination of qualitative semi-structured interviews and quantitative surveys to gain insight into household livelihoods and individual experiences. The deproletarianization argument applied here asserts that labor has become unfree in South Africa and represents a new form of labor discipline. Through the deproletarianization thesis, the labor market can be better understood to inform future unemployment and poverty research in South Africa.

scholarly journals “For better or worse”? A frame analysis of BRICS activities by digital journalists in South Africa

Lumina ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-19
Author(s):  
Tshuma Lungile Augustine
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
South African ◽  
Frame Analysis ◽  
Constant Power ◽  
Good Opportunity ◽  
Unemployment Rates ◽  
High Unemployment ◽  
Trade Relations ◽  
News Websites

This paper seeks to examine the discourse on BRICS that are framed by digital journalists in South Africa. South Africa has been going through an uneasy economic path characterised by high unemployment rates, constant power cuts, and their economy relegated into a ‘junk status’. Against this background, BRICS presents a good opportunity for the country to negotiate and address some of its challenges/problems with other economic super-powers within the economic block. This paper comes against a background of silent research on BRICS yet the block has developed into an economic hub which other developing countries benefiting from it for the development of their economies. I therefore argue that South African digital journalists from the country’s leading news websites, News24 and Daily Maverick, are framing BRICS in a manner in which it reflects the socio-economic and political problems affecting the country.  Hence, the study had sought to find out the images of BRICS among the journalist and also information, events, and activities that are being prioritized in reference to South Africa’s challenges. Findings have shown that BRICS is benefiting South Africa. The benefit is seen through trade relations that are framed as having been improved while there are also other potential areas of cooperation that should be utilised.

scholarly journals The transition to general management in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Mallaby ◽  
Gavin Price ◽  
Karl Hofmeyr
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
General Manager ◽  
General Management ◽  
General Managers ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Effective Development ◽  
The Right

Orientation: Understanding the nature and challenges of making the transition from a functional role to a general management role in South African organisations.Research purpose: The objective of this study was to gain insight into the obstacles that affect the transition from functional to general management and identify steps that may be taken to overcome these challenges.Motivation for the study: One of the most difficult crossroads for a manager is making the shift from being a functional specialist to becoming a general manager. New competencies and behaviours are required, as well as a more strategic mind set. If the transition is not made successfully, the manager and the organisation suffer.Research design, approach and method: A qualitative design was used consisting of in-depth, semi-structured interviews, with 19 senior business leaders who had successfully made the transition. The interviews were used to gather insights into the challenges they faced during their transitions, and how these were overcome.Main findings: To make the transition successfully, functional managers need to gain relevant experience to prepare them for the broader scope of a general management role. They need to develop appropriate skills, attitudes and personal characteristics. Mentoring is an effective development process. Newly appointed general managers need to learn to let go of control while maintaining ownership, build relationships and strike the right balance between strategic thinking and execution. There are unique aspects of being a general manager in South Africa, such as dealing with Black Economic Empowerment and challenges of race and identity, given the country’s history.Practical and managerial implications: Specific interventions are suggested which are directed at both aspiring general managers and organisations seeking to assist middle managers to make the transition to general managers.Contribution: This study contributes to knowledge concerning the skills and attributes required by potential general managers, and the practical steps to be taken by South African organisations to facilitate the development of general managers. 

Risk management factors contributing to transgressions in the procurement practices in South African SOEs

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindani Myeza ◽  
Naledi Nkhi ◽  
Warren Maroun
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
African State ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Executive Level

PurposeThe study aims to deepen the understanding of why risk management principles are circumvented, thereby contributing to transgressions in public procurement for South African state-owned enterprises (SOEs). A deeper understanding of why risk management principles are circumvented is especially important in South Africa, given the high social, economic and environmental risks to which national and major SOEs are exposed in the procurement process.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a qualitative design, based on detailed semi-structured interviews with 19 participants comprising management advisors, forensic investigators and auditors to explore why risk management principles are circumvented by South Africa SOEs.FindingsThe results of the study indicate that the tone that is set at political and executive level plays an important role in determining compliance with risk management principles by lower-level staff. Intense levels of political influence at SOEs are the main reason behind risk management systems being undermined.Originality/valueThe current study is one of the first explorations of why transgressions in public procurement continue to be evident despite risk management reforms being adopted by South Africa public sector. The research responds to the call for more studies on why reforms in South Africa public sector are not reducing transgression in public procurement. The study provides primary evidence on the importance of political and executive leadership in influencing the effectiveness of risk management reforms in the public sector.

scholarly journals Reimaging Public-Private Partnership Model as Hybrid: South Africa Viewpoint

2021 ◽  
pp. 1087724X2110466
Author(s):  
Alinaswe Sinkala ◽  
Edward Ochieng ◽  
Diana Ominde ◽  
Tarila Zuofa ◽  
Sulafa Badi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Public Private Partnership ◽  
Project Delivery ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Private Partnership ◽  
Partnership Model ◽  
Infrastructure Project ◽  
Delivery Models

As significant increases in the financing of infrastructure and other resources will still be required to bridge the current infrastructure gap experienced globally, alternatives to the standard PPP infrastructure project delivery models are constantly appraised in several nations. This research examined the viability of reframing Public Private Partnership (PPP) frameworks as hybrid PPP alliances (HPPPA), which would enhance current PPP practices and enable practitioners in South Africa to deliver PPP infrastructure projects more efficiently. The research adopted a two-pronged qualitative data collection approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews as well as case studies to obtain empirical evidence that was compared to secondary data on how PPP practices in South Africa can be enhanced. The research established that while the South African PPP legislations was adjudged as being suitable, the delivery framework was found to be highly costly and comprised of long approval processes.

Youth high unemployment/unemployability in South Africa: the unemployed graduates' perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zethembe Mseleku
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cooperative Effort ◽  
Content Type ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
Skills Mismatch ◽  
Graduate Unemployment

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore youth graduate unemployment and unemployability as a development problem in South Africa.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory study applied a qualitative research method to elicit the perspectives of youth graduates regarding their unemployment and unemployability. A total of 30 face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with unemployed youth who recently graduated from five South African universities.FindingsThe results indicate that, as youth graduate unemployment increases in South Africa, graduates become hopeless in terms of securing employment. The participants attributed their unemployment to multidimensional factors that include limited demand in the labour market, skills mismatch and lack of work experience.Research limitations/implicationsThis research exclusively focused on graduates from five South African universities; hence, the results of this small qualitative study cannot be generalised to the entire South African population. However, this paper offers important insights that may form the foundation for a nationwide study on a related topic.Originality/valueThis paper presents important insights that influence policy makers, government and other relevant stakeholders to develop alternative solutions to youth graduate unemployment. This paper recommends that government should play a critical role in bridging the gap between higher education and industry in order to address youth graduate unemployment. It also calls for a more cooperative effort between government, higher learning institutions and employers in order to create job opportunities for youth graduates in South Africa.

Bridging the gap between sport science and coaching: A qualitative analysis of perceptions of South African coaches

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-38
Author(s):  
Alliance Kubayi ◽  
Yoga Coopoo ◽  
Abel Toriola
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sport Science ◽  
Wide Gap ◽  
Sport And Recreation ◽  
Sport Coaches ◽  
High Performance Level

There exists a wide gap between coaches’ needs and the information that is being disseminated by sport scientists. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine coaches’ perceptions concerning this bridging the knowledge gap between sport science and coaching in South Africa. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight high-performance sport coaches aged 24 to 42 years (M age = 33.50, SD = 6.44 years). Coaches participated in the study if they met the following selection criteria: (1) coaching a priority sport recommended by Sport and Recreation South Africa and (2) having been in coaching for at least five years at a high-performance level. Following a thematic analysis of the transcripts, the following three broad themes emerged: (1) sources of coaching knowledge, (2) barriers to sport science support, and (3) coaches’ thoughts about knowledge transfer. Recommendations on strategies to close the gap between sport scientists and coaches are provided.

DEATH ‘ON THE MOVE’: FUNERALS, ENTREPRENEURS AND THE RURAL–URBAN NEXUS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Africa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekah Lee
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Funeral Directors ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Cultural Mediators ◽  
The Dead

ABSTRACTThis article primarily concerns the intersection of the changing management of death with the problems and possibilities presented by the growing mobility of the African, and specifically Xhosa-speaking, population in South Africa from the latter half of the twentieth century to the present day. I am interested in how shifts in the practices and beliefs around death are mediated by individuals, households and businesses who have an historical affinity towards movement, particularly across what has been called the ‘rural–urban nexus’. In what ways has this more mobile orientation influenced the perception of rites and responsibilities surrounding death? And how have more mobile ‘ways of dying’ in turn created new subjectivities and new ways in which to imagine relations between the living and the dead? I argue that African funeral directors based in Cape Town and the rural areas of the Eastern Cape – a steadily more numerous and prominent group of entrepreneurs – are well-placed to shape these processes, through their role as cultural mediators and technological innovators, and their particular emphasis on maintaining a flow of bodies (both dead and alive) between rural and urban areas. I focus on two aspects of contemporary South African funerals – embalming and exhumations – that are suggestive of how the migration dynamic, and the continuing demands from mobile mourners for innovations via the funeral industry, have encouraged new perceptions of and relations to the dead body.

Rethinking gifted education in South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-285
Author(s):  
Marietjie Oswald ◽  
Erika Rabie
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
South African ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Gifted Students ◽  
Academic Experiences ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Collective Case Study ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Inclusive Education Policy

In this article, we report the findings of a qualitative, collective case study exploring the academic experiences of six grade 11 gifted students in two schools in diverse socio-economic communities in rural Western South Africa. Gifted students represent an important component of a nation’s intellectual capital. They possess the qualities needed to find innovative solutions for many scientific and social challenges. Despite inclusive education policy initiatives aimed at ensuring quality education for all, the extant research indicates that gifted students from all socio-economic levels and cultures are neglected in South African classrooms. In this study, the voices of the students themselves were analysed. Whilst they are on the receiving end of education policy and teaching initiatives, their contributions are seldom sought. Our data collection methods included multiple measures and six in-depth individual semi-structured interviews as well as a focus group interview with all the subjects. The informal findings showed that academically gifted students from both affluent and disadvantaged backgrounds face similar challenges. They often feel neglected and academically under-stimulated. Recommendations were made to address their needs more appropriately.

scholarly journals Hepatitis B and HIV co-infection in South Africa: Just treat it!

2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia S Firnhaber ◽  
Prue Ive
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Hepatitis B ◽  
Viral Hepatitis ◽  
South African ◽  
Surface Antigen ◽  
Rural Population ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Care Management ◽  
Concomitant Medications ◽  
Serum Aminotransferases

There are an estimated 350 million hepatitis B carriers worldwide. The prevalence of mono-infection with hepatitis B in South Africa has been estimated at approximately 10% for the rural population and 1% in urban areas. The transmission routes of hepatitis B and HIV are similar, but hepatitis B is more efficient. Co-infection with HIV and hepatitis B is therefore not unusual. Recent studies have shown that the prevalence of HIV/HBV co-infection (using HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) as a marker for HBV) in South Africa ranges from 4.8% to 17%, depending on the population studied.The guidelines for the South African HIV Comprehensive Care, Management and Treatment (CCMT) programme do not include viral hepatitis studies. Hepatitis B serology is usually done only if serum aminotransferases are evaluated in the absence of another known cause (e.g. tuberculosis and concomitant medications). The clinical sequelae of HIV/HBV co-infection are multiple and can cause an increase in morbidity and mortality. Awareness of HBV/HIV co-infection with appropriate diagnosis and management is imperative for improved care of our HIV patients.

scholarly journals School financial management: Insights for decision making in public primary schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Adebunmi Yetunde Aina ◽  
Keshni Bipath
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Continuous Training

To realise the ideal of quality inclusive education, proper financial management is vital. Existing literature indicates that the mismanagement of school funds is largely due to principals and the school governing bodies (SGB) in many schools not having good working relationships with stakeholders and lacking the necessary financial skills, more specifically in schools in townships and rural areas. The study we report on in this article investigated the financial management of public primary schools situated in urban areas by adopting a qualitative research approach and employing a multiple case study research design. Five schools participated and data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews with the principal, school accountant and chairperson of the SGB of the selected schools. Findings revealed that, despite the fact that all South African schools are governed and controlled by the South African Schools Act, the financial management of fee-paying schools differs from no-fee schools situated in townships and rural areas. In many schools, the unavailability of the parent members of SGBs and their limited financial skills were barriers to effective financial decisions. Based on these findings, we recommend that the relevant stakeholders involved in school financial management obtain continuous training from the Department of Basic Education, in order to empower and support school governors to effectively carry out their financial functions.

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