scholarly journals The Case of South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 85-110
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Economic System ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Political Struggle ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Ruling Party

Multiple crises have emerged in South Africa in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. General well-being is in severe danger from the immediate effects of the virus and the longer-term impact of hunger due to a growing economic crisis. While the working-class majority struggle, there is a political struggle for political power playing out among factions in the ruling party. These tensions flared up in the wake of President Jacob Zuma’s imprisonment in July 2021, leading to widespread unrest and destruction. These experiences point to a failing economic system that neglected the poor. If this neglect continues, then this unrest may continue. In making this argument, I base my analysis upon the views of political luminaries such as Neville Alexander, Archie Mafeje, and Roger Southall. Their views are linked to the experiences of many South Africans during the pandemic.

scholarly journals The effect of procurement strategies of milling companies on the price of maize

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-157
Author(s):  
Willem Rossouw ◽  
Jacobus Young
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Price Risk ◽  
Direct Impact ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Futures Options ◽  
Price Increases ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Derivative Instruments ◽  
Procurement Strategies ◽  
Price Risk Management

Since ultra-poor South Africans spend up to a fifth of their income on maize alone, the demand for this commodity is price-inelastic, i.e. consumers have no choice but to absorb price increases. As such the success of procurement strategies from milling companies will ultimately have a direct impact on the financial well-being of the poor. Even though derivative instruments are available to use as counter against market fluctuations, the price risk management success of groups with a concern on SAFEX suggests that this is not achieved as yet, ultimately to the detriment of consumers. The view exists that markets are efficient and the return offered by the futures exchange cannot consistently be outperformed. This paper argues the exact opposite, since the use of the proposed futures/options strategies result in returns superior to that of the market.

scholarly journals Giving Effect to Refugee Children’s Fundamental Rights to Life and a Basic Education

Obiter ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Serfontein
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Refugee Children ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Legislative Framework

A gap in research on the violation of the rights of refugee children to well-being and education – both prerequisites for living a good life – has been recognised internationally as well as nationally. This article endeavours to partially fill this gap by (a) presenting a background to the situation of refugees in South Africa in general and refugee children in particular, (b) delineating relevant concepts, (c) explaining the international and national legislative framework applicable to refugee children, (d) clarifying the role of education in the life of refugee children, (e) identifying the various challenges such children present for an inclusive education system, as well as (f) drawing conclusions and making recommendations on overcoming these challenges.South Africa has experienced an overwhelming growth in refugees since its transition to democracy in 1994. In contrast to the 1951 Convention,1 which defines a refugee as someone who is incapable or reluctant to return to their country of origin owing to a justified fear of being oppressed on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, studies found that refugees and their children from the rest of the African continent, as well as from as far afield as China, Bangladesh and Pakistan, mainly flee to this country to escape conditions of poverty, civil discord and even war in search of a better life. Instead of being welcomed, however, refugee children are often met with intimidation, hate, xenophobia, aggressive nationalism, exclusion and discrimination by South Africans on a daily basis.By concentrating on refugee children and probing the results of significant studies indicating the persistent challenges facing the realisation of inclusive education in South Africa, the author advocates a humanitarian approach to refugee children in order to respect their dignity whilst recognising their rights to life and a basic education within the borders of South Africa.

Social Welfare Policy and Living Standards between the Wars

2018 ◽  
pp. 217-259
Author(s):  
George R. Boyer
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Disability Insurance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Social Welfare Policy ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
Social Surveys ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Social

This chapter describes the interwar expansion of social welfare policies and their role in alleviating economic insecurity in an era of unprecedented unemployment. The social security system established before the war and extended in the 1920s consisted of several independently administered programs—unemployment insurance, sickness and disability insurance, old age pensions, widows' and orphans' insurance, and the Poor Law. This safety net of many colors proved to be quite successful in alleviating poverty and maintaining the well-being of working-class households. The important role played by the safety net is clearly shown in the social surveys undertaken in the 1930s—between one-third and one-half of all working-class families surveyed received social income of some form. While the condition of the working class would have been considerably worse without the safety net, it contained many holes, which led to calls for a restructuring of social policy.

scholarly journals THE SOCIAL DIAGNOSTICS OF STROKE-LIKE SYMPTOMS: HEALERS, DOCTORS AND PROPHETS IN AGINCOURT, LIMPOPO PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA

2004 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
GILLIAN LEWANDO HUNDT ◽  
MARIA STUTTAFORD ◽  
BULELWA NGOMA
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Social ◽  
The University ◽  
Surveillance Area

This paper focuses on the clinical and social diagnostics of stroke-like symptoms in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The research questions addressed here are: what are the lay understandings of strokelike symptoms and what are the health-seeking behaviours of Tsongan Mozambican refugees and South Africans in this area? The study site is ten villages in the Agincourt sub-district of Limpopo Province which are within the health surveillance area of the Agincourt Health and Population Unit (AHPU) of the University of Witwatersrand. The population are Tsongan who speak Shangaan and comprise self-settled Mozambican refugees who fled to this area during the 1980s across the nearby border and displaced South African citizens. The latter were forcibly displaced from their villages to make way for game reserves or agricultural development and moved to this area when it was the former ‘homeland’ of Gazankulu. The team collected data using rapid ethnographic assessment and household interviews as part of the Southern Africa Stroke Prevention Initiative (SASPI). The main findings are that stroke-like symptoms are considered to be both a physical and social condition, and in consequence plural healing using clinical and social diagnostics is sought to address both these dimensions. People with stroke-like symptoms maintain their physical, mental and social well-being and deal with this affliction and misfortune by visiting doctors, healers, prophets and churches.

Status Signaling and the Risk of Domestic Opposition: Comparing South Africa and Brazil's Hosting of the 2010 and 2014 World Cups

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janis van der Westhuizen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Opposite Direction ◽  
The Political ◽  
World Cup ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Mega Events ◽  
Status Signaling ◽  
Domestic Support ◽  
First World

Abstract Whereas much of the literature on status and domestic audiences analyzes how international achievement helps shore up domestic legitimacy, analyses regarding the opposite direction—how the lack of domestic support undercuts status signaling—remain rare. Mega-events constitute a highly public and visible example of conspicuous consumption as a form of status signaling. However, in rising democracies state elites are obliged to frame the benefits of hosting a World Cup in both instrumental dimensions and expressive virtues. In Brazil, the political fallout from the economic crisis, however, made it very difficult for state elites to rely on the expressive value of Brazil's status as World Cup host to subdue domestic opposition driven by instrumental logics. In contrast, for South Africans, the 2010 World Cup not only became an “exceptional status moment” but also constituted a “nation founding moment,” which meant that the expressive significance of hosting the first World Cup in Africa mitigated similar instrumental criticism.

Democracy and distribution in highly unequal economies: the case of South Africa

2001 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicoli Nattrass ◽  
Jeremy Seekings
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Party System ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
Redistributive Policies ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Core Section ◽  
The Unemployed

Given that incomes in South Africa are distributed very unequally, it might be expected that the establishment of representative democracy would result in the adoption of redistributive policies. Yet overall inequality has not declined since 1994. The electoral and party system provides uneven pressure for redistribution. The fact that poor South Africans have the vote ensures that some areas of public policy do help the poor. The post-apartheid government not only inherited a surprisingly redistributive set of social policies (welfare, education and health care), but has made changes that entail even more redistribution. But these policies do little to help a core section of the poor in South Africa: the unemployed, and especially households in which no one is working. Other public policies serve to disadvantage this marginalised constituency: labour market and other economic policies serve to steer the economy down a growth path that shuts out many of the unskilled and unemployed. The workings of these policies remain opaque, making it unlikely that poor citizens will use their vote to effect necessary policy reforms.

scholarly journals Exploring Adequate Retirement Funding in South Africa: A KwaZulu-Natal Financial Planner’s View

2020 ◽  
pp. 154-157
Author(s):  
Shagaran Rathnasamy ◽  
Jugjith Deodutt
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Financial Planning ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Well Being ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Economic Trends ◽  
Planning Institute ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Social Demographic ◽  
Corporate Downsizing

The development of several social demographic and economic trends have created the interest among financial analysts and the general population in planning for retirement. By the year 2021 the number of South Africans past retirement age will be an estimated 4.4 million which should account for approximately 7.3% of the country’s population (currently 3.8 million or 6.8% of the population) (Statistics South Africa, 2016). The increase in South Africa’s population at large and longer retirement periods have raised questions about financial preparedness for retirement. Economic issues such as corporate downsizing, capped employer retirement contributions, changing of jobs for greater remuneration and increased daily living costs have shifted the responsibility for retirement financial well-being from employers to individuals. Adequate retirement provision does not necessarily only affect the retiree but also the family unit of the retiree as a whole, as the vast majority of households in developing countries such as South Africa rely solely on one breadwinner. A global financial planning survey “was conducted by the FPI in 2015. The survey shows that only 38% of South Africans are confident that they will achieve their financial life goals, with 55% indicating that they do not know where to start with financial planning Financial Planning Institute of South Africa (2015), Gustman et al. (1995), as sited in Greninger et al. (2000) reported that, “there is no consensus in literature regarding the definition of retirement. If we do not understand the meaning of retirement, is it possible to judge whether a population is financially prepared?” This question underlines the importance of gathering informative qualitative data such as goals and risk tolerances and quantitative data, in order to develop a capital needs analysis to establish how clients can successfully meet their retirement goals. This paper aims to explore the role of the Financial Planner in the retirement planning process.

scholarly journals Saving for Tomorrow: Does the Level of Financial Literacy in the South African Working Class Matter?

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matwale Reon Matemane
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Working Class ◽  
South African ◽  
Financial Literacy ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
The South ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Black South Africans ◽  
Apartheid Regime

Financial literacy has been identified in previous studies as an area that has not been researched extensively in South Africa. This is particularly true for the working class of black South Africans, who have been previously disadvantaged and were excluded from the mainstream economy and financial services under the apartheid regime. Lower savings and over-indebtedness in this group can be attributed to lower levels of financial literacy. The aim of this study is to examine financial literacy of black South Africans with a commerce tertiary qualification working in Pretoria and Johannesburg, based on descriptive research and structured questionnaires. In total, 171 participants who work in different sectors of the economy and who live in Gauteng were surveyed. The study found that although people with a commerce tertiary qualification are more financially literate than those with non-commerce tertiary qualification, black South Africans nevertheless are less financially literate than their coloured, Indian and white counterparts. Additionally, financial literacy is a significant predictor of individuals’ saving habits.

scholarly journals The poor in the Psalms and in Tsepo Tshola’s song Indlala: African liberationist remarks

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Ndikhokele N. Mtshiselwa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
South African Context ◽  
The South ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Black South Africans ◽  
African Context

This article sets out to investigate how an African liberationist paradigm could be used in South Africa as a theoretical framework that shapes an inquiry into the issue of poverty in the Book of Psalms. The poor in the Davidic collections of psalms (cf. Ps 10; 23, 72; 109) will therefore be examined within the South African context in order to probe the liberating possibilities that the psalms could offer to poor black South Africans, and most importantly when the text is read in dialogue with Tsepo Tshola’s liberationist song Indlala [Starvation]. Firstly, this article discusses an African liberationist paradigm with the view to anchor the reading of psalms within a theoretical framework. Secondly, within that framework, this article uses the song Indlala as a hermeneutical tool to unlock the reality of poverty in South Africa. Thirdly, guided by an African liberationist framework the article teases out th ecategories and voices of the poor in the psalms. In the end, this article argues that the reading of poor in the Psalms, particularly with an African liberationist lens could have liberating implications for poor black South Africans.

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