Crafting a livelihood: local-level trade in mats and baskets in Pondoland,South Africa

The contribution of natural resources to the livelihoods of the rural poor is widely acknowledged, yet not much is known about trade in these resources. This article investigates local-level trade in plant-based mats and baskets in Khanyayo Village, Pondoland, Eastern Cape, focusing on the social aspects of harvesting, resource tenure and trade in Cyperus textilis and products made from it. It explores the way the mat and basket trade contributes to the livelihoods of the rural poor and argues that crafting is mainly the domain of very poor or widowed women, who use it to supplement their diverse and multiple livelihood strategies. Although its cash contribution to the total household income is minimal, crafting is seen by local people as extremely important. However, mat and basket traders face a number of internal and external struggles, which must be understood by policy makers if crafting is to contribute to the fight against poverty in rural areas.     

Energy,environment and the rural poor in South Africa

The lack of adequate energy services imposes heavy social and environmental costs on poor rural households. The rural energy‐environment interface, however, is prone to oversimplistic analyses, especially in the case of the ‘fuelwood problem’, and to a lack of research. International experience suggests that deforestation is not necessarily an ‘energy problem’ resulting from the cutting of trees for fuelwood ‐ and therefore that it may not have an energy solution, like planting more trees for firewood. Instead, wood scarcity must be understood under multiple use of wood resources, and policies need to be multifaceted if they are to succeed. South African studies show that wood is becoming increasingly scarce in many areas; here fuelwood collection may contribute to deforestation more than suggested by international experience. In addition to the environmental effects of increasing wood scarcity and its social costs, borne largely by women, another serious problem arises from indoor air pollution caused by wood fires with social and health costs largely unaccounted for to date.     

Poverty and inequality in South Africa: critical reflections

ABSTRACT

South Africa is a paradox; on the one hand, it is one of the most unequal countries in the world. Half of all South Africans continue to live in poverty, economic growth has stagnated and inflation remains high, while the unemployment rate continues to climb towards 30%. On the other hand, it has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, with a bill of rights that foregrounds expanded socioeconomic rights. We provide an overview of the latest statistics on poverty and inequality in light of overarching economic policies, and the socioeconomic guarantees of the Constitution. We argue that South Africa’s inability to meaningfully address the high levels of inequality is due to insufficient attention to the way power reproduces inequality. We present a definition of power that includes social and market power, and emphasise the importance of a theory of power in understanding the reproduction of inequality.     

Poverty,gender and migrancy: Lesotho's migrant farmworkers in South Africa

During the 1990s, eastern Free State vegetable farmers increasingly relied on migrants from neighbouring Lesotho for seasonal labour. This coincided with a major downsizing of the mine labour force in South Africa, hitherto the major employer of Basotho migrant workers. However, there was no simple process of transfer of unemployed migrants from the mining to the farming sector; rather, decisions were mediated by domestic relationships and household poverty in Lesotho. Basotho women and girls have been a major casualty of mine retrenchments and the drying up of remittances, and those with domestic skills but little formal training have been forced into the labour market, mainly domestic work in towns and labour on farms. This article examines the Basotho migrants' experiences and conditions of employment, the regulatory environment within which they are recruited and employed, and their future in the context of changing immigration and migration legislation in South Africa.     

Poverty,human rights law and socio-economic realities in South Africa†

South Africa is a nation of immense variety. It has rich cultural diversity, an enviable climate and an abundance of natural resources. However, it is also a nation with vast economic disparities and a highly unequal distribution of income. Hence, in spite of abundant resources and a seemingly vibrant economy, South Africa still faces an enormous poverty problem that is fundamentally no different from that of other African countries. As in many other African countries this problem of poverty is compounded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic; by high levels of unemployment; by low levels of education; and by a number of other factors. Today, South Africa has one of the best constitutions in the world and a Bill of Rights that contains an array of justiciable socio-economic rights. The South African government has also attempted to alleviate poverty and mitigate its effects through progressively developing and expanding a social welfare system and other programmes such as the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) strategy. The purpose of this article is to analyse the role of human rights (specifically the Bill of Rights in the Constitution) and government efforts to alleviate poverty (through certain programmes and service delivery) in the face of adverse socio-economic realities in South Africa.     

Poverty in South Africa – a statistical analysis

Poverty is one of the major challenges facing democratic South Africa. This article focuses on poverty in South Africa, using the Income and Expenditure Survey conducted in 1995 by Statistics South Africa (formerly the Central Statistical Service). In the first part, different approaches that can be followed in the measurement of poverty are discussed. In the second part, Sen's approach to the measurement of poverty and the Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) technique have been used to analyse the above data. CHAID is used to explore the relationship between the poverty status of the household (ie poor or non-poor) and other household characteristics. These variables can then be used as predictors of poverty status.     

Poverty,shocks and school disruption episodes among adolescents in KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

While conventional explanations of drop-out and grade repetition acknowledge the role of socioeconomic factors, this paper uses data collected in a KwaZulu-Natal study of adolescents to investigate the explicit contribution of poverty and shocks to school disruption episodes. The asset-vulnerability framework developed by Moser and others is used to develop a poverty-based theory of school disruption. Evidence against such a theory is also put forward. The results indicate that the poverty-based theory accounts in part for school disruption. Poverty is predictive of school disruption, female adolescents are particularly vulnerable to drop-out episodes, and adolescent pregnancy emerges as an important influence. However, household shocks do not seem to predict school disruption. Programmes that offer incentives for school attendance and improving school quality are put forward as policy options for South Africa.     

Poverty issues for zero rating VAT in South Africa

Governments often include equity considerations when determiningrates for value added taxes (VAT). This paper explores the implicationof current and proposed tax exemptions in South Africa fromthe perspective of their impact on the expenditures of the poorand on the calorie and protein consumption of low-income households.Maize, which is currently exempted from VAT, is shown to bethe best choice for low tax rates from both the standpointsof equity and the impact on the food consumption of the poor.In contrast, lower tax rates on fluid milk, which is currentlyexempted from VAT, and meat, for which an exemption has beenproposed, are not good vehicles for assisting the poor. Thepaper illustrates the revenue forgone with zero tax rates onthese commodities and compares the tax relief for the poor andchange in nutrients consumed from alternative tax exemptions.     

Poverty,HIV/AIDS and the old age pension in Bhambayi,Kwazulu-Natal,South Africa

To date the international community has tended to direct HIV prevention programmes, treatment, care and supportive services to young adults and children, with little concern about the impact on older people. Since empirical evidence on the socioeconomic impact of HIV/AIDS on households with older persons is lacking, this paper attempts to fill this gap, using data from a household-based survey conducted in Bhambayi, a mixed formal and informal settlement north of eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal. The findings highlight the links between the uptake of the South African old age pension, poverty and HIV/AIDS in households with older persons. The paper makes recommendations for both government and non-governmental organisations in respect of community-based support systems for such households affected by HIV/AIDS.     

Poverty in South Africa: Statistical inference for decomposable poverty measures

The measurement of poverty involves two problems: identifying the poor and constructing an index to measure the intensity of poverty. The headcount ratio is one of the widely used indices for the measurement of poverty. This article considers some of the other decomposable (i.e. additively separable) poverty measures. The importance of this property (decomposability) and of subgroup consistency for a poverty measure is highlighted. Since most of these poverty measures are estimated on the basis of sample surveys, the statistical significance of the observed differences is tested using the distribution-free approach proposed by Kakwani (1993, Review of Economics and Statistics , 75: 632-40). The Income and Expenditure Survey conducted in 1995 by Statistics South Africa, then called Central Statistical Service, is used in the study.     

One Kind of Freedom: Poverty Dynamics in Post-apartheid South Africa

A 1993 South African living standards survey documented the legacy of apartheid in the form high levels of inequality and human insecurity. Drawing on a 1998 re-survey of households in the 1993 study, this paper explores whether this legacy has been superseded, or whether apartheid's end has been only one kind of freedom that has left households in a poverty trap from which they cannot escape. After proposing a theoretically grounded dynamic poverty typology that distinguishes stochastic from structural poverty transitions, the paper goes on to estimate that significant numbers of the South African poor are potentially trapped in a structural poverty trap and lack the means to escape poverty over time.     

Population and Poverty in Africa

This paper sets out the position in Sub-Saharan Africa [SSA] regarding poverty and population. Africa has as much danger of starvation and depopulation [due to Aids] as of over population. The paper sets out a model of poverty based on the twin concepts of capabilities and entitlements. This is micro level approach and points to the importance of health and education as well as physical assets in analysing poverty. Issues of gender are always kept central. Income, access to public goods, physical assets and human capital are the four determinants of the status of any individual visavis poverty. In terms of access to public goods the paper develops a new measure of poverty based on daily calorie supply, access to clean water and access to health care. It would seem that nearly 90% of the population in 25 SSA countries or as many as 350 million can be counted as poor. Poverty is influenced by population most significantly if the household cannot afford education and health for its children. Other effects of population on poverty are thought to be transient. Poverty affects population by the complex interaction of the desire for children as insurance but an inability to ensure their survival. Population problems are most acute in societies which are developing enough to cut death rates drastically but not yet adjusted to lower infant mortality to modify their child bearing behaviour. Policy issues are discussed in the last section which highlights once again the central importance of education, health and land reforms.     

Population and Poverty in Africa

This paper sets out the position in Sub-Saharan Africa [SSA] regarding poverty and population. Africa has as much danger of starvation and depopulation [due to Aids] as of over population. The paper sets out a model of poverty based on the twin concepts of capabilities and entitlements. This is micro level approach and points to the importance of health and education as well as physical assets in analysing poverty. Issues of gender are always kept central. Income, access to public goods, physical assets and human capital are the four determinants of the status of any individual visavis poverty. In terms of access to public goods the paper develops a new measure of poverty based on daily calorie supply, access to clean water and access to health care. It would seem that nearly 90% of the population in 25 SSA countries or as many as 350 million can be counted as poor. Poverty is influenced by population most significantly if the household cannot afford education and health for its children. Other effects of population on poverty are thought to be transient. Poverty affects population by the complex interaction of the desire for children as insurance but an inability to ensure their survival. Population problems are most acute in societies which are developing enough to cut death rates drastically but not yet adjusted to lower infant mortality to modify their child bearing behaviour. Policy issues are discussed in the last section which highlights once again the central importance of education, health and land reforms.     

Sustainable livelihood principles and urban greening in informal settlements in practice: A case of Zandspruit informal settlement,South Africa

This article looks to investigate the practice of using the ‘sustainable livelihood approach’ in a multifaceted urban greening project, Trees for Homes. The urban greening project was implemented to improve the quality of life and help marginalised citizens of an informal settlement in South Africa to adapt to climate variability through tree planting. We explored the actual execution of the independent techniques being utilised in the implementation of the Trees for Homes project and how it can promote sustainable livelihood objectives in the Zandspruit informal settlement in South Africa. Using a qualitative approach, the study was able to effectively apply sustainable livelihood principles. It was also found, however, that the multi-level principle was limited by the lack of political muscle which is endemic to many disempowered poor citizens of developing economies. Although the project was successful in many ways, political vulnerability within the development cycle threatens the longer term sustainability of the project outcomes.     

Urban–rural inequalities in health care delivery in South Africa

Urban–rural inequalities in access to health care services continue to persist in South Africa, and in almost all cases discriminate against the poor. In certain cases disparities are even worse in urban areas, although levels of service delivery admittedly are consistently worse in rural areas. People in rural areas are generally more dependent on public and other health care services than on private services, compared with people living in urban areas. There is limited evidence of substantial intra-urban disparities, with inequality being worse in smaller urban settlements (i.e. towns) as opposed to larger ones (i.e. small cities and metropolitan areas). The article emphasises the important role the envisaged future decentralisation of selected health services to local government is likely to play in addressing these inequalities and the lack of service delivery at this level.     

Trade in reed-based craft products in rural villages in the Eastern Cape,South Africa

Selling traditional craft products made from fibrous plants is an important source of income for economically vulnerable rural women. In the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, Cyperus textilis and Juncus kraussii have been used for centuries to make products of functional and cultural importance, such as sleeping mats and baskets. In the former Transkei village clusters of Mpozolo and Ntubeni, female crafters harvest the raw material and make and sell the products in their communities and in nearby towns. Interviews with 40 of them revealed what the trade contributes to their livelihoods and what enhances or limits their success. The findings show that crafting contributes vital income to vulnerable households, on average 26 ± 4 per cent of annual household cash income, over 40 per cent for the poorest households and 5–15 per cent for wealthier households. Lack of access to non-traditional markets was identified as the main constraint on the trade.     

Monitoring and evaluation of women's rural development extension services in South Africa

In South Africa, rural women's extension services are frequently based on the Western, middle-class ideology of a woman's place being in the private or domestic sphere of the home. Consequently, almost all extension services have a home economics feature which advocates the teaching of Western-type domestic skills, such as sewing, crocheting, knitting, cookery and child care, to name a few. The home economics extension services offered to rural women are inappropriate and ineffective in relation to women's triple role pertaining to reproductive, economic and community managing activities. Furthermore, most of the extension services are irrelevant to the real conditions of poverty prevailing in rural areas. Much of the planning of extension services is based on the needs of rural communities as decided by policy planners. Even where participatory approaches have been adopted, the monitoring and evaluation of progress made in achieving the objectives are often neglected. This article defines the concepts of monitoring and evaluation, explains their purposes in rural extension services, identifies suitable indicators for measuring sustainability of programmes, and highlights appropriate methods for collecting, handling and analysing data. In recognition of the inadequacies of and confusion in women's rural extension programmes, the article encourages reorientation of the processes used in monitoring and evaluating agricultural and rural development extension services in South Africa.     

A reconsideration of what and who is middle class in South Africa

In this paper, we revisit ‘what and who’ is middle class in South Africa using data collected in the 2008 National Income Dynamics Study. First, we consider how to identify the middle class based on two broad definitions adopted in the international economics literature: a middle class defined by the middle share of the national income distribution; and a middle class defined by an absolute level of affluence and lifestyle. We explore alternative ways of capturing the ‘middle income strata’ and we suggest an approach for identifying threshold levels of income associated with middle-class affluence. Second, we show that the size and the composition of the middle class in South Africa are both very sensitive to how the middle class is defined. In particular, we demonstrate that there is very little overlap between the two broad definitions, a finding which reflects very high levels of poverty and inequality in the country.     

Cannabis sativa and rural livelihoods in South Africa: politics of cultivation,trade and value in Pondoland

Current debate on Cannabis sativa in South Africa has centred on its positive and negative effects on health, as well as its decriminalisation. The contribution of cannabis (dagga) to the livelihoods of people who inhabit some of the poorest parts of the country has thus far been largely ignored. Using a case study of a village in Pondoland, this article argues that while cannabis makes a significant contribution to the livelihoods of many households, the values derived by cannabis farmers vary widely, as determined by social difference, the illegal nature of cannabis production and trade, and the cannabis commodity chain. Furthermore, lobbies to legalise cannabis will not necessarily yield positive results for poor rural cannabis growers, as this could result in lower prices due to the possibility of increased supply, as well as the fact that illegality is what currently keeps the prices fairly high.