Search

Land reforms have been implemented in many parts of the world because of both justice and the attractive developmental policy objectives of improving poor people's welfare – as the prime beneficiaries. Land reform also facilitates rural economic growth. In some parts of the world, like China and India, there is evidence that land reform has been effective in poverty reduction and in enabling economic growth. However, in other parts of the world, like South Africa, the impact of land reform has been very minimal mainly due to poor policy implementation, which entails inadequate support structures. Using an integrative literature review approach and key policy documents on South Africa's land reform, this article dissects this policy–practice gap in South Africa's land redistribution policy and proposes that land redistribution be implemented by a private independent entity to reduce state bureaucracy and inefficiencies and, in turn, improve execution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Given the rapidly changing food environment and proliferation of ultra-processed foods (UPF) in South Africa (SA), this study aimed to critically evaluate dietary quality and adequacy of low-income adults using the Nova classification system and WHO and World Cancer Research Fund dietary guidelines. Design: Secondary household data and 1-d 24-h recalls were analysed from two cross-sectional studies conducted in 2017–2018. Foods consumed were classified according to the Nova classification system. Compliance with WHO dietary guidelines and UPF consumption trends were evaluated. Setting: Three low-income areas (Langa, Khayalitsha and Mount Frere) in SA were included. Participants: In total, 2521 participants (18–50 years) were included in the study. Results: Participants had a mean energy intake of 7762 kJ/d. Most participants were within the acceptable WHO guideline range for saturated fat (80·4 %), total fat (68·1 %), Na (72·7 %) and free sugar (57·3 %). UPF comprised 39·4 % of diets among the average adult participant. Only 7·0 % of all participants met the WHO guideline for fruit and vegetables and 18·8 % met the guideline for fibre. Those within the highest quartile of share of energy from UPF consumed statistically higher amounts of dietary components to limit and were the highest energy consumers overall. Conclusions: Low-income adults living in SA are consuming insufficient protective dietary components, while UPF consumption is prevalent. Higher UPF consumers consume larger amounts of nutrients linked to increased chronic disease risk. Policy measures are urgently needed in SA to protect against the proliferation of harmful UPF and to promote and enable consumption of whole and less UPF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the ongoing issue of load shedding in South Africa, with the primary significance being its impact on income inequality. It discusses how low-income households are disproportionately affected by power interruptions, leading to economic disparities and challenges in accessing essential services. It analysis also explores the potential exacerbation of income inequalities by policies aimed at addressing load shedding.

The delivery of houses for homeownership to low-income urban dwellers has been a cornerstone of post-apartheid policies fighting both land and socioeconomic inequalities in South Africa. In this context, policy stakeholders and scholars have been puzzled by housing beneficiaries who leave their state houses, either selling or letting them. On the one hand, this might signal upward mobility where "leavers" successfully integrate into the housing market, climbing the next rung of the "property ladder". On the other, it could indicate that "leavers" cannot afford to stay in their state houses and are consequently displaced to worse living conditions. However, due to methodological challenges, research on the experiences and perspectives of "leavers" is scarce. Based on narrative interviews with "leavers", this article questions the progress/failure dichotomy. Instead, it argues that "leaving" could be construed as people-led reconfigurations of pro-poor housing policy – representing alternative, individually adapted but partly constrained pathways towards inclusion, 25 years after the end of apartheid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rising burden of cardiovascular disease in South Africa gives impetus to managerial changes, particularly to the available foods in the market. Since there are many economically disadvantaged groups in urban societies who are at the forefront of the CVD burden, initiatives to make healthier foods available should focus on affordability in conjunction with improved phytochemical diversity to incentivize change. The modern obesogenic diet is deficient in phytochemicals that are protective against the metabolic products of sugar metabolism, i.e., inflammation, reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial fatigue, whereas traditional southern African food species have high phytochemical diversity and are also higher in soluble dietary fibres that modulate the release of sugars from starches, nurture the microbiome and produce digestive artefacts that are prophylactic against cardiovascular disease. The examples of indigenous southern African food species with high horticultural potential that can be harvested sustainably to feed a large market of consumers include: Aloe marlothii, Acanthosicyos horridus, Adansonia digitata, Aloe ferox, Amaranthus hybridus, Annesorhiza nuda, Aponogeton distachyos, Bulbine frutescens, Carpobrotus edulis, Citrullus lanatus, Dioscorea bulbifera, Dovyalis caffra, Eleusine coracana, Lagenaria siceraria, Mentha longifolia, Momordica balsamina, Pelargonium crispum, Pelargonium sidoides, Pennisetum glaucum, Plectranthus esculentus, Schinziophyton rautanenii, Sclerocarya birrea, Solenostemon rotundifolius, Talinum caffrum, Tylosema esculentum, Vigna unguiculata and Vigna subterranea. The current review explains the importance of phytochemical diversity in the human diet, it gives a lucid explanation of phytochemical groups and links the phytochemical profiles of these indigenous southern African foods to their protective effects against cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expanded state-subsidised housing programmes in middle-income countries raise questions about the displacement and socio-spatial marginalisation of poor households. Examining these questions through people's experiences of resettlement indicates the importance of mobility to their lives. Drawing on a mixed-method comparative study of Ahmedabad, Chennai and Johannesburg, we ask: How does the relocation of low-income households to urban peripheries reshape the links between their physical and socio-economic mobility, and how does this impact on their ability to build secure urban futures? Experiences of families moving to five peripheral settlements indicate two linked challenges to the social and economic mobility of the peripheralised urban poor: first, their immediate and individual ability to be mobile within the city and second, the longer-term social mobility of their households. While trajectories towards secure urban citizenship for all remain a policy aspiration, housing policies and practices are placing this on hold or even reversing this, with mobility constraints locking many low-income groups into marginality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a leading infectious disease killer globally. Treatment outcomes are especially poor among people with extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB, until recently defined as rifampicin-resistant (RR) TB with resistance to an aminoglycoside (amikacin) and a fluoroquinolone (ofloxacin). We used laboratory TB test results from Western Cape province, South Africa between 2012 and 2015 to identify XDR-TB and pre-XDR-TB (RR-TB with resistance to one second-line drug) spatial hotspots. We mapped the percentage and count of individuals with RR-TB that had XDR-TB and pre-XDR-TB across the province and in Cape Town, as well as amikacin-resistant and ofloxacin-resistant TB. We found the percentage of pre-XDR-TB and the count of XDR-TB/pre-XDR-TB highly heterogeneous with geographic hotspots within RR-TB high burden areas, and found hotspots in both percentage and count of amikacin-resistant and ofloxacin-resistant TB. The spatial distribution of percentage ofloxacin-resistant TB hotspots was similar to XDR-TB hotspots, suggesting that fluoroquinolone-resistace is often the first step to additional resistance. Our work shows that interventions used to reduce XDR-TB incidence may need to be targeted within spatial locations of RR-TB, and further research is required to understand underlying drivers of XDR-TB transmission in these locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adequate housing undergirds all social and economic relations, connecting communities with other related services that are key for people’s optimum development. It is a key social welfare service and a basic human need whose empowerment function resonates with the social work agenda of enabling smooth functioning of the society and creating socially and economically viable communities. In this article, I report on the housing experiences of social housing beneficiaries in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Using an empowerment lens, I contend that housing has the potential to give people more control and self-determination over their lives by linking them to the economy. I employed purposive sampling in this qualitative study and selected three social housing institutions: two in Johannesburg and one in Pretoria. In each of these institutions a focus group discussion was conducted with the beneficiaries. The research findings indicate that adequate housing delivery bears numerous empowerment dividends, directly helping poor people to break from a cycle of poverty. Consonant with its mandate of empowering communities, social work needs to be more proactive in housing advocacy on behalf of poor people and marginalised individuals and groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa's former parliament speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has been charged with corruption and money laundering, adding to the troubles of the African National Congress (ANC) party ahead of the upcoming elections. Mapisa-Nqakula is accused of soliciting bribes during her tenure as defense minister and denies the allegations. In another development, a South African bank has announced a partial freeze on the accounts of ex-president Jacob Zuma, further tarnishing his reputation as he seeks to relaunch his political career. Additionally, a bus crash and deadly fires in Cape Town have resulted in fatalities and displacement, highlighting ongoing safety and housing issues in the country. [Extracted from the article]

Drawing on fieldwork carried out among different South African poor people's movements, this article explores what is played out on the fringes of this type of mobilization. Away from the noise of demonstrations, we can observe the particularities of a commitment that links together the cause being defended, the immediate socio-spatial environment of the activists, and their everyday worlds—a commitment that is rooted in the 'regime of the near'. The space of activism thus coincides with the spaces in which the daily lives of these women and men unfold. I argue that this approach helps us better understand how mobilization spreads and how it can be sustained. It also makes it possible to measure more precisely that on which the legitimacy claimed by the movement and its visibility are based, as well as the persistence of commitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problems of malnutrition constitute a major challenge in South Africa, particularly affecting the underprivileged populations of the Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces. The present study aimed to gain an understanding of how to improve the nutritional intake of South African university student mothers and their children by the introduction of Moringa oleifera in their food. Focus Group Discussion was implemented at two previously historically disadvantaged universities with predominantly black student populations, namely the University of Fort Hare and the University of Limpopo. Findings from the participants' discussion about food habits and barriers to healthy eating show that there is a gap between healthy eating knowledge and eating habits. Despite the high level of awareness of the importance of nutritional intake, most of the study participants and their children consume less healthy foods. Due to the high cost of healthy food and their limited income, student mothers face substantial financial constraints when trying to make healthy changes in their food habits. Moreover, student mothers' positive beliefs about the nutritional benefits of Moringa are insufficient to encourage its consumption. Finally, student mothers agree about using Moringa as a nutritional supplement. Maize porridge (pap) appears to be the preferred staple food for Moringa supplementation because of its palatability, satiating power, availability, affordability, and ease of preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2020, the President of South African announced that the nation would go into full lockdown in the wake of an increase in COVID-19 infections. Academics had, in some instances, only one day to prepare for "emergency remote teaching". Few academics had taught online before, as South Africa's internet connectivity is not guaranteed in underprivileged areas, where 80 per cent of the population reside. The online move thus necessitated an entirely novel pedagogy for most academics, with high potential for an escalation of work-related stress and related illness, outcomes we have related in the wider sphere of workplace readjustment during COVID-19, to a state of "pandemia". In this article, we report on an institutional case study where we surveyed n=136 academics from a university in the Western Cape, South Africa to learn more about impacts of COVID-19 on their work. The data analysis adopts Ryff's (1995) theory of wellbeing. Findings indicate that the enforced lockdown due to COVID-19 and the subsequent move to online teaching has had a negative impact on academics' sense of well-being. However, the emergence of positive, caring relationships between colleagues is reported as a significant outcome of the COVID-19 enforced move to online teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few decades, across the Global South, there has been a rapid expansion of extensive social welfare programs targeting low-income people. This rise of social protection in Latin American countries and across Southern Africa has been praised as being "the really big development story of the last twenty years" (J. Ferguson) and as a "development revolution from the Global South" (Barrientos, Hanlon, and Hulme). Social policy became a "key domain of policy innovation" in the Global South. The new thinking was deeply rooted in a conviction that it is better to give money to poor people directly so that they can find the most effective ways to escape from poverty themselves, rather than build government (or philanthropic) for such purposes. Millions of poor citizens, previously ignored by the state, have become direct beneficiaries of cash transfer programs, that are non-contributory and paid directly from state treasury, being nominally conditional on an income test. The new modalities of distribution in the Global South were associated with both new kids of political claim-making and new possibilities for political mobilization. One of the novelties of new social assistance programs can be seen in abandoning one of the main conceptions of traditional welfare states: traditional social payments are conceived as instrument for dealing with (short) interruptions adult heads of households cannot earn wages to support their families. The new cash transfer programs start from a different understanding of what constitutes a 'normal' situation in the Global South, the fact of mass, structural unemployment, supposing that social support is needed only for "dependent" categories. In Southern Africa, South Africa has led the way with an extensive national system of social payments, anchored by old age pensions, childcare grants, and disability payments. Other countries from the region followed suit. It is by now well documented that cash transfer programs worked and have a "positive development impact". Considering the impact of cash transfer programs on individuals and households, the evidence suggests that those benefits are often go beyond a program's core objectives. Unfortunately, despite the unambiguous successes of the cash transfer programmes as well as the broad acceptance they enjoy across nearly the whole range of society, they are still nonetheless restricted by a conservative understanding of "deserving" and "non-deserving poor", and therefore they do not offer any benefits to working age, able-bodied men. The main goal of the article is to understand and explore the political as well as social significance of these new developments in Southern Africa, especially regarding the potential introduction of a universal basic income grant, but also in providing an input into ongoing discussions on the reforms of development aid provided in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) was developed in South Africa as a strategy for job creation amongst poor people. However, this desired outcome of EPWP is often not achieved. This research follows an action research approach to analyse the potential of two organisations to collectively help overcome development gaps and improve living, learning and working conditions for EPWP participants. A new framework is proposed that will support all collaborating organizations to achieve their common objectives of overcoming poverty and unemployment and providing opportunities in rural areas for vulnerable people to earn an income. The research assesses the opportunities for collaboration between the organizations to help create business opportunities in tourism once participants exit the EPWP programme. This study included some primary data collection and adds new insights to the body of knowledge that deals with effectiveness of EPWP programmes in achieving objectives of poverty alleviation and job creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has posed many challenges to people's livelihood worldwide. This includes a negative impact on the food system and economic aspect of almost all countries. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic came when food security is recognised as a complex problem, since it stands among numerous social problems that need to be addressed globally. The South African government has established the National Policy for Food and Nutrition Security to deal with food insecurity. The significance of this paper is to research the extent to which the governments have been responding to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in South African. This study is qualitative and the case study research design was used to collect secondary data while textual analysis was used for data analysis. It is acknowledged that there is instability in the food supply as the poor people were forced to purchase expensive food from the supermarkets due to the closure of local flea markets and street vendors. As the lockdown regulations were lifted in South Africa, the key aspects of the findings reveal that the selling of unsafe food from the informal sector, which mostly supplies the poorest of the poor has threatened food security. The South African government must strengthen the policy framework that monitors the operation of the informal business to avoid the selling of unsafe food to poor people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an attempt to minimise the negative economic impacts of COVID‐19 on vulnerable households the South African government allocated R50 billion in additional social assistance spending. The cash transfer package included a temporary increase in existing grants and introduced a new "Covid grant." We assess the chosen package and compare it with an initial proposal to increase the Child Support Grant (CSG). Coverage, cost and welfare effects are calculated to measure the relative impacts in each case. We find that while a significant increase in the CSG delivers resources most progressively, the addition of the COVID‐19 grant may potentially reach a much larger group of otherwise uncovered, vulnerable individuals. Critically, this extended coverage comes at a cost to the poorest households, via additional transfers to the upper income deciles. However, we identify several categories of vulnerable household groups which suggests that the workers most negatively affected by the pandemic are not necessarily those in the poorest households. The paper emphasises that social assistance to mitigate the consequences of COVID‐19 should not be viewed necessarily as a standard poverty reduction exercise, but rather as an attempt to mitigate COVID‐19‐related income shocks for the vulnerable who were most negatively affected by the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A computable general equilibrium model linked to a microsimulation model is applied to assess the potential short‐term effects on the South African economy of the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic. With a particular focus on distributional outcomes, two simulations are run, a mild and a severe scenario. The findings show significant evidence of decline in economic growth and employment, with the decline harsher for the severe scenario. The microeconomic results show that the pandemic moves the income distribution curve such that more households fall under the poverty line while at the same time, inequality declines. The latter result is driven by the disproportionate decline in incomes of richer households while the poorest of the poor are cushioned by government social grants that are kept intact during the pandemic. The COVID‐19 pandemic is still unfolding and its economic modelling as well as the data used to operationalise the model will need to be updated and improved upon as more information about the disease and the economy becomes available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Where a widowed person has a legal claim for support following the death of their spouse, their compensation may be reduced to allow for the possibility of remarriage. This reduction, known as a remarriage contingency, accounts for both the probability of remarriage and the change in financial status on remarriage. The only South African tables available are viewed as outdated and focus only on widows. This research uses data from the National Income Dynamics Survey to find updated remarriage contingencies for South African widows and widowers. The data indicate that age and race may influence the remarriage probabilities although this result may have been influenced by poor income and child data. The remarriage contingencies calculated were lower than the old tables for widowed whites and younger coloureds but higher for widowed Africans, Asians and older coloureds. The remarriage contingencies calculated were high relative to the general post-settlement contingency of 15% suggesting that there may still be scope for an explicit remarriage contingency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to understand how students from low-income rural backgrounds in South Africa experience higher education and the opportunities and obstacles they encounter, the paper draws on two waves of interviews with 30 students currently studying at three large urban universities. Using concepts of capabilities and functionings, monetary resources and 'capitals', the paper outlines common factors which shape rural students' well-being and their agency in accessing an urban university. Student voices indicate the particular importance of being able to exercise the functioning of navigating and manoeuvring through unfamiliar and often intimidating institutions. The discussion also indicates that it is the intersection of rurality and low income which shapes, even if it does not over-determine, their lives at university. It is suggested that universities could do more to support these students' well-being, and to recognise the agency and admirable determination which students bring to the challenges they face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV/AIDS is one of the main challenges facing South Africa today. It is estimated that of the 39.5 million people living with HIV worldwide in 2006, more than 63% were from sub-Saharan Africa. In 2005, about 5.54 million people were estimated to be living with HIV in South Africa, with 18.8% of the adult population (15-49 years) and about 12% of the general population affected.1 Prevention of HIV infection has to be tackled in various ways, not just to recommend condom use and circumcision. There are several cultural and social factors associated with spread of HIV infection. There is a general belief that illness (HIV/AIDS) and other bad occurrences are related to witchcraft. The illness is difficult for them to believe and to be explained. Infections like HIV cannot be explained to ordinary rural people and therefore there is a strong belief in witchcraft. People believe that HIV/AIDS is related to witchcraft, and could be managed by traditional healers. Poor people are less educated and therefore more ignorant about their illnesses. Most of young deaths where the deceased is sick from a long time were labeled as "Isidliso" otherwise called "black poison". Almost everybody who is suffering from HIV/AIDS has been taken to a traditional healer before been taken to medical practitioner in town. The widespread rape and forced sexual abuse of children is a serious social and health issue. There are several motives behind this unsocial and unhealthy epidemic, but the most dangerous is the strong belief in a myth of achieving a cure for a person's HIV/AIDS through sexual intercourse with a virgin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based on an ethnographic study of the young activists of a South African poor people's movement. It questions the finding that some of the young poor people in the Global South are trapped by a boredom linked to their socioeconomic incapacity to fully enter into adulthood. Young people are here apprehended through their position within the collective, but also in the framework of the activism they deploy daily in their neighborhoods. The article shows that even though uncertainty has its place there, the lives of these young people cannot be reduced to idleness. Partly built on emotional bonds, their commitment structures their days and gives them access to a politicization that helps them to put their condition into perspective. Above all, it provides them with a valued role within the "community" and, therefore, helps them to fit into their most immediate social environment: their neighborhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South African government has been hailed internationally for its strategies and tactics in facing the challenges of COVID-19, at least during the initial stages of the pandemic. However, as time has passed, several questions have been raised on a wide range of issues due to key realities of social and economic policies, the responsibilities, capabilities and relationships of state layers and institutions, and the measures undertaken. It became evident after the first week following the lockdown in South Africa, that the deep consequences of chronic corruption at all levels and sectors, especially water and public health, had serious negative repercussions for the poorest of the poor and the marginalised communities. The actual repercussions have not been calculated yet, as priorities have changed significantly. Questions regarding the availability of 10% of the country's GDP (R500 billion), their beneficiaries, and the R130 billion made available through budget reprioritisation have not been answered, with the exception of the hundreds of millions attached to the remuneration of the 200 Cuban medical doctors, while the continuous reports on open and hidden corruption perpetrated by amongst others politicians, administrators, drug dealers, underground illegal operators including fake cigarette producers, and police personnel, continue unabated. Recent research has shown that the shortages of food amongst the poor begun a week before the lockdown and worsened during it. It took almost six weeks from the start of the lockdown on the 26th of March to the topping up of the child support grant by R300 on 6 May, to stop hunger amongst South Africa's poor communities. The article aspires to research, analyse and dissect the direct and indirect effects of corruption and its consequences and repercussions on the impact of COVID-19 to the most vulnerable communities in the country. It deals with corruption, its types, monitoring and assessment, effectiveness and efficiency of the security and enforcement agencies and their operations, as well as their repercussions for the poorest of the poor. Eight telephonic interviews with state officials throughout the country were conducted, four civil society groups directly involved in community and benevolent work participated through an open-ended questionnaire which was administered, using the judgemental sampling frame. All existing national and provincial government documents relating to the period as well as media articles have been searched, classified, and analysed through the separation and categorisation of themes (content analysis). The common patterns, themes, categories, and trends were dissected. The article covered a forgotten aspect of the period as its impact is not only sociological/criminological/historical but also contributes to understanding the existing gaps in government's social policy for the poor. The research aspires to make an original contribution to the 'hidden history' in the COVID-19 conundrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theme of poverty has recently dominated various scholarly platforms, including academic presentations and public debates. Nevertheless, it has emerged that the rhetoric about poverty reduction seems to be the project of the elite who apparently write and speak on behalf of the poor. The plight of the majority of the poor is problematised so that transformation is superficially democratised with the ultimate aim of benefitting the elite. The present study reflects on Eben Scheffler's contributions on poverty and the poor in the Old Testament books of the Pentateuch, the Psalms and the Proverbs. Although this study refers to Scheffler's other works on poverty from time to time, particular attention is paid to four of them, namely, (1) 'The poor in the Psalms: A variety of views'; (2) 'Of poverty prevention in the Pentateuch as a continuing contemporary challenge'; (3) 'Poverty in the Book of Proverbs: Looking from above'; (4) 'Pleading poverty (or identifying with the poor for selfish reasons): On the ideology of Psalm 109'. Scheffler points out that it was the ancient Israelite elite who played the role of writing and speaking on behalf of the poor. It is essential to note that Scheffler's thrust is not an appropriation exercise, although in some places he makes reference to the 'contemporary world'. Thus, the present study attempts to explore the land debate in our contemporary world, with a special focus on South Africa's (SA) land expropriation without compensation (LEWIC) debate and the foiled fast-track land reform programme in Zimbabwe, as elitist projects. The Zimbabwean Fast-Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) was a prototype of LEWIC in SA. It is argued that the poor rural communities in Zimbabwe continue to languish in poverty in a country endowed with abundant natural resources, including land. The study argues that land allocation in Zimbabwe benefitted the elite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Given the significance of the residential sector in terms of energy consumption, a comprehensive understanding of households’ energy consumption patterns and choices is imperative. This paper focuses on analysing and understanding the South African residential sector's energy characteristics considering their energy-use profile, and other characteristics such as their geographical distribution and demographic characteristics. The findings show that despite poorer households who are connected to the national grid receiving 50 kW/h of free electricity per month to help them cover their basis energy needs, South African households – particularly low-income households – still use various sources of energy including wood and paraffin to satisfy their basic energy requirements. Solid fuels are predominantly used in rural areas where around 75% of non-electrified households rely on solid fuels for cooking, heating and lighting. Low-income South African households consume between 5% and 10% of their total energy in lighting; space heating and cooking account for the remainder 85–90% of their total energy consumption. After evaluating the relevant data regarding households’ access to electricity, the type of energy used by households and households’ expenditure on electricity and energy in South Africa from the NIDS dataset; it was concluded, that electricity access is reasonably high across South African households. Additionally, an increasing trend can be observed in their total expenditure on electricity. However, approximately 70% of households still spend on other energy sources. Highlights • This paper evaluates the evolution and characteristics of energy consumption in the South African residential sector. • Emphasis was given to the behaviour of households in using energy for cooking, lighting and heating. • Around 70% of low-income households rely on sources of energy other than electricity to satisfy their basic energy needs. • Around 10% of low-income households are energy poor and cannot afford using electricity to cover their basic energy needs. • Results from the NIDS dataset indicated that electricity access is reasonably high across South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on an analysis of water access and supply in Cape Town (South Africa) and Accra (Ghana), we illustrate that neoliberal and human right to water-oriented transformations co-constitute each other discursively, practically, and in policy implementation. Focusing on the transfer of policies and experiences (particularly conjoined demand management-free basic water programs and related social contestation), we provide examples of how neoliberal logics and human right to water principles intersect in evolving hybrid regulatory landscapes, which are characterized by contradiction. The human right to water makes a difference by influencing the drafting and implementation of water-related policies that affect to the lives of poor and vulnerable populations. Yet this process unfolds unevenly, as human right to water principles and practices are contextually applied, often alongside neoliberalizing policy instruments within evolving regulatory landscapes. Our analysis reveals the uneven effects of policy experimentation, transfer, and adaptation. The analysis shows that the principle of the human right to water affects the transformation of policy options circulating in the water sector, but it does so in relation to the institutional histories and policy options associated with uneven patterns of variegated neoliberalization in the water sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article contends that the most popular form of Public Participation (PP) in SA is public protest, which, as a result of historical continuity, represents a direct response to the humiliations experienced by the poor, unemployed and socially excluded. Despite an enlightened human rights Constitution, if citizens are treated as consumers and left to the vagaries of the market PP mechanisms are likely to fail as they do not address the real social issues at the root of the discontent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Waist circumference has been identified as one of the strongest predictive tool for metabolic syndrome. This study determines the optimal cut-off point of waist circumference for metabolic syndrome among low-income earning South African black population, in Eastern Cape, South Africa. The optimal waist circumference cut-off point was determined through receiver operating characteristics analysis using the maximum Youden index. Results: Among men, waist circumference at a cut-off value of 95.25 cm yielded the highest Youden index of 0.773 (sensitivity = 98%, specificity = 79%, area under curve 0.893). For women, waist circumference of 89.45 cm yielded the highest Youden index of 0.339 (sensitivity = 88%, specificity = 46%, area under curve 0.713). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome among men, women and both sexes using the new cut-off points were: 17.8, 20.8 and 17.7%, respectively, compared to; 15.6, 24.8 and 21.8%, using the traditional cut-off values of 94 and 80 cm for men and women, respectively. The traditional waist circumference value slightly under-estimated the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among men and over-estimated among women and the overall population. A specific waist circumference cut-off point for South African blacks is needed for correct identification of the metabolic state of the populace in order to develop appropriate interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Elevated levels of indoor air pollutants may cause cardiopulmonary disease such as lower respiratory infection, chronic obstructive lung disease and lung cancer, but the association with tuberculosis (TB) is unclear. So far the risk estimates of TB infection or/and disease due to indoor air pollution (IAP) exposure are based on self-reported exposures rather than direct measurements of IAP, and these exposures have not been validated. Objective The aim of this paper was to characterize and develop predictive models for concentrations of three air pollutants (PM 10 , NO 2 and SO 2 ) in homes of children participating in a childhood TB study. Methods Children younger than 15 years living within the eThekwini Municipality in South Africa were recruited for a childhood TB case control study. The homes of these children (n=246) were assessed using a walkthrough checklist, and in 114 of them monitoring of three indoor pollutants was also performed (sampling period: 24 h for PM 10 , and 2–3 weeks for NO 2 and SO 2 ). Linear regression models were used to predict PM 10 and NO 2 concentrations from household characteristics, and these models were validated using leave out one cross validation (LOOCV). SO 2 concentrations were not modeled as concentrations were very low. Results Mean indoor concentrations of PM 10 (n=105) , NO 2 (n=82) and SO 2 (n=82) were 64 μg/m 3 (range 6.6–241); 19 μg/m 3 (range 4.5–55) and 0.6 μg/m 3 (range 0.005–3.4) respectively with the distributions for all three pollutants being skewed to the right. Spearman correlations showed weak positive correlations between the three pollutants. The largest contributors to the PM 10 predictive model were type of housing structure (formal or informal), number of smokers in the household, and type of primary fuel used in the household. The NO 2 predictive model was influenced mostly by the primary fuel type and by distance from the major roadway. The coefficients of determination (R 2 ) for the models were 0.41 for PM 10 and 0.31 for NO 2 . Spearman correlations were significant between measured vs. predicted PM 10 and NO 2 with coefficients of 0.66 and 0.55 respectively. Conclusion Indoor PM 10 levels were relatively high in these households. Both PM 10 and NO 2 can be modeled with a reasonable validity and these predictive models can decrease the necessary number of direct measurements that are expensive and time consuming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article demonstrates a practical theological approach to the challenge of poverty in post1994 South Africa by using Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) as a case study. It argues that while the Reconstruction Development Plan, the Growth Employment and Reconstruction strategy, Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa, New Growth Path and the National Development Plan have achieved some level of economic growth, the majority of people in South Africa still live in poverty. To establish this argument, the article starts first by describing the challenge of poverty in post-1994 South Africa. The different economic approaches to the challenge of poverty in post-1994 South Africa are also explained in detail. Lastly, the article elaborates on the ways in which the AFM through its local assemblies can alleviate poverty. The article concludes that the AFM is a collaborator to the post-1994 South African government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The findings of an empirical study entitled 'Meeting the challenge of poverty and inequality in the Cape Metropole: Factors impacting the mobilisation of congregations in their response to poverty and injustice' reaffirm that the majority of congregations are still largely operating within a 'relief and welfare' paradigm with regard to poverty. In attempting to analyse the hindrances to churches' mobilisation in addressing poverty from a holistic perspective, it became clear that, while there were common challenges (such as lack of capacity and feeling overwhelmed in view of the enormity of the task), several other intersectional issues (e.g. race, class and theological convictions) also play a role with regard to engagement. This article, therefore, analyses and discusses how these factors have an impact on the mobilisation of local congregations in their response to the twin challenge of poverty and inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the determinants of access to formal credit by poor households in South Africa. Despite some progress in poverty reduction in the recent years, it remains astonishingly high by historical and international standards. Access to credit is believed by some scholars to be a primary means to address poverty and improve the standards of living of poor households. Thus, it is necessary to identify the determinants of the propensity to borrow and of the amount that is borrowed. Using 2008-2012 data from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), a Heckman Selection model was estimated. The results from this study suggest that age of the household head, race, educational level, gender, employment, geographic location of households affect the propensity to borrow by poor households in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-apartheid South Africa is burdened with inequality, poverty and food insecurity. This paper seeks to answer the following question: How can agriculture in South Africa be transformed to ensure democratisation of the food regime for poor households (defined as the lower 50 per cent of the population)? In 2008, South Africa moved from being a net exporter of food to a net importer of food. Recent global trends have inflated food prices, exacerbating household hunger, poverty and inequality. The paper relies on methodological approaches sourced from international databases like the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and the World Bank. The author takes cognisance of the fact that both institutions advance ideological positions that are not sustained in the paper. However, using this data debunks the ideational position that has been sustained. The author argues that South Africa's quest for a democratic food regime is ideational, which requires agrarian reforms that challenge both the domestic and the global agricultural capitalist architecture, which will inevitably lead to transformation of power and social relations. Central to this argument is challenging the colonial modalities of land as 'property' to an African perspective of land as collective commons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consuming more than seven portions of fruit and vegetables daily substantially lowers the risk of mortality from any cause, yet many South Africans living below the poverty line have a very low or even zero intake of fruit and vegetables. Advice on the importance of consuming a healthy, and at the same time affordable diet needs to be provided by suggesting alternatives among indigenous plants that are nutritionally superior to “exotic” fruits. But to what extent could antioxidant intake be boosted through the ingestion of selected indigenous fruits? Ten indigenous South African fruits were evaluated for their antioxidant activity and compared with blueberry and cranberry. An Antioxidant Potency Composite Index was drawn up based on the results of three equally weighted assays, namely Total Phenolic Content (FCR), Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) and Total Antioxidant Capacity (H-ORACFL+L-ORACFL). The antioxidant potency rankings obtained were as follows: wild plum > wild olive > colpoon > blueberry > christmas berry > crossberry > waterberry > cranberry > tortoise berry > bietou > num-num > sour fig. Blueberry and cranberry ranked 5th and 9th, respectively. It was shown that by introducing servings of as little as 25 g of wild plum, waterberry, num num or sour fig into the diet, the daily antioxidant intake can be boosted to within an acceptable range to support health. All of these freely available fruits are known and have been traditionally used by rural communities in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Knowledge about father–adolescent daughter relationships is mostly based on research in North-American and European contexts. Furthermore, it tends to rely on either fathers' or daughters' perspectives, and not on dyadic data. Informed by a social constructionist perspective, this study investigated the fatherhood constructions of fathers and adolescent daughters in a South African low-income community. We used Charmaz' social constructionist grounded theory method. Forty-two interviews were conducted separately with fourteen fathers and their adolescent daughters. Five conceptual categories were identified: (i) Predominance of fathers' provider role; (ii) Fathers and daughters having an ‘understanding’ in which daughters apparently complied with fathers authoritarian positions; (iii) explicit expressions of affection were mostly limited to special occasions; (iv) Fathers wished a better future for their daughters and attempted to keep them on track to such a future and (v) lastly, Fathers' expected daughters to follow their instructions and not their bad examples. Our findings highlight the influential and constricting role of dominant masculine and feminine gender notions in the discourses and practices of the fathers and adolescent daughters in our study. However, some evidence of contestations were present that suggests the potential of a shift towards more equitable gender relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reexamines the anxiety over poor whites that emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century, positing the ‘poor white problem’ as a distinctively transnational phenomenon, concerned with the spectre of a racial degeneracy and decline that respected no national borders. Focusing specifically on the Carnegie commission's 1932 report into the condition of poor whites in South Africa, this paper considers transnational theories of racial decline and the transnational team of experts put together to investigate the causes of ‘poor whiteism’ and to offer solutions to the problem. The Carnegie commission is presented as a form of transnational governmentality, directed at the management of poor whites wherever they were found. Entirely consistently, however, poor whiteism was put forward as the product of different circumstances in different places, to be met with contrasting remedies. The cause was constructed as hookworm in the United States, for instance, and in South Africa as malaria. The Carnegie report's findings are thus transnational both in their racial and biopolitical framing, and in their specifics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial exclusion has been shown to have negative socio-economic effects on citizens, especially at the bottom of the economic pyramid. South Africa suffers from high levels of financial exclusion, disproportionately at the bottom of the pyramid. This study investigates nine factors identified from the literature as being positively associated with financial exclusion using a logistic regression model. The findings show that the most significant factors associated with being financially excluded at the bottom of the pyramid in South Africa were educational level, primary source of income, age, home language and number of dependents. The study further found that gender, relationship status and home ownership were not associated with being financially excluded. An interesting finding was that living in a rural area as opposed to an urban area was not significantly associated with being excluded. The findings and their implications for expanding financial inclusion at the bottom of the pyramid are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we compare subjective and money-metric measures of poverty in South Africa using data collected in the 2008/09 Living Conditions Survey (LCS). In addition to collecting detailed information on expenditure, the LCS asked respondents to provide an assessment of the economic status of their household, ranging from “very poor” to “wealthy”. We find considerable overlap between per-capita expenditure measures of poverty status and subjective poverty status among households. However, we also identify a number of significant characteristics that distinguish households where poverty measures do not overlap, including household size, the share of children and the elderly in the household, home ownership and housing type, access to piped water and electricity, and access to farming land. These characteristics suggest both that expenditure measures are not able to capture the multidimensional nature of economic well-being and that the level of expenditure in the household is underestimated. This underestimation may arise partly because poverty measures based on per-capita expenditure do not recognize scale economies in the household, and also because the value of small-scale economic activities can be difficult to measure, as in the case of subsistence farming. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Electoral research in post-apartheid South Africa was initially dominated by those advocating a variously racial-cum-ethnic census approach, later challenged by analysts who argued for less race-reductionist models of understanding voting behaviour. The core of the ‘racial census’ approach was to question the possibility of democracy finding genuine purchase where victory for the party of liberation was assured because black majoritarianism was blind to corruption, ineptitude or worse, and open only to race. The innate pessimism about South African democracy, which this perspective introduced, has deepened, notably after the recall of President Mbeki and the subsequent installation of President Zuma. After 20 years of democracy, many commentators have written off the ruling African National Congress (ANC) as corrupt, inept, authoritarian and set on a path of decline that will drag South Africa inexorably towards becoming ‘the next Zimbabwe’. This was the core narrative that informed attacks on the ANC by opposition parties in the election of May 2014. However, a more nuanced set of arguments is emerging, which asserts that the ANC, and South Africa, are not on an ineluctable path to collapse and failure. This article analyses these competing narratives, and the archetypes from which they derive. However, it argues that a deeper, more complex challenge is facing South African democracy. Using empirical voter behaviour data, generated, inter alia, via commingling census and official voting-district-level data on registration and turn-out, the article shows that voting-age people from the poorest deciles have stopped registering and/or voting in significant and growing numbers since 2004, that the electorate increasingly comprises the better-off, and suggests that these trends should be focal areas for those concerned with South African democracy: political pluralism at the expense of the poor seems to be a very high price to pay. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As part of a comprehensive programme to prevent non-communicable disease in South Africa, there is a need to develop public education campaigns on healthy eating. Urban populations of lower socioeconomic status are a priority target population. This study involved formative research to guide the development of a nutrition resource appropriate to the budgetary constraints and information needs of poor households in the major urban centres of South Africa. Twenty-two focus groups were convened to explore the target audience's knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and practices as they related to healthy eating and their views about the proposed nutrition resource (N=167). A brief questionnaire assessed eating and cooking practices among focus group participants. Key informant interviews with eight dieticians/nutritionists working with this population added to the focus group findings. The research identified important issues to take into account in the development of the resource. These included the need to: directly address prevalent misconceptions about healthy eating and unhealthy eating practices; increase self-efficacy regarding the purchasing and preparation of healthy food; represent diverse cultural traditions and consider the issues of affordability and availability of food ingredients. This study demonstrates the value of using formative research in the design of nutrition-related communication in a multicultural, poor, urban South African setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides evidence about socioeconomic inequity in inpatient healthcare utilisation in South Africa after 10 years of reform after Apartheid, and examines which are the contributing determinants. We use the South African sample of the World Health Survey from 2002–03 and estimate horizontal inequity in inpatient healthcare utilisation using the concentration index. We further decompose inequity in inpatient care to explore the contribution of the different determinants of use. We find that inpatient healthcare utilisation is found to be pro-rich distributed in South Africa. The rich are more likely to use inpatient healthcare than the poor, given the same level of need. In addition, race is found to be the most important contributor (42%) to socioeconomic inequity in inpatient healthcare utilisation in South Africa. Gender, education and the consumption level are also found to be important contributors, but to a lesser degree than race. Our findings provide evidence that socioeconomic inequity in inpatient healthcare utilisation still exists in post-Apartheid South Africa and that policies, regulations and research should contribute to a more equitable utilisation. The implementation of National Health Insurance could help to reduce the major problems and large (socioeconomic and racial) inequalities of the South African healthcare system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The environmental movement in South Africa is plural and diverse, but lacks a strong centre or unified framing. How can we explain and understand this, and what consequences does it have for ecological politics in South Africa? There are many environmental grievances, extensive resources available to potential social movements, and a broadly favourable political opportunity structure. On the other hand, prominent environmental organisations have faced a number of limits, obstacles and challenges that have prevented the formation of a strong, unified and popular ‘green’ movement. Movements on land, housing, and service delivery, however, have thrived in comparison, and, while they tend not to self-identify as environmental movements, they should be regarded as important elements of broader progressive environmental struggles in South Africa. Consumption may also become a powerful framing issue for environmental justice movements, and its relevance to contemporary South Africa is illustrated through a controversial township youth phenomenon known as ‘pexing’. While it is important to ensure that South African environmentalism does not become inward-looking and nationalistic, a strong environmental movement is essential for driving a political transformation on to a more environmentally sustainable development path. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We used data from the Birth to Twenty Cohort study to understand children's receipt of financial support from their fathers in a low income, Black community in urban South Africa. Specifically, we (1) described fathers' financial support over the life course of children; (2) estimated survival probabilities of receiving support for all children and not receiving support for children who experienced a parental union dissolution; and (3) identified factors that explained variation in the receipt of support after a union dissolution. Results suggest that most children received full or partial support throughout the life course. Furthermore, a high proportion of children received support after a union dissolution with much of the variation driven by pre-dissolution support, father's education and the presence of extended kin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Media is one of the most powerful medium accepted in democratic systems for representing voices of the citizenry, in the absence and/or addition to the existing informal and formal legislative provisions. The philosophical fulcrum of this paper is that citizenry participation in decision making processes is an imperative tenet for democratic governance to be "good" and to serve the public interests for service delivery. In this context, South Africa's violent protests about service delivery raises question of the voices that the powerful conventional mass media is representing. The paper asserts that the editorial rooms of the conventional media appear to use the protests of the poor people for making headline, selling their products and running their businesses, rather than communicating the unfettered voices of the majority. A conclusion is made that the social media networks, notwithstanding their drawbacks, hold a strong realistic potential to promote the voices of the poor majority for good democratic governance of service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collective actions enable poor African communities to achieve common goals and respond to key life hazards. This paper draws on in-depth interviews among poor entrepreneurs in two informal settlement areas in Cape Town, South Africa and how they manage climate-induced hazards, particularly flooding. The study assesses how one form of collective action, burial societies, can be used by members to overcome flood hazards. The findings suggest that the reciprocity principle in burial societies makes them a useful mechanism for flood management. However, there remains a gap in our knowledge on the ability of burial societies to respond to climate-induced shocks, and the issues that need to be addressed to make burial societies more appropriate to deal with flooding. These issues are outlined in the conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]