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‘Steep Hills to Climb’: Zimbabwe 2000 - 2006
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Hits: 209 |
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Date added: 07/28/2008 |
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Zimbabwe’s anguish hit the headlines again last year with the government’s controversial ‘Operation Murambatsvina,’ (‘clean up all trash’). In May 2005, the government began destroying all ‘illegal’[1] structures in a purported effort to clean up the country and to stamp out all ‘illegal’ trading[2] on the black market. Various interpretations and theories have been advanced by critics who, among other things, see the ‘cleaning up’ as part of the government’s move to destroy the urban stronghold of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Others have argued that the government took this step as a way of diverting people’s attention from the deteriorating socio-economic situation in the country. Some estimates suggest that while the rate of unemployment in Zimbabwe (putting aside state employees) was 80% before the operation commenced, the destruction of the informal sector, which used to employ 20% of the workforce, has left the rate of unemployment at close to100%! [1] Some people who had been settled by the government in Hatcliff Extension woke up one morning to be told that they were illegal settlers; backyard shelters which had for a long time offered some shelter for people struggling to find accommodation in the cities were also declared illegal. [2] The government has included all tuckshops owners (Spazas shops, as they are known in South African Townships). Most informal sector traders have been wiped out by this clean up operation because they do not have trading licences. |
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Women and Human Development
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Hits: 233 |
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Date added: 07/28/2008 |
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Women in South Africa, especially black rural women for a long timehave been excluded from development projects and marginalized in thedevelopment process. They have also been discriminated against inmacro-economic and social policies. Most development projects seemedto focus on men, with the underlying assumption that women, the ‘passive’members of society, played no important part in economic and politicalmatters. Development planners were biased in favour of patriarchal powerstructures, a problem exacerbated by the apartheid legacy that deniedwomen formal education. Poverty is still more prevalent in women than inmen and female headed-households especially are struggling a lot with theburden of poverty. In attempting to address the problem, many theories ofdevelopment focused on development as synonymous with economicgrowth. More recently, the focus has shifted to human development, withthe emphasis on empowering human beings to meet their basic needssustainably. This paper will argue that, to alleviate poverty and enhancehuman development, the latter approach must be followed and that it isvital that women be empowered and not be left behind. |
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Twilight Children Helping the Street Children of Cape Town
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Hits: 405 |
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Date added: 07/28/2008 |
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Street children are the forgotten ones, the overlooked; to some they are merely a nuisance.Hurrying in packs through shopping centers, they hunt for food in garbage bins, prostitutethemselves on dark streets, sniff glue to take the edge off their days and nights, and still have hopes of becoming famous soccer stars (Thiel 1997). They make all the decisions for their own future; they have taken that right, although it is a burden no child should have to shoulder. In a world that promotes the rights of the child, they have all the rights, and none of them. The public that views them daily is unsure what to make of them: as one researcher stated, “society tends to see [street children] in an insubstantial or unreal way” (SANCCFW 1993 p. 10). The hope that came with the end of apartheid has not reached them yet; the boom in industry and tourism in the last few years has almost worked against them, making these children undesirables in the fantasy of a perfect city. Campaigns and programs have been undertaken on their behalf, and these are making slow headway. Still, the feeling is that something more is needed; the solution, rather than a “clean-up” or “removal,” is something more humane, just beyond the grasp, as fleeting as childhood itself. |
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Towards Electoral Reform in South Africa
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Hits: 206 |
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Date added: 07/28/2008 |
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The world ‘democracy’ is derived from Greek roots which literally translate as “rule of the people.” While it is almost universally agreed to be the best form of government, there is no consensus on what shape, form and size a democracy should take. Many democratic systems have evolved over long periods of time, while some states have consciously designed their democracies in certain ways, specifying a variety of rules under which the democratic processes operate. While these rules are often underestimated when it comes to public policy output, their importance in shaping this is beyond doubt. This paper will briefly outline democratic theory, identify arguable shortcomings in the current South African democratic system, examine alternative models used in other nations, and draw conclusions on electoral reform in South Africa. |
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The South African Small Business Environment
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Hits: 650 |
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Date added: 01/16/2009 |
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This paper provides an overview of South Africa’s small business environment, related to government institutions, policy, and development initiatives. It outlines the debates surrounding micro-finance and the role of micro-businesses and survivalist entrepreneurs in economic development. Further, it discusses the core challenges of small business development, particularly education, health, and AIDS. |
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South Africa as a Development State (1808)