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In 1996, South Africa adopted the Growth, Employment, and Redistribution (GEAR) strategy. Twenty-seven years later, conclusive evidence suggests that GEAR was not a genuine strategy for growth, employment creation, and poverty reduction but a mere consolidation of neoliberalism in South Africa. This paper considers the key targets of GEAR and trend data from 1996 onward to explain the contributions and failures of GEAR in the development of South Africa. The paper is informed by secondary data, and desk-top research was conducted to elicit data. Drawing from the lenses of a people-centred development approach, this paper argues that future development policy formulation and implementation processes should be based on substantive participation. Despite the role of GEAR in reducing the national debt and stabilising the country’s inflation, its contribution to economic growth was insignificant and only benefited the few. In fact, GEAR contributed to social and economic problems, includingunemployment, poverty, poor education, health, and the welfare system in South Africa. This paper concludes that GEAR was simply a consolidation of neoliberalism, which benefited the few better-off minorities at the expense of the poor majority. Thus, this paper eventually draws key lessons and recommendations for future development policies in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon hence it requires a multipronged approach in terms of analysis and solutions. This paper investigated the drivers of multidimensional poverty among households in rural Limpopo province, South Africa. Primary data were collected from a random sample of 407 households in Sekhukhune and Capricorn District Municipality of rural Limpopo Province, South Africa. The sampling methods used included purposive and simple random sampling. While descriptive statistics was used to profile households' socioeconomic characteristics, the Alkire-Foster methodology was employed to analyse multidimensional poverty. The logistic regression model was also used to analyse the drivers of multidimensional poverty in the study area. The results of data analysis revealed that the incidence of multidimensional poverty was high among the households. The results also indicated that employment, sanitation type, type of fuel for heat and cooking, and years of schooling contributed to the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in the study area. The results further revealed that the gender of the household head, years of schooling, association and cooperative membership, access to grants, and income influence the incidence of multidimensional poverty. The paper concluded that multidimensional poverty spread across both the income poor and non-income poor as the majority of them were deprived of sanitation, the type of fuel used for heating, and asset ownership. Improved sanitation system and electricity subsidies especially in the winter to access clean fuel for heat, could minimise multidimensional poverty in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal workers, such as day labourers, are frequently living in rampant poverty; exploited, with no place to go for protection; ill from not having access to clean water or basic social services; maimed, or worse, as there are no basic safety conditions at work; holding little or no hope that life can be better; struggling on a daily basis just to survive. The aim of this paper is to contextualise the relationship between day labouring, poverty and vulnerability. The research applied a case study research design. It involved day labourers from Mbekweni in the Western Cape Province at three hiring sites. It was found that the day labour market is mainly a catchment area for those who have lost their jobs in the formal economy, and who are unable to secure reemployment. Immigrants from the rest of Southern Africa also join this informal labour market, and compete with their South African counterparts for the available temporary employment on offer. The greatest vulnerability faced by day labourers is long periods of chronic unemployment and the infrequent hires and resultant unstable and low income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]