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The paper seeks to examine the key reasons behind the recent violent community protests in South Africa. It analyses the challenges the political elites would have to navigate in order to address the concerns of the people and the impact such protests would have on peace, stability, and governance on the African continent. Suffice it to note that political and community-based protests have been a common occurrence in South Africa since the advent of democracy in the country in 1994. Though the nomenclature and manifestation of such protests have been a subject of great debate, their frequent reoccurrence is a cause for concern for many in South Africa and, to a greater extent, the continent. The magnitude and scale of the July 2021 protests in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, precipitated by the incarceration of the former president Jacob Zuma, raises key fundamental concerns. First was the spontaneity in the manner in which the riots were undertaken; second was the scale and magnitude of destruction the two provinces experienced. This calls into question whether the protests were planned or genuine concerns arising from the incarceration of a political leader? While the incarceration of the former president was the trigger, there is evidence that the protests were inspired by unmet promises and the limited capacity of the country to deliver on people's hopes and aspirations. However, Hough (2008), Tsheola (2012), and Nyamnjoh (2018) have argued that the root causes of violent protests in post-apartheid South Africa are not so much the unmet promises to address poverty and unemployment but rather people's experiences of inequality and relative deprivation. In other words, people are dissatisfied when they compare their own quality of life and their economic and social opportunities with those of better-off communities and households. Fundamentally, therefore, one of the reasons the country has experienced violent protests is not necessarily the fact that the people are poor, but rather that protesters consider themselves poor visà-vis better-off communities. Evidently, the paper attempts to clarify some of the key issues political elites need to look out for as they put in place measures to avoid the re-occurrence of such protests and provides challenges the country would have to overcome in order to address people's grievances. Fundamentally, what lessons can the African continent learn from these protests? What measures should the African Union, together with its member states, adopt in order to ensure that people's genuine grievances are addressed in a timely and expeditious manner. The paper concludes by suggesting that a careful reassessment of local governance structures in South Africa would have to be contemplated with an emphasis on accountability and strict measures to sanction recalcitrant councilors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graduate unemployment is one of the major socio-economic development problems in South Africa and many other developing countries. Previous research has described various factors causing graduate unemployment, one of which is a lack of relevant work experience. Internships are increasingly supported to address this problem. However, internships have been criticised for being exploitative, illegal, and unjust. This paper seeks to present a new perspective on internships. It seeks to examine the perspectives on the impact of stipend level on graduate intern work productivity. Thus, the objectives of this study are to: explore the impact of stipend level on the work productivity of graduate interns; explore the exploitative nature of internship as perceived by participants; and explore the concerns of graduate interns over compensation. This study is qualitative and exploratory in nature. Fifty semi-structured interviews were conducted with interns, mentors, and HR managers at eThekwini municipality, Durban, South Africa, to address these research objectives. Data from interviews was analysed through thematic analysis. The results indicate that there is a relationship between the level of stipend earned by interns and their work productivity. This study found that low pay is associated with low work productivity. Therefore, work compensation is the primary motivator of productivity, not only for full-time employees but also for graduate interns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South African street food industry is essential in elevating the socioeconomic standing of sellers. However, most studies on street food vending focused on perception, safety, consumption, and handling of street food. Therefore, it is necessary to fill this gap. The study explores street food vending contribution on poverty and unemployment in the Mahikeng Local Municipality. The study's goal was accomplished by using a mixed research methodology. A sample size of 401 respondents were selected for the study and data was obtained using structured, semi-structured and unstructured questionnaires. The study found that street food vending creates jobs not only for the people involved in the trade, but also for people who would otherwise be unemployed, for example, those who are retrenched. In addition, street food distribution has become a cornerstone for vendors to generate income to supplement family income that improved the standard of living of the vendors. Additionally, some vendors were able to acquire assets such as livestock and landed property from the profit made from the business, contributing to reducing poverty incidence among traders in the area. The paper concludes that street food vending has contributed in creating jobs thus, reducing poverty incidence. However, the street food industry continues to confront obstacles such as lack of cash and credit and location-based business restrictions. Therefore, in order for SFV to be effective, steps must be taken to minimise the difficulties affecting the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conceptual paper studies the relationship between unemployment and migration in some parts of Southern African Development Communities. The majority of the population that migrates are unemployed and want to improve their living standards and that of their family members. Human mobility is then regarded as means of improving the allocation of human resources. There are several characteristics that may encourage human mobility in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) but unemployment seems to be topping the list. Unemployment is one of the Push factors of human mobility; consequently, it is crucial to understand the relationship between the two. They are attached and this is another reason the global village will continually experience cross border movements. Occasionally, immigrants leave their place of residents because of the high unemployment rate and lack of economic growth. Family members of the unemployed household heads are also likely to migrate in search of greener pastures and better their lives and that of their siblings and dependents. The economic disparities between countries have a very strong influence in cross border movements and the deepening and widening inequality in incomes and opportunities within nations. The other contributing aspect which add pressure for people to cross the border is the increase in the number of people enduring poverty and extreme hardship. Cross border movement is also shaped by the location of employment and other opportunities. Consequently, the paper is conceptual as it relied on available literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By mid-2020, South Africa had shredded 2.2 million jobs, and less than 40% of these had been recuperated by the end of the last quarter. Resultantly, COVID-19 has threatened people's aptitude to afford themselves and their families a passable standard of living, thus relying on social protection. In South Africa, social protection has been a topical theme in recent years, given that the existing approach has proved unsuccessful in convincingly reducing poverty, inequality and unemployment. Using a desktop review, this paper examined South Africa's social protection regime and its impact during COVID-19. It further explored the applicability of a Universal Basic Income and Job Guarantee in South Africa. The findings revealed that, while COVID-19 social security interventions may be considered sizeable, they have not been effective in offsetting the impact of poverty and unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the article provided policy intervention recommendations for social security post-COVID-19 in South Africa. Finally, as a caveat, given that the nature of the social policy discourse in South Africa is heavily shaped by political priorities and ideological preferences, whichever decision is adopted may likely depend on considerations of the abovementioned factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]