SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIAL POLICY ‘TOKENISM’ AS AUSTERITY GRIPS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/0304-615X/1513Keywords:
SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIAL POLICY ‘TOKENISMAbstract
The South African government’s mandate was to transform state social policy and correct historic class, racial, gendered and other injustices. The main design patterns of economic and social policy during the 1990s and 2000s, however, can be characterised respectively as ‘neoliberal’ (insofar as they favour the market) and ‘tokenistic’ (insofar as that part of the society that is not served by the market is provided only a small fraction of what it requires to live a decent life). The state has sufficient resources and could tax or prevent profit outflows that would allow surpluses to be redistributed. But as part of a more general tendency to ‘talk left, walk right’, the ruling party has declined to engage in substantive redistribution, risking the ire of its constituencies. The rise of left opposition forces coincides with a new top-down commitment to austerity, one that already began to fray by mid-2016. Only when those forces become more coherent, potentially by the time of the 2019 national election, will a full accounting of the damage of tokenistic social policy be possible, as part of a systemic effort to reverse course.
References
Adesina, J. 2007. ‘Social Policy and the Quest for Inclusive Development: Research Findings from Sub-Saharan Africa’. United Nations Research Institute for Social Development Social Policy and Development Programme Paper No. 33, Geneva, May.
Barchiesi, F. 2005. Social citizenship and the transformations of wage in the making of post-apartheid South Africa, 1994–2001. Doctoral thesis, University of the Witwatersrand.
Barchiesi, F. 2009. ‘That melancholic object of desire’. Johannesburg Workshop on Theory and Criticism, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Available at http://jwtc.org.za/the_salon/volume_1/franco_barchiesi.htm. Accessed 17 June 2016.
Barchiesi, F 2011. Precarious liberation. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Barclays Capital. 2012. Global portfolio manager’s digest. 4 March. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/117095425/Barclays-Capital----Emerging-Themes-Investors-Should-Watch (accessed June 17, 2016)
Bhorat, H. 2013. Economic inequality is a major obstacle. New York Times, 28 July.
Bhorat, H., C. van der Westhuizen, and T. Jacobs. 2009. Income and non-income inequality in post-apartheid South Africa: What are the drivers and possible policy interventions? University of Cape Town. http://www.researchgate.net/publication/228269383_Income_and_Non-Income_Inequality_in_Post-Apartheid_South_Africa_What_are_the_Drivers_and_Possible_Policy_Interventions (accessed June 17, 2016) DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2184183
Bond, P. 2000. Cities of gold, townships of coal. Trenton: Africa World Press.
Bond, P. 2002. Unsustainable South Africa. London: Merlin.
Bond, P. 2003. Against global Apartheid. London: Zed Books.
Bond, P. 2010. Water, health and the commodification debate. Review of Radical Political Economics 42(3): 445–64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0486613410375056
Bond, P. 2012. Politics of climate justice: Paralysis above, movement below. Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.
Bond, P. 2013a. Water rights, commons and advocacy narratives. South African Journal of Human Rights 29(1): 125-143. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19962126.2013.11865068
Bond, P. 2013b. Historical varieties of space, scale and speculation in South Africa: The uneven and combined geographical development of financialised capitalism. Transformation 81–82: 179–207. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/trn.2013.0016
Bond, P. 2014a. Tokenistic social policy in South Africa. Transformation 86: 48–77. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/trn.2014.0034
Bond, P. 2014b. Elite transition: From apartheid to neoliberalism in South Africa. London: Pluto Press.
Bond, P. 2015. Bretton Woods Institution narratives about inequality and economic vulnerability on the eve of South African austerity. International Journal of Health Services, 45(3): 415–42. DOI: 10.1177/0020731415584561. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0020731415584561
Bond, P., and M. Khosa. 1999. An RDP policy audit. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council Press.
Bond, P., and T. Ngwane. 2010. Community resistance to energy privatisation in South Africa. In Sparking a Worldwide Energy Revolution: Social Struggles in the Transition to a Post-petrol World, ed. K. Abramsky, 197–208.Oakland: AK Press.
Booysen, S. 2011. The ANC and the regeneration of political power, 1994–2011. Paper presented at the conference, ‘One Hundred Years of the ANC: Debating Liberation Histories and Democracy Today’, Johannesburg, 20–24 September.
Budlender, S., I. Woolard and M. Leibbrandt. 2015. How current measures underestimate the level of poverty in South Africa. The Conversation, 3 September. https://theconversation.com/how-current-measures-underestimate-the-level-of-poverty-in-south-africa-46704 (accessed June 17, 2016).
Coleman, N. 2013. The National Development Plan: The devil is in the economic detail. Daily Maverick. http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2013-04-03-national-development-plan-the-devil-is-in-the-economic-detail/#.Vn904FIpV4M (accessed June 17, 2016)
Cronje, F. 2012a. SA service delivery ‘no failure’: SAIRR. Press statement, Johannesburg, 11 September. http://nepadwatercoe.org/south-africa-sa-service-delivery-no-failure-sairr/ (accessed June 17, 2016)
Cronje, F. 2012b. Private correspondence with Patrick Bond, 13 September. Available upon request from pbond@mail.ngo.za.
Daily Maverick. 2016. Watch Pravin Gordhan at The Gathering. 12 June. http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-06-12-watch-pravin-gordhan-at-the-gathering-2016/ (accessed June 17, 2016)
Devereux, S. 2011. Social protection in South Africa: Exceptional or exceptionalism? Canadian Journal of Development Studies 32(4): 414–425. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02255189.2011.647444
Duncan, J. 2014. Social security debased by the profit motive. Mail&Guardian, 3 January. http://mg.co.za/article/2014-01-02-social-security-debased-by-the-profit-motive (accessed June 17, 2016)
Esping-Andersen, G. 1990. The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/095892879100100108
Ferguson, J. 2013. Declarations of dependence: Labor, personhood, and welfare in Southern Africa. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 19(2): 223–242. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9655.12023
Financial and Fiscal Commission. 2011. Submission for the division of revenue 2011/12. Midrand, 6 September. http://pmg-assets.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/docs/100602FFC_0.ppt (accessed June 17, 2016)
FM Fox. 2014. 8 out of 10 managers commit economic crime in SA, PwC survey. Financial Mail, 20 February. http://www.financialmail.co.za/fmfox/2014/02/20/8-out-of-10-managers-commit-economic-crime-in-sa-pwc-survey (accessed June 17, 2016)
Forslund, D. 2012. Wages, profits and labor productivity in South Africa. Amandla!, 24 January.
Forslund, D. 2016. World Bank finds itself in a Gini fix. Mail&Guardian, 17 March. http://mg.co.za/article/2016-03-17-world-bank-finds-itself-in-a-gini-fix
Geffen, N. 2010. Debunking Delusions. Johannesburg: Jacana Media.
Gorz. A. 1967. Strategy for Labor. Boston: Beacon Press.
Gottschalk, K. 2016. ‘South Africa’s finance minister tackles wastage, boosts confidence. The Conversation, 24 February. https://theconversation.com/south-africas-finance-minister-tackles-wastage-boosts-confidence-55338 (accessed June 17, 2016)
Harvey, D. 1985. The urbanization of capital. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Hemson, D. 2003. Rural poor play a role in water projects. Business Day, 1 July.
Hirsch, A. 2005. Season of hope: Economic reform under Mbeki and Mandela. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre.
Hirsch, A 2016. South Africa’s budget promises will require buckets of political capital. The Conversation, 25 February. https://theconversation.com/south-africas-budget-promises-will-require-buckets-of-political-capital-55395 (accessed 17 June 2016)
Hosken, G. 2014. World fraud champs. The Times, 19 February. http://m.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/?articleId=11053736 (accessed June 17, 2016)
Hunter, N., J. May, and V. Padayachee. 2003. ‘Lessons for PRSP from poverty reduction strategies in South Africa. University of KwaZulu-Natal School of Development Studies, Durban. http://sds.ukzn.ac.za/files/wp39.pdf‎ (accessed June 17, 2016)
IMF (International Monetary Fund). 2013. South Africa: 2013 Article IV consultation. Washington, DC. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=40971.0 (accessed June 17, 2016) DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781484355046.002
Kar, D., and J. Spanjers. 2015. Illicit financial flows from developing countries: 2004–2013. Washington, DC: Global Financial Integrity.
Kasrils, R. 2013. Armed and dangerous. Johannesburg, Jacana Media.
Leibbrandt, M., I. Woolard, H. McEwen, and C. Koep. 2010. Employment and inequality outcomes in Southern Africa. Report for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development by the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit and School of Economics, University of Cape Town.
Mala, J. 2012. ‘Economic overview’. Industrial Development Corporation, Access Newsletter, April. Available at http://www.idc.co.za/access/economicoverview-april-2012. A (accessed 17 June 17, 2016.)
Mbali, M. 2013. South African AIDS activism and global health politics. London: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137312167
Mbeki, M. 2011. Only a matter of time before the bomb explodes. ThoughtLeader, 12 February. http://www.leader.co.za/article.aspx?s=23&f=1&a=2571 (accessed June 17, 2016)
McDonald, D. and Pape, J. eds. 2002. Cost recovery and the crisis of service delivery in South Africa. London: Zed Books.
McKinley, D. 2014. ‘The real story of South Africa's national election. Links, 11 May. http://links.org.au/node/3845 (accessed June 17, 2016)Mkokeli, S. 2016. Overpricing is where the real leakage is, Treasury’s Kenneth Brown says. Business Day, 6 October.
Mtimka, O. 2016. South African finance minister forced to walk a difficult political tightrope. The Conversation, 25 February. https://theconversation.com/south-african-finance-minister-forced-to-walk-a-difficult-political-tightrope-55345 (accessed June 17, 2016)
Muller, M. 2004. Keeping the taps open. Mail&Guardian, 30 June. http://mg.co.za/article/2004-06-30-keeping-the-taps-open (accessed June 17, 2016)
Nattrass, N. 2003. The moral economy of AIDS. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511550454
Ndikumana, L. 2016. Trade misinvoicing in primary commodities in developing countries: The cases of Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia. New York, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Special Unit on Commodities, July.
Netshitenzhe, J. 2004. A social partnership is required for growth in the next 10 years. The Sunday Times, 4 April.
Nzimande, B. 2012. Transforming university and society. Politicsweb, 2 October. http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page72308?oid=32 9837&sn=Marketingweb+detail&pid=90389 (accessed June 17, 2016)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2011. Public social expenditures in OECD countries and emerging economies. http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/social-issues-migration-health/divided-we-stand/public-social-expenditure-in-oecd-countries-and-emerging-economies_9789264119536-graph23-en#page1 (accessed June 17, 2016)
Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action. 2016. PACSA Monthly Food Price Barometer. Pietermaritzburg, 23 June.
Pons-Vignon, N. and Segatti, A. 2013. ‘The art of neoliberalism’: Accumulation, institutional change and social order since the end of apartheid. Review of African Political Economy 40(138): 507–518. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03056244.2013.859449
PricewaterhouseCoopers. 2016. Global Economic Crime Survey 2016: Adjusting the Lens on Economic Crime. http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/advisory/consulting/forensics/economic-crime-survey.html (accessed June 17, 2016)
Reuters. 2016. Austerity is no longer the answer – Gordhan. Business Report, 26 July.
Roome, J. 1995. Water pricing and management: World Bank Presentation to the SA Water Conservation Conference. Unpublished paper, Johannesburg, 2 October.
Ruiters, G. 2007. Disciplinary commodification and self-disconnections: Contradictions in municipal services in contemporary South Africa. Critical Social Policy 27: 487–er508. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0261018307081809
Runciman, C., P. Alexander, M. Rampedi, B. Moloto, B. Maruping, E. Khumalo and S. Sibanda. 2016. Counting police-recorded protests. South African Research Chair in Social Change Report 2, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg.
Saul, J.S., and P. Bond. 2014. South Africa: The present as history. London: James Currey.
Schreiber, L. 2016. South Africa Budget 2016: Nifty political footwork may not be enough. The Conversation, 24 February. https://theconversation.com/south-africa-budget-2016-nifty-political-footwork-may-not-be-enough-55344 (accessed June 17, 2016)
Seekings, J. 2005. Visions, hopes and views about the future: The radical moment of South African welfare reform. In South Africa’s 1940s: Worlds of Possibilities, ed. S. Dubow and A. Jeeves, 44–63. Cape Town: Double Storey Books.
Seekings, J., and N. Nattrass. 2015. Policy, politics and poverty in South Africa. Geneva: United Nations Research Institute on Social Development. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137452696
Spaull, N. 2013. South Africa’s education crisis: The quality of education in South Africa 1994–2011. Centre for Development and Enterprise Working Paper, Johannesburg, October.
Terreblanche, S. 2002. A history of inequality in South Africa, 1652–2000. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press.
Van der Berg, S. 2009. Fiscal incidence of social spending in South Africa, 2006. Working Papers 10/2009. Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University.
Weisenthal, J. 2012. This country defaulted, and now it has one of the healthiest public sectors in the world. Business Insider, 5 March. http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-this-country-defaulted-and-now-it-has-one-of-the-healthiest-public-sectors-in-the-world-2012-3 (accessed June 17, 2016)
Woolard, I., R. Metz, G. Inchauste, N. Lustig, M. Maboshe, and C. Purfield. 2015. How much is inequality reduced by progressive taxation and government spending? Econ3x3. http://www.econ3x3.org/article/how-much-inequality-reduced-progressive-taxation-and-government-spending#sthash.nuwTTm2n.dpuf (accessed June 17, 2016).
World Bank. 1999. Country assistance strategy: South Africa. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
World Bank. 2000. Sourcebook on community driven development in the Africa region: Community action programs. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
World Bank. 2014. Fiscal policy and redistribution in an unequal society. South Africa Economic Update No. 6. Washington, DC: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/11/20339043/south-africa-economic-update-fiscal-policy-redistribution-unequal-society (accessed June 17, 2016)
World Bank. 2016. Taking on inequality. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
World Economic Forum. 2015. Global competitiveness report 2015–2016. http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-competitiveness-report-2015-2016/ (accessed June 17, 2016).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Accepted 2016-09-13
Published 2016-12-09
