Coronavirus Grants and their Effects on Youth Behaviour: The Case of Dzimauli Village in the Vhembe Region, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

This article is based on a study conducted in a village called Dzimauli in the Vhembe region of Limpopo, South Africa. The study explored the effects of the coronavirus grants with regard to the behaviour of unemployed youths. On 15 March 2020, the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, pronounced a national state of disaster to flatten the curve of Covid-19, which was spreading all over the world, particularly in South Africa. On 17 March 2020, the government formulated a council that would help the country in planning to curb the spread of coronavirus. Subsequently, on 23 March 2020, the president announced a national lockdown that started on 27 March 2020 because of escalating numbers of coronavirus cases. Many people lost their jobs in the form of retrenchments because of the spread of the disease and the introduction of the national lockdown, which meant that people were no longer able to go to work. The study adopted an exploratory qualitative research design to probe the coronavirus grants, which were later approved by the president of the country as a way of helping those youths who were unemployed because of this pandemic. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews using open-ended questions to allow a free flow of probing and information. Participants were selected using purposive sampling, which allowed the researchers to use his own judgment in selecting participants. The study was guided by the social learning theory. Findings of the study indicate that most of the youths who received these grants used them for gambling and drugs. The study recommends, inter-alia that law enforcement agencies, doctors and nurses help the community by distributing relevant information and skills about the dangers of risky behaviours such as alcohol abuse, gambling and drug abuse, which are largely caused by easy access to the grant benefits.