WHAT exactly constitutes sustainable livelihood and what are the conditions under which this idea can be attempted in practical terms?
Recently the Johannesburg-based Khanya-aicdd (Africa Institute for Community-Driven Development), organised a workshop of which the theme centred on "sustainable livelihood and job creation".
Given the soaring unemployment rate at 25% in the country, unemployment is obviously one of the most pressing concerns facing a lot of South Africans.
Presentations made at the workshop pondered the idea that the formal economy continues to exclude many South Africans from meaningful economic participation.
Some blamed the situation on what they argued to be the false dichotomy of the formal and informal sector of the economy. They argued that the divide between formal and informal economy is imposed by the state - as part of globalisation - to subjugate the majority of individuals to the needs and requirements of the formal economy.
There is no doubt that the recent economic fallout from Wall Street has rather been nationalised, where taxpayers have had to foot the bill, while the benefits that accrued through Wall Street over the years have been deemed private gains.
The idea here is that the notion of sustainable livelihood and job creation is caught between a highly globalised economy and the yearning to overly localise economies. Both positions are in their extreme form untenable, and South Africa is a case at hand showing that contrast.
Sustainable livelihoods are possible if the individuals are allowed to negotiate the terms of inclusion in the global economy.
In that way they will be able to retain certain elements of self while giving in to some demands of being a role player in the global economy.
The main narrative whenever poor people are being referred to in South Africa, and elsewhere for that matter, is that they need to earn a livelihood. While this is not wrong, it raises the question as to whether poor people are all about economic livelihood, where everything about them is about a livelihood.
What about their culture, arts, and other social expression. According to this narrative, poor people are expected only to focus on poverty eradication. This is not sustainable at all.
The cultural traits of poor people are as important as those of who are well off, and require even more nurturing and appreciation.
What would solidarity economy bring about for the majority of South Africans? This should be the first step towards mobilisation of a common front through which the majority of South Africans can negotiate the terms of inclusion in the economy. It should be acknowledged that the majority of South Africa do appreciate the goods of a modern market society.
Therefore, the idea of a detached communal localised economy cannot be an end but a means towards meaningful integration into the market economy. Any form of integration that does not take into consideration the peculiar aspects of role players would not be sustainable in a long term.
South Africa's Economic Planning Machinery need to shift away from attempting to socially engineer people into actors in the modern economy and shift them across different economic spaces characterised by centre-periphery relations, but should rather find common threads between the demands of modern economy and the historical traits that people bear.
- Mathekga is director at ClearContent Research& Consulting
Global economic inclusion for a sustainable livelihood
WHAT exactly constitutes sustainable livelihood and what are the conditions under which this idea can be attempted in practical terms?
Recently the Johannesburg-based Khanya-aicdd (Africa Institute for Community-Driven Development), organised a workshop of which the theme centred on "sustainable livelihood and job creation".
Given the soaring unemployment rate at 25% in the country, unemployment is obviously one of the most pressing concerns facing a lot of South Africans.
Presentations made at the workshop pondered the idea that the formal economy continues to exclude many South Africans from meaningful economic participation.
Some blamed the situation on what they argued to be the false dichotomy of the formal and informal sector of the economy. They argued that the divide between formal and informal economy is imposed by the state - as part of globalisation - to subjugate the majority of individuals to the needs and requirements of the formal economy.
There is no doubt that the recent economic fallout from Wall Street has rather been nationalised, where taxpayers have had to foot the bill, while the benefits that accrued through Wall Street over the years have been deemed private gains.
The idea here is that the notion of sustainable livelihood and job creation is caught between a highly globalised economy and the yearning to overly localise economies. Both positions are in their extreme form untenable, and South Africa is a case at hand showing that contrast.
Sustainable livelihoods are possible if the individuals are allowed to negotiate the terms of inclusion in the global economy.
In that way they will be able to retain certain elements of self while giving in to some demands of being a role player in the global economy.
The main narrative whenever poor people are being referred to in South Africa, and elsewhere for that matter, is that they need to earn a livelihood. While this is not wrong, it raises the question as to whether poor people are all about economic livelihood, where everything about them is about a livelihood.
What about their culture, arts, and other social expression. According to this narrative, poor people are expected only to focus on poverty eradication. This is not sustainable at all.
The cultural traits of poor people are as important as those of who are well off, and require even more nurturing and appreciation.
What would solidarity economy bring about for the majority of South Africans? This should be the first step towards mobilisation of a common front through which the majority of South Africans can negotiate the terms of inclusion in the economy. It should be acknowledged that the majority of South Africa do appreciate the goods of a modern market society.
Therefore, the idea of a detached communal localised economy cannot be an end but a means towards meaningful integration into the market economy. Any form of integration that does not take into consideration the peculiar aspects of role players would not be sustainable in a long term.
South Africa's Economic Planning Machinery need to shift away from attempting to socially engineer people into actors in the modern economy and shift them across different economic spaces characterised by centre-periphery relations, but should rather find common threads between the demands of modern economy and the historical traits that people bear.
- Mathekga is director at ClearContent Research& Consulting