Browsing by Author "Chagunda, Chance"

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    An Explorative Study on the Effects of The Fourth Industrial Revolution on Employment in Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises
    (2023) Jacobs, Gabriella; Chagunda, Chance
    The onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution impacted most facets of life. As a services revolution, which was brought about by the merging of various sectors and phenomena such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, and Information Communication and technology systems, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will massively end, irreversibly altering the way that things are done, including in the SMMEs sector. Using the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals numbers 8 and 9 and South Africa's National Development Plan as the guiding framework and legislation within which the Fourth Industrial Revolution will unfold in South Africa, this study, set out to carry out an exploitative case study of the fate of SMMEs by focusing mostly on automation and the fate of skilled and unskilled jobs. This study seeks to understand the experiences and perceptions of people working in SMMEs on the effects of automation on employment through their work experience in an SMME. It also seeks to determine the extent of the utilization, or lack thereof, of automation in the SMME sector. Other aims include an examination of the contingency plans to be put in place to prevent or minimise job losses. Overall, the study aims to identify whether the Fourth Industrial Revolution is having a negative or positive effect on employment in SMMEs. The methodology used was a mixture of literature review and key informant interviews conducted by business owners and workers in Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises and also by experts in this sector. The main findings of this study were that without the prerequisite infrastructural development and the necessary digital literacy, South Africa's SMMEs will lose more jobs as a result of technological innovation and automation. This predicament will be exacerbated by the lack of reskilling and upskilling programmes meant to absorb those whose jobs would have been lost to automation. The conclusion reached was that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will not be useful in reducing unemployment, poverty, and inequality. On the contrary, it will widen these gaps and result in more unemployment and unemployability. Instead of being a beneficiary of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the SMME sector will be one of the most affected sectors of the economy.
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    An exploratory study on the role of social protection programme in supporting children's education: The case of post-primary schools in Mafeteng district in the Kingdom of Lesotho
    (2023) Ntili, Hape; Chagunda, Chance
    The study investigated the role of social protection programme in supporting children's education at post-primary education level. The study focused on the non-contributory education focused programme, which is the Child Grant/Bursary programme (CGP/Bursary). Qualitative method was used to conduct this study, with a case study approach focusing on three schools situated within Metsi-Maholo and Mamantso Community Councils in the district of Mafeteng. This is one of the ten districts in the Kingdom of Lesotho. Data was collected through individual interviews and group discussions. Twenty-nine respondents were selected, based on their relationship with social protection programme. The study discovered that for children to have access to post-primary education, the social protection programme gives them a chance to transition to tertiary education, where their careers are developed and their skills sharpened. The research findings further reveal that the social protection programme has also created capabilities for the parents/guardians to provide for the basic needs of their families. The study showed that the CGP/Bursary programme plays an important role in enhancing children's education as it widens access, influences retention, stimulates attendance, promotes good performance and motivates completion in post-primary schools. The study concluded with some recommendations which include the need for the government to review the scope of the programmes, in order to adequately address vulnerable children's needs in a more holistic manner. It is further recommended that the government should take a lead in mobilizing resources for schools and improve stakeholder involvement. Keywords: Child, Education, Social Assistance, Social Protection, Cash Transfers, Childsensitive social protection, post-primary school education, Kingdom of Lesotho.
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    Comparative Study on Racial Inequality in Higher Education in Brazil and South Africa
    (2023) Souza, Eugenio Gabriela Fernanda; Chagunda, Chance
    This research investigated how racial aspects impacted on access to higher education in Brazil and South Africa, respectively. It also tried to determine how race influenced the completion of higher education in both countries. Based on a descriptive quantitative research design, the researcher retrieved data on enrolment and graduation in higher education from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) in South Africa and Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira of Brazil (INEP in Portuguese) and then filtered it using population groups. Each country was assessed individually to identify the panorama of higher education in terms of racial distribution of students. Then similarities and differences were identified, considering both countries' social formation and the structure of their education systems. The findings of the study were able to uncover the importance of affirmative action policies to tackle racial and social inequalities in higher education in both countries. In Brazil, the findings showed that a total number of vacancies in higher education had a significant expansion during the period of the study. However, the findings revealed that the total number of white students who had enrolled in institutions of higher education and had graduated was greater than the total number of black students, during the period of the research study. In addition, there was a tendency for this gap to decrease over time. The study identified a variation related to the reduction of the gap for graduating black and white students. It seemed slower than the reduction in the gap for enrolment, but both indicators have been improving regarding racial inequalities. The study discovered that higher education system in Brazil had introduced new tools to promote access to education and reduce the dropout rate. Programmes such as the quota system, ProUni, Fies, Sisu and permanence policies were identified as being responsible for improving the indicators of racial equality in higher education in the period of study. In the case of South Africa, the study was able to determine that the total number of students enrolled in and graduating from higher education had increased in the period studied. On the one hand, black African students represented the majority of students enrolled in and had graduated from higher education throughout the whole assessed period. However, the proportion of black African students in higher education was still not equivalent to their weight in the population as a whole. On the other hand, the reality for white students was the opposite. During the interval studied, the proportion of white students in higher education outweighed their participation in the general population. Such differences have been reducing over time, suggesting a slight reduction in racial inequality in higher education South Africa. The study also revealed that racial aspects impacted access to and the completion of higher education in both Brazil and South Africa. The study concluded with policy recommendations. A key recommendation of the study was for the development of policies that would tackle the challenge of dropouts which the study identified as a major issue for the higher education in both countries.
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    Exploring Challenges Facing the youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET) under the Restrictions of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The case study of Khayelitsha Township
    (2023) Bathembu, Linda; Chagunda, Chance
    This research study explores challenges facing the youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET) under the restrictions of the COVID-19 Pandemic using Khayelitsha Township as a case study. According to the first National Youth Policy for South Africa, young people are a vital resource whose prospects are inseparable from those of the country. However, the approaches aimed at reducing youth unemployment in South Africa seem to have failed. It is of this reason that this study aimed to explore challenges facing the NEET youth under the restrictions of the COVID-19 Pandemic. To do so, a qualitative method and open-ended questions are used. A non-probability sampling technique was used since the exact population size of NEET youth in Khayelitsha is not known. Twenty young people between ages of 18-35 years were selected. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews. COVID-19 protocols were followed. Tech's eight steps in coding process was used to analyse data. The research findings have shown that not being in employment, training, or education threatens the youth's sense of future socio-economic opportunities. As a result, NEET youth cannot afford better life and are likely to have low educational attainment. As such, they find employment seeking expensive. The research findings further revealed that the NEET youth faced security challenges that include the lack of funds for opportunity searching and difficulties accessing COVID-19 relief grant. In addition, the research findings discovered that there were challenges affecting NEET youth's sense of trust in the government system towards creating opportunities for them. Lastly, the research findings showed some challenges affecting youth's political participation such as those who showed apathy from voting and those who were willing to vote for change. Due to the research findings, this research study recommends that the government needs to work with employers when implementing training programs to ensure that those programs are aligned with the needs of the labour market. The research study further recommends the government to strengthen the anti-corruption system so that it can eradicate corruption as it negatively affects NEET youth. Lastly, practical legislative principles that promote youth employability and security in the labour markets need to be implemented.
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    Exploring Social Assistance Policy's Role In Alleviating Poverty In Post-Apartheid South Africa
    (2023) Ramushu, Tshidi; Chagunda, Chance
    Social assistance policy is an anti-poverty approach used by the South African government to tackle socio-economic challenges. This study analysed the social assistance policy's role in alleviating poverty in post-apartheid South Africa. Applying Sen's capability approach, the study explored the role played by the social assistance grants in alleviating poverty. Literature reviewed for the study revealed that social assistance as an anti-poverty measure has contributed significantly towards the reduction of poverty in post-apartheid South Africa. The results of this qualitative study show that the social assistance policy continues to play a critical role in significantly reducing the severity of poverty in Khayelitsha and Soweto, particularly in female-headed households. Grants reduce the economic and social vulnerability of poor households. The primary data was analysed using the thematic content analysis approach with the themes informed by both, interviews, and literature findings. Interviews with the participants who were accessed through purposive sampling revealed the provision of social grants play a significant role in relieving and uplifting many households from vulnerability, destitution, and poverty. Key indicators of this include: improved access to good nutrition, education, attainment of minimum standard of living, and access to the labour market
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    Exploring the socio-economic outcomes of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) social safety nets in Epworth and Hopley urban suburbs - Zimbabwe
    (2025) Mutemachani, Cashios; Chagunda, Chance
    This study seeks to contribute to scholarship lacking knowledge on the impact of Non- Governmental Organizations' (NGO) social safety net interventions in a context of existing social insecurity in Zimbabwe. The theoretical framework of the Capability Approach and the Ecological Perspective were adopted as the qualitative research and in-depth evaluative tools. A qualitative explorative case study research design was employed to elicit beneficiaries' experiences of NGOs social safety net interventions to gauge the socio-economic effects by examining how poor and vulnerable people survive in a desperate socio-economic environment. The study premised in Zimbabwe upholds the need to consider social safety nets in empowering resource poor urban communities on sustainable livelihoods programs. Using purposive non-probability sampling technique and in-depth face-to-face interviews with a semi-structured open-ended interview schedule, data was collected from a total 21 participants in selected Zimbabwean urban communities. Collected data from the study was thematically analysed which inductively gave rise to the following major findings: social safety nets in the form of cash transfers are an effective policy option in social protection to propel households out of vulnerability and poverty and the study highlighted the great impact of cash transfers in improving household disposable incomes to improve social aspects at family to community level. The study gave an appreciation of improved socio-economic well-being, the urban dwellers in poor urban settlements are susceptible to vulnerability as a result of complex urbanization typified by structural failures. Despite being parsimonious and short-lived as is typical of non-state external actors' social safety net programmes, cash transfers prove to be efficacious in fighting poverty and allowing communities to be resilient and there is great need to invest in these sustainable livelihoods programs that calls for community meaningful and active participation. As another recommendation, cash transfer model in Zimbabwe empowers parents to keep children in school; necessitate investment in economic opportunities and mitigate against mental health risks by restoring human dignity amongst other areas of development at local levels. Thus, both state and non-state actors should resource input towards supporting communities to realise indigenous systems on safety nets programs. Findings from this study illustrate unmitigated gaps in social protection which underscores the need for cooperation between government and external actors. Future research should further explore susceptibility to urban vulnerabilities for social protection planning and interventions.
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    Lived experiences of Zimbabwean labour migrants in the informal economy in Urban Cape Town during the COVID-19 pandemic
    (2023) Chinhara, Betty; Chagunda, Chance
    This research investigated the lived experiences of Zimbabwean labour migrants in the informal economy in urban Cape Town during the COVID-19 pandemic (hereafter referred to as COVID-19). The study was undertaken in Cape Town, South Africa. The major issues investigated included the lived experiences of Zimbabwean labour migrants in informal economy during COVID-19. The coping mechanisms used by Zimbabwean migrants to survive during the pandemic and the role local institutions played in enhancing the adaptation of migrants to the challenges that came with the COVID-19 was investigated. This qualitative study recruited 20 participants from Zimbabwe using purposive and snowball sampling. Face- to-face and telephonic interviews were used in data collection. The data was then analysed using thematic data analysis. Two theoretical frameworks; social exclusion theory and capability approach, were used in understanding designing of the study, and understanding the findings. The findings uncovered various challenges that were faced by Zimbabwean migrants during COVID-19. These include loss of livelihood opportunities, failure to send remittances home, unexpected changes in their social life, and exclusion from state-provided COVID-19 response packages. The findings further showed that to cope or adapt to these constraints Zimbabwean migrants adopted various mechanisms. These mechanisms included spending money from their pre-pandemic savings, relying on their social networks (family and friends) and some local institutions (churches and non-governmental organisations) for food, and financial support. The study discovered that COVID-19 helped some Zimbabweans to learn new skills to create entrepreneurial opportunities for themselves. A combination of these coping strategies demonstrated a high level of migrants' resilience which is critical in reducing their vulnerability relative to the effects of future pandemics and ongoing exclusions. The study concluded with recommendations. These included that the policy makers to be more inclusive of vulnerable migrants in formulating policies. There is need to provide social protection to migrants in difficult times such as the pandemic.