ding Section 25 which is the Constitution’s property clause, in order to enable land redistribution without compensation. This will however be implemented on the condition that the process of expropriation does not negatively impact on agriculture, food security and other vital sectors in the economy.
- Free Higher Education
In October 2015 the #FeesMustFall protest movement saw thousands of students from various Higher Education institutions marching to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, this was in response to the proposed increase in fees for South African universities in the following academic year. Student Representative Councils (SRC) from the different universities recognized that some students from their campuses are barely managing to pay for their university tuition on top of other costs associated with being a varsity student. Therefore an increase in the university tuition will not only exacerbate the situation but also prevent performing students an opportunity to further their education.
SRC’s and other student bodies engaged in dialogue with the management of their universities on behalf fellow students and communicated their grievances. Unsatisfied with the collective response from most of the university management, student organisations rallied their counterparts across the country to join in protest and march to the executive office to submit a memorandum to the President. The Presidency issued a statement shortly after the protest saying a commission of inquiry, which will investigate the viability of fee free higher education in South Africa, will be established and once the report is released a decision will be made.
Fast forward to December 2017, President Jacob Zuma announced free higher education for poor and middle class students. The details of how exactly this decision will be realized is not yet clear but this is a step towards the direction of higher education becoming a tangible possibility for students coming from poor households.
- Growing Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is one of the most effective ways of tackling poverty in any society because it empowers people from poverty stricken backgrounds to take charge of their own livelihood and provide for themselves. South African is not slacking in this area. There are a numerous programmes throughout the country aimed at training people without a business background on how to start their own companies and also assisting existing small businesses to expand further.
“South Africa [was] ranked 46th in terms of its entrepreneurial environment in the Global Entrepreneurship Index for 2016”. – Fin24.
There is definitely room for improvement in the area of entrpreneurship especially with the poverty margin increase, but different sectors of the society are working together to curb the increase of this global issue.
Picture: San Jose State University
Below are some of the ways in which the public sector, the private sector, higher education institutions and civil society are working to eradicate poverty through entrepreneurship:
- Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) by the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA)
“The Entrepreneurship Development Programme is aimed at creating a conducive environment for young entrepreneurs to access relevant entrepreneurship skills, knowledge, values and attitudes for their businesses. The programme offers a package of entrepreneurship trainings that respond appropriately and adequately to the labour market and business needs of young people”. – NYDA
- Entrepreneurship Development Academy (EDA) by Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBBS)
“The Academy’s work extends across the entrepreneurial spectrum to include women, social, green, youth, and township entrepreneurs in informal and more formal, growing businesses. Through dynamic, tailor-made and practical business and entrepreneurship education, thought leadership and research, the Academy’s work encourages growth and sustainability in the more sophisticated sectors like retail, ICT, construction, engineering as well as the less formal sectors like s