An exploration of the dynamics and nature of poverty: The case of Khayelitsha, 2010 – 2018

Abstract

This mini-thesis explores the various competing understandings of poverty in a local South African setting using Khayelitsha as a case study. The study will then examine which conceptual frameworks are used to examine poverty since it is not a static “condition.” The main challenge is that post-1996 the South African government embarked on specific steps to address poverty to redress the injustices inherited from apartheid-like providing housing, water and health, education, and creating jobs in the process. The vision was to design policies to deliver “basic” services in black townships. while the government adopted neoliberal macroeconomic policies like the Growth, Employment, and Redistribution (GEAR).