Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Poverty in South Africa’s rural areas is complex and severe, especially among female-headed
households. The marginalisation of South Africa’s rural areas over a period of decades
resulted in an acute lack of economic opportunities, limited infrastructure and a serious
breakdown of social capital. Women living in rural areas are particularly poor in moneymetric
terms; they are often illiterate and therefore isolated from economic and social
opportunities; and many fall victim to violence in the household. They eke out a meagre
existence, based on small-scale agriculture, marginal self-employment or limited wage and
remittance income. While such income diversification, combined with the government’s
range of development interventions, helps to buffer them against risks such as illness, death
and disaster, rural poverty is not just a matter of income and assets. It is also rooted in other
disadvantages, such as exclusion, disempowerment and unequal power relations. These all
contribute to making poverty a multidimensional phenomenon.
The South African government has committed significant resources to poverty intervention
over the past 17 years. These interventions, which include social assistance grants, basic
municipal services and free water, electricity, schooling and health services, certainly have an
impact on the livelihoods of the rural poor, but they do not seem to bring a significant
improvement in the standard of living of the most vulnerable people in marginalised areas.
There is increasing recognition in the poverty literature that vulnerabilities – of income,
health, social exclusion and service delivery – are linked, and that support programmes
should focus not only on increasing the poor’s access to resources and assets but also on
empowering individuals to use these assets and make decisions.
This study investigates the potential of microfinance to address the overlapping
vulnerabilities experienced by women in South Africa’s rural areas. It suggests that
microfinance has the potential to generate positive shifts in selected indicators of
empowerment and well-being among participating women in rural areas. These claims are
tested by evaluating data gathered among clients of the Small Enterprise Foundation (SEF)
against a conceptual framework. The framework offers a stepwise progression away from
vulnerability: acquiring internal skills (empowerment), strengthening social capital,
accumulating assets and, eventually, transforming these assets into wealth. Existing datasets, gathered over a period of five years in rural Limpopo and representing both
a group that received microfinance from SEF and a control group, were examined. No
evidence could be found that the recipients of SEF’s microfinance experienced increased
empowerment, but the results did provide evidence that belonging to the group that received
microfinance increased the likelihood of experiencing livelihood security and well-being.
The findings show that microfinance can, even over the short term, make a difference in
people’s ability to smooth their consumption and, as such, provide them with more secure
livelihoods. The research also suggests that microfinance assists women in rural areas in
constructing and maintaining a portfolio of assets, thus improving well-being among the
recipients of microfinance.
The scope of the study was confined to measuring the effect of microfinance on selected
poverty indicators, and it did not attempt to prove that microfinance alleviates poverty. As
such, the research demonstrates that the government’s efforts to reduce rural poverty can be
complemented by micro-level interventions such as access to finance. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Armoede in Suid-Afrika se landelike gebiede is kompleks en straf, veral vir huishoudings
met vroue aan die hoof. Landelike gebiede is vir dekades lank gemarginaliseer en dit het
gelei tot gebrekkige ekonomiese geleenthede, beperkte infrastruktuur en ‘n ineenstorting van
sosiale kapitaal. Vroue in Suid-Afrika se landelike gebiede is nie net arm in monetêre terme
nie, maar ook dikwels ongelettered, geïsoleerd van ekonomiese en sosiale geleenthede, en
dikwels die slagoffers van huishoudelike geweld. Hul huishoudings oorleef deur die skamele
bestaan wat hulle maak uit bestaansboerdery, gebrekkige besoldiging en trekarbeider lone.
Alhoewel die regering se wydverspreide ontwikkelingshulp daartoe bydra om arm mense te
help om risiko’s soos siekte, dood en natuurrampe te kan hanteer, gaan landelike armoede oor
veel meer as net inkomste en bates, en sluit dit ook ontmagtiging, uitsluiting en ongelyke
magsverdeling in. Al hierdie ontberinge maak armoede ‘n multidimensionele verskynsel.
Die Suid-Afrikaanse regering het oor die afgelope 17 jaar aansienlike bronne op armoede
verligting gespandeer. Die hulp, wat maatskaplike toelaes, basiese munisipale dienslewering,
gratis water, elektrisiteit, opvoeding en gesondheidsdienste insluit, het sonder twyfel die
oorlewing van die armes in landelike gebiede meer houdbaar gemaak, maar tog lyk dit nie of
die lewenskwaliteit van die mees kwesbare huishoudings in die gemarginaliseerde areas
verbeter het nie. Die armoede-literatuur dui daarop dat verskillende vorms van kwesbaarheid
– kwesbaarheid in terme van inkomste, gesondheid, sosiale uitsluiting en dienslewering – met
mekaar verband hou. Daarom is dit belangrik dat hulpverlening nie alleen vir die armes
toegang gee tot hulpbronne en bates nie, maar ook die individue bemagtig om die bronne te
gebruik en besluite te neem.
Hierdie studie ondersoek die potensiaal van mikrofinansiering om die verskeidenheid sosiale
kwesbaarhede wat vroue in Suid Afrika se landelike gebiede ervaar aan te spreek. Die studie
voer aan dat mikrofinansiering kan lei tot positiewe veranderinge in geselekteerde
bemagtigings- en welvaarts-indikatore onder deelnemende vroue. Data wat versamel is onder
die kliente van die Small Enterprise Foundation (SEF) word gebruik om hierdie aansprake te
evalueer. Die studie is gedoen teen die agtergrond van ‘n konseptuele model, wat voorhou dat
armoede en kwesbaarheid oorkom kan word as ‘n trapsgewyse program gevolg word – deur
eerstens kundigheid (bemagtiging) te verkry, daarna sosiale kapitaal te versterk, bates op te bou en uiteindelik die bates in rykdom te omskep beweeg die vroue, en hul huishoudings, al
verder weg van hulle aanvanklike kwesbaarheid.
Bestaande data, versamel oor ‘n tydperk van vyf jaar in die landelike gebiede van Limpopo is
geanaliseer. Die data verteenwoordig twee groepe – ‘n groep wat mikrofinansiering ontvang
het en ‘n kontrole groep. Geen empiriese bewyse kon gevind word dat die vroue wat
mikrofinansiering van SEF ontvang het, bemagtig is nie. Die resultate het wel daarop gedui
dat vroue wat mikrofinansiering ontvang na alle waarskynlikheid meer bestaans-sekerheid
het en dat hulle welvaart verbeter het. Die bevindinge dui daarop dat mikrofinansiering, selfs
oor die kort termyn, ‘n wesenlike verskil kan maak in die vermoë van kwesbare vroue om
hulle verbruik, oor tyd, beter te bestuur en sodoende bestaans-sekuriteit te verseker. Die
navorsing toon ook dat mikrofinansiering vroue in landelike gebiede kan help om ‘n
portefeulje van bates te skep en te handhaaf, wat bydra tot groter welvaart.
Hierdie studie het die impak van mikrofinansiering op geselekteerde armoede indikatore geevalueer,
en het nie gepoog om te bewys dat mikrofinansiering armoede verlig nie.
Sodoende dui die navorsing daarop dat die regering se pogings om armoede te verlig kan baat
vind by mikrovlakintervensies soos mikrofinansiering.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/18002 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Kirsten, Maria Albertina |
| Contributors | Van Der Berg, Servaas, Schoombeet, Andrie, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Economics. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 295 p. : ill. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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