Substantive Equality, Affirmative Action and the Alleviation of Poverty in South Africa

277 Pages·2014·2.55 MB·English

Substantive Equality, Affirmative Action and the
Alleviation of Poverty in South Africa: A Socio-Legal
Inquiry

by
Luyando Martha Katiyatiya
Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of laws in the
Faculty of Law at
Stellenbosch University
Supervisor: Professor Ockert Casper Dupper

April 2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii
ABSTRACT viii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Research theme and issues 1
1.2 Context and background 3
1.3 Affirmative action 9
1.4 Research motivation 10
1.5 The objectives of the research project 11
1.6 The research questions 11
1.7 The research procedure and methodology 12

CHAPTER TWO: WHAT IS POVERTY?
2.1 Introduction 16
2.2 The meaning of poverty 17
2. 2. 1 Different concepts related to poverty 17
2.2.2 Types of poverty 19
2.2.2.1 Chronic poverty and transient poverty 19
2.2.2.2 Absolute poverty and relative poverty 20
2.2.3 Moving towards a definition of poverty 21
2.2.3.1 Introduction 21
2.2.3.2 Income approach 21
2.2.3.3 Human needs approach 22
2.2.3.4 Capabilities approach 24
2.2.3.5 Participatory approach/consensual approach 25
2.3 Measuring poverty 29
2.3.1 Introduction 29
2.3.2 Monetary dimension 29
2.3.3 Non-monetary dimension 33
2.4 The nature and scale of poverty in South Africa 36
2.4.1 Introduction 36
2.4.2 Determinates of poverty in South Africa 36
2.4.2.1 Population growth 36
2.4.2.2 Lack of mobility/rural location 37
2.4.2.3 Unemployment 37
2.4.2.4 Shrinking economic growth 39
2.4.2.5 HIV/AIDS pandemic 39
2.4.3 Who are the poor? 41
2.4.3.1 Race and poverty 41
2.4.3.2 Gender and poverty 42
2.4.3.3 Children and poverty 42
2.4.3.4 Education and poverty 43
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2.4.3.5 Class and poverty 44
2.4.4 Where are the poor? 44
2.4.4.1 Poverty in rural and urban areas 44
2.4.4.2 Poverty in the nine provinces of South Africa 45
2.5 Conclusion 45

CHAPTER THREE: INEQUALITY AND ITS LINK WITH POVERTY
3.1 Introduction 47
3.2 Social systems within which inequality is generated 48
3.3 Dimensions of inequality 51
3.3.1Introduction 51
3.3.2 Recognition inequality 52
3.3.3 Redistribution inequality 53
3.4 Measuring inequality 55
3.5 Inequality in South Africa 59
3.5.1Introduction 59
3.5.2 Determinants of inequality 59
3.5.2.1 Income levels and inequality 59
3.5.2.2 Race and inequality 61
3.5.2.3 Class and inequality 62
3.5.2.4 Gender and inequality 64
3.5.2.5 Unemployment and inequality 64
3.6 The link between poverty and inequality 66
3.7Conclusion 70

CHAPTER FOUR: THE SUBSTANTIVE CONCEPTION OF EQUALITY AND ITS
RELATIONSHIP WITH SOCIO-ECONOMIC DISDVANTAGE
4.1 Introduction 72
4.2 What is equality? 72
4.3 Constitutional view of equality 81
4.4 The interrelationship between substantive equality and socio-economic
disadvantage: analyses of the implications 86
4.4.1 Introduction 87
4.4.2 The possible link between aims of substantive equality and socio-economic
Disadvantage 87
4.4.2.1 Breaking the cycle of disadvantage 87
4.4.2.2 Promoting respect for equal dignity 92
4.4.2.3 Affirmation of identity within community 97
4.4.2.4 Facilitation of full social participation 101
4.4.3 Evaluation of the implications of the aims (of substantive equality) on socio-
economic disadvantage 107
4.5 Conclusion 110

CHAPTER 5: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AND THE THEORY OF SUBSTANTIVE
EQUALITY
5.1 Introduction 112
5.2 What is affirmative action? 113
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5.3 Justifications and goals of affirmative action 117
5.3.1 Introduction 117
5.3.2 Compensatory justice 117
5.3.3 Distributive justice 119
5.4 Affirmative action and the theory of substantive equality 120
5.4.1 Introduction 120
5.4.2 Affirmative action and the aims of substantive equality 122
5.4 2.1 Affirmative action and breaking the cycle of disadvantage 122
5.4.2.2 Affirmative action and promoting equal respect for dignity 125
5.4.2.3 Affirmative action and affirmation of identity 127
5.4.2.4 Affirmative action and full social participation 132
5.4.3 Evaluation 133
5.5 Conclusion 136

CHAPTER 6: THE IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPACT OF AFFIRMATIVE
ACTION ON POVERTY AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC INEQUALITY: CASE STUDIES

6.1 Introduction 138
6.2 United States 140
6.2.1 Aims and purpose of affirmative action in the United States 140
6.2.2 Beneficiaries and types of benefits 141
6.2.3 Mechanisms to ensure benefits reach the targets 148
6.2.4 Some observations 149
6.3 Canada 150
6.3.1 Aims and purpose of affirmative action in Canada 151
6.3.2 Beneficiaries and types of benefits 155
6.3.3 Mechanisms to ensure benefits reach the targets 160
6.3.4 Some observations 165
6.4 India 166
6.4.1 Aims and purpose of affirmative action in India 166
6.4.2 Beneficiaries and types of benefits 168
6.4.3 Mechanisms to ensure benefits reach the targets 174
6.4.4 Some observations 176
6.5 Conclusion 177

CHAPTER SEVEN: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN SOUTH AFRICA
7.1 Introduction 179
7.2 Aims and purpose of affirmative action in South Africa 180
7.3 The legal defence of affirmative action in South Africa 181
7.4 Beneficiaries of affirmative action and types of benefits 188
7.4.1 Employment 188
7.4.2 Education 195
7.4.3 Race vs. class criterion debate: some current arguments 199
7.5Conclusion 206

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CHAPTER 8: A RECONCEPTUALISATION OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION WITHIN
THE REALM OF SUBSTANTIVE EQUALITY

8.1 Introduction 208
8.2 The terrain 209
8.2.1 Causes vs. effects 209
8.2.2 Considering the causalities 210
8.3 Reconceptualising affirmative action: facets to consider within the realm of
Substantive equality 212
8.3.1 Introduction 212
8.3.2 Expansive view of affirmative action 212
8.3.3 Class as a plus factor 219
8.4 Some observations 223
8.5 Conclusion 225

CHAPTER 9: CONCLUSION AND THE WAY FORWARD

9.1 Summary of the study 227
9.2 The way forward 239

BIBLIOGRAPHY 245

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DECLARATION
By submitting this dissertation, l declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my
own, original work, that l am the authorship owner thereof (unless to the extent explicitly
stated otherwise) and that l have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for
obtaining any qualification.

........................................................................................
Luyando Martha Katiyatiya, February 2014

Copyright © 2014 Stellenbosch University
All rights reserved

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, l am deeply thankful to God Almighty for His unconditional love,
kindness and mercy and most importantly the strength and ability to pursue this study. I am
grateful to the Faculty of Law, Stellenbosch University and the National Research Fund for
according me the opportunity to participate in the Strategic Research and Outreach Initiative:
Combating Poverty, Homelessness and Socio-economic disadvantage under the South
African Constitution program. My gratitude goes to my Promoter Professor Ockert Dupper
for his patience, academic guidance and expertise throughout the entire study.
I am also wholly thankful to the love of my life Solomon Simbarashe Moyo – you inspire me
to succeed. Dr Khulekhani Moyo, Advocate Harriet Mutenga, Dr Tapiwa Shumba, Charlene
Ncube, Charlene Kunaka, thank you for encouraging me.
Special appreciation goes to my family for always being there for me. My mother Patience
and father Charles Katiyatiya, my young sisters Chenai, Luse and Luumuno, the whole
Katiyatiya crew ,the Ndoros, my cousin brothers Mish and Enerst. I would not have made it
without you. I love you all. May you be richly blessed.
To those l did not acknowledge by name friends, relatives and colleagues l am also indebted
to you.

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ABSTRACT
Substantive equality is a constitutional imperative, hence the need for strategies that attempt
to realise it for the sake of genuine social reconstruction. The principle of equality runs
through all other rights in the South African Constitution. Be that as it may, equality is an
elusive concept, which makes its achievement an ambitious task. Nonetheless, there are
strategies that attempt to bring to the fore the ‘substance’ of the concept in order to ensure the
actual realisation of socio-economic benefits. Such strategies include, among others: social
security, education, economic empowerment, skills development and affirmative action. This
study will focus on the latter of these strategies, namely affirmative action.
Although affirmative action is practised around the world, one of the (many) criticisms of the
policy is that it fails to bring about substantive or structural change. In other words, it may
change the racial and gender composition of the classroom or the workplace, but does not
address the challenges that cause the disadvantages of marginalised groups in the first place.
It is arguable that affirmative action has increased inequality in South Africa by benefiting
the apex of the class structure and not the majority of the population living in abject poverty.
This study develops a theoretical analysis of the link between status (race, sex and ethnicity)
and socio-economic disadvantage, and the central question that the study addresses is the
following: How can the policy of affirmative action be redesigned to ensure that it benefits
the socio-economically disadvantaged? A secondary question that is investigated is whether
affirmative action can contribute to the development of human capacities in the context of
poverty alleviation.
It is arguable that substantive equality facilitates the adoption of strategies (such as
affirmative action) to address socio-economic inequality, poverty and social exclusion. The
research suggests that a paradigm shift is necessary in order to reconceive of affirmative
action as a policy that does not only focus on ensuring ‘equitable representation’ of
disadvantaged groups in the workforce or the classroom, but also provides for the
development of human capacities. This can be achieved if one adopts an expansive view of
affirmative action and if one utilises class as one of the numerous criteria for determining the
beneficiaries of the policy.

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ABSTRAK
Substantiewe gelykheid is ′n grondwetlike vereiste, vandaar die behoefte om strategieë te
ontwikkel wat poog om dit te realiser in die belang van daadwerklike sosiale rekonstruksie.
Die beginsel van gelykheid is vervleg met alle ander regte in die Suid-Afrikaanse Grondwet.
Gelykheid is nietemin ′n ontwykende konsep, en dit maak die bereiking daarvan ′n
ambisieuse taak. Daar is egter strategieë wat gemik is daarop om sosio-ekonomiese voordele
te bereik. Voorbeelde van sodanige strategieë sluit in sosiale sekuriteit, opvoeding,
ekonomiese bemagtiging, die ontwikkeling van vaardighede, en regstellende aksie. Hierdie
studie fokus op laasgenoemde strategie, naamlik regstellende aksie.
Ten spyte van die feit dat regstellende aksie regoor die wêreld toegepas word, word die beleid
nietmin gekritiseer as sou dit nie werklik wesenlike of strukturele verandering teweeg bring
nie. Met ander woorde, dit bring moontlik ‘n verandering teweeg in die rasse-en
geslagsamestelling van die klaskamer of die werkplek, maar spreek nie die uitdagings aan
wat in die eerste plek lei tot die posisie van relatiewe benadeling waarin gemarginaliseerde
groepe hulself bevind nie. Sommige argumenteer dat regstellende aksie bydra tot ongelykheid
in Suid-Afrika deur voordele te beperk tot diegene wat hulself aan die toppunt van die
klasstruktuur bevind terwyl dit die meerderheid van die bevolking wat in armoede leef
ignoreer.
Hierdie studie ontwikkel ′n teoretiese ontleding van die verband tussen status (ras, geslag en
etnisiteit) en sosio-ekonomiese benadeling. Die sentrale vraag van die studie is die volgende:
Hoe kan die beleid van regstellende aksie herontwerp word om te verseker dat dit lei tot die
bevoordeling van die sosio-ekonomiese benadeeldes? ’n Sekondêre vraag wat in die studie
onder die loep kom is of regstellende aksie ’n bydrae kan maak tot die ontwikkeling van
menslike vermoë in die konteks van armoedeverligting.
Daar kan geragumenteer word dat die strewe na substantiewe gelykheid strategieë (soos
regstellende aksie) na vore bring om sosio-ekonomiese ongelykheid, armoede en sosiale
uitsluiting aan te spreek. Die navorsing dui daarop dat ′n paradigmaskuif nodig is om
regstellende aksie te herkonseptualiseer as ′n beleid wat nie net fokus op die bereiking van
‘billike verteenwoordiging’ van benadeelde groepe in die werkplek of klaskamer nie, maar
ook voorsiening maak vir die ontwikkeling van menslike vermoë. Dit kan bereik word deur
die aanvaarding van ’n uitgebreide siening van regstellende aksie en deur die benutting van
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klas as een van menige faktore wat in ag geneem word om die bevoordeeldes van die beleid
te identifiseer.

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