| Overview : The South Africa Government has made commendable social and economic progress, with improvements in health care and increased access to education, particularly for the Black majority since the end of Apartheid in 1994. South Africa is now an upper middle-income country with a GNI per capita of US$13,300. However, daunting challenges persist. The National Development Plan (NDP), the South African Vision 2030, and the 2019 State of the Nation Address by the President outline the country’s development aspirations, which are aimed at addressing the triple development challenges: poverty, income inequality and unemployment. Forty (40%) of the population are at the lower bound poverty level of R647 per month - one of the highest among upper middle-income countries, and the index of income inequality (Gini of 0.68) remains one of the worst globally. While even 20 years ago the Government recognized the centrality of employment creation to South Africa’s sustained development, the reality, however, has been an increased unemployment rate over the period to an all-time high of 29% by December 2019. The unemployment rate for youth is even worryingly higher at 58.2%. Given the state of unemployment and its ripple effects on the economy and society, it is paramount that all development and social partners to work closely with the Government and explore means of reducing unemployment and rendering youth more employable. To make sure this cause is on the right path, it is crucial that the issue of unemployment is studied from extensive perspectives and more knowledge is acquired on the drivers and inhibitors for employment in South Africa. Human Development Reports are key flagship documents produced by the UNDP, as a key partner to the Government, to contribute to its mandate as a thought leader and to stimulate discussions and influence national policies towards fighting poverty, promoting sustainable development and augmenting the capabilities and choices of peoples. The UNDP South Africa Country Office has produced three National Human Development Reports (NHDR) namely: - HIV/AIDS and Human Development South Africa, 1998;
- Transformation for Human Development South Africa, 2000;
- The Challenge of Sustainable Development – Unlocking People’s Creativity, 2003.
In particular, the Human Development Report on HIV/AIDS, which was widely acclaimed, helped put the plight and redress of the disease in national focus and action. The urgency to prepare the fourth NHDR now is propelled by the varied developmental challenges facing South Africa at this point including subdued growth, high unemployment especially for the youth, inequalities, gender disparities, environmental awareness, droughts, etc. UNDP initiated a series of discussions to identify the most relevant and impactful theme for the next NHDR. Most topical themes emerging from the consultations were climate change and the green economy, land reform, corruption, security, poverty, inequality unemployment, youth bulge, migration, and role of the state. |
