Developmental State Capacity for Youth Empowerment in South Africa’s Informal Trading: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

This article adopts a phenomenological qualitative desktop research that seeks to examine the prospects and challenges faced by the South African state in implementing the National Development Plan (NDP) within the framework of the developmental state model for youths capacity building in informal trading. The unprecedented increase in unemployment rate among youths in South Africa started in the aftermath of the 1994 democratisation; and, the Covid-19 pandemic worsedned the situation. South Africa has not filfilled the promises of addressing poverty, inequality and unemployment. According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the first quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate was 63.9% for those aged 15-24 and 42.1% for those aged 25-34 years, while the official national rate stood at 34.5%. In developing countries, state resources and formal employment opportunities have continued to shrink due to inflation, the scourge of HIV/AIDS and Covid-19's harmful effects on the socio-economic livelihood of the citizens, especially the youths. The assumption underlying the escalation of the situation is the lack of commitment by government to building an ethical and capable developmental state. Over decades, a democratic South Africa concentrated on developing and adopting the NDP and establishing a developmental state model in 2012 hoping to build capacity for youth development, among other goals. The triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment, especially among the youths, continued to intensify despite the overwhelming investment and mobilisation of the NDP. The article concludes that the democratic state faces challenges that reduce prospects of implementing the developmental state and the NDP for youth capacity building in informal trading. It recommends that a proper analysis is necessary in order to ensure relevance and appropriateness of initiatives to the country’s socio-economic and political contexts. Keywords: Democracy, Developmental State, Informal Trading, Youth Empowerment and South Africa