Browsing by Author "Xweso, Mzukisi"

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    Analysis of the livelihoods of female scrap collectors in the rural Eastern Cape of South Africa
    (University of the Western Cape, 2023) Xweso, Mzukisi; Schenck, Catherina
    In South Africa, social inequality, unemployment, and poverty are widespread, particularly in the post-apartheid era. The rural Eastern Cape of South Africa vividly displays the injustices, as impoverished populations continue to face harsh situations and low living standards. Despite the government's commitment to raising living standards in rural areas, progress has been extremely slow, and women have borne the brunt of poverty, often being forced to eke out meagre existences by collecting and selling scrap to Durban's Buy-Back Centres (BBCs). This study sought to analyse the livelihoods of female metal scrap collectors in the rural Eastern Cape of South Africa using the sustainable livelihood framework (SLF) as a lens. Data from the study participants were gathered using both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques, leaning on multiple or collective case study design. The study's population consisted of female scrap collectors who were found along the N2 highway, which runs through rural Eastern Cape. The study was carried out in four phases: reconnaissance in phase one, quantitative research (questionnaires) in phase two, qualitative interviews in phase three, and data triangulation in phase four. Three case studies in the Eastern Cape from which data was gathered (Phase 2 and 3) have been identified as a result of the reconnaissance (phase 1), namely, Mthatha, Qumbu and Elliotdale (also known as Xhora). Convenient sampling was used to select the research sample in both phase 2 (quantitative) and phase 3 (qualitative interviews).
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    Challenges and lived experiences of day labourers in East London
    (University of the Western Cape, 2019) Xweso, Mzukisi; Schenck, Catherina
    The study upon which this dissertation was based was conducted against the backdrop of day labouring as a global phenomenon. In order to position the research topic, namely, the lived experiences and hardships encountered by day labourers in East London in the province of the Eastern Cape of South Africa, a comprehensive review of the relevant available literature pertaining to the phenomenon was conducted. The review covered both international trends and the relatively few significant studies which have been conducted in South Africa. A mixed methods approach was adopted in order to gather both quantitative and qualitative data, by means of a research design whose theoretical framework was derived from systems theory and the strengths-based theory. Of the twelve hiring sites which had been identified in East London during the conducting of a national study, six were selected and a survey questionnaire was administered to three participants at each, which yielded a research sample of eighteen participants. The participants were selected at each site through the use of convenience or availability sampling. The data which the survey questionnaire generated was presented in the form of descriptive statistics and analysed by means of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software to develop a socioeconomic and demographic profile of the participants. The findings of the quantitative study were subsequently evaluated against the qualitative data pertaining to the lived experiences of day labourers in East London, which was generated by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews with three participants who were willing to be interviewed at each site. The qualitative data was analysed through thematic analysis. The integration of the two sets of data enabled a credible and meaningful assessment of the lived experiences of day labourers in East London and the hardships which they are obliged to endure to be made. On the basis of the findings, recommendations are made concerning appropriate strategies for integrating day labourers into initiatives which are designed to grant social justice to groups who continue to be unfairly marginalised and to live in abject poverty more than two decades after the official demise of apartheid.