1st Edition

Southern African Perspectives for Inclusive Welfare Redefining the Social Policy Discourse for a Sustainable Future

Edited By Emmanuel Ndhlovu, Clement Chipenda Copyright 2027
498 Pages 6 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Southern African Perspectives for Inclusive Welfare provides a comprehensive examination of social policy in the Southern African context. Harnessing interdisciplinary insights from various sociological fields, it challenges the conventional welfare approaches that have proven inadequate for the complex realities of the region. This volume outlines critical aspects that must be understood and... Read more

Lists of figures

List of tables

About the editors

List of contributors

Preface

Acknowledgements

 

 

SECTION I - THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS, DECOLONISATION, AND THE POLITICS OF KNOWLEDGE

 

Chapter 1 - Beyond Residualism: Reimagining Social Policy for Inclusive Welfare in Southern Africa

Emmanuel Ndhlovu and Clement Chipenda

 

Chapter 2 - An African Social Policy Paradigm: Context and Transformation in a Changing World

Clement Chipenda and Emmanuel Ndhlovu

 

Chapter 3 - Challenging External Pressures: Donor Influences on National Ownership in Social Policy Design in Southern Africa     

Kainos Mverecha and Clement Chipenda

 

SECTION II - SOCIAL PROTECTION, BASIC INCOME, AND THE SOLIDARITY ECONOMY

 

Chapter 4 - Asserting African Agency in Social Policy Financing: A Critical Examination of Global Financial Systems and Innovative Financing Mechanisms

Pikolomzi Qaba

 

Chapter 5 - Social Protection and Welfare in Post-Pandemic South Africa: Basic Income Support and Policy Learning for Sustainable Development

Clement Chipenda and Gift Mwonzora

 

Chapter 6 - Relational Welfare and Indigenous Governance: Southern African Pathways to Inclusive and Sustainable Social Protection

Andisile Best

 

Chapter 7 - Artificial Intelligence and Social Policy in Southern Africa: Navigating Digital Transformation for Inclusive Development    

Clement Chipenda and Emmanuel Ndhlovu

 

Chapter 8 - Afrocentric Contributions to South Africa’s Social and Solidarity Economy Policy Design    

Neo R. Mofokeng

 

SECTION III - DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITIONS, YOUTH, AND VULNERABLE POPULATIONS

 

Chapter 9 - Demographic Dividend or Disaster? Unleashing Potential through Youth-Centric Social Policies in the Context of Migration, Cultural Heritage, and Globalisation

Saymore Masaisai

 

Chapter 10 - Ageing and Social Policy: Guaranteeing Old Age Socioeconomic Wellbeing in South Africa and Zimbabwe      

Tom Tom and Clement Chipenda

 

Chapter 11 - Bridging the Divide: Disability Inclusion in Rural Zimbabwe and South Africa

Rejoice Murisi

 

SECTION IV - GENDER, VIOLENCE, AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION

 

Chapter 12 - A Post-COVID Perspective on Reducing Gender-Based Violence in South Africa and Zimbabwe through Transformative Social Policies         

Lydia T. Chibwe and Ashiella Musindo

 

Chapter 13 - Intergenerational Land Inheritance Conundrums and the Re-assertion of Patriarchy in Smallholder Tobacco Farms: A Gendered Social Policy Perspective           

Kwashirai Zvokuomba

 

SECTION V - HEALTH SYSTEMS, EDUCATION, AND DIGITAL GOVERNANCE

 

Chapter 14 - Healthcare Interventions to COVID-19 in Zimbabwe: Critical Reflections on Imperatives for a Transformative Social Contract Agenda in a Post-Pandemic Context

Clement Chipenda, Modester D. Ngwerume and Anne Chawanda

 

Chapter 15 - Primary Healthcare as Foundation for Capability Development and Social Cohesion

Eric Mamukeyani, Cathrine Ramonyai and Emma Musekene

 

Chapter 16 - Ubuntu and Geographical Narcissism in Rural Zimbabwean Healthcare Policymaking         

Ashley Ropafadzo Tome

 

Chapter 17 - The COVID-19 Pandemic and the School Leaders’ Experiences in Independent Schools in Gauteng, South Africa           

Ameera Hajat and Zvisinei Moyo

 

Chapter 18 - Analysis of African Social Policy Responses to the Growing Challenge of School Bullying Interventions  

Yvonne-Yvette Maota

 

SECTION VI - CLIMATE JUSTICE, ENVIRONMENTAL RESILIENCE, AND GOVERNANCE INNOVATIONS

 

Chapter 19 - Enhancing Climate Change Resilience through Social Protection in Southern Africa: A Scoping Review           

Douglas Nyathi and Joram Ndlovu

 

Chapter 20 - Gender-Transformative Climate Adaptation and Social Policy Integration in Southern Africa: Structural Pathways to Resilience

Ashiella Musindo and Lydia T. Chibwe

 

Chapter 21 - Climate Finance as a Vehicle for Social Policy and Resilience-Building in Southern Africa's Vulnerable Communities: Lessons from Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique     

Calvin Kunaka and Lameck Kachena

 

Chapter 22 - Integrating Smallholder-Farming and Artisanal-Mining for Child-Protection: Climate Adaptation Perspectives from Southern Africa    

Mthuthukisi Ncube and Funa Moyo

 

Chapter 23 - Empowering Africa through Civil Society: The Transformative Impact of Civil Society Organisations on African Social Policies and Governance   

Evans Sagomba

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Chapter 24 - Conclusion: Social Policy Futures in Southern Africa: Toward an Inclusive and Sovereign Welfare Architecture

Emmanuel Ndhlovu and Clement Chipenda

 

 

Index

Biography

Emmanuel Ndhlovu is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He holds a PhD from the University of South Africa. His research interests include agrarian political economy, food systems, food security, land reform, agriculture and agribusiness, and social policy. His recently authored books include Agriculture, Autonomous Development and Prospects for Industrialisation in Africa and Social Policy in Southern Africa: Prospects and Possibilities. Emmanuel has edited more than 12 books.

 

Clement Chipenda is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of South Africa's College of Graduate Studies, where he contributes his expertise to the SARChI Chair in Social Policy. He is also a co-investigator in the research project The Social Policy Dimensions of Land and Agrarian Reform in International Perspective. His research interests include agrarian political economy, agro-food systems, transformative social policy, children’s rights and child protection, social security, as well as youth and gender studies.

"This collection of essays is a critical and important intervention in the social policy debate in Southern Africa. From theoretical foundations to education, health systems, youth and vulnerable populations, climate justice, and gender, the authors offer compelling insights and solutions into the region’s well-being challenges. I warmly commend the volume to the readers."

Jimi Adesina, Professor & South African Research Chair in Social Policy, College of Graduate Studies, University of South Africa, South Africa

 

"This is a timely contribution to the burgeoning body of knowledge and literature on social policy in Africa and Southern Africa in particular. It is a groundbreaking book which must be read by all those who are interested in social policy perspectives from the Global South and Africa."

Ndangwa Noyoo, Professor and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Southern African Policy and Development Nexus (SAPDN), Cape Town, and Research Fellow, Department of Social Work, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

 

"Centring indigenous knowledge systems, lived realities and transformative approaches, in the examination of some of the key issues facing contemporary Southern Africa, this volume offers an intellectually grounded and timely intervention to the advancement of inclusive welfare and the rethinking of social policy in the region. Its clear policy relevance makes it valuable for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers committed to inclusive and sustainable development."

Zitha Mokomane, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Pretoria, South Africa