Browsing by Author "Govender, Jayanathan Perumal."

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Access to health care and its determinants: the case of older persons in Chivi South district, Zimbabwe.
(2024) Muzvidziwa, Evelyne.; Govender, Jayanathan Perumal.
This study investigates the accessibility of health care services by older persons living in rural areas of Chivi South district. Access to health care has remained invisible in the scholarship in third-world countries like Zimbabwe. In this respect, the study explores the lived experiences of rural older persons residing in Chivi South, a research site embedded in political uncertainty and economic quagmire bedeviling Zimbabwe. This qualitative study was anchored on the interpretivist approach. A sample of 10 key informants and 20 older persons participated in key informant and in-depth interviews. This study established four key findings that will contribute immensely to the sociology of ageing in poor-resourced settings such as Zimbabwe. The cultural meaning of illness among older persons is essential in creating acceptable healthcare services. The consequences of not making a more enabling and inclusive environment for older persons will have a dire impact on healthcare delivery. Changes in policies that support more preventative health and social care globally instead of a reactive approach, which is wholly unsustainable for today’s ever-growing population. In Zimbabwe, older persons are often treated as a homogenous group with similar needs, leading to blanket interventions that overlook individual differences. This has resulted in poorly conceptualized and targeted assistance programs, failing to address local needs. Socially constructed narratives of successful ageing could inform the design of appropriate geriatric policies and programs to transform the healthcare needs of older persons in Zimbabwe. The key findings of the study show that the older persons living in the rural areas of Chivi South district experience challenges such as limited access to economic resources, traveling long distances to access healthcare services, inequalities in the healthcare service delivery system, reduced health status, limited availability, acceptability, and accessibility of healthcare services and inter alia. These challenges limit older persons from accessing much-needed healthcare services. The preeminent aim of this study is informed by the theoretical accounts of Penchansky and Thomas (1981) and Giddens (1984). The structures that frame rural healthcare provision ultimately function as key determinants of the nature and scope of healthcare service utilization, which propounded the structuration theory. Based on the subjective narratives of the research participants, the uniqueness of this study is anchored on its ability to offer a sociological foundation for developing innovative interventions and workable public policy options that support the aging population in African rural spaces. The study showed evidence of how social determinants of health may help reduce disparities in healthcare access for older persons in rural settings. Older persons, especially those residing in poor communities, have unique needs when addressing social health needs. The ageing population in Zimbabwe faces socio-economic predicaments and various challenges in the healthcare sector. It is particularly challenging to manage social connectedness in rural areas because of the issues around accessibility of health care, i.e., physical, financial, and societal barriers, making these multifaceted but crucially critical social determinants of health. Any efforts to improve the health and well-being of older rural persons address rural-urban disparities in healthcare needs and include a focus on the social determinants of health.
An investigation into the challenges confronted by long-distance female truck drivers in South Africa.
(2021) Maphumulo, Zipho Brandon.; Govender, Jayanathan Perumal.
There are many professions which have historically been dominated by males, and long-distance truck driving is a case in point. This notion is supported by Naysmith and Rubincam (2012) who stated that the long-distance truck driving profession is very much dominated by males and that has been the case for many years. However, in recent times an increasing number of women have been steadily entering this profession and Reed and Cronin (2003) concurs with this statement by stating that a growing number of women in Western nations like the United States of America have been entering this profession in the past few decades. Moreover, this trend has transcended to developing nations like South Africa as the country has seen an increasing number of women entering the sphere of long-distance truck driving in the last decade. However, many issues arise as a result of the under representation of women in the long-distance truck driving profession. When elaborating further on this, Sicard (2012) stated that since women are still a minority in this sector, they are then exposed to a lot of challenges; it is those challenges experienced by those women working in this very male-dominated sector that this study will be seeking to uncover. Some of the structural barriers within this profession have not been removed and consequently result in some of the challenges that long-distance female truck drivers experience, as identified by (Naysmith and Rubincam, 2012). Furthermore, this study was conducted as a secondary research whereby useful literature exploring the role of women in the transport sector was consulted and then carefully analysed employing Content Analysis. Interestingly, it discovered that women working in the transport sector all share similar challenges in their line of work as they are a minority in this sector. This research established that female long distance truck drivers, female taxi drivers and female bus drivers face the similar challenges within their respective professions in South Africa. The challenges of work-life balance, sexual harassment, health and safety being the very common ones. Lastly, in South Africa the legislation governing the workplace protects the rights of women and labour laws like the Employment Equity Act of 1998 motivates for their employment into previously male dominated industries like long distance truck driving. Therefore, this makes the South African long-distance truck driving sphere more favourable for women to achieve their professional aspirations and for this reason we are more likely to witness them entering this profession in huge numbers every year.
An investigation of the role of migrant entrepreneurs in job creation in the hairdressing industry: a case study in Pietermaritzburg KwaZulu-Natal.
(2023) Chibambo, Sibusisiwe.; Govender, Jayanathan Perumal.
Immigrants may be found more proportionately amongst the self-employed because they may be excluded from more formal wage opportunities, hence they may be driven into self-employment and forced to become creative and problem-solving. African Migrants may be found within the informal sector. A conducted in the city of Johannesburg concluded that migrant SMMEs played a role in changing the economy of the city. Therefore, we may assume within the same setting that numerous employment opportunities are being created by African migrants within the informal economy. The study was conducted in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal Province. Data was collected through purposive sampling which enabled an in-depth investigation. The data collected answered the research questions of 1) What motivated male migrants to leave their country of origin and migrate to Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, 2) Why do male migrant select the hairdressing industry in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, 3) When migrant hair salon owners hire South African women does this serve as a counterfeit against migration issues and/or municipal regulations (due process) and 4) What present and future threats have the participants experienced or foresee happening? The study adopted an explorative process of which aimed at understanding why male migrants hire South African women in the hairdressing industry. The study examined the role played by migrants in the informal economy and their contribution towards employment within the hairdressing industry.
New spaces for participation in South African local government.
(2008) Govender, Jayanathan Perumal.; Reddy, Purshottama Sivanarain.
The study is a monograph on participation in local government in South Africa. Participation is framed within the theoretical perspectives of representative democracy and its off-shoot, deliberative democracy. The research draws from three conceptual aspects: the main theories of democracy and participation contemplating the local sphere of government; the policy framework staging the interactions between the key participants, namely, local government and civil society formations; and the institutional spaces, values and attitudes involved therein. The problematique of the research in terms of the three conceptual aspects are: to show that representative democracy has declined in favour of participation praxis; to assess policy coherence for effective participation at the local sphere; and to examine the accommodation of new participative spaces. To this end, the research undertook an extensive literature review and an empirical study of the eThekwini Municipal Area, in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The literature review indicated three learnings. Firstly, there was a decline in representative democracy, with decreasing emphasis on the electoral mode of politics. Rather, the tendency shifted towards supplementation with forms of public participation. Public participation and engagement developed into an off-shoot of representative democracy, now known pervasively as deliberative democracy and discursive democracy. The basis of these new democratic approaches means that citizens ought to have a hand in, and influence public decisions. Secondly, participation has taken new democratic forms that could be viewed alternatively as space; dialogue and deliberation; rights; development; decentralization; and accountability. Thirdly, new spaces for participation could be viewed in the form of political society and social capital vis-a-vis international agreements; poverty eradication; public administration; and the combined import of administrative law and judicial review. In terms of the aims of the study, the work revealed that the participatory framework is based upon extensive theoretical and policy understandings. Participation is adequately captured in constitutional and legislative instruments in South Africa. The Draft National Policy Framework for Public Participation, 2005 is a concrete outcome of South African local government preparedness to engage in meaningful participative discourse and praxis. In terms of the research problems of the study, the work concluded the following: • there is agreement on the part of stakeholders for engagement in parallel representative and participative forms of governance; • local government participative policy appears sound but there is a need for convergent understanding on the part of the different participants, namely, municipal councillors; community stakeholders; and actors within the municipality; and • there is evidence of contrasting debates on aspects of participatory praxis, but on the whole, participants have taken a knowledgeable and practical approach to new spaces for participation. The study makes six recommendations: •Brief and consult councillors, community stakeholders, and municipal actors on the findings of the study. (This exercise will serve two purposes, namely, to verify the findings of the study; and to develop a concrete programme for participation in the eThekwini Municipal Area, including a code of best practice). •Develop a capacity building programme on judicial review for the three categories of stakeholders, namely, municipal councillors, municipal officials, and community stakeholders. •Undertake further research on democratic participative forms at the local government level with particular focus on effective praxis through administrative justice. •Initiate developmental programmes and case studies based upon participation praxis to address the most acute problems experienced by select local communities in the eThekwini Municipal Area. •Make input into the review of provincial and local government policy processes initiated by the South African government and co-ordinated by the Department of Provincial and Local Government. • Triangulate and establish the theoretical relationships of participation, democracy and governance. The conclusions of the study reflect positively on the ideational foundations of participation and willingness of stakeholders to adopt new forms of discursive politics. The six recommendations of the work can serve to advance research and policy planning in the local government sphere in South Africa.
The rise of the female entrepreneur: liberation through escaping various gender-based limitations faced by working class women in South Africa.
(2020) Herbst, Denika Lorraine.; Govender, Jayanathan Perumal.
Female entrepreneurship has been noted as a potential solution for economic instability, unemployment and inequality in developing counties like South Africa, by numerous researchers and theorists. Women have been undermined as a result of patriarchy and women in South Africa even more so due to apartheid. South Africa is currently facing alarmingly high rates of unemployment (29%) and disturbing, frequent occurrences of discrimination, and the economy is crumbling as a result. With women making up around 51% of the total population, and around 43.8% of total employment in South Africa, and considering the current state of South Africa, it is time their value and impact is noted. Currently, only 9 out of every 100 women in South Africa are involved in total early-stage entrepreneurial activity, a shocking statistic. One study found that prospective female entrepreneurs in South Africa have the ability to create over 972,000 jobs, over 803,000 new businesses and inject over R175billion into the South African economy, in just five years. Female entrepreneurship can potentially put an end to unemployment, rid the workforce of discrimination and stabilize the South African economy. This study identifies the motivators and intentions of female entrepreneurs in South Africa as well as the potential female entrepreneurism holds to create social and organizational change. A descriptive quantitative study was conducted on 58 respondents who filled out a five section questionnaire specifically designed to gain a base knowledge of information on female entrepreneurs in South Africa. The data was analysed and processed using Statistical Package for Social Science version 26 to gain insight into the positive effects of female entrepreneurship in South Africa. The empirical research methodology performed included descriptive statistics, cross-section analysis, and analysis of variance to identify the positive effects female entrepreneurism has n South Africa and the untapped potential it possesses to create change. A strong impact entrepreneurship has on liberating women from working class limitations as well as the ability it possesses to create social and organizational change, has been highlighted throughout the findings of this study. It is recommended that this area be further studied in order to harness these aspects to create social and organizational change for all.