the community. The Free State government had already made a commitment to renovate and upgrade those properties once a formal transaction had taken place (See Appendix 2).
We have made the point above that assets ofThaba'Nchu were frozen. The implication that had on the Bophuthatswana National Development Corporation was that its staffhad to be retrenched.
2.6.3. The impact of HIV/AIDS
This chapterwillbe incompleteifwe were to exclude the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on unemployment. The pandemic is a contributor to unemployment. Studies conclude that HIV/AIDS causes a decline in labour demand which in turn is caused by a decline in economic growth (Arndt and Lewis,2001). This makes economic sense, the less output one makes in a country or region as a result ofHIV/AIDS, the more it will affect economic growth and labour demand. The other way of explaining how HIV/AIDS impacts on unemployment is when employees, suffering as a result ofthis disease, are laid off, thus increasing the statistics of the unemployed. In my opinion HIV/AIDS contributes to unemployment in that large amounts ofmoney is spent by government in caring for the sufferers, instead of financing job creation projects, thus not combating poverty and unemployment. In other words, HIV/AIDS is very costly in that it not only robs us ofa life, but has financial implications as well.
2) The household is physically weak
Rural households are characterized by big families who often rely on one person for their livelihoods. Since the family is large, consisting of the elderly and children, food becomes a scarce commodity as income received is inadequate to supply for the entire family needs. The result is the reliance on foodstuffs, which are very low nutritionally. This, in turn, contributes to sicknesses such as malnutrition, but it also affects performance at school and labour output.
3) The household is isolated
The households in rural communities are isolated and far removed from hospitals and clinics.
Transport between communities is irregular. Communication is slow, which adds to the difficulty the poor find in economically liberating themselves. Isolation also contributes to illiteracy as communities are removed from key centres of learning.
4) The household is vulnerable
Poverty makes the household vulnerable from several things such as, for example, when the person upon whom the family depends for their livelihood dies or is retrenched. In such situations the partner who is left at home is compelled to leave the children behind in search of work. But vulnerability is also caused, according to De Beer and Swanepoel (1997: 10), by the poor's dependence on landlords and traditional authorities, who also make claims on them.
5) The household is powerless
The poor are powerless in the face ofthose who have more than them. Powerlessness is caused by stigmatization which according to lones (1990:206) effectively denies that the poor are fellow human beings who are "fit, willing and able" to participate in the world of human affairs. Before the rich, the poor are of no status, and only serve as reservoirs for cheap labour. Very often they lack the power to influence public policy on matters that affect their lives.
According to the Institute for the Study of the Bible (1999:3), the unemployed poor also suffer from low self-esteem and depression. Both men and women are affected although the situation can be very difficult for men who traditionally are expected to be providers in the home. When it does happen that one can no longer provide for the family, that becomes devastating. Unemployment results in the region not developing. That is true because development depends on the participation of its members in the economy. Development in this case becomes stagnantifnot regressive. This is the case because the region is unable to use its full strength for growth since its dependent
members are pulling it down.
Poverty and unemployment contribute to high levels of crime in Thaba'Nchu. People are unemployed and hungry. When there is no source of income they end up involving themselves in criminal activities (See Appendix 2). Maribe in Kutu (2001: 12) attributes criminal activities to unemployment in the region. Unemployment contributes to violence in the fumily. Thisisa result of stress exerted on the family causing conflict situations and misunderstandings (Ntirnberger 1990:9). In many families, stress manifests itself in fights caused by deep rooted feelings of insufficiency and inferiority complex.
There is also the aspect of alcoholism thatisbrought about by suffering. Because life is so difficult for the unemployed poor, theywilluse almost every opportunity to relieve themselves of suffering, and drinking intoxicating beverages becomes the "right" option for them. This also explains why it is that social deviants and beer shops are common among the poor. Unemployment also contributes to suicide rates and murders (Kutu 2000:14). Parents very often cannot cope, especially in the community where support structures are lacking.
CONCLUSION
There is a persistent poverty in Thaba'Nchu caused by the racial policies such as the Land Dispossesion, Bantu Education the Colour Bar and Job Reservation. Apartheid ensured that blacks were, for years, discriminated against in the distribution of resources in education, residence and work. Poverty is a result of dispossession and disempowerment over many decades. In South Africa after 1994, poverty in Thaba'Nchu was made worse by the closure of the Taiwanesefirms, the freezing of Thaba'Nchu assets, government policy of rationalization, and the impact of HIV/AIDS. Unemployment is very high, and this contributes to social problems such as criminal activity, conflict in the family, and suicide. There isa need to end the suffering.
CHAPTER 3