Centre for Social Change

Join the CSC and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung on 30 November at 11am for a webinar on 'Voter fluidity and abstention in the 2021 local government elections'.

To register: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/94/2oxk8tyk

Two key trends have emerged from the recent local government elections. One, that an increasing number of voters stayed away from the polls and, two, that an increasing number of those that did vote switched their votes away from the dominant political parties. In this webinar, we provide insight into the socio-demographic profile and motivations of those who stayed away from the polls and those who switched their votes within five metropolitan municipalities. The findings are based on a telephone survey conducted with over 3,000 participants and provides one of the most robust first glimpses into the emerging trend of voter fluidity and further analysis of voter abstention in South Africa.

Voter fluidity and abstention in the 2021 local government elections In this webinar, we provide insight into the socio-demographic profile and motivations of those who stayed away from the polls and those who switched

CSC MA graduate Boikanyo Moloto writes on the roots of taxi violence

OPINION | Boikanyo Moloto: Taxi violence - roots vs routes? What is the solution? | News24 There is a need for a joint effort between all stakeholders to address the corruption that affects the taxi industry, writes the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation’s Boikanyo Moloto.

Share your views about democracy in South Africa by participating in this short survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YVM26FL?fbclid=IwAR1r7VinflDIaFP3VcpQla-qW6bjgGQctwJP6TRUxPKFPTr2HIMLQ-sGnuY

Democracy from Below Survey Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

Round 2 of the UJ/HSRC lockdown survey is live. Share your experiences of lockdown by taking part in this survey https://hsrc.datafree.co/r/ujhsrc

Social changers Angela Chukunzira and Tafadzwa Antonater Choto have been awaarded the the Lionel Cliffe Memorial Research Scholarship for 2020.

Angela Chuunzira is a MA student at the Centre and her research will examine how the use of Zoom has impacted activism in Johannesburg during the Covid-19 crisis.

Tafadzwa Antonater Choto is a PhD student who is undertaking a Gramscian analysis of Zimbabwe’s working-class history from 1995 to 2002.

The Lionel Cliffe Memorial Research Scholarship for 2020 - ROAPE The Review of African Political Economy (ROAPE) announces the winners of a small research grants competition for African researchers and activists based in Africa. The competition is based on the premise that a shortage of funding for critical research is one of the problems faced by Africa-based sc...

The Review of African Political Economy (ROAPE) has awarded CSC PhD student Paddington Mutekwe the 2019 Ruth First prize for his article ‘Resistance and repression in Zimbabwe: a case study of Zimplats mine workers’. It was published in ROAPE Volume 46, Issue 160 in Autumn 2019 and is available to download for free in celebration of this great achievement.

ROAPE’s Ruth First Prize - Paddington Mutekwe - ROAPE The Editorial Working Group of the Review of African Political Economy is pleased to announce the 2019 winner of the Ruth First prize. The prize is awarded to Paddington Mutekwe for his article ‘Resistance and repression in Zimbabwe: a case study of Zimplats mine workers’. The article is availab...

Professor Kate Alexander, Director of the Centre for Social Change, discussed the initial findings from the CSC survey, conducted in partnership wih DCES reearch division at the HSRC on 702 this morning.

The socio-economic and psycho-social impacts of COVID19 Prof Kate Alexander from UJ takes us through the results of the initial study into the real impact of this pandemic on society.

The Centre for Social Change, University of Johannesburg, in partnership with the Development, Capable and Ethical State of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) have released initial findings from an ongoing survey on the public perceptions of the economic, social and political impact of Covid-19 on life across the country.

The key findings demonstrate:
• 73% believed that President Cyril Ramaphosa is doing a good job, with only 4% saying he was doing a bad job, a difference of 69%
• By contrast, only 25% thought their councillor was doing a good job, with 24% saying they were doing a bad job, a difference of 1%.
• 43% of South Africans supported the lockdown with its current level of restrictions, 37% supported amendments to the regulations, and only 5% were opposed to the lockdown.
However, the lockdown has caused considerable financial and emotional distress. Thus:
• 66% were struggling to pay for their expenses, and 28% had gone to bed hungry.
• The most commonly experienced emotion was stress (57%), next was boredom (45%), followed by fear (43%). In comparison only 13% had experienced happiness.

Socio-economic status impacts strongly on support for the extended lockdown (announced on 9 April). The findings show;
• Among those who had gone to bed hungry during the lockdown, only 34% backed the lockdown unconditionally, compared to 48% for those who had not been to bed hungry.
• Wealthier people are far more likely to give unconditional support to the lockdown than those who are poor. The figures are 70% for those with a personal income between R20,001 and R40,000 and only 35% for those with a personal income of less than R1000 a month.
• Young South Africans are far less likely to give unconditional support to the lockdown than those who are older. Only 35% of 18-24 year-olds backed this option, compared with a figure of 62% for those over 55.
Respondents were asked to indicate which of 12 policy proposals they favoured. The analysis showed:
• 71% supporting the distribution of food parcels, 56% supporting the introduction of a basic income grant, 52% supporting a payment holiday for accounts, rents and taxes, and the same percentage supporting an increase in the value of social grants.
• By contrast, only a small minority supported lifting restrictions on the sale of alcohol (12%) and to***co (17%).

Over the next few weeks, the project team will continue assessing the attitudes, behaviours and experiences of people during the Coronavirus crisis.

For those interested in completing the survey, the data free link can be found at:
https://hsrc.datafree.co/r/covidUJ

PhD bursary available in the Future of Labour programme based at the Centre for Social Change. Deadline 31 January 2020.