Abstract
D.Litt. et Phil. (Development Studies)
This study explores the interplay of lived experiences, perceptions, aspirations and choices of unemployed youth in the Royal Bafokeng Nation (RBN) – seemingly one of the richest tribes in Africa. The RBN features prominently in the political economy of platinum mining in South Africa as a model of success in development through its community-corporate partnerships in mining ventures. The discourse of success as sold by opinion leaders and traditional leaders alike is centred on the RBN’s indisputable achievements as both a community and “quasi-municipality”, “a mine operator” as well as a “mine owner”. However, the extent to which this model of success enhances ordinary Bafokeng’s ability to live the lives they aspire is questionable. This thesis inverted the lens by paying attention to the lived experiences of unemployed young people to understand their aspirations, choices and strategies for daily survival.
Using the theoretical tools borrowed from Sen's Capability Approach (CA) and Appadurai's (2004) theory on aspirations, this study brings to the fore the “hidden transcripts” of unemployed youth about how they make sense of the development narratives within the RBN. The study drew its findings from a purposively selected sample of 71 unemployed youth who participated in face-to-face, in-depth semi-structured and focus group interviews. To contextualise the situation of youth in the RBN, secondary data and documents within the RBN were analysed.
By exploring young people’s experiences and perceptions of being unemployed, this study concludes that the notion of development in the RBN is debatable. Young people’s experiences of development in the RBN are underscored by political and economic alienation as well as indignity and stagnation. Even though young people adequately express their aspirations, they remain unmet due to several familial and structural constraints. To mitigate these constraints, young people use various strategies to make ends meet. These include engaging in informal, and sometimes illicit activities. The findings seek to show the level of consciousness in youth regarding how development can be largely captured by markets (mining companies) and local authorities (traditional leaders) to the detriment of communities. According to young people, traditional leaders while masquerading as guardians of communities, can be self-serving. These findings have implications on how to measure development in the context in which there is a dissonance between people’s lived experiences at a micro-level and development achievements at a macro-level.