The RDP, GEAR and all that: reflections ten years later

Social stratification and inequality in South Africa

“…Economic growth did not create enough jobs to keep up with this population growth, and so these macroeconomic programs did not live up to their promise (Makgetla, 2004; Padayachee, 2005; Streak, 2004; Terreblanche, 2002; Tshitereke, 2006; Özler, 2007). The adoption of GEAR also entailed sidelining many of the aims of RDP, and BEE policies did little to increase wealth redistribution, both of which resulted in continued high inequality (Gelb, 2004; Peet, 2002; Seekings and Nattrass, 2005; Tangri and Southall, 2008; Özler, 2007).…”

Crime, inequality and subsidized housing: Evidence from South Africa

“…16 The Reconstruction and Development Program has evolved as it encountered difficulties and had to adapt. It was followed by the Growth, Employment and Redistribution Strategy in 1996, the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa in 2005, the New Growth Path in 2010 and the National Development Plan in 2013 (Adelzadeh, 1996;Gelb, 2006;Naidoo and Maré, 2015). In parallel, the housing dimension of the original Reconstruction and Development Program has also evolved throughout the years, along with the institutions it created and the legislation it inspired.…”

Migration, Xenophobia and Resistance to Xenophobia and Socio-economic Exclusion in the Aftermath of South African Rainbowism

“…From 1999 to 2008 reconstruction and development continued under the Presidency of Thabo Mbeki, even though his tenure was marked by a number of issues including; being tolerant of incompetent ministers; and failure of his administration to condemn xenophobia openly, as mapped by Barney Pityana in his recent book Building Blocks Towards An African Century (2018). Despite criticisms of these issues, Mbeki was credited for the development and implementation of the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) program as a micro economic strategy for South Africa, although some considered it a neoliberal framework which fuelled anger and created divisions within the movement (Gelb 2006). Although contested, policies of affirmative action and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) emerged as key drivers to build a black middle class.…”