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The Social Economy and Role of Government in South Africa

Social economy, as a relatively new concept, is considered the ‘third sector' of the economy in government discourse. It plays significant roles in socio-economic and political spheres of any nation. Emphasis on social economy has been as a result of the global recession which caused economic depression in several countries all over the world. In South Africa, the impact of the economic recession has reflected mostly in increased unemployment and poverty levels resulting in maximization of discrepancies between the rich and poor with inequalities, creating disenabling environments for foreign investments. These social problems have called for an examination of the role of the social economy in liberating the South African economy from its current dire state. This chapter on tracing the developmental agenda of the South African government, will examine how the social economy has fed into the National Development Plan and the impact of implementation of government policies and regulatory frameworks to ensure achievement of various national imperatives aligned to the Millennium Development Goals in the context of the social economy. The authors state that whilst there is a growing trend towards the social economy in the current context of government, multi-faceted effects of poverty needs to be targeted through robust entrepreneurial opportunities for growth and development of the economy.