A Capability Approach Assessment of FBOs’ Role and Strategies in Poverty Alleviation and Human Development in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

Post-apartheid governments in South Africa have, through many strategies, tried to curb poverty and underdevelopment in the country. Despite some success stories, certain areas of the country still experience serious cases of poverty and underdevelopment. In the KwaZulu-Natal Province, poverty, inequality, unemployment and decrepit social services system constitute the main challenges to be tackled by the government. When state agents fall short in delivering poverty alleviation and development measures, non-state actors like FBOs sometimes assume the position of providing the necessary public goods to society. Hence, the role that FBOs play in liberal democracies, and how they can possibly help in poverty alleviation and human development, have taken centre stage in scholarly discussions on the politics of the state. Against this backdrop, this study adopts qualitative empirical methods and Sen's Capability Approach as an evaluative framework to assess the role that two FBOs, one Muslim and one Christian, play and the strategies they use in poverty alleviation and human development in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The study's analysis finds that these two FBOs do benefit aid recipients, but that they also (like other NGOs) practice varying forms of paternalism. Further research on these and other FBOs is necessary for a more sustained analysis of the whether and how the CA approach can provide a complete picture of aid recipients' well-being.