Socioeconomic Impact of Policy-Making in South Africa

Background: South African government has numerous policies that seek to address the social ills and economic decline in the country. These policies are not reviewed continuously and as such, these policies are not addressing the current state of affairs for the majority of South Africans. Policies that are made in South Africa seem to be a guessing game for government officials. Communities are not allowed to participate in policy-making. Advertising the draft policies on various platforms does not mean all community members have access to that draft policy. Purpose: The purpose of this article is to show how socioeconomic policies affect South African communities. Objectives: The objective of the article was to investigate the impact of socioeconomic policies in South Africa. The second objective was to explore the process of policy-making concerning improving the lives of the people in South Africa. Research methodology: The study applied the secondary research methodology. Data was collected from the South African government gazette and in public documents. Results: The study found that the socio-economic policies that are developed for South Africa do not fully address the problems or challenges of the broader society. Some of these policies are not properly implemented. Conclusion: The study concludes that policy-making in South Africa is not for everyone but for a few individuals.