Human Trafficking A Smaller Concern, According to Study

Human trafficking ahead of the World Cup was expected to be a major problem in South Africa, where thousands of people were expected to be smuggled into the country to work for low wages. However, a study out of the University of South Africa suggests that problem may not be as big as had been feared.

[A]t present the number of people trafficked to, in or from South Africa each year is currently not known, but that the real figure is more likely to be in the hundreds than in the thousands. But, she says, trafficking is a very real problem in this country.

"There is enough even from the little bits of quantitative data that we manage to get hold of , and a lot of anecdotal data from various, from a range of stake holders; it is definitely a problem and a lot of people are at risk," Allais said.

The study led by Allais is the first comprehensive investigation done in South Africa - it was commissioned by the country's National Prosecuting Authority and done under the auspices of the Human Sciences Research Council in Pretoria. But researchers said their ability to investigate the problem was severely curtailed because governments in the region do not gather statistics on trafficking, and because the team was not given names and details of government officials dealing with it.

Spotlight on Human Trafficking Before World Cup in South Africa
Voice of America
April 13, 2010

Poverty Persists in South Africa, According to Study

A new study shows that South Africa's poverty problem has seen little improvement in recent years.

The poorest group of adults -- earning up to R50000 a year -- shrank by just 7000 between 2007 and last year, a report by the University of SA's Bureau of Market Research showed last week. In absolute terms, the number of people in this category dipped to 23503512, down from 23510969.

While grim, it is not all bad. The number of poorest hardly moved in absolute terms, but did decrease as a proportion of the total population, from 77,9% to 75,4%.

South Africa: Little Progress in Alleviating Poverty in SA
Business Day
March 1, 2010