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19 Technium Soc. Sci. J. 1 (2021)

handle is hein.journals/techssj19 and id is 1 raw text is: Technium Social Sciences Journal Vol. 19, 1-14, May, 2021 IS:2668-7798 SOCIAL SCIENCES JOURNAL ISSN.26879 www.techniumscience.com COVID-19, Food Insecurity and a Government Response: Reflections from South Africa Victor H Mlambo University of Zululand, South Africa halavicokyahoo.com Nonoxlo Nomfundo Khuzwayo University of Zululand, South Africa nxlkhuzw akaok ail . com Abstract. The goal of this paper is to examine how life, already hard before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has further deteriorated and compounded the difficulties South Africans experience in accessing food. As a point of departure, the paper argues that while food insecurity has always been a feature in South Africa, COVID-19 has laid bare the ineffective policy response by successive governments over the years. Food insecurity in the country is not new, but the government's ineffective response has allowed COVID-19 to intensify poverty and inequality among the most vulnerable. To explore how COVID-19 has exacerbated the food insecurity problem in the country, this paper employed a qualitative research approach where secondary data was collected through a review of the literature. From the outset, it was observable that government responses to COVID-19 were not only going to cost jobs and further entrench poverty and inequality, but were also going to exacerbate the food insecurity problem in the country. Even though government measures to cushion the poor and vulnerable have largely been welcomed, they have been tainted by corruption, thus clouding their overall effectiveness. It is recommended that the government be proactive rather than reactive in addressing issues around food insecurity. Keywords. Poverty, Development, Growth. 1. Introduction Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented socio-economic devastation. From an economic perspective, Nagarajan (2020) predicts that the pandemic is likely to cost the global economy $82 trillion in damage over the next five years. From a political perspective, Schmieding (2020) contends that the pandemic caught governments off-guard and by the time they reacted, it had already inflicted extensive socio-economic and, by extension, political damage. It has given rise to nationalism and populism and, as one can observe in times of need, it becomes a matter of every nation for itself. From a social perspective, the pandemic has changed the way we live our lives. It has exerted unprecedented pressures on public health systems and food systems and has undone years of progress with regard to reducing poverty and global inequality (Bakalis et al., 2020). One cannot deny that the pandemic has far-reaching socio-economic implications. Globally, millions of people are already out of work, which increases their likelihood of falling 1