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Part 4

Experts use many different aspects to accurately identify individuals who belong under the poverty line. The fraction of income expenditure. Any fraction below 40% of income expenditure is identified as poor by experts. Poverty datum line which is divided into 2 lines; the primary poverty datum line and the secondary poverty datum line. The primary poverty line focuses on the costs of food, clothes, cleansing material. The secondary poverty line focuses on the costs of taxation, accommodation, and transport. Minimum living level: the littlest amount that can be shared within a specific size of household. The household substance level and household effective level: these levels include no provision of education, medical expenses, savings, insurance and etc. Upper and lower bound poverty line: the cost of basic needs per person in a household per month. The upper bound poverty line was set at R593 per person per month. The lower bound poverty line was set at R322 per person per month. Food security measures: the minimum cost of nutritionally balanced diet per household.

The implementation of Standards set by experts to identify poverty is different from what individuals in communities consider as poverty. Many surveys and questionnaires have been used to find out what ordinary people consider as poverty. The minimum income question was used to asked people what amount of income they would consider as minimum. The get along question was used to ask individuals what minimum amount a household would need weekly to get along in the community. It is such questions that are used to find out what ordinary individuals consider as poverty, based on comparison within their community and the standards set by society.

Peter Townsend defined poverty as the failure to engage in society-approved activities. It is the inability to live up to the living standards set by society due to economic and eventually social deprivation. Townsend redefined poverty as the matter of little economic importance in affluent western societies (Shaw, 1988:27)