Constitutionalism and separation of powers in South Africa after the promulgation of the 1996 constitution : a comparative perspective
- Authors: Ramatsekisa, Tsietsi Given
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Separation of powers -- South Africa Constitutional law -- South Africa Democracy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , LLD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/12642 , vital:39295
- Description: Constitutionalism and separation of powers is the most dynamic topic worldwide. Montesquieu, the French philosopher is credited with the doctrine of separation of powers. Various countries adopted the doctrine and modified it, in order to fit their systems of governments. The reason behind is that there is no universally recognized model of separation of powers or one size fit all. Countries apply this doctrine differently in a fashion that fits their domestic laws and constitutional requirements. Montesquieu gave a classic exposition and the rationale for separation of powers in one of his well-celebrated work “The Spirit of Laws”. The concept of separation of powers emerged premised on the theory that the arms of state namely, the judiciary, the legislature and the executive, should operate within their providence without one interfering with the other. From the South African perspective, the Constitution of South Africa of 1996 requires separation of powers even though it is not explicitly so stated in the text. This research examines the unique South African model of separation of powers and how the courts have navigated through it from the time the Constitution was promulgated. It seeks to establish whether or not a South African model of separation of powers has come to the fore. The research further examines the problem of interference amongst the arms of state and mechanism of checks and balances which can be applied to prevent or minimise such interference. In doing so, the study pursued a desktop survey of primary and secondary materials, including scientific literature, legislation, courts’ jurisprudence, and official documents. A comparative perspective was also made in order to learn from the experiences of other jurisdictions where the doctrine is applied. The findings reveal that South Africa has a unique model of separation of powers. The model was learned and enriched from various foreign jurisdictions. The courts have contributed enormously to this model, which contrive to be fluid and living.
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- Date Issued: 2016
Shifting identities: An exploration of the possibilities for a syncretic Afrikaans theatre by means of three case studies – Hex (2003), Lady Anne (2007), Ekspedisies (2008)
- Authors: Gehring, Heike
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2165 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021269
- Description: This thesis investigates the possibilities for syncretic Afrikaans language theatre within a post-1994 South African society. The research sets out to explore in what manner theatre can be language-specific, while at the same time being able to cross language contexts. This exploration is driven by the wish to develop strategies for creating Afrikaans theatre that is able to reflect on a society “united in diversity”. In this regard it is argued that for theatre to be able to both retain and cross language barriers, processes of bonding and bridging are necessary. The thesis sets out first to explain why these processes are required and then to suggest ways in which such processes can be implemented in practice. A triangular approach is used, in which conceptual and theoretical frameworks are developed to reflect on actual theatre practices. Three of my own productions are used as case studies, namely Hex (2000; 2003), Lady Anne (2007) and Ekspedisies (2008). These productions can be understood to be “boundary objects” in Henk Borgdorff’s (2012: 177) sense of the word, in that they fulfil a dual function: they are artistic productions that can also be reconstituted to serve a research purpose beyond the productions themselves. All three works were first created for public consumption before becoming cases for this thesis. Many of the strategies that were developed and tested in creating these productions are examples of ways in which bonding and bridging in Afrikaans language theatre can be understood. Chapter One of the thesis contextualises the political currents and events that necessitated the impulse towards “bonding and bridging”. In this case the political and ethical impetus behind the practical explorations has been related predominantly to the democratisation of South African society, in which a paradigm shift happened from viewing the Afrikaans language as one over many to one amongst many. Within a multilingual South Africa, concerns are raised about ways in which to create theatre in South African languages other than English (often understood to be the only possible bridging language) that are able to cross language divides. Following this introduction to language-related concerns, Chapter Two explains how the shift from apartheid to democracy made space for shifts in identity – on personal as well as institutional levels: a progression from essentialised notions of culture to the celebration of plurality. This progression is then related to theatre, with an explanation of how the post-1994 theatre landscape demanded a reimagining of the form and function of theatre. In this re-imagination the notion of a “third space” is important; something that is introduced in this chapter as an alternative to polarised identity constructions. The function of the “third space” as an in-between space and a meeting point for diverse people and entities is a strong underlying theme of this thesis and it serves as a reoccurring touchstone to the ideas put forward. Chapter Three discusses the South African arts festival culture and its contribution to the South African theatre landscape. Particular focus is placed on the Klein Karoo National Arts festival (KKNK) as a platform for the development of the Afrikaans language within a post-1994 context. What is emphasized in particular is the attempt by the KKNK festival to be linguistically and culturally exploratory and inclusive in the face of language protectionism. After the contextual background of the first three chapters, the thesis shifts to an analysis of theories related to “hybridity” and “syncretism”. In Chapter Four the argument is put forward that of the various inclusive performance and theatre models that represent a multicultural society, the most responsive forms are those that are syncretic and hybrid. Principles that can contribute to the unification and merging of diverse and polarized societal groups are described, and suggestions are made for possible ways to bring about bonding and bridging within cultural practices. Having introduced these principles, examples are offered of how these theories might be understood in other disciplines, namely, religious studies, anthropology, history and a range of cultural practices. Following this broad discussion, Chapter Five describes syncretism and hybridity more specifically in theatre by means of relevant examples. Taking the discussion further into the realm of application, Chapter Six offers an overview of “workshop theatre”, “translation” and “collage making” as strategies for putting theories of hybridity and syncretism into practice. This is followed (in Chapters Seven, Eight and Nine) by a discussion of the three productions (Hex, Lady Anne and Ekspedisies) as case studies that demonstrate how these theories can be understood in practice. Practical strategies for bridging language divides are foregrounded, such as code switching as an approach for enabling a “co-habitation” of languages; physical theatre as a means for crossing language divides; and the creation of more than one language version of a production as a tactic to accommodate shifting contexts. Following on from the discoveries made in the foregoing chapters, I conclude that theories and practices related to notions of “third space”, “hybridity” and “syncretism” are ideal for creating theatre forms (in the Afrikaans language in particular) that can truly reflect a South African society which is “united in diversity”. The thesis ends by offering suggestions for ways in which new, future identities, can be developed.
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- Date Issued: 2016
An investigation into how journalists experience economic and political pressures on their ethical decisions at the Nation Media Group in Kenya
- Authors: Maweu, Jacinta Mwende
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Nation Media Group Limited Journalists -- Kenya Journalistic ethics -- Kenya Press and politics -- Kenya Journalism -- Economic aspects -- Kenya Journalism -- Political aspects -- Kenya Mass media -- Political aspects -- Kenya Mass media -- Economic aspects -- Kenya Freedom of the press -- Kenya
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3508 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007583
- Description: This study investigates how journalists experience economic and political pressures on their ethical decisions at the Nation Media Group (NMG) conglomerate in Kenya. The study uses qualitative semi- structured interviews to examine how journalists experience these pressures on their professional ethics as they make their daily decisions. Grounded in the critical political economy of the media tradition, the findings of the study indicate that economic and political pressures from advertisers, shareholders’ interests, the profit motive and the highly ethnicised political environment in Kenya largely compromise the ethical decisions of journalists. The study draws on the work done by Herman and Chomsky in their ‘Propaganda Model’ in which they propose ‘filters’ as the analytical indicators of the forms that political and economic pressures that journalists experience may take. The study explores the ways in which journalists experience these pressures, how they respond to the pressures and the ways in which their responses may compromise their journalism ethics. The findings indicate that aside from the pressures from the primary five filters outlined in the Propaganda Model, ethnicity in Kenyan newsrooms is a key ‘filter’ that may compromise the ethical decisions of journalists at the NMG. The study therefore argues that there is a need to modify the explanatory power of the Propaganda Model when applying it to the Kenyan context to include ethnicity as a ‘sixth filter’ that should be understood in relation to the five primary filters. From the findings, it would seem that the government is no longer a major threat to journalists’ freedom and responsibility in Kenya. Market forces and ethnicity in newsrooms pose the greatest threat to journalists’ freedom and responsibility. The study therefore calls for a revision of the normative framework within which journalists’ and media performance in Kenya is assessed. As the study findings show, the prevailing liberal- democratic model ignores the commercial and economic threats the ‘free market’ poses to journalism ethics as well as ethnicity in newsrooms and only focuses on the media- government relations, treating the government as the major threat to media freedom.
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- Date Issued: 2013
Environmental water quality management of glyphosate-based herbicides in South Africa
- Authors: Mensah, Paul Kojo
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Water quality management -- South Africa Water quality management -- Environmental Aspects -- South Africa Herbicides -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa Herbicides -- Toxicology -- South Africa Water -- Glyphosate content -- South Africa Water -- Pollution -- South Africa Water quality -- Measurement -- South Africa Water -- Analysis -- South Africa Freshwater ecology -- South Africa Integrated water development -- South Africa Caridina -- Effect of pollution on -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:6023 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001987
- Description: Although the use of pesticides is necessary to meet the socio-economic needs of many developing countries, especially in Africa, side effects of these bio-active chemicals have contributed to contaminating aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Environmental water quality degradation by pesticides interferes with ecosystem health and poses numerous risks to aquatic life. In South Africa, glyphosate-based herbicides are frequently used to control weeds and invading alien plants, but ultimately end up in freshwater ecosystems. However, there are no South African-based environmental water quality management strategies to regulate these bio-active chemicals. Therefore, this study sought to provide a sound scientific background for the environmental water quality management of glyphosate-based herbicides in South Africa, by conducting both laboratory and field investigations. In the laboratory investigations, aquatic ecotoxicological methods were used to evaluate responses of the freshwater aquatic shrimp Caridina nilotica exposed to Roundup® at different biological system scales, and the responses of multiple South African aquatic species exposed to Roundup® through species sensitivity distribution (SSD). In the field investigations, the effect of Kilo Max WSG on the physicochemical and biological conditions of three selected sites in the Swartkops River before and after a spray episode by Working for Water were evaluated through biomonitoring, using the South African Scoring System version 5 (SASS5) as a sampling protocol. Both Roundup® and Kilo Max WSG are glyphosate-based herbicides. All the data were subjected to relevant statistical analyses. Findings of this study revealed that Roundup® elicited responses at different biological system scales in C. nilotica, while SSD estimates were used to derive proposed water quality guidelines for glyphosate-based herbicides in South Africa. The biomonitoring revealed that using glyphosate-based herbicides to control water hyacinth within the Swartkops River had a negligible impact on the physicochemical and biological conditions. Based on these findings, a conceptual framework that can be used for the integrated environmental water quality management of glyphosate-based herbicides in South Africa was developed as part of integrated water resource management (IWRM). The combined data sets contribute to a sound scientific basis for the environmental water quality management of glyphosate-based herbicides in South Africa.
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- Date Issued: 2013
A taxonomic revision of the shallow-water species of the genera Lethrinops, Tramitichromis and Taeniolethrinops (Teleostei, Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa (East Africa)
- Authors: Ngatunga, Benjamin Peter
- Date: 2001
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5347 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007443
- Description: In order for the SADC/GEF Lake Malawi/Nyasa Biodiversity Conservation Project to draw out sound strategic management and conservation recommendations to the riparian countries of Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, the need and urgency for revising the taxonomy of some of the scientifically and economically important fish groups was accorded high priority. This study is a contribution towards achieving those goals. It is a taxonomic revision of the shallow-water species of the genera Taenioiethrinops, Tramitichromis and Lethrinops. These three genera are grouped as Lethrinops 'sensu lato' in this thesis, corresponding to the definition of Lethrinops prior to the revision by Eccles & Trewavas (1989). All members have a characteristic dentition: the outer teeth in the lower jaw curve inwards posteriorly ending just behind the inner row(s), rather than continuing backwards as a single series, as in most other Malawian haplochromines. The decision to consider shallow-water Lethrinops 'sensu lato' separately from the deepwater ones was not arbitrary, but rather based on available ecological and morphological evidence. Unanticipatedly, on the course of this study, evidence from molecular genetics has helped to strengthen the distinction. Economically, Lethrinops is important for human food and for the aquarium trade. Lethrinops are precocial fish producing very few young at a time and are consequently unlikely to recover quickly from heavy fishing pressure. To evolutionary biologists, Lethrinops 'sensu lato' is challenging because until now most theories about the evolution of Lake Malawi cichlids have not taken the sand-dwelling fishes fully into consideration. A better knowledge of the distribution patterns of these cichlids, of which Lethrinops are the major representatives, can help in explaining the underlying mechanisms of speciation in sand-dwelling cichlids. Lethrinops 'sensu lato' is taxonomically one of the most complex groups of Lake MalawilNyasa haplochromines. The species are closely related and very difficult to differentiate, and the taxonomy is confused and in urgent need of revision. This is more important since taxonomy plays an important role in most of the key criteria of conservation.The principal objective of this study was to carry out a taxonomic revision of this group and to provide a key to the identification of the species. Further objectives include the mapping of their distribution and analysing their phylogenetic relationships. Large samples were collected (by trawling, gill netting, beach seining and purchased from local fishermen) from depths less than 20m and from numerous well-defined localities all around the lake. Seventeen type specimens of the 21 described species of the shallow-water Lethrinops 'sensu lato' were examined and compared with this recently collected material. The data of about 500 fish specimens were subjected to principal component analyses (PCA). To further evaluate morphological differences between taxa of comparable size, non- parametric, distribution-free Mann-Whitney U-tests were used. Within the shallow-water Lethrinops 'sensu lato' three genera are recognized which can be separated by characters such as head shape, pharyngeal morphology and dentition, number and shape of gill-rakers, number of the pectoral fin rays and melanin pattern. So far in this study, 28 taxa have been recognized. The overlapping measurements and meristics compound the difficulty inherent in the identification and classification of members of the three genera. The genera Tramitichromis and Taeniolethrinops are typically shallow- water taxa. Within the genus Taeniolethrinops four described species, (T. cyrtonotus, T.forcicauda, T. laticeps and T. praeorbitalis) were distinguished. Within the genus Tramitichromis nine species were distinguished, five of which are described (T. brevis, T. intermedius, T. lituris, T. trilineata and T. variabilis); four represent undescribed species and are given a working name (T. sp. 'brevis 2', T. sp. 'maculae', T. sp. 'pharyngeals' and T. sp. 'variabilis deep'). For convenience, the shallow water Lethrinops 'sensu stricto' were divided into three natural groups, according to shared morphological features. • The first group is the lethrinus group, including three species (L. lunaris, L. leptodon and L. lethrinus) with relatively lolong snouts and remnants of the horizontal stripes. • Another group included eight taxa (L. microstoma, L. macrophthalmus, L. macrochir, L. auritus, L. parvidens, L. sp. 'parvidens deep', L. 'black dorsal auritus', L. sp. 'domira blotch' and L. sp. 'turneri') with a relatively short snout and a small mouth set low on the profile. Within this group, special attention has been paid to the confusion involving L. auritus and a new species to be described soon, L. sp. 'turneri' . • The last group of Lethrinops 'sensu stricto' is ill defmed and has an intermediate snout and with a lesser round head. Within this group L. oculatus, which was described on the basis of a single specimen, is synonymised with L. marginatus. The other valid species of this group are Lethrinops albus and L.furcifer. Nearly all species seem to have a lake-wide distribution. All are associated with sandy substrata where they feed mainly on insect larvae and ostracods. Mitochondrial DNA sequence data indicate that Lethrinops 'sensu lato' as currently defmed is not monophyletic but is paraphyletic or more probably polyphyletic. It is further suggested that the typical Lethrinops dentition provides no particular strong evidence for affimity among shallow-water Lethrinops s.s., Tramitichromis and Taeniolethrinops. The need for management and conservation of this scientifically exciting group of fishes has been pointed out.
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- Date Issued: 2001
The exploration and evaluation of groundwater units in the Van Rynevelds Pass Dam Basin, north of Graaff-Reinet, Cape Province
- Authors: Woodford, A C
- Date: 1989 , 2013-08-30
- Subjects: Aquifers -- South Africa -- Graaff-Reinet , Hydrogeology -- South Africa , Groundwater -- South Africa -- Graaff-Reinet
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4880 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013275
- Description: This thesis deals with a groundwater investigation conducted in the Van Rynevelds Pass Dam basin, north of Graaff-Reinet, in the Cape Province. The objective of the study was to assess the groundwater potential of the basin in terms of its development and exploitation as a municipal supply. In order to achieve this objective, fieldwork was carried out involving a hydrocensus, geological/geophysical mapping, drilling, aquifer testing and hydrochemical sampling. The fieldwork was conducted during the period January 1983 to February 1984. The investigation revealed that the most significant ground water occurrence in the study area is an alluvial/weathered bedrock aquifer (Graaff-Reinet aquifer ) . The volume of ground water stored in the Graaff-Reinet aquifer is in the order of 27 x 10⁶ m³, while its exploitation potential is conservatively estimated at 9 300 m³/day. However, the quality of this water is poor and should be blended with dam water or better quality groundwater. Two minor fractured aquifer units were also identified.
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- Date Issued: 1989