- Title
- The anatomy of violent service delivery protest with a specific reference to Walmer township, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM), Eastern Cape Province (2012-2015)
- Creator
- Nomarwayi, Thandolwethu
- Subject
- Protest movements -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Subject
- Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Subject
- Violence
- Date Issued
- 2019-04
- Date
- 2019-04
- Type
- Doctoral theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/69582
- Identifier
- vital:77934
- Description
- Since 2004, and even before that, the gains of developmental local government in South Africa have been stunted by violence linked to the lack or poor service delivery at local government level. Generally, there are many factors identified in the literature and empirical studies which are causing the escalation of these protest actions and these are: demarcation of local municipalities, lack of community trust between local residents and local authorities (in particular councilors), corruption, cadre deployment and maladministration among other things. This collective behavior, underpinned by violence led to the ungovernability of the local sphere in post-apartheid South Africa. These protest actions also known as ‘rebellion of the poor’ are often characterized by criminal activities particularly targeted towards foreign nationals. This study aims to explore, explain and describe violence during protest actions associated with lack of service delivery at local government level in SA with specific reference to Walmer Township, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM), Eastern Cape Province; from 2012 to 2015. Although protest actions erupted in Walmer Township in 2017, these protests were not about basic service delivery but the closure of a local police station which led to an increase of criminal activities especially against women. The study uses the theoretical lenses of frustration-aggression theory, resource mobilisation theory, relative deprivation theory, conflict theory, social identity theory and human needs theory to explore, explain and describe the phenomenon under investigation. This study has used a qualitative-dominant mixed methods approach, in which both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to answer the research questions and address its problem statement. Qualitative data was collected by using focus group interviews, participant observations and face-to-face interviews, while quantitative data was collected through a survey by using a questionnaire. The main findings of this study show that, firstly, masculinity and gender influenced by culture played a significant role in determining who should participate or participated in service delivery protests. Secondly, people are not naturally violent but violence during service delivery protests is caused by the slow-pace of service delivery in poor communities. Thirdly, violence is seen as the very last option to express dissatisfaction about service delivery after the non-violent techniques have been applied but failed. Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) have ulterior motives and played a central role in prompting protest actions to capture the municipal resources (municipal capture’) to enrich themselves through tender systems and community projects. The majority of the protesters reside in the informal settlements where poverty and unemployment is very high. In this study it was revealed that, there are also criminal activities which occurred during protest actions; for example, the looting of Spaza shops owned by foreign nationals. Finally, community leaders played a pivotal role in organising and mobilising people for service delivery protest, and they seem to be more trusted and have a good relationship with the people compared to ward councilor who is ‘aloof’ and ‘disconnected’. At a policy level, this study shows that people have no knowledge of policies related to service delivery at local government level. The study makes a significant contribution to masculinity, gender, culture and socio-economic and political landscapes within the disciplines of Politics and Conflict both in local and international scholarship.
- Description
- Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Governmental and Social Sciences, 2019
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (338 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Humanities
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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Collections
NMU School of Governmental and Social Sciences
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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