Lessons for South Africa's national identity: the political writings of Aggrey Klaaste
- Authors: Sowaga, Dulile Frans
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: South Africa -- Politics and government , Democracy -- South Africa , Multiculturalism -- South Africa , Nationalism -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8359 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021077
- Description: This study is a content analysis of political writings of Aggrey Klaaste (1988-2002). Six theoretical themes suggest that Klaaste’s Nation Building philosophy can help deal with racial and social divisions in the country. These historical divisions are the source of racial tensions, lack of inter-racial socialisations and cause separate living. Lack of social cohesion makes it impossible for post apartheid South Africa to achieve much-needed single national identity. The process of nation building proposed by Klaaste starts with breaking down what he refers to as ‘the corrugated iron curtain’. Social curtaining is deliberate actions by people of different racial groups, religious formations and social classes to build psychological, physical, institutional, political, economic and religious boundaries around themselves to keep others outside their living spaces. These conscious barriers result in unstable democracy as the majority (black population) get frustrated with shack dwellings - as symbols of poverty - while the white population and the middle class blacks move to white suburbs. Moving to upmarket suburbs does not necessarily make race groups to cohere and share a common national identity. Instead informal settlements breed social ills such as poverty, crime and drug substances abuse. This status quo can cause serious political instability which will affect everyone – black and white. Klaaste argues that for collective survival all race groups need to enter into politics of action. For this he proposes specific processes and actions through Nation Building. It is argued that political solutions have failed to unite people and leaders from all sectors of society should emerge. Blacks cannot moan and hate forever. Whites will be affected and must actively support the rebuilding process. This treatise proposes nation building as a process to help everyone to find uniting issues free of political ideologies to create new brotherhood and Ubuntu.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Sowaga, Dulile Frans
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: South Africa -- Politics and government , Democracy -- South Africa , Multiculturalism -- South Africa , Nationalism -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8359 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021077
- Description: This study is a content analysis of political writings of Aggrey Klaaste (1988-2002). Six theoretical themes suggest that Klaaste’s Nation Building philosophy can help deal with racial and social divisions in the country. These historical divisions are the source of racial tensions, lack of inter-racial socialisations and cause separate living. Lack of social cohesion makes it impossible for post apartheid South Africa to achieve much-needed single national identity. The process of nation building proposed by Klaaste starts with breaking down what he refers to as ‘the corrugated iron curtain’. Social curtaining is deliberate actions by people of different racial groups, religious formations and social classes to build psychological, physical, institutional, political, economic and religious boundaries around themselves to keep others outside their living spaces. These conscious barriers result in unstable democracy as the majority (black population) get frustrated with shack dwellings - as symbols of poverty - while the white population and the middle class blacks move to white suburbs. Moving to upmarket suburbs does not necessarily make race groups to cohere and share a common national identity. Instead informal settlements breed social ills such as poverty, crime and drug substances abuse. This status quo can cause serious political instability which will affect everyone – black and white. Klaaste argues that for collective survival all race groups need to enter into politics of action. For this he proposes specific processes and actions through Nation Building. It is argued that political solutions have failed to unite people and leaders from all sectors of society should emerge. Blacks cannot moan and hate forever. Whites will be affected and must actively support the rebuilding process. This treatise proposes nation building as a process to help everyone to find uniting issues free of political ideologies to create new brotherhood and Ubuntu.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Lessons for South African identity : the political writings of Aggrey Klaaste
- Authors: Sowaga, Dulile Frans
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Klaaste, Aggrey , National characteristics , South Africa -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8306 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1019997
- Description: This study is a content analysis of political writings of Aggrey Klaaste (1988-2002). Six theoretical themes suggest that Klaaste’s Nation Building philosophy can help deal with racial and social divisions in the country. These historical divisions are the source of racial tensions, lack of inter-racial socialisations and cause separate living. Lack of social cohesion makes it impossible for post apartheid South Africa to achieve much-needed single national identity. The process of nation building proposed by Klaaste starts with breaking down what he refers to as ‘the corrugated iron curtain’. Social curtaining is deliberate actions by people of different racial groups, religious formations and social classes to build psychological, physical, institutional, political, economic and religious boundaries around themselves to keep others outside their living spaces. These conscious barriers result in unstable democracy as the majority (black population) get frustrated with shack dwellings - as symbols of poverty - while the white population and the middle class blacks move to white suburbs. Moving to upmarket suburbs does not necessarily make race groups to cohere and share a common national identity. Instead informal settlements breed social ills such as poverty, crime and drug substances abuse. This status quo can cause serious political instability which will affect everyone – black and white. Klaaste argues that for collective survival all race groups need to enter into politics of action. For this he proposes specific processes and actions through Nation Building. It is argued that political solutions have failed to unite people and leaders from all sectors of society should emerge. Blacks cannot moan and hate forever. Whites will be affected and must actively support the rebuilding process. This treatise proposes nation building as a process to help everyone to find uniting issues free of political ideologies to create new brotherhood and ubuntu.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Sowaga, Dulile Frans
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Klaaste, Aggrey , National characteristics , South Africa -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8306 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1019997
- Description: This study is a content analysis of political writings of Aggrey Klaaste (1988-2002). Six theoretical themes suggest that Klaaste’s Nation Building philosophy can help deal with racial and social divisions in the country. These historical divisions are the source of racial tensions, lack of inter-racial socialisations and cause separate living. Lack of social cohesion makes it impossible for post apartheid South Africa to achieve much-needed single national identity. The process of nation building proposed by Klaaste starts with breaking down what he refers to as ‘the corrugated iron curtain’. Social curtaining is deliberate actions by people of different racial groups, religious formations and social classes to build psychological, physical, institutional, political, economic and religious boundaries around themselves to keep others outside their living spaces. These conscious barriers result in unstable democracy as the majority (black population) get frustrated with shack dwellings - as symbols of poverty - while the white population and the middle class blacks move to white suburbs. Moving to upmarket suburbs does not necessarily make race groups to cohere and share a common national identity. Instead informal settlements breed social ills such as poverty, crime and drug substances abuse. This status quo can cause serious political instability which will affect everyone – black and white. Klaaste argues that for collective survival all race groups need to enter into politics of action. For this he proposes specific processes and actions through Nation Building. It is argued that political solutions have failed to unite people and leaders from all sectors of society should emerge. Blacks cannot moan and hate forever. Whites will be affected and must actively support the rebuilding process. This treatise proposes nation building as a process to help everyone to find uniting issues free of political ideologies to create new brotherhood and ubuntu.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Public participation in integrated development planning, New Brighton, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality : 2006-2010
- Authors: Mbewana, Stembiso Matthews
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Local government -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Citizen participation , Local governement -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8178 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1775 , Local government -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Citizen participation , Local governement -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Description: The most important difference between the new form of local government and that of the past is the creative and dynamic “developmental role” for local government to ensure maximum impact on poverty alleviation within resource constraints, and to address spatially entrenched socio‐economic inequalities. This needs to take place within the framework of integrated development planning, which is linked to the annual budgeting cycles. The IDP process is intended to provide communities with opportunities for participation in articulating, monitoring, reviewing and evaluating their needs. The aim of the research was to establish to what extent cooperation between the communities and the ward committees in the ward of New Brighton exists, with specific reference to consultation and participation in terms of IDP. A qualitative study was undertaken and literature review on public participation in terms of the IDP was conducted. Relevant secondary data was sourced and structured interviews were conducted with councillors representing New Brighton. Focus group interviews were also conducted with ward committee members from New Brighton. The research revealed that the priorities and genuine needs of the communities were often ignored by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. There is no correlation between the genuine needs of the communities and those perceived to be the needs of the communities by the public officials. Challenges on public participation in IDP process were also found to be associated with the relationship between the councillors and public officials on what constitute the genuine needs of the communities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Mbewana, Stembiso Matthews
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Local government -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Citizen participation , Local governement -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8178 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1775 , Local government -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Citizen participation , Local governement -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Description: The most important difference between the new form of local government and that of the past is the creative and dynamic “developmental role” for local government to ensure maximum impact on poverty alleviation within resource constraints, and to address spatially entrenched socio‐economic inequalities. This needs to take place within the framework of integrated development planning, which is linked to the annual budgeting cycles. The IDP process is intended to provide communities with opportunities for participation in articulating, monitoring, reviewing and evaluating their needs. The aim of the research was to establish to what extent cooperation between the communities and the ward committees in the ward of New Brighton exists, with specific reference to consultation and participation in terms of IDP. A qualitative study was undertaken and literature review on public participation in terms of the IDP was conducted. Relevant secondary data was sourced and structured interviews were conducted with councillors representing New Brighton. Focus group interviews were also conducted with ward committee members from New Brighton. The research revealed that the priorities and genuine needs of the communities were often ignored by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. There is no correlation between the genuine needs of the communities and those perceived to be the needs of the communities by the public officials. Challenges on public participation in IDP process were also found to be associated with the relationship between the councillors and public officials on what constitute the genuine needs of the communities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The effectiveness of school management: conflict management skills as a missing link in selected schools in Gauteng
- Authors: Msila, Vuyisile
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Conflict management -- South Africa -- Gauteng , School management and organization -- South Africa -- Gauteng , Educational leadership -- South Africa -- Gauteng
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8288 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018647
- Description: Growing research in educational leadership and management shows that there are many factors that have an impact on the running of effective schools. Many people are now aware of the importance of the school management‟s role in guiding successful schools. This quantitative study was conducted in Gauteng where 100 school managers responded to a questionnaire which probed them about their conflict management and competence skills. The participants responded to a 40 item Likert scale instrument. Each of the items had five alternatives to choose from. The results demonstrate that many teachers were never trained in conflict management skills and that they also find it hard to resolve disputes in their schools. Furthermore, a majority of the participants attributed the dysfunctionality and lack of teacher commitment to the pervading unresolved conflicts in their schools. There was also consensus that intractable conflict adversely affects the culture of learning and teaching in schools. Among the recommendations highlighted at the end are to ensure that prospective school managers are empowered with conflict management skills before assuming their positions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Msila, Vuyisile
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Conflict management -- South Africa -- Gauteng , School management and organization -- South Africa -- Gauteng , Educational leadership -- South Africa -- Gauteng
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8288 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018647
- Description: Growing research in educational leadership and management shows that there are many factors that have an impact on the running of effective schools. Many people are now aware of the importance of the school management‟s role in guiding successful schools. This quantitative study was conducted in Gauteng where 100 school managers responded to a questionnaire which probed them about their conflict management and competence skills. The participants responded to a 40 item Likert scale instrument. Each of the items had five alternatives to choose from. The results demonstrate that many teachers were never trained in conflict management skills and that they also find it hard to resolve disputes in their schools. Furthermore, a majority of the participants attributed the dysfunctionality and lack of teacher commitment to the pervading unresolved conflicts in their schools. There was also consensus that intractable conflict adversely affects the culture of learning and teaching in schools. Among the recommendations highlighted at the end are to ensure that prospective school managers are empowered with conflict management skills before assuming their positions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The effectiveness of selected Quaker Peace Centre training workshops in the Western Cape
- Dywili, Mlungiseleli Vincent
- Authors: Dywili, Mlungiseleli Vincent
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Peace , Conflict management -- South Africa -- Western Cape , Reconciliation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8264 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1013254
- Description: Several Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) training workshops have been established to help transform correctional institutions worldwide. There is no evidence of any research on AVP conducted in the context of South African Schools to date. This research therefore aims to evaluate AVP training by the Quaker Peace Centre at five high schools on the Cape Flats. Taking a qualitative approach, the study provides a literary contextualization of the problem of violence in South African schools as well as the history of AVP programmes in South Africa and abroad. In respect of his data collection, the researcher used both evaluation forms submitted at the completion of training events, as well as a purpose-designed questionnaire, mailed to a convenience sample of 635 past participants in the training. The results of the study indicate that the AVP workshops have had an impact on the lives of the participants, and there is an acknowledgement of feelings of empowerment experienced by recipients, which enables sound recommendations to be made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Dywili, Mlungiseleli Vincent
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Peace , Conflict management -- South Africa -- Western Cape , Reconciliation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8264 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1013254
- Description: Several Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) training workshops have been established to help transform correctional institutions worldwide. There is no evidence of any research on AVP conducted in the context of South African Schools to date. This research therefore aims to evaluate AVP training by the Quaker Peace Centre at five high schools on the Cape Flats. Taking a qualitative approach, the study provides a literary contextualization of the problem of violence in South African schools as well as the history of AVP programmes in South Africa and abroad. In respect of his data collection, the researcher used both evaluation forms submitted at the completion of training events, as well as a purpose-designed questionnaire, mailed to a convenience sample of 635 past participants in the training. The results of the study indicate that the AVP workshops have had an impact on the lives of the participants, and there is an acknowledgement of feelings of empowerment experienced by recipients, which enables sound recommendations to be made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The efficacy of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in East London: perceptions of participants
- Authors: Pule, Quincy
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: South Africa. Truth and Reconciliation Commission , Reconciliation -- Political aspects -- South Africa , Human rights -- South Africa , Political crimes and offenses -- Investigation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8304 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1019920
- Description: This study examines the degree to which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in East London have mitigated the impact of gross human rights violations on some of the Duncan Village victims. The research draws upon responses from a convenience sample of victims of apartheid atrocities guided by their own individual experiences, literature on conflict management, and TRC hearings that took place in other African states. The East London TRC hearings alert one to the brutality of the apartheid regime whose political intolerance unleashed violence against ordinary citizens of East London. Despite being seen as a witch hunt against the apartheid security establishment, most of the victims feel the TRC opened lines of communication between former enemies, although one cannot conclusively say that total reconciliation between victims and perpetrators has been achieved. Insofar as telling the truth is concerned, the concept defies unanimous acceptance as a contributor to peaceful co-existence. The mere fact that some perpetrators refused to appear before the TRC is an indication that the value attached to it differs from person to person, particularly in a situation where the political landscape is characterized by intimidation and fear. The treatise unveils the East London TRC as a platform for compromise as some of the victims felt anger and hatred for the perpetrators would amount to perpetual self-imposed ostracism. Noting that the TRC was never meant to hurt anyone, the treatise ushers one into a space where reconciliation takes precedence over vengeance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Pule, Quincy
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: South Africa. Truth and Reconciliation Commission , Reconciliation -- Political aspects -- South Africa , Human rights -- South Africa , Political crimes and offenses -- Investigation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8304 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1019920
- Description: This study examines the degree to which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in East London have mitigated the impact of gross human rights violations on some of the Duncan Village victims. The research draws upon responses from a convenience sample of victims of apartheid atrocities guided by their own individual experiences, literature on conflict management, and TRC hearings that took place in other African states. The East London TRC hearings alert one to the brutality of the apartheid regime whose political intolerance unleashed violence against ordinary citizens of East London. Despite being seen as a witch hunt against the apartheid security establishment, most of the victims feel the TRC opened lines of communication between former enemies, although one cannot conclusively say that total reconciliation between victims and perpetrators has been achieved. Insofar as telling the truth is concerned, the concept defies unanimous acceptance as a contributor to peaceful co-existence. The mere fact that some perpetrators refused to appear before the TRC is an indication that the value attached to it differs from person to person, particularly in a situation where the political landscape is characterized by intimidation and fear. The treatise unveils the East London TRC as a platform for compromise as some of the victims felt anger and hatred for the perpetrators would amount to perpetual self-imposed ostracism. Noting that the TRC was never meant to hurt anyone, the treatise ushers one into a space where reconciliation takes precedence over vengeance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The evaluation of cultural diversity in the institutionalization of the African Union
- Authors: Nhlapo, Lebohang Lorraine Z
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: African Union , Multiculturalism , African cooperation , Globalization
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8337 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020624
- Description: This research was conducted to assess cultural diversity in the institutionalisation of the African Union (AU). Most researchers have found interest on the subject of cultural diversity that edifice the African Union because “Africa does not have a single culture not in religions, not in economic systems, and especially not in languages, the number of different languages spoken on the continent, numerous dialects not included, range as high as 2,000 or more languages. While some languages, such as Swahili, are spoken by millions, other languages may be spoken by only a handful” (Robert & Feldman, 2008: 267) The AU member states heads are quiet aware of the forces of cultural diversity in the Union, hence several workshops were carried out between member states heads to put together the cultural policy for the Union. There are also numerous policies on African cultural diversity that were approved previously by different organisations that intended to unify Africa before the African Union was formed. Those policies are aligned within the AU cultural policy - The Charter for African Renaissance that will be reviewed in length in Chapter 3 in the literature review. What comes as a mystery is that, even though the Charter for African Renaissance has unified and adopted various policies ethnic and religion segregations within states and between states is still visible in most African countries (ethnicity, language and religion will also be evaluated and a sample of various cultures found in African countries will also be discussed in Chapter 3 under literature review). The Charter for African Renaissance contains guiding principle and objectives of the AU pertaining cultural diversity and these objectives needs to be met. However the biggest well known challenge about policies is that in most cases they remain on paper and shelved, they never make that much difference to the society that they intend to change. As Cloete and Wissink (2000) will put it that “policies only exist because they need to bring about change, however, it is also possible to change policies on paper, whilst effecting no real social change" (2000: 239). African cultural diversity policies are as well littered with failed institutions and initiatives that have not been followed through to completion, or of promises that have been broken. The driving force for this research is that Africans has seen many false starts in the last few decades and they are desperate for change, they need to see democracy, development and institutional building in the African countries. African Union on the other hand has existed for a decade but it has not yet achieved its objectives. How do we know that this is not just another focus for a misplaced enthusiasm? Will the current initiatives of the AU fall by the wayside? Will the world continue to mock Africa as the land of broken promises, of criminalized and failed states that inevitably subvert the best intentions of their peoples and their development partners? Unfortunately these questions has influenced this investigation but cannot be answered by this paper. However this paper intends to find out if cultural diversity has an impact in the missed opportunities and broken promises of Africa and this will be examined in the structures of the African Union.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Nhlapo, Lebohang Lorraine Z
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: African Union , Multiculturalism , African cooperation , Globalization
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8337 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020624
- Description: This research was conducted to assess cultural diversity in the institutionalisation of the African Union (AU). Most researchers have found interest on the subject of cultural diversity that edifice the African Union because “Africa does not have a single culture not in religions, not in economic systems, and especially not in languages, the number of different languages spoken on the continent, numerous dialects not included, range as high as 2,000 or more languages. While some languages, such as Swahili, are spoken by millions, other languages may be spoken by only a handful” (Robert & Feldman, 2008: 267) The AU member states heads are quiet aware of the forces of cultural diversity in the Union, hence several workshops were carried out between member states heads to put together the cultural policy for the Union. There are also numerous policies on African cultural diversity that were approved previously by different organisations that intended to unify Africa before the African Union was formed. Those policies are aligned within the AU cultural policy - The Charter for African Renaissance that will be reviewed in length in Chapter 3 in the literature review. What comes as a mystery is that, even though the Charter for African Renaissance has unified and adopted various policies ethnic and religion segregations within states and between states is still visible in most African countries (ethnicity, language and religion will also be evaluated and a sample of various cultures found in African countries will also be discussed in Chapter 3 under literature review). The Charter for African Renaissance contains guiding principle and objectives of the AU pertaining cultural diversity and these objectives needs to be met. However the biggest well known challenge about policies is that in most cases they remain on paper and shelved, they never make that much difference to the society that they intend to change. As Cloete and Wissink (2000) will put it that “policies only exist because they need to bring about change, however, it is also possible to change policies on paper, whilst effecting no real social change" (2000: 239). African cultural diversity policies are as well littered with failed institutions and initiatives that have not been followed through to completion, or of promises that have been broken. The driving force for this research is that Africans has seen many false starts in the last few decades and they are desperate for change, they need to see democracy, development and institutional building in the African countries. African Union on the other hand has existed for a decade but it has not yet achieved its objectives. How do we know that this is not just another focus for a misplaced enthusiasm? Will the current initiatives of the AU fall by the wayside? Will the world continue to mock Africa as the land of broken promises, of criminalized and failed states that inevitably subvert the best intentions of their peoples and their development partners? Unfortunately these questions has influenced this investigation but cannot be answered by this paper. However this paper intends to find out if cultural diversity has an impact in the missed opportunities and broken promises of Africa and this will be examined in the structures of the African Union.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The impact of regional integration in Africa: the case of South Africa and Botswana
- Authors: Letsatsi, Paseka C
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Regional economics , Economic development , Trade blocs
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8235 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1010176 , Regional economics , Economic development , Trade blocs
- Description: Regional integration can refer to the trade unification between different states by partial or full abolition of customs tariffs on trade taking place within the borders of each state. This is meant in turn to lead to lower prices for distributors and consumers (as no customs duties are paid within the integrated area) and the goal is to increase trade. (Economic integration,1950, p66) According to Mattli (1999, p.42), the analysis of the first problem takes the decision to adopt an integration treaty as a given, and is primarily concerned with identifying the condition under which the process of integration is likely to succeed or to fail. Implementation of an agreement by heads of states to tie the economies of their countries closer together entails a lengthy process of establishing common roles, regulations, and policies that are either based on specific treaty provisions or derived from general principles and objectives written into the integration agreement. Regional integration can be applied for varying forms of economic co-ordination or co-operation amongst different neighbouring states, there will however always be different political agendas in the process. If there is a treaty amongst member states, this treaty has to be enforced or it may result in the development of differences. “In order to address national priorities through regional action most member states had been allocated the responsibility of co-ordinating one or more sectors. This involved proposing sector policies, strategies and priorities, and processing projects for inclusion in the sectoral programme, monitoring progress and reporting to the council of Ministers”. (Department of International Relations & Co-operation, Republic of South Africa). Richard Baldwin, Daniel Cohen, Andre Sapir and Anthony Venables argue that, using the same basic model as Bond and Sypropoulos (1996a), they consider trigger strategies such that initially there is inter-bloc free trade supported by the threat of perpetual trade war if any party breaks the agreement. Regional integration can be understood as the process of providing common rules, regulation, and policies for a region. Regional integration is defined as a process that allows member states to have access to each other’s markets on a voluntary basis and at various degrees. Economic, political, social and cultural benefits are realised from this interaction. (Lee MC, 1999, p30) Regional integration can be seen as co-operation in a broader context but can also be an important framework, through programmes within each regional bloc. According to (Keet ,2005,p22) since the birth of democratic South Africa, regional co-operation is also seen – in addition to the broader African aims-to be an important framework, through programmes within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), within which to address the gross imbalances created both within and between the economies of the region. Regional integration has become a way of assisting the emerging economies to be able to use their proximity to align their economies with the core for economic development. According to (Hamdok, 1998, p34) the effective implementation of regional integration is founded on an enabling environment that promotes accountability, transparency and respect for the rule of law. Also a strong institutional framework at the regional and national levels is fundamental to streamline regional agreements into national policies. In addition, the establishment of effective transnational implementation tools provide opportunities to push reforms conducive to good governance at the regional level. A clear demonstration of this can be observed in effective? legal systems and the need for a regional framework and related judicial institutions to provide an improved regional environment for private development. Integration always provides space for member states to assist in the development of other member states and which have a common economic approach to development. This is done in order to ensure that there are incentives for all member states as compared to those who are outside the bloc. As evidenced in the case of Europe, economic integration helps create a homogenous space and, to some extent, equalises living conditions and if all other regional blocs follow this process the benefit becomes greater. These appear to be prerequisites for a dialogue on the harmonisation of political stands. Indeed, an economic space that is physically integrated; where goods and services move speedily and smoothly; where, besides, the mobility of factors (manpower, capital, energy and inputs) are not subjected to hindrances; where, finally, microeconomic policies are harmonised, is likely to offer equal opportunities to all. Such a high degree of economic integration is not sustainable without a policy dialogue on issues that, at first, may not fall squarely under the rubrics of economic field; peace and security, defense, diplomacy etc. (Blayo N, 1998, P.5) The process of regional co-operation within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) started in in 1980 through the formation of the Co-ordinating Conference which was later changed to SADC IN 1992. Even though it is clear that the South African government played a dominant role because of its apartheid policies, the basic condition was to start the process of integration and open the process of economic co-operation within the region. The Governments of the Republic of South Africa, the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Kingdom of Swaziland- being desirous of maintaining the free interchange of goods between their countries and of applying the same tariffs and trade regulations to goods imported from outside the common customs area as hereinafter defined; “Recognising that the Customs Agreement on 29 June 1910 as amended from time to time , requires modification to provide for the continuance of the customs union arrangements in the changed circumstances on a basis designed to ensure the continued economic development of the customs union area as a whole, and to ensure in particular that these arrangements encourage the development of the less advanced members of the customs union and the diversification of their economies, and afford to all parties equitable benefits arising from trade among themselves and other countries”.(Government Notice, R 3914,p1). Even though there’s an acknowledgement that under the difficult conditions during apartheid, there was a need for the region to develop a common approach towards development and sustainable growth in the Southern African region. All countries in the region had to co-operate for long term sustainable economic growth, peace and security. “In 1980, the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) was established with the major objectives of decreasing economic dependence on the apartheid regime and fostering regional development. The strategy adopted for meeting these objectives was regional development and co-operation. In 1992 SADCC was reborn, as the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The member states decided the time had come to move the region towards the creation of one regional market”. (Lee MC, 1999, p1) “Through the establishment of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) the Southern African region has managed under difficult conditions of economic inequalities to standardise the trade links amongst member states, although there is still more to be done in the region to achieve shared goals of development. The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) links the trade, regimes of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Letsatsi, Paseka C
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Regional economics , Economic development , Trade blocs
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8235 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1010176 , Regional economics , Economic development , Trade blocs
- Description: Regional integration can refer to the trade unification between different states by partial or full abolition of customs tariffs on trade taking place within the borders of each state. This is meant in turn to lead to lower prices for distributors and consumers (as no customs duties are paid within the integrated area) and the goal is to increase trade. (Economic integration,1950, p66) According to Mattli (1999, p.42), the analysis of the first problem takes the decision to adopt an integration treaty as a given, and is primarily concerned with identifying the condition under which the process of integration is likely to succeed or to fail. Implementation of an agreement by heads of states to tie the economies of their countries closer together entails a lengthy process of establishing common roles, regulations, and policies that are either based on specific treaty provisions or derived from general principles and objectives written into the integration agreement. Regional integration can be applied for varying forms of economic co-ordination or co-operation amongst different neighbouring states, there will however always be different political agendas in the process. If there is a treaty amongst member states, this treaty has to be enforced or it may result in the development of differences. “In order to address national priorities through regional action most member states had been allocated the responsibility of co-ordinating one or more sectors. This involved proposing sector policies, strategies and priorities, and processing projects for inclusion in the sectoral programme, monitoring progress and reporting to the council of Ministers”. (Department of International Relations & Co-operation, Republic of South Africa). Richard Baldwin, Daniel Cohen, Andre Sapir and Anthony Venables argue that, using the same basic model as Bond and Sypropoulos (1996a), they consider trigger strategies such that initially there is inter-bloc free trade supported by the threat of perpetual trade war if any party breaks the agreement. Regional integration can be understood as the process of providing common rules, regulation, and policies for a region. Regional integration is defined as a process that allows member states to have access to each other’s markets on a voluntary basis and at various degrees. Economic, political, social and cultural benefits are realised from this interaction. (Lee MC, 1999, p30) Regional integration can be seen as co-operation in a broader context but can also be an important framework, through programmes within each regional bloc. According to (Keet ,2005,p22) since the birth of democratic South Africa, regional co-operation is also seen – in addition to the broader African aims-to be an important framework, through programmes within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), within which to address the gross imbalances created both within and between the economies of the region. Regional integration has become a way of assisting the emerging economies to be able to use their proximity to align their economies with the core for economic development. According to (Hamdok, 1998, p34) the effective implementation of regional integration is founded on an enabling environment that promotes accountability, transparency and respect for the rule of law. Also a strong institutional framework at the regional and national levels is fundamental to streamline regional agreements into national policies. In addition, the establishment of effective transnational implementation tools provide opportunities to push reforms conducive to good governance at the regional level. A clear demonstration of this can be observed in effective? legal systems and the need for a regional framework and related judicial institutions to provide an improved regional environment for private development. Integration always provides space for member states to assist in the development of other member states and which have a common economic approach to development. This is done in order to ensure that there are incentives for all member states as compared to those who are outside the bloc. As evidenced in the case of Europe, economic integration helps create a homogenous space and, to some extent, equalises living conditions and if all other regional blocs follow this process the benefit becomes greater. These appear to be prerequisites for a dialogue on the harmonisation of political stands. Indeed, an economic space that is physically integrated; where goods and services move speedily and smoothly; where, besides, the mobility of factors (manpower, capital, energy and inputs) are not subjected to hindrances; where, finally, microeconomic policies are harmonised, is likely to offer equal opportunities to all. Such a high degree of economic integration is not sustainable without a policy dialogue on issues that, at first, may not fall squarely under the rubrics of economic field; peace and security, defense, diplomacy etc. (Blayo N, 1998, P.5) The process of regional co-operation within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) started in in 1980 through the formation of the Co-ordinating Conference which was later changed to SADC IN 1992. Even though it is clear that the South African government played a dominant role because of its apartheid policies, the basic condition was to start the process of integration and open the process of economic co-operation within the region. The Governments of the Republic of South Africa, the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Kingdom of Swaziland- being desirous of maintaining the free interchange of goods between their countries and of applying the same tariffs and trade regulations to goods imported from outside the common customs area as hereinafter defined; “Recognising that the Customs Agreement on 29 June 1910 as amended from time to time , requires modification to provide for the continuance of the customs union arrangements in the changed circumstances on a basis designed to ensure the continued economic development of the customs union area as a whole, and to ensure in particular that these arrangements encourage the development of the less advanced members of the customs union and the diversification of their economies, and afford to all parties equitable benefits arising from trade among themselves and other countries”.(Government Notice, R 3914,p1). Even though there’s an acknowledgement that under the difficult conditions during apartheid, there was a need for the region to develop a common approach towards development and sustainable growth in the Southern African region. All countries in the region had to co-operate for long term sustainable economic growth, peace and security. “In 1980, the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) was established with the major objectives of decreasing economic dependence on the apartheid regime and fostering regional development. The strategy adopted for meeting these objectives was regional development and co-operation. In 1992 SADCC was reborn, as the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The member states decided the time had come to move the region towards the creation of one regional market”. (Lee MC, 1999, p1) “Through the establishment of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) the Southern African region has managed under difficult conditions of economic inequalities to standardise the trade links amongst member states, although there is still more to be done in the region to achieve shared goals of development. The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) links the trade, regimes of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The impact of the protection of state information bill on media freedom in South Africa
- Jasson Da Costa, Wendy Avril
- Authors: Jasson Da Costa, Wendy Avril
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Freedom of the press -- South Africa -- History , Democracy -- South Africa , South Africa -- Press, History , Press and politics -- South Africa -- History -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8269 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1014619
- Description: This thesis considers the impact which the Protection of State Information Bill will have on media freedom in South Africa. During apartheid, draconian laws prevented the media from reporting freely, and newspapers as well as the broadcast media were heavily censored. When the country became a democracy in 1994, the political grip on the media faded, and a new era of press freedom began. However, the Protection of State Information Bill is seen as a direct threat to that freedom. The Bill, also known as the Secrecy Bill, will classify state-related information and censor the media who make public or are found to be in possession of, classified information. For journalists this means that the way in which they report and what they report will be severely restricted. The Bill will also impact on the willingness of whistleblowers to come to the fore. This study looks at the importance of a free press, at how the Secrecy Bill evolved, and how opposition parties and civil society set about opposing it. It will examine democracy and its relationship with a free press, and do a policy analysis of the Bill. It will also look at how civil society organisations came together to oppose the Bill, and some of the changes which came about as a result of this opposition.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Jasson Da Costa, Wendy Avril
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Freedom of the press -- South Africa -- History , Democracy -- South Africa , South Africa -- Press, History , Press and politics -- South Africa -- History -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8269 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1014619
- Description: This thesis considers the impact which the Protection of State Information Bill will have on media freedom in South Africa. During apartheid, draconian laws prevented the media from reporting freely, and newspapers as well as the broadcast media were heavily censored. When the country became a democracy in 1994, the political grip on the media faded, and a new era of press freedom began. However, the Protection of State Information Bill is seen as a direct threat to that freedom. The Bill, also known as the Secrecy Bill, will classify state-related information and censor the media who make public or are found to be in possession of, classified information. For journalists this means that the way in which they report and what they report will be severely restricted. The Bill will also impact on the willingness of whistleblowers to come to the fore. This study looks at the importance of a free press, at how the Secrecy Bill evolved, and how opposition parties and civil society set about opposing it. It will examine democracy and its relationship with a free press, and do a policy analysis of the Bill. It will also look at how civil society organisations came together to oppose the Bill, and some of the changes which came about as a result of this opposition.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The response of the South African Police Service in the prevention and management of domestic violence
- Authors: Steinsland, Linda Renate
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Restorative justice -- South Africa , Police|xResponse time -- South Africa , Family violence -- Prevention
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8305 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1019982
- Description: The levels of crime and violence in South Africa seem to go hand in hand with the increase in the number of police practitioners. However, despite all the work going into it, “nothing seems to reduce the general trend” (Burger 2007:1). Domestic violence, for instance, is one of the major challenges practitioners are faced with on a daily basis at all levels in South Africa (Bendall 2010:100). Nonetheless, the country has yet to recognise this specific type of violence as a crime in their official crime statistics (SAPS 2010). Domestic violence has, in fact, struggled to become recognised as one of the most serious types of crime in today‟s society. This might be explained in terms of the developments that have occurred – both in international research and in the domestic realm – especially in terms of the ever-changing nuclear family. However, this could also be explained in the way such violence is treated by the South African Police Service. Nonetheless, it appears that a significant amount of research has been undertaken on the nature and impact of domestic violence, including the various responses and strategies to its management. However, it seems as though no-one can come up with a proper solution to this problem. In terms of violence in general, a number of different researchers in the field have suggested possible explanations to the problem. Burton, for instance, explained violence in terms of the neglect of basic human needs, the need for identity and the need for control. This author suggested that if these basic needs are frustrated, violence could be expected to occur, including violence within the family. Moreover, some violent behaviour could be described in terms of a loss of control of the situation and the management thereof. It is especially in these circumstances that conflict management techniques are to be highly recommended. Mediation – or facilitation – collectively referred to as restorative justice – is an example of such a technique. However, the question of whether or not to include mediation has been subject to much discussion amongst scholars in the field. As one of the main roles of the police is to prevent violence, and to protect the citizens from harm, it would be appropriate for the purpose of this study, to focus specifically on the SAPS and their response to cases of domestic violence. Their lived experiences are evaluated in terms of the existing legal framework, as well as in the light of other empirical research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Steinsland, Linda Renate
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Restorative justice -- South Africa , Police|xResponse time -- South Africa , Family violence -- Prevention
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8305 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1019982
- Description: The levels of crime and violence in South Africa seem to go hand in hand with the increase in the number of police practitioners. However, despite all the work going into it, “nothing seems to reduce the general trend” (Burger 2007:1). Domestic violence, for instance, is one of the major challenges practitioners are faced with on a daily basis at all levels in South Africa (Bendall 2010:100). Nonetheless, the country has yet to recognise this specific type of violence as a crime in their official crime statistics (SAPS 2010). Domestic violence has, in fact, struggled to become recognised as one of the most serious types of crime in today‟s society. This might be explained in terms of the developments that have occurred – both in international research and in the domestic realm – especially in terms of the ever-changing nuclear family. However, this could also be explained in the way such violence is treated by the South African Police Service. Nonetheless, it appears that a significant amount of research has been undertaken on the nature and impact of domestic violence, including the various responses and strategies to its management. However, it seems as though no-one can come up with a proper solution to this problem. In terms of violence in general, a number of different researchers in the field have suggested possible explanations to the problem. Burton, for instance, explained violence in terms of the neglect of basic human needs, the need for identity and the need for control. This author suggested that if these basic needs are frustrated, violence could be expected to occur, including violence within the family. Moreover, some violent behaviour could be described in terms of a loss of control of the situation and the management thereof. It is especially in these circumstances that conflict management techniques are to be highly recommended. Mediation – or facilitation – collectively referred to as restorative justice – is an example of such a technique. However, the question of whether or not to include mediation has been subject to much discussion amongst scholars in the field. As one of the main roles of the police is to prevent violence, and to protect the citizens from harm, it would be appropriate for the purpose of this study, to focus specifically on the SAPS and their response to cases of domestic violence. Their lived experiences are evaluated in terms of the existing legal framework, as well as in the light of other empirical research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The role of municipal public accounts committee in the financial management of Intsika Yethu local municipality
- Authors: Xego Nomonde
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Municipal finance--South Africa--Eastern Cape , Public finance--South Africa--Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8183 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1007958 , Municipal finance--South Africa--Eastern Cape , Public finance--South Africa--Eastern Cape
- Description: In an attempt to address the challenges of audit queries in a sustainable way and improve service delivery. Municipality should deal with causes of disclaimer and adverse opinion which are reflected on their audit report. This study focuses on the role of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee in the financial management of the Intsika Yethu Local Municipality. Challenges facing the Municipal Public Accounts Committee include lack of capacity, lack of co-operation from municipal departments and lack of knowledge and skill in municipal management. This study investigated the role of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee in the financial management of the Intsika Yethu Local Municipality. Particular attention was paid to the various roles played by the Municipal Public Accounts Committee making a contribution towards improving municipal financial management.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Xego Nomonde
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Municipal finance--South Africa--Eastern Cape , Public finance--South Africa--Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8183 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1007958 , Municipal finance--South Africa--Eastern Cape , Public finance--South Africa--Eastern Cape
- Description: In an attempt to address the challenges of audit queries in a sustainable way and improve service delivery. Municipality should deal with causes of disclaimer and adverse opinion which are reflected on their audit report. This study focuses on the role of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee in the financial management of the Intsika Yethu Local Municipality. Challenges facing the Municipal Public Accounts Committee include lack of capacity, lack of co-operation from municipal departments and lack of knowledge and skill in municipal management. This study investigated the role of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee in the financial management of the Intsika Yethu Local Municipality. Particular attention was paid to the various roles played by the Municipal Public Accounts Committee making a contribution towards improving municipal financial management.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The social and political identities of coloured women in the northern areas of Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Barker, Celeste Heloise
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Women, Colored -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Colored people (South Africa) -- Race identity , Ethnicity -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8261 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1013081
- Description: This treatise explores the social and political identity of coloured women in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro (NMBM) with the intention of understanding why some stereotypes of coloured women‟s identity have endured since colonialism in South Africa. Topic selection was stimulated by heated public response to a newspaper article (“Jou Ma se Kinders” (Your Mother‟s Children), (Roberts 2011: http://www.lifeissavage.com/) which negatively labeled and pigeon-holed coloured women‟s identity. With the notable exception of the Saartje Baartman story, most text selection in the Literature Review (Chapter 2) was informed by research in the Western Cape because studies have a patriarchal bias and there are scant records of coloured women‟s lives and identity in the East Cape, Port Elizabeth and the NMBM. The study includes select readings of literary theory and South African fiction from which examples were chosen to illustrate the longevity of stereotypes attached to coloured women‟s identity. Commemorative narrative highlights the role coloured women played and continue to play as their alternative histories or counter narratives embed alternative histories in group identity. A comparative historical analysis of racist and gendered policies and practices contextualises the social construction of coloured women‟s identity from the colonial period to the present time and a focus group discussion among ten female evictees from South End and Richmond ] Hill in Port Elizabeth (PE) generated rich details of coloured women‟s lives and experience in Port Elizabeth and the NMBM. Findings are captured in four themes: Living, Loving and Laughing; Religion and Resistance; Hardship and Trauma and Identity and Ambivalence. These themes highlight nostalgia, courage and humour; the special role played by religious affiliation and coloured people‟s successful resistance to the demolition and deconsecration of places of worship in PE together with pride and a sense of achievement which continues to influence coloured women‟s political identity in the NMBM. Police brutality, everyday racism and sexism, the impact of apartheid on matriculants and the influence of petty apartheid on coloured women‟s lives and identity, as well as participants‟ contradictory perceptions of their post-apartheid social and political identity which continue to be defined by a deficit discourse, are discussed and described in Chapter 4. Focus Group findings locate coloured women‟s identity in a milieu of racist and gendered laws, policies and practices. It is suggested that sexualised stereotypes of coloured women‟s commodification and second class status persist regardless of the South African transition to a constitutional democracy. Evidence is presented of coloured women as bounded storytellers who create a counter narrative to apartheid justification of forced removals.It is suggested that the counter narrative is a vehicle for group support, affirmation and the recovery of roots, identity and post apartheid heritage including records and memorabilia displayed in the South End Museum. As the field is under-researched it is recommended that further research should be conducted to include studies of the social and political identity of an expanded sample of coloured women representative of diverse ages and backgrounds in the rural and urban areas of South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Barker, Celeste Heloise
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Women, Colored -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Colored people (South Africa) -- Race identity , Ethnicity -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8261 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1013081
- Description: This treatise explores the social and political identity of coloured women in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro (NMBM) with the intention of understanding why some stereotypes of coloured women‟s identity have endured since colonialism in South Africa. Topic selection was stimulated by heated public response to a newspaper article (“Jou Ma se Kinders” (Your Mother‟s Children), (Roberts 2011: http://www.lifeissavage.com/) which negatively labeled and pigeon-holed coloured women‟s identity. With the notable exception of the Saartje Baartman story, most text selection in the Literature Review (Chapter 2) was informed by research in the Western Cape because studies have a patriarchal bias and there are scant records of coloured women‟s lives and identity in the East Cape, Port Elizabeth and the NMBM. The study includes select readings of literary theory and South African fiction from which examples were chosen to illustrate the longevity of stereotypes attached to coloured women‟s identity. Commemorative narrative highlights the role coloured women played and continue to play as their alternative histories or counter narratives embed alternative histories in group identity. A comparative historical analysis of racist and gendered policies and practices contextualises the social construction of coloured women‟s identity from the colonial period to the present time and a focus group discussion among ten female evictees from South End and Richmond ] Hill in Port Elizabeth (PE) generated rich details of coloured women‟s lives and experience in Port Elizabeth and the NMBM. Findings are captured in four themes: Living, Loving and Laughing; Religion and Resistance; Hardship and Trauma and Identity and Ambivalence. These themes highlight nostalgia, courage and humour; the special role played by religious affiliation and coloured people‟s successful resistance to the demolition and deconsecration of places of worship in PE together with pride and a sense of achievement which continues to influence coloured women‟s political identity in the NMBM. Police brutality, everyday racism and sexism, the impact of apartheid on matriculants and the influence of petty apartheid on coloured women‟s lives and identity, as well as participants‟ contradictory perceptions of their post-apartheid social and political identity which continue to be defined by a deficit discourse, are discussed and described in Chapter 4. Focus Group findings locate coloured women‟s identity in a milieu of racist and gendered laws, policies and practices. It is suggested that sexualised stereotypes of coloured women‟s commodification and second class status persist regardless of the South African transition to a constitutional democracy. Evidence is presented of coloured women as bounded storytellers who create a counter narrative to apartheid justification of forced removals.It is suggested that the counter narrative is a vehicle for group support, affirmation and the recovery of roots, identity and post apartheid heritage including records and memorabilia displayed in the South End Museum. As the field is under-researched it is recommended that further research should be conducted to include studies of the social and political identity of an expanded sample of coloured women representative of diverse ages and backgrounds in the rural and urban areas of South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The South African Communist Party and its prospects for achieving socialism in a democratic South Africa
- Authors: Tali, Lolonga Lincoln
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Communist Party of South Africa , Socialism -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8332 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020569
- Description: “It should not be forgotten that this ideological contribution impacted itself in a very real way on the whole national and democratic movement. It helped transform the ANC from its early beginnings of petition politics into a revolutionary nationalist movement.” Joe Slovo (in a speech delivered at the University of the Western Cape to mark the 70th anniversary of the SACP, 19 July 1991) At the time that the late Joe Slovo, former secretary of the South African Communist Party and former Minister of Housing in the first Government of national unity, made the speech the former party had about a year of legal existence inside the country after President FW de Klerk had unbanned all previously banned political parties in February 1990. Indeed the unbanning of political parties in South Africa was preceded by cataclysmic events in both Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe. General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev who was leader of the Soviet Communist Party was at the helm in Moscow. He introduced a number of policies whose main objective was to democratize Soviet society and do away with some of the undemocratic practices that were always associated with the policy of communism. Consequently, there was much talk about glasnost (openness) and perestroika during the period of President Gorbachev’s rule of Soviet Russia. The two policies were the main feature of his quest to modernize Soviet Russia and gradually move away from communism. The collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the fall of Nicolai Ceausescu in Romania and the disintegration of other East European countries like Yugoslavia signalled a death knell for East European socialism. The foregoing events also implied that the era of the Cold War between the West (led by USA, Britain, and West Germany et al) and East (led by the USSR, Poland, and East Germany et al) was over. The Cold War was a period of tremendous tension as Soviet Russia sought to spread its system of communism to Third World countries in Africa and South America. The West for its part tried to counteract by supporting forces which were opposed to communism in these countries. One can cite the example of Angola where Soviet Russia supported the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) led by Augustinho Neto which had adopted the system at the independence of the country in 1975. Jonas Savimbi led the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) which was opposed to communism and was supported by South Africa and other Western countries which were also opposed to the system of communism. In essence the Cold War was a contest between the West and the East in gaining converts to their respective belief systems. The collapse of communism was viewed by the West as triumph of its own belief system and the confirmation of the failure of communism. It is against the backdrop of these foregoing events that the South African Communist Party was unbanned together with other erstwhile banned on the 2nd of February 1990.The SACP which had much influence in the ANC in the late 1950s and early 1960s and much of the time the parties were in exile was unbanned against the backdrop of the foregoing events. Of interest to observers was whether the party after it was unbanned would be able to exert the same influence it did on the ANC during the time in exile. Would the SACP take over from the ANC after the democratic transition and impose a socialist state in South Africa even if globally the trend was to move away from communism/socialism? Would the ANC itself follow a system which had been shown to lack the ability to confront the challenges of the 20th century? Some political commentators viewed the relationship between the ANC and the SACP as that of a metaphorical rider (the latter) and donkey (the former). In essence they argued that the SACP was the one determining the general trajectory of the liberation movement and its economic policies in particular. This dissertation will show that the influence of the SACP within the Tripartite Alliance in general and the ANC government in particular swings like a pendulum. It depends on who is in charge as president of the ANC. Before and during the exile years as the ANC was led by the late Oliver Tambo, the party enjoyed relatively better influence within the former organizations. The two organizations co-operated well in many ventures like the Defiance campaign, drafting of the Freedom Charter and the establishment of Umkhonto Wesizwe in 1961. During the presidency of Nelson Mandela most SACP members were in the first democratic cabinet though they did not exert as much influence as would be desirable. The main economic policy that the ruling ANC advocated was under the umbrella of what was termed the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and was not even the brainchild of the SACP but of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). In 1996 Thabo Mbeki, then deputy president to Nelson Mandela, came with the neo-liberal policy of Growth, Employment and Redistribution to try and salvage the South African economy which at the time was not performing at its best. Not only was GEAR unashamedly neo-liberal, it was also done without consultation of the SACP by its alliance partner the ANC. This engendered palpable tension within the alliance and led to name-calling from the party which derogatively referred to all the advocates of GEAR as the ‘Class of 1996’. The tension between the SACP and the ANC continued until former President Thabo Mbeki and his ‘Class of 1996’ were ousted from office in the 2007 ANC Polokwane elective conference. After the Polokwane conference, Jacob Zuma who had been Thabo Mbeki’s deputy president in both government and the ANC, assumed power. Zuma did not deviate much from the policies that were adopted by his predecessor though the SACP had played a significant role in bringing him to power. Just like Mbeki and Mandela before him, he had a number of SACP members in his cabinet and, in his case, some of them in key cabinet posts like Ebrahim Patel (a member of the SACP) who serves as Minister of Economic Development. Though he has these staunch members of the party in his cabinet, the Zuma administration has been able to adopt a neo-liberal economic policy which it has termed: National Development Plan which has been criticized by communists as no better than GEAR. This dissertation will show how the party sometimes struggle and sometimes wins that struggle to influence government policy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Tali, Lolonga Lincoln
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Communist Party of South Africa , Socialism -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8332 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020569
- Description: “It should not be forgotten that this ideological contribution impacted itself in a very real way on the whole national and democratic movement. It helped transform the ANC from its early beginnings of petition politics into a revolutionary nationalist movement.” Joe Slovo (in a speech delivered at the University of the Western Cape to mark the 70th anniversary of the SACP, 19 July 1991) At the time that the late Joe Slovo, former secretary of the South African Communist Party and former Minister of Housing in the first Government of national unity, made the speech the former party had about a year of legal existence inside the country after President FW de Klerk had unbanned all previously banned political parties in February 1990. Indeed the unbanning of political parties in South Africa was preceded by cataclysmic events in both Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe. General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev who was leader of the Soviet Communist Party was at the helm in Moscow. He introduced a number of policies whose main objective was to democratize Soviet society and do away with some of the undemocratic practices that were always associated with the policy of communism. Consequently, there was much talk about glasnost (openness) and perestroika during the period of President Gorbachev’s rule of Soviet Russia. The two policies were the main feature of his quest to modernize Soviet Russia and gradually move away from communism. The collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the fall of Nicolai Ceausescu in Romania and the disintegration of other East European countries like Yugoslavia signalled a death knell for East European socialism. The foregoing events also implied that the era of the Cold War between the West (led by USA, Britain, and West Germany et al) and East (led by the USSR, Poland, and East Germany et al) was over. The Cold War was a period of tremendous tension as Soviet Russia sought to spread its system of communism to Third World countries in Africa and South America. The West for its part tried to counteract by supporting forces which were opposed to communism in these countries. One can cite the example of Angola where Soviet Russia supported the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) led by Augustinho Neto which had adopted the system at the independence of the country in 1975. Jonas Savimbi led the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) which was opposed to communism and was supported by South Africa and other Western countries which were also opposed to the system of communism. In essence the Cold War was a contest between the West and the East in gaining converts to their respective belief systems. The collapse of communism was viewed by the West as triumph of its own belief system and the confirmation of the failure of communism. It is against the backdrop of these foregoing events that the South African Communist Party was unbanned together with other erstwhile banned on the 2nd of February 1990.The SACP which had much influence in the ANC in the late 1950s and early 1960s and much of the time the parties were in exile was unbanned against the backdrop of the foregoing events. Of interest to observers was whether the party after it was unbanned would be able to exert the same influence it did on the ANC during the time in exile. Would the SACP take over from the ANC after the democratic transition and impose a socialist state in South Africa even if globally the trend was to move away from communism/socialism? Would the ANC itself follow a system which had been shown to lack the ability to confront the challenges of the 20th century? Some political commentators viewed the relationship between the ANC and the SACP as that of a metaphorical rider (the latter) and donkey (the former). In essence they argued that the SACP was the one determining the general trajectory of the liberation movement and its economic policies in particular. This dissertation will show that the influence of the SACP within the Tripartite Alliance in general and the ANC government in particular swings like a pendulum. It depends on who is in charge as president of the ANC. Before and during the exile years as the ANC was led by the late Oliver Tambo, the party enjoyed relatively better influence within the former organizations. The two organizations co-operated well in many ventures like the Defiance campaign, drafting of the Freedom Charter and the establishment of Umkhonto Wesizwe in 1961. During the presidency of Nelson Mandela most SACP members were in the first democratic cabinet though they did not exert as much influence as would be desirable. The main economic policy that the ruling ANC advocated was under the umbrella of what was termed the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and was not even the brainchild of the SACP but of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). In 1996 Thabo Mbeki, then deputy president to Nelson Mandela, came with the neo-liberal policy of Growth, Employment and Redistribution to try and salvage the South African economy which at the time was not performing at its best. Not only was GEAR unashamedly neo-liberal, it was also done without consultation of the SACP by its alliance partner the ANC. This engendered palpable tension within the alliance and led to name-calling from the party which derogatively referred to all the advocates of GEAR as the ‘Class of 1996’. The tension between the SACP and the ANC continued until former President Thabo Mbeki and his ‘Class of 1996’ were ousted from office in the 2007 ANC Polokwane elective conference. After the Polokwane conference, Jacob Zuma who had been Thabo Mbeki’s deputy president in both government and the ANC, assumed power. Zuma did not deviate much from the policies that were adopted by his predecessor though the SACP had played a significant role in bringing him to power. Just like Mbeki and Mandela before him, he had a number of SACP members in his cabinet and, in his case, some of them in key cabinet posts like Ebrahim Patel (a member of the SACP) who serves as Minister of Economic Development. Though he has these staunch members of the party in his cabinet, the Zuma administration has been able to adopt a neo-liberal economic policy which it has termed: National Development Plan which has been criticized by communists as no better than GEAR. This dissertation will show how the party sometimes struggle and sometimes wins that struggle to influence government policy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
An exploration of the causes of social unrest in Omay communal lands of Nyami Nyami district in Zimbabwe: a human needs perspective
- Authors: Musona, Mambo
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Human rights -- Zimbabwe -- Omay Communial Lands , Zimbabwe -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8192 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1372 , Human rights -- Zimbabwe -- Omay Communial Lands , Zimbabwe -- Politics and government
- Description: One of the responsibilities of every government is to make provisions of basic needs for its citizens. The situation in Omay resembles people living during the dark ages when there was no constitutional government. The government should in accordance with the priorities of its people be seen to be improving the lives of its citizens by providing health, education, roads, communication facilities, and participation in decision making especially on issues that have a bearing on their lives. The human needs theory postulates that one of the most ideal ways of resolving protracted conflicts is by helping people meet their needs. Human needs are not for trading according to conflict scholar John Burton, implying that if one does not meet his or her needs he/she might do anything to strive to meet them. The people of Omay have been deprived of their needs in all facets; first the previous government relocated them to create Lake Kariba for the hydroelectric plant. They were not compensated. They were dumped on very arid, tsetse fly infested mountainous areas adjacent to game reserves and national parks where they have to make do with wildlife; some that destroy their few crops (elephants) and others that kill them or their animals (lions). As a minority group they have been engaged in social unrest and small skirmishes with government and other, bigger ethnic groups as a form of resistance. A deliberate affirmative action to channel funds towards raising their living standards and develop their area so that they meet their needs could be the panacea to the social unrest.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Musona, Mambo
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Human rights -- Zimbabwe -- Omay Communial Lands , Zimbabwe -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8192 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1372 , Human rights -- Zimbabwe -- Omay Communial Lands , Zimbabwe -- Politics and government
- Description: One of the responsibilities of every government is to make provisions of basic needs for its citizens. The situation in Omay resembles people living during the dark ages when there was no constitutional government. The government should in accordance with the priorities of its people be seen to be improving the lives of its citizens by providing health, education, roads, communication facilities, and participation in decision making especially on issues that have a bearing on their lives. The human needs theory postulates that one of the most ideal ways of resolving protracted conflicts is by helping people meet their needs. Human needs are not for trading according to conflict scholar John Burton, implying that if one does not meet his or her needs he/she might do anything to strive to meet them. The people of Omay have been deprived of their needs in all facets; first the previous government relocated them to create Lake Kariba for the hydroelectric plant. They were not compensated. They were dumped on very arid, tsetse fly infested mountainous areas adjacent to game reserves and national parks where they have to make do with wildlife; some that destroy their few crops (elephants) and others that kill them or their animals (lions). As a minority group they have been engaged in social unrest and small skirmishes with government and other, bigger ethnic groups as a form of resistance. A deliberate affirmative action to channel funds towards raising their living standards and develop their area so that they meet their needs could be the panacea to the social unrest.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
An exploratory study of the AmaTshezi chieftaincy conflict in Mthonjana Village, Mqanduli in the Eastern Cape, 2002-2007
- Authors: Nodada, Lubabalo Yandisa
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Chiefdoms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) -- South Africa -- Kings and rulers , Conflict of interests -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8258 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012345 , Chiefdoms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) -- South Africa -- Kings and rulers , Conflict of interests -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The battle for traditional leadership successions continue to have negative effects on many Tribal Authority Councils across Africa, for example, the Valoyi Tribe, part of Tsonga/Shangaan nation in South Africa, and the Godban chieftaincy conflict in the northern town of Yendi in Ghana. Community conflicts related to chieftaincy positions across South Africa are apparent. This study was an attempt to explore and describe the dynamics of the AmaTshezi chieftaincy conflict in Mthonjana village, Mqanduli. The analysis focused on exploring the AmaTshezi chieftaincy conflict in terms of conflict and conflict process theory. This explorative study sought to explore and describe the perceptions of eight ad hoc committee members (government officials) who had been involved with attempting to resolve the AmaTshezi chieftaincy conflict. The researcher conducted extensive face-to-face interviews with these committee members and thoroughly studied the necessary documents that informed the study. Thematic data analysis revealed latent conflict, conflict emergence, conflict escalation, conflict stalemate, and conflict de-escalation, as key conflict phases in the AmaTshezi chieftaincy conflict. A number of recommendations are made about how those in authority could better manage communal conflict. The recommendations may, for instance, be used in the formulation of policies to influence better conflict management by government and help the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders to manage communal conflicts better and to facilitate public education programmes about issues relating to birthright leadership positions and lineage procedures.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Nodada, Lubabalo Yandisa
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Chiefdoms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) -- South Africa -- Kings and rulers , Conflict of interests -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8258 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012345 , Chiefdoms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) -- South Africa -- Kings and rulers , Conflict of interests -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The battle for traditional leadership successions continue to have negative effects on many Tribal Authority Councils across Africa, for example, the Valoyi Tribe, part of Tsonga/Shangaan nation in South Africa, and the Godban chieftaincy conflict in the northern town of Yendi in Ghana. Community conflicts related to chieftaincy positions across South Africa are apparent. This study was an attempt to explore and describe the dynamics of the AmaTshezi chieftaincy conflict in Mthonjana village, Mqanduli. The analysis focused on exploring the AmaTshezi chieftaincy conflict in terms of conflict and conflict process theory. This explorative study sought to explore and describe the perceptions of eight ad hoc committee members (government officials) who had been involved with attempting to resolve the AmaTshezi chieftaincy conflict. The researcher conducted extensive face-to-face interviews with these committee members and thoroughly studied the necessary documents that informed the study. Thematic data analysis revealed latent conflict, conflict emergence, conflict escalation, conflict stalemate, and conflict de-escalation, as key conflict phases in the AmaTshezi chieftaincy conflict. A number of recommendations are made about how those in authority could better manage communal conflict. The recommendations may, for instance, be used in the formulation of policies to influence better conflict management by government and help the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders to manage communal conflicts better and to facilitate public education programmes about issues relating to birthright leadership positions and lineage procedures.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
An investigation into service delivery : a case study of Ezakhe Township, Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal
- Authors: Hlophe, Nonjabulo Thobile
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Local government -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal , Municipal government -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal , Municipal services -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8182 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1463 , Local government -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal , Municipal government -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal , Municipal services -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal
- Description: South Africa has been experiencing a continuous bout of service delivery protests since the late 1990s. Protests are a public manifestation of conflict and therefore this study uses the term conflict and protest interchangeably. The cost of the damage which results from these protests is immense. It is critical that solutions to this protest ensure that the underlying factors leading to the protest are addressed, in order to reduce the probability of its reoccurrence. This study seeks to investigate whether or not service delivery conflict could be prevented through improved implementation of government services in all spheres. The provision of basic service delivery is critical for the livelihood of any community and even more so for previously disadvantaged communities. It is important to verify if the lack of, or poor, service delivery can lead communities to revolt against each other or the governing authority. The challenge with any conflict situation is that when it erupts into destruction, only the visible symptoms are addressed, because addressing the underlying factors is a long-term process which requires a holistic understanding of the conflict. Previously disadvantaged communities are experiencing a backlog of service delivery, the exploitation of their plight by different agencies and mismanagement by public servants, which further delays service delivery. The Ezakheni community has been one of those communities who were previously disadvantaged and expected different levels of government to meet their service delivery needs, from land ownership to the building of houses. This community expected that the process of improving their livelihood would be fast-tracked instead it was delayed by community conflict. The conflict started as a revolution against agencies that were against the community’s process of acquiring land, but ended up as community members fought each other and government departments in order to survive. The Ezakheni community conflicts date back to 1998 and subsided during late 2005. Any conflict after that was latent, although there were still killings, but they were sporadic and sometimes not linked to the conflict but categorised as criminal behaviour. The present study takes the reader through the process of evaluating whether or not there is a logical relationship between Ezakheni community conflict and service delivery. Chapter One gives an overview of the study and the processes that were followed during this study. Chapter Two opens up theoretical debates that influence the epistemology of this study. Chapter Three gives the reader a detailed overview of the profile of the case study. Chapter Four describes the methodology that has been utilised in the study. Chapter Five presents the data and interprets it. Chapter Six concludes the study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Hlophe, Nonjabulo Thobile
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Local government -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal , Municipal government -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal , Municipal services -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8182 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1463 , Local government -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal , Municipal government -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal , Municipal services -- South Africa -- KwaZulu Natal
- Description: South Africa has been experiencing a continuous bout of service delivery protests since the late 1990s. Protests are a public manifestation of conflict and therefore this study uses the term conflict and protest interchangeably. The cost of the damage which results from these protests is immense. It is critical that solutions to this protest ensure that the underlying factors leading to the protest are addressed, in order to reduce the probability of its reoccurrence. This study seeks to investigate whether or not service delivery conflict could be prevented through improved implementation of government services in all spheres. The provision of basic service delivery is critical for the livelihood of any community and even more so for previously disadvantaged communities. It is important to verify if the lack of, or poor, service delivery can lead communities to revolt against each other or the governing authority. The challenge with any conflict situation is that when it erupts into destruction, only the visible symptoms are addressed, because addressing the underlying factors is a long-term process which requires a holistic understanding of the conflict. Previously disadvantaged communities are experiencing a backlog of service delivery, the exploitation of their plight by different agencies and mismanagement by public servants, which further delays service delivery. The Ezakheni community has been one of those communities who were previously disadvantaged and expected different levels of government to meet their service delivery needs, from land ownership to the building of houses. This community expected that the process of improving their livelihood would be fast-tracked instead it was delayed by community conflict. The conflict started as a revolution against agencies that were against the community’s process of acquiring land, but ended up as community members fought each other and government departments in order to survive. The Ezakheni community conflicts date back to 1998 and subsided during late 2005. Any conflict after that was latent, although there were still killings, but they were sporadic and sometimes not linked to the conflict but categorised as criminal behaviour. The present study takes the reader through the process of evaluating whether or not there is a logical relationship between Ezakheni community conflict and service delivery. Chapter One gives an overview of the study and the processes that were followed during this study. Chapter Two opens up theoretical debates that influence the epistemology of this study. Chapter Three gives the reader a detailed overview of the profile of the case study. Chapter Four describes the methodology that has been utilised in the study. Chapter Five presents the data and interprets it. Chapter Six concludes the study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Analysis of the management of conflict and transformation in the public service focussing on the central district, North West Province during 2000 to 2005
- Authors: Matlou, Molefe
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8168 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1310
- Description: The dawn of democracy in South Africa in 1994 placed an imperative on the government to make provision for transformation of the public service from the one that was base on race and gender to the one based on respect and dignity of people irrespective of race, gender or religion. The point of departure was to initiate change in legislation in order to create conducive environment for the public service to establish forums and commissions that would inform the approach that transformation had to take. One of the major challenges was to deal with the reality of a public service that was dominated by white males in order to implement the Constitutional imperative of equal opportunities to all and to enable black people in general and women in particular to occupy positions where their full potential and capabilities would be recognised. Affirmative Action became a tool that the new government adopted to inform the employment equity targets that every government department had to set for itself and annual reports had to be submitted to parliament for oversight to ensure that no government entity deviated from the realisation of the objective to fully transform the public service. The fact that there were some quarters within the broader society that perceived this is a threat and that within the targeted groups such as blacks and women there were people who felt that the concept „‟affirmative action‟‟ was degrading as it suggested that, despite their potential and education, black people and women still had to be affirmed was indicative of the conflict that resulted from the good intention by government to diversify the public service. To date, there are still institutions of government where males still dominate senior positions in the public service and women are still confined to lower level occupational bands which do not afford them an opportunity to rise to senior levels. The only recognisable change, one may argue, is that black males benefitted a lot more from transformation in the public service than females and people with disabilities. For all people to benefit from transformation in the public service there must be a vigilant approach to the implementation of policy and severe penalties for non compliance. Oversight bodies must be empowered to do a lot more than pep talk on transformation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Matlou, Molefe
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8168 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1310
- Description: The dawn of democracy in South Africa in 1994 placed an imperative on the government to make provision for transformation of the public service from the one that was base on race and gender to the one based on respect and dignity of people irrespective of race, gender or religion. The point of departure was to initiate change in legislation in order to create conducive environment for the public service to establish forums and commissions that would inform the approach that transformation had to take. One of the major challenges was to deal with the reality of a public service that was dominated by white males in order to implement the Constitutional imperative of equal opportunities to all and to enable black people in general and women in particular to occupy positions where their full potential and capabilities would be recognised. Affirmative Action became a tool that the new government adopted to inform the employment equity targets that every government department had to set for itself and annual reports had to be submitted to parliament for oversight to ensure that no government entity deviated from the realisation of the objective to fully transform the public service. The fact that there were some quarters within the broader society that perceived this is a threat and that within the targeted groups such as blacks and women there were people who felt that the concept „‟affirmative action‟‟ was degrading as it suggested that, despite their potential and education, black people and women still had to be affirmed was indicative of the conflict that resulted from the good intention by government to diversify the public service. To date, there are still institutions of government where males still dominate senior positions in the public service and women are still confined to lower level occupational bands which do not afford them an opportunity to rise to senior levels. The only recognisable change, one may argue, is that black males benefitted a lot more from transformation in the public service than females and people with disabilities. For all people to benefit from transformation in the public service there must be a vigilant approach to the implementation of policy and severe penalties for non compliance. Oversight bodies must be empowered to do a lot more than pep talk on transformation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Coping strategies among female Zimbabwean refugees at the central Methodist church in Johannesburg : a conflict management perspective
- Authors: Bjorknes, Guro Lauvland
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Central Methodist Church Refugee Community , Church work with refugees , Conflict management , Interpersonal relations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8188 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1424 , Central Methodist Church Refugee Community , Church work with refugees , Conflict management , Interpersonal relations
- Description: This treatise represents an investigation into the coping strategies of female Zimbabwean refugees at the Central Methodist Church (CMC) in Johannesburg. The CMC in Johannesburg includes a non-profit organisation called Ray of Hope that has functioned as a provider of accommodation and emergency refuge at the church since 1997. A vast number of Zimbabweans are moving to adjacent countries as a consequence of the conflict in Zimbabwe and approximately 85 percent of the people that have sought refuge in the CMC in Johannesburg are Zimbabweans that have fled the economic and political conflict in Zimbabwe. Using an interviewing strategy of a sample of 20 female Zimbabwean refugees, conducted at the CMC, the researcher gathered data, indicating that they face various conflicts on a daily basis inside as well as outside the refugee community in the CMC in Johannesburg. An extensive literature review and researcher‟s own observations during hours spent in the refugee community have also contributed to the collection of data. The findings suggest that coping mechanisms have been adopted by the female refugees to deal with the conflicts. Analysis of data was guided by grounded theory approach which allowed key findings about coping mechanisms to surface which encouraged recommendations presented in the conclusion of the treatise.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Bjorknes, Guro Lauvland
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Central Methodist Church Refugee Community , Church work with refugees , Conflict management , Interpersonal relations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8188 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1424 , Central Methodist Church Refugee Community , Church work with refugees , Conflict management , Interpersonal relations
- Description: This treatise represents an investigation into the coping strategies of female Zimbabwean refugees at the Central Methodist Church (CMC) in Johannesburg. The CMC in Johannesburg includes a non-profit organisation called Ray of Hope that has functioned as a provider of accommodation and emergency refuge at the church since 1997. A vast number of Zimbabweans are moving to adjacent countries as a consequence of the conflict in Zimbabwe and approximately 85 percent of the people that have sought refuge in the CMC in Johannesburg are Zimbabweans that have fled the economic and political conflict in Zimbabwe. Using an interviewing strategy of a sample of 20 female Zimbabwean refugees, conducted at the CMC, the researcher gathered data, indicating that they face various conflicts on a daily basis inside as well as outside the refugee community in the CMC in Johannesburg. An extensive literature review and researcher‟s own observations during hours spent in the refugee community have also contributed to the collection of data. The findings suggest that coping mechanisms have been adopted by the female refugees to deal with the conflicts. Analysis of data was guided by grounded theory approach which allowed key findings about coping mechanisms to surface which encouraged recommendations presented in the conclusion of the treatise.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The challenges facing non-governmental organisations in transforming conflict through capacity-building in Nothern Uganda
- Authors: Akurut, Catherine
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Conflict management -- Uganda , Peace-building -- Uganda
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8189 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1412 , Conflict management -- Uganda , Peace-building -- Uganda
- Description: Capacity-building is an essential component of post-conflict reconstruction (PCR) and peace-building in the aftermath of violent conflict. Civilians, mainly women and children are driven or abducted from their homes during violent conflict and suffer various abuses and atrocities. Many spend the duration of the conflict as refugees in Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps in neighbouring countries. Violent conflict impinges on their psychological well-being and socio-economic development making their re-integration into their former communities extremely complex and challenging. In the case of Northern Uganda, the conflict lasted for over two decades. However, since the ―Cessation of Hostilities Agreement‖ of 2006, the peace-building process has been particularly evident here. Numerous stakeholders have been involved in the capacity-building processes in Northern Uganda, and one such organisation is the Friends of Orphans (FRO) in Pader district, Northern Uganda. The purpose of this research study is to explore the challenges facing the FRO in transforming conflict and building sustainable peace through capacity-building in Pader district. The study explores the programmes the organisation implements and investigates how these programmes are relevant for the transformation of conflict. Apart from reviewing the literature, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews and used participant observation. The employees of the FRO – all of whom are involved with capacity-building in these communities – participated in these interviews in their capacities as social workers, teachers, administrators and field workers. The beneficiaries of these programmes include former child soldiers, abductees, child mothers, land mine survivors and orphans. Lessons learned by the FRO, as well as the researcher‘s recommendations, are discussed in the study in order to assist the future work of the organisation and other stakeholders who have devoted their efforts to the recovery of areas emerging from conflict.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Akurut, Catherine
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Conflict management -- Uganda , Peace-building -- Uganda
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8189 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1412 , Conflict management -- Uganda , Peace-building -- Uganda
- Description: Capacity-building is an essential component of post-conflict reconstruction (PCR) and peace-building in the aftermath of violent conflict. Civilians, mainly women and children are driven or abducted from their homes during violent conflict and suffer various abuses and atrocities. Many spend the duration of the conflict as refugees in Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps in neighbouring countries. Violent conflict impinges on their psychological well-being and socio-economic development making their re-integration into their former communities extremely complex and challenging. In the case of Northern Uganda, the conflict lasted for over two decades. However, since the ―Cessation of Hostilities Agreement‖ of 2006, the peace-building process has been particularly evident here. Numerous stakeholders have been involved in the capacity-building processes in Northern Uganda, and one such organisation is the Friends of Orphans (FRO) in Pader district, Northern Uganda. The purpose of this research study is to explore the challenges facing the FRO in transforming conflict and building sustainable peace through capacity-building in Pader district. The study explores the programmes the organisation implements and investigates how these programmes are relevant for the transformation of conflict. Apart from reviewing the literature, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews and used participant observation. The employees of the FRO – all of whom are involved with capacity-building in these communities – participated in these interviews in their capacities as social workers, teachers, administrators and field workers. The beneficiaries of these programmes include former child soldiers, abductees, child mothers, land mine survivors and orphans. Lessons learned by the FRO, as well as the researcher‘s recommendations, are discussed in the study in order to assist the future work of the organisation and other stakeholders who have devoted their efforts to the recovery of areas emerging from conflict.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
United Nations mediation in Africa: a case study of the Bakassi conflict intervention, 2002-2006
- Authors: Kenmoe Nougue, Plamielle
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: United Nations -- Africa , Intervention (International law) -- Case studies , United Nations -- Peacekeeping forces -- Africa -- History , Conflict management -- Africa -- Case studies , Bakasi Peninsula (Cameroon) -- Politics and government -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8186 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1431 , United Nations -- Africa , Intervention (International law) -- Case studies , United Nations -- Peacekeeping forces -- Africa -- History , Conflict management -- Africa -- Case studies , Bakasi Peninsula (Cameroon) -- Politics and government -- Case studies
- Description: Just as conflict is part of everyday life, mediation can and is practiced everyday and everywhere. It is a way of reaching decisions in a cooperative, non-hierarchical way, allowing for clear and open communication processes. Conflicts can be resolved in a formal manner through courts, arbitration, ombudspeople, diplomacy and mediation, or an informal manner through friends, colleagues, religious and community leaders, and dialogue. The way in which people resolve their disputes has an impact on how societies and institutions are governed. The war in Bakassi has taken its toll on the people of that area for several years now and has witnessed people from Bakassi facing some of the worst effects of armed conflict known to man. This study investigated the use of international mediation in the management of intractable conflict with a specific case study on the Bakassi peninsula conflict between Cameroon and Nigeria. It focused on the mediation process as a conflict management technique in relation to the international relations theories which has been used as a basis for conflict resolution practices. The researcher conducted a document review, content analysis on selected documents and this was supported by strategic interviews. The findings as well as the researcher‘s recommendations are discussed in the study in order to assist the future work of conflict management specialists and other stakeholders who have devoted their efforts to the recovery of areas emerging from conflict.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Kenmoe Nougue, Plamielle
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: United Nations -- Africa , Intervention (International law) -- Case studies , United Nations -- Peacekeeping forces -- Africa -- History , Conflict management -- Africa -- Case studies , Bakasi Peninsula (Cameroon) -- Politics and government -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8186 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1431 , United Nations -- Africa , Intervention (International law) -- Case studies , United Nations -- Peacekeeping forces -- Africa -- History , Conflict management -- Africa -- Case studies , Bakasi Peninsula (Cameroon) -- Politics and government -- Case studies
- Description: Just as conflict is part of everyday life, mediation can and is practiced everyday and everywhere. It is a way of reaching decisions in a cooperative, non-hierarchical way, allowing for clear and open communication processes. Conflicts can be resolved in a formal manner through courts, arbitration, ombudspeople, diplomacy and mediation, or an informal manner through friends, colleagues, religious and community leaders, and dialogue. The way in which people resolve their disputes has an impact on how societies and institutions are governed. The war in Bakassi has taken its toll on the people of that area for several years now and has witnessed people from Bakassi facing some of the worst effects of armed conflict known to man. This study investigated the use of international mediation in the management of intractable conflict with a specific case study on the Bakassi peninsula conflict between Cameroon and Nigeria. It focused on the mediation process as a conflict management technique in relation to the international relations theories which has been used as a basis for conflict resolution practices. The researcher conducted a document review, content analysis on selected documents and this was supported by strategic interviews. The findings as well as the researcher‘s recommendations are discussed in the study in order to assist the future work of conflict management specialists and other stakeholders who have devoted their efforts to the recovery of areas emerging from conflict.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011