An exploration of conflict in farming family businesses in the southern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Kleynhans, Maria Magdalena
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Conflict (Psychology) , Family-owned business enterprises -- South Africa , Family farms -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8246 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011275 , Conflict (Psychology) , Family-owned business enterprises -- South Africa , Family farms -- South Africa
- Description: Family businesses are considered to be among the most important contributors to wealth and employment in virtually the world. This qualitative study looked at farming family businesses. Farming family businesses present certain unique features that discern them from other family businesses and are worthy of investigation. Two domains are identified in the literature and research about conflict in family business: The business and the family. The researcher postulated that the domain of the family is too broadly drawn and that farming family systems in the Sibling Partnership Stage, with their unique way of life and functioning, consist of several sub-systems which impact on the business. Conflict develops in and between the sub-systems. This study looked at conflict within farming family businesses from a systemic viewpoint, particularly focusing on the process aspects, the interactional dynamics in and between the sub-systems. Four active types of subsystems were identified in the case studies: Couples subsystems, parent child subsystems, sibling subsystems, in-law subsystems or subsystems of which at least one member is an in-law. The research aim was to explore the circular patterns in the two cases as systems and to uncover the function of the conflict in these systems. In both cases, circular conflict patterns came to the fore with the subsystems part of the feedback loops. The conflict escalation happened between the subsystems as elements and the conflict paths were circular, not linear. Sub-themes around family scripts, communication and perceptions about fairness were also uncovered in the research. Both cases were family businesses in the two-generational development stage. The function of the conflict in both systems could only be hypothesised due to the exploratory nature of the research. The researcher hypothesized that the function of the conflict in the systems centred around conflict as an attempt in the system to shake loose from entrenched restricting family scripts. The important themes that presented themselves in the research not envisaged in the planning stage. These themes are part of the systemic patterning in both the cases: Perceptions of fairness or rather unfairness feed into the conflict loop. Rewards and compensation are sensitive matters in all families. The more there are perceptions of unfairness in a subsystem, the more entrenched that belief becomes, the more the conflict in the system escalates and the bigger the emotional distance gets from the assumed beneficiaries of benefits.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Kleynhans, Maria Magdalena
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Conflict (Psychology) , Family-owned business enterprises -- South Africa , Family farms -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8246 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011275 , Conflict (Psychology) , Family-owned business enterprises -- South Africa , Family farms -- South Africa
- Description: Family businesses are considered to be among the most important contributors to wealth and employment in virtually the world. This qualitative study looked at farming family businesses. Farming family businesses present certain unique features that discern them from other family businesses and are worthy of investigation. Two domains are identified in the literature and research about conflict in family business: The business and the family. The researcher postulated that the domain of the family is too broadly drawn and that farming family systems in the Sibling Partnership Stage, with their unique way of life and functioning, consist of several sub-systems which impact on the business. Conflict develops in and between the sub-systems. This study looked at conflict within farming family businesses from a systemic viewpoint, particularly focusing on the process aspects, the interactional dynamics in and between the sub-systems. Four active types of subsystems were identified in the case studies: Couples subsystems, parent child subsystems, sibling subsystems, in-law subsystems or subsystems of which at least one member is an in-law. The research aim was to explore the circular patterns in the two cases as systems and to uncover the function of the conflict in these systems. In both cases, circular conflict patterns came to the fore with the subsystems part of the feedback loops. The conflict escalation happened between the subsystems as elements and the conflict paths were circular, not linear. Sub-themes around family scripts, communication and perceptions about fairness were also uncovered in the research. Both cases were family businesses in the two-generational development stage. The function of the conflict in both systems could only be hypothesised due to the exploratory nature of the research. The researcher hypothesized that the function of the conflict in the systems centred around conflict as an attempt in the system to shake loose from entrenched restricting family scripts. The important themes that presented themselves in the research not envisaged in the planning stage. These themes are part of the systemic patterning in both the cases: Perceptions of fairness or rather unfairness feed into the conflict loop. Rewards and compensation are sensitive matters in all families. The more there are perceptions of unfairness in a subsystem, the more entrenched that belief becomes, the more the conflict in the system escalates and the bigger the emotional distance gets from the assumed beneficiaries of benefits.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
An investigation of community conflict over basic service delivery in New Brighton township, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
- Authors: Mtwazi, Thembakazi
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Conflict management -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality , Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality , Social conflict -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality , South Africa -- Social conditions -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8297 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018926
- Description: South Africa has been experiencing service delivery protests especially in the African communities. These protests are a manifestation of conflict and dissatisfaction of communities in the ruling party in government. In order to reduce conflict, it is critical that the ruling party in government addresses the basic needs of these communities as the people start to lose confidence in the government. The study seeks to investigate whether service delivery protests could be prevented through improved provision of basic services in the communities, focusing in the New Brighton Township community, in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality as the area of study. The provision of basic services is important for the livelihood of any community. The study analyses the extent to which poor service delivery can lead to community conflicts or revolt against the ruling party in government. Some areas of New Brighton Township community are experiencing a backlog of basic service delivery. Members of this targeted community fall within the previously disadvantaged category and expected the ruling party in government to meet their basic service needs. Chapter one provides an introduction which gives a brief overview of the study, problem statement, aims, research objectives and questions, preliminary literature review and research methodology to be employed by the study. Chapter two provide a literature review of community conflicts in relation to basic service delivery needs and peoples’ expectations. Chapter three provide the legislative framework for the developmental local government and the role of section/chapter nine (9) institutions especially the Public Protector’s role in relation to conflict. Chapter three will also provide reasons for the establishment of Local Municipalities. Chapter four provides proposals for the approaches and strategies to eliminate conflicts and policy implications. The chapter also provide an analysis of the participants’ responsesfrom the questionnaires. Chapter five will be a summary with concluding remarks and recommendations, as proposals with mitigating measures arising from the research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Mtwazi, Thembakazi
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Conflict management -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality , Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality , Social conflict -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality , South Africa -- Social conditions -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8297 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018926
- Description: South Africa has been experiencing service delivery protests especially in the African communities. These protests are a manifestation of conflict and dissatisfaction of communities in the ruling party in government. In order to reduce conflict, it is critical that the ruling party in government addresses the basic needs of these communities as the people start to lose confidence in the government. The study seeks to investigate whether service delivery protests could be prevented through improved provision of basic services in the communities, focusing in the New Brighton Township community, in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality as the area of study. The provision of basic services is important for the livelihood of any community. The study analyses the extent to which poor service delivery can lead to community conflicts or revolt against the ruling party in government. Some areas of New Brighton Township community are experiencing a backlog of basic service delivery. Members of this targeted community fall within the previously disadvantaged category and expected the ruling party in government to meet their basic service needs. Chapter one provides an introduction which gives a brief overview of the study, problem statement, aims, research objectives and questions, preliminary literature review and research methodology to be employed by the study. Chapter two provide a literature review of community conflicts in relation to basic service delivery needs and peoples’ expectations. Chapter three provide the legislative framework for the developmental local government and the role of section/chapter nine (9) institutions especially the Public Protector’s role in relation to conflict. Chapter three will also provide reasons for the establishment of Local Municipalities. Chapter four provides proposals for the approaches and strategies to eliminate conflicts and policy implications. The chapter also provide an analysis of the participants’ responsesfrom the questionnaires. Chapter five will be a summary with concluding remarks and recommendations, as proposals with mitigating measures arising from the research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Assessing internal contestations within the ANC: the post-Polokwane political landscape: the case-study of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
- Authors: Ralo, Mpumezo Welcome
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: African National Congress , Politics, Practical -- South Africa , Political campaigns -- South Africa , Elections -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development , South Africa -- Economic Conditions -- 2007 , South Africa -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8302 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1019783
- Description: The Elective Conference of the African National Congress (ANC) of 2007 that took place in Polokwane remains an important event since 1994 (Fikeni 2009). The economic policy of the ANC and candidature of Mbeki and Zuma for the presidency contributed to the growing of factionalism in the ruling party that culminated in the 2007 conference. The study investigates and analyses the development of factions and ideological contestations that seemed to punctuate the ANC towards its 2007 National Congress that took place in Polokwane. It examines the roots and causes of factionalism in the ANC with a specific focus on the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM). It also investigates the extent to which the conservative policies such as Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) contributed in the divisions and factionalism prior the 2007 polokwane conference. The study departs from the premise that history of the ANC is riddled with factionalism and ideological contestations that have been well documented. Furthermore, the political infighting within the ANC impacts on governance structures and the local government level. The study seeks to demonstrate the effects of the 2007 power contestations between Zuma and Mbeki on the NMBM. To this effect, the study demonstrates how the leadership contestations in the ruling party impacted on the service delivery in the city. For the purposes of analyzing and making sense of the nature of power plays within the ANC it draws from the theories of factionalism to illustrate that the link between the growing of factionalism and the one party dominant system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Ralo, Mpumezo Welcome
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: African National Congress , Politics, Practical -- South Africa , Political campaigns -- South Africa , Elections -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development , South Africa -- Economic Conditions -- 2007 , South Africa -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8302 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1019783
- Description: The Elective Conference of the African National Congress (ANC) of 2007 that took place in Polokwane remains an important event since 1994 (Fikeni 2009). The economic policy of the ANC and candidature of Mbeki and Zuma for the presidency contributed to the growing of factionalism in the ruling party that culminated in the 2007 conference. The study investigates and analyses the development of factions and ideological contestations that seemed to punctuate the ANC towards its 2007 National Congress that took place in Polokwane. It examines the roots and causes of factionalism in the ANC with a specific focus on the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM). It also investigates the extent to which the conservative policies such as Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) contributed in the divisions and factionalism prior the 2007 polokwane conference. The study departs from the premise that history of the ANC is riddled with factionalism and ideological contestations that have been well documented. Furthermore, the political infighting within the ANC impacts on governance structures and the local government level. The study seeks to demonstrate the effects of the 2007 power contestations between Zuma and Mbeki on the NMBM. To this effect, the study demonstrates how the leadership contestations in the ruling party impacted on the service delivery in the city. For the purposes of analyzing and making sense of the nature of power plays within the ANC it draws from the theories of factionalism to illustrate that the link between the growing of factionalism and the one party dominant system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Evolution of the African National Congress Youth League: from "freedom in our lifetime" to "economic freedom in our lifetime"
- Authors: Sipuka, Msingathi
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: African National Congress -- History , African National Congress -- Youth League , Political parties -- Platforms , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 20th century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8350 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020832
- Description: The 1994 democratic elections heralded a significant change in South Africa‟s political and social landscapes. This historic moment, and the subsequent democratic developmental processes that unfolded aimed at laying the foundations for a democratic state, were the culmination of a long history of struggle by the Black majority, in alliance with other social forces, against colonialism and apartheid. One of the significant social forces that emerged as part of this struggle against racial oppression was the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). It is argued that the two most important developments in South African politics during the 1940‟s were the emergence of the African National Congress Youth League and the consolidation of its influence on the ANC leadership. The African National Congress Youth League was formed against the background of very distinct circumstances, the first being the worsening economic conditions for the growing African working class and the declining African peasantry. The second was the inability of the African National Congress to respond to the material challenges confronted by the African majority, because of its leadership and organisational weaknesses. The political programme of the ANCYL was rallied under the ideological auspices of African Nationalism, and its organisational programme under the articulated need to build a mass based and campaigning organisation. With a very strong leadership, the ANCYL was able to, within five years, assert its leadership and authority in the ANC with key elements of its manifesto forming significant parts of the ANC Programme. This culminated into the rise of the generational theme of the ANC Youth League of “Freedom in our Lifetime”. Essentially freedom was conceived as the abolishment of formal apartheid, and the delivery of a democratic South Africa. Formal democracy became a reality in South Africa in 1994 and at the helm of the ANC and the new government was the ANC Youth League generation of the 1940‟s. This generation had over fifty years struggled for freedom and 1994 represented the formal victory over apartheid and the attainment of a generational mission. The ushering in of formal democracy in 1994 heightened the expectations of the black majority in terms of its elevation from a point of view of its existing socio-economic realities. Close to twenty years after the end of formal apartheid the reality has been less than satisfactory in terms of addressing these socio-economic realities. What has been observed on the contrary is an increase in key measures such inequality and unemployment. Subsequent to that has been a less than satisfactory performance in the area of economic transformation which has been seen as a critical limiting factor in addressing the legacies of apartheid, particularly among the black majority. These limits to transformation have resulted in discontentment among the majority, claiming that democracy has not yielded to any significant changes in their material lives. The discontentment has been particularly proliferated among the youth, who bear the brunt of social challenges such as unemployment. The ANC Youth League, has had to confront the reality of being of a youth league of a governing party and balancing that with the social discontentment that has developed among South African, particularly the youth, as a result of perceived lack of social transformation. In balancing these two realities, the ANC Youth League has found itself at the centre of South African politics similarly to the 1940s generation of ANC Youth League leaders of the Youth League who had been mobilised under the theme of “Freedom in our Lifetime”. The contradictions within the ANC, of which the ANC Youth League has found itself at the centre of, and the need to become a socially relevant political force have culminated into the birth of a generational theme led by the ANC Youth League of “Economic Freedom in our Lifetime”.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Sipuka, Msingathi
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: African National Congress -- History , African National Congress -- Youth League , Political parties -- Platforms , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 20th century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8350 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020832
- Description: The 1994 democratic elections heralded a significant change in South Africa‟s political and social landscapes. This historic moment, and the subsequent democratic developmental processes that unfolded aimed at laying the foundations for a democratic state, were the culmination of a long history of struggle by the Black majority, in alliance with other social forces, against colonialism and apartheid. One of the significant social forces that emerged as part of this struggle against racial oppression was the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). It is argued that the two most important developments in South African politics during the 1940‟s were the emergence of the African National Congress Youth League and the consolidation of its influence on the ANC leadership. The African National Congress Youth League was formed against the background of very distinct circumstances, the first being the worsening economic conditions for the growing African working class and the declining African peasantry. The second was the inability of the African National Congress to respond to the material challenges confronted by the African majority, because of its leadership and organisational weaknesses. The political programme of the ANCYL was rallied under the ideological auspices of African Nationalism, and its organisational programme under the articulated need to build a mass based and campaigning organisation. With a very strong leadership, the ANCYL was able to, within five years, assert its leadership and authority in the ANC with key elements of its manifesto forming significant parts of the ANC Programme. This culminated into the rise of the generational theme of the ANC Youth League of “Freedom in our Lifetime”. Essentially freedom was conceived as the abolishment of formal apartheid, and the delivery of a democratic South Africa. Formal democracy became a reality in South Africa in 1994 and at the helm of the ANC and the new government was the ANC Youth League generation of the 1940‟s. This generation had over fifty years struggled for freedom and 1994 represented the formal victory over apartheid and the attainment of a generational mission. The ushering in of formal democracy in 1994 heightened the expectations of the black majority in terms of its elevation from a point of view of its existing socio-economic realities. Close to twenty years after the end of formal apartheid the reality has been less than satisfactory in terms of addressing these socio-economic realities. What has been observed on the contrary is an increase in key measures such inequality and unemployment. Subsequent to that has been a less than satisfactory performance in the area of economic transformation which has been seen as a critical limiting factor in addressing the legacies of apartheid, particularly among the black majority. These limits to transformation have resulted in discontentment among the majority, claiming that democracy has not yielded to any significant changes in their material lives. The discontentment has been particularly proliferated among the youth, who bear the brunt of social challenges such as unemployment. The ANC Youth League, has had to confront the reality of being of a youth league of a governing party and balancing that with the social discontentment that has developed among South African, particularly the youth, as a result of perceived lack of social transformation. In balancing these two realities, the ANC Youth League has found itself at the centre of South African politics similarly to the 1940s generation of ANC Youth League leaders of the Youth League who had been mobilised under the theme of “Freedom in our Lifetime”. The contradictions within the ANC, of which the ANC Youth League has found itself at the centre of, and the need to become a socially relevant political force have culminated into the birth of a generational theme led by the ANC Youth League of “Economic Freedom in our Lifetime”.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Factors affecting the functioning of the pro-active land acquisition strategy in the Buffalo City Municipal area
- Authors: Mfuywa, Sigqibo Onward
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Land reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land tenure -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8250 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011786 , Land reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land tenure -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: A Pro-active Land Acquisition Strategy is an aspect of the land reform programme which is aimed at speeding up land acquisition. The distinct feature of this approach is that the State acquires land pro-actively and then identifies beneficiaries who then become leaseholders. In other land reform programmes the land is acquired by the state and transferred to the beneficiaries, who then own the land. The Pro-active Land Acquisition Strategy was approved ‘in principle’ in July 2003, and included Ministerial provisions that an implementation plan be developed prior to the implementation of the strategy in 2006. The Pro-active Land Acquisition Strategy deals with two possible approaches: a needs-based approach and a supply-led approach, but essentially focuses on the State as the lead driver in land redistribution, rather than the current beneficiary-driven redistribution (Pro-active Land Acquisition Strategy, 2006:4). The Department of Land Affairs Pro-active Land Acquisition Strategy implementation plan (2006:4) further outlines the important elements in order to contextualize the Proactive Implementation Framework, and to stress the revision of the plan in terms of the “new trajectory”. The strategy shifts from the principle that there is a need or demand for land. It is not driven by the demand of beneficiaries, but rather state-driven. This means that the State will target proactively land and compare this with the demand for land.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Mfuywa, Sigqibo Onward
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Land reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land tenure -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8250 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011786 , Land reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land tenure -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: A Pro-active Land Acquisition Strategy is an aspect of the land reform programme which is aimed at speeding up land acquisition. The distinct feature of this approach is that the State acquires land pro-actively and then identifies beneficiaries who then become leaseholders. In other land reform programmes the land is acquired by the state and transferred to the beneficiaries, who then own the land. The Pro-active Land Acquisition Strategy was approved ‘in principle’ in July 2003, and included Ministerial provisions that an implementation plan be developed prior to the implementation of the strategy in 2006. The Pro-active Land Acquisition Strategy deals with two possible approaches: a needs-based approach and a supply-led approach, but essentially focuses on the State as the lead driver in land redistribution, rather than the current beneficiary-driven redistribution (Pro-active Land Acquisition Strategy, 2006:4). The Department of Land Affairs Pro-active Land Acquisition Strategy implementation plan (2006:4) further outlines the important elements in order to contextualize the Proactive Implementation Framework, and to stress the revision of the plan in terms of the “new trajectory”. The strategy shifts from the principle that there is a need or demand for land. It is not driven by the demand of beneficiaries, but rather state-driven. This means that the State will target proactively land and compare this with the demand for land.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
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
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