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Standing up against injustice

Crowd of 1 600 packs hall to hear Slabbert

Policies, procedures and practices contributing to tensions between labour and management

  • Authors: Basson, Jerome Godfrey
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa , Human capital -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government , South Africa -- Constitution
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:9427 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1267 , Labor laws and legislation -- South Africa , Human capital -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government , South Africa -- Constitution
  • Description: The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa guarantees the right of education to all citizens of the country. The Eastern Cape Department of Education went a step further by adopting a vision to ensure quality public education that will result in the positive transformation of all schools. Education is therefore a very important part of the life of any society and needs to be protected at all costs. It is therefore important that all obstacles in the way of providing quality public education be removed. It is no secret that the Eastern Cape Department of Education has had a number of battles with some of its social partners. These battles have negatively impacted on the education system. This Department also received the largest slice of the taxpayers’ money. It is time to take serious steps to halt the waste of time and resources. It is against this background that this study wanted to consider policies, procedures and practices that generated tension between the management and labour in the Eastern Cape Department of Education. It is my belief that if tension between the different social partners can be reduced, we would have gone a long way in achieving the vision of the Department of Education. The research methodology that was followed for this study comprised the following: • Literature was reviewed that dealt with labour relations and human resources. • A questionnaire was designed to collect information from the different participants. • The information in the questionnaire was incorporated into the main study where findings were identified and recommendations were formulated.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

Rosemary Smith - Inventory

Traditional leaders in post-1996 South Africa, with particular reference to the Eastern Cape

  • Authors: De Sas Kropiwnicki, Zosa Olenka
  • Date: 2002
  • Subjects: Tribal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Political leadership -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , South Africa -- Politics and government
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2857 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007479 , Tribal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Political leadership -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , South Africa -- Politics and government
  • Description: The failure of democracy in Africa can be partially attributed to the Eurocentric assumptions that belie Western recommendations for Africa. This thesis focuses on the failure of the modernisation school to account for the resiliency of tradition in the modern African state, which is described by Sklar (1991) as amounting to a form of 'mixed government', combining the traditional with the modern to create a uniquely African form of governance. This notion of a 'mixed government' is addressed from the vantage point of traditional leaders in the Eastern Cape. It maps the vacillating relationship between the chiefs, the people and the government through colonialism, Apartheid and democratisation. It concludes that although the Eastern Cape provincial government has subordinated the chiefs, this does not signify a victory for modernity over tradition because the chiefs are not a spent force. History has shown that when the government fails to act in the interests of the people, they seek an alternative authority namely, the chiefs. The ANC government's centralising tendencies have negative implications for democracy and consequently for the people. This opens up space for the chiefs to assert themselves provided they play an active role in furthering democracy, development and modernisation in the interests of the people. Hence, although ' mixed' government in the post-1996 South Africa is currently on the ANC's terms, traditional leaders may someday play a vital role in the modern democratic state.
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  • Date Issued: 2002

Conflict between local government and civil society pertaining to sanitation in South Africa

  • Authors: De Ujfalussy, Andrea Benedicta
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Sanitation -- South Africa -- Politics and government Conflict management -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14939 , vital:27911
  • Description: This study seeks to determine whether the conflict between the City of Cape Town (CCT) and the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) is resulting in positive or negative outcomes from the perspective of the residents concerned. In principle, engagement, between civil society and local government should lead to an improvement in terms of the meeting of needs or wants for those communities whose interests are being contested, or at the very least an improved understanding of the plans and challenges faced by both. Further, the engagement and/or conflict between local government and civil society, if positive, should ideally lead to greater understanding between all stakeholders and the strengthening of relations between them government, civil society and the relevant community interests. The motivation of this study is to explore the unanswered issues such as, whether the SJC has gone beyond the use of acceptable tactics associated with responsible and effective civil society actors and whether it would be justified if they have; if the SJC’s actions have resulted in an actual improvement in the accelerated realization of the socio-economic rights of the communities whose interests they purport to represent; whether the communities ‘represented’ by the SJC see them as their effective advocate for the interests and concerns ; if the issue of sanitation is the primary issue for the residents concerned as claimed by the SJC; if the residents of the communities concerned feel the same animosity to the CCT that the SJC does.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

Black Sash - Untitled letter to Dr. F van Zyl Slabbert

Black Sash - Untitled letter to Rosemary Smith

An appraisal of the Department of Provincial and Local Government's management and coordination of Donor Assistance Programs to local government in South Africa

  • Authors: Dzengwa, Simphiwe
  • Date: 2004
  • Subjects: South Africa. Dept. of Provincial & Local Government , Local government -- South Africa , Municipal government -- South Africa , Economic assistance -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government , South Africa -- Foreign relations
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: vital:816 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007923
  • Description: This study is a contribution to the ongoing debate concerning the role and involvement of foreign donor entities in the processes of transforming and creating viable and sustainable municipal entities in South Africa. The discussion particularly focuses on the relationship between the donor community and the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) and how this relationship has been nurtured, coordinated and managed. The study acknowledges the challenges pertaining to local government transformation and the role and mandate assigned to the DPLG by the South African Constitution and the Presidential Coordinating Council (PCC) for it to facilitate the creation of developmental local government. In discussing this, consideration is given to capacity and resource constraints within the Department, which necessitate that it collaborates closely with other stakeholders, particularly donors, in seeking to augment its resource base and capacity. The Department's lack of capacity is further complicated by the various pieces of legislation, which have a serious bearing on how municipalities have to work - irrespective of their capacity and resources limitations. The research also focuses on how this relationship, between the DPLG and foreign aid donors working in the local government sector, is coordinated and managed. From evidence gathered and interviews conducted, the conclusion is drawn that there is much room for the DPLG to improve and strategically focus its interaction with donors as informed by its mandate and strategic priorities. Proposals, which entail development of donor management guidelines, setting up of a donor coordination unit within DPLG, the improvement of the understanding of donor work politics and modalities among DPLG officials, etc., are made.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

Political correctness and freedom of expression

  • Authors: Embling, Geoffrey
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Political correctness , Freedom of speech , Political correctness -- South Africa , Freedom of speech -- South Africa , Censorship , Censorship -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government , Political satire, South African , Fanatacism , Toleration
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/40873 , vital:25035
  • Description: A brief history of political correctness is discussed along with various definitions of it, ranging from political correctness being a benign attempt to prevent offense and avert discrimination to stronger views equating it with Communist censorship or branding it as "cultural Marxism". The aim of the research is to discover what political correctness is, how it relates to freedom of expression and what wider implications and effects it has on society. The moral foundations of rights and free speech in particular are introduced in order to set a framework to determine what authority people and governments have to censor others' expression. Different philosophical views on the limits of free speech are discussed, and arguments for and against hate speech are analysed and related to political correctness. The thesis looks at political correctness on university campuses, which involves speech codes, antidiscrimination legislation and changing the Western canon to a more multicultural syllabus. The recent South African university protests involving issues such as white privilege, university fees and rape are discussed and related to political correctness. The thesis examines the role of political correctness in the censorship of humour, it discusses the historical role of satire in challenging dogmatism and it looks at the psychology behind intolerance. Political correctness appeals to tolerance, which is sometimes elevated at the expense of truth. Truth and tolerance are therefore weighed up, along with their altered definitions in today's relativistic society. The last part of the thesis looks at South Africa's unique brand of political correctness, along with Black Economic Empowerment, colonialism and white guilt, and the research concludes that political correctness is a distinct form of censorship which has developed in modern democracies. The new forms of justice and morality seen in political correctness are distortions of left-wing liberalism, which appeal to different values to those of traditional liberalism.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

Report of the Conference on Women and Gender in Southern Africa, 30 January to 3 February 1991

  • Authors: Gender Research Group Conference Planning Committee , University of Natal
  • Date: 1991-02-03
  • Subjects: Women – Political activity – Africa, Southern -- Congresses , South Africa -- Politics and government , Government, Resistance to – South Africa , Women – Social conditions – Africa, Southern -- Congresses , Women in development – Africa, Southern -- Congresses
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , conference publication
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/58278 , vital:27139 , This item is held at the Cory Library for Humanities Research at Rhodes University. For further information contact cory@ru.ac.za. The digitisation of this image was made possible through a generous grant received from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 2014-2017.
  • Description: Women’s studies and courses which incorporate gender into their analysis have slowly, over the last five or six years, been gaining a toe-hold at South African universities. More and more academics, most of them women, are doing research in the area. Despite this, Women’s and Gender Studies are often marginalised and lecturers have to fight for the space to teach them. Papers on women tend to be ghettoised at conferences. Thus at its first meeting in 1989 the Gender Research Group (GRG) felt the need to celebrate this growing area of work being produced under difficult conditions by organising a conference. The purpose of the conference was to stimulate further research and provide a forum for the work people were already doing. The organising committee wanted the conference to be a place for debate with an emphasis on research and theory. The Conference was organised around four main themes: * Race, class and gender * Culture and ideology * Organising women and policy * Everyday life. It was the first academic conference in South Africa to focus directly on women’s and gender issues. It was attended by participants from most southern African countries as well as southern Africanists from the USA, Britain, Canada and the Netherlands. There were sixty-four papers, some presented in plenary discussion and others in smaller parallel sessions. In addition, two panel discussions were organised, one on ‘Conceptualising gender’ and the other on ‘Organising women’ The conference was followed by two one-day workshops - ‘Teaching Women’s Studies’ and ‘Gender and Popular Education’.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 1991-02-03

South African foreign policy under Zuma administration: a case study of Al-Bashir, human rights and National interest

  • Authors: Govane, Akhona Zizo
  • Date: 2021-04
  • Subjects: International relations -- 21st century , South Africa -- Politics and government
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/52535 , vital:43684
  • Description: The purpose of the study was to conduct an analysis on whether the foreign policy under the Zuma administration served to protect and promote human rights or whether it served national interest. This was done by analyzing foreign relationships South Africa had under the Zuma administration. The analysis of the research was guided by answering whether the initial 1993 ANC human rights orientated foreign policy was still practiced or whether it was more focused on national interest. Previous work has failed to address the relationships South Africa had with undemocratic and/or authoritarian states during Zuma’s tenure, this includes the arms deal trade with the Arabic states, Russia and China, which resulted in the overlooking of human rights violations by its foreign relations, which resulted in the 1993 ANC proclamations of a human rights orientated foreign policy being no longer practiced. The study followed the qualitative research approach, with the use of documentary analysis for the purpose of the literature review, with the use of case studies. The findings hold that the South African foreign policy during the Zuma administration prioritized national interest and the protection of its foreign relations. The findings also highlight the importance of public participation in international agreements prior to the legalization of them. This study also provided suggestions for future research projects, which will allow for the public to be involved in decisions - that will affect their livelihood - that are taken by the state and to be able to hold the executive accountable for the decisions they make. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, 2021
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  • Date Issued: 2021-04

Call to boycott

  • Authors: Grahamstown Action Group (GAG)
  • Date: 1985-09
  • Subjects: South Africa -- Race relations -- History -- 20th century , Boycotts -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , South Africa -- Politics and government
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , tracts (ephemera)
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/57692 , vital:26981 , This item is held at the Cory Library for Humanities Research at Rhodes University. For further information contact cory@ru.ac.za. The digitisation of this image was made possible through a generous grant received from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 2014-2017.
  • Description: Pamphlet designed to elicit support from white residents in Grahamstown, in supporting the boycott of white-owned businesses as called by the residents of the "Grahamstown's African townships". The boycott was the third in 1985, and was intended to achieve specific outcomes, such as the end to the State of Emergency, the release of political detainees, and the lifting of the ban on public meetings.
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  • Date Issued: 1985-09

A comparative analysis of the low voter turnout in 2006 and 2011 municipal elections: Lukhanji municipality

  • Authors: Jakuja, Noxolo
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Elections -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Voter turnout -- South Africa , Voter registration -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5995 , vital:21023
  • Description: The aim of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of the low voter turnout of the 2006 and 2011 municipal elections in Lukhanji Municipality. The study came as a result of the researcher’s observations of the low voter turnout during the 2011 municipal elections across the country. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the previous municipal election of 2006 also experienced low voter turnout. However, this was not the case with national and provincial elections, because since the first election that took place in 1994, voter turnout has been high. Lukhanji Municipality, which is the area of residence for the researcher, was no different from the rest of South Africa, when it comes to low voter turnout for the municipal elections and high voter turnout for national and provincial elections. It was noted that there has never been a detailed research study conducted in Lukhanji Municipality regarding the subject in question, and also that there is a limited amount of literature that seeks to investigate voter turnout in local elections in South Africa. The large amount of available literature focuses on voter turnout during national and provincial elections in established democracies. The literature review extensively explored the determinants of voter turnout in all levels of elections. From those tested elsewhere, it was evident that no single factor can be the cause of low voting during an election, therefore it was fundamental to investigate the causes of low voter turnout of the municipal elections with special focus on Lukhanji Municipality. It became evident from the study, that indeed various factors may have led to low voter turnout during 2006 and 2011 municipal elections in Lukhanji Municipality.
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  • Date Issued: 2015

Land redistribution and state decentralisation in South Africa

  • Authors: Jaricha, Desmond Tichaona
  • Date: 2014
  • Subjects: Land reform -- South Africa , Land tenure -- South Africa , Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , Decentralization in government -- South Africa , Local government -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
  • Identifier: vital:3374 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013120
  • Description: South Africa is a new democracy that has had to deal with many historical remnants of apartheid. One of the main remnants has been land dispossession and massive inequalities along racial lines of access to land for agricultural purposes. In countering this, the post-apartheid state has pursued land redistribution programmes since the end of apartheid in 1994, as part of a broader land reform project. Simultaneously, post-apartheid South Africa has been marked by significant state restructuring notably a process of state de-centralisation including the positioning of municipalities as development agents. Amongst other goals, this is designed to democratise the state given the authoritarian and exclusive character of the apartheid state, and thereby to democratise development initiatives and programmes. Land redistribution and state decentralisation in South Africa are different political processes with their own specific dynamics. They have though become interlinked and intertwined but not necessarily in a coherent and integrated manner. Within broader global developments pertaining to state decentralisation and land redistribution, the thesis examines the complex relations between these two processes in South Africa. In particular, I analyse critically the decentralised character of the land redistribution programme in South Africa. In order to concretise and illustrate key themes and points, I discuss a particular land redistribution project called Masizakhe located in Makana Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province.
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  • Date Issued: 2014

Objecting to apartheid: the history of the end conscription campaign

  • Authors: Jones, David
  • Date: 2013
  • Subjects: End Conscription Campaign (South Africa) , Apartheid -- South Africa , Government, Resistance to South Africa , Conscientious objection South Africa , South Africa -- Social conditions , South Africa -- Politics and government
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA (History)
  • Identifier: vital:11538 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1005998 , End Conscription Campaign (South Africa) , Apartheid -- South Africa , Government, Resistance to South Africa , Conscientious objection South Africa , South Africa -- Social conditions , South Africa -- Politics and government
  • Description: It is important that the story of organisations like the End Conscription Campaign be recorded. The narrative of the struggle against apartheid has become a site of contestation. As the downfall of apartheid is still a relatively recent event, the history is still in the process of formation. There is much contestation over the relative contributions of different groups within the struggle. This is an important debate as it informs and shapes the politics of the present. A new official narrative is emerging which accentuates the role of particular groupings, portraying them as the heroes and the leaders of the struggle. A new elite have laid exclusive claim to the heritage of the struggle and are using this narrative to justify their hold on power through the creation of highly centralised political structures in which positions of power are reserved for loyal cadres and independent thinking and questioning are seen as a threat. A complementary tradition of grassroots democracy, of open debate and transparency, of “people’s power”, of accountability of leadership to the people fostered in the struggle is being lost. It is important to contest this narrative. We need to remember that the downfall of apartheid was brought about by a myriad combination of factors and forces. Current academic interpretations emphasize that no one group or organisation, no matter how significant its contribution, was solely responsible. There was no military victory or other decisive event which brought the collapse of the system, rather a sapping of will to pay the ever increasing cost to maintain it. The struggle against apartheid involved a groundswell, popular uprising in which the initiative came not from centralised political structures, orchestrating a grand revolt, but from ordinary South Africans who were reacting to the oppressive nature of a brutally discriminatory system which sought to control every aspect of their lives.4 Leaders and structures emerged organically as communities organised themselves around issues that affected them. Organisations that emerged were highly democratic and accountable to their members. There was no grand plan or centralised control of the process. As Walter Benjamin warned in a different context, but applicable here: “All rulers are the heirs of those who have conquered before them.” He feared that what he referred to as a historicist view constructed a version of history as a triumphal parade of progress. “Whoever has emerged victorious” he reminds us “participates to this day in the triumphal procession in which the present rulers step over those who are lying prostrate. According to traditional practice the spoils are carried along in the procession.” 5 He was warning of just such a tendency, which has been repeated so often in the past, for the victors to construct a version of history which ends up justifying a new tyranny. To counter this tendency it is important that other histories of the struggle are told – that the stories of other groups, which are marginalised by the new hegemonic discourse, are recorded.This aim of this dissertation is thus two-fold. Firstly it aims to investigate “the story” of the End Conscription Campaign, which has largely been seen as a white anti-apartheid liberal organisation. The objective is to provide a detailed historical account and periodisation of the organisation to fill in the gaps and challenge the distortions of a new emerging “official” discourse.Secondly within this framework, and by using the activities and strategies of the organisation as evidence for its suppositions, the question of the role played by the ECC in the struggle.
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  • Date Issued: 2013

South African Government and Politics: POL 222

  • Authors: Lushaba, L , Ferrim, V
  • Date: 2010-01
  • Subjects: South Africa -- Politics and government
  • Language: English
  • Type: Examination paper
  • Identifier: vital:18260 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1011256
  • Description: South African Government and Politics: POL 222, Supplementary examination January 2010.
  • Full Text: false
  • Date Issued: 2010-01

An analysis of the framework for measuring parliamentary performance in South Africa (2004-2009)

  • Authors: Mapolisa, Vuyani Welcome
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: South Africa -- Parliament , Representative government and representation -- South Africa , Organizational effectiveness -- Measurement , Performance -- Measurement , South Africa -- Politics and government
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
  • Identifier: vital:11616 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/414 , South Africa -- Parliament , Representative government and representation -- South Africa , Organizational effectiveness -- Measurement , Performance -- Measurement , South Africa -- Politics and government
  • Description: The aim of the study was to analyse the framework for measuring parliamentary performance in South Africa. The researcher wanted to assess the current system challenges and gaps for measuring performance of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa with special reference to the core business of Parliament and to provide a performance management model and tools that can be adopted by Parliament to address the core business of Parliament challenges and problems. In this study, relevant literature was reviewed. The researcher dwelled on the concept of performance management, historical perspective, elements of performance management and benefits derived from the system. The critical issue that was discussed under this section was the comparison amongst countries. It was evident that there are countries that are measuring both administrative and political arm of government. The data collection instruments that were used were questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were distributed to The Secretariat to the National Parliament, Chief Directors, General Managers and Senior Managers. Interviews were held with Presiding Officers: Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chairperson of Chairpersons, and Deputy Chairperson of Chairpersons, Chief Whips, Whips of Committees and Chairpersons of Committees. A thematic analysis was employed and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used. After analysing the data, the researcher arrived at conclusions and thereafter suggested recommendations. The researcher proffered a model by examining different best models of the world and selecting some of those components. The model indicates performance outcomes, which are; accountability, responsiveness, representativity, transparency and impact as well as parliamentary mandates, which are the Constitutional mandates in a matrix.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

Democratization of state institutions and processes: a critical ingredient for good governance

  • Authors: Masango, Sebenzile
  • Subjects: Democracy -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government , f-sa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Lectures
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/20341 , vital:29265
  • Description: In itself ‘democratization’ is a wide field of study which can be subdivided into various subfields. The content of this lecture is mainly derived from the key focus areas of the research I have conducted. My research mainly contributes to the building and strengthening of democracy and good governance.
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IDASA - Untitled letter to Isobel Douglas-Jones

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