Browsing by Author "Gwala, Sbusisiwe Philile."

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An analysis of South Africa's role in regional integration in Southern Africa : prospects and challenges.
(2014) Gwala, Sbusisiwe Philile.; Mngomezulu, Bhekithemba Richard.
Since the success of Regional Integration (RI) in Europe epitomized by the European Union (EU), the mutual potential benefits that could be attained from RI initiatives and agreements have attracted much attention to the topic of RI. In the African context, RI has been hailed as the mechanism that nurtures the development of economic income, trade and bargaining power. This has resulted in the establishment of a number of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in different parts of Africa. Despite the prevalence of Regional Economic Agreements (REAs) across Africa, RI has been largely unsuccessful due to a confluence of factors. Having been disregarded as a legitimate state by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region due to its apartheid regime prior to 1994, South Africa has since emerged as one of the well-developed countries in SSA. Having transitioned from the apartheid regime to a post-apartheid era, South Africa rose to become one of the dominant economic powerhouses in SSA, and a leader in the SADC region. The role of South Africa as a hegemon in SADC has been contested by some, citing the State’s inability to resolve some of its domestic problems to a satisfactory level. This research is an investigation or inquiry into the prospects of South Africa as the most qualified State to carry out the responsibility of spear-heading the RI process in the Southern African region. In the process of compiling this research secondary data obtained from books, journal articles, newspaper articles and existing theses dealing with RI in Europe, Africa, and Southern Africa were analysed. The results of this study portray South Africa as the most suitable candidate for leading RI in Southern Africa. This is primarily due to its advanced infrastructural development, superior economic strength and peace enforcement capabilities in conflict-ridden Africa. South Africa is also the largest capital contributor and the biggest investor in individual states in the SADC region. Based on these results, one recommendation is that the African continent in general and the SADC region in particular has reasons to cooperate with South Africa in reviving the RI agenda that would benefit the entire African continent. South Africa can still play its role as the leading economic powerhouse while the presidency of SADC block of nations is rotated annually amongst the member countries as in the EU. South Africa will then not be viewed suspiciously as having usurped the hegemonic status within the region. Giant strides have already been made in the political and economic arena; South Africa can build on these successes.
An assessment of the implementation of the Batho Pele principles in waste management and water services in uMsunduzi Local Municipality.
(2020) Mnandi, Nangipha.; Mnguni, Sandile Innocent.; Gwala, Sbusisiwe Philile.
Government policy has been an integral component of service delivery in the democratic dispensation. Since 1994, service delivery has been a top priority for the government, which has acknowledged it as a tool to reduce poverty and gear, South Africa, towards becoming a developmental state. Through its admission, the government has acknowledged that service delivery is a continuous challenge that the government is working towards overcoming and improving by introducing more policies and streamlining services and restructuring certain departments. Challenges of this nature have been mainly evident in the local government level where municipalities, across the country, have been declared dysfunctional and therefore, unable to render essential services to its people. The Msunduzi local municipality is a perfect illustration of that where this embattled municipality has undergone several managerial changes and the recalling of two mayors in less than five years due to persistent challenges that continue to cripple the municipality. It is against this backdrop that this master’s dissertation looks to assess the implementation of Batho-Pele principles concerning waste and water services in the uMsunduzi municipality. The study is done by adopting a qualitative methodological study consisting of seven interviews interviews with key stakeholders from the uMsunduzi local municipality and the KwaZulu-Natal department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. This project uses the theory of good governance and public administration, which establishes that Batho-Pele principles have, for the most part, been neglected in the municipality and has directly resulted in the significant decline in the provision of critical waste removal and water services amongst others. Moreover, the study also finds that the municipality has not been able to adhere to key principles of good governance and public administration, which also contributed to the challenges that currently confront the municipality. This study further makes recommendations about the improvement of service delivery, which includes strict adherence to Batho-Pele principles. Furthermore, the strengthening of monitoring and evaluation capacity at local government level and the professionalization of public services to ensure that the most suitable public servants are appointed based on merit and so that the municipality provides the best possible services which are embodied by the Batho-Pele principles and enshrined in the constitution.
Religion, conflict and peacebuilding in Africa: the role of the church in the peacebuilding process in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2001-2006.
(2017) Oladosu, Steve Tai.; Mtshali, Khondlo Phillip Thabo.; Gwala, Sbusisiwe Philile.
This study examines the roles of the Church and its models of peace effort in the DRC from 2001 to 2016. The main objective is to identify and analyze the impact of the role of the church on the conflict; to evaluate the success of the Church in Peacebuilding from 2001-2016; to examine the key challenges and opportunities facing the Churches in its intervention, and; to identify how the church could maximize its peacebuilding potential in the DRC. Thus, the following questions were set forth to guide the research: 1) what role has the church played in DRC conflict from 2001 to 2016? 2) What successes has the church achieved? 3) What obstacles has the Church faced in its peace efforts? 4) How can the church deal with these obstacles to maximize its potential of achieving a sustainable peace in the DRC? Therefore, the qualitative approach is found appropriate for these research questions, because it grants valuable understanding of the issues through a careful examination of historical data. So, the non-empirical study makes use of secondary sources of data collection.Also, John Paul Lederach’s “peacebuilding pyramid” is opted for as the conceptual framework. The framework focus on reconciliation and on reconstruction of broken down relationships: a process that recognizes that conflicts are essentially types of relationships and prioritizes on addressing its psychological components. Therefore, it was used to address such questions as, should peace be built from the top down, or from the bottom up? What parts should the various actors play? Are there spaces for the church at all the three levels? However, the key study finding was that the Church in the DRC is large, strong, and significant. With these, and its predictable solidarity with the grassroots populace, have the capacity to transform conflict situation in the DRC. The study also reveals that the church in the DRC are engaged in a kind of reactive approach to peace work which focuses on the immediate conflict, with no long-term peace process to address the root cause, and to deal with those policies and structures that sustains conflicts. The researcher thus maintains that the Church in the DRC needs a review of their models of engagement in conflict transformation and peacebuilding.