Masters Degrees (Political Science)

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Nationalism, sexual contract, and anti-colonial struggle: A critical reading of Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth and Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions.
(2024) Madlala, Nomcebo Euland Bridget.; Mtshali, Khondlo Phillip Thabo.
Gender-based violence and gender inequalities are among growing global issues. International organizations such as the United Nations have informally labelled gender-based violence a pandemic. In light of the persistence of abuses against women in post-colonial Africa, this qualitative study uses Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions and Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth and A Dying Colonialism as primary sources to excavate the implicit racial-patriarchal habitus that shaped the anti-colonial movement and the birth of the postcolonial state. This study begins by engaging in a critical discussion of the patriarchy concept, exploring various scholars’ views regarding the concept. Centrally, there is an exploration of the complex interplay of race and gender by Pateman and Mills in Contract and Domination. The study further interrogates the implicit racia-patriarchal contract that is present under colonialism in Nervous Conditions and the anti-colonial movement in The Wretched of the Earth and A Dying Colonialism. The theoretical and conceptual frameworks which guide this study include nationalism, Pateman’s sexual contract, Charles Mills’ implicit contract and the racia-patriarchal habitus. The data is analysed using critical discourse analysis which allows for the interrogation of the implicit contract that legitimises patriarchy in the colonized society and the anti-colonial nationalist movement. Critical discourse analysis also enables one to investigate the tools used in attempts to oppress a group of people in society. This study argues that the pre-existing patriarchal attitudes, norms, and values are not acknowledged and addressed in the nationalist agenda. These then become the patriarchal foundations of both the anti-colonial nationalist movement and the post-colonial state. In addressing gender-based violence and gender inequalities, it is therefore important to address the racia-patriarchal habitus.
Assessing the effects of economic participation of Burundian migrants in Durban’s informal economy.
(2024) Hassan, Niyonkuru.; Khan, Sultan.
Economic issues are typically at the heart of migration decisions globally. Disparities in incomes between countries play a major role in motivating people with different levels of skills to migrate from developing countries to countries with more developed economies in search of secure livelihoods and improved quality of life. In Africa, South Africa is the leading migration destination country in Sub- Saharan Africa because of its buoyant economy and relative security. However, upon arriving migrants are confronted with the harsh reality of unemployment and little support from the host countries with a high level of discrimination from natives. Additionally, lack of assistance and empathy from non-profit organizations compound the situation further. Boxed into a corner and a hopelessness migrants have no alternative but to take up informal income generating activities. The informal sector plays a significant role in addressing unemployment among migrants. Street trading, which is the most visible sector of the informal economy, has been blamed for urban decay and the negative impact it has on the urbanization of different cities across South Africa. Such views have contributed to the challenges of street traders and have affected how they make a living. Street trading is a growing phenomenon in the Central Businesses Districts (CBDs) where many are people dependent on the practice of street trading for livelihoods. Durban has a large number of informal sector traders operating in the center’s streets, corners and road reserves. The city’s informal sector is constrained by inadequate infrastructure, poor policy implementation, negligence from the city authorities, inadequate trading spaces and contradictory policies from local and national government. The space scarcity is worsened by the involvement of the formal sector in space allocation and control. Environmental pollution is prevalent and spatial organization on income activity patterns. The informal sector is inherently a challenging environment for those eking out a living in the shadows of the formal economy. However, the challenges are more acute for African migrants on the periphery of the Durban’s formal economy. It is in this context that the study explores challenges that are faced by Burundian migrants in Durban‘s informal economy. The study will highlight various livelihood activities of Burundian migrants in the city of Durban. It will further seek to understand the nature, types of activities that Burundian migrants are involved in to survive in Durban. Finally, the study will provide an understanding into the misconception that foreign owned businesses has no benefits to the city and to the country as a whole.
Social discontent and class struggle: A case of KwaZulu-Natal July 2021 socio-political unrest.
(2004) Henry, Ryan Liam.; Ntombela, Siyabonga
This study explores the underlying causes of the July Unrest-2021 using the theories of scholars such as Karl Marx and Frantz Fanon. It investigates the impact of these causes by looking at the underlying factors contributing to social discord among key players in the July Unrest- 2021. The exploration looks at how the state responded to instances of ‘collective rule- breaking’ as an element of lawlessness. The consequences of disregarding class struggle and its influence on social cohesion. Furthermore, the extent to which proficient policing would have served as a deterrent against social unrest. The study found that poverty, crime, inequality, poor service delivery, and racism are apartheid’s legacy and government inefficiencies. In addition, when marginalised groups experience significant grievances, they often form a class, allowing them to express their dissatisfaction through looting, arson, and murder. The research was conducted through a desktop study that utilised secondary data from multiple data sources, such as Internet scholarly materials, books, and newspapers. Articles and media clips gather information; content analysis analyses the information; and relational analysis investigates the relationships between concepts. The study advocates for governmental entities to pursue more efficacious strategies aimed at improving the socioeconomic disparities and diminishing the prevailing inequality between affluent and disadvantaged segments of society within the context of South Africa. This recommendation is predicated upon the recognition that the persistence of economic deprivation engenders a milieu characterised by heightened susceptibility to incitement and unrest within the societal fabric.
Racial integration in post-apartheid South African desegregated high schools: a case study of multi-racial teacher perspectives at one high school in the Western Cape.
(2022) Chetty, Kumresh Sivalingum.; Mutereko, Sybert.
The literature reveals the deleterious role of race and racism and its impact on society, particularly at post-apartheid desegregated schools, including the concomitant racial integration challenges. It also suggests that Critical Race Theory (CRT) is among the most apt approaches to effect social change and social justice at these beleaguered schools. Data/research from several studies highlights that racism and racist incidents have plagued post-apartheid desegregated schools since the advent of democracy. Most recently, media reports have again highlighted newer cases of racism and racist incidents taking place at post-apartheid desegregated schools. The field of research interest focusing on teachers in relation to the challenges of reintegration in post-apartheid schools has not been totally exhausted. The research to date has tended to focus more on teacher reactions and responses but rarely propound teacher-led initiatives and interventions. This research study sought to explore how teacher-led initiatives and interventions relate to their directly addressing the challenges of racial integration in post-apartheid desegregated schools, especially the schools in which they actually teach. This research project was a mono-method interpretivist qualitative study. It employed one qualitative data collection method and a corresponding qualitative analysis procedure. Purposeful or judgmental sampling was the sampling procedure used to select the research participants. Data was collected through interviews from four multi-racial teachers who were based at President High School in the Western Cape. The computer-aided qualitative analysis of the data gathered through thematic analysis compared the responses of the four teachers. It indicated that there was significant variation in their responses based on race. This was beneficial due to their intimate knowledge of the racial integration challenges faced at post-apartheid desegregated schools. This related to a disjuncture between policy and practice; teachers lacked formal conflict management skills which were needed to teach in racially diverse classrooms. This Political Science study highlights that the national and provincial departments of education need to be cognisant of the research inputs and outputs of teachers as political actors. This is informed by their interventions and recommendations in addressing the current educational crises of racism and racist incidents taking place at schools.
South Africa's deadly politics: investigating the causes and consequences of political assassinations in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province (1978-2019)
(2023) Mathenjwa, Gcinakahle Mpendulo.; Phungula, Noluthando Prudence.
The Kwa-Zulu Natal province is at the centre of attention regarding the prevalence of political assassinations. The province is termed as a killing field, where political assassinations are used as a method of political contestation. The assassination of politically active individuals in KZN is not a new phenomenon. Anti-Apartheid activists, local civilians, political party members, followers, and public office occupants have been victims of this violent event in remote times. Political assassinations have been an issue of concern in KZN for over four decades. Political assassinations in KZN are intertwined with other forms of provincial concerns, such as the assassination of local chiefs and violence in the taxi industry. This research project investigated the extent in which an assassination can be considered to be political and may be a form of political violence. The study also investigated the causes and consequences of political assassinations in the KZN province. The study searched for the reasons behind political assassinations in KZN in order to understand why such killings are mostly prevalent in this province. The research views political assassinations as a type of political violence. Given the fact that the KZN province is prone to such violence, the study then investigated how such assassinations affect government functioning and the social wellbeing in KZN. The study gathered qualitative data in an effort to address the research question on the reasons for and effects of such assassinations. The research was carried out as a desktop study, using existing publications to collect and analyse data. The study was informed by realism and the conflict theory, to understand the foundation on the regular occurrence of political assassinations in the province. The two theories explain the society and how it becomes violent, and how such violence shapes and affects society.
A critical analysis of South Africa’s relations with China.
(2017) Dladla, Nontokozo Thobela.; Magam, Nolubabalo Patricia Dawn.
Abstract There has been a lot of speculation in terms of the bilateral relations between China and South Africa. China has been seen regarded as a rising power within the international system that is even changing the world order and challenging the United States of America as a global hegemony. With the Asian country’s fast growing economy, it has had to go out in search of new markets and also secure natural resources to maintain their economic growth. South Africa has been identified as one of the most developed countries in Africa and the Sino-South African partnership has always worked in favor of China. China has had open access to South Africa’s natural resource, market and China is also able to generate foreign investment from the country. China has never colonized Africa and through its soft power mechanisms it has been able to convince countries such as South Africa that it is better to do business with China than the West. Critics such as Krauss and Bradsher (2015) are concerned that China’s controversial human rights record may pose a bad example for African countries and this has been considered as one of the primary effects of doing business with China. Other identifiable effects of the Sino-African business relationship also include corruption which takes the guise of a noninterference policy, exploitation of resources within South Africa and also interference within bureaucratic issues have managed to prove that China has managed in some way to control South Africa’s internal affairs. This research seeks to critically explore the bilateral relations between China and South Africa. By employing a fusion of the Dependency theory and neocolonialism as a conceptual framework, the study aims to show that China is a colonizer in South Africa. Through neocolonialism China has been able to control South Africa by using mechanism of soft power and these tactics are causing the African country to depend more and more on the Asian country. Overcoming apartheid indeed proved to be a big milestone for South Africa as it exposed the country international platforms which it had not been capable of before. Although South Africa recognizes its sufficient role as a game changer within the China-Africa bilateral relations, the country however has proven to have very little capacity capable of dictating how to conduct a relationship that is beneficial to her. A lack of bargaining power linked to issues such as economic standing and the status of being a third-world country plays a crucial role in limitingSouth Africa’s influence as there are still negative connotations associated with the continent. Africa’s self-developmental ambitions through organizations such as NEPAD seem to be a farfetched dream that the continent can only hope for. The frailty of South Africa stands as an obstacle in the country’s efforts in going against the global norm of attaining development on its own and this could result in further isolating the country from the international system. Both the USA and China have used the opportunity of South Africa being a gate opener to the rest of Africa to their advantage and either seems to be better than the other. As such expansion of relations between China and South Africa promote the trend of going against global norms set out by the west has become increasingly popular, such as violation of workers’ rights and putting economic drive before the needs of the people. Unlike China the game of chasing economic emancipation before respecting and adhering to global norms has undoubtedly worked against the African country as it fails to match up to the capabilities of China.
Is the United States winning the war on drugs: a case study of the flow of drugs from Mexico and Colombia to the United States (2010 – 2020)?
(2022) Qogwana, Sifiso Simiso Clive.; Ndlovu, Zakhele Collison.
Drug manufacturing, trafficking, distribution, and selling have wreaked chaos and havoc globally, mainly in the United States of America, which then saw former President Nixon’s administration introduce and implement a counternarcotics strategy that would criminalize the sale of illicit substances in America. The problem tackled in this dissertation is a simple yet polarizing question of whether the United States is winning the War on Drugs, which will be analysed and deliberated thoroughly using a case study method that will focus on Colombia and Mexico as they are the manufacturers and transit countries for illicit drugs, respectively. According to Pearl (2018), President Richard Nixon declared war on drugs in 1971, launching a tough-on-crime policy agenda that still produces terrible outcomes today. The gap in the literature is that previous research has demonstrated that the “War on Drugs” has been a catastrophic failure. Still, this dissertation offers a new lens and perspective by exploring if the drug war has been a success or failure whilst looking at a period from 2010 to 2020 and reaching a probable hypothesis regarding the drug war. This dissertation adopted a qualitative research approach mainly because the events and ideas covered required critical analysis of human behaviour, the decision-making process, philosophies, and beliefs carried out by all actors involved in the “War on Drugs.” A case study method was also followed as specific actors in the drug war were targeted, mainly the United States, Colombia, and Mexico. The study used the “Just War Theory,” “Social Conflict Theory,” and “Rational Choice Theory” in guiding their research. The dissertation found through extensive research and analysis that the drug war was and still is a costly failure that could not achieve its objectives of dismantling and obliterating the illegal drug market. Drug availability, drug overdoses, drug-related crime, and killings are still staggering and growing daily. One recommendation the researcher has suggested is that a decriminalization of illegal narcotics policy be introduced and executed efficiently by the United States to ensure that their citizens are given the treatment they require, as drug use is a disorder/addiction, not a crime that needs punishment.
The impact of ethnic diversity on economic development in Malaysia: lessons for South Africa.
(2023) Mchunu, Lungile.; Vilakazi, Fikile Mabel.
research paper reviews the empirical evidence on the impact of multi ethnicity (heterogeneity) on economic development in developing countries looking specifically at South Africa and Malaysia. Malaysia is an important case study from which South Africa can learn important lessons and through which it can find solutions to ethnic coexistence and economic development. The commonalities between the two countries emanate from “common social, economic, and ethnic considerations, for instance both countries share heterogeneity in terms of religion, race, and ethnic considerations” (Omoweh, 2012). The paper specifically discusses collected data sources and influential theoretical leanings and outcomes of the strategies enlisted by developing countries affected by high poverty and inequality rates based along ethnic and cultural lines. The evidence suggests that successful strategies demand strong political will and well-orchestrated long term plans that transcend leadership across a long period of time. As observed in Malaysia poverty and inequality alleviation was a result of dogged focus on adopted plans with periodic minimal alteration to the plans. South Africa is the polar opposite of this – this society has continued to struggle with very high levels of poverty and inequality even after decades of the shift from apartheid. This is predominantly due to the haphazard changing of plans and direction with every new leader elected by the governing party. The two countries shared similar historical challenges stemming from a heterogeneous and multi ethnic population characterized by a small population of haves versus a large population of have-nots. The fundamental difference was the strategies and development ideologies that each country pursued, which have in turn yielded different outcomes. Four decades after Malaysia the adoption of the 1971 New Economic Plan poverty levels have significantly decreased, adult literacy and life expectancy has improved national unity and harmony has been achieved through the radical socio economic policies and rapid economic growth. This body of work proposes that developing countries with high social stratification and multi ethnic society like South Africa - the Malaysian experience is a critical and salient example to study as means of finding relevant and long lasting solutions for such societies including South Africa.
An influence of the #FEESMUSTFALL movement on student politics: a case study of the Durban University of Technology 2016-17 Steve Biko campus.
(2022) Mokua, Kabelo Phillip.; Vilakazi, Fikile Mabel.
The years 2015/16 were a significant period in the history of student activism in higher education in South Africa. The period resulted in thousands of university students across the country demonstrating for free decolonized education. As a result, thousands of students were subjected to police brutality, confrontation, and arrests through the use of force, rubber bullets and tear gas amongst other things. This has in many institutions of learning amounted to damage to property and affected teaching and learning. The genuine concerns and demands of students for free higher education and conducive learning spaces for the black majority in South Africa, saw the former President Jacob Zuma announcing 0% fee increment and commitment for feasibility of free higher education in South Africa. In this regard, this research sought to examine the influence of the #FeesMustFall [#FMF] movement on student politics and to understand how the university management at the Durban University of Technology, Steve Biko Campus, responded to the #FeesMustFall demands of students. The study used a qualitative approach in exploring the influ1dxence of the #FMF movement in student politics. A theoretical lens of social justice was used to engage with this research, and it advocates for the distribution of power, resources, and benefits in society without favour of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, ability, and any other status. Study findings show that there was a positive influence on student politics from the #FMF movements. One key positive outcome was that all student political parties namely: the South African Student Congress [SASCO], the Economic Freedom Fighters Student Command [EFFSC], the Democratic Alliance Student Organization [DA] and the Black Land First Student Organization [BLF] amongst others found their voices uniting under the national call for free and decolonized h i g h e r education. This unity amongst student leaders, varied political formations and various social groupings revived and encouraged youth to engage more in student politics. It was also found that the relationship between student leaders and University management at DUT became overwrought due to a violent approach and tactic used by the #FeesMustFall student movement. In some instances, this has resulted in fatalities and casualties physically, emotionally, economically, politically, and psychologically in the lives of students, University infrastructure and student politics in general. This thesis recommends therefore a need for national reflection on higher education in South Africa and student activism based on a case and lessons of #FMF movement. This national reflection needs to investigate, confront, and raise important questions with regards to equity, access, decoloniality and transformation in higher education as a critical discourse and call to action after twenty-five years of democracy in South Africa.
Public policy and the informal sector in South Africa: the politics of street-trading in Pietermaritzburg as an illustrative case.
(1994) Mosdell, Timothy Scott.; Lawrence, Ralph Bruce.
Abstract available in PDF.
The quest for hegemony: Kenya, KANU and the 1997 elections within the context of African statehood, democratization and civil society in embryosis.
(1999) Kearney, Sarah Lucy.; Jones, Alison Rae.; Okeke-Uzodike, Nwabufo Ikechukwu.
Abstract available in PDF.
The whole is the false: an analysis of censorship in South Africa with particular reference to the Publications Act and its predecessors.
(1994) Stewart, Peter MacDonald.; Antonie, Francis.
Abstract available in PDF.
A gendered approach to migration through the prism of human trafficking in armed conflicts for terrorism: the women of the Islamic State.
(2021) Mncibi, Vumile Simphiwe.; Rieker, Mark Ivan.
The 2012 Syrian war is a major contributory factor in the growing relationship between terrorism and human-trafficking, as practiced by extremist group known as the Islamic State (IS). Terrorism and human-trafficking are known to thrive as individual criminal platforms that play out as weapons of warfare in armed conflicts. However, this study identified a literature gap which prompted an inquiry into how these two platforms mutually interconnect in armed conflicts. This study particularly employed a gendered approach to understanding the roles of women in building the relationship between human trafficking and terrorism in highly patriarchal and religiously defined conflict terrorist groups, such as the Islamic State. Three interrelated theories underpinned this study. The theories include the “push and pull theory” of migration, the failed state theory, and the feminist theory, further covered by religiously defined feminist movements such as Islamic feminism and contextually to IS, jihad (i) feminism. The above theories interconnect to explain the outplays of power relations present in conflict-based terrorism in the Syrian war and IS, that has narrated the participation of women in migratory affiliated human-trafficking practices executed for purposes of terrorism. The results in this study demonstrated that the Syrian war has stood as a pivotal instrument in the institutionalising of terrorism in the country and its intensive evolution to recent practices of pseudo-state building trajectories carried out by IS. The study found that with counterterrorism trajectories quickly taking shape in the Syrian war, terrorist groups such as the IS also readapted to avoid annihilation. This caused IS to use more women as strategic frontline actors to ensure the organisation’s survival. Women quickly became frontline, cum, sedentary actors used by IS to interject criminal platforms such as human-trafficking to aid the organisation recruit agents, generate revenue and sustain the organisation’s survival and state-building initiatives amidst counterterrorism initiatives taking place in Syria. From these results, the study recommends that for groups such as IS to be conquered, counterterrorist initiatives should encompass holistic approaches that are both gendered and criminally inclusive, so that they can yield more effective results that accommodate the evolving practices of terrorist groups such as the Islamic State.
A critical analysis of Manuel Castell's urban political theory.
(1991) Howarth, David Robert.; Lawrence, Ralph Bruce.
Abstract available in PDF.
Numbering the dead: the course and pattern of political violence in the Natal Midlands: 1987-1989.
(1993) Aitchison, John Jacques William.
Abstract available in PDF.
Politics of women’s participation and entrenched inequalities in land reform at Hammarsdale, Emophela.
(2021) Cele, Sbahle Zizile.; Ndlovu, Joram.
The post-Apartheid South African government inherited a skewed and bias land discourse, which resulted from the history of land dispossession during Apartheid. The government has since tried to address the land issue through various land reform programmes. Land plays an important role in the lives of African people and contributes immensely to their livelihood. The slow pace of the land reform programme in South Africa has created policy gaps, which has impacted the level of agitation against land inequality in South Africa. Rural women have been on the receiving end of these inequalities, which has resulted in the lack of land rights to access and own land. This is due to the ineffective gender construction in land allocation under traditional authorities. This study examined the politics of women's participation and entrenched land reform inequalities at Emophela. The study adopted a qualitative research approach where data was collected from 20 women participants from Emophela, one representative of the traditional council, one representative of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, and one representative from the eThekwini Municipality. The sample was obtained using purposive sampling and semi-structured in-depth interviews with open-ended questions. The interviews were conducted and recorded, and the data were analysed using Nvivo. The research adopted a participatory democratic theory and African Feminism (Nego-Feminism) theory. Based on the focus groups and the interviews conducted, the study found compelling evidence of discrimination experienced by women at Emophela regarding access to land. The entrenched inequalities faced by women on land-related issues affect their level of participation and willingness to participate. Gender-related discrimination is more prevalent in land allocation under the traditional council, sustained by culture and patriarchy. The study found that the women of Emophela are subleasing/ tenants and lack land ownership. Furthermore, women’s land ownership at Emophela is urgent, which places responsibility on the South African government and the Traditional Councils to initiate women's education on land rights in rural areas and provide programs that promote women's land ownership. Women need to own land because it contributes to their social and economic empowerment and places them in a better position to address poverty issues.
South Africa’s internal displacement: the dynamics of forced removals in South Africa.
(2016) Hlongwane, Simphiwe Solomon.; Mutereko, Sybert.
Internal displacement in South Africa poses a major concern and it created many anomalies because it happens and continue happening through force removals. Though the harshest phase was experienced during the apartheid era, internal displacement reared its ugly face during Imfecane/Lifaqane era in South Africa. During Imfecane/Lifaqane era Africans were fighting for the turf. It was a kill or be killed era. The Zulus through their formidable impi under King Shaka were the main ‘perpetrators’ in sending other ethnic groups packing to find a place to live away from their previous dwellings. The Nguni ethnic group managed to secure the eastern part of the country, the Tsonga group settled on the north, the Sotho group settled the on the hinterland of the country, while the Khoi and the Sans secure the west and the north coast of the country. Then comes the colonisation time. Under colonial times protectorates were formed, which are Bechuanaland (Botwana), Basotholand (Lesotho) and Swaziland (eSwatini). They asked for protection from Shaka so that they are not driven away any further, until they were given their independence by Britain in 1965. Under both colonial and apartheid government there were rules that were laid down in order to enforce displacement as well as control the indigenous people. The colonial government use the Natives Land Act 27 of 1913 to support its internal displacement process on the Africans/Natives or black people. While the apartheid government applied the Group Areas Act no. 41 of 1950 (GAA) to support its segregation policy as well as removing Africans as they like from their place of birth. What is most appalling is that the apartheid legacy still persists under the democratic dispensation. Internal displacement has caused or is responsible for all dehumanising experiences to the indigenous people in South Africa including human rights violations, inequality, land dispossession, and many more. Hence, it is highly commendable of the United Nations to lay down rules such as the Guiding Principles to be followed by the countries in order to protect the internally displaced people who are the victims of the internal displacement.
Local politics : a conceptual exploration.
(1991) Wittenberg, Martin Werner.; Irvine, Douglas.
Abstract available in PDF.
The involvement of political parties in the politicization of the South African local government bureaucracy: the political-bureaucratic relations between municipal managers, politicians and political parties.
(2020) Mncwabe, Philani Frank Ronald.; Mnguni, Sandile Innocent.
Several studies (Wilson 1887; Goodnow 1900; Weber 1946; Holcombe and Gwarteny 1989; Rahman 2014; Muhdiarta, Haning, and Ahmad 2017; Dasandi, and Esteve 2017, etc.) show that politicization of the bureaucracy is on the increase globally and as such these studies have been devoted to analysing the causes and impact of politicization on the bureaucracy. Such involvement in the appointments and functioning of the bureaucracy has been argued to be at the centre of controversies in the poor performance, mismanagement, and maladministration of government institutions. Politicization and political control of the bureaucracy have been primarily studied; the generally held perspective that the bureaucracy's politicization is at the core of public sector corruption, service delivery backlogs, governance and administrative failures, lack of accountability and transparency, and poor financial management. Aside from South Africa's transition to democracy that is globally respected without a revolution, the country also inherited a racially politicalized bureaucracy. As part of transformation, reform, and gaining political control over the bureaucracy, the African National Congress government established the cadre deployment policy as an instrument for party loyalists to occupy prominent positions in the sector. While the politicization and political control of the bureaucracy is a global phenomenon and is believed to be the cause of state maladministration, this study attempted to gain some insight into the reasons and causes for the politicization of the appointments and functioning municipal managers in South Africa by political parties. The study also explored the impact on political-bureaucratic relations in the metro municipalities in South Africa, focusing on metros that are highly politically unstable, and such instability directly impacts the role and functioning municipal managers. The study provided a historical perspective on the development of the local government, and the reviewed literature revealed that the politicization and political control of key officials in the local government has a long history in South Africa. The study drew from the literature on the Dichotomous and the Inseparable Political-Bureaucratic relationship theories in conceptualizing and analysing political parties' involvement in the bureaucracy's politicization and political control. The focus of the theories is on municipal managers' influencing functioning, especially in the awarding of tenders and the appointment of municipal staff. The use of political-bureaucratic relationship theories in exploring theoretical perspectives within the field of political sciences and public governance underpins the relationship between political parties and politicians representing the political in government and the relationship between politicians and bureaucrats. The study found a significant connection between the politicization of appointments as rewards for loyal supporters using the qualitative research approach and secondary literature. The study also found that there was also a significant correlation between the bureaucracy's politicization and poor municipal performance, corruption, and maladministration. Further to this, political contestations and in-fighting also impact the appointments and functioning of municipal managers. As the study was limited to a desktop analysis, it is recommended that further empirical study should be undertaken on the politicization and political control of government institutions in South Africa.
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.

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