Doctoral Degrees (Development Studies)

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A quantitative analysis of public attitudes towards the fourth industrial revolution: an integrated technology adoption model in South Africa.
(2024) Mthombeni, Zama Mabel.; Mtapuri, Oliver.
The impact of technology on society is a multifaceted and intricate issue in a rapidly changing world of constant technological advancements. The emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has sparked a growing debate regarding its potential opportunities and challenges for various societies. While robots have been utilized for over 50 years in previous industrial revolutions, their recent integration into domestic and different work environments through the 4IR is a modern development. Social robots are now deployed to perform tasks that were previously performed by humans and are used in scenarios where they must interact with people. Despite the significance of these changes for human development, there has been limited research on public attitudes towards such advancements of the 4IR in South Africa. This study investigated the relationship between micro-level sociological characteristics and attitudes towards the 4IR using survey data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) among a sample of adult respondents (n=2736) in South Africa. The study adopted a positivist paradigm and a quantitative approach and sought to contribute to the understanding of public perceptions of the 4IR in South Africa. Existing attitudinal adoption models were reviewed, and the study used these to develop an integrated framework that harmonized these theories. This framework incorporated a dimension of micro-sociological indicators and categorized attitudes into two distinct categories. The use of micro-sociological indicators in the technology adoption model was an important approach that allowed for a more comprehensive understanding of public attitudes towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in South Africa at the micro-level. Unlike traditional adoption models that focus solely on macro-level factors such as economic and institutional conditions, micro-sociological indicators consider individual-level characteristics such as race, social class, knowledge, age, and gender. . The study findings revealed a distinct social class effect, highlighting heightened scepticism toward the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) among individuals in lower social classes, those with worker vulnerability, and those lacking internet access. A crucial recommendation is to challenge the prevailing narrative of elitism linked to technological progress and emphasizes targeted investments in historically marginalized communities. South Africa can learn from the experiences of other nations and consider implementing comprehensive strategies involving policy interventions, public-private partnerships, and social initiatives. Exploring the feasibility of universal basic income as a social safety net would be prudent, aligning with global trends in addressing the socio-economic impact of automation and technological advancements.
Gospel of prosperity and development: the rise of third wave Pentecostal movement in Zimbabwe.
(2021) Marimbe, Francis.; Mottiar, Shauna.; Denis, Philippe Marie Berthe Raoul.
This study examines the nexus between NRMs’ gospel of prosperity on sustainable and transformational development in Zimbabwe. The research was carried out in Harare, Zimbabwe, amongst the believers of the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries, Grace Oasis Ministries (GOM), and Emmaus Encounter (EE). The study was conceptualized within the social capital theory and the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) approach. The study framed with the critical and social constructivist paradigm and it utilised a qualitative research methodology to provide a nuanced analysis of how the gospel prosperity intersects with sustainable and transformational development. The study conducted in-depth interviews with 18 participants and three focus group discussions, totaling 29 participants, 10 sermons and eight observations at the PHD Ministries and GOM. The major findings of the study highlight that NRMs have a complex and contested relationship with sustainable and transformational development. At one level, the individual initiatives of entrepreneurial activities inspired by the gospel of prosperity provide believers with increased incomes and access to basic goods. Believers are able to meet some of their everyday needs without necessarily transforming their lives. The ministry/institutional activities tend to benefit the pastor, his family and a few elites. Such activities often involve allegations of defrauding believers. The study concludes that there is a distinct difference between the teaching of the gospel of prosperity (hard work, entrepreneurship, saving, good life) and its practice (loss of money through sowing, fraud and theft to the pastor) within NRMs in Zimbabwe. In such a context, sustainable and transformational development cannot be achieved within NRMs as currently constituted as the practices of the pastors and prophets are often predatory.
Rethinking social protection in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe: towards the development of a social protection framework.
(2022) Daitai, Joseph.; Mtapuri, Oliver.
The biggest problem I have found during my research is that poverty and precariousness persist despite the presence of several social protection programmes the world over. The problem of insufficient social protection in addressing vulnerabilities in Masvingo Province and the rest of Zimbabwe follows from this. In this research focus on social protection, I believe and am adamantly convinced that the country must give priority to the provision of social protection to Zimbabwe's poorest populations. The purpose of this research is to develop a comprehensive social protection framework and identify strategies for improving Zimbabwe's social protection system. To effectively execute social protection efforts, the government and other pertinent parties must rethink their strategy and develop a transition winning plan. Based on the state welfare theory, this study found that there is a marked asymmetry in the distribution and use of resources in Zimbabwe (necessities like hospitals and food packages), which is concealed by the widespread belief that the government, through the responsible ministry, provides welfare to the underprivileged citizens. According to the study's results, social protection in Zimbabwe is so miserably inadequate that the government cannot meet the needs of all its citizens who need welfare assistance to have access to essentials like food, free healthcare, and good housing. I interviewed carefully chosen recipients of social protection schemes in a total of eighteen interviews. Each of the recipients who were interviewed was the primary provider for their households. Assessments and desktop research were conducted to ensure the study's richness, breadth, and depth. The topics covered in this thesis inductively evolved from the data after it was subjected to thematic analysis, which was then utilized to examine the data. For this qualitative research, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were used to interview the targeted participants in the selected neighbourhoods. This study discovered that ineffective recipient selection criteria, partisan service distribution, a lack of awareness of welfare program availability, and a lack of capacity building are impeding the efficient administration and distribution of welfare services to citizens even at the community level. I also suggested an extensive system of social protection that covers everyone without exception, from the local committee up to the central government. The main takeaways from this research politics should not lead development hence policymakers should not be politicians who are by nature biased towards their parities.
Impact of violent service delivery protests on community development: Impasse or progress.
(2021) Yende, Nsizwazonke Ephraim.; Thabethe, Nompumelelo.
Since the early 2000s, democratic South Africa has witnessed an increasing number of protests turning violent towards municipalities over poor or unmet service delivery. The available literature highlights that violent protests have been predominant in the previously disadvantaged townships and informal settlements. Furthermore, such protests have devastating effects on peoples’ living conditions, well-being, and the functionality of municipalities. Therefore, this research explores the impact of violent service delivery protests on community development. Mixed-methods research focusing on the sequential exploratory design was adopted to explore people's perceptions of violent service delivery protests to determine the impact of violent protests on development. Thus, the frustration-aggression theory and Arnstein’s ladder of citizen participation were selected as a theoretical lens to frame the study and guide the analysis. The research was divided into two phases. The first phase consisted of the qualitative research located in the constructivists' paradigm, sampling 33 participants. Purposive and snowball sampling were both employed to recruit the study participants for semi-structured interviews. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The second phase was the quantitative research design positioned in the positivists' paradigm, and it sampled 450 respondents using a systematic sampling method. The quantitative data was collected through face-to-face survey questionnaires across the four (4) Wards in Cato Manor. The data was analysed using inferential and descriptive statistics. The findings illustrate that due to the influx of people from the surrounding rural communities to Cato Manor, post-1994 South Africa has witnessed intensified housing deficit giving rise to unlawful land occupation. Thus, the land invasion has increased in informal settlements, escalating the demand for essential services such as clean water, proper sanitation, and stable electricity. Hence, the rise in demand for such services has intensified violent protests, negatively impacting community development. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that violent protests in Cato Manor are complex structural and contextual phenomena that need to be understood from the historical and colonial events of dispossessions, spatial and systematic inequalities. Moreover, the perennial struggle for identity and a sense of belonging, contestation of land, and the politics of development continue to define Cato Manor. A conceptual framework to understand and explain the manifestation of violent protests is the contribution of this study to the existing body of knowledge. Violent protests cannot be divorced and defined outside South African historical and political settings. The historical, socio-economic conditions in Cato Manor act as a trigger for violent protests.
Public policy and developmental imperatives: theorising governance in the case of social grants in Endumeni Local Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal=Izidingo Zenqubomgomo Yomphakathi Nezentuthuko Ukwenziwa kwenjulalwazi yezokuphatha Mayelana Nezibonelelo Zezenhlalakahle KuMasipala Wendawo Endumeni KwaZulu-Natal.
(2022) Khumalo, Sabatha Siyabonga Michael.; Mtapuri, Oliver.
Abstract This study assesses public policies in the domain of social grants and their developmental imperatives by theorising the governance of social grants in the jurisdiction of Endumeni Local Municipality (ELM) in the North-Western part of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). It uses a triangulation of theoretical approaches, namely, the Ecosystems Perspective (EP), Empowerment-Based Approach (EBA), and Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA), for their aptness to guide this study. The interpretivist case study, exploratory qualitative design, and inductive reasoning were adopted when this study was conducted. Purposive sampling was used because only information-rich participants were selected during data collection. Data was collected through one-on-one interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), and overt observation. Interviews were conducted with 32 beneficiaries of social grants and eight officials of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), FGDs were done with three groups of recipients of social grants, and each group had six to 12 participants who had never been part of the interviews. The observation took place in various pay points in Endumeni Local Municipality. The findings of this study show that social grants play a crucial role in addressing high levels of poverty and destitution among the poor. However, they are insufficient to cover the beneficiaries’ basic needs as they are below the prescribed minimum wage and household-food basket, and their sustainability is uncertain. This study views social grants as untenable because South Africa’s economy is fledgling, faltering and hamstrung by various socio-economic challenges that the government fails to address; as a result, this makes people disillusioned with the current government. The study recommends that a political transformation which guarantees comprehensive social protection that leads to economic freedom for every citizen is needed in South Africa for poor people to escape poverty, especially “black Africans”. It notes that patronage systems that is used when issuing tenders for disbursing social grants and corruption in the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), such as SASSA and South African Post Office (SAPO), have compromised the distribution of social grants in Endumeni. This study recommends establishing the State Bank (SB) as the country’s distributor of social grants because a government-to-government system between SASSA and SB could speed up the process of distributing social grants at a low cost, unlike the outsourced private banks that are profit-driven. The Sustainable Social Security Model (S3M) output is a pivotal contribution to this study’s knowledge because the current social grants system inadequately empowers the beneficiaries to engage in supplementary livelihoods strategies (such as agricultural activities) to top-up social grants as these grants are insufficient to cover the needs of beneficiaries. The S3M suggests that the government must empower the beneficiaries of social grants to enhance their well-being by utilising assets such as land available in their areas to generate livelihoods as a supplementary mechanism to social grants. This requires the government to expedite the process of land expropriation without compensation for equal distribution, especially land that was unjustly confiscated from rightful owners on the basis that they were non-Europeans. Iqoqa Lolu cwaningo lwaluhlola izinqubomgomo zomphakathi emkhakheni wezibonelelo zezenhlalakahle nezidingo zezentuthuko zazo lwaphinda lwahlawumbisela ngezokuphathwa kwezibonelelo zezenhlalakahle. Mayelana nendlela yocwaningo, ucwaningo lwamukela indlelakuhumusha njengohlelomqondo yalo, nesifanekisomumo socwaningonto. Lwathola ukuthi izibonelelo zezenhlalakahle zibambe iqhaza elimqoka ekubhekaneni namazinga aphakeme obubha nokwentula phakathi kwabantu. Nokho-ke, izibonelelo zomphakathi kazenele ukubhekana nezidingongqangi zabemukelayo njengoba zingezansi kwezinga eliphansi lomholo elibekiwe nezidingo zokudla zekhaya, futhi nokuqhubeka kwazo akunasiqiniseko. Lolu cwaningo lubona izibonelelo zezenhlalakahle zibuthaka njengoba ezomnotho zaseSouth Africa zintekenteke, zimathintanyawo futhi zinqindwe kakhulu yizinselelo ezahlukene zenhlalomnotho. Lisho ukuze kube nokuqagulisana ukuthi iSustainable Social Security Model (S3M), iwumnikelo oqavile elwazini ngoba iqagula izinguquko ezimqoka ohlelweni lwamanje lwezibonelelo zezenhlalakahle, olungabalekeleli kahle hle abemukelayo. Kulokho kubheka, i-S3M iphakamisa ukuthi ukweluleka abemukela izibonelelo zomphakathi ngokusatshalaliswa kwempahla (ikakhulu umhlaba) iyisikhuthazi esimqoka ekukhiqizeni olunye uhlobo lokuziphilisa lokwengeza phezu kwezibonelelo zezenhlalakahle. I-S3M iphakamisa ukuthi izinhlelo zokukwazi ukuziphilisa ziyimpoqo ukudala uhlelo lwezibonelelo zezenhlalakahle oluqhubezekayo. Uhlelo lwezokuphepha kwezenhlalo oluqhubezekayo kufanele lwethembele ezinsizeni ezigxile emphakathini ukuthuthukisa izimo zenhlalo zabantu. Umkhakha kahulumeni osondelene kakhulu nabantu nguhulumeni wendawo, futhi lo mkhakha uyakwazi ukubamba iqhaza elimqoka ekushayeni imitheshwana eyeseka imisebenzi yokuziphilisa nokuqinisekisa ukuthi imithetho nezinqubomgomo kweminye imikhakha kahulumeni – okunguhulumeni wesifundazwe nokazwelonke – iyasetshenziswa ukuvuna abantu abahluphekayo nabasemngqangwini. Insuselakuyo iS3M igxile ebuntwini obuyindlelamcabango yobu-Afrika ethuthukisa ubunye nokunakekela abanye (abantu). Ngokusobala, izibonelelo zezenhlalakahle zingabunciphisa ububha, zihlinzeke ukubandakanyeka kwezomnotho, ukuthuthukisa ubunye kwezenhlalo, kuphinde kuthuthukise impilo yabemukelayo. Ingabhekana nokuntuleka kobulungiswa kwesikhathi esedlule emazweni amaningi, ikakhulu ezwenikazi i-Afrika, uma kwenziwe ngokubonelela ubulingiswa benhlalo.
Ethiopian diaspora in South Africa: typology and policy implications.
(2016) Mengesha, Gashaw Teshome.; Mtapuri, Oliver.
This thesis is the result of a qualitative study conducted in the field of the migration-development-nexus that focused on the Ethiopian diaspora in South Africa and the policy implications thereof. The main objectives were to examine the characteristics of Ethiopian immigrants, with some reflection on their instrument of constituency development, remittances. To achieve these goals, the following questions were set: 1) what are the composition and profile of the Ethiopian diaspora in South Africa? 2) In what ways are the resultant relationships mediated in Ethiopia and South Africa? 3) What typology does the Ethiopian diaspora follow and how does this shape the nature of its remittances; 4) which analytical framework or model of migration can be developed based on the study? 5) How can the study’s findings inform South African policy on migration? The methodology was informed by a critical realist research paradigm, with interpretivist and constructivist tendencies. The approach combined textual research and field work that targeted migrant clusters in two cities, Durban and Rustenburg. These sites were selected for three reasons: availability of diverse participants, anticipation of quality data and the researcher’s familiarity with the study locations. The textual research relied on the relevant literature while the field work employed various techniques to gather primary data. These included interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), and non-participatory observation. In total 60 participants volunteered to take part in interviews and three FGDs were held to complement the data gathered from interviews. Employing triangular synchronization between the realities of migration, the behavior of actors, and their public discourses, the study constructed original and distinct meta-analytical categories that can be regarded as extending the boundaries of migration knowledge. The new models are the Police Model, Meteorological Model, and the Ecological Model. Contemporary public and academic migration discourses are dominated by the views of the Police Model held by powerful actors involved in migration policy and action. This study proposes a paradigm shift towards an Ecological Model as the main analytical tool to understand this phenomenon. This is the antithesis to the Police Model. For instance, the Police Model cites conservative cultural factors to resist ‘South-North’ movement of people and encourages ‘North-South’ movement. Moreover, it adopts negative views of migrants as poised to ‘swarm the West’ and consequently advocates for migration control using militarized methods. It has thus perverted ecological views on immigration and remittances as it establishes links between immigrants, terror, drugs, human trafficking, trans-boundary crimes, and so forth. These linkages are contested in the Ecological Model by using the positive multiplier effects of remittances or immigration.
Sustaining livelihoods in Norton town after deindustrialization in Zimbabwe
(2019) Magidi, Martin.; Oliver, Mtapuri.
This thesis explored urban livelihoods in the context of rapid urbanisation and failing economic/industrial growth in Norton town, Zimbabwe. The aim was to explore alternative livelihoods in the town in a constricted socioeconomic environment and address sustainability issues around them. To arrive at the answer, the study first explored the impacts of deindustrialisation on the local economy and livelihoods, examined how social actors are reenacting their livelihoods, the challenges that confront them and how they are innovating past them. It also employed a hybrid of theories; modernisation, the actor-oriented, theory of practice and the livelihoods approach to enhance the theoretical understanding of critical issues under investigation. The study deployed qualitative research methods; key informant interviews, indepth interviews, focus group discussions, field observations and documentary sources. It discovered how in the absence of functioning formal economy, entrepreneurship; informal and SMEs, and urban agriculture have become instrumental in constructing urban livelihoods and sustaining life. It noted that although these livelihoods face a plethora of challenges, they have developed resilience, devising numerous innovations that have strengthened them. Included here are strategies such as invasion-induced occupation of urban spaces, home-based enterprises, multiple-livelihoods, saving clubs, use of ICT and social media platforms to share information, innovative marketing strategies and adoption of the e-payment system, among others. The contributions to knowledge of the study are manifold. Firstly, it roped in Adichie‟s „The Danger of a Single Story‟ narrative to conceptualise and justify multiple-data collection methods as well as to simplify and emphasise the importance of triangulation in enhancing data credibility. Secondly, it developed the „Hobbipreneurship‟ model to suggest how hobbies can be turned into entrepreneurial activities. Thirdly, it „invented‟ the idea of „reverse modernity‟ as a critique to the modernisation theory. Fourthly, it explored how the informal/SMEs sectors have penetrated the formal supply chain system as part of its resilience, resulting in a new complicated supply chain system. Fifthly, it emphasised the role of „spirituality‟, „hope‟ and ICT in constructing livelihoods especially in economies in crises and suggests that these should be stand-alone capitals in a revised livelihoods framework.
Theorising poverty and inequality in the case of rural women in Mungwi District in Zambia: a grounded theory approach.
(2021) Mutale, Tobias Mubanga.; Mtapuri, Oliver.
Poverty and inequality are undesirable, and nations strive to reduce them. The government of Zambia continues to try to alleviate poverty and inequality among rural women, but prospects of succeeding are still distant. This study was aimed at theorising poverty and inequality using a grounded theory approach in Mungwi District in Zambia. The following were the objectives of the study: To Investigate the perceptions of the rural women in Mungwi district regarding poverty and inequality; to examine the challenges faced by rural women due to poverty and inequality; to evaluate current interventions aimed at alleviating poverty and inequality among rural women; to develop a framework of interventions to reduce poverty and inequality in Zambia and to develop elements of theorises of poverty and inequality using a grounded theory approach. Three theoretical framework namely sustainable livelihoods approach, liberal feminist theory and Abraham Maslow’s human needs theory were used. The study adopted an interpretive paradigm and a qualitative case study research design. Also, a grounded theory methodology was used for data collection and analysis. Data was collected using semistructured interviews, focus groups interviews and observation. The sample comprised of 64 women aged between 20 years and 65 years from Mungwi District in Zambia. This study applied purposive sampling to reach the target group which provided the required information to address the research questions of the study. The key findings are that poverty and inequality are complex and are understood in many ways. The women of Mungwi District comprehend poverty not just as a lack of income and wealth, but also being unable to afford rudimentary commodities and resources coupled with the failure to sustain life. For them, poverty amounts to powerlessness, voicelessness, isolation, exclusion and a loss of confidence, inasmuch as it is a lack of education and healthcare. Similarly, Inequality for these rural women is experienced via unequal treatment, dissimilar opportunities, and differences in the delivery of resources. They also expressed inequality as oppression, discrepancies in development, and exclusion from community development. These findings do not just mirror rural women’s poverty and inequality but reveal unfathomable abasement of the rural women of Mungwi District. Consequently, the researcher recommends that social protection in form of a Social Cash Transfer, Pension Fund, and other social grants be allocated to all women who do not have reliable sources of income as in permanent jobs. Likewise, the government ought to consider employment opportunities for rural women and discourage negative cultural norms that stifle women’s upward mobility. The researcher’s contribution to body of knowledge in this study lies in the presentation of Intricate Poverty and Inequality Reduction Framework (IPIREF) and in the postulation of the social capacitation theory and approaches such as the Balance of Dominance Approach (BDA), the Co-holding Approach (CoHA), Devoted Rural Leadership Approach (DRLA) and Women Income Support Approach (WISA). The IPIREF is useful for stakeholders because it points to the needs of the rural women in Mungwi District, transforming structures that can assist, and the expected results after intervention.
Informalities of urban space, street trading and policy in the city of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
(2020) Chibvongodze, Danford Tafadzwa.; Bracking, Sarah Louise.; Ballard, Richard James.
As cities in the global South undergo rapid informalisation, their respective governments have utilised technocratic and modernist “spatial rationalities” to regulate this urban process. Evidently, through use of plans, grids, by-laws, modernist discourses, Bulawayo’s city authorities in Zimbabwe have in past years construed the existence of informality in its city centre as discordant with the aesthetics of a “world class” city. This negative characterisation of Bulawayo’s informal sector is extended to its participants who are normatively described as an “undesirable” and “chaotic” group to be controlled and sometimes excluded from the cityscape. However, this thesis argues that Bulawayo’s deindustrialisation and Zimbabwe’s economic malaise has necessitated the informalisation of urban space which is epitomised by a pronounced presence of street traders on the cityscape. Indeed, Bulawayo’s economic downturn has given some street traders the impetus and legitimacy to violate urban laws and encroach on urban public spaces, remaking them into viable resources to cope with the effects of unemployment. Consequently, this thesis examines how the informalisation of Bulawayo’s urban space has shaped and reconfigured the “everyday” and “lived” interactions between city authorities and street traders in managing informality. It further seeks to examine how the informalisation of urban space in the context of Bulawayo’s deindustrialisation impacts the way its citizens and city officials understand and reimagine Bulawayo’ urbanity, work, and spatiality. Using responses extracted from 41 participants comprising street traders, city officials and representatives of civic organizations, the theoretical works of Foucault (1994), Lefebvre (1974), and Gramsci (1971), and historical analysis, the thesis shows that in the context of regulating informality, interactions between city authorities and street traders have been characterised by contestations, negotiations and sometimes collaborations. On one hand, the Bulawayo’s city authorities operating under a politically violent “state” have responded to urban informality with brute force (raids and evictions). On the other hand, Bulawayo’s street traders have resisted these evictions through picketing, litigations, and sit-ins at the mayor’s office to challenge policies that preclude them from realising their right to the city. They have further demonstrated through campaigns and workshops how street trading is crucial to generating household income, promoting work independence and developing a localised solidarity economy. In negotiating this contested terrain, the thesis demonstrates that Bulawayo’s city authorities have sometimes shown sympathy towards the plight of street traders, embraced them as part of the city’s urban reality. Further, they recognise the important role street trading plays in sustaining urban livelihood, tackling unemployment and contributing to the city fiscus. As such, Bulawayo’s city authorities have revised some of the exclusionary urban planning policies that prevented an integration of informal trade into the mainstream local economy. Additionally, while raids and evictions have been regarded as important methods of managing street trading, Bulawayo city authorities have sought to use other strategies that are less violent and intimidating. This thesis utilises the works of Foucault (1994) on “governmentality” Lefebvre (1974) on “the production of space”, and Gramsci on “hegemony and consent” (1971) to argue that in situations where raids have proven to be violent, city authorities have utilised vending bays, discourses of “cleanliness” visually projected on street signs and billboards to control street traders’ illegal conduct and contain informality from a distance. The thesis also argues that the transformation of Bulawayo from being an industrial city to what Mlambo (2017) refers to as a vendor city has also meant that people’s perceptions of Bulawayo as a place of work have radically changed. Accordingly, the deindustrialization of Bulawayo coupled with the entrenchment of informality has seen the participants in this study rework their social identities and challenge the meaning of work and urban citizenship. While participants in this study argued that street trading fostered work independence, they noted that income and social insecurity associated with informal work makes them susceptible to poverty. Some participants described street trading as an activity characterised by multiple forms of exclusions such as raids, evictions, and shortages of vending spaces that impede their right to the city. This thesis also demonstrates that theories of urbanity still require reworking in the context of the global South city to encompass the experiences of crisis and deindustrialisation outside of the rural/urban dyad and the linearity of development that assumes only modernity through industrialisation.
Corporate social responsibility, community participation and development in mining sector of North-Western Tanzania.
(2021) Yahaya, Nawanda.; Mtapuri, Oliver.
The study on which this thesis is based investigated the practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR), community participation and development in the mining sector of North-western Tanzania and focused on Geita Gold Mine (GGM) in Geita District. The study employed the pragmatic approach, supported by the mixed-methods approach. The sources of data collected for this study were divided into primary and secondary sources. The primary sources include focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and a semi-structured questionnaire. Ten focus group discussions were conducted in the five selected wards of Mtakuja, Mgusu, Kalangalala and Bombambili of Geita Town Council and Nyamwilolelwa of Geita District Council. A total of 200 questionnaire copies were distributed to the respondents from the five selected wards. Moreover, 20 in-depth interviews were conducted with different groups that included GGM officials, civil society, academics and Government officials in both the central and local Government. The study was informed by the utilitarian, managerial, relational, classical and stakeholder theories developed in Western countries and related to the Tanzanian context to ascertain the differences that prevail in the various social and cultural settings. The study findings revealed that GGM’s contribution to development and poverty reduction is insignificant, and that very few CSR projects had made a significant impact on the Geita community. The findings of the study further revealed that most participants were not impressed by the involvement of GGM in development or community-based projects, as GGM’s intervention in several CSR projects in Geita District, and the impact of its contribution was minimal. It was also found that very few CSR projects had a positive impact on the community. Overall, the study concluded that the company implements most of the CSR projects without fully involving the Government (respective councils). Therefore, a gulf exists between GGM and the Government. Thus, to improve CSR practice in Tanzania, the study proposes several measures to address existing weaknesses, including involvement of stakeholders, existence of transparency and accountability and ensuring that Multinational Corporations (MNCs) execute CSR according to the stipulated laws and policies. In theorizing, this study makes a number of hypotheses. It posits that CSR follows five perspectives, namely, organizational perspective, political perspective, value perspective, community perspective and the social perspective. For instance, the Organizational perspective says that for CSR to work, the organization to undertake CSR must have the capacity, resources, structures and systems that support CSR. These are some of key contributions to knowledge.
Too poor to be treated: bottom-up advocacy by HIV+ activists in Khayelitsha and Lusikisiki, South Africa.
(2021) Dubula-Majola, Vuyiseka.; Mottiar, Shauna.
ABSTRACT The attainment of development is often contingent on the promise that those affected can meaningfully participate in policy-making processes and decision making. However, over the past decades, there has been limited to no scholarly consensus about the meaning and purpose of these promises of emancipation. Therefore, this study contributes to theoretical and practical responses to popular participation within systems of power that shapes e condition through development occur. This study employed qualitative approaches using in-depth interviews with and participatory observation of key informants to answer the central research question: to critically examine the shift in AIDS activist advocacy tactics after the antiretroviral therapy (ARTT) rollout by people and social movements affected by HIV/AIDS in Khayelitsha and Lusikisiki, within a national context of dramatic changes in the balance of forces in 2003. The study found that state-led participation has elements of tyranny. If scholarship analysis of popular AIDS activism ended in 2003, that would have been short-sighted. At that juncture, the activists in Khayelitsha and Lusikisiki, instead of retreating, stirred collective pressure to compel the South African government to deliver ART to save lives. During policy implementation, protest action may diminish during implementation of policy and some may fall in abeyance, which does not necessarily necessitate retreat. The ART rollout takes place at local levels, which then meant that activists had to revive dormant participatory structures through popular agency to democratised healthcare. Newer typologies of participation and the conditions that facilitated these forms of engagement emerged. These included the variants in participation during policy implementation, demonstrating activists’ undertaking in forcing the state to deliver services, which had implications for the survival of their movements going forward. Activists shifted their tactics from traditional antagonistic engagements with the state to the use of a dual-tactical approach to allow for heterogeneous engagement with the state at various levels. Activists made health clinics sites of contestation and protesting against the imposition of unattainable ART accreditation, rejecting bureaucratic state power in policy implementation by rationing service delivery. Activists further sustained their engagement with provincial public officials by combining lawyering and popular protests, as direct action forced the state to release the ART rollout plan. This shows that grassroots activists’ collective action can force the state to concede to popular pressure while losing other battles, as shown by the rationing of ART that continued. The findings suggest that movements ought to shift tactics, allowing for modifications in approaches and taking advantage of various state ruptures at provincial levels to achieve their social movement goals. The study concluded that there are glaring limits to participation because movement resources can influence the ongoing ability of activists to continue fighting. That is, the practice of participation is complex and does not inherently amount to movement decline. IQOQA LOCWANINGO Ukufezekiswa kwentuthuko ngokuvamileyo kuncike kwisithembiso sokuthi labo abathintekile bangabamba iqhaza ngendlela enohlonze nephusile ezinqubweni zokwenziwa kwezinqubomgomo kanye nasekuthathweni kwezinqumo. Kodwa-ke, kumashumi-nyaka edlule bekukuncane kakhulu noma-ke nje kungekho neze ukuvumelana phakathi kwezifundiswa mayelana nokuthi zisho ukuthini lezi zithembiso zenkululeko futhi yini inhloso yazo. Ngakho-ke, lolu cwaningo lufaka isandla ezimpendulweni zethiyori kanye nalezo eziphathekayo maqondana nokubamba iqhaza kweningi labantu ngaphansi kwesimo-ngqikithi esinezinhlelo zamandla ezibumba isimo okungenzeka ngaphansi kwaso intuthuko. Lolu cwaningo lusebenzise izindlela-kusebenza ezigxile ekutholeni izincazelo kanye nokuqonda okujulile (qualitative approaches) ngokusebenzisa izinhlolo-mbono ezijulile kanye nendlela-kucwaninga yokubukela nokuqaphela lokho okwenziwa ngababambiqhaza bocwaningo, lapho abahlinzeki bolwazi abangongoti bephendula umbuzo ongumongo wocwaningo: ukubukisisa nokuhlolisisa ngokujulile nhlangothi zonke ukuguquka okwenzekile kumasu namaqhinga ezishoshovu emkhankasweni wokweseka impi yokulwisana nengculazi kulandela ukuqaliswa kwezinqubo zokukhishwa nokusatshalaliswa kwemishanguzo yokudambisa ingculazi (I-ART) okuwuguquko oluqondene nabantu kanye nezinhlangano ezithintekile ngenxa yesandulela-ngculazi nengculazi eKhayelitsha kanye naseLusikisiki, ngaphansi kwesimo-ngqikithi sikazwelonke lapho ngowezi-2003 kwaba khona uguquko-simo lwamandla. Lolu cwaningo lwathola ukuthi ukubamba iqhaza okuholwa ngumbuso kunabo ubundlovukayiphikiswa obuthile. Ukube ukuhlaziya kwezifundiswa ubushoshovu obunamandla bokugqugquzela impi yokulwisana nengculazi kwafinyelela esiphelweni ngowezi-2003, lokho bekuyosho ukungabi neze nomqondo ophusile. Kulelo qophelo, izishoshovu eKhayelitsha kanye naseLusikisiki esikhundleni sokuhoxa nokuhlehlela emuva zafaka ingcindezi ngokuhlanganyela, ngenhloso yokuphoqelela uhulumeni waseNingizmu Afrika ukuthi ahlinzeke ngemishanguzo yokudambisa ingculazi ukuze kusindiswe izimpilo zabantu. Ngesikhathi sokuqaliswa kwenqubomgomo, kungenzeka inciphe imibhikisho futhi kungenzeka eminye ithi ukumiswa kancane, kodwa-ke nakuba kunjalo lokho akusho neze ukuthi ngalokho izishoshovu kumele zihoxe noma zihlehlele emuva. Ukuhlinzekwa kwemishanguzo kwenzeka emazingeni ohulumeni basekhaya futhi lokho kwadinga ukuthi izishoshovu zivuselele kabusha izinhlaka zokubamba iqhaza ezabe sezifadalele ngokusebenzisa ukuqwashiswa komphakathi wonkana ukuze kuqinisekiswe ukutholakala kosizo lwezempilo oluhlinzekwa futhi lulawulwe ngokuhambisana Ukufezekiswa kwentuthuko ngokuvamileyo kuncike kwisithembiso sokuthi labo abathintekile bangabamba iqhaza ngendlela enohlonze nephusile ezinqubweni zokwenziwa kwezinqubomgomo kanye nasekuthathweni kwezinqumo. Kodwa-ke, kumashumi-nyaka edlule bekukuncane kakhulu noma-ke nje kungekho neze ukuvumelana phakathi kwezifundiswa mayelana nokuthi zisho ukuthini lezi zithembiso zenkululeko futhi yini inhloso yazo. Ngakho-ke, lolu cwaningo lufaka isandla ezimpendulweni zethiyori kanye nalezo eziphathekayo maqondana nokubamba iqhaza kweningi labantu ngaphansi kwesimo-ngqikithi esinezinhlelo zamandla ezibumba isimo okungenzeka ngaphansi kwaso intuthuko. Lolu cwaningo lusebenzise izindlela-kusebenza ezigxile ekutholeni izincazelo kanye nokuqonda okujulile (qualitative approaches) ngokusebenzisa izinhlolo-mbono ezijulile kanye nendlela-kucwaninga yokubukela nokuqaphela lokho okwenziwa ngababambiqhaza bocwaningo, lapho abahlinzeki bolwazi abangongoti bephendula umbuzo ongumongo wocwaningo: ukubukisisa nokuhlolisisa ngokujulile nhlangothi zonke ukuguquka okwenzekile kumasu namaqhinga ezishoshovu emkhankasweni wokweseka impi yokulwisana nengculazi kulandela ukuqaliswa kwezinqubo zokukhishwa nokusatshalaliswa kwemishanguzo yokudambisa ingculazi (I-ART) okuwuguquko oluqondene nabantu kanye nezinhlangano ezithintekile ngenxa yesandulela-ngculazi nengculazi eKhayelitsha kanye naseLusikisiki, ngaphansi kwesimo-ngqikithi sikazwelonke lapho ngowezi-2003 kwaba khona uguquko-simo lwamandla. Lolu cwaningo lwathola ukuthi ukubamba iqhaza okuholwa ngumbuso kunabo ubundlovukayiphikiswa obuthile. Ukube ukuhlaziya kwezifundiswa ubushoshovu obunamandla bokugqugquzela impi yokulwisana nengculazi kwafinyelela esiphelweni ngowezi-2003, lokho bekuyosho ukungabi neze nomqondo ophusile. Kulelo qophelo, izishoshovu eKhayelitsha kanye naseLusikisiki esikhundleni sokuhoxa nokuhlehlela emuva zafaka ingcindezi ngokuhlanganyela, ngenhloso yokuphoqelela uhulumeni waseNingizmu Afrika ukuthi ahlinzeke ngemishanguzo yokudambisa ingculazi ukuze kusindiswe izimpilo zabantu. Ngesikhathi sokuqaliswa kwenqubomgomo, kungenzeka inciphe imibhikisho futhi kungenzeka eminye ithi ukumiswa kancane, kodwa-ke nakuba kunjalo lokho akusho neze ukuthi ngalokho izishoshovu kumele zihoxe noma zihlehlele emuva. Ukuhlinzekwa kwemishanguzo kwenzeka emazingeni ohulumeni basekhaya futhi lokho kwadinga ukuthi izishoshovu zivuselele kabusha izinhlaka zokubamba iqhaza ezabe sezifadalele ngokusebenzisa ukuqwashiswa komphakathi wonkana ukuze kuqinisekiswe ukutholakala kosizo lwezempilo oluhlinzekwa futhi lulawulwe ngokuhambisana nezifiso zesiguli futhi sihlinzekwe ngolwazi ukuze sikwazi ukuqikelela impilo yaso. Ocwaningweni kuvele izinhlobo ezintsha zemikhakha yokubamba iqhaza ngokwehlukana kwayo kanye nezimo ezenza ukuthi zenzeke lezi zinhlobo zokuzibandakanya. Lokhu kwabandakanya nezinhlobo ezihlukile zokubamba iqhaza ngenkathi kuqaliswa ukusebenza kwenqubomgomo okuyinto ebonisa isibopho nokuzimisela kwezishoshovu ekuphoqeleleni umbuso ukuthi uhlinzeke ngezidingongqangi futhi lokhu kuyinto engaba nomthelela ekuqhubekeleni phambili nokungashabalali kwemibutho yezishoshovu kusuka manje kuya phambili. Izishoshovu zaguqula amasu namaqhinga azo kusuka ekuxhumaneni kwazo nombuso okujwayelekile lapho bezibonisa ulaka nethukuthelo yazo zaqoka ukusebenzisa indlela-kusebenza yamasu namaqhinga emkhakhambili ukuze lokho kuvumele ukuxhumana nombuso okuxubile okwenzeka emazingeni ahlukahlukene. Izishoshovu zenza imitholampilo yezempilo yaba yizizinda zokuphikisa nokubhikishela ukufakwa ngenkani kwezidingo eziqinile zezimvume-kugunyazwa kwemishanguzo yokudambisa ingculazi ezingatholakali neze kalula, ukuchithwa kwamandla ombuso agxile ezinqubweni eziyinkimbinkimbi futhi ezibambezelayo ekuqalisweni kokusebenza kwenqubomgomo ngokubeka imikhawulo nokulawula ukuhlinzekwa kwezidingongqangi. Izishoshovu zaqinisekisa futhi ukusimama nokuqhubekela phambili kokuxhumana kwazo nabasebenzi bakahulumeni ezifundazweni ngokusebenzisa abameli nomthetho kanye nemibhikisho yomphakathi wonkana njengezinyathelo-ngqo zokuphoqelela umbuso ukuthi uhlinzeke ngohlelo lokukhishwa kwemishanguzo yokudambisa ingculazi. Lokhu kuyabonisa ukuthi izinyathelo ezithathwa ngokuhlanganyela yizishoshovu emazingeni aphansi omphakathi zingawuphoqelela umbuso ukuthi uyivume induku yengcindezi evela emphakathini jikelele wenze lokho okufunwa ngumphakathi futhi kusenjalo ngakolunye uhlangothi nazo izishoshovu zibe ziyivuma eyokuhluleka nokungaphumeleli kweminye imizabalazo yazo njengalokhu kwabonakala ngokuqhubeka kwemikhawulo ebekiwe yokulawulwa kohlelo lokukhishwa kwemishanguzo. Imiphumela etholakale ocwaningweni ibonisa ukuthi imibutho yezishoshovu kumele iguqule amasu namaqhinga ayo ukuze kuvunyelwe ukuguqulwa kwezindlela-kusebenza ngokuthi kusetshenziswe amathuba avela ngenxa yokungqubuzana nobunhlakanhlaka obukhona ezinhlakeni zombuso ezihlukahlukene emazingeni ezifundazwe ukuze zikwazi ukufezekisa izinjongo zazo zokumela nokulwela izimfuno nezidingo zomphakathi. Ucwaningo luveza umbono-siphetho othi kunemikhawulo ecace bha enciphisa futhi ivimbele ukubamba iqhaza kwabantu ngoba phela izinsiza zemibutho yezishoshovu zingaba nomthelela emandleni nekhono lezishoshovu lokuqhubeka nokulwa kanye nokuzabalaza. Okuyinto ebonisayo ukuthi ukubamba iqhaza kuyinto eyinkimbinkimbi futhi okungeke kwathiwa noma kanjani izoholela ekufadalaleni kwemibutho yezishoshovu.
Community-based activism and local content development: the case of platinum mining communities in Zimbabwe.
(2020) Gumbo, Tinashe.; Mtapuri, Oliver.
Through examination of community-based activism on local content development (LCD), the study considers the applicability of the “double movement” theory of Karl Polanyi (1944) against the ongoing neoliberal agenda favoured by the multinational mining companies (MNCs) in Zimbabwe. Karl Polanyi (1944:136) observed that the attempts to “dis-embed” the market from social controls in the 19th and early 20th centuries (market liberalisation) led to what he called “double movements” (countermovement). The countermovement were meant to “re-embed” the market within social constraints with the state’s facilitatory and regulatory role being guaranteed. Activism emerged in the target areas pushing for mining companies to promote LDC in the platinum sector. However, the activism was not fully supported by the state through relevant policies and laws. Thus, the researcher uses Polanyi (1994)’s “double movement” theory in explaining the activism, its dynamics, strategies employed and outcomes. The study argues that the local communities fail to maximise mining opportunities due to lack of an appropriate legislative and policy framework on LCD. Without a proper governing framework and clear quantitative and qualitative measurable targets on LCD, it is not possible to regulate and monitor the activities of foreign firms’ community activists. Mining firms are also not obliged to fulfil corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes. Yet, local communities are directly affected by social and environmental impacts of mining. Conflicts also arise between the government and local communities, where the latter expect the former to protect citizens’ interests. This is a qualitative research that utilised participant observation (42 events observed), key informant interviews (44 key informants interviewed) and documentary search while the quantitative data was engaged with regards to statistics from the mining companies on employment and local spending issues. Through cross case analysis, the researcher noted the critical similarities and differences in activism patterns among the three sites. The researcher found that LCD and CSR are different but are practically linked hence the need to simultaneously address them in the country’s policy and legislative mining frameworks. The researcher proposes an LCD-CSR model which shows the key variables in the LCD discourse in Zimbabwe’s mining sector, linking LCD, CSR, politics (policies and laws), community activism and engagement processes as way of strengthening community activism on LCD matters.
The bitter sweet reality: ‘sugar daddy’ relationships and the construction of traditional African masculinities in the context of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
(2018) Jeawon, Rosheena.; Naidu, Uma Maheshvari.
The aim of this study is to explore ‘sugar daddy’ relationships and the construction of traditional amaZulu masculinities in KwaZulu-Natal. The study has four key research objectives. First, the study seeks to ascertain the main reasons why older men pursue transactional sex relationships with younger women. Secondly, the study seeks to probe the main gratification men derive from sexual relations with a younger woman. Third, the study seeks to probe the perceived men’s sense of control over younger women. Lastly, the study seeks to problematise African masculinity and perceived control and dominance over younger women. The study employs a qualitative research methodology with an exploratory research design to better understand the social phenomenon under study. Consistent with a qualitative methodology, the study employed in-depth face to face interviews as the primary data collection instrument and made use of purposive sampling in selecting respondents and key informants. The study made use of Constructionism and Social Identity Theory in its theoretical framework. Both theories assist in assembling an understanding of group membership and the construction of traditional amaZulu masculinities in the context of the ‘sugar daddy’ phenomenon. The study looked at how middle-aged amaZulu men define their masculinity through transactional sex with younger women. It sampled 22 amaZulu men and their accounts of their ‘sugar daddy’ relationships. These accounts offer insightful interpretations regarding the construction of traditional amaZulu masculinities in KwaZulu-Natal. While trying to ‘define’ masculine identities, the study also acknowledges the fluidity and complexity of the topic. The study makes the assertion that the motivations for men (and the women) in cross-generational sexual relationships are varied and complex. Findings show that for most men however, the key drivers are culturally based (or culturally reduced understandings) and are linked to self-esteem and social standing.
Male partner involvement in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV: a mixed methods study of the Gokwe North District, Zimbabwe.
(2018) Chibango, Vimbai.; Maharaj, Pranitha.
The aim of this study was to shed insight into male partner involvement in the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV programmes in the Gokwe North district in Zimbabwe. The study was motivated by the fact that the number of pregnant women who tested for HIV in the antenatal care centres has been increasing since the inception of PMTCT in the country. Most of the men, however, were not being tested for HIV along with their pregnant spouses, yet the success of the PMTCT programmes was routed in the concerted efforts of both partners. The study utilised mixed research methods: qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. The qualitative data came from focus group discussions and key informant interviews and the quantitative data came from a survey, using self-administered questionnaires to collect the data. The use of methodological triangulation enabled the research to benefit from the different strengths inherent in quantitative and qualitative methods in a single study, while at the same time offsetting the biases associated with each of the methods. A total of 331 men and women who had had a child in the last five to 10 years participated in the survey. In addition, eight focus group discussions, seven key informant interviews and eight follow-up interviews were conducted. Studies revealed the benefits associated with male partners’ involvement in PMTCT programmes, yet little is known about their attitudes and the factors influencing their involvement. It was essential to explore the meanings and understandings attached to the concept of male partner involvement as this is likely to have a bearing on the attitudes, behaviours, as well the expectations of the male partners in the PMTCT initiatives. It is widely agreed that the concept of male partner involvement is complex in terms of definition and measurement; literature revealed varying meanings of male partner involvement, as well as the complications associated with measuring it. Male partner involvement was dominantly described as when the male partner accompanied their pregnant spouse to the antenatal care centre for HIV couple counselling and testing. Results show approximately 45.7% of males in the survey had tested for HIV as a couple with partner. The male partner was also expected to test for HIV and disclose their HIV status to their partner. Participants in this study considered counselling sessions provided at the health care centre as crucial, and male partner involvement was seen when the males followed the health care worker’s advice in practising safe sex during breastfeeding and when the appropriate infant feeding practices were adhered to. Inter-spousal communication facilitated male partners’ taking part in PTMCT services. HIV and sexual and reproductive health were identified as sensitive topics which male partners would not feel comfortable discussing in public; hence discussions that couples conducted in private enabled the male partners to cooperate with their partners. Traditional chiefs and village headmen also played a key role in mobilising male partners to take part in HIV intervention programmes, however, challenges such as shortages of male peer educators and the lack of maleoriented services within health care settings were associated with a low uptake of PMTCT services by men. Additionally, due to traditional gender roles that denoted child care as a woman’s role, men who took part in antenatal care activities were stigmatised and labelled as jealous and over-protective, and this further hindered their participation in PMTCT initiatives. The male partner involvement index suggested that the level of male partner involvement was generally high. Using this index, male partner involvement was high (94.6%) among men who accompanied their partners to antenatal care, and relatively high (94%) among men who were counselled on HIV prevention during infant feeding. In addition, HIV testing for males was 88.8%. However, in comparison with qualitative results, male partners were not willing to go for HIV due to various personal, cultural and structural inhibitors. This was reported as one of the major challenges in dealing with HIV prevention. In a traditional setting steeped in culture and gender roles it was challenging to engage male partners in issues of child health care, such as interventions for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV infection. In light of these findings, it was recommended that local organisations collaborate with local traditional leaders in working towards increasing men’s involvement in PMTCT interventions. In order to ensure that male partners took part in PMTCT and that their health needs were addressed in the process; health institutions could provide male-oriented health services within their ANC and PMTCT centres.
Sowing the seeds of food sovereignty or cultivating consent? The potential and limitations of Johannesburg’s community gardens.
(2017) Kesselman, Brittany.; Ngcoya, Mvuselelo.; Casale, Daniela Maria.
This thesis investigates the benefits and challenges of participating in community gardens in Johannesburg. More specifically, it seeks to understand whether and how urban community gardens contribute to food sovereignty, with the aim of identifying ways to enhance their contribution. For this research, six components of food sovereignty were considered: 1) access to sufficient, healthy and culturally appropriate food; 2) sustainable livelihoods and local economies; 3) environmental sustainability; 4) food system localisation; 4) empowerment and food system democratisation; and 6) gender equality. This research adopts a constructivist approach and a comparative case study method. In addition to an extended period of participant observation, the research utilises a unique array of research instruments adapted from various disciplines, including key informant interviews, an informal survey of community gardens in Johannesburg, a food diary exercise, food/life history interviews and semi-structured interviews with garden participants. The thesis finds that the community gardens do contribute to food sovereignty, though their contribution to the six elements is uneven and faces many obstacles. Some of the more unique challenges identified by this research include: 1) the role of culture and worldviews; 2) the restrictive impact of the neoliberal rationality underpinning support for the gardens—whether from government, non-governmental organisations or the private sector; and 3) conflicts and a climate of suspicion amongst gardeners which inhibit knowledge sharing, development of critical consciousness and social mobilisation. This research represents a contribution to both the urban agriculture (UA) and food sovereignty scholarship. Applying the food sovereignty framework to community food gardens in Johannesburg enables a more multidimensional and multi-scalar analysis of the gardens than previously found in South African literature on UA. At the same time, this research highlights a number of unexplored issues within the food sovereignty literature, such as: the challenge of defining ‘culturally appropriate’ food; the potential contradictions between culturally appropriate foods, sustainable livelihoods and agroecological production methods; and the role of race and gender inequality. This approach also revealed that the material benefits of UA (e.g., food security, income) are limited by the context of marginalisation, while its transformative potential can only be realised if support for UA has transformation as a principal objective.
Understanding hostility towards so-called "barbarians" : a quantitative analysis of public attitudes towards foreign nationals in post-apartheid South Africa.
(2017) Gordon, Steven Lawrence.; Maharaj, Bridgemohan.
South Africa is a regional hub for international immigration and the country currently hosts at least two million international migrants. Public opinion surveys in South Africa have shown clear evidence of the public’s animosity towards international immigrants and immigration. Non-quantitative researchers have highlighted the role of nationalism and racial alienation in shaping these attitudes. But the influence of these factors has not been tested using quantitative public opinion data. Existing quantitative attitudinal research on international migration in the country is instead mainly focused on discerning changes in public opinion. As a result, significant gaps in the scholarship have emerged that impair our understanding of how attitudes towards immigrants and immigration form in post-apartheid South Africa. The aim of this study is to investigate what micro-level sociological indicator factors are shaping attitudes. The study examines four different types of attitudes: (i) general evaluations; (ii) prejudice; (iii) perceived threat; and (iv) policy preferences. The thesis expands on previous public opinion research by using quantitative research methods to quantify different determinants of these attitudes. Nationally representative public opinion data from the South African Social Attitude Survey was used. The study examines how adult South African public’s attitudes towards international migrants are affected by three key clusters of micro-level sociological indicators: (i) socio-economic status; (ii) group identities; and (iii) intergroup contact. This thesis provides new insight into how we understand anti-immigrant sentiment in the country and sheds new light on areas that past academic literature has either neglected or overlooked. The study follows the 'papers model' and consists of five peer-reviewed research articles. Each paper uses quantitative research methods to discern what micro-level sociological indicators are influencing attitudes towards foreign nationals in post-apartheid South Africa. Two main conclusions can be drawn from the study. First, individual socio-economic status was not a central driver of attitudes towards international migrants and immigration. Second, intergroup contact and group identities (and the key factors related to group identity) tend to be better drivers of attitudes. The most influential group identity factors driving attitudes are: (i) social ties with neighbours; (ii) national identity; (iii) societal interest; and (iv) racial alienation. The results of this study suggest that anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa can be confronted by changing patterns of intergroup contact and group identifications. This will require a war of ideas, a battle for ordinary South Africans’ hearts and minds.
Citizen, state, and the negotiation of development: the Nacala development corridor and the N13 highway rehabilitation programme.
(2017) Kalina, Marc Ronald.; Scott, Dianne.
For rural citizens in developing countries, the extension of infrastructural networks into previously remote areas is one of the primary ways in which the state comes into view through development. In some countries, citizens affected by infrastructural development are able to negotiate with the state over local developmental outcomes through engagement with the state and the advocacy of interested intermediaries. An examination of Mozambique’s experiences, in this thesis, however suggests that the dominance of state power within developmental processes, as well as a lack of commitment to governance of the authoritarian Mozambican state, limits the ability of Mozambican citizens to equitably engage with the state over the negotiation of local developmental outcomes. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the development of the Nacala Development Corridor Programme and the N13 Highway Rehabilitation Project in northern Mozambique as a lens through which to more broadly interrogate the impacts of the development on local citizens and examine the relationship between citizen and state within development processes. The research contributes to theoretical debates, in which a gap exists for critical, English-language research, set within a developing nation context. The study adopts a qualitative and deductive explanatory case study design in order to evaluate the implications of the infrastructure interventions associated with the Nacala Development Corridor and the N13 Highway Rehabilitation. The study is rooted within the discipline of development studies and provides critical engagement with the theories of the developmental state and Mozambican neoliberalism. Furthermore, the study draws on Foucault’s concept of ‘governmentality,’ as well as a number of post-Foucauldian concepts in relation to state-citizen relations, in order to provide a set of analytical concepts for interpreting the interactions between citizen and state. This study reveals that in the case of the Nacala Development Corridor and the rehabilitation of the N13 Highway, state-citizen relations in Mozambique are complex, and are constantly being reshaped by the transformational impacts of infrastructural development. As a result of these developments, citizens along the N13 have altered their relationship with a previously distant government and are increasingly looking to hold the state accountable on development issues. The rehabilitation of the N13 in particular, has dramatically increased the number and nature of local communities’ interactions with state institutions by forcing affected individuals to negotiate their continued existence in relation to the road. However, processes of negotiation over local developmental outcomes are shallow, with the state dominant in decision-making. As a result, some citizens have turned to alternative forms of participation, such as lodging complaints, in order to have their voices heard. Such methods are unevenly available to citizens within the study area, and are largely ineffective in challenging the exertion of state power within development. However, the majority of citizens within the study area are reluctant to resist the state, instead demonstrating a passive sense of ‘uncritical’ citizenship evident in the term ‘governo papa’ in describing the role of the state.
Analysing South African indigenous knowledge policy and its alignment to government's attempts to promote indigenous vegetables.
(2016) Shonhai, Venencia Fortunate.; Ngcoya, Mvuselelo.
The study was concerned with examining if DST policy on indigenous knowledge is aligned with practice on the ground. It focussed on understanding the formulation process of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) policy enacted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in 2004. It also explored the implementation process of IKS policy by investigating the Agriculture Research Council (ARC) project funded by DST that promoted indigenous vegetables as a component of IKS. The first phase of the study was an investigation of the formulation of the 2004 IKS policy using FaircIough‘s critical discourse analysis method and a decolonial theoretical framework. The study revealed that the formulation of the DST‘s, IKS policy of 2004 involved the co-operation and participation of stakeholders from various backgrounds, including indigenous knowledge holders and practitioners. The policy formulation process included people from different backgrounds in order to recognise the diverse nature of the subject as well as to redress colonial tendencies that discriminate against IKS holders and practitioners in decision-making and benefitting from the knowledge and resources. Critical discourse analysis revealed the African Renaissance, the commodification of IKS, the integration of indigenous knowledge and science, and Equity as dominant discourses in the policy. The study shows how ‗naturalisation‘ of the above discourses in the IKS policy has tended to promote some IKS components while marginalising others. The second phase of the study employed a food sovereignty theoretical framework to investigate the practices, successes and challenges of the KwaMkhwanazi community in KwaZulu-Natal, where the ARC and the University of Zululand (UNIZULU) promoted indigenous vegetables. Food sovereignty analysis of the case study shows that indigenous vegetables (IVs) were promoted because of their many positive attributes, namely their high nutritional value, adaptation to adverse climate conditions, potential for income generation, and resistance to disease and pest. Small-scale farmers were shown as embracing indigenous vegetables and farming practices that enables them to be food secure. Small-scale famers were hindered by numerous challenges in attaining food sovereignty with the question of land shortage taking center stage. The study adds to the body of knowledge that reveals experiences of food sovereignty on the ground. It departs from previous investigations on IVs that predominantly examined the nutritional, medicinal and agronomical factors, instead, this study places IVs in the context of food politics, identity issues, and cultural and socio-economic factors. This study has implications for policy makers and small-scale farmers in their practices.
Integrated water resources management and the manufactured scarcity of water in Africa.
(2014) Nojiyeza, Innocent Simphwe.; Bond, Patrick Martin.; Mottiar, Shauna.
The African version of the neo-liberal system known as Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has had especially dubious results in Ghana, Malawi and South Africa. Two factors – cost recovery and decentralisation of responsibilities without resources – are the primary means by which the poor are financially squeezed, in a manner not unlike other neo-liberal strategies in development policy and projects. The IWRM framework was accepted as best practice during the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit of 1992 (and included as chapter 18 of Local Agenda 20), integrated into the 1992 International Conference on Water and Environment (commonly known as Dublin Principles), and taken forward in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation during the World Summit on Sustainable Development of 2002. Since then, many countries that agreed at the WSSD to formulate IWRM policies by 2005 have begun to do so. IWRM quickly became the favoured strategic approach of development agencies, international financial institutions, donors, state water officials and some NGOs. Civil society has had uneven engagements with IWRM. An important early critique emerged from Ghanaian civil society, during the early 2000s, when IWRM led to commercialisation and even privatisation of water in urban areas. There was growing concern about excessive cost-recovery and self-management of water in rural areas without the benefit of state subsidies. Water commodification and decentralisation – meaning in practice, fewer resources and more responsibilities for lower tiers of government – also emerged as a problem elsewhere on the continent, where governments are abdicating their responsibilities to supply water and sanitation using the rubric of IWRM. Using household interviews and focus group discussions in the Densu area of Ghana, in the Balaka, Ntcheu and Mangochi areas of Malawi, and in areas of Durban, South Africa where Urine Diversion toilets were supplied to rural and peri-urban households, and basing my analysis on framings provided in theories of water and sanitation governance, new institutional economics and environmental economics, I conclude that implementation of IWRM results in a ‘manufactured scarcity’ of water in rural Africa. The reforms required are extensive, and civil society has only begun to make an impact with its own vision: moving from manufactured scarcity to genuine abundance.
Civil society, dams and underdevelopment of the Democratic Republic of Congo : a study of communities affected by the Inga Hydropower Projects.
(2015) Amisi, Baruti Bahati.; Bond, Patrick Martin.
This research examines development aid, development agencies, international financial institutions, successive governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Congolese civil society organisations as well as their transnational advocacy network allies in conflicts surrounding the Inga Hydropower Projects. The contradictory roles of these actors in the development of the DRC are considered through the lens of the Inga Hydropower Projects’ impact on affected communities and Congolese citizens at large. The study supports the argument that the failure of development initiatives in the DRC is caused by a combination of internal and external factors. The domestic factors consist of the incapacity of the state to build on the fragile economic foundations left by colonialism, and the attitudes of local post-independence elites and ordinary people who do not support or promote inclusive and sustainable development initiatives. The external factors consist of western powers and aid agencies which have provided military, economic, and ideological support to DRC governments, including dictatorships, thereby strengthening their patron-client relationships. This study contends that positive aid outcomes in mega-development projects depend on prevailing economic policies, donor agencies’ political interests, the capacity and contribution of civil society to promote public accountability, and the ability of a state to efficiently allocate resources where they are needed. Sustainable solutions to failed development efforts are mainly emerging from within civil society. This study makes three main contributions. It documents the impacts of the IHPs on affected communities and the DRC at large, the strengths and weaknesses of the IHPs as high-modernist projects, and the stakeholders’ understanding of the IHPs. The study also explains why the increase of CSOs paradoxically sustained Mobutu Sese Seko’s dictatorship, the role of CSOs in Inga 1 and Inga 2, and how civil society is addressing further developments of the IHPs. Lastly, this research reveals the responsibility of individuals, development aid, and multinational corporations involved in Inga 1 and Inga 2 to predict the outcomes of further development of the IHPs through Grand Inga in the DRC.

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