This thesis is an account of the challenges people in Tyefu Location, Peddie District, and specifically in Gwabeni village, face in their attempts to manage their common pool natural resources. Taking my analytical cue from the literature which deals with the institutional dimensions of resource management in common property systems, I look at the impact of both outside influences and local dynamics on resource managing institutions at village level. I show how particular historical circumstances, including state interventions, led to the enclosure of Tyefu Location, and to the rapid increase in the population that had to be accommodated here. This placed enormous pressure on the natural resources of the area, and contributed to the emasculation of the local institutions responsible for overseeing resource management. The residents of the location adopted whatever strategies they could to ameliorate the depletion of natural resources in their villages. One 'traditional' strategy they have sought to emulate is to move their imizi (homesteads) away from areas where local resources has been exhausted. Given the finite area of land available to them, this strategy was only ever likely to be successful in the short-term. I analyse social, economic and institutional factors at village level that appear to act as disincentives to collective resource management activities. These factors include the social structure of the imizi and the socio-economic heterogeneity that exists between imizi in Gwabeni village. The varying degrees of household economic marginality that follow from this, together with the differential ownership of livestock and other possessions that decrease people's reliance on locally available natural resources, mean that the transaction costs that people would incur by contributing to collective resource management activities, differ widely. A primary cause of people's failure to engage in resource management at village level stems from the dispersion of the members of their imizi. This factor robs the village of decision makers and undermines the capacity of those left behind to make and implement resource management decisions. It results in the various members of imizi in the village having different orientations that dissipate the energy needed for collective action. It also fuels existing struggles, and creates new ones, over the meanings and uses of the term 'community'. I conclude by arguing that, in Tyefu Location, the management of natural resources is extremely difficult to co-ordinate, because such management is highly contested, undermined by differentiation among resource users, and subject to the attentions of weak village institutions that do not share a clear set of resource management objectives. / KMBT_363

The history of economic thought is ‘flooded’ with neo-classical accounts despite the fact that neoclassical economics did not occupy history alone. This has caused the discourses on ‘lost alternatives’ to be relegated as the deterministic ‘straight line’ neo-classical historical discourses are elevated. Globally hegemonic neo-classical discourse aided this phenomenon as it served to subordinate any counterhegemonic local discursive processes towards alternatives. This study is premised on the theme of non-neoclassical ‘lost alternatives’ using the post-apartheid South Africa as a case study. Emerging from the apartheid regime, the impetus towards non-neoclassical redistributive policies was strong in South Africa but this did not gain traction as the ANC’s ‘growth through redistribution’ was replaced by globally hegemonic discourse which favoured ‘redistribution through growth’. This thesis postulates the idea of two waves of ‘internal’ discursive formations; capturing the transition to democracy up to 1996 as the first wave and the period from 2005 to about 2009 as the second wave. The developmental state paradigm (DSP) emerged as the central heterodox paradigm with ideas such as industrial policy, welfare, and social dialogue/compacts being main elements. The DSP was expressly chosen in the early 1990s, the first period of strong internal discursive formation, but faded as neo-classical policies, epitomised through GEAR, dominated the policy space. The DSP discourse gained vitality in the second wave of internal discursive formation (2005-2009) and it was associated with the subsequent Zuma’s administration. The study illustrates that the DSP has failed to be fully developed into a practical framework but remained only at rhetorical level with the phrase ‘developmental state’ inserted into government policy documents and documents of ANC as a ruling party. The thesis further illustrates that the DSP fared well ideologically because of its inclination to the ideology of ‘developmentalism’ tended to trump any socialist inclined policies such as a generous welfare regime. The thesis rebuts the notion of the DSP in South Africa which has only been amorphously developed with the phrase ‘developmental state’ becoming a mere buzzword. The thesis argues that the DSP in the 21st century is much more complex and the growing ‘tertiarisation’ of the economy makes the Social Democratic Paradigm SDP’s capability centric approach much more relevant for South Africa. The study goes further to argue that a (SDP) is much more suitable alternative for addressing South African colonial/apartheid legacies and consolidation of democracy.

The work began with the production by the author of a geological map of the area, since this essential task had not previously been undertaken. A detailed study of the settlement plan, containing both European and African smallholders, was then made. This proved a very fruitful field of study, because within the area the settlement plan is undergoing dramatic changes which are having an effect on the land use pattern within the area. This study was concerned mainly with the production of a detailed land use map and a quantitative analysis of the land use distributions revealed by this map. The classification used fer the categories on the land use map closely resembles one used in the land use map of 'The Border Region' produced by the Border Regional Survey (1957/8) which was in turn based on the World Land Use Map classification. Accompanying this text are seven maps produced by the author, three of the land settlement plan (1: 50,000), one each of the geology (1: 50,000) and rainfall (1:125,000) and two of the land use (l: 50,000 and 1: 125,000) in the area. The field sheets (1: 18,000) which show the land use of the area in great detail, are to be found in the library of the Geography Departmont, Rhodes University in atlas form.

The enormous social, economic, and political government-led societal transformation South Africans have experienced over the past 15 years have brought about numerous societal and identity changes. The aim of the present study was to explore how dominant (White participants) and non-dominant (Black participants) groups experiencing the government-led societal transformation process deal with perceptions of intergroup differences based on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979, 1986) and related field research. Social Identity Theory predicts that in the presence of intergroup differences group members irrespective of their status position will apply identity management strategies to either improve or maintain their status position. The relationships between perceptions of intergroup relations and identity management strategies as proposed by Social Identity Theory were tested studying 170 second year Rhodes University psychology students. Sixty participants indicated themselves as Black South Africans (representing non-dominant group) and 110 participants identified themselves as White South Africans (dominant group). The results revealed that dominant and non-dominant groups differ systematically regarding the functional interaction between beliefs about the intergroup situation and identity management strategies. The results of the study indicate too, that ingroup identification differentiates between individual and collective strategies irrespective of the group’s status position.

Amartya Sen argued that poverty was the “deprivation” of the capability to lead a “good life”, therefore ending poverty meant meeting basic physical and social needs, and enabling meaningful economic and political choices. The principal objective of this research was to investigate whether (and if so, in what ways) post-apartheid state-provided non-contributory cash social grants in South Africa reduced “poverty” in Sen’s sense. This thesis used Ezibeleni, a historically black working class township at Queenstown, in the Eastern Cape, as a reference area. Using in-depth interviews, it found that social grants did help reduce poverty, both in terms of helping meet basic needs and enabling grant recipients to make more choices, including facilitating job searches and small businesses. However, it was also found that grants fall short of ending poverty, as the grants were too small to adequately cover basic needs in the context of large family sizes, a serious and long-term lack of resources, persistent unemployment, and high indebtedness, and could also enable only a limited expansion of choices. The grants played a positive role, but were inadequate to remove the “unfreedoms” facing the poor.

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

The main focus of this thesis is the challenges that are facing social policy development and implementation in South Africa in relation to the enhancement of human capability. The study adopted a historical approach to assess the model of social policy in South Africa and identified that social relations of domination inherited from the apartheid era continuing to produce inequalities in opportunities. Social policy under the democratic government has not managed to address social inequalities and the main drivers of poverty in the form of income poverty, asset poverty and capability poverty which are the underlying factors reproducing deprivation and destitution of the majority of the population Although South Africa prides itself of a stable democracy, social inequalities continue to undermine the benefits of social citizenship because political participation in the midst of unequal access to economic and social resources undermine the value of citizenship. Also, inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth, and in the control of economic production undermine political equality which is an ethic upon which social rights are predicated. As a result, state interventions are lacking inherent potential to build human capability for people to live the life that they have reason to value. The paradox of social policy in South Africa is that the majority of those who are marginalised are those who were excluded by the apartheid regime even though state intervention is claimed to be targeting them. This points to the failure of incremental equalisation of opportunities within a context of stark social inequities. It is also an indication that the economic growth path delivered by the political transition is working to reinforce the inherited legacy of deprivation and it is avoiding questions related to the structural nature of poverty and inequalities. Therefore, a transformative social policy is an imperative for South Africa. Such a framework of social policy should be premised upon a notion of human security in order to built human capability. Human security focuses on the security of individuals and communities to strengthen human development. It emphasises on civil, political and socioeconomic rights for individual citizens to participate fully in the process of governance. Although this thesis is a case study of social policy in South Africa, it can be used to appreciate the role of social policy in other developing countries, particularly the impact of political decision making on social distribution. Poverty and social inequalities are growing problems in developing countries and so is the importance of putting these problems under the spotlight for political attention.

The government of South Africa has seen many financial reforms in the finance industry since the attainment of freedom in 1994. Many microfinance institutions (MFIs) have emerged in the name of poverty reduction, however the impact of MFIs on poverty reduction in rural areas has not been significantly high. Poverty has been reduced but still the inequality gap has even widened (HSRC, 2004). The study is concerned with analysing the impact of MFIs in poverty reduction among the rural poor. Empirical evidence from many developing nations around the world has shown that microfinance is a tool that is relevant in reducing poverty within rural areas. This study investigates the impact of microfinance institutions on household income levels, education and business skills. The study followed a qualitative approach in terms of the research methodology and a survey research design. Data was collected using questionnaires, scheduled interviews, focus group discussions and key informants. Two sample techniques were used for the selection of the MFIs and the household respondents, that is purposive sampling and cluster sampling. In total, 150 households, 15 MFIs and five key informants were interviewed. Descriptive analysis methods were employed and the study showed that only 10 percent of the total households have been able to access microfinance. The number of people who gained business skills was also low (10 percent). The MFIs who provide financial services excluding the other services like business training programmes were 80 percent of the total number of MFIs interviewed. This data showed that only a few (20 percent) MFIs are willing to go an extra mile rendering business skills to their clients. Overally the major finding of the study was that although, MFIs are reaching out to the rural communities, their levels of outreach is still very low within the rural areas. However this does not mean that the impact of MFIs funding is not felt among the rural poor. The levels of income and educational benefits have been increased and felt by the 10 percent of the rural poor clients. This study advocates for an entrepreneurship development pathway to poverty reduction. Microfinance should be used as a source of finance to initiate entrepreneurial activities among the poor in order to generate income. In this study, the use of microfinance finance for consumption by the poor is discouraged because it depletes the funds that can be channeled for selfhelp projects within the rural communities. The study findings motivated the recommendations that encourage an inclusive financial system that is capable of reaching out to the rural poor.

Ph.D. (Sociology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This research project seeks to gain insight into the sociolinguistic realities of Mamelodi and Atteridgeville, two residential areas that resort under the Tshwane Metropolitan Council's jurisdiction (formerly known as the Greater Pretoria Metropolitan Area) - including reference to language use, knowledge, behaviour, status and attitudes. A questionnaire reflecting the principles of inter-methodological cross-validation was developed as research instrument in order to attain a sociolinguistic profile of the areas under investigation. The gathering, analysis, and verification of the research results took place against the background of extensive literature study, as well as the implementation of both quantitative (interpretation and analysis of numerical data) and qualitative (questionnaire format resembling a structured interview) methods. Other general aims of this research project are to provide local decision-makers with information that might aid the language planning process, and to provide a future basis for comparison to identify the occurrence of potential sociolinguistic change. The planning and implementation of a local language policy cannot occur in isolation, and it is therefore necessary to set the background against which language-related decisions are made - on local and international level. The challenges faced by the South African government are inseparably linked to matters evolving around the role of language in governance, education, economy and development. It will be argued that South Africa formally committed itself to multilingualism by entrenching it in the Constitution and in the proposed Languages Bill. It will furthermore be argued that languages have a market value and are thus to be regarded as economic resources. If the national ideals are to be met in terms of democratically developing the nation, all citizens must have equal access to all the rights and privileges of the country. In order to realise the strategic goals listed in the proposed South African Languages Bill, namely to facilitate individual empowerment and national development, and to facilitate economic development via the promotion of multilingualism, it is thus imperative that the Tshwane Municipal Council implements and enforces language policies that reflect these goals. Since municipalities must take into account the language usage and preferences of their residents and at least use two official languages - the logical conclusion is that a plan of language policy implementation should be supported and institutionalised by means of legislation and other measures. The Tshwane Metropolitan Council, and all other municipal structures - by implementing reality-based language policies that meet the developmental needs of its citizens by promoting and investing in multilingualism - will ascertain equal access to knowledge and skills. The ultimate purpose of this whole debate surrounding language planning and policy implementation in a multilingual African state is not merely to arrive at a theoretical linguistic solution, but rather to meet the socio-economic developmental needs of its people. / Thesis (DPhil (Linguistics))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Afrikaans / unrestricted