A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, June 2017 / This study examines leadership and statebuilding in the very specific context of the transition of a rebel group to a governing entity of a post-conflict state by comparing the cases of Mozambique and South Sudan. Drawing on theories of political leadership, statebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction, and recent studies on political legitimacy, this study provides insight into the processes by which leaders interact with and build the institutions of state that both enable their governance and that may ultimately constrain their authority, and the impact of external actors on these processes. This study focuses particularly on the critical interaction between political leaders and the institution of the rebel group turned political party that they lead in the fragile post-conflict period. This study traces how FRELIMO in Mozambique and the SPLM in South Sudan built sufficient political legitimacy in order to be considered the natural party of governance upon independence in each country. It also compares how RENAMO in Mozambique sought to make the transition from rebels to politicians. It then closely examines how leaders’ and parties’ political legitimacy was built or lost in subsequent years and the impact of this on building the critical institutions of state and ultimately on the stability of that state. Both cases highlight, for different reasons, that leaders matter particularly when institutions are weak. This report contends that a critical causal mechanism in a successful transition from fighting a war to governing a country is establishing and maintaining legitimacy – both internally with the governed population and externally with key international partners. How leaders balance internally derived and externally derived legitimacy often proves to be important. External actors are often fundamental in bestowing legitimacy on armed groups, even when there are other groups claiming to represent the interests of the population. While externally derived legitimacy is important in getting these parties into power, sources of internal legitimacy, derived from their own populations by parties and leaders, are critical in shaping their ability to offer stable government. Each case demonstrates that legitimacy must be maintained in order to maintain stability. / XL2018

This study is based on Leadership & Accountability in managing the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), the case of Yei River County (YRC) of Central Equatoria State, Republic of South Sudan (RSS). CDF is one of the initiatives of the government of South Sudan created by a legislation of Parliament to compliment development of the community needs as they expect more from the government of the day. The CDF Act 2007 which was passed by the parliament stipulated structures that govern the operation of the fund in terms of management, leadership and accountability to enhance effective and efficient provision of services to the people. The CDF Act provided that fund allocated to the MPs is to address the challenges that face the communities such as construction of schools, health facilities, water, roads and government facilities but not for personal interest or individual use. The problem that motivated the researcher to explore the performance of the CDF was inadequate service to the community although the government has allocated funds to each constituency channeled through the members of parliament to improve the socio-economic status of the community. The research looked at how the CDF roles, functions, and procedure were applied in the utilization of the funds to ensure efficiency. It analysed and evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of management of CDF to promote service delivery in the constituencies of Yei, Ottogo, Tore and Mugwo Payams. The study investigated the following questions: How is the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) been managed and utilized by the Members of Parliament (MPs) to promote development in their constituencies? To what extent is the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) used in accordance with the provisions of the CDF Act (2007)? To what extent does the CDF achieve its objective in promoting development to meet the aspirations of the people within the constituencies? And, what is the nature of the relationship between the MPs, the community and the County Local Authority in relation to the CDF? The study also examined the linkage between the various committees formed by the CDF Act 2007 to guide the implementation of the fund as well as the projects at grass-root levels in regards to monitoring and evaluation process. The study used both descriptive and explanatory techniques to guide the researcher in gathering information required on the best of CDF practice in Yei River County which were carried out using interviews, focus group discussion and observation. Twenty (20) respondents comprising of head of departments, women, youth, MPs of both parliaments - the National and the State, chiefs, councilors, CDF committees from the four constituencies mentioned above were interviewed about the use of the CDF. The study reveals that there are no clear linkages between the various committees formed by the CDF Act 2007 to guide the implementation of the fund as well as the projects at the grass-root level in regards to monitoring and evaluation process. In addition to this, less participation of the community in identification, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the CDF community projects was one of the contributing factors that affected the effectiveness and efficiency of the result. Although creation of CDF has effect in some of the areas of the county, it requires more improvement in the implementation process to increase development in other areas. Based on these findings, the study argues that for the best of the CDF utilization, leadership and accountability which are components of the Public Administration Discipline that enhances efficiency in the public institutions need to be put into practice. Hence, rigorous application of the CDF rules, regulations and procedures is paramount in managing the utilization of the fund allocated for the purpose of development.