Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: During the course of the 20th century the press played an absolutely crucial role as a source of information, a medium of communication and propaganda, educator, critic, public watchdog and in forming and influencing opinion. In this respect the press may also be regarded as a reflection of South African society. This study investigates the role that the press played and the influence that it exercised in the political and economic mobilisation of the organised labour movement during the period 1908 to 1924. In view of the racial divisions that have prevailed in South Africa, the focus here is specifically on the white labour movement, because it was this manifestation of the organised labour force that virtually dominated the first few decades of the twentieth century. During this time the black labour movement was still to a large extent under-developed and began to emerge only around the 1920s. Organised labour flourished during the period under review. This period is characterised as one of political turbulence, as well as of large scale and serious industrial unrest, as part of the cathartic process in which the relationship between the state and its subjects in the field of labour took shape. The study adopts as its point of departure the year 1908, when the National Convention began its deliberations on the unification of South Africa, which in turn led to the official founding of the South African Labour Party in October 1909. The Labour Party operated independently until 1924, when the alliance between the National Party and the Labour Party won the election held in that year and formed the Pact coalition government. From an economic point of view there were two clear positions. On the one hand, there were the so-called establishment press organizations. These included Afrikaans-language newspapers, although - because of their ethnic commitments - they were strongly in favour of the protection of the economic position of the Afrikaner workers. On the other hand, there were anti-capitalist press organisations that wished to promote proactive steps in favour of the workers, which in tum often resulted in industrial conflict in the form of strikes. These tensions in the economic terrain spilled over into the political sphere elections, and here too the press played a central role in the often tense relationship between state and subject. In order to understand a meaningful analysis of the social role of the press, the following press organs and study materials were selected: The Star was the mouthpiece of the powerful Witwatersrand gold-mining industry. Die Burger and Ons Vaderland played a great role in the political and economic mobilisation of the Afrikaner working class whose sympathies lay with the National Party. The following labour-orientated and socialist papers reflected and interpreted the political and economic points of view of the labour movement in the period 1908 - 1924: Voice of Labour, The Worker, The Eastern Record, The Evening Chronicle, The War on War Gazette, The International, The Labour World, The Bolshevik and The Guardian. In addition, the role of a number of extremist strike newspapers In mobilising workers during the strikes of 1913, 1914 and 1922, is also investigated. The press played an important role in exposing a number of cardinal issues that dominated the discourse within the labour movement to greater public criticism and discussion. The effect of this was to raise the struggle between labour and capital for hegemony in the political and economic life of South Africa - as happened every time during election campaigns - to the level of the national political debate. Furthermore, the press, and specifically the right-wing labour and left-wing socialist press organs, also reflected the deep ideological divisions in the labour movement. In this respect, it was particularly the views of these press organs on race and the place of black people in the industrial dispensation that determined and influenced their political creeds. The mobilising power of the press was vividly illustrated by the strike papers. By propounding militant extremism these papers often succeeded in sweeping up industrial unrest among workers to the level of violence, which meant that the authorities were compelled to suppress these publications by means of martial law proclamations. It is probable that the SALP, and especially the socialist organisations, on the periphery of the political spectrum, would not have survived for long in South African politics without the communicative support of their mouthpieces. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Gedurende die 20ste eeu het die pers, as bron van inligting, kommunikasie- en propagandamedium, opvoeder, kritikus, openbare waghond en meningsvormer en -beihvloeder, 'n uiters belangrike samelewingsrol vertolk. In hierdie opsig kan die pers ook as 'n weerspieeling van die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing beskou word. Hierdie studie ondersoek die rol wat die pers gespeel het en die invloed wat dit as openbare memngsvormer met betrekking tot die politieke en ekonomiese mobilisasie van die georganiseerde arbeiderbeweging gedurende die tydperk 1908 tot 1924 uitgeoefen het. Gegewe die historiese rasseverdeeldheid in Suid-Afrika, is daar spesifiek op die blanke arbeiderbeweging gekonsentreer, aangesien dit die arbeidsterrein gedurende die eerste paar dekades van die twintigste eeu feitlik oorheers het. Die swart arbeiderbeweging was in daardie stadium nog grootliks onderontwikkeld en het eers om en by die twintigerjare begin ontwaak. Die betrokke tydperk was 'n tydperk van hoogbloei VIr die georganiseerde blanke arbeiderbeweging. Dit word veral gekenmerk as 'n tydperk van politieke onstuirnigheid, asook van groot en ernstige endemiese nywerheidsonrus en konflik, as dee 1van 'n katarsis waardeur die verhouding tussen staat en onderdaan op die arbeidsterrein uitgekristalliseer het. Die vertrekpunt van die studie is 1908, toe die sittings van die Nasionale Konvensie met die oog op die unifikasie van Suid-Afrika 'n aanvang geneem het en ook aanleiding gegee het tot die amptelike stigting van die Suid-Afrikaanse Arbeidersparty in Oktober 1909. Dit strek tot 1924, toe die verkiesingsalliansie van die Nasionale Party en die Arbeidersparty die oorwinning by die stembus behaal en die Pakt-koalisieregering gevorm het. Vanuit 'n ekonomiese oogpunt gesien, was daar twee duidelike stellingnamens. Enersyds was daar die sogenaamde establishment-persorgane. Hieronder ressorteer ook Afrikaanstalige koerante, alhoewel hulle as gevolg van 'n etniese verbondenheid sterk ten gunste van die beskerming van die ekonomiese posisie van die Afrikanerwerkers was. Andersyds was daar anti-kapitalistiese persorgane wat 'n pro-aktiewe optrede ten behoewe van die werkers, wat dikwels op nywerheidskonflik in die vorm van stakings uitgeloop het wou bevorder. Hierdie gespannenheid op ekonomiese terrein het oorgespoel na die politieke sfeer van verkiesings en ook daarin het die pers, in die dikwels gespanne verhouding tussen owerheid en onderdaan, 'n sentrale rol gespeel. Ten einde 'n sinvolle ontleding van die samelewingsrol van die pers te kon doen, is die volgende persorgane as studiemateriaal geselekteer: The Star was die mondstuk van die magtige kapitalistiese, Witwatersrandse goudmynindustrie. Die Burger en Ons Vaderland het 'n groot rol in die politieke en ekonomiese mobilisasie van die Nasionaalgesinde Afrikanerwerkersklas vervul. Die volgende arbeider- en sosialistiese blaaie het die politieke en ekonomiese uitgangspunte van die arbeiderbeweging in die tydperk 1908 tot 1924 weerspieel en vertolk: Voice of Labour, The Worker, The Eastern Record, The Evening Chronicle, The War on War Gazette, The International, The Labour World, The Bolshevik en The Guardian. Daarby is ook die mobiliseringsrol wat 'n aantal ekstremistiese stakersblaaie in die stakings van 1913, 1914 en 1922 gespeel het, ondersoek. Die pers het 'n belangrike rol gespeel om 'n aantal kardinale kwessies, wat die diskoers binne die arbeidergeledere oorheers het, ook aan groter openbare kritiek en bespreking bloot te stel. Sodoende is die stryd tussen arbeid en kapitaal om die hegemonie van die Suid-Afrikaanse politieke en ekonomiese lewe byvoorbeeld telkens tydens verkiesingsveldtogte tot die nasionale debat verhef. Daarbenewens het die pers, spesifiek by monde van die regse arbeider- en linkse sosialistiese persorgane, ook die diepe ideologiese verdeeldheid in arbeidergeledere weerspieel. In hierdie opsig was dit veral hulle rassebeskouings en die posisie van die swart man in die nywerheidsbestel wat die politieke credo van hierdie persorgane bepaal en befuvloed het. Die mobiliseringsmag van die pers is treffend dem stakerblaaie gemustreer. Dem militante ekstremisme te verkondig, kon sodanige blaaie dikwels daarin slaag om nywerheidsonrus onder werkers tot die vlak van geweld op te sweep sodat die owerheid dan genoop was om hierdie publikasies dem middel van Krygswetproklamasies te onderdruk. Synde op die periferie van die politieke spektrum, sou die SAAP, en veral die sosia1istiese organisasies, sonder kommunikatiewe ondersteuning van hulle spreekbuise waarskynlik slegs 'n kortstondige politieke bestaan in die Suid-Afrikaanse politiek gevoer het.

Thesis (DPhil (Political Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Gender Mainstreaming (GM) was popularised as an approach to advance gender equality at the United Nations (UN) World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Since then it has been adopted by the UN and international development organisations as the approach to integrate women and gender issues into development. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a major international development organisation, claims a strong policy commitment to GM. As such, it is an important organisation to study for its GM implementation to establish what lessons can be learnt from its practice. Because it is an international organisation, the study has implications for global GM as well as for SA. This thesis examines mainstreaming women and gender in development in the UNDP Country Office in South Africa (UNDP/SA). It explores the gap between Gender Mainstreaming policy and practice, through discursive analysis of UNDP policy documents and reports, as well as an analysis of qualitative interview data and participatory approaches. The study focuses on the organisational challenges facing institutions trying to mainstream gender, particularly in the South African context. It puts forward a proposal for improving GM by combining organisational development and feminist theory. Through the proposal, which focuses on a broad transformation process within which to frame GM implementation, the thesis aims to contribute towards advancing gender equality through GM in South Africa and elsewhere. Development was initially gender-blind until the early 1970s. Since then, development organisations have moved women and gender onto the development agenda through various approaches. The major approaches have been Women in Development (WID), Gender and Development (GAD) and Empowerment. The current approach, Gender Mainstreaming (GM), is about moving women and gender issues from the margin to the centre of development organisations and their practice. While being an improvement on the earlier approaches, GM still faces a number of challenges for successful implementation in development organisations such as the UNDP. This qualitative study interrogates the GM policy discourse of the UNDP/SA, and finds a serious gap between its policy discourse and practice. This gap is evident not only in the UNDP/SA, but also in one of its funded projects, the Capacity Building Project for the Office on the Status of Women. GM fails to make an impact because of factors such as lack of training, absence of political will from senior managers in development organisations (and in government), and lack of resources. It is also clear that GM cannot occur in the absence of a broad organisational transformation process. To address the challenges facing GM, I propose a model for implementation with a special focus on the deep structure of organisations that exposes the masculinist roots of gender inequality. What is essential for this model to succeed is that GM implementation should be framed within a broader organisational transformation process, based on organisational development and feminist theory. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geslagshoofstroming het gewildheid verwerf as ‘n benadering om geslagsgelykheid te bevorder by die Verenigde Nasies (VN) se Wêreld Konferensie oor Vroue in Beijing in 1995. Daarna is dit deur die VN en internasionale ontwikkelingsorganisasies aanvaar as die benadering om vroue en geslagskwessies te integreer in ontwikkeling. Die Verenigde Nasies Ontwikkelings Program (VNOP), ‘n vername internasionale ontwikkelingsorganisasie, maak aanspraak op ‘n sterk toewyding aan Geslagshoofstroming as beleid. Die VNOP is dus ‘n belangrike organisasie om te bestudeer vir sy Geslagshoofstroming implementering om vas te stel watter lesse ons kan leer. Die studie het implikasies nie net vir Suid-Afrika nie, maar ook globaal omdat die VNOP ‘n internasionale organisasie is. Die tesis ondersoek die hoofstroming van vroue en geslag in ontwikkeling in die VNOP Kantoor in Suid-Afrika (VNOP/SA). Dit verken die gaping tussen Geslagshoofstroming beleid en praktyk deur middel van ‘n diskoers analise van VNOP beleids-dokumente en verslae, en ‘n analise van data verkry deur kwalitatiewe onderhoude. Die studie fokus op die organisatoriese uitdagings vir die instellings wat Geslagshoofstroming probeer implementeer, veral in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Dit stel ‘n kombinasie van organisatoriese ontwikkeling en feministiese teorie voor om Geslagshoofstroming te bevorder. Die tesis streef daarna, deur die voorstel wat fokus op Geslagshoofstroming as deel van ‘n breë transformasie proses, om by te dra tot die bevordering van geslagsgelykheid in Suid-Afrika en elders. Ontwikkeling was aanvanklik geslagsblind tot met die vroeë 1970s. Sedertdien het ontwikkelingsorganisasies vroue en geslagskwessies op die agenda geplaas deur verskeie benaderings. Die vernaamste benaderings was Vroue in Ontwikkeling (WID), Geslag en Ontwikkeling (GAD), en Bemagtiging (Empowerment). Die huidige benadering, Geslagshoofstroming, het ten doel om vroue en geslagskwessies vanaf die kantlyn te beweeg tot in die kernpunt van ontwikkelings-organisasies en hulle praktyke. Alhoewel dit ‘n verbetering op die vorige benaderings is, staar Geslagshoofstroming implementering nog ‘n aantal uitdagings in die gesig in ontwikkelingsorganisasies soos die VNOP. Die kwalitatiewe studie interrogeer die Geslagshoofstromings diskoers van die VNOP/SA en vind ‘n ernstige gaping tussen sy beleidsdiskoers en praktyk. Hierdie gaping is sigbaar nie net in die VNOP/SA nie, maar ook in een van sy befondsde projekte, die Kapasiteitsbou Projek vir die Kantoor vir die Status van Vroue. Geslagshoofstroming maak nie impak nie as gevolg van faktore soos ‘n gebrek aan opleiding, die afwesigheid van politieke wilskrag by senior bestuurders in ontwikkelingsorganisasies (en in die regering), en ‘n gebrek aan hulpbronne. Dit is ook duidelik dat Geslagshoofstroming nie kan plaasvind in die afwesigheid van ‘n breë organisatoriese transformasie proses nie. Om die uitdagings vir Geslagshoofstroming aan te spreek, stel ek ‘n implementeringsmodel voor met ‘n spesiale fokus op die diep struktuur van organisasies wat die maskulinistiese oorsprong van geslagsongelykheid blootlê. Noodsaaklik vir die sukses van die model, is die kontekstualisering van Geslagshoofstroming in breë organisatoriese transformasie, gebaseer op ‘n kombinasie van feministiese en organisatoriese ontwikkelingsteorie.

Thesis (DLitt (African Languages))--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / This study deals with research that has been conducted within three government departments (Education, Health and Social Development) that form part of the social needs cluster in the Province of the Eastern Cape. Five portfolio committee members were interviewed in each department (six in the department of Health). Reproaches (failures and challenges of service delivery and policy implementation) were developed using information obtained from the “policy and budget speeches” of the afore-mentioned departments. In response to these reproaches, committee members had to give accounts (responses, explanations and/or reason-giving). Four types of accounts (concession, excuse, denial and justification) which are typical political accounts have proved to be quite popular and focus has been given to them in the analysis. The focus on the analysis of the accounts was given to effectiveness, argumentation (reasons or arguments that are tendered in support of the accounts to establish the amount of persuasiveness) and politeness. The conclusions of the findings in the interviews were focused on three elements: 􀂃 The interviewee: The analyses of the interviewees were discussed with regard to the accounts together with the number of arguments given. Each reproach was analyzed within an overview of the type of account with regard to three criteria: effectiveness, argumentation and politeness. The analyses of the interviewees were discussed individually with the help of tables of each interviewee. The focus was on the accounts of justification and excuses. The interview was judged on two parameters: i. The number of accounts each interviewee has used with regard to the three criteria above. ii. A comparison was made to establish the relative merit of the interviewees among themselves. 􀂃 The reproach: various reproaches in the three departments were discussed separately with regard to the number of accounts and arguments in each reproach. The focus was mainly on the accounts of justification and excuse. A summary was given of the various reproaches with the four major types of accounts. The same criteria of effectiveness, argumentation and politeness were used. Judgment was given on the reproach or reproaches which have shown the most attention in the interviews with regard to the total number of accounts which have been used. 􀂃 The account: various justifications and excuses which have been used in the interactions were discussed with regard to effectiveness, argumentation and politeness. The judgment was made as to which type of account was mostly favored by the interviewees. Implications of the research were discussed with regard to a comparative overview of the political accounts in reproaches with specific attention to the type and frequency of the account as well as possible reasons for this type of preferred account. Four types of accounts have been used consistently in the interviews and among these four types, justifications (36.6%) and excuses (46.1%) are generally favored by all politicians who were involved in the interviews. These accounts are quite popular among politicians because they work in their favor as they are employed to reframe the consequences of the act with the ultimate aim of changing negative perceptions about the policies of the department and/or government (justifications) and to deny any responsibility and/or causal link between the politician and the undesirable outcome of the policy and thereby implying that there is no need for reproach (excuse).

Text in English / With the start of democracy in South Africa and the end of the legal Apartheid rule, it became apparent to those who identified the church with the liberation struggle that Christian communities had lost their significance in society today. This feeling, although not popular among theologians, became widely held by those who thought that we had arrived politically. This feeling was also supported by views which felt that democracy was the ultimate human form of governance. In this light, it is conceivable for churches to abandon the struggle because of the irrelevance of agitating a form of government that is affirmed and celebrated globally. Also, it became justified to abandon the struggle, if indeed the struggle was against Apartheid, because the enemy had been defeated. Consequently, this meant a withdrawal from siding with those whose rights were marginalised. Such an abrupt withdrawal from championing the rights of those who are marginalised (especially as displayed by the church during the Apartheid era) also raises many concerns pertaining to the role that the churches ought to be playing in the current democratic dispensation. It is also conceivable that the initiative to struggle against Apartheid was motivated only by the fact that the Apartheid regime was unjust and that it discriminated against certain groups of South African citizens. The attainment of liberation in South Africa has plunged churches into an illusion that democratic states are capable of good governance and that when such a government exists, churches can safely concern themselves with their primary ecclesiastical duties—of preaching the Word of God and administering the sacraments and leave the socio-economic and political affairs to those who are governing. It seems that this view is especially prevalent among the constituency of the church that brought forward a theological confession against the theological legitimacy granted to the Apartheid ideology. To unapologetically declare its association with those on the margins, and to defy Apartheid for the evil that it was, this church brought about the Belhar Confession as proof of its allegiance to those on the margins. This study shall confine itself to the realm of the Christian community. It will look to the historicity of the URCSA precisely because it has been bold enough to pen a confession that chastised Apartheid. / Philosophy and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Theological ethics)

This dissertation seeks to compare paradigms of reconciliation in African tradition (including African indigenous religion and culture) and Christianity, in order to enhance the reconciliation process in South Africa. The aim is to enable and promote dialogue between African tradition and Christian tradition, with special reference to the reconciliation paradigms they offer. In order to accomplish this, the first step taken is to establish what African tradition has to offer in terms of reconciliation resources. African traditional religion, philosophy and anthropology are identified as providing a conceptual basis for reconciliation. Certain African traditional legal resources as well as African indigenous ritual resources are also considered able to contribute to social reconciliation. The next step in the dissertation is to establish what the Christian faith tradition has to offer in terms of reconciliation paradigms. The following resources available to, and stemming from, Christianity are discussed: reconciliation in the Bible; the narrative of the cross and the resurrection; the inter-linked concepts of sin, repentance and forgiveness; the church as reconciling community and institution. After having elaborated on certain reconciliation paradigms lodged in both African tradition and Christianity, the next step is to explore ways in which these paradigms interact. In some respects, they are found to clash and disagree because of their differences and the discontinuities between them. Yet in significant ways they indeed connect to and complement each other. This dissertation seeks to highlight points of agreement and connection between the paradigms of reconciliation provided by African tradition and Christian tradition. Moreover, it seeks to illustrate that the two cultural and religious traditions could interact fruitfully for the benefit of South African society. A concrete example of such positive interaction and mutual enrichment is brought forward, viz. a "new" ritual of reconciliation that combines resources from both traditions. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

This thesis is about the Lutheran Churches' response to the forced removals which took place between 1968 and 1984 in Western Transvaal. Bills aimed at expropriating land from African people were passed through parliament from 1913 to 1984. These apartheid laws culminated in the fonnation of Bantustans where people of different nationalities among blacks were moved to. Among the Tswanas four villages in the Western Transvaal viz. Matlwang, Ga-Maloka, Botshabelo and Mogopa were moved between 1968 and 1984. The Lutheran Churches which were working in the four villages did not do much to help their members in time great need and distress. The villagers interviewed unanymously agreed that the Lutheran churches were silent during the time of the forced removals. The Lutheran churches in the world have a history of silence with regard to governments' unjust policies towards the people. Theologians and church leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA) and its supporting mission society, the Rermannsburg Mission Society (HMS), the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (LCSA) and its supporting mission society, the Lutheran Church Mission, agree that the doctrine of the Two Kingdoms was not responsible for the silence of the Lutheran Churches in South Africa. The Lutheran Churches have an opportunity to make up for their past mistakes by initiating and joining existing projects aimed at helping the marginalised communities of South Africa. Among other pressing needs in South Africa besides the preaching of the gospel one can count landlessness, unemployment, homelessness, poverty, hunger, diseases like HIV/AIDS, and counselling of the abused individuals in both in the urban and the rural areas to which those who were forcefully removed are returning. This work is presented to churches in general and to the Lutheran Churches in particular so that they can preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in a wholistic rather than a narrow way. Jesus was concerned about the poor, the captives, the blind, the sinners, the rulers and the oppressed. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

The study of development in the 1960s and early 1970s was characterised by major struggles between competing ideological positions . Writings were dominated by attempts at getting the ideologies right , hence the proliferation ofNeo-Marxist and Neo-Classical discourses. The vociferous debates between development theorists such as Andre Gunder Frank (1966), Paul Baran (1962), W.W. Rostow (1963) and their followers) were indicative of this period. A fundamental shift occurred in the late 1970s, however, when the focus of development studies shifted to the more technical issue of how to get prices right. World Bank and International Monetary Fund intervention in state affairs were a characteristic of this fundamental shift, with the now notorious Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) of the 1980s being a direct result of this movement. The whole terrain of development studies has once again, however, undergone reconstruction, with the emergence of an entirely new strain of development-oriented thought in the 1990s. The key development problem being identified by social scientists at present is the institutional context in which development takes place. It has finally emerged that this issue surpasses those debates concerning ideology and monetary issues. Development protagonists now acknowledge that they can no longer look at development without considering the institutional environment in which it is to take place. Irrespective of ideology and price factors, then, it has finally been realised that development is highly contingent upon the establishment of a sound development-oriented institutional environment. Although the international development arena has experienced this fundamental shift, very little research has been done , thus far, on the dynamics of KwaZulu Natal 's institutional environment. As such very little is known about its efficacy in supporting or initiating development programmes in the province. If one considers the enormity of the development task in KwaZulu Natal this is an extremely unsatisfactory situation. KwaZulu Natal undoubtedly needs a sound institutional environment that supports development, thus making a study of how the province's institutional environment impacts on development imperatives an extremely important endeavour. It is hoped that this dissertation helps in some small way to fill the research void that is clearly apparent in KwaZulu Natal. It needs to be iterated right at the outset, however, that this dissertation is not meant to be an extensive, all encompassing critique of KwaZulu Natal's institutional environment. It is rather an exploration of those important issues pertaining to its institutional environment that impact so dramatically on development imperatives in the province. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1995.

The Church and clergy, during Apartheid played a significant role in the South African political process. It was possible to divide the church into three distinct groups, pro-government, anti-government and neutral churches and clergy. The Dutch Reformed Church because of its close association to the National Party was often dubbed the “National Party of Prayer.” They played an important role in providing moral legitimacy for the regime. On the other hand, church leaders including Allan Boesak and Desmond Tutu were synonymous in their fight against apartheid. The Church still plays a significant role in a democratic South Africa. By virtue of Stats SA 2011 which states that just under eighty percent of South Africans have Christian affliations. However, democratic South Africa has secular constitution which clearly indicates the separation between church and government. Clergy find themselves in an ambiguous situation in a ‘secular state.’ What exactly is the broader role of the Church and in particular clergy in democratic ‘secular’ South Africa? The ambiguity is also fuelled by politicians who often request clergy’s participation in the political process and on other occasions state that clergy should keep to “church business” Part of this enquiry is be answered by asking clergy what they believe their role is. In 2014 a selection of Christian leaders in the Nelson Mandela Bay area decried the governance in the NMBM and South Africa in general. It is to be seen as awakening of clergy in the political process. The objectives of the study are as follows: to look at how Christian religious leaders construct their role in a post-apartheid context with a specific focus on the NMBM, to capture the views of government and political parties1 on what role the Church should play in post-apartheid South Africa, A comparative thematic analysis to determine if there are any similarities or differences in how the Church perceives their political role vis-à-vis the perception of government.

This research focuses on the controversy surrounding the exhibition and media publication of Brett Murray’s painting, The Spear of the Nation (May 2012). It takes the form of a qualitative Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), underpinned by Fairclough’s (1995) three-dimensional approach, to investigate how the contesting discourses articulated by the ruling political party (the ANC) and the news media have been negotiated in the City Press coverage in response to the painting. While the contestation was fought ostensibly on constitutional grounds, it arguably serves as an illustrative moment of the deeply ideological debate occurring in South Africa between the government and the national media industry regarding media diversity, transformation and democracy. It points to the lines of fracture in the broader political and social space. Informed by Foucault’s conceptualisation of discourse and the role of power in the production of knowledge and ‘truth’, this study aims to expose the discourses articulated and contested in order to make inferences about the various ‘truths’ the ANC and the media make of the democratic role of the press in a contemporary South Africa. The sample consists of five reports intended to represent the media’s responses and four articles that prominently articulate the ANC’s responses. The analysis, which draws on strategies from within critical linguists and media studies, is confined to these nine purposively sampled from the City Press online newspaper texts published between 13 May 2012 and 13 June 2012. Findings suggest the ANC legitimise expectations for the media to engage in a collaborative role in order to serve the ‘national interest’. Conversely, the media advocate for a monitorial press to justify serving the ‘public interest’. This research is envisioned to be valuable for both sets of stakeholders in developing richer understandings relevant to issues of any regulation to be debated. It forms part of a larger project on Media Policy and Democracy which seeks to contribute to media diversity and transformation, and to develop the quality of democracy in South Africa.

The author strongly holds- in the thesis- that the Theology of liberation can inspi re the poor of South Africa to uproot the post-1994 socio-economic and political evil structures which continue unabated to impoverish them. The introductory chapter studies the reasons which motivated the author to write the thesis. It further discusses the method, the format and the limitations of the thesis. Chapter one focuses on the author's understanding of the Theology of liberation, and its historical background. Chapter two discusses the relationship between the Theology of Liberation and black theology, while chapter three contemplates on the possibility of the creation of what the author calls, An African Theology of Liberation. Chapter four studies the relationship between the Theology of liberation and the Social Teachings of the Catholic Church as taught by the pope and his council. The study of this relationship is extremely difficult because of the on-going, and seemingly insurmountable ideological differences between the two parties. The author suggests, as a solutio n, that each party seriously considers and recognizes the contextual limitations of its theology. Chapter five focuses on the implementation of the Theology of Liberat ion into the South African situation. The author highly recommends the inclusion of the veneration of the ancestors of Africa, as a perfect instrument by means of which the Theology of Liberation can succeed in achieving one of its major aims, which is to convert the poor to be leaders of their own liberation. The concluding chapter suggests concrete ways through which the Theology of Liberation can be kept alive and relevant within the South African situation. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Theological Ethics)