This research is premised on the understanding that media texts are discourses and that all discourses are functional, that is, they refer to things, issues and events, in meaningful and goal oriented ways. Nine articles are analysed to explicate the sorts of discourses that were promoted by The Chronicle during the Gukurahundi conflict in Zimbabwe between 1982 and 1986. It is argued that discourses in the news media are shaped by the role(s), the type(s) of journalism assumed by such media, and by the political environment in which the news media operate. The interplay between the roles, types of journalism practised, and the effect the political environment has on news discourses is assessed within the context of conflictual situations. This is done using insights from the theoretical position of peace journalism and its critique of professional or mainstream journalism as promoting war/violence journalism. Using the case of The Chronicle's reportage of the Gukurahundi conflict in Zimbabwe, it is concluded that, in performing the collaborative role, state owned/controlled media assume characteristics of war/violence journalism. On the other hand, it is concluded that The Chronicle developed practices consistent with peace journalism when it both espoused the facilitative role and journalistic objectivity. These findings undermine the conventional view among proponents of peace journalism that in times of conflict, the news media should be interventionist in favour of peace and that they should abandon the journalistic norm of objectivity which they argue, promotes war/violence journalism.

no abstract available / Development Studies / MA (DEVELOPMENT STUD)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation analyses the relationship between civil society and political leadership within the context of Zimbabwe’s protracted social conflict, particularly through the lens of land policy. Through the use of strategic informants, it yields important insights into the origins, form and impact of political leadership and civil society in a way that will expose the dynamics of elite and grassroots mobilisation and the political context in which land policy is either made or obstructed. Specifically, this dissertation examines two research questions. First, if political leadership is not representative of the citizenry, is land policy more likely to engender overt conflict? Second, if civil society has an autonomous role in the public sphere, is land policy more likely to benefit citizens? This dissertation also confronts an emerging empirical problem: the absence of descriptive data in regards to how civil society and political leadership have engaged in reforming land policy in Zimbabwe during the period of transition from 2008 to 2013. By measuring representation and autonomy – indicators of human needs satisfaction– this dissertation traced each phase of the protracted social conflict as it both helped to create the conditions for a liberation model of representation while simultaneously further exacerbating protracted social conflict within Zimbabwe. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis ontleed die verhouding tussen die burgerlike samelewing en politieke leierskap veral deur die lens van grondbeleid, binne die konteks van Zimbabwe se uitgerekte sosiale konflik. Dit het ten doel om belangrike insigte op te lewer in die oorsprong, vorm en impak van politieke leierskap en die burgerlike samelewing. Die word blootgestel in 'n manier wat die dinamika van die elite en mobilisering op grondvlak in ag neem soweel as die politieke konteks waarin grondbeleid óf gemaak is of belemmer word. Hierdie tesis konfronteer ook 'n opkomende empiriese probleem: die afwesigheid van beskrywende data met betrekking tot die betrokkenheod van die burgerlike samelewing en politieke leierskap tydens die grondhervorming proses in Zimbabwe gedurende die tydperk van oorgang tussen 2008 en 2013. Deur die meting van verteenwoordiging en outonomie - aanwysers van menslike behoeftes bevrediging - word elke fase van die uitgerekte sosiale konflik ondersoek met betrekking tot hoe ‘n bevryding model van verteenwoordigheid beide gehelp het om die voorwaardes te skepvir die eindeiging van die PSC; maar terselfdertyd het dit ook die sosiale konflik in Zimbabwe verder uitgerek. !

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Public Management (Peacebuilding), Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Despite all the public pretences of projecting a united country, Zimbabwe is a divided country and this has made genuine peace and unity very difficult to attain. The bruised and polarised relationship between the Shona and Ndebele ethnic groups is deeply rooted in the annals of history, which makes it a protracted social conflict. The Gukurahundi campaign between 1982 and 1987 was part of a chain of catastrophic events, which have emanated from a well-established culture of violence and intolerance between Shona and Ndebele. Efforts to address this culture using a top-down approach under the auspices of the 22 December 1987 Unity Accord did little to curb hostilities. Even though these efforts were commendable, they were not sufficient to make any significant inroads into the polarised relationship of mistrust between the two groups. This thesis applied an Action Research design and specifically used the Transcend dialogue method to explore the possibilities of building mutual respect and understanding among a small sample of young Shona and Ndebele participants. The research found that creating intentional platforms for interaction could have a positive transformative effect on relationships. It is not too late to create more spaces and transformational platforms for people to dialogue, to listen to each other, to share stories, and carry out projects together. Engagement using dialogue can create new synergies, which can make a worthwhile difference to the long journey towards (re) building broken bridges and building new bridges. / D

Thesis (PhD(Agric) (Agronomy))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Continuous cropping without replenishing the nutrient component of soils will eventually lead to the depletion of soil nutrients. Small scale farmers in Zimbabwe often do not have the financial means to buy fertilizer and this problem is exacerbated by scarcity of commodities such as fertilizers. The use of herbaceous legumes such as mucuna (Mucuna pruriens) can assist to recapitalize soil fertility depletion and improve subsequent maize productivity in sandy loam soils in the small holder farming sector of Zimbabwe. In this study the effect of phosphorus (P) application to a mucuna crop, the effect of mucuna management options and the application of nitrogen (N) to the subsequent maize crop was investigated. The experiment was carried out during the 2007 to 2009 seasons at the Grasslands Research Station in Marondera in Zimbabwe. The soils are classified as humic ferrolsols and are predominantly of the kaolinitic order with sandy loams of low fertility and are slightly acid (pH CaCl = 5.2). A randomized complete block design was used for the effect of P on mucuna productivity and the effect of P and mucuna management options on the soil properties. The treatments were two P rates (P0 and P40 = 0 kg P ha-1 and 40 kg P ha-1 respectively) applied to a preceding mucuna crop, four mucuna management options [1) fallow (F) (no mucuna planted = control), 2) mucuna ploughed-in at flowering (MF), 3) all mucuna above ground biomass removed at maturity and only roots were ploughed-in (MAR) and 4) mucuna pods removed and the residues ploughed-in (MPR)]. A split-plot design was used to study the effect of P application to mucuna, mucuna management options and N rates on the growth and yield of the subsequent maize crop. The four N treatments [N0 = 0 kg N ha-1, N40 = 40 kg N ha-1, N80 = 80 kg N ha-1 and iv N120 = 120 kg N ha-1] were applied to a subsequent maize crop. Growth and development parameters such as biomass production, leaf area index, nutrient content of the foliage and grain yield were determined in the mucuna and maize crops. Soil parameters investigated included nutrient content, pH, bulk density and porosity. Phosphorus application in these particular soil conditions positively influenced mucuna biomass production and therefore enhanced the role of mucuna as a rotational crop by increased positive effects on the subsequent maize crop. The incorporation of above-ground biomass of mucuna had positive effects on all soil properties investigated. The MF and MPR management options increased the soil organic matter (OM) and reduced bulk density which leads to an improvement in porosity (f) of the soil. Mucuna incorporated at flowering (MF) and P40 treatment combination resulted in the highest mineral N, P, potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) levels. A significant three-way interaction (P<0.05) between mucuna management options, nitrogen rates and time was observed in terms of biomass production and all nutrients in the leaves of the subsequent maize crop. The main findings were that the MF management option had the highest biomass and foliar nutrient accumulation through-out all the treatment combinations. In general the MF management option gave the highest maize yield across all the treatment combinations. Incorporation of mucuna biomass into the soil prior to planting a maize crop therefore improve soil physical and chemical qualities resulting in improved soil conditions for a subsequent maize crop which in turn lead to higher maize yields. Including a mucuna rotational crop have a similar effect on maize yield than application of 80 kg ha-1 of fertilizer N. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Aanhoudende verbouing van gewasse op dieselfde grond sonder om voedingstowwe aan te vul lei uiteindelik tot die agteruitgang van die grond se vrugbaarheid. Kleinboere in Zimbabwe het meestal nie die finansiële vermoëns om bemestingstowwe te koop nie en die probleem word vererger deur die onbekombaarheid van kommoditeite soos bemestingstowwe. Die gebruik van kruidagtige peulplant gewasse soos mucuna (Mucuna pruriens) kan bydra om grondverarming teen te werk en om die produksie van ‗n daaropvolgende mielie aanplanting in sandleemgronde in ‗n kleinboerstelsel in Zimbabwe te verhoog. In hierdie studie is die invloed van fosfor (P) toediening aan ‗n mucuna aanplanting, die invloed van bestuursopsies van die mucuna en die toediening van stikstof (N) aan die daaropvolgende mielie aanplanting ondersoek. Die eksperiment is tydens die 2007 tot 2009 reënseisoen by die Grasslands Research Station in Marondera in Zimbabwe uitgevoer. Die grond word geklassifiseer as humiese ferrolsols en is hoofsaaklik sanderige leemgrond van die kaolinitiese orde met lae vrugbaarheid en is effens suur (pH CaCl = 5.2). ‘n Volledig ewekansige blokontwerp is gebruik om die invloed van P op die produktiwiteit van mucuna te bepaal asook die invloed van P toediening en mucuna bestuursopsies op grondeienskappe. Die behandelings was twee P vlakke (P0 = 0 kg P ha-1 en P40 = 40 kg P ha-1) wat aan ‗n voorafgaande mucuna aanplanting toegedien is, vier mucuna bestuursopsies [1) braak (F) (geen mucuna geplant = kontrole), 2) mucuna ingeploeg met blomtyd (MF), 3) alle bogrondse mucuna biomassa verwyder by rypwording en slegs wortels ingewerk (MAR) en 4) mucuna peule verwyde en die res van die bogrondse material ingeploeg (MPR)] en vier N behandelings [N0 = 0 kg N ha-1, N40 = 40 kg N ha-1, N80 = 80 kg N ha-1 en N120 = 120 kg N ha-1] toegedien aan ‗n daaropvolgende mielie aanplanting. Groei en ontwikkeling parameters soos biomassa produksie, blaaroppervlakindeks, nutriëntinhoud van die blare en graanopbrengs is in die mucuna en mielie aanplantings ondersoek. Grondeienskappe soos nutriëntinhoud, pH, bulkdigtheid en porositeit is gemeet. Fosfaat toediening aan hierdie spesifieke grondtipe het mucuna produksie positief beïnvloed en dus die rol van mucuna as rotasiegewas verbeter deur positiewe reaksies in die daaropvolgende mielie aanplanting. Die inwerk van bogrondse mucuna biomassa het al die fisiese grondeienskappe wat ondersoek is positief beïnvloed. Die MF en MPR bestuursopsies het organiese materiaal inhoud van die grond verhoog en bulkdigtheid verlaag wat lei tot verbeterde grondporeusheid (f). Mucuna wat tydens blomvorming ingewerk is (MF) lei tot die hoogste minerale N, P, kalium (K), kalsium (Ca) en magnesium (Mg) vlakke. ‗n Betekenisvolle drie-rigting interaksie (P < 0.05) tussen mucuna bestuursopsies, N vlakke en tyd is waargeneem in terme van biomassa produksie en in terme van al die nutriëntvlakke in die mielieblare wat ondersoek is. Die hoofbevindinge was dat die MF bestuursopsie die hoogste biomassa produksie en blaarnutriënt akkumulasie oor alle behandelingskombinasies tot gevolg gehad het. In die algemeen het die MF bestuursopsie die hoogste mielie-opbrengs oor alle behandelingskombinasies tot gevolg gehad. Die inwerk van mucuna materiaal in die grond voordat mielies geplant word verbeter dus fisiese en chemiese toestande in die grond wat grondtoestande verbeter vir die daaropvolgende miegewas en uiteindelik lei tot hoër mielie-oeste. Die insluiting van mucuna as ‘n rotasiegewas het diesefde effek op mielie-opbrengs as die toediening van 80 kg ha-1 N bemesting.

The major aim of this study was to analyse the dynamics of stakeholder participation in the agricultural sector during the first five years of the water reform process in Zimbabwe. Specific reference is made to water allocation, conflict management and the payment of costs related to water use. Stakeholders investigated are those in communal smallholder irrigation schemes, large-scale commercial white and black farms and those resettled under the government's fast track land resettlement programme. The study was undertaken in the Middle Manyame Subcatchment area, which falls under the Manyame Catchment area.

This thesis conducts postcolonial readings of 1 Kings 21:1-29 within the context of the struggle for land in Zimbabwe. It is an attempt to investigate the historical and sociological contexts of Zimbabwe and Ancient Israel. The thesis traces the land issue trajectory across both the colonial and post-colonial terrain of Zimbabwe. In the process, this thesis identifies four key moments which it considers as major in the struggle for land in Zimbabwe, which are: the historical moment of the colonization of Zimbabwe; the moment of the Second War of Liberation; the moment of the independent Zimbabwe; and the moment of the current land invasions and land grabbing in Zimbabwe. The thesis has made an attempt to explain the significance of land in Ancient Israel, in an endeavour to understand why Naboth the Jezreelite would not easily succumb to Ahab`s demand for his family land. In this way the Naboth story is located within its socio-historical context. It has also demonstrated that the advent of the monarchy introduced a tributary socio-economic system which replaced the egalitarian social order. In addition, this dissertation has shown that the monarchy introduced land expropriation in Israel and Judah, which was a departure from the inalienability of land, a concept very popular with pre-monarchic Israel and Judah. The issues of the abuse of power and the injustice that was prevalent under both the united as well as the divided monarchies were also discussed At the end, the thesis has attempted to bring the context of the struggle for land in Zimbabwe in dialogue, contrapuntally with the context of the confrontation over land between Ahab and Naboth the Jezreelite, that is, allowing both similarities and differences to manifest or emerge in this dialogue, so that a complete interpretation of the text may be achieved by allowing the context and the text to interrogate and investigate each other. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

The concept of campus environment and its implication to student development is important to any institution of higher learning and student affairs in particular. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

The effects of artificially supplied perennial water on soil properties, vegetation dynamics and the distribution of large herbivores was investigated in southeastern Zimbabwe. Data collection took place between March 1997 and July 1998. Water points were situated primarily on three different soil types (clay-loam, sandy-clay-loam and sand), and in four different vegetation types (Hill communities, Colophospermum mopane veld, Acacia nigrescens woodland and Albizia petersiana woodland). One water point in C. mopane veld (Bandama) had been closed two years prior to data collection, while another, in the Hill community (Manyoka), had been introduced, two years prior to data collection. Changes in physical (infiltration) and chemical (organic carbon and nutrients) properties of soils around water points were largely restricted to within 100 m of water. Chemical enrichment of the soil occurred only at water points that had been in place for more than two years. Soil surface conditions were altered to distances beyond 100 m from water. Manyoka (the new water point) was an exception, with extreme changes limited to within 100 m of water. Herbaceous and woody species composition changed in response to distance from water with changes best described by asymptotic equations. Changes in species composition of the woody component appeared to be longer lasting than changes to the herbaceous component. Most perennial grass species declined close to water, but Urochloa mosambicensis increased close to water in areas outside of the Hills. Herbaceous species diversity was adversely affected by distance from water on sandy soils (Hill communities and A. petersiana woodland), but was largely unaffected on clay-loam (A. nigrescens woodland) and sandy-clay-loam soils (C. mopane veld). Woody species composition and density was altered out to 500 m from perennial water in Acacia nigrescens woodland on clay-loam soils. Results suggest that this vegetation type may be susceptible to bush encroachment close to water. Trends in woody canopy utilisation were generally similar to trends in woody species composition, and it is proposed that the former may be used to indicate future changes in the latter. Conversion of trees to shrubs was highest at Manyoka (the new water point) indicating that woody destruction by elephants is extreme during the initial years following water introduction. Large herbivore biomass was greatest close to water (< 1 km) during the dry season but not during the wet season. Herbivore species distributions appeared to be influenced by the position of perennial water, but since all range was within easy access of water, it is unlikely that animal distributions were constrained directly by the position of surface water. It is more likely that herbivores were spatially separated on the basis of habitat type. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

Health and well-being are the central concerns for most African people. If health and well-being (utano) is the top priority for most Africans, the general and almost complete breakdown of the Zimbabwean public health care system in the past decade (2000-2010) has had far-reaching repercussions on the whole populace. Whereas African theology and religious studies have expended considerable energy in addressing the theme of health and well-being, there have been limited attempts at developing indigenous theologies. This study plugs the gap in the available scholarly literature by proposing a Karanga theology of health and well-being paying particular attention to a specific community‘s responses to the health delivery systems in Zimbabwe. Through an examination of indigenous responses to health and well-being and critiquing the collapse of the health delivery systems in the period 2000-2010, the study argues that understanding health agency in contemporary Zimbabwe enables appreciating the centrality of utano (health and well-being). This study also seeks to establish the agency of the community in responding to the national health care crisis, focusing specially on the Karanga community in Murinye district. It explores the Karanga healthworlds and documents the agency of the Karanga health-seekers and health-care providers in responding to the health-care crisis. The major focus of the study is to establish how the Karanga navigate the existing religious and medical facilities (Modern scientific bio-medicine; Traditional healing and Faith-healing) in their search for healing by conducting fieldwork research which entailed the use of interviews and participant observation. The study was also influenced by oral theology based on the community‘s underlying faith experiences. It also relied upon the life history approach and narrative theology to establish trends and patterns in the Karanga medical system. The study concludes by exploring some useful and life-giving Karanga indigenous resources that can be utilized in constructing a Karanga theology of health and well-being in contemporary Zimbabwe. A Karanga theology of utano places emphasis on a liberative motif which is life-giving and life-enhancing. This includes acknowledging the agency of health-seekers who are actively involved in their own welfare. It argues that utano is achieved when, on the basis of indigenous beliefs and Christian beliefs regarding health, individuals and families invest in refusing to accept ill-health. Information drawn from study participants demonstrated how they sought the opinions of traditional healers, prophet healers and modern health practitioners whenever they felt that their condition was compromised. The study foregrounds the fact that for the Karanga people, issues of health and well-being cannot be separated from their religious perspectives. There are diverse religious traditions among the Karanga people and these inform their understanding of utano. As such, the three health delivery systems should not be viewed as competitors for clients but more importantly, they should be viewed as complementing each other. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.