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Service delivery protests as a catalyst for development: the case of Ethekwini municipality

Many have described South Africa as a protest-rich nation. Some have defended this high level of protest as an indication that this country has a functional democracy where peoples’ right to raise their dissatisfaction with government through protesting is protected. These protests take different forms, with some displaying signs of criminality where protesters vandalise private and public property, while others proceed peacefully. This project examines and interprets the dynamics and circumstances surrounding these events and processes through empirical research, and explores their relationship to development. This dissertation attempts to establish what motivates people to engage in these protests, to assess the impact and consequences of protests in South African local communities, and to assess whether the different forms of protest were effective in compelling government to address protesters' developmental demands. The research undertaken was of a qualitative nature, and the researcher sourced the information from community members and community leaders. As the process of collecting empirical data unfolded, it became clear that the Marianridge and Umlazi Z Section case studies presented in this dissertation indicated that developmental local government without public participation is ineffective.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:9236
Date January 2013
CreatorsShezi, Lindelani
PublisherNelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis, Masters, MA
Formatix, 80 leaves, pdf
RightsNelson Mandela Metropolitan University

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