This study explores how the existence of traditional leadership alongside democratic governance within the local sphere of government affects traditional communities. It focuses on the relationships between traditional leadership and other key governance institutions at the local sphere; that is local government, administration of justice; community safety and land administration and how these relationships are translated in traditional communities. The key elements focused on include the roles of the different institutions, the role and position of the traditional community in governance, the need for institutions of governance to uphold their Constitutional mandates including the principles of democracy enshrined in the Bill of Rights within the Constitution.
Through the use of the case study method of research, focusing on the Mamaila (Kolobetona) Traditional Community and the Lemondokop Village in particular, the study affirms the position held by some scholars that there is dual governance within the local sphere of government where the institution of traditional leadership exists. Furthermore, this study reveals that the relationships between traditional leadership and the other institutions of governance vary depending on the mandate of such institutions within the traditional community. The question is how such varied relationships affect the traditional community.
To answer the above question I separated my findings into two chapters, focusing on perceptions and experiences of community leadership and community members respectively. This study shows that while dual governance is entrenched within the traditional community, and the key actors have found a way of accommodating each other and balancing their roles, the traditional community is at the mercy of traditional leadership because of the authority over communal land. The traditional community is not well conversant with the rights they have over the land and hence their development needs are driven by an elite who is more concerned about entrenching his authority than promoting community development.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/14927 |
| Date | 18 July 2014 |
| Creators | Ramaboka, Muvhulawa Faith |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf |
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