Masters Degrees (Centre for Gender and Africa Studies)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Centre for Gender and Africa Studies) by Advisor "Cawood, S."

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    The incorporation of indigenous knowledge in land reform projects: the Basotho Letjhabile and Maolosi Trust agricultural projects
    (University of the Free State, 2009) Akenji, Maghah Josephine; Cawood, S.; Nel, P.J.
    Indigenous peoples around the world have sought knowledge of physical reality throughout the ages. Their understanding of the physical universe is codified in their knowledge systems. However, often the content of agricultural information in less developed countries is devoid of inputs from the indigenous people. It is based on the need to modernise agriculture without consideration of the goals and strategies of indigenous people. Indigenous agriculture, however, as it was originally applied prior to colonisation and apartheid, as is the case with South Africa, can neither be fully resumed nor would it satisfy the world food needs and recession crisis of the ever-increasing world population. It will, however, if taken on a solemn note, have a significant impact on the world food production (World Bank 2005). Despite the enormous value of IKS in the sustainable management of natural resources, the world has suffered and continues to suffer from a profound loss of indigenous peoples, rural groups, and their knowledge about the natural world, which has been constructed from their intimate ties to land and place. This loss has been accompanied by neglect and the marginalisation of their practices and beliefs often figured as inferior forms of knowing that should be replaced by universalised knowledge derived from the western scientific traditions (Hardison 2005). This study is an exploration of how indigenous knowledge, which has been marginalised over the years, is incorporated in Land Reform Projects of agricultural development. It is an attempt to help indigenous people regain the value of their knowledge. Employing a multidisciplinary method, the work presents an analysis of indigenous knowledge practices in agricultural land reform projects (Basotho Letjhabile and Maolosi Trust), and how indigenous knowledge contributes to sustainability and transformation with these two community projects.
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    Power-sharing in South Africa's municipalities: The case of Ekurhuleni and Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan municipalities from 2016
    (University of the Free State, 2022) Maneng, Neo Samuel; Ellis, W. F.; Cawood, S.
    English: Local government power-sharing and coalitions are likely to increase in South Africa given the ANC's declining electoral dominance as demonstrated by the 2016 and 2021 election outcomes. This has sparked increased academic debate and research in this field. This study contributes to this research by identifying power-sharing trends and assessing the stability and performance of municipalities governed through power-sharing in South Africa between 2016 and August 2022, using the case studies of Ekurhuleni and Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan municipalities. It finds that coalitions have had a mixed impact on municipal stability and performance, with some municipalities showing stability and others instability. Therefore, it argues that while coalitions come with an inherent risk of greater political and administrative instability, it is the conduct of political parties and individuals in these coalitions and affected municipal councils that often exacerbates this risk. This study uses the case study approach and is primarily qualitative and inductive. It uses semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions to collect primary data from political actors in the two case studies. It then triangulates this data with document analysis while using the systematic review method.