Masters Degrees (Political Studies and Governance)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Political Studies and Governance) by Advisor "Gouws, Ina"

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    Assessing e-government readiness in South African municipalities: a case of the Sol Plaatje Municipality
    (University of the Free State, 2023) Gaosekwe, Naledi Portia; Gouws, Ina
    This dissertation examines the e-Government readiness of the Sol Plaatje Municipality in South Africa, aiming to identify factors facilitating or hindering the implementation of e-Government initiatives. Through a comprehensive review of literature, policy documents, and empirical evidence, the study explores the intricate dynamics of e-Government, considering its potential to enhance public service delivery and governance transparency. The research employs theoretical frameworks such as the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the United Nations E-Government Development Index (UN-EGDI) to assess the Municipality's readiness for digital transformation. Findings reveal persistent challenges in technological infrastructure, digital literacy, and citizen awareness, particularly highlighting disparities between urban and rural areas. The study proposes recommendations for infrastructure enhancement, digital literacy programmes, comprehensive awareness campaigns, collaboration with telecom providers, and mobile optimization to bridge these gaps. Ultimately, this research underscores the importance of addressing multi-dimensional challenges to foster effective e-Government implementation, offering insights with broader implications for enhancing governance in South Africa and other developing nations.
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    Exploring the governance benefits and pitfalls of collaboration between Non-Governmental Organisations in South-Africa
    (University of the Free State, 2023) Ngxiya, Siphokazi; Gouws, Ina
    This study presents an overview of the state of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector in South Africa based on a review of collaboration with governance in available literature. The traces the robust growth of South Africa’s NGO sector from the apartheid period through the post-apartheid era and up to the country’s current status. Understanding why NGOs choose to work with the government is a crucial but frequently ignored issue. Collaboration with NGOs has been associated with an increase in failing states and their inherent inability to address the pitfalls, hence NGOs are left to close the gap. Edwards and Hulme (2013) argue on the differences in organisational structures, culture, forms, work style, and actor incentives are to blame for the mistrust and suspicion. The document highlights the legal framework under which the sector operates; explores philanthropic giving and volunteering patterns; identifies some broad issues the sector is facing including the regulatory framework, governance, transparency and accountability, resource mobilisation and strategic growth; and highlights opportunities for growth. Some similarities in the growth patterns, barriers, and prospects of collaboration between the NGO sectors and the governance of South Africa will also be explored. Collaborations must cross power views, values, resources, norms, and cultural boundaries to be successful, (Abdul-Hade, 2012). Despite the potential and advantages of NGO and government cooperation in developing nations, the factors that influence NGO-government collaboration have received very little attention. This study aims to respond to the question: What are the pitfalls and the benefits of NGOs and governance collaborating?
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    The role of the African Union in promoting democracy and human rights: a case study of Zimbabwe
    (University of the Free State, 2018) Mlatha, Mxolisi Goodman; Gouws, Ina
    This study deals with the role of the African Union (AU) in promoting democracy and human rights in Zimbabwe. The current political crisis in Zimbabwe has persisted since the founding of the AU in 2002. The AU replaced the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) as a continental organisation of states to pursue specific common objectives. From its inception, the AU has committed itself to promoting democracy and human rights, partly due to the fragile and hybrid democracies that characterise the region. It also undertook to make a manifest shift from the Westphalian doctrine of no intervention to no indifference, which as a result positioned it correctly to promote democracy and human rights. Scholars have identified a dichotomy between the commitment of the AU to promote democracy and human rights and its manifest actions to realise such. This has come to the fore particularly in the context of the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe. This study interprets the manifest actions of the AU compared to its stated commitments and its mandate in respect of democracy and human rights promotion. The objective of this study is to describe the actual role of the AU in terms of its stated mandate. The study uses decolonial theory and democratisation theory as the theoretical framework to interpret and describe the role of the AU in Zimbabwe, which it argues is immersed in coloniality. The study shows that the democratisation project of the AU has been countered by the continued coloniality that continues to shape the status quo. This is particularly evident in Zimbabwe where there is structural violence that depicts coloniality and a hybrid state. For the region to achieve marked progress in respect of democratisation, it has to undo the self-perpetuating and persistent coloniality in Zimbabwe.