Doctoral Degrees (Centre for Africa Studies)

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Open Access
Whiteness and destitution: Deconstructing whiteness and white privilege in postcolonial Zimbabwe
(University of the Free State, 2022) Bvirindi, Tawanda Ray; Cawood, S.; Hughes, D. M.; Mushonga, M.
English: This research entailed an ethnographic and netnographic study of white destitution to establish how white destitution is understood and framed differently in the changing material and political contexts of Zimbabwe. This research documented and analysed the narratives of those facing destitution at the Braeside Salvation Army Centre, including those in the streets of the Northern suburbs of Harare. It also explored the manifestations of destitution among these people as well as the attitudes and beliefs of members of dedicated expatriate Facebook groups regarding the issue of white destitution. Furthermore, using these narratives, the research explored how destitution is understood in ways that (re)produce white nationalism, white supremacy, racism and, in some extreme cases, anti-blackness. This study also examined the mechanisms in which white solidarity, white racial iconoclasm and escapism manifest through philanthropic help given to white people facing destitution through engaging with these narratives. The analysis was guided by a postcolonial intersectional whiteness lens combining key concepts from postcolonial theory such as notions of difference and hybridity by Homi Bhabha, an array of concepts associated with whiteness studies, intersectionality theory borrowed from feminist theory cross-fertilised with the works of Frantz Fanon, and Michel Foucault’s notion of heterotopia. This lens offered a useful approach to studying the phenomenon of white destitution within a qualitative research methodology. The conceptually rich theoretical framework facilitated the in-depth understanding of the empirical data and allowed for the problematising of the notion of ‘whiteness’ beyond the limits of the current theoretical boundaries in whiteness studies. The study contributed to examining the making of national racial history through transnational and global linkages, practices, philosophies, and professional and personal associations. The major contribution of this research can be described as problematising white social identity through intersectionality, which revealed that ‘whiteness’ functions as a complicated continuum of privilege and dependency rather than a static and homogenous bloc.
Open Access
Posthuman security and landmines: Gendered meaning-making and materialities in the North-Eastern border area of Zimbabwe
(University of the Free State, 2022) Tagarirofa, Jacob; Hudson, H.; Cawood, S.
English: This empirical study of landmines, gendered meaning-making and matter in the border area of Mukumbura, Northern Zimbabwe, was inspired by the everyday experiences of men and women as a consequence of their living together with landmines; the prevalence of a conspicuous gap in the human security literature on gendered discourses and human-object relationalities in relation to human security; and the inadequacy of grand security theories on how to overcome this deficiency by means of a feminist posthuman security perspective as analytical tool to study the gendered implications of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) in a post-war setting. These informed the objectives of the study which include, among others, to account for the theoretical shift from Human Security to a feminist posthuman security approach and to develop a theoretical framework supporting the latter; to critically analyse how landmines influence the construction of masculinities, femininities and victimhood in the discourse of peace and security; to critically analyse the role of landmines in gendering socio-economic (in)security in postconflict communities; and to assess how coping mechanisms become gendered through humanlandmine co-existence. The study used a qualitative feminist posthumanist methodology which was ethnographic and reflexive in orientation. Data gathering tools included key-participant interviews, life history narratives and overt participant observation. These data collection tools were strategically chosen as they befit the feminist qualitative methodology that recognises reflexivity in the context of fluid identities. As such, the participants were men and women whose lives were shaped and reshaped by their co-existence with landmines during and after the war of liberation in the border area. Drawing on three key theoretical pillars – the agency of all genders, the agency of objects, as well as taking the African context of intangible objects/spiritualities seriously – the study has shown that human (in)security ought to be understood as a complex, fluid and contextualised phenomenon. The focus of the study on everyday micro-level (in)security has challenged the theoretical prejudices of grand security theories such as Realism, Human Security, Critical Security Studies and Feminist Security Studies, as well as their negation of alternative analytical constructs that (re)frame (in)security at the community level. These included gender, context (Afrocentrism), and the agency of non-human things (tangible/landmines and intangible/spiritualities). Despite the fact that livelihoods, identities and victimhood have all been shown to be gendered in many contexts, the subsequent agency exercised by men and women in their constrained ecologies shows that physical and socio-economic insecurity (vulnerability) transcends gender binaries as both men and women are equally embroiled in the becoming of (in)security in these contexts. Thus, theoretically and empirically, the thesis has demonstrated that it is only through a feminist posthuman approach that we can comprehensively understand that (in)security is a function of the human-object intra-action, since both humans and nonhuman things are co-constituted in co-producing gendered (in)security spaces and practices in post-conflict communities where ERW are still present.
Open Access
Navigating between the sacred and the profane: Mohokare sacred sites, spiritual tourism and the challenges in the formal heritage sector
(University of the Free State, 2022) Ntlhabo, Makashane Archibald; Cawood, S.
English: After the democratic election of 1994 in South Africa, many Basotho who were dispossessed of their ancestral land west of the Mohokare River in the Free State Province of South Africa in the late 19th century returned to reclaim the land through spiritual journeys to sacred sites of Mantsopa, Mautse, Motouleng and Witsie's Cave. This was the beginning of the contestation between farm owners and pilgrims, even between pilgrims themselves, thus creating complexities that came to characterise Mohokare Valley sacred sites as sites of ownership contestation, criminality, and hybridity. This study attempted to find empirical solutions to the sacred and profane tensions created by the inheritance of a colonial approach to heritage and land administration in South Africa that displaced Afrocentric customs, values, and experiences. The study integrated Afrocentricity and Decoloniality with elements from Postcolonialism to develop the Afrikana-Decolonial Theoretical Framework. The theoretical framework was further enhanced by Afrikana-Participatory Action Research (APAR) as research methodology that encompassed Afrocentric Research Methods and Participatory Action Research chosen because of their liberating and emancipatory potential to bring about change in the lives of local communities. This approach borrows spirituality and communalism from Afrocentricity, places Africa as the locus of engagement, takes hybridity from Postcolonialism as the condition that characterises sacred sites and pilgrimage, and approaches the process of decolonisation of African gnoseology from a decolonial perspective. This is interpreted from a broader perspective, extending back to the Atlantic Slave Trade and making local communities partners in this project. Given the nature of APAR, the research culminated in an Integrated Management Plan (IMP) designed to institutionalise Mohokare Valley sacred sites as spiritual tourism sites with beneficiation intended for all participants. The IMP was first tested on the Witsie's Cave Provincial Heritage Site as the action case study. It was adapted for the rest of the Mohokare sacred sites as part of an ongoing process in line with APAR.
Open Access
People, nature and resources: Managing land-use conflicts in Ngamiland, Botswana
(University of the Free State, 2022) Seleka, Malatsi L.; Segobye, A. K.; Cawood, S.
English: Land-use conflicts between communities and protected-area management authorities are recurrent in African countries. These are attributed to opposing needs, interests and preferences regarding land utilisation. If such conflicts are left unchecked or ineffective strategies are adopted, they can lead to negative social, economic and ecological consequences. This study sought to investigate the source and causes of conflicts regarding land use in Ngamiland or North-West District in Botswana.The study focused on the Mababe community and sought to critically evaluate the effectiveness of strategies employed by the DWNP to manage land-use conflicts in Mababe in the Ngamiland District of Botswana. Methodologically, the study adopted a qualitative case study approach and a post-positivist lens. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, participant observation and documentary analysis. Purposive sampling was used to select respondents for in-depth interviews and snowball sampling for focus group discussion participants. The majority of the respondents were aged between 45-64, with more males (64%) compared to females (36%). Findings of the study highlight that land-use conflicts between the Department of Wildlife and National Parks and the community of Mababe are caused by a range of factors, such as restricted access to and utilisation of land in protected areas by the community, tenure insecurity and non-participatory land management processes implemented by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks. The study also revealed that the Community-Based Natural Resources Management Programme (CBNRMP) adopted by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks has not always been effective, resulting in escalating land-use conflicts. The Community-Based Natural Resources Management Programme has not been able to address several issues at the core of community development needs. As a result, perceptions of its benefits are low in the community. The programme has unclear objectives and skewed power dynamics in managing land and other resources. The use of deceptive processes and neglect of community culture and values by Community-Based Natural Resources Management authorities from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks regarding land utilisation renders the programme ineffective in managing land-use conflicts. Based on the findings and consistent with the broader literature, the recommendation is that the Community-Based Natural Resources Management Programme be revised to incorporate issues of land tenure, harmonisation with other existing land and conservation frameworks, community values and culture, collegiate participation and peace education to improve its effectiveness in managing land-use conflicts. The study also proposes a participatory evaluation framework to improve the programme significantly.
Open Access
Longitudinal trajectories of identity formation and resilience development in adolescents living in disadvantaged communities
(University of the Free State, 2022) Shirima, Catherine M.; Naudé L.
Transitioning to adulthood is a core task which requires of adolescents to work on defining their sense of self. Indeed, they have to overcome an identity crisis in order to establish a coherent sense of self. Consequently, resilience becomes of uttermost importance for their wellbeing. In essence, identity and resilience are crucial processes of focus in their development. The urgency of the issue applies likewise to South African adolescents who are faced with unique challenges. Therefore, this study examined longitudinal trajectories of identity formation based on the five-dimensional model of identity development and explored resilience as it pertains to adolescents living in disadvantaged communities of South Africa. An equal weight, concurrent mixed methods research approach with a longitudinal design was used in this study. A non-probability convenience sampling technique was employed to collect quantitative data, and a purposive sampling technique was used to collect qualitative data. The final sample for the quantitative approach consisted of 564 participants aged between 12 and 24 years. For the qualitative data, a total of 18 groups with 162 participants aged between 14 and 21 contributed to focus group interviews. Data were collected over three points in time (in intervals of six months). The data for this study were collected using the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS), and the Resilience Questionnaire for Middle-Adolescents in Township Schools (R-MATS). A semi structured interview schedule was used to guide the focus group interviews. Given the longitudinal nature of the study, repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) allowed the examination of associations between the dimensions of identity and resilience across different points in time. Qualitative data were analysed using a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive reflexive thematic analyses. The study results indicated no significant time effect on the identity dimensions; the dimensions of identity showed a stable trajectory. There was a significant difference in some aspects of resilience across the points in time. Considering the interaction between identity and resilience, results indicated significant findings for Exploration in Depth, with the high resilience group showing a significant decrease in Exploration in Depth over time and the low resilience group a gradual increase. Although previous studies have shown the connection between resilience and identity, in this study the novelty is only directed to Exploration in Depth and resilience. Participants’ experiences of identity and resilience over time were thematically analysed, and four main themes were generated. The first related to participants’ experiences of who they are in trying to find a balance between individual attributes and resilience. The second pertained to risks and opportunities detailing the complexity in exploring resilience, while a third was participants’ experiences of agency when faced with adversity. Finally, the fourth theme highlighted the role of significant others and religious beliefs in navigating through landmines of life. Results demonstrated the important role of agency in pursuit of future directions. It was apparent that the participants in this study, played a significant role in shaping their lived experiences in relation to their identity formation and resilience. Furthermore, the participants' interactions with others were prominent in facilitating their understanding of who they are and their ability to deal with hardships, since those interactions gave them a sense of acceptance, belonging, and assurance and they did not feel judged. Participants’ ability to recognise available structures and to actually make use of them in the process of their identity development and resilience was evident in this study.
Open Access
Interethnic conflict and the role of traditional leaders in the truth and reconciliation programme in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo
(University of the Free State, 2021-11) Tembo, Emmanuel Tavulya-Ndanda; Mulumeoderhwa, Maroyi; Cawood, Stephanie
This empirical research was built on the failure of military operations, and formal peacebuilding processes sought to curb the interethnic conflicts revolving around the issues of land, citizenship and political power in the North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This study focused on the truth and reconciliation process designed by the Amani Programme in 2008 for the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu. It probed the role of the traditional leaders in the said programme for the period between 2008 and 2018. In order to establish its argument, this case study relied on data collected from eleven focus groups and thirty interviews purposively selected. Focus group discussions were conducted among members of CBOs, civil society, field NGOs, church leaders and members of field organisations, while interviews were conducted with traditional/ethnic leaders, church leaders, UN officials, government officials, and members of the civil society. Theoretically, this study used Lederach’s Conflict Transformation Theory and peace education. On the one hand, from the transformative viewpoint, the study's findings revealed that peacebuilding processes failed because they did not consider the local context of North Kivu, which endorses the full participation of the grassroots leadership represented by traditional leaders. On the other hand, this study found that informal and formal education for peace is still insufficient in the province. Clearly, there is a need for change, which is possible if a bottom-up approach is adopted where traditional leaders become the initiators of the reconciliation programme. It is worth noting that traditional leaders have the attribute to manage and distribute land as land question is one of the underlying causes of ethnic conflict in North Kivu. The engagement that restores the bami in their status as peacemakers can significantly change communities’ attitudes and perceptions. There is a strong need to engage the community in more workshops and meetings for reconciliation at the communal level.
Open Access
International diplomacy and big business in Namibia: the case of the Rossing Uranium mine
(University of the Free State, 2021-11) Ashipala, Saima Nakuti; Money, D.; Munene, H.; Phimister, I. R.; Quinn, S.
In the 1970s, Rio Tinto Zinc’s Rössing Uranium mine became a symbol of injustice for Namibian nationalists and international opponents of South African rule. Yet, counter-intuitively, the mine survived decolonisation in Namibia virtually unscathed and was re-imagined as part of modern, independent Namibia. How did this come about? This dissertation answers this central question by exploring the development of the Rössing Uranium mine during the colonial and early post-colonial period. The aim of the study is to present a detailed understanding of the strategies adopted by big business in response to changes in the political and economic environment in Namibia. It does so through a case study of big business and diplomacy in the establishment and operations of the Rössing Uranium mine under colonial rule and decolonisation. The study begins with a discussion on the pioneering stage in the history of uranium production in Namibia, which culminated in the transfer of the mining rights from the entrepreneurial prospectors to the British multinational corporation RTZ. The study concludes with an examination of Rössing Uranium’s public relations exercise which was adopted in anticipation of the impending political change in the territory. Keywords: Big Business, Diplomacy, Namibia, Rössing, Uranium.
Open Access
Caregiving: a feminist perspective on the lived experiences of caregivers in Harare
(University of the Free State, 2021-10) Mahomva, Sarudzai; Bredenkamp, I. M.; Lake, N. C.
In the light of the exponential increase in the population of the elderly, studies have predicted the care crisis of this population group unless adequate measures are taken. This qualitative gender-sensitive case study, which is guided by the symbolic interactionism perspective, argues that one of the possible ways of circumventing the likely elder “care crisis” is to delineate the ‘who’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ of unpaid elder care work in a family setting. Studies from Zimbabwe report on “families” taking care of the elderly. What is not well reported is exactly who does what, how and why within the family setting in an urban environment. What is known is that women are the primary caregivers, and they are also reported as disproportionately affected by poverty and disease (Zimbabwe Census, 2012). However, some studies report on adverse outcomes that are accumulated over the life course, when women place the needs of others before themselves. This study set out to determine the socio-cultural factors amongst other factors that influence who the caregivers are in families and interpret how such socio-cultural practices possibly contribute to placing unpaid family caregivers at risk of poverty. Participants aged 60+ who have cumulative experience as caregivers and receivers were purposefully selected to narrate their experience and to shed light on the nature of agency and adaptive strategies that they deploy in the family provision of elder care. One-on-one life course interviews and participant observation were deployed. Concepts from (1) the life course theory, (2) feminist care conceptual frameworks and (3) feminist intersectionality theory were integrated to formulatea conceptual framework that binds separate areas of the study (gender, care and ageing) into a unified approach. The constructivist grounded theory methodology that guided this study is useful when extant theory does not adequately explain phenomena under study and when developing theory that explains action or social interaction. The findings suggest that care is provided through a family care network. Four main caregiver roles that work in tandem to propel the elder care family network were identified. Family birth order and not gender is prioritised in the elder care decision-making process. Caring masculinities and caring femininities were also identified in this study. Such findings contribute to the development of social policies informed by participants’ primary needs, expectations, and concerns. The findings suggest the necessity to expand the notion of social citizenship by possibly exploring some of the indigenous ethics of care practices such as ‘zunde ramambo’ as described in this study.
Open Access
Democratisation and state-building in Lusophone African states: the cases of Cape Verde and Mozambique
(University of the Free State, 2021-11) Canhanga, Nobre De Jesus Varela; Steyn-Kotze, Joleen; Cawood, Stephanie
Despite promising prospects to political transition towards a democracy, over the last 25 years, Lusophone African states, achieved very different political and economic outcomes in relation to democratization and human development. This thesis investigates the cases of Cape Verde and Mozambique to explore the political transition and democratization processes in both countries to determine what factors support and/or undermine democratization, development, and political stability. The focus of the study is within the institutionalist scholarly tradition, thus considering the correlation between political institutionalism and economic and human development. While Cape Verde has consolidated democratic rule, Mozambique embraces authoritarian rule and became increasingly undemocratic, thus consolidating a form of political hybridity. Drawing on institutionalist and structuralist theories, this study engages quality of democratic institutions and socio-economic indicators in Cape Verde and Mozambique. The research demonstrates that for an effective transition and consolidation of democracy, institutions matter; and they shape the procedural and substantive elements of deepening democracy as well as quality of governance; which are seen as critical elements of economic and human development and quality of governance. In Mozambique, with strong Marxist ideology and military influence the ruling elite captured the state, controlled political and economic power and maintained authoritarian rules that undermine state-building in the democratic tradition and democratic transition. In Cape Verde, political institutions were more inclusive, allowing for greater voice, accountability and control of corruption and consequently democratic consolidation.
Open Access
A history of the production of statistics in Zambia, 1939-2018
(University of the Free State, 2021) Santebe, Mbozi; Money, Duncan; Phimister, Ian; Dande, Innocent; Dee, Henry
This thesis examines the development of statistics in Zambia in the period 1939-2018. It builds on studies concerned with the quality of data produced in Africa by unravelling the main forces that shaped the making of numbers. The thesis argues that external forces such as British colonial rule, and later the United Nations, donor countries and regional organisations shaped data priorities and funding of statistical enquiries. The United Nations also dominated the formulation of concepts, methods and classifications used to collect and process data. Nonetheless, internal dynamics also played a role in statistical development as the local environment determined the availability of requisite data and the application of international frameworks. Besides, locally-based statisticians made critical choices and decisions in data collection and processing while political players at times censored the circulation of data and the implementation of statistical reforms. The thesis further contends that statistical development was uneven across subjects and time. From the aftermath of the Second World War to the 1970s, the construction of national accounts and related indices expanded while other datasets received little attention. Whereas the production of statistics generally declined in the 1980s in the context of the economic crisis and the one-party state, some datasets were sustained in the same period. Furthermore, the onset of Structural Adjustment Programmes and the Poverty Reduction Strategy tilted statistical priorities towards data on human welfare and social indicators. The thesis also argues that the quality of statistics was uneven depending on the availability of required data. Often, statistics were weakened by the inadequacy of requisite information that complicated data processing and dissemination. Such difficulties negatively affected policy making, public service delivery, as well as local and international development programmes that often depended on incomplete data.
Open Access
‘Angels and Demons’? the Dutch Reformed Church and Anticommunism in Twentieth Century South Africa
(University of the Free State, 2021-11) Fourie, Ruhan; Koorts, Lindie; Du Toit, Jackie; Fevre, Chris
Afrikaner memories of apartheid are filled with images of an omnipotent communist threat, or the so-called Rooi Gevaar (Red Peril). This thesis explains why and how the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa (DRC), the organisation with the widest reach and deepest influence in the everyday lives of Afrikaners, played a significant role in perpetuating an anticommunist imagination amongst twentieth century Afrikaners. It fills a lacuna in the historiography of South African anticommunism, which has up until now been confined to a state-centric approach. Drawing on international theoretical frameworks, this thesis expands the dynamics of South African anticommunism beyond a Cold War-paradigm and embraces the flexibility of the phenomenon. The DRC acts as a lens into the intricacies of South African and, more specifically, Afrikaner anticommunism. It offers an original account of South African anticommunism by integrating a wide range of archival sources from the DRC’s extensive records, those of the Afrikaner-Broederbond (AB), and personal collections of key roleplayers, including Nico Diederichs, Koot Vorster, and Piet Meyer, into a single chronological narrative. This thesis argues that the DRC formed the backbone of Afrikaner anticommunism throughout the twentieth century. It illustrates that the church was not always the main driver, nor was its influence consistent. However, as a vessel of moral anticommunist propaganda, the DRC fulfilled a critical role in legitimising overt opposition to and suppression of ‘communism’ in all its perceived manifestations, including black dissent, whilst also creating an Afrikaner imagination – even at times a moral panic – in which the volk remained convinced of the ever-present communist threat, and of its own role as a bulwark against communism. Anticommunism, argues this thesis, functioned as a vehicle for nationalist unity (and uniformity), a paradigm for Afrikaner identity, and a legitimiser of the volk’s perceptions of its imagined moral high ground.
Metadata only
Organised secondary industry and the state in Zimbabwe, 1939-1979
(University of the Free State, 2018-11) Gwande, Victor Muchineripi; Phimister, Ian; Mseba, Admire; Nyamunda, Tinashe
English: This thesis examines the relationship between organised secondary industry, the state and other economic interest groups (farmers, miners and commerce) over industrialisation in Southern Rhodesia (Colonial Zimbabwe) between 1939 and 1979. Using diverse and fresh archival material that includes minutes and reports of industrialists’ congresses, industrial journals, business newspapers, legislative debates, government and commissions of enquiries’ reports, the thesis demonstrates that this relationship was uneven, irregular and often shifted depending on time and context. The thesis also concludes that the great expansion and diversification of industry which took place was, among other factors, attributable to the efforts of private entrepreneurs. Industrialists galvanised and formed representative organisations, starting with the Salisbury and Bulawayo Manufacturers’ Association (c.1920) which then evolved into the Salisbury and Bulawayo Chambers of Industries (c.1930s), Association of Chambers of Industries of Rhodesia (1941-1949), the Federation of Rhodesia Industries (1949-1957), Association of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Industries (1957-1964) and the Association of Rhodesian Industries (1964-1979). These organisations engaged the state in pursuit of industrial development. Often, industrialists associations’ requests, demands, and suggestions were opposed, if not dismissed, by the government and other economic interest groups and yet, remarkably, secondary industries expanded. By privileging the voice of industrialists which hitherto has been neglected in the historiography, the thesis moves beyond the existing scholarship’s emphasis on the actions of the state in the industrialisation of Colonial Zimbabwe through planning, regulation and establishment of major industries of national importance. While this existing analysis is correct, it is incomplete. Between 1939 and 1965, farmers, miners and commerce, with the state’s support, believed in the supremacy of the primary exporting industries of agriculture and mining in propelling the economy of Southern Rhodesia. The state’s bias towards the primary exporting industries of mining and agriculture manifested itself in its adoption of imperial preference by which it opened the colony for imports of manufactured goods from other parts of the British Empire in return for market opportunities for the primary products. It also sacrificed industrial interests in negotiating trade agreements, thus, depriving secondary industry of tariff protection. Further, the state routinely accepted advice which labelled the manufacturing sector as of secondary importance to mining and agriculture. The result was government policy based on the idea that industrial development was a field of private enterprise, whose growth ought to be voluntary. Industries were left to their own devices and to develop as opportunity occurred. The exception to this policy was during the crisis periods of the Second World War and UDI. Faced with the shortages of imported manufactured goods in the domestic market induced by the interruptions in international trade because of the war, the Southern Rhodesian government realised the imperative of developing local industries. The nascent industrialists seized the opportunity and prevailed upon the state to adopt an active policy to foster industrial growth. At the instigation and lobbying of industrialists, the government agreed, but no sooner had the war ended than the state retreated from its temporary support of local industries, reiterating its avowed policy of leaving industry to its own devices. This policy continued in the post-war years and throughout the period of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953-1963). The other exception was during UDI. Determined to survive under sanctions, the government and organised industry cooperated and collaborated to keep the wheels of industry in particular, and the economy in general, going. In an effort to preserve foreign exchange in the face of sanctions, the government introduced import control measures, which had the consequential effect of encouraging the establishment of import substitution industries which were able to take advantage of the protection it afforded.
Open Access
Botswana-South Africa economic relations: a history, 1966-2014
(University of the Free State, 2019-02) Sechele, Unaludo; Graham, Matthew; Phimister, Ian; Frank, Sarah
English: This thesis examines economic relations between Botswana and South Africa from 1966 to 2014 from Botswana’s perspective. It begins by describing different historical junctures in the economic history of the two countries, including but not limited to, the renegotiation of the Southern African Customs Union in 1969, which was required after the independence of the British High Commission territories, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. It suggests that though the renegotiated agreement was far from ideal, it was better than the original 1910 agreement. The thesis examines Botswana’s transition from a pastoral economy to one based on minerals, particularly diamonds from 1966 and 1972. It argues that Botswana’s tremendous economic growth in this period was buttressed by the partnership between the Botswana government and De Beers, a large South African mining company. Working together, their partnership formed Debswana, one of the biggest diamond companies in the world. This period was touted as Botswana’s economic miracle, but Botswana’s economic dependence on South Africa was never far from the surface, something the apartheid regime took advantage of in the 1980s. Expectations after 1994 of a fundamentally changed economic relationship between the two states were soon disabused. Overall, the thesis questions the extent to which Botswana escaped from the shadow cast by its vastly bigger neighbour, South Africa.
Open Access
Conflict and cooperation: "new farmers" in Zimbabwe, 2000-2015
(University of the Free State, 2019-02) Kufandirori, Joyline Takudzwa; Pilossof, R.; Mseba, A.; Passemiers, L.
English: This thesis explores the Fast Track Land Reform Program (FTLRP) in Mashonaland Central Province, Zimbabwe from 2000 to 2015. It investigates the impact of continuous lawlessness and new farmer relations on productivity and land use after the implementation of the FTLRP. It argues that the FTLRP ushered in an unprecedented shift in Zimbabwe’s agriculture landscape which radically transformed society, as new farmers walked into commercial land without structured or sustained support. The thesis explores how the political strategy adopted by the government from the year 2000 onwards to acquire land from the white owners continued to haunt the new farmers as there was no effort by the government to reconstitute institutions and laws that would guarantee respect and protection of property after the invasions. The government adopted a strategy that ignored existing laws that countered occupations and enacted laws to protect the occupiers. As such, the new farmers were vulnerable to the same anarchic political climate that had been faced by their white counterparts during the farm seizures. The thesis, therefore, argues that from the inception of the FTLRP to as late as 2015, insecurity occasioned by the general lawlessness commonplace at the time shaped the manner in which new farmers related to each other and was a major constraint to increased productivity. It contends that farmers had to cope with a new set of challenges that required major configurations in relations. The result was that the lawlessness, coupled with loopholes inherent within government policy on land allocation and resettlement, shaped the nature of relations that emerged in the new farming landscape. The thesis offers a comprehensive account of land use patterns and conflict among newly resettled farmers. It examines how the FTLRP brought about clashes amongst new land occupiers in the new agrarian terrain. It assesses how these struggles impacted on productivity and land use. The thesis also acknowledges the fact that relations amongst the farmers have not only been confrontantional but have also been characterised by instances of cooperation. It, investigates how new farming patterns and demands have called upon the farmers to conjure up innovative ways of relating to each other especially in the context of the fragility occasioned by the lawlessness that pervaded the period. This thesis, therefore, considers relations amongst the new farmers and persistent lawlessness as crucial in assessing land use and production in the resettlement areas.
Open Access
A history of archives in Zambia, 1890-1991
(University of the Free State, 2019-02) Simabwachi, Miyanda; Koorts, Lindie; Du Toit, Jackie; Holdridge, Chris
English: This thesis examines the significant role of national archives’ legislative framework, and of archival practices of appraisal, preservation and management, in the creation, positioning and formation of an identity for Zambia’s archives under different government systems between 1890 and 1991. In so doing, it describes the procedures involved in the creation of archives and demonstrates the diversity and the shifting notions of the nature and importance of archives for bureaucracies and different government systems. While the British South African Company administration pioneered the process of generating records through administrative operations, their appreciation of records and archives was largely functional and devoid of devising a formal policy for standardising permanent preservation and collection practices. A conceptual shift to archives as sources of precedents and of colonial histories, prompted successive administrations of British colonial government and the federal government of Rhodesia and Nyasaland to devise a system of centralisation of permanent archives and the formulation of legislation denoting the nature of the archives and their safe preservation – thus changing the power dynamic lodged in the archives. In the postcolony, an understanding of archives as custodian of national histories attracted intensive state interest and control through reviews of colonial archives legislation and strategic decentralisation of the archiving system. This thesis argues that Zambia’s archives have a history linked to changing administrative structures, legislative frameworks and archival perceptions and practices. It argues that the nature and position of Zambia’s archives in government, and hence its history, evolved over time with shifts in administration, legislation, archival professionalisation and practices of preservation and management and changes in the perception of archives.
Open Access
A history of Rhokana/Rokana Corporation and its Nkana Mine Division, 1928-1991
(University of the Free State, 2018-02) Munene, Hyden; Phimister, I. R.; Van Zyl-Hermann, D.; Money, D.
English: This dissertation is a detailed historical account of the corporate structure, labour relations and profitability of the Rhokana Corporation and its Nkana mine. Thematically and chronologically organised, it starts with the discovery of viable ores on the Copperbelt in the late 1920s, which attracted foreign capital from South Africa, Britain and the United States of America, prompting the development of the Nkana mine and the formation of the Rhokana Corporation in the early 1930s. The study concludes with the re-privatisation of the Zambian mining sector in 1991. It draws heavily from primary data housed in the Mineworkers’ Union of Zambia, National Archives of Zambia, United National Independence Party Archives and Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Archives, as well as interviews with key players in the Zambian copper mining industry. In doing so, the thesis contributes to the historiography of the political economy of the copper industry in Zambia. While the subject’s existing historiography has examined themes of corporate structure, labour relations and profitability in isolation and for relatively short periods when assessing the development of the Northern Rhodesian/Zambian mining sector, this thesis combines all three themes in Rhokana/Nkana’s history, investigating them over a long time period in order to construct a detailed historical perspective. The dissertation argues that Rhokana for a time was the most important mining entity in the Northern Rhodesian/Zambian mining industry. Rhokana was both an investment firm on the Copperbelt and a mining company through Nkana mine. The Corporation was consulting engineer to the mines owned by Rhodesian Anglo American Corporation on behalf of its parent company, the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa. It also invested in certain of the mines owned by the Rhodesian Selection Trust. Rhokana contributed significantly to the development of the copper industry in Zambia. Its corporate and labour policies influenced the Copperbelt as a whole. Employing the largest labour force in the mining sector, Rhokana spearheaded the labour movement on the Copperbelt. Its Nkana mine was also the largest producer of copper in the Northern Rhodesian mining industry between 1940 and 1953, and contributed hugely to the war economies of Britain and the United States of America. Throughout its history, Nkana was also a major source of cobalt. After nationalisation of the mining sector in 1970, Rhokana surrendered its investments in the wider copper industry, but remained central to the Copperbelt’s smelting and refining operations, owning the biggest metallurgical facilities in the industry. Through all of this, Rhokana’s corporate strategy evolved over time, as the Corporation cooperated with key stakeholders in the copper industry in order to safeguard its operations and profitability.
Open Access
Staying on the margins: Konkomba mobility and belonging in Northern Ghana, 1914-1996
(University of the Free State, 2018-11) Kachim, Joseph Udimal; Roos, Neil; Grilli, Matteo; Daimon, Anusa
English: This thesis examines Konkomba mobility and the contestations it generated about their belonging in northern Ghana. It analyses the social and political context within which this mobility occurred and argues that by moving across colonial and ethnic boundaries and further away from centres of power, the Konkomba placed themselves beyond the reach of state authorities. The thesis contends that whereas Konkomba spatial mobility was initially an instrument of resistance against state control, it became a source of marginality and exclusion from political and land rights in the postcolonial period. It further analyses the shifting British colonial policy, arguing that the nature and trajectory of British colonial experiment among the Konkomba were shaped not only by colonial initiatives but also by the Konkomba’s ability to subvert colonial rule through cross-border mobility. On the other hand, colonial policy also influenced the changing pattern and magnitude of Konkomba mobility. The thesis argues that the pattern of Konkomba mobility in the 1930s and 1940s has had a lasting impact not only on Konkomba status but also on the political and demographic history of the region. In addition, the thesis maintains that colonial state formation in northern Ghana produced a highly politicised form of ethnicity by pushing groups to redefine their feelings of belonging and identity in ethnic terms. It also analyses the tensions that emerged between the Konkomba and their host groups in the 1960s and 1970s as well as the differentiated ways in which they negotiated their inclusion in their host communities. Whereas in the 1990s, democratisation opened up political space for equal citizenship, it also excluded the Konkomba from land ownership and political rights. This fuelled tension between the Konkomba and their hosts. The thesis goes beyond explanations for mobility to contribute to debates around ethnic identity, belonging and democratisation in contemporary Africa, suggesting that there is the need to rethink the role of democratisation as a tool for empowering marginalised groups in Africa.
Open Access
Differenciating dysfunction: domestic agency, entanglement and mediatised petitions for Africa's own solutions
(University of the Free State, 2018-07) Nzioki, Mutinda (Sam); Keet, Andre; Konik, Inge
Africa’s optimistic expressions of a reawakening, a rising, to its own solutions remain nervously alive, albeit haunted by the reversals that quenched all previous enthusiasms concerning a rebirth. Still, this study draws creative impetus from African wisdom voiced in the Akamba idiom, Mbéé ndì Mwéné (No one can claim ownership of what lies ahead/the future). Being so, this study proceeds as a contemporary re-entering into part of the existing terms which calibrate the question of how to get Africa right. This process obliges consultations with earlier African voices and ideas that committed to ‘own solutions’ to post-independence problems, or rather more unflatteringly, ‘dysfunctions’. As a contemporary inquiry, this effort contends that posing adequate questions that can get to the heart of present normative life or public culture – as Lewis Gordon and Achille Mbembe put it – requires thinking in African scholarship and practice proceeding in ontological commitments which enable sharper specification of Africa’s difficult situations: for instance, bursts of ethno-religious violence, perilous migrations, xenophobia/Afrophobia, and corruption. However, seeing that many an Africanist scholarship makes these very claims, key to this challenge are the terms and approaches developed for sharper specification and adequacy, as these relate to locating, affirming and/or disregarding numerous important processes immediate to Africa’s conditions. In this regard, key concepts in this study are Africarise, differenciation, mediatisation, ground, and our way, with the central approaches being co-theorisation and relatedly, transversalism which involves creative interconnection with ideas and practices. Further still, because current life has increasingly seen mediatised expressions dominate social production, sharper specification of Africa asks of this African scholarship to connect with other generative grammars and methods of encountering Africans and Africanity. Those connections draw on established concepts that have often spoken Africa, alongside African ideas whose capacity remains un-utilised, as well as mediatised expressions in the street. However, while this process of connections and openings will unveil ugly clashes and contradictions, it offers even greater cause for affirmingpossibilities in Africa’s future.
Open Access
Knowledge transfer and British expertise in Zambian urban planning
(University of the Free State, 2017-03) Garnett, Helen; Law, K.; Phimister, I. R.
English: This thesis examines the relationship between the history of technical assistance and present day urban planning practice in Zambia and builds on multiple literatures spanning the field of planning history, technical assistance and planning knowledge transfer. It bridges a scholarly gap in the understanding of how historic ties impact on the way in which planning knowledge travels. Focusing on technical assistance and urban planning during the period 1962 to 2015, this thesis demonstrated that the conventional historiography has not sufficiently addressed the way in which post-colonial planning and technical assistance continued to instil British norms, values and standards beyond Zambia’s independence. It explores three key post-colonial mechanisms of soft power and technical assistance: bi-lateral technical assistance through the Overseas Service Aid Scheme; volunteering in the form of the Voluntary Service Overseas and; planner education in both Britain and Zambia. Through focusing on these mediums it examines how outdated planning ideologies remain ingrained in post-colonial Zambia some fifty years after independence. To understand how early technical assistance resulted in a further embeddedness of colonial planning logics, the thesis draws on archival material held within Britain and Zambia, as well interviews carried out with contemporary actors involved in the planning knowledge transfer process. Focussing on everyday experiences of planners, these primary sources identify how this history affects contemporary knowledge transfer. In doing so it uncovers the way that colonial planning logics emerge within, and affect the way that knowledge transfer takes place, as well as highlighting some of the complexities and enduring characteristics between colonial ideologies, post-colonial technical assistance, and everyday urban planning practices in post-colonial countries. The thesis concludes that independence witnessed a modification in the knowledge relationship between Britain and Zambia, and that rather than contemporary knowledge transfer opening up new routes and ideas, it merely follows a well-established colonial and post-colonial path. In tracing these continuities, this thesis demonstrates the centrality of history to contemporary planning practices. In doing so, this thesis opens up space for more comprehensive conversations between scholars of planning history, technical assistance and planning knowledge transfer.
Open Access
State, civil society and the politics of economic indigenisation in Zimbabwe, 1980 to 2016
(University of the Free State, 2017-03) Ndakaripa, Musiwaro; Phimister, Ian; Pilossof, Rory; Twala, Chitja
English: Using a broad civil society conceptual framework, this thesis examines the relations between the state and interest groups concerned with economic indigenisation in Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2016. During this period, the state maintained that the indigenisation policy addresses colonial injustices by facilitating the entry of indigenous people, mainly blacks, into the mainstream economy. The state also claimed the policy curbs the exploitation of natural and human resources by foreign capital. Emerging from the liberation struggle, the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) government adopted a pragmatic approach to accommodate the interests of both white and black interest groups in the 1980s. The state’s rather weak support of black enterprises during the 1980s is described in this study as proto-indigenisation. The state’s interactions with business associations and trade unions on matters of proto-indigenisation are explained using Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony which advances that governments use both ‘persuasion’ and ‘coercion’ to dominate social groups. Statist analysis, which explains how states use their power to side line civil society on national affairs, is also useful because the government often ignored the demands of black interest groups when it felt their demands threatened the economy. Peter Evans’ embedded autonomy concept which applauds dense ties and cooperation between the state and society on economic policies best explains the collaboration between the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) and the government on the black advancement policy (in which blacks were appointed and promoted on the labour market). The adoption of Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) in the 1990s led to increased demands by indigenous interest groups for affirmative action measures to facilitate black entry into the mainstream economy. The complex relations between the state, indigenous and established interest groups on indigenisation are explained within the context of neoliberalism. Indigenous interest groups feared that neoliberal economic reforms would benefit large white and foreign enterprises only and demanded a stronger role for black entrepreneurs. Paradoxically, despite accusations levelled against them, ‘neoliberal’ established business associations such as the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) and CZI supported black enterprises. This reveals the complex nexus between neoliberalism and indigenisation in the 1990s. Between 2000 and 2008, the state’s relations with interest groups concerned with indigenisation were shaped by the country’s political and economic crisis. The emergence of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and its ties with pro-democracy civil society had the effect, in reaction, of cementing patronage ties between the ZANU-PF government and indigenous interest groups. These patronage ties are explained using the public choice concept which contends that interest groups’ interactions with political elites are influenced by the need for economic gain. Attempts to adopt a plural approach to indigenisation in the 2000s through the National Economic Consultative Forum (NECF) failed because of the ZANU-PF government’s unilateral tendencies. Statist analysis is used to explain how the ZANU-PF government enacted the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act of 2007 despite fierce opposition from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), MDC parties and established business associations. During the power sharing government era, between 2009 and 2013, ZANU-PF implemented the Indigenisation Act in a typical statist fashion. Dissenting voices from the MDC parties, the RBZ, established business associations, and other civil society organisations were ignored. The ZANU-PF government’s reconsideration to review the Indigenisation Act in the post-power sharing era vindicates voices critical of the indigenisation programme. Arguably, for much of the post-colonial period, the ZANU-PF - controlled state was hegemonic on indigenisation. Although the views of interest groups were occasionally considered, the state formulated and implemented the policy in a manner which mainly protected its own interests. Succinctly, state-civil society relations on indigenisation in Zimbabwe have been complex and evolving. These relations are explained in this thesis using various conceptual analyses.

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