Democracy and political governance in South Africa: Two decades after Apartheid

South Africa was under the apartheid rule for around fifty years.Apartheid was formally established by the National Party when it came to power in 1948.In terms of the apartheid policy, the government belonged to the White people who enjoyed all human rights and were entitled to rule the country to the detriment of the Black people despite the latter constituting the overwhelming majority of the population.The apartheid regime eventually came to an end in the early 1990s. Following the ending of the dictatorial regime, a new Constitution was adopted and the first democratic elections were held in South Africa [T]his paper reflects on the road that South Africans have gone from Apartheid to democracy and good political governance, on what they have achieved as well as the challenges and prospects for democratic governance in the country

Barriers and coping capacities experienced by people living with disability in the Nzhelele area of Limpopo Province

M.A. (Social Science)The aim of this study was to gain specific and further knowledge of disability so that people living with disability can be empowered and barriers can be challenged and removed. This would enable the researcher to understand the different barriers of disability and how people with disability cope. Barriers of disability are still a problem affecting people worldwide. People with disability suffer environmental barriers, economic barriers, political barriers, educational barriers, social barriers, cultural barriers and sports barriers, which all have a significant impact on them. They suffer barriers on a daily basis. For people with disability to become central and more functional, there is a need to remove these barriers. The orientation to the study in Chapter 1 gives an introductory overview of the background to the study, the aims and objectives, research methods and design, limitations, operational definitions of concepts and division of the study. Chapter 2 outlines the literature review and theoretical explanation, which is tabled to give an understanding of the different types of barriers and how to rise above these challenges, l.e. labelling, stereotypes and stigmatisation. Research design and methodology in Chapter 3 describes the population and location of the study, the sampling methods applied and the manner in which data was collected and analysed, ethical consideration and limitations. Chapter 4 outlines and evaluates the data collected. Results and interpretations are provided. The presentation includes the participants' biographic barriers they experience, the consequences people with disability suffer and how they cope with them. Chapter 5 highlights the conclusions drawn, as well as recommendations for people with disability, their families, societies, future researchers and social work as a profession and policy

Democracy and elections in Africa in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Lessons for Africa

André Mbata Mabgu and Mpariseni Budeli write on the trajectory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which, moving from a colonial to an independent to an oppressive state before finally emerging into democracy in 2006, resembles that of many African states. Lessons from the DRC elections for democratic consolidation and state reconstruction may therefore be considered illuminating, reflective of the post-colonial African experience with constitutionalism and democracy. The article concludes that, despite some shortcomings, the elections were particularly peaceful, thus disappointing many prophets of doom. After decades of authoritarianism and violent conflicts this is an achievement that should be celebrated across the continent and by those who assisted in the process, including the international community. The message from the DRC is also encouraging to the proponents of an African renaissance, which cannot materialise without democracy, the rule of law and development

A comparative analysis of social work fieldwork supervision at the University of Venda and University of Limpopo : implications for policy and practice guidelines

Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021The present study is a comparative analysis of social work fieldwork supervision at the University of Venda (UNIVEN) and the University of Limpopo (UL) and has produced a list of implications for policy and practice guidelines. The study adopted a qualitative approach to scientific enquiry. It was exploratory and descriptive in nature. The population of the study consisted of final year student social workers and fieldwork coordinators from UNIVEN and UL. Data was collected by means of semi-structured and focus group interviews. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. The study’s results demonstrated that most students from both universities had outstanding relationships with their supervisors. The study also found that most students were supervised on an individual basis. Informal and ad hoc methods of supervision sessions were also preferred by supervisors, entailing that, as soon as a supervisor felt like saying something, they would just say it. If was found further that supervision methods lacked supervision structure, whereby it would have been planned and communicated in advance, so that students could contribute to the agenda, have a designated venue, and arrive prepared. Group supervision was found to be a rarely used method. The study also found that most students reported that the frequency of supervisions was once a week, while others felt that supervision occurred every day. Fieldwork supervisors continue to deliver the three major functions of supervision, which are administrative, educational, and supportive. The study found that students had little support from university fieldwork coordinators. The researcher established that field support visits by both universities were unsystematic. The researcher has also established that UL students need financial support in the form of a stipend to cater for costs related to their fieldwork placement, such as transport and food. Furthermore, the researcher found that students from both universities need regular contacts with the university-based supervisors/ coordinators. The study revealed the need to reinforce many critical aspects of fieldwork supervision. These include regular contact, field visits, ensuring formal supervision, ensuring formal orientation of students, and making sure that students are adequately exposed to social work practice. Despite the challenges they face, coordinators continued to play a critical role in ensuring that students were properly placed. Measures must be developed to ensure compliance with policy mandates. The study also found that UL did not have fieldwork practice policies, operating instead by using a manual for practical work dated 2012. Given the fact that the university was operating on a newly accredited BSW programme, this manual is outdated. There is a need to align it for fieldwork with the current BSW curriculum. In response to these findings and loopholes in fieldwork coordination and practice in general, the study recommends that UL develop policies related to fieldwork practice that will guide the department when planning fieldwork-related activities. Although UNIVEN has fieldwork practice and supervision policies in place, their practice lacks compliance with the policies, as reflected in the presentation of study findings in Chapter 10. In response to these inadequacies, the study recommends measures the university could use to ensure compliance. Finally, the study developed a social work fieldwork practice model. It is a six-phase model that includes analysis of historical and cultural dynamics for planning purposes, drafting a concept paper placement plan, broad consultation with the stakeholders, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and post-implementation consultation and termination. Key Words: Fieldwork supervision, fieldwork supervisor, fieldwork coordinator, social work, student social workersUniversity of Venda (UNIVEN

Freedom of association and trade unionism in South Africa : from apartheid to the democratic constitutional order

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 297-330).This doctoral thesis deals with freedom of association and trade unionism in South Africa. Freedom of association is one of the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in a number of legal instruments both at the international and municipal levels. Progress and democracy require respect for human rights, including the right to freedom of association at the workplace. Trade unionism is the expression of this right. The development of trade unionism in South Africa is closely related to that of freedom of association and was instrumental to the demise of apartheid. This work provides a theoretical, historical and legal background to freedom of association and trade unionism, both from a comparative and international law perspective. It then investigates the legal and jurisprudential protection of freedom of association and trade unionism under apartheid before dealing with their protection under the post-apartheid legal order. The thesis argues that international law in general and international labour law in particular contributed a lot to the development of freedom of association and trade unionism in South Africa. It concludes that South Africa has gone a long way in protecting freedom of association at the workplace and trade unions played a critical role in the consolidation of democracy in the country. The prospects for the protection of freedom of association and trade unions are good. However, there are also a number of challenges, political, social, economic, and intellectual. These challenges need to be overcome to consolidate democracy and a culture of human rights. The thesis ends with some recommendations for further research to ensure the best protection of freedom of association and trade unions in South Africa and the rest of our continent

Workers' right to freedom of association and trade unionism in South Africa : an historical perspective

Journal articleWorkers' right to freedom of association is the fundamental labour right. In the workplace, the right to freedom of association is essentially an ''enabling'' right which entitles workers to form and join workers' organisations of their own choice in order to promote common organisational interests. For workers, freedom of association is a means of facilitating the realisation of further rights, rather than just a right in itself. It is considered the single essential right for workers from which other rights flow and without which other rights are illusory. It is therefore referred to as a ''shorthand expression for a bundle of rights and freedoms relating to membership of associations of workers and employers''

Genetics evaluation of tick resistance in South African Bonsmara cattle

Thesis (M.Sc. (Agric.)) --University of Limpopo, 2010The objectives of the study were to estimate genetic parameters for tick resistance and to evaluate the effect of the level of tick infestation on the estimates of genetic parameters in South African Bonsmara cattle. Field data of repeated tick count records (n = 11 280) on 1 176 animals were collected between 1993 and 2005 by ten breeders participating in the National Beef Recording and Improvement Scheme. The distribution of tick count records were normalized using a Box-Cox transformation. Data were divided into 7 sub-data sets based on the mean tick count per contemporary group, to facilitate the investigation of the effect of level of tick infestation on the derived genetic parameters. A repeatability animal model including the fixed effects of contemporary group and age of animal at tick counting and random effects of the direct additive genetic, permanent environmental and residual effects was used to estimate genetic parameters using REML procedures. The additive genetic variances for tick count ranged from 0.01 to 0.08. Variances for the permanent environment ranged from 0.00 to 0.03. Phenotypic variance decreased with increasing mean tick count level while additive genetic variance increased with increasing mean tick count level. The heritability also increased with mean tick count level until a mean tick count level of ≥30. The highest heritability estimate obtained in the current study was 0.17 for data with mean tick count level ≥25. These results suggest that sufficient genetic variation for tick count exists in the Bonsmara cattle. Therefore genetic selection for tick resistance is feasible even though genetic progress may be slow.the Limpopo Department of Agriculture (LDA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST

Trade unionism and politics in Africa: the South African experience

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