From apartheid to democracy: a historical analysis of local struggles in Phomolong Township, Free State: 1985-2005
Date
2014-01-24
Authors
Kunene, Phindile Sibongile
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This thesis traces the evolution of local struggles in Phomolong Township in the
northern Free State from 1985-2005. The service delivery protests that took place in
Phomolong in 2005 are used as a prism through which to understand the history and
context of local struggles that place the role and functions of the local state at the
centre. The historical approach pursued in this research has made it possible to
identify and review the common threads running through the three periods in
Phomolong’s history. These three periods are the 1980s under apartheid, the
transitional period in the early 1990s and the period starting in 2000s which marked a
complete break with the past system of local government. The continuities and
discontinuities in these three periods reveal complex dynamics about the process of
change and struggle that defines South Africa’s local government edifice. Although
this study avoids making generalisations about the extent to which the research
findings contained herein can be applied to other localities exhibiting similar
characteristics as Phomolong, it does nonetheless hope to lay the foundation from
which future researchers can build.
Description
Thesis (M.A.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, History, 2013