Browsing by Author "Abrahams, Caryn"

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Decoding the District Development Model to understand decentralised governance in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Kgosinyane, Pogisho Godfrey; Abrahams, Caryn
This thesis contributes to the literature on decentralisation and the intergovernmental relations framework. This contribution is relevant based on current scholarly debates on the contested idealised notions of decentralisation reforms, especially in developing countries such as those on the African continent. The thesis was concerned with exploring the institutional, political, and contextual factors of decentralised governance in South Africa. While much scholarly work on decentralisation in South Africa and on the African continent has been undertaken, new perspectives are needed. Firstly, decentralisation is often associated with normative views, for instance, the good governance perspective espoused by the Bretton Woods Institutions based on structural adjustments policies. Secondly, scholarly work tends to focus on an instrumentalist approach to decentralisation, which concerns itself with administration, delivery of services, and governance challenges at the local level. Thirdly, the political science approach focuses on the structural and social dimensions of decentralisation. This structural dimension considers the actions of political actors and society, which contends that decentralisation limits central states from subsuming all state power. However, this study outlines fundamental deficiencies in this argument by positing that constitutional imperatives on decentralisation do not necessarily constitute compliance. The study argues that political actors can exercise power outside formal, coded institutional structures such as the Constitution. Indeed, power often rests outside of formal intentions and plans if the diffuse realities of power are accepted. The approach of this thesis, however, is theory-driven. Through empirical evidence, this thesis provides insights into the complex power dynamics, the shifting governance, and volatile and contrasting outcomes inherent in decentralisation systems. The study found that while decentralisation in South Africa created new institutions and disperses power to the sub-national levels, it also, paradoxically, solidified power at the local level. These autonomous centres of power have led to an uncooperative, incoherent, multi-layered governance system that constrains rather than Pogisho Godfrey Kgosinyane Page ii 1535858 facilitates service delivery. Thus, decentralisation creates a window of opportunity for different actors to exercise their political power. The study adopted the District Development Model (DDM) as a case study to illuminate the governance interplay among the three spheres of government. The DDM is a multi-sphere development programme designed to improve service delivery and eliminate the pattern of operating in silos by the different levels of government. The study concludes that through the DDM, a new pattern of governance is emerging, altering central-local relations. The strong presence of the central government apparatus within the DDM suggests a process of recentralisation and reconfigured power relations. This thesis theorises that major changes in political and governance systems are not always violent or dramatic. Rather, these changes can be slow and subtle, masked as decentralisation while concealing centralisation tendencies, as revealed by this study. Further, this thesis argues that decentralisation is often fashioned on the premise that the political cultures of developing countries, such as South Africa, are mature enough to deal with the conflicting interests of political actors and institutional variations. The central argument of this thesis is that the conflict- avoiding negotiations during the Convention for a Democratic South Africa have accommodated starkly incongruous and incompatible political cultures, resulting in multiple power centres, thus effacing the claimed benefits of decentralisation. These insights were informed through a detailed case study approach employing face-to-face semi-structured interviews with participants from the three spheres of government.
Democratic governance in a selection of cooperatives in Tshwane Metropolitan area
(2019) Kgosinyane, Pogisho Godfrey; Abrahams, Caryn; Mackett, Odile
Cooperative principles and values are hailed as the guiding light that ensures that cooperatives serve their members and improve their economic conditions rather than maximise profit. This study explored the views of cooperative members on how they understand the meaning of the cooperative principle of democratic member control. The study also considered whether cooperatives adhere to cooperative principles and what the role of the state is within the cooperative businesses in the study. The cooperative identity as defined by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) was examined as well as the economic pressures and challenges that threaten the distinct cooperative character, especially the democratic member control principle. Purposive sampling was used to gather data from participants using semi-structured interviews. The study revealed that members of cooperatives are unaware of the cooperative principles and values. While members of the cooperatives are aware that a cooperative should be run democratically and collectively by its members, the study revealed that a minimalist form of democracy was practiced in the day-to-day life of the cooperatives.
Illegible data: A counterpoint to the evidence-based approach in policy decision making
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-09) Abrahams, Caryn
The art of governing is closely linked to the statecraft of decision making based on evidence. Population dynamics, social change and the growth of the middle class are some of the data analyses used to shape and influence policy directions and programmatic interventions in particular places. Data analysis is a crucial technology of governance, and it is how place, people and neighbourhoods are known and made legible to the state where the typical goal of the state is the reduction of the ‘disorderly, constantly changing social reality beneath it to something more closely resembling the administrative grid of its observations’ (Scott, 1998:82). Moreover, this ordering tendency is necessary for decision making that will have the highest impact for the greatest number of people – so there is, indeed, a crucial logic to this approach. Drawing from feminist urban scholars and others, this paper offers a provocation of sorts. It discusses the implications of the homogenising tendency at the heart of data-led approaches to governing. It considers the categories of urban residents and urban life that evade simplification and thus escape meaningful inclusion in policy intervention. This paper does not provoke a discussion of the ‘residual/elided/invisible/foreclosed’, that is, the illegible, unreadable and unseen in an attempt to diminish the potential and power of data-driven approaches to governance. Rather, it offers a counterpoint, and argues for the other kinds of illegible/unseen/residual data to sit alongside the data considered more legible and credible for decision-making processes. The goal of doing this is so that our knowing, official interests and rational models of policy intervention do not become mechanised or automated, but retain a view on the textual, nuanced and unresolved matters that make up everyday life in everyday contexts.
Illegitimate voices, peripheral debates, valid alternatives: A developing world articulation of alternative food networks
(2008-03-10T09:43:07Z) Abrahams, Caryn
ABSTRACT The theoretical argument that emerges from my empirical study argues that food provisioning systems in Johannesburg, as a potential lens to further investigation of food supply systems in the developing south cannot be classified within a traditional-modern dichotomy. This dissertation proposes a new conceptual device – a food provisioning continuum – which should inform research on African food supply systems in the future. The process of locating this rich case within a broader theoretical paradigm to validate it and to provide it discursive space, however, is not objective or without friction. I argue that it is possible to choose to locate rich empirical material in different conceptual frameworks, related not only to its applicability, but also to how the research may be valued and seen to extend knowledge. The expectation of the research community and the epistemological demand of new research, for a Masters dissertation is that the scholarly work will build on and extend existing knowledge. It is assumed that thorough research will challenge the boundaries of knowledge and that the candidate, after having undergone this academic rite of passage, will graduate from being a student to being a colleague within a research community. However, the process of creating new theory and advancing existing theory is not quite an objective or frictionless process as it first appears. Research in the south is validated more highly if it is located within, or builds upon international/northern theory even by research forums in the south like the NRF. The pressure for researchers from the south to locate their research in conceptual frameworks from the north – in order to be validated – appears to be one of the rules of the game. While this is validation as part of an academic exercise may be necessary, the practise entrenches spatial or geographical hierarchies within academia and academic discourse. The epistemological process of forging new theoretical frontiers is thus a constructed, unnatural space fraught with less critical valuing systems than are expected to be present within academia, no less within the discipline of geography.
Intersecting Public- Private and Civil Sector Governance of Gender Transformation in Sports in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-02) Ndzala, Vuyelwa; Abrahams, Caryn
South Africa is a developing country with gender equality being one of the leading priorities since the democratic transition of 1994. is ushered by several stakeholders who have an important role in the governance of gender transformation. As an essential element for development, sports require for an implementation of coordinated strategies, wherein which multi- stakeholders both in the public, private and civil sector can play prescriptive, regulatory, technical as well financial support roles. Some of these roles could include leadership in sports. Yet, issues of inequality, inadequate sports women professionals and administrators is engulfed for more than two decades into democracy in the country. Unequal representation in decision-making positions, pay parity, femicide and gender-based violence, inadequate investment, repetitive negative stereotypes as well as codified norms are some of the visible ills experienced by women in the society as well as in sports. The research began with gender transformation phenomenon as a background to the study drawing into the governance of sports and role players in the sports system in South Africa to provide a summative framework for gender transformation in sports. The theoretical argument suggests that good governance in sports is largely dependent on the how adequately and transparently defined are roles and responsibilities and functions of the partaking stakeholders. Also, on how well the monitoring and evaluation strategies are enforced by the governing organization. Mainstreaming gender equality polices, and strategies is key, and, unless all stakeholders adopt and implement policies including regulatory frameworks to monitor and evaluate these, gender mainstream in sports could have long-lasting impact for women. In this regard, women and girl players across sports codes should not have unequal opportunities in sports relative to their male counterparts. Women have been deprived access to sports participation or being in sport leadership positions. The literature review shows that some underlying factors including exclusions on account of social beliefs and expectations, socio-cultural expectations, inadequate publicity and media coverage, access to participation, funding and poor governance affects optimal participation of women and young girls in sports in South Africa. The primary research objective was to examine the roles and responsibilities of the public-private and civil sector in gender transformation in sports, how the roles and responsibilities intersect and what interactions are involved between the various stakeholders to ensure gender transformation in sports. The study used a qualitative research approach to gain better understanding of the problem, further, applied a purposive sample of knowledge experts including government sector, private sector, sport federation and non-government organisations (administrators/activists, decision- makers, employees, and sport persons) current and retired players, sports journalist, coaches, and clubs (women led, school, and community sports club) to participate in the empirical part of the study. To collect data, the researcher used semi-structured interviews (n=12), audio-recorded the interviews, transcribed and analysed the data using thematic analysis. The following six themes were identified from the data such as: (i) structural support for women and girls in sports, and (ii)gendered meanings of sporting inclusion, (iii) systemic and gendered exclusion, (iv) partnership and collaboration for social change and gender empowerment, and (v) re-shaping the imaginary of sport sponsorship and support. The findings confirmed that: a) public- private and civil sector organisations have a role to play in the transformation agenda and in sports, b) that there is inadequate support and coordination between the role players in favour in ushering gender transformation in sports, c) there is no central coordination of the roles and responsibilities. There is no clear strategy for collaboration of efforts between the role players, each of the entities work in isolation of the other d) there seems to be challenges in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the gender mainstream initiatives and affects the optimal of participation women sports in South Africa. The study enabled the researcher to develop a conceptual framework to address the problem. The framework suggests that all stakeholders (especially sports organisations) adopt and implement policies including regulatory frameworks to monitor and evaluate regulatory measures with the view to promote equality between women and men in sports. Adopt an intersectionality approach that will help to determine the differences the participation rates between the marginalised groups and to those among dominantly situated groups with a view to redress the patriarchal norms and systemic gendered exclusion in sports. Develop equality policies that are monitored and evaluated using scientific research and integrate those into actions that will contribute to progressive long-term change and amenable to respond to changes in response to local situations and specific environments. Develop a structured implementation platforms with concrete actions necessary to strengthen and structure of cooperation between stakeholders to develop their instruments, capacities, policies, and actions, while facilitating dialogue and exchange of experience. It is therefore concluded that women participation in sports in South Africa can only benefit from an investment (implementation) in such a framework that will demand all role players (public, private, and non-governmental organisations) to lead and cooperatively work together to change gender norms and stereotypes in sports in South Africa.
Participatory research in south africa’s socio-economic impact assessment systems (seias)
(University of the Witswatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Mokone, Plantina Tsholofelo; Abrahams, Caryn
PR is an integral part of the SEIAS methodology. When applied completely and effectively, it can expand the range of alternatives created for decision-making by allowing policymakers to document and interpret a policy challenge with those affected most. 2 PR promotes close collaboration between policymakers and the participants— traditionally considered the ‘subjects’ of a study. PR allows them to establish a research agenda, collect data, conduct critical analysis, and devise activities to achieve social change. According to Booysen (2007:172), participation in public policy (PP) decision-making is crucial. This involvement affords people and groups a ‘transformational voice’, enabling them to affect outcomes. This reasoning has severe implications for the ideals of democracy (Booysen, 2007
Pathways to antiracism
(2017-07) Abrahams, Caryn
There is an apparent resurgence of racism, xenophobia, and discrimination on the basis of ethnicity in South Africa. In this context careful policy-focused analytical work is critical to advance the constitutional values of non-racialism and equality. Pathways to antiracism, GCRO’s fifth Research Report, builds on GCRO’s ongoing research into race dynamics in the Gauteng City-Region, and aims to inform and provoke discussion around pathways towards social change. The study results from a long-standing partnership between the GCRO and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation (AKF) on the meaning and interpretations of non-racialism in contemporary South Africa. Pathways to antiracism consists of three substantive papers: ‘Antiracism in post-apartheid South Africa by Kira Erwin; ‘Doing antiracism work: Seeing through racial subjectivities’ by Caryn Abrahams; and ‘Global antiracism strategies and practice’, also by Kira Erwin. These papers are interspersed with photo essays, poetry and other short contributions. Antiracism in post-apartheid South Africa. This paper examines the contested nature of the concept of antiracism, and reviews selected strategies and practices by the state and various civil society and faith-based organisations to address racism in South Africa after 1994. Since antiracism is a less frequently used concept in South Africa than non-racialism, the paper starts with an overview of antiracism theories from within and outside the country. Against this theoretical backdrop, the paper then analyses interview data from selected South African organisations that have undertaken strategies and projects to address racism. Many of these initiatives are directed at the micro level of institutions and communities. They provide valuable learnings that suggest meaningful change within project participants and in specific sites, as well as sophisticated practices that acknowledge how race is interwoven with other forms of social difference, including class, culture, gender, sexuality and ethnicity. However, these projects do not collectively add up to a national success story of reversing racism. In its conclusion the paper makes a case for thinking about how we may best move these isolated pockets of practice into a broader national antiracism strategy. One key suggestion is to create a space for collaboration and collectivity between civil society organisations, as well as between government and civil society. This shared knowledge project may potentially leverage the strengths of existing strategies and facilitate the co-design of new strategies, in turn offering exciting possibilities for a national South African dialogue around plural rather than purist notions of antiracism that engages directly with many of the theoretical debates globally and locally. Doing antiracism work: seeing through racial subjectivities. This paper considers the way activists and others approach antiracism work. It begins with an explanation of the various ways people think through race, highlighting three typical subjectivities that shape racialised perspectives. The first, race essentialism, encompasses crass racism where there are assertions of superiority or inferiority. The second, race evasiveness, is when people distance themselves from accusations of racism by couching exclusion in other terms. The third, race cognisance, is when people acknowledge how race and racialised histories have shaped their ways of being and acting. The paper draws out these ways of seeing race, or acting in racialised ways, by looking at two recent examples that captured the public imagination, and demonstrates the complexities of race cognisance by capturing the voices of activists. The paper concludes that in this current conjuncture in South Africa, the challenge for activists is to teach people to be critical of their own race evasiveness, and, more generally, to think through ways to get beyond the struggle between race evasiveness, essentialism and awareness. Global antiracism strategies and practice. In 2001 South Africa signed the United Nation’s Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. One of the commitments in the DDPA was the development of a national action plan (NAP) against racism, xenophobia and related intolerances. Fifteen years after the conference, South Africa has now developed a draft NAP. While very few countries have produced monitoring and evaluation reports on their action plans, where these are available (for example, Canada and Ireland) some lessons can be drawn on what did not work and why. This paper examines NAPs within an international context, and outlines some of the key lessons South African policymakers could learn from the experiences of other countries that have implemented NAPs. It includes a discussion on some of the inherent tensions between NAPs and international compliance, and more specifically how South Africa may want to start thinking about these during the further development and implementation of such a plan. The paper’s conclusion also raises some critical questions on whether NAPs work and what is needed if they are to move beyond an exercise in international compliance.
Regulating the moto-taxi informal transport industry in Nacala-Porto Municipality, Mozambique
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Caximo, Caximo Paulino Nuno; Abrahams, Caryn
In developing countries, the recent growth of urban population has brought along several challenges to the already limited provision of essential public services. Along with heavier traffic, pollution, and limited access to essential public services, youth unemployment continued to grow and access to urban transport deteriorated. At the same time, the inability by governments to respond to these challenges, has created an opportunity for the emergence of innovative solutions, such as the moto-taxi, which provided affordable transport and created employment opportunities for youth, yet flourishing as an informal industry. Nacala-Porto is among the cities that faced this movement. This research aimed to critically analyse the process that the government of Nacala-Porto, a municipality in northern Mozambique, has followed to regularise the emergence of informal moto-taxi industry, given its accompanying two-folded reality: of a solution to a concrete public provision gap, that brings along, important concerns. The study was designed as qualitative research, with a focus on exploring the beliefs and perceptions of key actors in this informal industry, and enriching the body of knowledge on the subject, which is currently not well documented for that municipality. Building on the rich literature on the subject borrowed from other developing countries, the study has shown that this informality has been seen as contributing to filling the gap in provision of public transport services in the municipality, and thus, important steps have been taken to regularise the sector. Actual steps taken by the municipality, included (i) adjusting the existing policies and regulations (in the form of the municipal stance), to accommodate the novel form of transportation; (ii) capacity building of the moto-taxi drivers, to understand the requirements built into the revised stance; (iii) supporting the creation of a formal structure for the sector, in the form of moto-taxi driver association, despites not having taken-off; and (iv) establishing law enforcement mechanisms through the municipal police, although recognized as being weak. Despites the important steps taken, policy gaps prevail, especially on establishing comprehensive standards for the operators in the sector, but more importantly, on law enforcement, which leads the sector to continue to operate far from the goal of ensuring access to safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport systems for all.
Socio-Spatial Disparities in Environmental Health in the City of Johannesburg
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Nyangule, Zizipho; Abrahams, Caryn
This research explored socio-spatial disparities in environmental health within the urban context of Johannesburg, specifically focusing on access to environmental health services in both low- income and high-income neighborhoods. The study aimed to comprehend how disparities in access to essential services impact residents' environmental health experiences. Employing a qualitative research methodology, data was collected from two focus groups as part of the Sustainable, Healthy, Learning Cities and Neighborhoods (SHLC) project. A hybrid thematic analysis approach was utilized to examine secondary data from focus groups conducted in both low-income and high- income neighborhoods, illuminating the unique challenges faced by residents in each socio- economic context. The findings reveal shared challenges in both low and high-income areas, encompassing access to sanitation, clean air, healthcare, and civic engagement. However, the manifestations of these challenges differ; low-income neighborhoods experience more acute impacts on basic health and well-being, while high-income neighborhoods may grapple with issues related to the preservation of quality of life and efficient governance. This study contributes to the understanding of environmental health disparities and highlights areas for improvement in enhancing the overall well-being of residents in diverse urban settings. The research findings underscore the importance of targeted interventions tailored to the specific socio-economic context of neighborhoods in the City of Johannesburg. Additionally, the study emphasizes the relevance of Environmental Justice and Social Justice perspectives in addressing these disparities, thereby offering a comprehensive framework for future interventions.