From apartheid to democracy: a historical analysis of local struggles in Phomolong Township, Free State: 1985-2005

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.