UWCScholar :: Browsing by Author "Thompson, Lisa"

Browsing by Author "Thompson, Lisa"

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African military intervention in African conflicts: an analysis of military intervention in Rwanda, the DRC and Lesotho
(University of the Western Cape, 2006) Likoti, Fako Johnson; Thompson, Lisa; School of Government; Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences
The dissertation examines three military interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa which took place in the mid and late 1990s in Rwanda, the DRC and Lesotho. These interventions took place despite high expectations of international and regional peace on the part of most analysts after the collapse of cold war in 1989. However, interstate and intrastate conflicts re-emerged with more intensity than ever before, and sub-Saharan Africa proved to be no exception.The study sets out to analyse the motives and/or causes of military interventions in Rwanda in 1990, the DRC in 1996-7, and the DRC military rebellion and the Lesotho intervention in 1998. In analysing these interventions, the study borrows extensively from the work of dominant security theorists of international relations, predominantly realists who conceptualise international relations as a struggle for power and survival in the anarchic world. The purpose of this analysis is fourfold; firstly, to determine the reasons for military interventions and the extent to which these interventions were conducted on humanitarian grounds; secondly, to investigate the degree to which or not intervening countries were spurred by their national interests; thirdly, to assess the roles of international organisations like Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the United Nations, in facilitating these interventions; as well as to evaluate the role of parliaments of intervening countries in authorising or not these military interventions in terms of holding their Executives accountable. In this context, the analysis argues that the intervening countries; Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Chad, Namibia, Rwanda, Sudan, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe appeared to have used intervention as a realist foreign policy tool in the absence of authorisation from the United Nations and its subordinate bodies such as the OAU and SADC.
An assessment of social capital in rural Ethiopia: The case of Aresi and Menze
(University of Western Cape, 2021) Tamirat, Fikrewold Yeneneh; Thompson, Lisa
This dissertation explored the degree and distribution of social capital forms-social networks, volunteer associations, generalized trust, particularized trust and norms of reciprocity in rural Ethiopia. It aims to contribute to the academic understanding of social capital formation in Africa. Whereas the extent of literature focused on uncovering difference in the distribution of social capital at macro, meso and micro levels, this dissertation instead unpacks how political and economic conditions in rural Ethiopia shape the extent of the different forms of social capital at different levels.
An Assessment of Social Capital in Rural Ethiopia: The Case of Aresi and Menze
(University of the Western Cape, 2021) Thompson, Lisa; Tamirat, Fikrewold Yeneneh
This dissertation explored the degree and distribution of social capital forms-social networks, volunteer associations, generalized trust, particularized trust and norms of reciprocity in rural Ethiopia. It aims to contribute to the academic understanding of social capital formation in Africa. Whereas the extent of literature focused on uncovering difference in the distribution of social capital at macro, meso and micro levels, this dissertation instead unpacks how political and economic conditions in rural Ethiopia shape the extent of the different forms of social capital at different levels. Aresi and Menze are selected for the case-study based on their representation of rural Ethiopia's ecological, language, and ethnicity, historical and religious diversity. A household survey (n = 735) was conducted to uncover the distribution of social capital forms at the individual, regional and aggregate levels. Eight focus group discussions and ten key informant interviews were conducted to unpack why the different forms of social capital unfold the way they do. The qualitative interviews were also used for validating the result of the household survey by uncovering how institutional and structural factors reconstituted and redefined at the local level and translated into social capital formation. The empirical result revealed that social networks and norms of reciprocity are the most important social capital apects in the study areas. At the same time, trust relations and formal networks (volunteer organizations) are the least important aspects of social capital. However, over time, community-organization has become an alternative venue where community members relate and support each other. Thus, network-based and community-based social capital are the principal social capital forms in the study areas. This result is largely inconsistent with the previous studies that have been conducted in developed and democratic countries which have asserted generalized trust and impersonal civic organizations as the major forms of social capital, rather than localized and interpersonal forms of social capital. The fact that different forms of social capital are present in different contexts with different levels of importance shows that forms of social capital do not necessarily articulate together. Moreover, the variation in the relative importance of social capital forms shows that the production of social capital is shaped by the prevailing political and economic conditions. Thus, this dissertation makes the case that it is necessary to distinguish among the different forms of social capital both in theory and practice.
An assessment of the social consequences of water management devices on the poor in Samora Machel, Cape Town
(University of the Western Cape, 2014) Ntwana, Bukiwe; Thompson, Lisa
This study assesses the social consequences of water management devices in poor households in Samora Machel, a poor urban area characterised by high levels of unemployment and poverty. South Africa is currently faced with an increase in the roll out of water management technologies, mainly in poor areas, allegedly to manage water demand and help poor households manage their water consumption and prevent wastage. The water management device (WMD) limits access to the free basic water (FBW) allocation and automatically cuts it off when the allocation is finished. In 2009/2010 the City of Cape Town started rolling out the devices in Samora Machel, which previously used the conventional water meter that supplied the area with unlimited water access. WMDs limit water access to 350 litres of FBW per day. People living in Samora Machel claim that 350 litres is not enough and they are experiencing problems of frequent water cuts even before the allocated litres are used up. There have also been water leaks ever since the installation of the devices. Section 27(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996, entrenches the right of access to sufficient water. The WMDs are criticised for infringing the right of access to sufficient water supply to poor households by leaking, cutting off water supply frequently and by limiting access to FBW supply. Moreover, critics argue that the WMDs are not water-demand management mechanisms; they are cost-recovery mechanisms that are introduced under the neo-liberal policies introduced by the post-apartheid government in 1994. This criticism is based on the fact that the WMDs are implemented in poor areas only, where water is needed more for basic survival, rather than in high-income areas, where water is mostly used for luxury purposes.
Between supply and demand: the limits to participatory development in South Africa
(SAGE, 2013) Tapscott, Chris; Thompson, Lisa
Much of the focus in the literature on participatory development has been on the demand side and on the extent to which citizens succeed in pressuring the state to deliver basic services. Less attention has been focused on the supply side of participatory development, namely on how state institutions give effect to development policies. Post-Apartheid South Africa is replete with policies and legislation supporting participatory processes and yet in practice this has seldom lived up to the ideals espoused. This article examines the delivery of public housing in poor communities in three municipalities in South Africa and argues that there is a mismatch between how the formulators of policy understand participation and how it is interpreted by beneficiary communities and local officials. It concludes that considerably more attention needs to be focused on why officials fail to translate national policies into action if participatory democracy is to attain any legitimacy in the population at large.
Citizen participation and water services delivery in Khayelitsha, Cape Town
(University of the Western Cape, 2011) Nleya, Ndodana; Thompson, Lisa; School of Government
This study analyses the relationship between the manner of citizens’ engagement with the state and the level of service delivery they experience in their everyday lives, as residents of Khayelitsha. The phenomena of so-called ‘service delivery’ protests across South Africa have now become a fixture of South African politics. Khayelitsha is one of the sites with frequent protests in Cape Town and is inhabited by poor people, 70 percent of whom live in informal settlements. While the lack of municipal services is undoubtedly a major problem for many poor people in South Africa, thus far, few studies have been dedicated to investigate empirically this alleged link between service delivery and protest activity. The study utilizes mostly quantitative analysis techniques such as regression analysis and path analysis to discover the form and strength of linkages between the service delivery and participation forms. While residents of informal settlements and therefore poorer services were more prone to engage in protests and thus reinforcing the service delivery hypothesis, this relationship was relatively weak in regression analysis. What is more important than the service delivery variables such as water services was the level of cognitive awareness exemplified by the level of political engagement and awareness on the one hand and level of community engagement in terms of attendance of community meetings and membership of different organizations. In summary the study found relatively weak evidence to support the service delivery hypothesis and stronger evidence for the importance of cognitive awareness and resource mobilization theories in Khayelitsha as the key determinant of protest activity.
Civil society and citizen participation in governance processes in Zimbabwe, 1997-2010
(University of the Western Cape, 2011) Mapuva, Jephias; Thompson, Lisa
The deteriorating political environment in Zimbabwe, especially from the mid-1990s culminated in the emergence of pro-democracy CSOs that sought to engage the authoritarian to encapsulate democratic principles and enhance citizen participation in governance processes in Zimbabwe, especially from 1997 to 2010. The case studies are the Combined Harare Residents ' Association (CHRA), the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Organization (ZimRights). Interviews and questionnaires conducted on CSO secretariats and members and complemented by documentary analysis presented as qualitative and quantitative data respectively. Data is drawn from a cumulative total of 300 tasks. The analytical framework is drawn from debates around the interconnectedness between democracy, governance, civil society and citizen participation provide.
Contested resources: Challenges to the governance of natural resources in Southern Africa
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2002) Benjaminsen, Tor Arve; Cousins, Ben; Thompson, Lisa; Campbell, Rosie; Heyns, Stephen
In this keynote address I wish to identify some important ideas and conclusions arising out of recent analyses of theory and practice on natural resource management. I use these in a preliminary attempt to argue that the centrality of power and meaning in processes of ‘governing natural resources’ is not sufficiently addressed in the currently favoured approaches of ‘common property theory’. My intention is to provide some food for thought as we consider together the specific cases presented in the symposium. I am personally committed to the intersection of scholarship or theory-building with practical action, including policy. Note that I say ‘intersection’ – I do not wish to conflate the academic work of theory-building with the practical work of applying theory to policy, but I also reject their total separation as neither possible nor desirable. It is the interface of ideas and action which interests me. I am particularly interested in the way certain ideas or approaches make their way into policy design and implementation, often with no attention being paid to their theoretical premises, and how quickly they become accepted as conventional wisdoms. Equally interesting is the question of why some ideas and approaches developed by thinkers and researchers do not make their way into policy debate. Today, I shall discuss some notions that currently dominate the realm of natural resource management so effectively that they exclude others that might be more appropriate guides.
Controlling Cape Town’s poor through water management devices: the case of Saxonsea, Atlantis
(University of the Western Cape, 2013) Matose, Tamsanqa; Thompson, Lisa
This study examined the impact of the City’s water management strategies, specifically the water management devices, on selected households in Saxonsea. The impact of cost recovery policies on poor households was interrogated in the light of government’s distributional and procedural equity in service delivery. The main issues arising from the study were lack of consultation, inadequate information, and perception of powerlessness. The study concludes that although water management devices have contributed to significant improvements in water saving, poor households are burdened with the responsibility of saving water. If the idea is to save water across the board, this regimen should be extended to all water users and not targeted at poor households only
An exploration of the concept of community and its impact on participatory governance policy and service delivery in poor areas of Cape Town, South Africa
(Taylor & Francis, 2018) Thompson, Lisa; Tapscott, Chris; De Wet, Pamela Tsolekile
The inclusion of citizen participation as a means to the equitable delivery of public services has distinguished South Africa’s democratic development trajectory over the last 20 years. While equitable resource allocation remains high on the agenda of more recently democratised states, most of which have highly diverse and unequally resourced populations. Influencing the design of more inclusive participation is the notion of a universal citizenship that applies the concept of the equality of individuals to the needs, identities and sense of agency of citizens both between and within states. The liberal democratic theoretical conceptualisation of the individual centres on the notion of universal citizen, who is the recipient and embodiment of democracy through the rights bestowed through the democratic model. This conceptualisation has been criticised for its inability to deal with the imprecision of individual and collective political identities, especially as these evolve in newly democratic contexts. The construction of a single identity citizen living in communities imbued with homogenous characteristics is carried forward into the policy construction of participatory governance. This article explores and challenges the notion of the single identity citizen that belongs to one homogenous community that can be identified and drawn into formally constructed government spaces. The paper explores the construction of political and socio-economic identities and how notions of community are constructed by citizens, on the one hand, and government policies, on the other.
Exploring the current state of the City of Cape Town’s transport system and its spatial policies
(University of the Western Cape, 2021) van Wyk, Leonore; Thompson, Lisa
There are many reasons why Cape Town is the most congested city in South Africa besides there just being “too many cars on the roads”. This paper explores Cape Town’s transport system and spatial policies and how it impacts traffic congestion as traffic congestion serves as a primary indicator of poor spatial planning and development. A desktop study was conducted with secondary data being utilized. The City of Cape Town is aware of the issue of traffic congestion and the impact that it has on commuters, especially those with little financial means. There are numerous policies and frameworks in place to combat the issue of traffic congestion, but corruption and the politicization of spatial planning hinders the resolution of the problem.
From poverty to power? Women’s participation in intermediary organisations in Site C, Khayelitsha
(Unisa Press, 2011) Thompson, Lisa; Conradie, Ina
This article examines how women organise themselves in community structures to claim socio-economic rights through participation. The discussion is based on case study research undertaken in Khayelitsha, Site C, where women involved in incomegenerating projects (IGPs) have also been involved in a dual strategy of trying to improve their living conditions through active engagement. The article looks at the intermediary institutions, the South African national Civics Association (SANCO) and the Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF) which mediate the participatory spaces for engagement created by local government, and how these organisations serve ordinary men and women from the townships in terms of helping them to attain a better quality of life.
Investigating participatory development in South Africa and Nigeria: A case study of Stellenbosch and Bwari municipalities
(University of the Western Cape, 2022) Friday, Alaji; Thompson, Lisa
This qualitative case-study investigated the level of communities’ participation in developmental initiatives at the grassroots level in Stellenbosch and Bwari municipalities. This was carried out through the prism of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and Community and Social Development Project (CSDP) using Kayamandi and Bwari communities in South Africa and Nigeria as case studies respectively. In this study, the participatory development approach was employed as the theoretical bedrock for this investigation. In choosing this approach, the genealogy of participatory development approach was examined in light of the failure of some of the earlier development theories such as the growth, modernization, and dependency theories.
An investigation into the developmental model of social welfare service delivery: a Western Cape case study
(University of the Western Cape, 1998) Demas, Carla; Thompson, Lisa
This study explores the extent to which welfare policy in South Africa is suitable to the country's needs and is translated into practice. lt focuses on the White Paper for Social Welfare and looks specifically at the developmental model of welfare. The study draws on the experiences of various stakeholders within the welfare sector, such as social work lecturers, social work students, social welfare practitioners and the director of developmental social welfare. The study indicates that the developmental approach has potential to the address the welfare needs in South Africa. However, factors such as confusion about the meaning of the term developmental social work and the lack of resources have limited the extent to which this approach is translated into practice and consequently it's potential to transform social welfare in South Africa. 1l
Reconsidering the origins of protest in South Africa: some lessons from Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg
(Unisa Press, 2011) Nleya, Ndodana; Tapscott, Chris; Thompson, Lisa; Piper, Laurence; Esau, Michelle
Protest politics in South Africa has a long history and has been deployed differentially in different historical moments. Whereas protests formed an important vehicle during the fight against apartheid, their rebirth and propulsion to the centre of the struggles in the post-apartheid dispensation have come as a surprise to many. A majority of these protests, so-called ‘service delivery protests’, are reported as emanating from communities’ dissatisfaction with municipal service delivery as well as problems relating to lack of communication between council and councillors on the one hand and citizens on the other. In this article, we interrogate data from five study sites located in Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg. While we found support for the importance of service delivery, our data contradicts many widely held assertions as regards what causes these protests. We were able to show, for example, that these so-called ‘service delivery protests’ may actually emanate from reasons that extend beyond service delivery. Since our data indicates that levels of participation in Cape Town are higher than in Pietermaritzburg on the one hand, illustrating perhaps the different provincial contexts, there is also variation between the relatively high participation rates of the ‘black African’ sites of Langa and Khayelitsha, on the one hand, and the lower rates of the ‘coloured’ site of Bonteheuwel, on the other, which we ascribe to the disengagement of the community in Cape Town, from both local and national politics.
Survey methodology in violence-prone Khayelitsha, Cape Town, Couth Africa
(Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2009) Nleya, Ndodana; Thompson, Lisa
This article discusses the methodological challenges of a service delivery survey in Khayelitsha, atownship in Cape Town, South Africa. The survey aimed to gain a better understanding of the relationshipbetween citizen participation and the environmental challenges facing residents in this urban area.Khayelitsha is a township prone to violence. Encountering violence during fieldwork can alter the wayresearchers execute research, yet this often remains unacknowledged in ‘objective social science’, especiallyin probability sampling. The article examines the effects of the risk felt by researchers on the researchmethod employed in quantitative surveys. It shows that deliberating on this aspect of the research process isboth necessary and useful, especially in terms of recognising the need to factor fear or uncertainty into theways in which research processes unfold.
The use of South Africa's nature areas in the promotion of tourism and economic development
(University of Western Cape, 2001) Pithers, Linda; Thompson, Lisa
South Africa has developed an extensive network of parks, nature reserves and conservation areas, the stated purpose of which is to both promote and protect nature and, particularly in the case of state-owned resources, to harness the power of tourism in social and economic development. This study examines the impact on rural and urban communities of proclaimed 'nature areas' and related efforts by the state to grow the economic and developmental contribution of tourism in the regions concerned. Through interrogating this 'triangulation' of nature, tourism and local economic development the pattern of benefit distribution from the protection of nature areas is highlighted.

Browsing by Author "Thompson, Lisa"

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