Research Articles (School of Government)

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Localising decent work for poverty reduction in Africa: a case study of the decent work pilot project in Ghana
(Sprimger Link, 2024) Eric Nordjo; Meron Okbandrias
As the risk of climate change increases, robust fire monitoring methods become critical for fire management purposes. National-scale spatiotemporal patterns of the fires and how they relate to vegetation and environmental conditions are not well understood in Zimbabwe. This paper presents a spatially explicit method combining satellite data and spatial statistics in detecting spatiotemporal patterns of fires in Zimbabwe. The Emerging Hot Spot Analysis method was utilized to detect statistically significant spatiotemporal patterns of fire occurrence between the years 2002 and 2021. Statistical analysis was done to determine the association between the spatiotemporal patterns and some environmental variables such as topography, land cover, land use, ecoregions and precipitation. The highest number of fires occurred in September, coinciding with Zimbabwe’s observed fire season. The number of fires significantly varied among seasons, with the hot and dry season (August to October) recording the highest fire counts. Additionally, although June, July and November are not part of the official fire season in Zimbabwe, the fire counts recorded for these months were relatively high. This new information has therefore shown the need for revision of the fire season in Zimbabwe. The northern regions were characterized by persistent, oscillating, diminishing and historical spatiotemporal fire hotspots. Agroecological regions IIa and IIb and the Southern Miombo bushveld ecoregion were the most fire-prone areas. The research findings also revealed new critical information about the spatiotemporal fire patterns in various terrestrial ecoregions, land cover, land use, precipitation and topography and highlighted potential areas for effective fire management strategies.
Evaluation innovation in Africa: towards indigenously responsive evaluation (ire) philosophies, methods and practices in Ghana
(African journal of science, technology, innovation and development, 2023) Boadu, Evans Sakyi; Ile, Isioma
Evaluation within an indigenous society is a social activity. Thus, it requires both tangible and intangible or hidden factors such as cultural values, norms, communal relational structures, power dynamics, attitudes, consensus-building, community aspirations, empowerment and other practical knowledge to develop an inclusive evaluation framework. Utilizing a culturally responsive evaluation (CRE) approach, this study examined evaluative instincts rooted in indigenous values, relational patterns, knowledge systems and other cultural realities. Indigenous evaluation impulse exists in native ideas, social structures and other cultural realities but could these indigenous evaluative impulses augment and shape contemporary evaluation philosophies, approaches and practices in Ghana? The study observed that there are several tangible and intangible evaluative dimensions that are deeply-rooted in cultural values, maxims, norms and other social patterns within the indigenous communities. Consequently, comparable dimensions could be advanced and established in the present evaluation research to add further depth and rigour to the study in this field.
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.
Local government revenue leakages through corruption during the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa: The case of Zimbabwe
(University of the Western Cape, 2022) Tashu, Keith Tichaona; Makiva, Msuthukazi
Zimbabwe has over the years experienced rampant corruption in all sectors of the economy. At local government level, there have been several allegations of corruption in areas such as revenue collection, procurement and land acquisitions among others. The magnitude of corruption is extreme especially in revenue collection. Most funds collected by local government revenue officials hardly reach municipalities’ coffers and are not accounted for. The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has further created a breeding ground for corruption in revenue collection at local government level due to economic doldrums. Measures imposed by governments to contain the COVID-19 pandemic such as closure of all non-essential business activities, closure of borders and travel restrictions among others have reduced trade and economic activities. This has negatively affected income of businesses and governments leading to retrenchments and salary cuts.
Understanding urban land, politics, and planning: A critical appraisal of Kampala's urban sprawl
(Elsevier, 2020) Bidandi, Fred; Williams, John J.
This paper seeks to make a contribution to contemporary urban land insights and political debates in relation to planning in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. It also evaluates how the city authorities engage with communities on land and related urban issues. Scholars have generally ignored the important aspect of community engagement regarding planning in Kampala. Moreover, political power relations seem to influence if not determine social conditions at the grassroots level. In this paper urban land is defined from competing perspectives vis-à-vis lived experiences at the grassroots level. This paper seeks to understand the urban land question through the lens of Henri Lefebvre's writings on the production of space and the right to the city. Questions this study seeks to answer include: Why is politics at the centre of land in Kampala? How is community engagement on land and planning understood by city government? After exploratory research and a review of extant literature, this study utilised an interview guide to collect primary empirical data.
‘This land is not for sale’: Post-1994 resistance art and interventionism in Cape Town’s precarious publics
(Elsevier, 2021) Makhubu, Nomusa; Ruiters, Greg
The control, regulation and commodification of space has been fundamental in reinforcing structural racism and social identities. In a city such as Cape Town, where colonial architecture and heritage as well as apartheid racial zoning forms part of the spectacularisation of the city, racial conflict seems to have deepened. Through dis- cussing public protest, artistic public interventions and live art, we argue that young black artists in South Africa are heralding a new phase of post-1994 resistance art which exposes conflictual cultural politics of public space in Cape Town rather than a healing democracy and multi-culturalism. As protesters and activists, artists deface the myth of a reconciled non-racial post-Apartheid society by targeting officially sanctioned art. Drawing from Faranak Miraftab’s notion of ‘invited’ and ‘invented’ spaces as well as Chris Dixon and Angela Davis’ concept of prefigurative politics, we argue that precarious South African publics are experienced as a ‘battleground’ rather than a space for liberal deliberation and democracy. New resistance art, therefore, tends to be protest-centred in engaging with the conflictual nature of the city.
The role of intergovernmental relations in response to a wicked problem: An analysis of the COVID-19 crisis in the BRICS countries
(Fundacao Getulio Varagas (FGV), 2021) de Oliveira, Jose A. Puppim; Barabashev, Alexey G.; Thompson, Lisa Ingrid
Globally, policy environments have become increasingly more complex with the growth in the number of wicked problems, such as that posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In their response to these problems, public administrations have, from necessity, become heavily reliant on their intergovernmental relations systems, as the challenges posed generally require multilevel responses. This paper analyzes the role of intergovernmental relations in shaping the responses of the BRICS countries when confronted with COVID-19. We develop an analytical framework to understand the dynamics of intergovernmental relations in these countries. Based on this we assess the capacity of the state and political systems to manage intergovernmental relations and ensure effective responses to the COVID-19 crisis. This framework is based on an analysis of three dimensions of the policy domain: the political and state system, formal and informal institutions, and the political alignment between them. Whilst state and political systems were found to be instrumental in formulating an immediate response to the crisis, informal institutions and political processes also played a prominent role in determining the extent to which strategies were implemented, particularly in countries that are more decentralized. Countries lacking the robust formal institutions needed to facilitate intergovernmental relations and to ensure swift policy responses, tend to deliver ineffective and inefficient results when confronted with wicked problems.
Evaluating Family as an Instrument for Policy in Human Capabilities
(macrothink Institute, 2021) Bidandi, F.; Roman, N
The capabilities" approach has overtime offers instructive insights into the improvement of human capabilities in various fields such as behavioural change, social inequalities, poverty, unemployment, and education. To this end, the capability approach may influence the achievement of social cohesion in the family. The family is an important unit that may be used to inform social policies and aid social cohesion. This article evaluates the use family as an instrument of policy in drawing out human capabilities. First, it defines and unpacks a family in South Africa"s context. Secondly the value addition that a family adds as an instrument for policy is done. Thirdly, the concept of human capabilities with the aid of the capabilities approach is done. The final step is a qualification of the capabilities approach in South Africa"s context. A conclusion and recommendations follow. The article utilised secondary data to evaluate how policies on family impact human capabilities in South Africa by aid of capability approach.
Changing people, changing lives through public participation and social transformation: A south African case study of a rural development programme
(Routledge, 2020) Roman, Allan; Ruiters, Greg
During 2009, in what seemed to be a return to RDP-style thinking, the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP) was adopted nationally to tackle not only underdevelopment, poverty, unemployment, and other social ills, but also to enable ‘rural people to take control of their destiny’ with the support of ‘well-structured community organisations’ called Council of Stakeholders (CoS). Most existing studies, however, tend to devalue the CRDP, describing it as ill-conceived. This study investigated three Western Cape wards in South Africa, finding that both governmental and non-governmental actors had a less negative view and were actively trying to pursue a new form of co-operation. It is the only programme that attempts to be truly intergovernmental and community-based. The study’s results suggest that the CRDP can contribute to a deep process of change and empowerment. This change, in turn, could contribute to desired larger-scale changes and concerted collective action to drive development in locally appropriate ways.
The politics of knowledge: Knowledge management in informal settlement upgrading in Cape Town
(Springer, 2015) Jacobs, Floortje; Jordhus-Lier, David; Tsolekile de Wet, Pamela
t In situ solutions, participatory practices and the inclusion of community knowledge have become key ingredients in urban upgrading policies across the world. Knowledge, however, is not neutral, but value-laden, representing different and conflicting interests. Including community-based knowledge, therefore, is far from straightforward. To understand the politics of urban development interventions, a deeper conceptualisation of the relationship between knowledge and power is required. This article tries to contribute to this conceptualisation through an empirical analysis of informal settlement upgrading. Specifically, it interrogates the role of community knowledge in urban development through a study of two informal settlements in Cape Town. Findings from this qualitative research contradict the notion of a unified community whose ‘community knowledge’ can be engaged with. In both settlements, knowledge politics have resulted in tensions within the settlement, creating new interest groups and knowledge alliances, showing the complex interconnectedness of knowledge, power and mobilisation.
Land for housing: A political resource – reflections from Zimbabwe’s urban areas
(Routledge, 2015) Muchadenyika, Davison
When the Zimbabwean government launched the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) in 1999, an international outcry followed, with Zimbabwe described as an international pariah state. Zimbabwe entered a prolonged socio-economic and political crisis. While conventional opposition attacks the FTLRP for its negative impacts on agriculture, food security and economic growth, this article argues that the programme has also had widespread impacts on access to housing land. Over the years, the main political tool used by the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union (Patriotic Front) (ZANU[PF]) was land, especially in rural areas. Later, especially in urban and peri-urban areas, ZANU(PF) used peri-urban farms to bolster its waning support in the urban constituencies. Through ZANU(PF)-aligned co-operatives and land barons, the party became a major player in deciding who had access to land for housing. On the other hand, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) tried to use its majority control of urban areas to give its supporters land for housing, albeit with limited success. MDC-controlled urban administrations were incapacitated, as most urban land was under a de facto ZANU(PF) administration. This article focuses in particular on the allocation of housing land between 2000 and 2012 in Zimbabwe’s major cities. The ZANU(PF) approach to housing bypassed urban planning regulations, with catastrophic effects on urban infrastructure planning.
The terrain of urbanisation process and policy frameworks: A critical analysis of the Kampala experience
(Cogent OA, 2017) Bidandi, Fred; Williams, John J.
Kampala is urbanising in an unplanned manner, but without a clear picture of the underlying dynamics. The city is characterised by lack of proper zoning of economic activities and construction of physical infrastructure without regard to subsequent spatial quality and environmental conservation. Consequently, there are sharp differences in residential standards where expensive housing and luxury flats co-exist with shanty towns and informal settlements, with about 60% of the city’s population living in unplanned informal settlements and often faced with challenges of unemployment. The unprecedented increase in the urban population in Kampala and the prospects for further increases in the near future have economic and social implications concerning employment, housing, education and health, among others. Understanding the nature of the dynamics of the growth or decline of cities like Kampala helps planners to support the processes that lead to harmonious urban development and to deal with the negative consequences of urban growth.
The politics of youth participation in social intervention programmes in Ghana: Implications for participatory monitoring and evaluation (pm&e)
(Lifescience Global Canada Inc., 2018) Boadu, Evans Sakyi; Ile, Isioma
Participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) in project evaluation has gained impetus in recent literature. This paper interrogates youth participation in intervention programmes in Ghana with special reference to Local Enterprise and Skills Development Programme (LESDEP). With the aid of primary and secondary data, this paper unpacks the questions around programme target beneficiaries, their mode of participation and the impacts of current models on PM&E. The study reveals the key constraints of youth participation in PM&E, the evolving disapproval of the top-down approach while probing into the existing opportunities. The case study reveals that youth intervention programmes in Ghana are not only confronted with uncoordinated and overlapping ministries, department and agencies, but also there are power dynamics between stakeholders, in particular, target beneficiaries and programme implementers. The elusive intersection between beneficiaries and the implementing agency impacted negatively on the programme sustainability. The poor PM&E in youth intervention programmes in Ghana is a key reason that has hampered mainstream socio-economic development. The key lesson to be drawn from the case study is the need for matching perspectives of PM&E as well as a recognition and management of power disparities between target beneficiaries and programme implementers. Thus, realizing desired programme objectives will require a different approach to structuring, implementing and monitoring of youth intervention initiatives in Ghana.
Keystones affecting sub-Saharan Africa's prospects for achieving foodsecurity through balanced diets
(Elsevier, 2018) May, Julian
Socio-economic dynamics determine the transition from diets characterized by the risk of famine, to thosecharacterized by the risk of diet-related non-communicable disease (DR-NCD). This transition is of particularconcern in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in which key socio-economic interactions that influence diet includeeconomic growth and rapid urbanization; inequality and a growing middle class; and obesogenic food en-vironments and an increasing prevalence of DR-NCD. In each case, countries in SSA are among those experi-encing the most rapid change in the world. These interactions, styled as‘keystones’,affect the functioning ofother components of the food system and the diets that result. Data from the wealthiest quartile of countries inSSA suggest that these keystones may be increasing the risk of DR-NCD, widening inequalities in health out-comes due to unbalanced diets. To address this, new consumer and government capabilities that address thesekeystones are required. Food sensitive urban planning, supporting food literacy andfiscal management ofconsumption are examples.
The moving line between state benevolence and control: Municipal indigent programmes in South Africa
(SAGE, 2018) Ruiters, Greg
free in South Africa. Having registered as municipal indigents, the poor not only gain access to free basic services but also embark upon a voyage into a bureaucratic underworld where policies are changed and eligibility criteria and sanctions are unevenly applied. Various preconditions and limits on services, as well as social surveillance of indigent households, has turned indigency programmes into a ‘regime’. The policy has swung from hard cost recovery (mass disconnections) during the period 1994–2000 to ‘free’ basic services and, more recently, to social-shaming and criminalisation. This paper provides a thematic account of recent municipal indigent processes in order to explore the ‘moving boundary’ between benevolence and control regarding this crucial citizen–state interface. Based on recent interviews with government officials, a review of relevant government documents, and describing the administrative complexities, the paper reveals aspects of what the poor confront in day-to-day experiences of the state. It is argued that there are lessons for all municipalities seeking a more sustainable and democratic path to citizenship rather than an ongoing low-level war with poor citizens.
Mixed methods research for health policy development in Africa: The case of identifying very poor households for health insurance premium exemptions in Ghana
(SAGE, 2019) Alatinga, Kennedy A.; Williams, John J.
Despite the utility of applying mixed methods research to understand complex phenomenon, few studies have applied this approach to health policy and in Africa. This article illustrates the application of mixed methods research to inform health policy in Ghana with the intent of complementarity. Through an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design involving 24 focus group interviews and 417 household surveys, we developed criteria for identifying very poor households for health insurance premium exemptions in Ghana. The qualitative procedures identified communities’ concerns regarding being very poor: food insecurity, lack of seeds to sow, compromised access to education, financial insecurity, and status as unemployed widows with children. The survey findings illustrated the distribution and predictors of poverty in the Kassena-Nankana District. Based on these findings, the authors proposed a four-question survey for the Kassena-Nankana District Health Insurance Scheme to administer to determine extreme poverty. Based on these recommendations, the local government has a unique opportunity to increase the very poor’s access to and utilization of health care services.
Family political socialisation and its effect on youth trust in government: a South African perspective
(Taylor & Francis, 2018) Esau, Michelle Vera; Rondganger, Carol Hilary; Roman, Nicolette V.
Current debates on citizenship and democracy highlight the salience of cooperative relations between government and its citizens. Scholars observe that governments and its institutions function better where there is cooperation and trust. However, evidence suggests that political interest is waning and trust in government, dwindling. More especially, concerns about the effects of youth disengaging from political life are increasing. This phenomenon is more worrying in young democracies, where democratic traditions and principles are still evolving. This study examines the effect of family politicisation on youth trust in government. This quantitative study used a cross-sectional correlational research design. A two-level approach was adopted. At the first level we examined the prevalence of political discussions in the home and the trust attitudes of the family (as indicators of family politicisation) and youth towards government. At a second level we conducted a regression analysis to determine relationships between parent-adolescent communication and youth trust in government; family trust in government and youth trust in government; and finally, parent-adolescent communication and family trust on youth trust in government. The results suggest that a combination of parent-adolescent communication and family trust in government in a model, significantly positively predicts youth trust in government.
The paradox of youth empowerment: Exploring youth intervention programme in Ghana
(Cogent OA, 2018) Ile, Isioma; Boadu, Evans Sakyi
Empowerment is a necessary determinant of young people’s participation in national, regional and district or local level decision-making processes. For inclusiveness in any social intervention programme, the policy process should be allembracing sharing of knowledge and active stakeholders’ participation which includes the youth. This paper delineates the context of Local Enterprise and Skills Development Programme (LESDEP) by focusing on the extent to which the programme beneficiaries (youth) were empowered to play active roles in the decision policy processes which goes beyond the rhetoric. In particular, to unpack the perception that young people empowerment in a youth-oriented programme has the potential of curbing the problem of exclusion. Inferences from the concept of an empowerment might be the premise for rethinking the debate surrounding youth empowerment in the initiatives oriented towards young people. Youth in Ghana has a very little aptitude and plays an inconsequential role in policy design; therefore, the need arises for youth empowerment to enable them to engage in the broader national policies. Having assumed a negative deviation after a further analysis using empowerment perception index (EPI), the study revealed that youth marginal involvement and consultation in decision making cannot constitute empowerment to any degree. Given the crucial implications of this for youth policy implementations at the national as well as subnational level, the paper recommended some pathways for ensuring youth empowerment in youth-oriented programmes in Ghana.
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.
Revisiting trade unions’ response to new public management: a case from Zambia
(SAGE Publications, 2017) Madimutsa, Clever; Pretorius, Leon G.
This article discusses the strategic responses by public-sector unions to new public management (NPM) reforms in Zambia. The article is based on a qualitative research methodology focusing on the Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia. The study shows that public-sector workers in developing countries are more vulnerable to the effects of externally imposed NPM reforms, which include job cuts. However, the implementation of these reforms faces opposition especially from trade unions. In line with the assumptions of strategic choice theory, union responses to NPM reforms are strategic. Despite the high vulnerability of public workers in developing countries, their unions use strategies that can also be observed in developed countries to mitigate the negative consequences of NPM reforms on the public sector. These strategies follow a three-stage process, namely, opposing the reforms, negotiating for favorable reform measures, and shifting from centralized structures to networks.

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