Theses and Dissertations (Anthropology, Archaeology and Development Studies)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/32241

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 181

A comparative study of the performance of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (SACCOs) in Kenya and South Africa from mid-1990s to 2023
(University of Pretoria, 2025-02) Thebe, Vusi; francisselialia@yahoo.com; Selialia, Limpe Francis
“Despite being active in the last 25 years, financial cooperatives serve only 29,500 members out of 40 million adults in South Africa – a number that has remained relatively flat (0.7% annual growth) over the past decade” (World Bank Group, 2021, p. 8). This study investigates factors that may have contributed to the poor performance of co-operative financial institutions (CFIs) and co-operative banks (CBs) in South Africa, with a focus on ‘exogenous factors’ – factors beyond the control of the CFIs and CBs. It takes a ‘big picture’ or ‘macro’ approach, and considers the following exogenous factors: the history of the country, the role played by government, political factors, existing institutions, and the laws and regulations governing the sector. A comparison is made with the performance of savings and credit co-operatives (SACCOs) in Kenya, with a view to investigating whether any lessons can be drawn from the success story of SACCOs in Kenya. SACCOs in Kenya are the best performing in Africa and compete globally. The research is intended to contribute to existing literature and knowledge on the CFI and CB sector in South Africa and contribute to debate and inform policy. The methodology used is autoethnography. It draws on multiple data sources, namely, a questionnaire, interviews, observations, focused discussions with selected stakeholders associated with CFIs and CBs, case studies, and desktop research. Results suggest that Kenya has the big-picture approach right, and it has addressed exogenous factors pertaining to co-operatives from the onset, resulting in a strong foundation being laid. The timing was opportune for Kenya, as many African countries were following African socialist political ideology, which was in support of co-operation and solidarity and therefore co-operatives. Government of Kenya also implemented deliberate policy interventions that supported co-operatives. It created favourable and conducive conditions for SACCOs and co-operatives, in general, to perform optimally and succeed. In South Africa, the democratic government adopted and implemented neoliberal macroeconomic policies after gaining power in 1994. Those policies were not in support of co-operatives. Government collaborated with owners of capital to raise much-needed funding in an attempt to address the imbalances of the past. Government of South Africa did not get the big picture right and did not address exogenous factors. Results suggest that exogenous factors may have contributed to the poor performance of the CFI and CB sector in South Africa, particularly the adoption of neoliberal economic policies. Other contributing factors include the inability of CFIs and CBs to compete with existing financial institutions, loopholes in the laws and regulations that govern co-operatives, and policy inconsistencies and contradictions, which may bring negative unintended consequences to the performance of CFIs and CBs. Many lessons can be drawn from the success story of SACCOs in Kenya. However, country-specific circumstances of South Africa should be considered in drawing those lessons.
Livelihoods changes and the emergent human economy of Mokhotlong District households
(University of Pretoria, 2024-10) Thebe, Vusilizwe; u18292179@tuks.co.za; Lehema, Reitumetse Elizabeth
Following the decline of the formal South African labour market, rural development policy in former migrant labour societies like Lesotho has placed rural transformation at the centre of the development agenda, portraying a picture of livelihood in crisis in terms of migrant labour shocks and agricultural marginality. The development community has therefore promoted agricultural development with the assumption that rural communities are relying on the productivity of the land they occupy. While the concerns are valid, they are recycling the outdated narrative of small rural farm households widely tailored for households that had access to arable land and overlook the environmental realities of the Highlands region that is characterised by land scarcity. This often ignores and underestimates the new trends in labour migration and livelihood activities, which are the basis of the human economy of the region. The study contended that the analysis of rural households' livelihoods should go further than the simplistic livelihood in crisis narrative and focus on their responses to the changes they are confronted with. Using an ethnographic case study approach of thirty rural households this thesis analyses the livelihood impacts, dynamics of production and livelihood responses to the changes in the socioeconomic and natural environment in Mokhotlong District in north-eastern Lesotho. This type of investigation underscores the unique situation of a former migrant labour society. Using the Bourdieu theory of practice and the human economy approach, the analysis adopts a broad understanding of the background of rural households’ livelihoods, their experiences, the challenges they face, and how they navigate them. The approach adopted for the analysis is grounded on rural household accounts including those of key informants to comprehend the livelihood dynamics fully. The analysis revealed that households responded to changes by diversifying their livelihoods and developing new trends in labour migration, which although different in form and structure, still mirrored the old system. The thesis, therefore, provides evidence in the contestation of the narrative of the end of a migrant labour economy by demonstrating that migrant labour has remained central to the human economy of the region. While the current livelihoods have their own vulnerabilities, the thesis stresses the significance of agency and navigation. By focusing on the new forms of livelihoods, and particularly the aspect of navigation, the thesis provides a different perspective to the literature but also argues for the understanding of livelihoods and situation of households within broader debates on former migrant labour societies, and the significance of migrant labour as an embedded culture that is hard to eliminate. The thesis, therefore, suggests that any attempt to understand rural households in Lesotho outside the migrant labour system misses a key facet in the country’s history and that any policy that ignores this undisputed reality, is tantamount to social engineering. The thesis therefore argues for rethinking questions of transformation in rural development policy that emphasises social reality and the importance of informing policy based on the realities of societies in which labour migration has been embedded in the culture of communities. The thesis therefore advocates for a new development narrative that focuses on building livelihoods that are relevant and reflect the realities of communities and, thus, form the very human economy.
Veganism,virtue, and vigils : human-animal interactions, vegan activism, and social meanings in a Johannesburg-based non-profit organisation
(University of Pretoria, 2024-11) Pieterse, Jimmy; pheifferbronwyn@gmail.com; Pheiffer, Bronwyn Paige
This dissertation centres on the South African chapter of an international vegan activism organisation that intends to “build a vegan world” by way of organising “vigils” outside slaughterhouses. At these vigils, activists bear witness to the animals destined for slaughter, in the hope that curious passersby might question their own relationship to animals-as-food. Drawing on field research – consisting of participant observation and interviews conducted over a period of 14 months – as well as textual analysis, I argue that this local iteration of vegan activism departs in important ways from the vision of its overarching international organisation. Through the life histories of the three key activists involved in these vigils, I explore how international animal rights activism is transposed in a South African context, and how this context may complicate the overarching organisation’s aspirations of creating a vegan world. Furthermore, I illustrate how these three individual vegan activists pursue divergent but often rhyming projects to live meaningful, good lives. Despite their differences, the activists are unified in their attempts to find meaning, community and care, and “the good” amidst the insecurities and precarity, insecurity, and ambiguities of life under late capitalism.
Serious leisure practices and kin-making amongst trading card players in urban Gauteng, South Africa
(University of Pretoria, 2024-11) Krige, Detlev; qvahed@gmail.com; Vahed, Qudisiyah
This dissertation examines how adult trading card players in Gauteng form kinship and friendship ties with fellow urban residents through active participation in leisure activities hosted in privately owned trading card stores and organised globally by transnational corporations. Anthropologists have shown that formulations of kinship across the world are not confined to matters of blood, marriage or biology, and have documented a variety of kin-making practices that contribute to social reproduction. At the same time, recent contributions to the anthropology of leisure and popular culture encourage anthropologists not to view leisure as a passive act and not to think of consumers of leisure only as the ‘victims’ of corporations, but view leisure - even when organised privately and through corporations - as an expressive aspect of society which also contributes to social reproduction. Anthropologists also now argue that commodity exchange can achieve what earlier anthropologists ascribed exclusively to gift exchange, that is the formation of social ties. The literature also shows that social reproduction in urban contexts requires city residents and city dwellers to create new ways to make kin with strangers, and to turn strangers into friends. As such, this dissertation draws on empirical and ethnographic research conducted in Gauteng with adult players of trading card games to document how adults learn how to play trading card games, how players navigate and use the wider leisure scene including the two privately owned stores in which I conducted participant observation, how players create friend relationships through their participation in commoditised leisure.
An archaeobotanical study of multiple thirteenth century Mapungubwe era settlements in Limpopo, South Africa
(University of Pretoria, 2024) Antonites, Alexander; biansteyn@gmail.com; Steyn, Bianca
The Middle Iron Age (MIA), c, 900 to 1300 AD, is a period associated with agro-pastoralists, people who practiced agriculture and kept stock animals in north-east South Africa. Most of the studies on the MIA have been concerned with large sites in the Shashe Limpopo Confluence Area (SLCA) such as Mapungubwe. While an increasing number of studies are looking at MIA sites outside the SLCA, little is known about how agriculture was managed or which wild plants were exploited during the MIA. The limited research that has been undertaken on MIA agriculture has largely been focused on using macrobotanical material which is dependent on fire for preservation. It is unknown whether phytoliths were preserved at MIA sites (Biagetti 2020, pers. comm). As such, this dissertation examined three MIA sites Mutamba (MUT), Vryheid (MNR 04) and Frampton 1 (MNR 074) located in the Limpopo Province of South Africa in order to first, ascertain the presence of phytoliths at MIA sites, and second, to determine agricultural practices and third, to determine if there is any differences in wild taxa utilised. Analysis on phytolith material found that phytoliths were present at each of the three sites. Analysis of macrobotanical material found a wide variety of crop and wild taxa at the sites. It was theorized that two of the sites, Mutamba (MUT) and Vryheid (MNR 04) practiced floodplain and dryland agriculture while the Frampton 1 (MNR 074) was most likely a temporary stock post. A number of wild taxa was also identified at the sites. These taxa held multiple purposes (food, medicine etc.). Overall, there does not appear to be an overwhelming difference of wild taxa utilised at these three sites.
COVID-19 and water delivery challenges in the rural society of Driekoppies in Mpumalanga
(University of Pretoria, 2024-11) Vusilizwe, Thebe; cassandracaroline24@gmail.com; Seitshiro, Caroline Cassandra Kenalemang
Rural areas face greater challenges regarding water supply and sanitation because of the settlements' predominately environmentally vulnerable locations, diverse cultural development models, precarious economic conditions, and associated difficulties with cost recovery. Dispersed settlements, an agro-based economy, and scarce water supplies frequently hamper infrastructure provision. This study aims to explore water delivery challenges in the rural society of Driekoppies during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping inform future water provision efforts during pandemics. Guided by an epistemological position, the study is designed as a single-site and an in-depth inquiry grounded on people's lived realities and experiences. The methodology adopted for the dissertation was a qualitative research approach. Data was collected from the Driekoppies community in Khomanzi District in Mpumalanga using interviews, observation, and secondary data. It used purposive sampling for the four key informants who participated in the study such as an official from the Department of Water Affairs, the head of water and sanitation, an official from the water demand section and the last official was from the water quality section, whilst twelve participants from the study area were used to collect data. Out of the twelve participants, four were male while eight were female. The study found that water shortages in Driekoppies are because of ‘construction mafias’, which are groups that disrupt water projects by demanding jobs or fees that delay progress and leave infrastructure incomplete. Additionally, water challenges in the community result from ageing water infrastructure and climate change phenomena causing frequent draughts. To address these challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of South Africa came up with intervention strategies such as drilling boreholes and setting up water tanks that would be filled by water tankers for citizens to access water. However, some of the infrastructure that was set up was vandalised during the COVID-19 period. The research also found that households in Driekoppies view rainwater harvesting and providing informal settlements with water infrastructure as some of the sustainable solutions to the water challenges that they face. Churches, NGOs, and the private sector were some non-state actors who helped with water provision to the community of Driekoppies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study concludes that the water supply situation in Driekoppies is not just a concern, but a pressing issue that demands immediate attention. The current state of inadequate water supply for households in Driekoppies is far from ideal for curbing the devastating impact of COVID-19. The government of South Africa and its development partners should urgently work on a permanent solution to address the water challenges in the study area, as only a sustained effort can ensure a lasting impact. The study recommends that policymakers emphasise that municipalities form public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements which will help create synergy and share risks and rewards between the public and private sectors.
Reading for the road : routes through African literatures
(University of Pretoria, 2024-08) Murray, Noeleen; Cane, Jonathan; u21777871@tuks.co.za; Boyd, Michael John
The central concern of this thesis is formal representations of the road in African literature. The thesis is cast within the field of infrastructuralism, a branch of literary study proposed by Michael Rubenstein, Bruce Robbins and Sophia Beal (2018), applying the new formalist theories of Caroline Levine (2015) while conducting an approach related to Isabel Hofmeyr, Sarah Nuttall and Charne Lavery’s theory of ‘Reading for Water’ (2022). These frame the road as both a material and conceptual construct. An exploration of the African road precedes a detailed unpacking of the materiality of the infrastructure. Subsequently, the road is traced through three African novels in investigations I have termed ‘intersections’, referring to the meeting point of roads as a departure for analysis. I focus on Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s Petals of Blood (1977), tracing the road through the newly independent Kenya. The promises of independence are aligned with the affordances of the material road as a measure of its fulfilment. In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country (1948) I examine different experiences and directionality of the road, analysing this against the political conditions that led to the oppressive apartheid regime. The construction of the road is investigated in Ben Okri’s The Famished Road (1991). I study the road as a magical, shifting form, setting its construction alongside Nigeria’s independence. In these intersections, different theoretical approaches are used to analyse the material infrastructure as a method of surfacing discourse surrounding the social and political conditions presented in the literary space.
Memories in mortar, the language of bank buildings : a study of the Nedbank historical collective
(University of Pretoria, 2024-06-06) Murray, Noëleen; u11027470@tuks.co.za; Andreou, Alexander
Memories in Mortar, The Language of Bank Buildings: A study of the Nedbank Historical Collective examines the question of ‘To what extent do corporate archives impact broader South African history and identity-making?’. For this, the archive and architecture of the Nedbank Historical Collective, housed in the Nedbank Heritage & Archival Repository, a merged assemblage of over 20 entities which were instituted from as early as 1831 have been examined in this thesis. This research has relied on the records and corporate archives of Nedbank Group Ltd, with the predominant use of photographs (supported by documents) to explore the concept of institutional identity. My entry point into the research was through an exploration of the records around bank buildings across southern Africa that were once associated with Nedbank or other institutions now contained in the collective. The many and varied buildings, when read together, reflected material acts of corporate identity making, and through these and other components of the collection, I have explored the bank’s identity as an institution. Through this reading of the archive, the research is concerned with how the various facets of the Nedbank Historical Collective form part of social and public histories in southern Africa.
Social change and community works in rural eMaxesibeni, Alfred Nzo district in the South Africa’s Eastern Cape
(University of Pretoria, 2024-11) Murray, Noëleen; zamapindo@gmail.com; Pindo, Abongile
Rural development in South Africa is lagging despite gaining independence and democracy in 1994. Eastern Cape province is one of the provinces where issues of service delivery, rural development, and corruption are prevalent. For example, the triple challenges such as poverty, unemployment and inequality are still prevalent, especially in rural areas; this is because before democracy, many rural areas were divided into Homelands, and this was because of the colonial laws of segregation that isolated rural communities from the economy of the country. The study focuses on social change and community work in Alfred Nzo District eMaxesibeni. the Alfred Nzo District is one of the most poverty-stricken and poorest rural areas in the Eastern Cape Province. There is a lack of scholarly research on the status of rural development policies and the impact of the development programmes introduced. This thesis research critically analyses the promised social change and the efficacy of the Community Work Programme (CWP) on rural livelihoods, with a particular focus on the agriculture sector, in terms of its contribution to tackling the issues of social change and rural development. The study sought to address how CWP homesteads and communal gardens contribute to social change in the Eastern Cape, eMaxesibeni under Alfred Nzo District, and what the successes and challenges of the CWP agriculture sector in bringing about social change and sustainable development. Previous rural and community development studies have explored and investigated rural development issues and how rural development programmes such as CWP and the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) contribute to issues of unemployment and poverty. From the previous research, it is evident that these development programmes have provided an employment safety net and fought poverty as beneficiaries received stipends; however, there are limited skills development and training for permanent employment should participants want to exit the programmes. Some of the previous studies focused on quantitative data. They failed to engage with beneficiaries of the programmes through interviews where the researcher can gain in-depth information about the programme, and very limited studies have followed several methods of data sources and samples. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effectiveness of social change projects, which are the CWP agriculture sector and the CWP homestead and communal food gardens contributing to addressing poverty and unemployment and achieving sustainable agriculture development in eMaxesibeni, Alfred Nzo district and to explore the service delivery and factors that hinder the successful implementation of development programmes in the Eastern Cape and develop strategies to achieve the promised social change through CWP gardens projects. The study is significant as the study fills the gap in previous research and also applies three qualitative methods when conducting the study, and also ensures that the beneficiaries, site supervisors and government officials involved in this CWP agriculture sector programme participate in this study. Growing up in the Alfred Nzo district, I witnessed its underdeveloped nature and migration issues due to a lack of opportunities and social change. This experience motivated me to pursue a development studies degree and this research. This background afforded me to critically explore the development programmes implemented for rural livelihood and their contribution. The study is underpinned by the work of the Social Change chair, Gary Minkley, who wrote about the development and social change state of the Eastern Cape and the livelihoods of rural areas. Kate Philip's (development strategist) CWP and rural development work were critical in shaping this study. This study was conducted using a qualitative approach and methods, where a case study design was followed, and data was collected through semi-structured interviews, field observations and the retrieval of archives. I interviewed 02 government officials, 41 beneficiaries of CWP and Five site supervisors. Extensive analyses of government reports, newspaper articles and IDPs were retrieved from archives. Even though obtaining permission from several officials who are the community and programme gatekeepers was challenging, speaking the local language, isiXhosa, worked well for me as it fostered effective communication and established rapport between myself, the gatekeepers, and the participants. One of the main study findings is that the CWP agriculture sector has contributed significantly to fighting absolute poverty, which is perceived as dominant, and most beneficiaries have experienced it. The beneficiaries can now afford to send their children to school, feed their families and care for themselves through the stipend they get. However, the programme is not doing so well in terms of monitoring and evaluation, provision of the inputs, and protection of the beneficiaries, and there is a high level of corruption that is taking place; also, due to stipend issues, the fact that the programme has the minimal number of youth participation, and there are limited activities that are available to attract youth. There is a lack of upskilling of the beneficiaries and site supervisors, such as technical and generic skills, including plumbing, bricklaying, welding, gardening, electrical skills and many more. The findings imply that the policymakers, government officials and other stakeholders must amend or revise the CWP policy implementation to include skills development and training for youth and all beneficiaries to ensure their employability and to foster collaboration with public and private institutions for training provision and future employment. This research will significantly contribute to local and international development programmes that aim to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) One and Two. The study also addressed the literature gap regarding different programmes and agriculture initiatives and their success and failure in addressing rural poverty and development in rural areas such as the Alfred Nzo district.
The contributions of smallholder farmers toward household food security in Chabelane Village in Limpopo province, South Africa
(University of Pretoria, 2024-05-13) Naidoo, Yogandra Dhee; gratitudemalebo@gmail.com; Ramatshekgisa, Malebo Gratitude
Although South Africa is considered to be food secure at the country level, majority of the households within the country remain food insecure (De Cock et al., 2013). Food inaccessibility in many rural areas of South Africa has manifested itself in many ways, but has positioned poor households to struggle to meet their basic household requirements and be more vulnerable to food insecurity (De Cock et al., 2013; D’Haese et al., 2013). The aim of this study was to investigate the contributions of smallholder farmers toward household food security in Chabelane Village, in Limpopo Province, South Africa. This study applied sustainable livelihood as its theoretical framework. Quota sample method was used to select 50 smallholder farmers in Chabelane village. Data was collected through observation; semi-structured interviews and the data was analysed using thematic analysis method. This study has highlighted the prevalence of food insecurity among the smallholder farmers in Chabelane Village. Household food security in rural areas is a significant matter, as it is necessary to have appropriate access to healthy foods to lead an active life. Furthermore, the study highlighted the smallholder farmers’ agricultural practices which are crop farming and livestock farming. Moreover, increased food supply, increased power purchase parity, job opportunities and income generation were highlighted as the contributions of the smallholder farmers towards household food security. However, the smallholder farmers in this study area experienced challenges such as lack of finances, water shortages, lack of access to formal market, lack of farm inputs, lack of infrastructure, lack of knowledge about soil type, and technological barriers. This study recommend access to markets, improved infrastructures and water access system, in order for smallholder farmers to be productive. This study further recommends access to financial aid through access to loans from the financial institutions, raising awareness to smallholder farmers about the knowledge on how to access formal markets and educating smallholder farmers about soil types and how to utilise smartphones for digital agriculture. Additionally, the study further recommends Department of Agriculture or municipality to provide water tanks or borehole for smallholder farmers to have undisrupted access to water for productive farming practice. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on the contributions of smallholder farmers towards household food security by providing valuable insights into the relationship between food security and the smallholder farmers, particularly in Chabelane Village, Limpopo province, South Africa.
An investigation exploring whether poor menstrual health management causes school learners’ absenteeism, in Ward 4 of the Senqu District Municipality, of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa
(University of Pretoria, 2024) Naidoo, Dhee; u10521985@tuks.co.za; Sobudula, Viwe
Menstruation is a biological process during puberty, which is influenced by religious and cultural beliefs, some of which view it as dirty and polluted. Menstrual Health Management (MHM) is crucial in managing menstruation in public spaces, but it faces challenges in low-income countries where resources for managing menstruation are scarce. Poor MHM practices, especially in developing countries, can lead to school absenteeism for female learners. The literature highlights factors affecting MHM in rural areas, including poor school records, poor information on the biological process of menstruation, poor access to sanitary materials, and poor infrastructure. Globally, MHM and its link to school attendance have received attention, but most of the research that has been conducted has not considered how several factors such as societal stigma, poor infrastructure, and economic barriers intersect. Most of the research conducted focuses on the accessibility of sanitary products but has not focused on how cultural beliefs, educational initiatives, and school infrastructure affect the attendance of female learners. This study aims to address these issues by examining the lived experiences of fifteen female learners, fifteen educators, fifteen parents, and three officials from the Department of Basic Education through semi-structured interviews. The study found that female learners in Ward 4 of the Senqu district municipality do not miss school due to poor MHM. However, poor MHM was found in the exploration of three themes: menstrual taboos, education and awareness, access to and affordability of sanitary products, and infrastructure (toilet facilities, water, hygiene, and disposal products). Poor education and awareness initiatives are prevalent, leading to unhygienic alternatives like using clothes and old rags/t-shirts, risking reproductive health. Inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure and inadequate toilet facilities and hygiene products exacerbate gender inequalities. Educational initiatives are necessary to demystify menstruation and dispel taboos, along with consistent provision of sanitary products and infrastructure facilities. Government intervention through existing institutions is imperative for addressing these disparities, assisting female learners in having a better experience at school. The study contributes to cultural theories of health behavior by exploring how cultural norms and stigma surrounding menstruation influence health practices and educational outcomes. It will enrich gender and development theories by emphasising the role of menstrual health management in women's empowerment and socio-economic development. The research will advance intersectionality theory by examining how multiple factors, such as poverty, gender, and cultural beliefs, intersect to create unique challenges for girls in different contexts, providing a framework for understanding the complex ways these factors combine to affect school attendance.
Die metaalbewerkers van Phalaborwa
(University of Pretoria, 1989) Meyer, Andrie; Coertze, Roelof Dewald; Pistorius, Julius Cornelius
English: In a regional survey in an area around Loolekop which represents the central carbonatite pipe of the Palabora Igneous Complex, about fifty historical known sites were identified and divided into three groups according to the metalworking and occupational remains on these sites. Test excavations were conducted on eleven of the sites in order to gain information on the nature and extent of metalworking in the research area, viz. the Loole site complex, while the archaeological remains were also coupled with ethnohistorical evidence regarding early baPhalaborwa communities. The excavations indicated that iron and copper had been worked in different processes and with different furnaces. The working of the metals indicate certain areas of preference - although this may have been influenced by the destruction of archaeological sites due to modern mining activities. Oral tradition couples the metalworkers with different early baPhalaborwa communities, while the different groups of sites were arranged in a relative chronology aided by radiocarbon dating, historical information and the characteristics of sites.
Foragers and trade at Little Muck Shelter, middle Limpopo Valley
(University of Pretoria, 2024-07-29) Forssman, Tim; chante1999barnard@gmail.com; Barnard, Chanté
Southern African trade has primarily been examined through farmer archaeological sequences. One reason for this approach is that trade opportunities along the East African coastline, and the subsequent appearance of trade wealth in the interior, are thought to have been a factor that prompted structural changes within farmer communities. For example, in the middle Limpopo Valley trade was one of the main factors that led to the emergence of a state-level society at Mapungubwe Hill, c. AD 1220. Foragers, who were present during this period, are generally not considered participants of, or contributors to, the socio-political and economic changes that occurred on the southern African landscape. However, research at shelter sites such as Little Muck and Dzombo challenges the notion of foragers’ exclusion from the regional economy. Instead, evidence suggests an intense forager involvement in the socio-economic landscape. The presence of trade wealth at these shelters, its continued growth alongside forager occupation, and its impact on forager society remains under-developed. But recent analyses on the appearance of exotic goods, local trade goods and craft production processes at Little Muck provide a better understanding of the shelter’s resident forager community and their participation in local trade economies throughout the first millennium AD. This is associated with a notable intensification and specialisation of craft goods until around AD 900, where after the expansion of regional and international trade networks around AD 1000 coincided with a rapid decline in forager-associated sequences at the shelter. These findings also show a different use of Little Muck compared to other forager-occupied sites, particularly Dzombo, and demonstrate variable access to wealth. And while it is unclear to what extent foragers contributed to larger socio-economic structures across the landscape, it is evident that foragers, at least at Little Muck, were economically resilient and actively participating in the local market throughout the first millennium AD. Challenging doctrines surrounding foragers, particularly their exclusion from local and international economies, allows for a more nuanced, regional perspective and emphasises the role that southern Africa’s indigenous communities occupied within the broader socio-economic landscape of the first millennium AD.
Unlearning and relearning fresh produce markets : a study of the social and economic forces that shape the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market
(University of Pretoria, 2023) Wegerif, Marc; nwamalungane@gmail.com; Malungane, Makhanana
The Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market (JFPM) is the largest fresh produce market in Africa, in terms of volume and turnover, and plays a central role in making fresh produce accessible across Gauteng and surrounding areas particularly to the urban poor through the multitudes of informal traders that source produce at the JFPM. As it is such a large and important market, it is surprising to find that there is limited literature available that unpacks actor interactions at the JFPM, giving special attention to the social and economic forces that shape it. This dissertation attempts to do so by identifying and examining how these social and economic forces at the JFPM shape the distribution of power among the actors involved, as well as the contribution of the JFPM in making food accessible in light of the state of food insecurity in South Africa. The findings are drawn from a mixed-methods approach using primary and secondary data sources collected between 2019 and 2021. This included the triangulation of quantitative and qualitative data collected. Presented here, the findings show that the functioning of the JFPM involves a complex interaction between economic and social forces within a regulatory environment that combines free market discourse with high levels of regulation that continue to be influenced by apartheid era governance arrangements, which have not changed much through the decades. Among other factors, this influence is evident in the long-term social relationships among actors of the same ethnic and cultural background. Moreover, these findings highlight the importance of the Market as a source of supply to the informal sector, the role of which is often neglected in policy and development planning in South Africa, and their role in ensuring food accessibility to the urban poor through, among other things, lower prices. At the broader level, the study suggests that there is a need for the JFPM to be transformed to better fit the changed social conditions and remain economically competitive. This can be achieved through the adoption of policies, planning, market maintenance, and regulations that are supportive of the JFPM and the nature of operation of the informal traders active in the food system. Moreover, the findings of the study show the importance of unlearning conventional economic understandings of food markets to give more attention to the people and social relations that are just as important for the function of markets and the food system. Interventions should equally consider the implication of economic and social forces on the food system.
From the Camps to Covid : an ethnographic history of Boererate amongst Afrikaans women
(University of Pretoria, 2023-12-21) McNeill, Fraser; jeanie.blackbeard@gmail.com; Blackbeard, Jeanie
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Afrikaans women in South Africa harnessed the power of Boererate not only as a healing tradition but as a living, adaptive agent with the ability to connect people and subtly reshape social dynamics. This thesis traces the roots of Boererate back to the concentration camps during the South African War, where Boer women, due to limited resources and the ban on Dutch medicines, cultivated this enduring indigenous healing practice. Utilising a comprehensive research methodology, including digital ethnography, interviews, and post-lockdown observations, this study reveals the multifaceted nature of Boererate. It acts as a connecting force, safeguarding cultural identity, and providing an alternative lens to challenge – and sometimes compliment – the dominant biomedical narrative. Beyond healing, Boererate subtly influences individuals and communities in alignment with established cultural norms. It provides a unique perspective on the living essence of indigenous knowledge systems and their role in cultural preservation and social transformation. Boererate is shown to be an active agent, uniting and dividing people across generations, promoting cultural resilience. The evidence presented suggests that as people make Boererate, it also – at least partially – makes them.
The stone tool sequence at little muck shelter, middle Limpopo valley : pre- and post-contact forager technologies
(University of Pretoria, 2023-08-31) Forssman, Tim; japentz007@gmail.com; Pentz, Justin
The Later Stone Age of the middle Limpopo Valley is known through several excavated shelters and subsequent lithic analyses. Scholars have argued that it demonstrates a series of changes that appear linked to shifts in the local peopling of the region, in particular the arrival of farmer groups. Little Muck Shelter was one of the first excavated sites in the region with preserved forager material culture and it was studied because of its proximity to Leokwe Hill, an Iron Age site, with the intention of understanding local social relations. The shelter’s occupation dates from the last centuries BC until AD 1300, with several notable changes. However, the sequence was not fully studied, contributing to the site's re-excavation in 2020. This report presents the first analysis of stone tools retrieved from this renewed interest in the site, with two primary goals in mind: first, to compare the assemblage to other assemblages around southern Africa of a similar age and assess if the site’s stone toolkit is similar to other Wilton-period assemblages, including Amadzimba and Bambata, and second, to examine change in stone tools across the contact divide. This is achieved by examining the stone tools using comparable typologies and contrasting stone tool types between different periods and across southern Africa. The study shows that although a number of similar tool types in comparable frequencies were recovered from Little Muck, the site has certain differences to other Wilton assemblages. Of interest is a change in certain tool forms that occurs in the early first millennium AD, but which are morphologically consistent with Wilton tool types, when farmer groups appear in the region. The study concludes by arguing that forager toolkits were equipped to deal with shifts in behaviour and activity patterns in the middle Limpopo Valley.
'Uchuuzi na Umachinga', street business in Dar es Salaam : challenges, problems, and prospects
(University of Pretoria, 2024-03-31) Murray-Cooke, Noeleen; brendaronald1@gmail.com; Lwakatare, Brenda
Street vending business plays a significant role in Dar es Salaam City's informal economy, providing livelihoods and local food accessibility. However, the government still views street vendors as a nuisance to the city rather than a contributor to national economic growth. This study aimed to identify the challenges, problems, and prospects of street vending in Dar es Salaam. It applied a qualitative case study method with a descriptive cross-sectional design. The study utilised purposive and snowball sampling methods to collect data from 50 street vendors at Mwenge Coca-Cola and Bunju B markets in Kinondoni Municipality, as well as seven key government and non-government informants. The study findings showed that the challenges and problems of street vending included a lack of access to credit and financial services from relevant institutions, a lack of unity and cooperation among vendors, environmental adversities, and political discord between stakeholders. The study suggests increasing training and education for capacity building and strengthening a participatory approach for street vending businesses in Dar es Salaam.
Towards financial inclusion? A study of the co-operative and digital lending models in Kenya
(University of Pretoria, 2024-01-22) Sharp, John; eric.magale@gmail.com; Magale, Eric Gwandega
Financial inclusion emerged around the mid-2000s as a developmental strategy that proposed the tailoring of financial services of different kinds to the poor as a means of tackling poverty and inequality. This thesis examines how financial inclusion plays out through the extension of credit to people in Kenya. Besides the traditional banking institutions, there are two important credit providers in Kenya, namely co-operatives and digital lenders. On the one hand, the co-operative sector has a long history in Kenya and has witnessed significant developments over the last two decades. On the other hand, digital lenders have a more recent history but have quickly grown to become significant players in the credit industry. Co-operatives in Kenya began in the colonial period with white settler farmers who brought along the model from Britain where it began. A few decades later, disenfranchised smallholder farmers under the yoke of colonialism were allowed to form co-operatives for their mutual benefit. After independence, the government fashioned co-operatives as a conservative form of African socialism which proved largely successful compared to other aggressive forms of African socialism practiced elsewhere in Africa. Co-operatives have become an enduring feature in Kenya’s credit industry, offering inexpensive loans. The genius of the co-operative model is that it dispensed with the need for collateral in favour of guarantees by co-members. Co-operatives have transformed significantly since deregulation of the sector from government control in 1997. The most significant of these changes was the emergence of financial co-operatives which are more formally known as Savings and Credit Co-operative Organizations (SACCOs) and the opening of the common bond and offering of quasi-banking services, all of which took place from the late 2000s. Notably, these changes inspired the innovation of new products and services, including digital loans, making co-operatives assume a more commercial outlook, a significant departure from their solidarity roots. Although opening of the common bond in SACCOs has led to an uptick in the number of new members, this change has attracted only members with moderate to high incomes who are able to pay the minimum share capital and make periodic savings. Fundamentally, the changes in the sector have not made SACCOs more accessible to the people at the bottom of the pyramid. Around the same time that the co-operative sector was experiencing the changes highlighted above, mobile money, M-Pesa, was invented in Kenya. M-Pesa disrupted the financial services sector dramatically, forcing commercial banks to devise ways to cater to the lower end of the market whom the banks had ignored for a long time due to their lack of productive assets and savings and unstable wages. From 2012, commercial banks and other non-bank digital lenders have stepped in to offer unsecured digital loans, leveraging on the mature mobile money market and the fledgling credit rating industry. Over the last decade, digital lending has taken different forms and has transcended industries to include non-financial corporations that previously had no role in the provision of credit. This thesis shows that there are nuances in the use of and the benefit that users derive from digital loans. For high-income borrowers and to a lesser extent moderate-income borrowers, the loans are used as a convenience tool while low-income borrowers use digital loans for their day-to-day consumption needs and emergencies. While the loans can be useful when used for convenience purposes, they become predatory when they are used by low-income borrowers. That the changes in the co-operative sector and the promotion of mobile money and its spin-offs, including digital credit, happened around the same time that financial inclusion was gaining popularity is no coincidence. Notably, the financial inclusion discourse also took shape within the context of a global shift in financialization which also affected Kenya. This shift refers to a change from organizations making money from the production of goods to the current form of capitalism where they make ‘money from money’ by simply positioning themselves in the financial industry. The change in financialization has been facilitated by financial innovations which have made financial services, in this case digital credit, more accessible to users in the pursuit of profit. Proponents of the financial inclusion discourse proposed that financial service providers of all kinds should tailor and make their services more readily available to the poor, arguing that this will help the poor to forge their own paths out of poverty through entrepreneurship and to build their resilience through savings. This thesis argues that financial inclusion has little to do with borrowing for convenience and SACCOs gaining additional members with moderate to high incomes. This thesis argues that a deeper understanding of financial inclusion requires a departure from generalizations of financial inclusion in favour of a keen unpacking of financial inclusion strategies. Given that the targets of financial inclusion are typically the poor in the developing world, financial inclusion strategies must be sound and must not propagate or exacerbate the problems of poverty and inequality
People in spaces : early second millennium AD occupation sequences at the Mbere Complex
(University of Pretoria, 2023-09-25) Forssman, Tim; skkuhlase340@gmail.com; Kuhlase, Siphesihle
Interactions between foragers and farmers in southern Africa has been extensively researched. Their social relations of these two groups, included the introduction of new settlement and subsistence patterns, as well as identities. In the middle Limpopo Valley (MLV), these changes were most evident from the second millennium AD, when farmer society developed new political, social, and economic systems leading to the establishment of state-level society. One notable change that appeared around AD 1000 is the occurrence of forager toolkits in erstwhile farmer settlements. This may indicate that settlement shifts took place at a time when social upheaval in the valley was driving change. To investigate this further, the Mbere Complex (MBC) was excavated. The site contains two distinct spatial areas: a large shelter with Later Stone Age and Iron Age assemblages and features, and an external homestead dating to the Zhizo and K2 periods, from AD 900 to 1220. The aim of this research project is to examine whether foragers residing at the MBC assimilated into farmer society, shared space, or abandoned the site soon after the migration of farmers. A secondary aim is to understand the cultural sequence present at the MBC and contrast it to other shelter assemblages in the area. The findings suggest that foragers were agentive and regulated their settlement patterns to interact with farmers and participate in socio-economic relations.
A praxis of policy : negotiating the ethics of a duty to care among healthcare Workers in Gauteng, South Africa
(University of Pretoria, 2023-11-27) McNeill, Fraser G.; gwahamadwatte@gmail.com; Madwatte, Gwaha A.
This dissertation explores healthcare workers’ praxis of biomedical ethics in a healthcare system that has been ravaged by structural challenges evidenced by poor management, shortages of biomedical supplies, staff, and equipment. By following the narratives of healthcare professionals, I examine the ways in which they attempt to fulfill their duty to care for patients by working around and through situations. I make visible the tools, techniques, practices, and processes they engage in to negotiate and achieve patient care. I argue that although certain actions of healthcare professionals may appear unethical from the bioethical fundamentalist’s viewpoint, my evidence suggests that healthcare workers mostly perceive such situations less as a deviation from clinical ethics but as praxis of it.

Browse

Recent Submissions