This paper compares two questionnaire surveys conducted in the Karoo to investigate the claim that in human-wildlife conflicts farmers systematically inflate predation reports to score political points. Although predation rates and updated predation values for the Karoo are presented, the main contribution is not “a” number but rather an analysis of what affects the magnitude of predation self-reports. The two surveys produced quite different figures, which were due to methodological choices rather than anything farmers said. With the methods standardized, the figures converged to within 3% of each other, which either means that farmers never lied at the height of the Karoo’s gin trap wars or that they are still lying about their losses despite the trust we think we have in Koup. In this work, an important decision is whether to assign all, some or no perinatal losses to predation. In the Karoo, it is concluded that counting none towards predation is most prudent as lambs are born on the open range and few producers’ document ewe conception with ultrasound scanning. Determining the lamb inventory at tagging for the first time inflates predation rates because it divided by a smaller number while dividing lamb losses by an overall inventory (as we, unfortunately, must in this country due to data deficiencies) reduces losses because it divided by a larger number. Standardised methods are therefore essential and begs the question of how we explanation spatial and temporal variations in these standardized data. Some preliminary modelling will be presented.

The administration of the 2016 local government elections in South Africa has been celebrated as yet another important contributor to the delivery of free and fair elections. Yet competitive elections, an essential component of any democratic system, require more than smooth running administrative systems. Competitive elections require conditions that create a climate of tolerance, free political campaigning, and open public debate. An election without freedom to campaign is doomed to be stunted and inefficient as the right to freedom of expression is one of a web of mutually supporting rights the Constitution affords to citizens. This paper presents an analysis of narrative reports on instances of violations of the Electoral Code of Conduct, including intimidation and violence, gathered by Civil Society violence monitors and election observers from 1 March until 31 September 2016. The analysis reveals that whilst the vast majority of South Africans can vote and express their opinions without fear of retribution, there are underlying tensions militating against constitutionally protected political rights. When viewed in conjunction with the Afrobarometer survey data (2016) on perceptions of political space in South Africa, in the context of Diamond and Morlino’s minimum requirements for democracy, it becomes clear that pre-election campaign space is fragile and not given, and will, therefore, need to be nurtured in future elections.

Presenter biography: Nkosikhulule Xhawulengweni Nyembezi is a Ph.D. Candidate in Public Law, a policy analyst, a researcher, and a human rights activist. His research interests are in the areas of Electoral Democracy and Good Governance, Socio-Economic Rights, Anti-Corruption Institutional Frameworks, and Early Childhood Development.
He has been involved in the coordination of civil society election-monitoring programmes in the national, provincial and local government since 1994, and serves as the Co-Chairperson of the National Co-ordinating Forum – a platform that brings together civil society formations and the Independent Electoral Commission. He also served as a community representative in the Development Chamber of the National Economic Development and Labour Council.

Light refreshments to be served prior to the conversation from 17.00 onwards.

On street parking available across the street from the IJR office, as well as limited parking spaces at the IJR.

This paper focuses on ideologies of welfare – i.e. the attitudes, norms and beliefs concerning the respective roles of state, market and kin in supporting the poor – in Africa, so as to supplement political economic and institutional explanations of social policy reform. Across much of Africa, political elites have exercised significant discretion in how to respond to pressures and constraints. An ideological aversion to ‘handouts’ and ‘dependency’, and anxiety about the effects of cash transfers on productivity and morality, have been both widespread and deep-rooted across much of Africa. Whilst the predominant approach has been developmental, in the primacy attached to economic development, there has also been some variation over the precise delineation of who (if anyone) constitutes the ‘deserving’ poor and what the state should (or should not) do for (or to) them. This paper draws on primary research in Anglophone Southern and East Africa – including Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Namibia and Zanzibar (Tanzania) – to identify, explain and assess the importance of both commonality and variation in the welfare doctrines articulated by political elites.

Presenter biography: Jeremy Seekings is Professor of Political Studies and Sociology, Director of the CSSR and Interim Director of the new Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa

In view of the SALRC’s proposed Bill, our paper investigates whether South Africa should criminalise ukuthwala or not. The paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of criminalising breaches of ukuthwala by drawing upon the field research findings from the community where the Jezile case originated. It is, therefore, divided into five parts. We discuss South Africa’s existing legislation in the context of ukuthwala. These include, inter alia, the Constitution, the Criminal Law Amendment (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Act, Children’s Act, Recognition of Customary Marriages Act and the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act. We also highlight the provisions of the Prohibition of Forced and Child Marriages Bill in order to assess the manner in which it seeks to criminalise forced and child marriages due to ukuthwala. Thereafter we discuss the elements associated with the practice with the aim of assessing the merits and demerits of criminalising breaches of ukuthwala. The last part is a conclusion in which we observe that there is a fundamental disjuncture between law reform and practice due to, inter alia, the communities’ lack of knowledge on the current legal framework that seeks to regulate customary marriages. Therefore, unless government prioritises awareness campaigns into the communities that are going to be affected by the proposed law reform, such law, will again be what Himonga calls ‘paper law’.

Presenter biography: Roberta Hlalisa Mgidlana, is a legal Research Assistant for Prof Lea Mwambene at UWC, also an LLM student under supervision of Professor Mwambene and co- supervision of Professor Sloth-Nielsen 

This paper explores the relationship between Abdullah and Helen “Nellie” Abdurahman with their daughters, Zainunissa “Cissie” and Waradea “Rosie” to explore themes of generational political socialization and transmission, and how fatherhood affected Abdullah's politics. Through the discussion of his daughters’ childhoods, this paper draws attention to Abdullah’s philosophies on the role of education as the mediator between the essential ‘person’ to an engaged ‘citizen'. The girls’ struggles around their own education were closely linked to their father’s work towards educational programmes and goals. The second half of this paper takes a closer look at the relationship between Abdullah and Cissie and their political differences and the contemporary gossip regarding their estrangement. I focus on the contradictions between their affectionate father-daughter relationship and their roles as political adversaries. Their conflict and contest reflected larger social trends when one generation of political activism and politicians gave way to a new generation. Cissie, in a sense, inherited not just his Albert Lodge soireés-as-ersatz-political-space, but also his council seat. Abdullah and his old APO colleagues found their sons and daughters challenging their ideologies and their tactics, reflecting the sea changes in thought brought through by political changes in Europe, new ideas from the Atlantic, and the fast-changing South African landscape brought on by the mineral revolution.

Presenter biography:

Eve Wong is a Ph.D. student in the Anthropology Department at the University of Cape Town where she is studying the limits of inclusion and belonging in multicultural societies through the contests and articulations in collective memory, public culture , nd heritage in Khoisan revivalism movements at the Cape. Wong holds a research MA in Historical Studies at the University of Cape Town, an MA in Anthropology from Boston University, and undergraduate degrees in History, Classics, and Anthropology. She previously worked as a user experience developer and wrote websites.
 

This seminar presents results of PhD research conducted with the School of Economic and the Sustainable Societies Unit of the CCR at UCT. This research investigates how improving productivity in agriculture can be achieved to realise the goals set out in the National Development Plan (NDP). The main objective is to see how improvements in productivity can contribute to inclusive growth in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.
This is done through four substantive papers. Firstly, background to the national commercial agricultural performance is given, followed by an updated Total Factor Productivity (TFP) analysis from 1980-2015, which extends the work of Thirtle et al (1993), who measure TFP from 1947-1991, using the Torqvist-Theil approximation of the Divisia Index. This paper concludes that even though there has been moderate productivity growth over the period, national level policy focus does not bode well for promoting inclusive rural growth, as agriculture is spatially diverse, and commodity specific. Paper Two describes public expenditure on agriculture and rural development from 1970-2015, with a focus on productivity enhancing items, specifically farmer support and development and extension services. It concludes that the declining expenditure does not reconcile with the stated goals in the national policy plans regarding agriculture. In Paper Three, TFP is measured at the magisterial district, statistical region and provincial level for the Eastern Cape, following the methodology employed by Conradie et al (2008, 2009). As for the national level analysis, the Torqvist-Theil approximation of the Divisia Index is used to measure productivity growth from 1952-2002. It concludes that TFP growth was slow in the province and most of the districts, and that the strong growth seen in certain districts and regions in the Western Cape (WC), won’t be replicable in the EC due to different agro-ecological conditions and specifically, output mixes. Thus, national level prescriptions of the NDP pushing for expanding horticultural production is not relevant to the EC, which has extensive livestock production as its dominant commodities, as opposed to the Western Cape. In Paper Four, the wool industry, which is a dominant commodity in the Eastern Cape, is used as a case study to show where institutional innovation in agricultural advisory services has promoted pro-poor rural outcomes. The National Wool Growers Association (NWGA), in partnership with the provincial department of agriculture, has been providing market access, shearing sheds and other means of support and extension to communal farmers in different areas of the former Transkei. A Data Envelopment Analysis was run for a study group of these communal farmers which received mentorship from the NWGA, followed by a Benefit Cost Analysis of the intervention from the perspective of the participants of the programme. The paper concludes that agriculture as a potential route out of poverty is clearly a distinct possibility if the ideal institutional environment is setup that allows for innovative ways with which communal farmers can be empowered to enter formal marketing activities and improve their livelihoods.

This paper asks whether a country’s choice of electoral system affects the methods citizens use to try and hold their government accountable. A large body of literature suggests that electoral system type has an impact on voting behavior, but little work has been done so far looking at other forms of democratic accountability (contact and protest). Using Round 6 Afrobarometer data, combined with a new, author-created, dataset, we find that the type of electoral system does indeed have a significant impact on these other forms of participation. Citizens in PR systems are significantly more likely to protest when they are dissatisfied than those in majoritarian ones, while those in majoritarian systems are more likely to contact their elected representatives. We argue that this is because the connection between citizens and representatives in majoritarian systems is clearer, closer and more responsive, making contact an effective strategy and providing an efficient "safety valve" when citizens are dissatisfied. The lack of a similar connection in most PR systems, in contrast, leads citizens to turn to protest with greater regularity. We provide evidence to support this hypothesis, and also suggest some directions for future research.