DARU Researchers

Director: Prof Robert Mattes

Project leaders

Researcher Role Project
Liz Welsh Project Manager African Legislatures Project
ALP is conducting research into legislatures in 20 African countries, and seeks to find out how and why legislatures function as they do, and why some are developing into significant institutions that play a measurable role in democratic governance, while others are not. ALP has developed a wide range of measures for assessing and comparing the development of individual legislatures in relation to one another and over time. Donors include DFID, the World Bank, and UCT’s Vice Chancellor’s Fund.
Dr Per Strand Project Manager AIDS and Democratic Governance Project
Per’s research explores the interface between HIV/AIDS and political governance in southern and eastern Africa. It analyses what incentives and disincentives determine the level of political leadership on AIDS, what the determinants are for effective country responses, and how AIDS affects the capacity of governance institutions in the region.

DARU Visiting Researchers

Researcher About
Verena Kroth Verena Kroth joined DARU as a visiting research scholar from the London School of Economics in October 2011. Her PhD thesis focuses on public financial management in South Africa. In particular, she researches intergovernmental fiscal relations, local government finance and issues surrounding public service delivery. She holds a Master in Public Administration in Public and Economic Policy from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Warwick.
Geoffrey Macdonald Geoffrey Macdonald researched South African party politics as a visiting research scholar at DARU during August and September 2011. His dissertation compares political party development in South Africa, Indonesia, and India. Geoffrey is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International studies, where he received a Master of Arts in International Security. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Boston University.
Andrew Niikondo Andrew Niikondo is a Namibian, born on 15 January 1962. In 1995 he obtained a National Diploma in Public Administration at the University of Namibia (UNAM), followed by a B-Tech Degree at the Technikon of South Africa (TSA) in 1999, and a Masters Degree at the University of the Western Cape in 2002, specialising in Gender and Development and finally a Doctoral Degree in Public Administration from the University of Namibia in 2008. In 2010 he had a writing sabbatical at University of Cape Town under DARU which ran from 1 August to 30 September. With others, he was involved in quantitative research methods course which resulted in a publishable paper on the Role of Traditional Authorities under Modern Namibia. Currently, Dr Andrew Niikondo is a Vice Rector Academic Affairs and Research at the Polytechnic of Namibia.

DARU Researchers

Researcher About
Tim Hughes Tim Hughes established SAIIA’s parliamentary liaison programme in Cape Town and ran SAIIA’s SADC parliamentary research programme, as well as its Lesotho Democracy Programme. He has written a book on South Africa’s foreign policy in the post-apartheid period and was team leader on the SAIIA SADC future scenarios programme. He is editor of the SADC Strengthening Parliamentary and Civil Society Relations Handbook.
Dustin Kramer Dustin’s research interests lie both in political theory and comparative politics. His current focus is on the relationship between informal political institutions and governance in Africa. At DARU, he is working as a research assistant on the African Legislatures Project.
Rorisang Lekelake Rorisang Lekalake is a second-year MA candidate in Political Science at UCT and a Research Assistant in DARU, working on ALP Module 2. Her thesis is on intergenerational value change and citizenship values in Botswana.
Holly McGurk Holly is a research assistant for the Open Society Monitoring Index. She is assisting with research on openness in South Africa and particularly on fiscal accountability and the rule of law. She is a masters student in the International Relations program
Moletsane Monyake Moletsane Monyake is a political science Masters degree candidate and research associate with DARU. His current research interests lie in political behaviour and political methodology with special emphasis on measurement validation.
Tiffany Mugo Tiffany is an International Relations Masters student working for ALP, DARU. Her Honours and Masters level research is based primarily around the protection of human rights. Her Master’s dissertation research seeks to explore the protection of women’s rights in Africa by women’s rights advocates through the utilisation of international law.
Lauren Paremoer Lauren is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Studies at the New School for Social Research and is a part-time lecturer in the Political Studies Department at UCT. Her research interests include HIV/AIDS treatment politics; citizenship theory; welfare regimes in the global south; and discourse analysis.
Erica Penfold Erica is a Masters student in the Department of Political Studies and a research assistant to Prof.  Robert  Mattes in  DARU. Her chief responsibilities include coordination of research tasks for Prof. Mattes. Other studies include project work for Dr Per Strand and Prof. Robert Cameron, which involves research on the influence of HIV/AIDS on internal capacity of local government. Thesis topic: ‘ Monitoring the influence of HIV/AIDS on political participation in South Africa’.
Lara Sierra-Rubia Lara is a Masters student in Justice and Transformation at UCT, and works as a research assistant for DARU, where her research relates to the relationship between HIV/AIDS and political participation. Lara’s research interests broadly include transitional justice and democratic consolidation. Her thesis title is “Collective amnesia in transitional societies: the politics of memory in Spain”.
Carlos Shenga Carlos is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Studies, and a research assistant for the African Legislatures Project in DARU. Thesis topic: ‘ Legislative recruitment and institutionalization, committee performance and public support for legislature in Mozambique: a comparative case study over three first multiparty legislatures’.
Kimberly Smiddy Kimberly is a senior research associate with the African Legislatures Project.  She is an independent consultant working as a parliamentary development specialist throughout southern Africa. Kimberly has provided consultancy services for SADC-PF, DFID, the Norwegian Embassy, GTZ, USAID, SUNY, RTI, FES, and UNDP.  She has 14 years of parliamentary experience in Africa and has worked on evaluating and designing legislative strengthening programs in many different countries.
Dadisai Taderera Dadisai’s research investigates the extent to which citizens in the new South Africa extend legitimacy to the state. Using mass public opinion survey data by Afrobarometer from 1999 to 2008, this study examines trends in public perceptions of state legitimacy over time and across racial/ethnic groups. Preliminary analyses suggest that South African institutions may be declining in legitimacy, with the biggest declines being found among black South Africans.