Adonis & Abbey Publishers

editor@adonis-abbey.com UK: 0207 795 8187 / Nigeria:+234 705 807 8841

Ubuntu: Journal of Conflict and Social Transformation Volume 4, Number 1, 2015

About This Edition

ISSN : 2078-760X (print), 2050-4950 (Online)

Table of Contents :

Editorial Note
Catherine Ndinda 7

Emerging Values from the African Traditional System and Institutions in a Democratic South Africa
Rita N. Ozoemena 13

Since becoming a democratic nation, South Africa has witnessed myriad of issues that highlight the constant clash between constitutional democratic values and the values embedded in the culture and traditions of the African people. In this country, two distinct sets of values continue to push the boundaries of each other to claim their rights before the highest Court in the land. On the one hand are the values of equality, dignity and democratic rule of law located in the constitutional principles of a democratic South Africa; and on the other hand, found within the traditional institution is both communitarian and authoritarian values. More recently, judicial review of actions of traditional leaders has highlighted a number of issues such as resource accountability within their jurisdiction and the constitutionality of the traditional leaders and their institution in a democratic South Africa. This is an interesting development in our customary law system where reverence to the office and leadership of the traditional leader is shifting from total obedience to one where secession of a community is seriously contended. Traditional institution acts as both organ of state and as a social structure, well-positioned to drive social change. Since the attainment of democracy in South Africa, the recognition and role of traditional institution in deepening our democratic values have been somewhat incoherent. This uncertainty regarding their roles has brought significant changes to the institution with people demanding accountability and transparency generally from government, but more specifically, from the traditional institutions who still wield immense power within the rural communities. This article provides an understanding of the emerging values from the unique South African model of a “fused” legal system by highlighting the recent developments with regard to political rights, governance and the democratisation of traditional institutions in South Africa.

A Review on the History of Commercial Farming in South Africa: Implications for Labour Legislation
Nomzamo Kheswa 37

The article draws on existing literature on commercial farming in the apartheid era in South Africa to give a history of commercial farming in the country and the labour relations that arose from a racially-based and largely coercive labour market. Commercial agriculture in South Africa was historically state-subsidised and heavily state-regulated, thus ensuring the success of commercial farming in an otherwise futile industry. Indeed, the commercial farming industry was orchestrated and manipulated by state interventions which served to favour (predominantly White) commercial farmers to the neglect of their black workers. The nuances in the apartheid-driven regulations present unique labour relations between farmer and farm worker, referred to as ‘paternalism’. The highly privatised farming spaces also strengthen this relationship, however to view this connection in a negative light is a one-sided and reduced ideology. There are indeed some benefits which can be identified from the connection, which present what is referred to as a ‘micro-welfare state’. In this relationship that shapes the communities that existed on farms during the apartheid regime, one can identify better-off conditions (for farm workers) nested in the notion of ‘paternalism’.

This paper is drawn from the author’s Master of Arts in Industrial Sociology thesis titled Changes and Continuities in the Labour Process on Commercial Farms in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Studies from Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces which would not have been possible without the generous funding from the South Africa Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD) and the Rhodes University Levenstein Bursary award.

Women’s Access to Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights Services in Mozambique: Advocacy Strategies to Address Barriers
Costumado, M.G.S., Khalema, N.E., Ndinda, C., and Hari Domingos, M55

The Utility of Moral Philosophy and Professional Ethics in the Fight against Corruption in South Africa: Any Role for Ubuntu?
Siphesihle Dumisa and Olumuyiwa Babatunde Amao85

This paper derives its motivation from the longitudinal attitude survey conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council in 2011 and Transparency International between 2011 and 2013, which highlights how corruption has been on the increase in South Africa. Consequently, the paper interrogates the possible role which Ubuntu can play as an anti-corruption mechanism in South Africa, and argues the need for its adequate reinvigoration at the ‘systemic level’ to complement the vigour with which it has been touted at ‘agency level’. We argue that while government employees are being encouraged to uphold the values of Ubuntu in governance, the lack of accountability and transparency in government circles do not ensure adherence to such high moral standards. This asymmetry inevitably prevents the moral philosophy of Ubuntu from making a contribution as an anti-corruption stratagem.

Historical Foundations of Conflict Management and Peace Building Strategies in Nigeria
Kelechi Johnmary Ani and D. I. Ajaegbo113

The contemporary Nigerian society has been progressively recording the manifestation of multi-dimensional conflicts. These conflicts that are weighing down the sovereign state differ mainly in scope, nature, time and environment where they manifest today when compared to the nature and character of conflicts in the traditional societies that make-up the modern Nigerian State. Consequently, this work re-presents the historic conflict management and peace building strategies that were traditionally used by our forefathers. The paper calls for the hybridization and integration of these strategies with modern scientific-based methods of promoting sustainable national peace and development in Nigeria.

Representative Government and the Political Economy of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic
Ibraheem Oladipo Muheeb 135

[abstract]


Annual Subscription Rate
Individual Subscriptions