scholarly journals Imvuselelo: Embers of liberation in South Africa post-1994

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vuyani Vellem
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Combustion Chambers ◽  
Cultural Consciousness ◽  
Escape Route ◽  
Black African ◽  
Heuristic Device ◽  
Cultural Suppression

The unprecedented cultural consciousness after decades of black cultural suppression in the South African public life since the 1990s summons us to the need to harness African ecclesiopolitical symbols in public life. This task is executed at a time when the notions of inter alia, spirituality and Imvuselelo are at the heart of the combustion chambers of our public and political life. Imvuselelo is a thermometer of decolonialist rebellion – the militant spirituality linked with Tiyo Soga – and is a self-combustion escape route in instances of black African epistemicide and violence. The heuristic device of iziko (fireplace) is employed to illuminate and locate the reestablishment and anamnestic praxis of protological life-giving foundations of spirituality in the African universe in our interpretation of Imvuselelo. The notion of imvuselelo is illuminated through iziko to debunk the incompatibilities, disharmonies, incongruences and conflagrations of virtual spirituality in its capture and domestication of the resources of the downtrodden.

Reframing Xenophobia in South Africa as Colour-Blind: The Limits of the Afro Phobia Thesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-444
Author(s):  
Amanuel Isak Tewolde
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Conflict Theory ◽  
Black African ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Online Newspaper ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Realistic Conflict Theory

Many scholars and South African politicians characterize the widespread anti-foreigner sentiment and violence in South Africa as dislike against migrants and refugees of African origin which they named ‘Afro-phobia’. Drawing on online newspaper reports and academic sources, this paper rejects the Afro-phobia thesis and argues that other non-African migrants such as Asians (Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis and Chinese) are also on the receiving end of xenophobia in post-apartheid South Africa. I contend that any ‘outsider’ (White, Asian or Black African) who lives and trades in South African townships and informal settlements is scapegoated and attacked. I term this phenomenon ‘colour-blind xenophobia’. By proposing this analytical framework and integrating two theoretical perspectives — proximity-based ‘Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT)’ and Neocosmos’ exclusivist citizenship model — I contend that xenophobia in South Africa targets those who are in close proximity to disadvantaged Black South Africans and who are deemed outsiders (e.g., Asian, African even White residents and traders) and reject arguments that describe xenophobia in South Africa as targeting Black African refugees and migrants.

Untangling discrimination in the private sector workplace in South Africa: Paving the way for Black African women progression to managerial positions

2021 ◽  
pp. 135822912199056
Author(s):  
Motlhatlego Dennis Matotoka ◽  
Kolawole Olusola Odeku
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
South African ◽  
African Women ◽  
The South ◽  
Quota System ◽  
Black African ◽  
Managerial Positions ◽  
Action Measures

Black African women in South Africa are poorly represented at managerial levels in the South African private sector since the advent of democracy. Their exclusion at these occupational levels persists despite the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (EEA) requiring that the private sector must ensure that all occupational levels are equitably represented and reflects the demographics of South Africa. The South African private sector demonstrates its lack of commitment to proliferating black African women into managerial positions by deliberately engaging in race-based recruitment and failing to develop and promote suitably qualified women into managerial positions. As such, the private sector is failing to create upward mobility for black African women to break the glass ceiling. The EEA requires the private sector to apply affirmative action measures in order to achieve equity in the workplace. It is submitted that since 1998, the private sector has been provided with an opportunity to set it own targets in order to achieve equity. However, 22 years later, black African women are still excluded in key managerial positions. However, the EEA does not specifically impose penalties if the private sector fails to achieve the set targets.This approach has failed to increase the representation of black women in managerial positions. However, the EEA does not specifically impose penalties if the private sector fails to achieve the set targets. Whilst this approach seeks to afford the private sector importunity to set its own target, this approach has failed to increase the representation of black women in managerial positions. Employing black African women in managerial levels enhances their skills and increases their prospects to promotions and assuming further leadership roles in the private sector. This paper seeks to show that the progression of black African women requires South Africa to adopt a quota system without flexibility that will result in the private sector being compelled to appoint suitably qualified black African women in managerial levels.

A Case for a Transforming Christology in South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 310-326
Author(s):  
Jakobus (Koos) M. Vorster
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
African Literature ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
South African Literature ◽  
Lost In Translation

Abstract In the South African discourse on the political relevance of Jesus Christ, a vast array of conceptions of Jesus emerged over the years of the struggle, the liberation, the quest for spirituality and the theology of reconstruction. This discourse has taken place within the framework of the two broad historical movements of a “high” and a “low” Christology. In a recent thought provoking and informative article Mouton & Smit investigated four of the dominant discourses on Jesus in contemporary South Africa.1 They surveyed the discussions of Jesus in the popular news and newspaper debates, academic circles and scholarship, the worship and spirituality of congregations and believers, and public opinion about social and political life. After reviewing a huge corpus of South African literature on concepts of Jesus they ask the question whether Jesus was lost in translation in the South Africa of recent times. This article is an attempt to take the argument further. First of all, the investigation will provide another outline of the Christologies in the recent South African discourse within the broad framework of a “high” and a “low” Christology. The concepts under consideration are the spiritual Jesus, the political Jesus and the historical Jesus. Then a case will be made for the transforming Jesus of the Kingdom of God as a corrective on the Christologies of Apartheid, the liberation struggle and the modern-day post-modern projections of the historical Jesus.

scholarly journals MNC Decision Making under Sanctions

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuichiro Kakutani
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
South African ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Economic Sanctions ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Rent Extraction ◽  
Political Outcomes ◽  
Better Than

By using an incentives/disincentives model to map the divergent behaviors of multinational corporations (MNCs) confronted by a sanctioned economy, I explain why some economic sanctions work better than others at achieving their desired political outcomes. When presented with the opportunity to “run the blockade,” MNCs are incentivized to sanction bust by the allure of higher profit through rent extraction. At the same time, MNCs are disincentivized to sanction bust by the penalties for breaking the sanction, but only if MNCs believe sanction busting operations is inconspicuous enough to avoid detection. If the incentives to sanction bust outweigh the disincentives not to, then MNCs will trade with sanctioned states, as was the case with Rhodesia. Since MNCs were crucial to both the Rhodesian and the South African economies—as it provided oil to the former and operated a significant minority of the firms in the latter—the decisions of MNCs to remain engaged in Rhodesia and to disengage from South Africa had a significant impact on the economic and political life of the two apartheid regimes. Hence, while many economic and political indicators identified by literature predicted that Rhodesia would have a shorter life expectancy under economic sanctions, Rhodesia defied all expectations and survived twice as long as South Africa.

scholarly journals African Immigrant and the Struggle against Class, Racism and Xenophobic Consequences in Post-Apartheid South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 1460-1468
Author(s):  
Ernest Muchu Toh
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
African Continent ◽  
African Unity ◽  
African Immigrant ◽  
Black African ◽  
Entire World ◽  
The Way

This paper brings to understanding the effects of class and racism which are manifested in xenophobic attacks against foreign blacks in South Africa. Xenophobic attacks have been persistent in the country for over the last two decade. It has amongst other things slowed the economy, particularly affected the country’s relations with the African continent and tainted the image of South Africa to the entire world. These attacks turn the livelihood of Africans immigrants into a daily struggle to adapt, survive, integrate themselves and contributes to the development of the country. The article seeks to unveil the reasons South African blacks behave the way they do against their fellow Black African counterparts despite the call for African unity and solidarity also known as ‘Ubuntu’. From the findings, it demonstrates that the act of xenophobia is a manifestation of effect of mindset influenced by the apartheid policy, which was based on hatred, class, race, and violence.

Ten Reasons Why I Oppose Boycotts Against Israeli Academics (And Why You Should Too!)

2019 ◽  
pp. 83-86
Author(s):  
Robert Fine
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Racial Democracy ◽  
First Time ◽  
Socialist Politics ◽  
Political Battle

This is not the first time I have been embroiled in a boycott debate. In the 1980s, I was involved in solidarity work with the fledgling indepen- dent trade unions in South Africa. They were a living expression of non-racial democracy across so-called national lines. Solidarity included establishing direct links between South African and British unions at official and rank–and-file levels. As a result of our solidarity activities, we were pilloried by leading figures in anti-apartheid, the ANC, and the South African Communist Party for breaking the boycott! When we invited a South African academic, a leading advocate of the new unions and anti-apartheid scholar, to speak at our Comparative Labour Studies pro- gram at Warwick University, a demonstration was organized by a couple of SACP stalwarts to prevent him from speaking. When we wrote a trade union solidarity pamphlet, we were told that unions could only be legal in South Africa if they collaborated with the regime and that we were in effect collaborationists. Beneath the argument about boycott what was really going on was a political battle between a progressive socialist politics and quite reactionary nationalist politics. It is a battle that has not stopped and is rising to the surface in contemporary South Africa. I grant there is no direct analogy between the boycott of apartheid South Africa and that of Israeli academic institutions, but I contend that a similar political battle is taking place—a battle for our future political life.

Southern African Air Transport After Apartheid

1992 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 341-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon H. Pirie
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Air Transport ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Similar Action ◽  
Black African ◽  
The 1960S

Aviation in Southern Africa was subject throughout the 1980s to increasingly intense political pressures. As ever, the cause was protests about apartheid. The severe blow that black African countries dealt to South African Airways (S.A.A.), the Republic's state-owned national airline, in the 1960s by withdrawing overflying rights was magnified by similar action from a wider spectrum of non-African governments. In the mid-1980s, Australia and the United States of America, for example, revoked S.A.A.'s landing rights, and forbad airlines registered in their countries from flying to South Africa. Other carriers, such as Air Canada, closed their offices and then terminated representation in South Africa.

Mosques, Mawlanas and Muharram: Indian Islam in Colonial Natal, 1860-1910

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goolam H. Vahed
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
The Social ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Minority Religion ◽  
Language Region ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis study examines the establishment of Islam in colonial Natal, attempting to fill a void in and correct the existing historiography.1 In comparison with other parts of Africa, the lack of a historiographical tradition on Islamic South Africa is conspicuous, but understandable given that traditionally the impact and consequences of racial segregation occupied the attention of most historians. Although Islam is a minority religion in South Africa, apartheid has created an impression of population density not reflected in the census figures. According to the 1996 census, there were 553,585 Muslims in a total population of forty million.2 Indian Muslims make up one of the two largest sub-groups, the other being Malay¸.3 There are 246,433 Malay and 236,315 Indian Muslims.4 The majority of Indian Muslims are confined to KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng, while most Malay Muslims live in the Western Cape. There is thus very little contact and interaction between them; indeed there are deep differences of history, culture, class and tradition. Muslims have played an important role in the social, economic and political life of the country. The many mosques that adorn the skylines of major South African cities are evidence that Islam has a living presence in South Africa, while the militant activities of the Cape-based People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad) in the post-1994 period has ensured that Islam remains in the news. This study demonstrates that, apart from obvious differences between Indian and Malay Muslims, there are deep-seated differences among Indian Muslims. The diversity of tradition, beliefs, class, practices, language, region, and experience of migration has resulted in fundamental differences that have generated conflict.

scholarly journals The cricket bowling performance of different racial groups at a junior provincial level in South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
M S Taliep
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The Other ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
The South ◽  
Black African ◽  
Provincial Level ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Cricket Bowling

Objective. To investigate the difference in performance and bowling opportunity of black African (BA), coloured/Indian (C/I) and white(W) cricket bowlers at a junior provincial level in South Africa between 2006 and 2012.Methods. Data of all players performing in the South African interprovincial under-13 (U13), under-15 (U15) and under-19 (U19)tournaments were analysed. Bowling performance (bowling average and the top 20 wicket takers relative to their par representation) andbowling opportunity (number of overs bowled) were compared between racial groups.Results. There were no significant differences in the bowling averages between BA bowlers and the other racial groups between 2008 and 2012.BA bowling averages were only significantly worse than W bowlers in the U13s in 2006 and U19s in 2007. BA bowling averages were also onlysignificantly worse than C/I in the U13s and U15s in 2007. BA bowlers were below par representation in the top 20 wicket takers in each yearfor the U15s and U19s and below par representation for the U13s in 2007 - 2009 and 2011. The performance of C/I and W bowlers was relativelysimilar across the age groups. BA players bowled significantly fewer overs than W bowlers in the U13s in 2006, in the U15s in 2007 and 2009and in the U19s in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011. C/I bowlers bowled significantly fewer overs than W bowlers in the U13s in 2008 and 2009.Conclusion. The bowling averages of the different racial groups are similar. However, there were relatively few BA bowlers in the top 20wicket takers each year. This could be because of a lack of highly skilled BA bowlers or the lack of opportunity provided to BA bowlers tobowl in these tournaments.

scholarly journals Probing the “global Reformed Christ” of Nico Koopman: An African-Kairos perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 495-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub Urbaniak
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Black African ◽  
The Public ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Economic Issues ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
The Church

This study seeks to probe Nico Koopman’s Christological approach through the lens of the theological framework spelled out in the Kairos Document (1985), and in particular its understandings of church theology and prophetic theology, critically re-appropriated in the current socioeconomic context of South Africa. Four essential aspects of Koopman’s Christological perspective are examined: (1) the Reformed view of the lordship of Christ as the basis for the public vocation of theology; (2) Trinitarian and Christological foundations of human dignity; (3) Jesus as the epitome of divine and human vulnerability, and (4) the organic connection between the threefold office of Christ and the public calling of the church. In conclusion, I argue that Koopman’s Christ, albeit displaying an African veneer, upon scrutiny, appears to be unfamiliar with and unconcerned about the problems faced by most South Africans today, and thereby fails to constructively engage with African (especially black African) contexts of our day. This is due to four major factors, namely (a) Koopman’s choices regarding theological references; (b) his cursory and un-nuanced treatment of African theological notions; (c) his a-pathetic mode of theologising; and (d) his inability (or lack of willingness) to engage with structural (especially macro-economic) issues. I further suggest that my conclusions concerning Koopman’s “global Reformed Christ” may be (at least tentatively) extrapolated into a number of approaches developed by South African theologians under the umbrella of “public theology”. I also point to some promising (prophetically-loaded) insights coming from the chosen public theologians, including Koopman himself, as a way of illustrating the tension between civic spirit and public anger, inherent in this mode of theologising.

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