proceedings of the faculty of arts 5th annual conference

Proceedings of the Faculty of Arts 5th Annual Conference 2011

Theme

ldquoTrends of knowledge in the humanities service delivery and entrenchment of individual rightsrdquo

Editors Dennis N Ocholla and Thandi A Nzama


ii

Proceedings of the Faculty of Arts 5thAnnual Conference 2011

Theme


Editors

Dennis N Ocholla and Thandi Nzama

University of Zululand

2011


iii

Published by the Faculty of Arts ndash [Online] httpwwwartsuzuluacza


Private Bag x1001

KwaDlangezwa

3886

South Africa

E-maildochollapanuzuluacza

atnzamapanuzuluacza

All rights reserved

copy Authors 2011

ISBN 978-0-620-45758-3

Cover designformatting SMD Manqele

Copy editors CT Moyo EM Mncwango and AN Bell


iv

FOREWORD

On behalf of the Faculty of Arts Research Committee I once again would like to take this opportunity to thank all academic staff members within the Faculty of Arts for their cooperation contribution and support that have resulted in the production of this document ndash the Faculty of Arts Conference Proceedings It is gratifying to present the Faculty of Arts Conference Proceedings which is a culmination of the combined effort of all colleagues within the Faculty of Arts who presented papers at the 2011 Faculty of Arts Conference In its attempt to increase research productivity and to motivate new researchers to engage in research present papers at local and international conferences and publish in peer refereed and accredited journals (SAPSE) as well as in the Faculty of Arts Journal Inkanyiso The Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences the Faculty of Arts Research Committee has organized a series of research activities which include lunch hour seminars capacity building workshops and conferences The first Faculty Conference was held in 2007 which laid a solid foundation for the subsequent conferences The success of the first conference encouraged the Research Committee to commit itself to making a conference an annual event The themes and objectives of these conferences are broad thus providing an interdisciplinary platform for sharing knowledge on research activities and related scholarly and academic work by staff and students in the Humanities and Social Sciences

The theme of the Conference wasldquoTrends of knowledge in the humanities service delivery and entrenchment of individual rightsrdquo

The aim of the conference was to provide an interdisciplinary platform for sharing knowledge on research activities and related scholarly and academic work by staff and students in the humanities and social sciences

The conference objectives are to

Share scholarly knowledge among staff in the humanities and social sciences

Popularize research and dissemination of research results Provide a platform for networking among staff and students Promote and encourage constructive scholarly debate Enable free interaction and exchange of ideas Provide a forum where staff and students can showcase their research output and

academic work Provide an interface and interactive environment for disseminating and filtering

research outcome before publication in scholarly journals Enable the creation of a faculty research open access repository for

interdisciplinary research output in humanities and social sciences


v

Promote knowledge sharing and transfer through open discussions Papers on the following sub-themes are accepted

Opposing andor debate in a democratic society Ubuntu and Ethical practice in South Africa Knowledge explosion in Humanities and Social Sciences Equal distribution of resources Impact of natural disasters Political strife in the African continent Development and service delivery Psychological dimension influence healthy conflict Democracy versus repression

Papers from the following areas are welcome

Knowledge Management Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) Information Communication and Technology Information and Knowledge Society Community Psychology Rural Development Politics and Public Administration Criminology Inter-cultural StudiesCultural Diversity Sustainability as model for Development Socio-economic systems and regional development Diversity in literature and cultural studies Literary theory oral art and folklore Recreation tourism and cultural studies Sociological theories language and society Human communication and language

The Faculty of Arts Conference Proceedings covers a wide scope of research interests across the Faculty of Arts May I mention that not all papers that were presented at the 2011 Faculty Conference are included in this volumeIt is anticipated that the Faculty Conferences and the resultant Conference Proceedings will encourage more academic staff members within the Faculty of Arts to participate in research activities organized by the Research Committee

Thank you

Thandi Nzama (Chairperson Faculty of Arts Research Committee)


vi

CONTENTS

Rural Tourism Development A Viable Formula for Poverty Alleviation in Bergville

Mzikayifani Barney Johnson Mthembu-----------------------------------------------------------------1

The rape of the environment in the North Coast region of KwaZulu Natal

Commercialization versus conservation

Sabelo Khayelihle Mhlongo------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19

Caritas and Habitus in Dan JacobsonrsquoslsquoThe Zulu and the Zeidersquo

Myrtle Hooper ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 33

The death of Osama Bin Laden a Qualitative-investigative enquiry with

specific reference to impact ballistics and Natorsquos M855a1 EPR round

Johan Ras -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------42

Who is God

Johan Ras -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------63

Unequal official languages The case of South Africarsquos official languages Themba Cromwell Moyo -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------74 The Integrated Management Plan (IMP) in protected areas of KZN community

tourism development

Cynthia Nokubonga Dube ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------84

Indigenous ldquoUnderutilizedrdquo green leafy vegetables a review

Nomahlubi Makunga ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------94

Rethinking research as an intellectual property for development in South Africa

TZ Ramphele -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------99


vii


1


Mzikayifani Barney Johnson Mthembu1

Department of Tourism


email barneymthembugovza

Abstract

The case of rural tourism and community development has been made in general terms with less focus on poverty alleviation and more emphasis on economic modernisation Recently a link between rural tourism and poverty alleviation has been emphasised in the contemporary tourism and poverty alleviation literature Notably some of the authors that emphasise this contention are Ashley (2002) Chachage (2003) Luvanga amp Shitundu (2003) Roe Ashley Page amp Meyer (2004) Udovc amp Perpar (2007) and Bowel amp Weinz (2008)

This study was carried out on the basis of a combination of two types of research data The first one is secondary data which aimed at defining the terms related to the research and focus on literature review From literature review the researcher was able to discuss the different viewpoints of experts about rural tourism poverty alleviation and community development The second type of research data is primary data This is fieldwork where the researcher has gone beyond the library and desktop research into a practical terrain

The findings of the study show that Bergville has a potential using tourism development as a viable formula for poverty alleviation The findings reveal that Bergville has resources that can make tourism development a success The findings also indicate that local people have balanced perceptions about rural tourism as they demonstrated both advocacy and precautionary attitudes towards its development In addition the findings indicate that the existing tourism management practices contribute to a certain extent towards the improvement of the quality of lives of local people

Key Words tourism rural tourism poverty poverty alleviation

Introduction

1 Mzikayifani Barney Johnson Mthembu is aPhD student in the Department of Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand


2

This paper presents the findings of research conducted on tourism development as a viable formula for poverty alleviation in Bergville What triggered the curiosity of the researcher is that poverty still remains the biggest problem facing rural communities today with more than two-thirds of rural residents in South Africa living in poverty (Kepe et al 20012) This view is also shared by Nzama (20081) who argues that rural areas in South Africa face a problem of underdevelopment unemployment low literacy rates and a lack of basic infrastructure The problem of rural poverty persists in spite of the fact that the countryside remains a valuable resource for tourist attractions because rural tourism uses indigenous resources which increase its importance and uniqueness in the industry (Ohe 20081) In fact the countryside is a tourism paradise which offers a variety of attractions including scenic beauty diverse wildlife a kaleidoscope of traditions and cultures and an array of opportunities to explore the outdoors through sporting and adventure activities

As a result of this situation concerned academics such as Bennet and George (20044) share the view that there is inadequate information about the contribution of the rural tourism assets to the socio-economic conditions of the local people especially the alleviation of poverty Similarly scholars like Brown (2008) and Meyer (2006) insist that tourism development planners must change their focus from the enclave development of resorts characterised by exclusion of linkages to the local poor rural areas The danger of such approaches to tourism development is that they undermine the role of the tourism industry in poverty alleviation

A study was conducted in Bergville on the role that tourism development can play in alleviating poverty This paper presents the findings of the research conducted on tourism development as a viable formula for poverty alleviation in Bergville

Aims and objectives of the study

The broad aim of the study is to analyse the direct and indirect livelihood impacts of tourism and their implications on poverty alleviation in Bergville Since tourism is one of the largest sectors in the economy the researcher is keen to know more about its benefits to rural communities at large and in particular the poor The main aim of the study was streamlined into the following research objectives

(a) To identity the resources that can be used for rural tourism development in Bergville (b) To establish the extent to which rural tourism development can contribute positively to

job opportunities entrepreneurial skills development and increased income generation in Bergville

(c) To find out the perceptions of Bergville residents relating to rural tourism development as a mechanism for economic development in their area

(d) To identify the existing management practices or strategies that are perceived as contributing to the improvement of the quality of livelihoods in the study area

(e) To propose an integrated development model that would contribute to job creation and thus result in poverty alleviation in Bergville


3

The theoretical framework

Employment opportunities are scarce in Bergville This has led to the escalation of the unemployment rates for skilled and unskilled workers In 1996 agriculture was the largest employer in the area Bergville is a strong agricultural base but areas of arable land are small and stocking levels are uncontrolled The main product of the district is maize and there is a large granary capable of storing 300 000 sacks Peanuts and milk are also produced and there has been an increase in soya bean and broiler production (Okhahlamba Local Municipality 201022)

Currently the economy of Bergville is largely driven by household incomes where the main source of rural livelihood is derived from remittance incomes pension and welfare grants and subsistence agriculture Since Bergville has no industrial or commercial nodes there are limited benefits of scale associated with small medium and large investments in the area There is some tourism activity in the Bergville Cathkin Park area and growing investment at Babangibone (Okhahlamba Local Municipality 201022)

Owing to its location relative to the developed area of Ladysmith the local economy is prone to income leakage since many people make their purchases outside Bergville (Okhahlamba Local Municipality 201010) Tourism development can attract other economic activities in Bergville and solve the problem of scarcity of employment sources Mbaiwa (2003425) notes that the development of rural tourism can contribute to job creation by establishing new sources of employment

At about 22 the primary sector is the largest employer in Bergville The total economically active population of Bergville (excluding children under the age of 15 and pensioners) is estimated to be 73 617 which is 54 of the total population Only 12 533 people are occupied in formal employment which is about 17 of the total population The remaining 83 are unemployed Approximately 73 of the total population in the municipality have no formal income and rely on other informal sources of income About 95 of people who live in town are low income earners of between R1 and R1 600 per month People who do not earn an income make up 18 of the population of Bergville (Okhahlamba Local Municipality 201018) Besides employment in the primary sector Bergville people are involved in other types of industries such as construction manufacturing mining clerical works technical work professional work et cetera

There is evidence that tourism is a sector strong enough to help the poor in the developing world especially the rural to reduce the impact of poverty through the injection of foreign currency that it provides In 2008 924 million tourists travelled to other countries This is a very large number of people amounting to over 50 000 people every half-hour It is remarkable that about 40 of these journeys ended in developing country destinations In 2007 tourists spent US$ 295 billion in developing countries It is for this reason that tourism has been described as the worldrsquos largest voluntary transfer of resources from the rich to the poor In spite of the fact that up to 85 of the supposed benefits of tourism leak out of the developing countries because of the power of international tour operators foreign ownership and high import


4

propensity tourism still contributes to poverty alleviation (Mitchell amp Ashley 20096) It already accounts for 9 of all exports on the African continent which is more than all agricultural products Furthermore recent calculations have shown that every twentieth employee in the world has a job that is related to the tourism industry (Grossiietsch amp Scheller 20053)

Tourism is a very complex and multidimensional phenomenon that produces numerous positive economic and non-economic effects in the respective tourist destinations Its positive effects can be appropriately regarded as a means of alleviating poverty because they heighten positive social and economic forces within the society Some scholars have even referred to tourism as a NorthSouth industry in that tourists are predominantly rich northern hemisphere citizens visiting poor southern hemisphere countries in an unequal exchange (Peak 20082) This view can be extended to say that tourism is a urbanrural industry in which employed urban citizens visit the poor rural areas to escape the stressful city life and consume the tranquillity of the countryside This makes tourism more beneficial for the economy of the rural areas Tourist arrivals in rural areas can create a flow of outside currency into a rural economy and therefore indirectly contribute to business development household incomes and employment There are also hidden benefits from tourists known as multiplier effects

With most prime tourist attractions being located in the countryside tourism has the potential to allow rural people to share the benefits of tourism development It can provide rural people with an alternative to rural-urban migration and enfranchise rural human resources by enabling people to maintain their rural households and families In many countries with high levels of poverty receipts from tourism are a considerable proportion of the GDP and export earnings The significance of tourism receipts is that they maximise the potential of the industry to contribute to poverty alleviation through rural development programmes (Blake Arbache Sinclair amp Teles 20062)

A shift from one source of employment to multiple sources is necessary if rural people are to emerge from the poverty trap In addition to creation of jobs and revenue rural tourism often increases occupational opportunities in the community one of which is pluriactivity Pluriactivity is a term used to mean that an individual or family does more than one type of job as a source of income (Organisation of Economic Co-operation amp Development 199425) Tourism enables farmers to offer bed and breakfast accommodation change some of the farm buildings into a wedding venue facility start small craft businesses on the premises or open a small shopping outlet for visitors and community to buy perishables and daily needs such as bread and milk All these activities can contribute to development of the rural area

Sometimes the influx of tourists results in new recreational opportunities and improvements for rural communities It can stimulate new development demands in the rural areas Perhaps the most attractive thing about developing tourism in a rural community is that the leaders and residents of the community can foster pride and establish responsibility for the process of rural development (Lewis 19982) Since most of the rural tourists come from large cities and developed countries their frequent visits to rural destinations can result in rural development and environmental improvements such as village paving traffic regulation and sewage and


5

litter disposal funded by tourism revenues All these can assist in rural development and creation of ownership of place retention of the existing rural population and sustenance of the existing local economic activities Rural tourism can create new jobs slow down rural-urban migration and help to maintain the local level of services (Komppula 2007124)

There is a strong concern that some of the expenditure by tourists is spent on imports or is earned by foreign workers and businesses Blake et al (20062) estimate that between 55 and 75 of tourism spending leaks back to the developed world Tourism can change this situation so that poor households derive a better economic benefit from participating in the industry Tourism can have favourable economic effects in rural communities This can include large-scale retention of revenue within the host community and inclusion of the local inhabitants and products In this way the host community can gain more income which can be used for poverty alleviation Sometimes it is difficult to totally avoid the transfer of funds because most of the tourist industry is highly dependent on goods from large cities and foreign countries It is however possible to avoid a gross transfer of revenue from rural destinations to foreign countries by ensuring that most of the tourist industries in the country are dependent on goods from both local and outside sources in a balanced manner It is possible for the rural poor to receive more direct economic benefits from tourism while bearing lower costs

Since poverty alleviation is one of the main challenges for rural areas tourism remains an advantageous activity for the development of rural economies There are two critical areas of tourism which are directly linked to rural poverty Firstly tourism comes with labour-intensive and small-scale opportunities In this way it can employ a higher proportion of people compared to other sectors It also values natural resources and cultural heritage which are assets that normally belong to the poor (Luvanga amp Shitundu (20039) They represent assets for local communities in that they provide an intellectual springboard for development of goods and services crafts local foods music dance storytelling and guiding services which are sought by holidaymakers This wealth of resources can provide additional supplementary livelihoods and help the vulnerable poor populations to avoid dangers related to dependency (Goodwin 200860)

Luvanga and Shitundu (2003 12) argue that tourism offers higher employment than other sectors and that tourism wages compare well with those in agriculture especially when compared to subsistence farming The ability of tourism to provide immediate employment and to diversify the rural business makes it a more effective solution to the problem of poverty Tourism offers an important opportunity to diversify the rural economy It is a tree that grows and flowers anywhere as long as there are unique natural or cultural attractions Marshall (20051) holds that one way of fighting poverty is through the creation of micro-entrepreneurs because it allows individuals to learn to manage resources and acquaint themselves with the necessary skills to develop and explore other business opportunities Tourism can develop in poor and marginalised localities with fewer or no options for export and diversification Remote rural areas can attract visitors because of their originality cultural uniqueness flora and fauna as well as their extraordinary landscapes (Luvanga amp Shitundu 20039) In this way tourism can introduce the rural poor to micro-business opportunities


6

The benefits of tourism in a rural area begin when a foreign tourist steps off the bus in the countryside The moment the tourist has a meal the destination concerned is exporting because of the use of foreign exchange to purchase the local currency needed for payment This means that exporting becomes possible everywhere in a country including remote rural areas with few economic opportunities In this way the growing significance of tourism in rural areas is closely related to the role of job creation in promoting the united Nations Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty by 2015 (Honeck 20089)

Tourism is an important export for 83 of the developing countries and it is the main export for one third of them In 2000 developing countries recorded 2926 million international arrivals an increase of 95 compared to the figures of 1990 Furthermore in the least developed countries there has been a 75 increase in international arrivals in the past decade Tourism remains the main source of foreign exchange earnings in the 49 least developed countries (Forde 20032) It is not surprising that the arrival of the tourist at the destination is interpreted as the arrival of the consumer and spender This provides opportunities for selling traditional goods services and ideas produced by the local people The resulting income generation may help to reduce poverty levels The reduction of poverty can even be more effective if the poor can use the earnings to support their health and educational services ndash which are linked to poverty alleviation (Luvanga amp Shitundu 2003 9)

Methodology

For the conduct of the research in question the researcher used the survey approach as a particular research methodology to capture the complexity of local perceptions towards tourism development To cover a broader spectrum of the local community of the study area the researcher used three questionnaires designed for the general public the local business people as well as the local municipality employees Triangulation of sources of data and methods blending the qualitative and quantitative methods enabled the study to have a broad understanding of the role that tourism development can play to alleviate poverty

Because of time limitations the study used the convenience sampling method where the respondents who happen to be available at prominent points such as farm stalls shopping areas and public gatherings were targeted for the survey The sample size which was based on the estimated number of the population of the study area was deemed to be adequate for the purpose of collecting information required to answer the research questions and achieve the objectives of the study

The researcher used questionnaires to collect data from the respondents The questionnaires contained both structured and unstructured questions The administration of the questionnaires took into consideration the objectives of the study the sequence of questions question structure as well as ethical considerations

The analysis of the data provided insight into various issues that relate to the objectives of the study The researcher converted the raw data into a form suitable for analysis before it was subjected to statistical analysis A series of univariate data were presented in percentages


7

frequencies tables and graphs to give an understanding of the data that is purely descriptive The interpretation of the data concentrated on tourism resources contribution to job opportunities entrepreneurial skills development and generation of income economic growth perceptions of the respondents on tourism development and management practices contributing to the improvement of the livelihoods of the people of Bergville

Findings of the study

The analysis of the findings of the study revealed four critical things about tourism development in Bergville Firstly it revealed that Bergville has both tangible and intangible tourism resources that can be used for tourism development Secondly the study revealed that rural tourism in Bergville can contribute to job creation and poverty alleviation increased participation of the local people in economic activities entrepreneurship as well as economic growth and diversification as indicated in Figure 1 below

470

1270

8

10

930

870

1130

18

11

1430

1030

17

84

6930

81

7570

8030

7430

000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

Tourism can create a number of developmentsynergies to help overcome poverty through job

creation

Tourism development in Bergville can halt thedrift of people to cities

Tourism development can create tour operatorrsquosjobs for community members

Tourism offers employment to a high proportionof unskilled youth

Tourism can generate employment opportunitiesthrough accommodation restaurants and

transport

Tourism development in Bergville can increaselevels of self-employment through establishmentof small medium and micro tourism enterprises

Disagree Neutral Agree

FIGURE 1 JOB CREATION AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION


8

Thirdly it revealed that the respondents have positive and negative attitudes towards tourism development This means that they view tourism development as an activity that needs some precautions in certain areas Table 51 shows that the respondents view tourism development as an activity that can improve the quality of lives of local people It also shows that the respondents view tourism as an activity that carries the seeds of its own destruction and should be restricted in the area These negative attitudes represent the advocacy paradigm which promotes the development of tourism in order to benefit local communities These positive attitudes represent the precautionary paradigm which identifies the costs of tourism development in order to ensure that it becomes a sustainable benefit to local communities

TABLE 1 PERCEPTIONS ON TOURISM

POSITIVE PERCEPTIONS

Disagree Neutral

Agree

The overall benefits of tourism outweigh its negative impacts

140 140 720

The quality of life in the community can improve because of tourism

190 133 677

Tourism development can bring about social integration and international understanding

83 157 760

Bergville has a good potential for tourism development

110 143 747

Tourism development can encourage the preservation of local skills traditional ways of life and traditional belief systems

133 97 770

The environmental benefits of tourism outweigh its costs

123 197 680

NEGATIVE PERCEPTIONS

Disagree Neutral

Agree

The community should take steps to restrict tourism development

270 153 577


9

Tourists are a burden to community services 287 203 510

Tourism increases the rate of crime in the community

360 137 500

Tourism causes a lot of damage to indigenous societies and culture

397 150 453

Tourists can add greatly to traffic problems in our area

283 163 553

Tourism can result in pollution and littering in our area making it untidy

343 177 480

Promotion of tourism can bring about conflict between visitors and local people

303 187 510

The private sector exploits local resources through tourism

273 220 507

Fourthly the study showed that the participants have different perceptions about the contribution of existing management practices to the improvement of their livelihoods This shows that Bergville does not only have a potential for tourism development but also an opportunity of using tourism as a mechanism for poverty alleviation Figure 2 shows that people have different views about the contribution of existing management practices to tourism development There is an indication that the majority of the respondents believe that existing management practices cater for the local needs allow for the development of small businesses promote community participation in decision making and contribute towards poverty alleviation


10

1030

1670

1770

1470

17

16

18

17

7270

6730

6430

6830

000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

In Bergville tourism management allowsfor local residents to participate actively

in decision making

In Bergville tourism revenue contributesto community income for poverty

alleviation

In Bergville small operations run bylocal people dominate the tourism

industry

In Bergville tourism managementprovides local communities with skills

which they can transfer to otherhousehold survival activities


FIGURE 2 EXISTING MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

The four broad findings show that Bergville should use a combination of two approaches in order to develop into a sustainable rural tourism destination These are the lsquotourist centredrsquo and lsquocommunity centredrsquo approach to tourism development The former prioritises the immediate needs of the tourists such as transportation to reach the destination and the latter prioritises the benefits that local communities must derive from the provisions and use of resources for tourism promotion These are benefits such as employment opportunities in hotels transport industry casinos construction petrol stations tourism offices et cetera All these benefits can contribute to poverty alleviation in Bergville

The majority of the respondents in the study area perceive farming as an economic activity that can provide best opportunities for the local people to participate in economic development as shown in Figure 3 below


11

FIGURE 3 PREFFERED ECONOMIC ECTIVITY

This shows that the participants believe that the main source of employment is farming It is however necessary to create another source of livelihood in Bergville because areas of arable land are small and stocking levels are uncontrollable (Okhahlamba Local Municipality 201022) Robinson and Mazzoni (20041) argue that small land holdings and their low productivity are the main cause of rural poverty among rural families which depend on land- based activities for their livelihoods Farming and tourism share the same environmental cultural physical and natural resources This relationship favours tourism development as an alternative economic activity in Bergville Jolly (20051) agrees with this by stating that mostly tourism in rural areas is practised by farmers in their working agricultural operations for the entertainment and education of visitors Agriculture and tourism can therefore make a major contribution in the struggle against rural poverty in Bergville because they present the potential to generate increased on-farm revenues

More than two thirds of the respondents in Bergville believe that tourism development should be promoted They believe that Bergville has a good potential for tourism development and indicated that tourism has more benefits than costs( see Figure 4)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Mining Farming Forestry Retailing Manufacturing Other


12

FIGURE 4 PROMOTION OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Furthermore the majority of the respondents view tourism development as having the potential to improve the quality of life in Bergville Another important benefit which the respondents identified is the fact that tourism development can bring about social cohesion and integration as well as international recognition The preservation of the local culture and skills is very important The respondents also perceive tourism development as an activity which can encourage the preservation of local skills and traditional belief systems The preservation of the local skills and belief systems can promote the sustainability of the tourism industry because traditional skills and belief systems are connected to the environment The support of tourism development by the majority of the participants indicates that the local people perceive it as an activity that can alleviate poverty by creating employment bringing about economic development generating supplementary income and creating new markets These benefits can in turn improve the livelihoods of the people in Bergville

Tourism development cannot take off without resources and attractions necessary to create a good image of a destination The demand for a destination depends on available tourism resources and their relevance to the visitorsrsquo expectations Coomber and Lim (20042) argue that expectations and perceptions are the most important factors that influence visitor satisfaction

The study showed that Bergville has most of the features and factors that can attract visitors These are the features and factors which the potential tourism industry in Bergville can exploit and by so doing derive social economic and environmental benefits This is similar to what the

83

17

YES NO


13

Okhahlamba Local Municipality (201022) noted that Bergville has natural resources such as the veld flowers and animals It has heritage sites a National Park good accessibility an established tourism market as well as the positive attitude of the respondents towards tourism development This implies that Bergville is ready for tourism development These resources are assets for tourism development which Bergville can use to develop tourism and as a mechanism for poverty alleviation

From the study it is clear that Bergville has both tangible and intangible resources Tangible resources are an important aspect for tourism development in Bergville The area has the most critical tangible resources for tourism development These are historical attractions cultural attractions natural attractions historic sites and a unique landscape

Such resources are responsible for the enhancement of the image of the destination and the attraction of visitors They can attract visitors and create job opportunities for the local people thus contributing to poverty alleviation

The other critical tangible resource in Bergville is infrastructure in the form of accommodation recreation facilities linkages with highways and accessibility from urban centres The availability of infrastructure has the potential for the creation of jobs in the tourism industry It can boost the creation of employment opportunities in other business sectors It can facilitate the creation of jobs in areas like management cleaning catering maintenance training and conferencing It can also create employment opportunities in other industries such as technology telecommunications accommodation recreation and other related businesses The findings of the study show that Bergville can take advantage of the availability of infrastructure in promoting tourism and therefore job creation and poverty alleviation

Intangible resources are also important for the development of tourism especially in rural areas because they motivate visitors to come to the destinations The majority of respondents believe that tourism development can bring about environmental awareness which can motivate the local residents to exercise environmental protection This can contribute to the sustainability of the tourism industry in Bergville which can make created jobs and economic growth to be more sustainable It can also change the perceptions of the local people towards the components of the natural environment when unused natural and man-made environmental objects suddenly become useful income-generating resources

Other intangible resources are tranquillity environmental conservation protection of the heritage and appreciation All these are characteristics that improve the congruence between the rural destination image and the visitor Power (20052) argues that the success of a strategy that uses tourism development to alleviate poverty is determined by its resourcefulness and the three categories of image the image of the destination the image of the service provider and the self-image of the visitor

The findings of the study showed that tourism development in Bergville can contribute to the creation of job opportunities entrepreneurial skills development and increased income generation Haldar (20071) argues that there is a large potential for rural tourism especially for


14

foreign tourists In this way rural communities may benefit economically from the industry From the analysis of the findings one can deduce that tourism development in Bergville can create jobs and alleviate poverty by being a centre of synergy for the creation of jobs and wealth

Most of the rural people perceive rural-urban migration as a plan of action against poverty (Snel amp Staring 2001) Tourism development can create an alternative space for fighting poverty As tourism jobs are created Bergville can achieve a certain degree of population stability by slowing down rural-urban migration Tourism development can also facilitate industrial growth by attracting other businesses in Bergville which can create employment opportunities for the people and improve their livelihoods as they become employed and earn salaries Tourism development as a new poverty-targeting economic activity can help the poor to focus on local opportunities for fighting poverty

Tourism development in Bergville can create jobs which can help to alleviate poverty The study showed that tourism development can create operatorsrsquo jobs in the tourism industry increase youth employment and create more jobs in the service industry This in turn can encourage the local people to open up their own businesses and become self-employed The creation of employment and self-employment through tourism development can go a long way in improving the livelihoods of people

The results of the study indicate that tourism development in Bergville can maximise the participation of the local people in economic activities Tourism development according to the findings can attract other businesses to Bergville and thus create more economic participation Economic participation would be further promoted by the emergence of small businesses because they are labour intensive and can create immediate employment for both skilled and unskilled people This can improve the use of labour to the extent of increasing opportunities for women to participate in economic processes As people begin to participate in economic activities demand for local transport services increase as people move from home to places of work When demand for local transport services increases more job opportunities can be created thus increasing the number of economically active people

The study shows that tourism development can contribute towards entrepreneurial development in two ways Firstly it can promote innovation in Bergville and thus create new business opportunities for the local people New business opportunities create new business operators which can create opportunities for training in business skills Entrepreneurial development through tourism development has a high potential for empowering people to manage resources since resource management is critical for business success The participants believe that tourism development can stimulate the demand for local goods This can increase the sale of traditional arts and crafts which can create a need for economies of scale thus employing more and more people in the manufacturing of such goods as traditional arts and crafts

The respondents believe that tourism development can change the unused farm buildings into business units This can diversify the farming industry so that all the buildings which are


15

underused on farms are made usable tourism assets The study also revealed that tourism development can contribute towards entrepreneurship by way of providing local businesses with a market for selling their products These are business operators such as street vendors and sellers of farm produce The creation of selling opportunities can create a broad-based ownership of the tourism industry at the local level and thus stimulate the development of new products the emergence of new sources of supply and encouragement of innovation in the local business

The study shows that tourism development can contribute to economic growth in Bergville by expanding the economic base through linkages In this way it can bring about economic expansion and encourage investments in the local area One other advantage that tourism development can bring to Bergville is the diversification of the local economy which creates new goods and markets for those goods In this way local goods are made available to visitors thus making tourism one of the main sources of foreign exchange earnings The diversified economy demands raw materials from other sectors thus becoming the driver of economic growth for Bergville

The respondents did not have only positive perceptions about tourism development as the study revealed that they also believe that tourism development has both costs and benefits The respondents believe that tourism development creates problems such as conflict between locals and visitors exploitation of resources pollution and littering as well as traffic problems The other concern raised by the respondents is that tourism development may cause damage to indigenous societies and culture The respondents also believe that tourism development can cause social problems such as crime and put pressure on the local services The conclusion is that the majority of the respondents believe that tourism development must be restricted at the local community level

As far as the respondents are concerned Bergville has a good potential for tourism development The respondents also had positive perceptions about tourism development The findings show that the percentage of the respondents who disagree with the positive statements is lower than that of the respondents who disagreed with negative statements There is a general belief that tourism benefits outweigh its costs The respondents view tourism development as an activity that can preserve the local practices and lifestyles

In terms of existing management practices the majority of the respondents believe that tourism management practices are participative because they allow the local people a say in the running of the enterprise which can contribute to the livelihoods of the local people Regarding the contribution of tourism management to the achievement of local livelihoods the majority of the respondents in the general public believed that there is a contribution but the municipality employees disagreed with this In the whole of this section the general public had positive views about the role of existing management practices and their contribution to local livelihoods On the other hand the local municipality employees generally did not agree that existing tourism management practices in Bergville allow community access to resources and


16

skills transfer The same difference of opinion was clear when it came to the issue of the harmonious relationship between management practices and the local culture

The respondents in the business sector do not believe that tourism development can cause major problems Less than 50 of them believe that it may result in price inflation of basic goods and services They do not believe that it can create chaos and traffic problems nor that it is likely to create competition between them and outsiders They do not view tourism development as an activity that can make it difficult for them to meet the demands and expectations of tourists and do not agree that it can cause pollution and littering in Bergville Generally the respondents in the business sector do not view tourism development as a problem instead they view it as an opportunity Perceptions of such development show that these respondents do not believe that it can pose business challenges On the contrary they believe that it can add value to their business activities They believe that it can bring in more economic gain for business in Bergville It can be a way of bringing in foreign currency in the area The respondents in the business sector view tourism development as an activity that will facilitate the development of infrastructure which can in turn make it easy for them to do business in the area

Conclusion

The study concludes that the people are pessimistic that the resourcefulness and accessibility of Bergville can support tourism development Similarly the study shows that rural tourism is seen as a very important probably the most important factor for economic development The largest percentages of the people agree that tourism development can contribute positively to the creation of job opportunities development of entrepreneurial skills and the generation of increased income The study found that the people have both advocacy and cautionary perceptions about tourism development in Bergville Furthermore it was found that people have mixed feelings about the contribution of existing management practices in improving the livelihoods of local people

References

Ashley C 2002 Methodology for Pro-Poor Tourism Case Studies London United Kingdom Department of International Development

Bennet A amp George R 2004 South African Travel and Tourism Cases Pretoria van Schaik

Blake A Arbache J Sinclair M amp Teles V 2006 Tourism and Poverty Relief Nottingham University of Nottingham Press

Bowel D amp Weinz W 2008 Reducing Poverty through Tourism Geneva International Labour Office

Brown D 2008 Rural Tourism [Online] httpwwwnalusdagovricpubsrural-to [Accessed 1 April 2011]

Chachage S 2003 Community- Based Tourism Gateway to Poverty Reduction Dar-es-Salaam University of Dar-es-Salaam Press


17

Coomber L amp Lim C 2004 Farm TourismA Preliminary Study of Participants Expectations of Farm Tours Lismore Southern Cross University Press

Forde B 2003 Tourism as a Driving Force for Poverty Alleviation Job Creation and Social Harmony MaseruUnited National Development Programme

Goodwin H 2008 Tourism Local Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Leeds Leeds Metropolitan University Press

Grossiietsch M amp Scheller K 2005 Tourism for Development and PovertyReduction London Project Finance Forum for Africa

Haldar P 2007 Rural Tourism Challenges and Opportunities [Online] httpwwwdspaceiimkacinbitsream22593801111-129pdf [Accessed 17 May 2011]

Honeck D 2008 LCD Poverty and the Doha Development Agenda [Online] httpwwwmdg-tradeorgersd200803-epdf [Accessed 17 September 2010]

Jolly D 2005 Consumer Demand for Agricultural and On-Farm Nature Tourism UC Small Farm Centre Research Brief [Online] httpwwwsfpuodaviseduagritourismagritourbrief0701pdf[Accessed 15 December 2010]

Kepe T Ntsebeza L amp Pithers L 2001 Agri-Tourism Spatial DevelopmentInitiatives in South Africa London Overseas Development Institute

Komppula R 2004 Tourism in the New Europe Developing Rural Tourism in Finland through Entrepreneurship London Elsevier

Lewis J 1998 The Development of Rural Tourism [Online] http www findarticles comparticlesmi-m1145is-n9-v33ai-21222114 [Accessed 3 March 2010]

Luvanga N amp Shitundu J 2003 The Role of Tourism in Poverty Alleviation inTanzania Dar-es-SalaamUniversity of Dar-es-Salaam Press

Marshall R 2005Micro-Entrepreneurship and Poverty Alleviation An Argument Implicating Governance and Democracy Barbados University of West Indies Press

Mbaiwa J 2003 The socio-economic and environmental impacts of tourism development of the Okavango Delta-North Western Botswana Journal of Arid Environments 54 447-467

Meyer D 2006 Caribbean Local Sourcing and Enterprise Development Sheffield Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change Sheffield Hallam University

Mitchell J amp Ashley C 2009 Tourism and Poverty Reduction London Earthscan

Nzama T 2008 Socio-Economic Impacts of Tourism on the Rural Areas within the World Heritage Sites The Case of KwaZulu-Natal South Africa Journal of Tourism and Heritage 1(1) 1-8


18

Ohe Y 2008 Evaluating the Diversifying Market for and Viability of Rural TourismActivity in Japan Chiba Chiba University Press

Okhahlamba Local Municipality 2010 Integrated Development Plan Bergville Okhahlamba Local Municipality Development Planning and Environmental Consultants

Organisation of Economic Co-operation amp Development [OECD] 1994 Tourism Strategiesand Rural Development [Online] httpwwwOecd orgdataoecd 31272755218 pdf [Accessed on 12 June 2010]

Peak D 2008 Poverty Alleviation through Tourism A Case Study from Paraguay Electronic Review of Tourism Research 6 (1) 10-20

Power J 2005 Developing a Cohesive Position for Rural TourismThe Role of Image Congruence Faro University of Algarve

Robinson D amp Mazzoni F 2004 Bridging the Tourism Planning GapCreating a Regional Rural Tourism Planning Alliance for Communities in Transition on Vancouver Island Selangor Malaysian University College

Roe D Ashley C Page S amp Meyer D 2004 Tourism and the Poor London United Kingdom Department of International Development

Snel E amp Staring R 2001 Poverty Migration and Coping Strategies An Introduction European Journal of Anthropology 38 7-22

Udovc A amp Perpar A 2007 Role of Rural Tourism for Development of Rural Areas Journal of Central European Agriculture 8 (2) 223-228


19

The rape of the environment in the North Coast region of KwaZulu Natal commercialization versus conservation

Sabelo Khayelihle Mhlongo2

Department of Recreation and Tourism


Email skmhlongogmailcom

Introduction

The paper focuses mainly on the deterioration and degradation of the natural or environmental resources by human interference for their temporary economic benefits The impacts of these interference shave resulted in the adverse destruction of natural resources by the investors and developers The deterioration degradation and destruction are categorized as lsquorape of the environment or environmental rapersquo while human interference and operations are categorized as commercialization

The debate between economists or investors and environmentalists or conservationists has never resulted in mutual understanding during implementation of environmental protection measures Each party (ie either economists or conservationists) sees the other as a threat to its interestsThere are some key points that have remained peripheral to this debate partly due to the particular focus on displacements These include the importance of memory and history associated with the making and framing of new conservation areas and the participation of local communities in the establishment of the conservation area (Goldman 201166)

The delimitation of the study

The study is geographically delimited within the north coastal region of KwaZulu-Natal Its delimitation is motivated by the fact that natural resources ie mineral resources are mostly founding the region The mining practices in the study area are regarded as surface mining hence mineral resources that are highly sought are readily apparent in the coastal zone

Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study simply indicate aspects that the researcher would want to investigate Sometimes objectives of the study lead to the provision of possible solutions of existing problems that are faced by people in their daily life experiences This study has the following objectives

2 Khayelihle Mhlongo is a Lecturer in the Department of Recreation and Tourism University of Zululand


20

to establish the extent to which stakeholders understand the notion of biodiversity-conservation

to investigate the nature and types of conservation resources found in the area to determine how stakeholders perceive the application of conservation measures as

compared to the commercialisation of resources to evaluate the sustainability of both conservation and commercialisation benefits To identify biodiversity-conservation strategies that are essentially perceived as

benefiting local communities

Theoretical framework

The theoretical framework of the study emphasizes models and theories as well as literature related to the study It is also essential to take into cognizance the scope of the study as this helps in limiting the study conceptually The paper uses the following categories (a) rape (b) environment (c) conservation and (d) commercialization as the benchmark of the study These categories are briefly discussed below

The term lsquorapersquo as used in the study

Rape is the commission of unlawful sexual intercourse or unlawful sexual intrusion Historically rape was defined as unlawful intercourse with a woman against her will The essential elements of the crime were sexual penetration force and lack of consent Women who were raped were expected to have physically resisted to the utmost of their powers or their assailant would not be convicted of rape (httpwwwlegal-dictionarythefreedictionarycom 04072011) It is on this basis that the term lsquorapersquohasbeen adapted to this study and is used to personify the environment or nature By the common law definition rape is sex without consent Rape is thus sexual robbery sexual burglary being unknown and this sort of definition has been employed in all major legal systems (Savino and Turvey 20052)

In this study the term lsquothe rape of the environment or environmental rapersquo is defined operationally as a robbery and forcible act of extracting natural or environmental resources ignoring their custodians with the intention of enriching individuals through financial gains and profits without considering the negative impacts that can be incurred The fundamental motives of economic benefits are more essential than the effects thereafter

If a resourcersquos natural replacement rate is exceeded the available supply begins to shrink a process known as environmental degradation (Miller 1998)The environmental rape involves extracting environmentalnatural resources ultimately degrading them thust urning renewable resources into non-renewable or unusable resources


21

Commercialization of the environment

In commercialization development could be described as the process of intervention in existing forms of society (which includes social political and economic structures) in order to achieve desired social political and economic goals This implies that development intervention is above all a process based on and subject to power relations between competing interests (Furze et al 19978)

Industrialization is a central theme in the development and social research programmes of Africa and the Third World generally Indeed many policy-makers and others regard it as synonymous with national development certainly as the focal index of lsquomodernisationrsquo This predominant focus derives largely from the sanguine perception of industrialisation as the best index of economic progress with regard to such attributes as the measure of national productive capacity manufacturing output technological development modern employment opportunities and overall standard of living Hence industrialization is seen not only as desirable but crucial to social transformation (Onimode 1988 126)

According to Ravenhill(19863) Africarsquos economic options are to be sure severely constrained by the structure of the international economy Yet it is entirely incorrect to suggest that governments enjoy no autonomy from international forces especially in policy choices and their implementation does matter

The motives for commercialisation

The strategy of industrialization is determined basically by the motives for understanding industrial development Whether the strategy is traditional import substitution or more recent export promotion the motivating factors in Africa and throughout the Third World are complex (Onimode 1988126) Wilson and Bryant (1997115) argue that at the heart of capitalism is the establishment of market relations according to the principles of profit-maximization This profit-driven market has had immense implications for the environmental managers operating within multilayered Environmental Management (EM)

The capitalist market encourages environmental managers to expand their operations in the first instance and to employ workers hired as cheaply as possible in those expanded operations Once again the objective is to minimize costs and maximize profits (Wilson and Bryant 1997115)

The impact of commercialization

Along with community ties land forest and water are the most important prerequisites for subsistence without money As soon as they are taken away or destroyed destitution lurks Again and again peasants nomads and tribalrsquos have fallen into misery after they havebeen driven from their land savannah and forests (Ekins and Max-Neef 1992 164)


22

The sorry fact is that despite twenty years having passed since the Stockholm Conference on the environment and despite the Brundtland Commissionrsquos explicit warning that human activity was disrupting ecological life-support systems to the extent of approaching thresholds of human survival (WCED 198733)policy maker shave not even begun to address the issue in its full gravity Some 25 per cent of the worldrsquos people those in the industrialized countries are responsible for 80 per cent of its annual resource use and a similar proportion of its emissions and toxic wastes (Ekins and Max-Neef 1992 60)

The shortfall between consumption and production whether because of the need or the greed of humankind puts undue pressure on planning and management The future of our society depends very much upon the degree of rationality it adopts in the use of natural resources If sufficient steps are not taken to ensure a good ecosystem with a sound socio-economic base our future is bound to be bleak There has to be integration between ecology and economy to supply sufficient feedback controls so that our ecosystem has a self-rectifying capacity and our life support elements (air water land flora and fauna) do not get strained beyond repair (Asit et al 199014)Asit et al (199014) assert that the socio-economic system of humanity which is founded on a material base is partly finite The perspectives of ecology are different from those of economics in the sense that the former stresses limits rather than continuous growth and stability rather than continuous development

Conservation

Conservation is the practice of protecting the national environment of plants and animals (Macmillan 1996199) While the late Aldo Leopold once defined conservation as lsquoa state of harmony between man and the landrsquo Leopold believed strongly that effective conservation depends primarily on a basic human respect for natural resources which he called a land ethic Each of us he said is individually responsible for maintaining lsquothe health of the landrsquo A healthy land has lsquothe capacity for self-renewalrsquo lsquoConservationrsquo he concluded lsquois our effort to hellip preserve that capacityrsquo (Chiras amp Reganold 20051)

Conservation is only one of many possible land uses and like others it depends on good management Reserves and especially designated areas of land are protected to help conserve the rarest species the most fragile and threatened habitats the most precious landscapes and important archaeological sites but they cannot do an effective job on their own They need to be backed up by a wider environment that integrates conservation into the everyday working aspects of land use (Tait et al 19887)

In many cases pre-industrial societies showed elements of both conservationist and utilitarian attitudes to the environment Although some pre-industrial environmental managers may have protected their environment such respect may have been tempered by the necessity of sustaining a livelihood (Wilson and Bryant 199767)

Effective conservation and management of natural resources is becoming more and more urgent for many reasons First and foremost the human population is growing at an extraordinary rapid race Secondly along with this growth is an unprecedented growth in the human


23

economy As the worldrsquos population expands and our economic activity increases human society is degrading the natural environment the source of the resources that fuel our economy and provide for our needs (Chiras amp Reganold 20051) Decisions should take into consideration species diversity distributed on a local regional or continental scale occurring in the mosaic of habitats in the landscape They must also consider the size shape and connectedness of habitats as well as the mosaic of land uses that created and surround the habitats (Shafer 1990107)

As cited by Welch-Devine and Campbell (2010341)

lsquoit is becoming increasingly clear that the management of protected areas in the twenty-first century is necessarily the management of people And managing people is a difficult task that will be facilitated through the use of the social sciences forthe protected areas at regional national and global levels (Machlis 199545)rsquo

Management of people will be more meaningful in the organisation and department of human resources as a common and popular section in any progressive organisation In the case of conserved and protected areas people need to be managed accordingly owing to their unconscious environmental practices

As cited by Torri(201154)

lsquothe preservation of natural ecosystems has long been on the agenda of institutions concerned with biodiversity Representative samples of ecoregions have been set aside and put under strict protection This ldquonorthernrdquo vision of an untouched wilderness has permeated global policies and politics for decades and has resulted in the classic approach to meeting biodiversity conservation needs which is still at the heart of conservation agendas In the wilderness approach biodiversity is seen to be at its optimum in undisturbed natural areas The national government is viewed as the guardian and the supplier of biodiversity and has sovereignty and nominal control over the areas required for conservationrsquo (Panayoutou amp Sungsuwan 1994)rsquo

As a way of dealing with biodiversity conservation it is essential to unpack biodiversity by providing the definition of it Biodiversity is defined as lsquothe variability from among all sources including terrestrial marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part and also includes the diversity within species between species and ecosystemsrsquo[httpwwwsanparksorgconservation 2011]

The conservation of species

As cited by Kent et al (201142) argue that lsquoin an ideal world in which all natural systems return to a state of equilibrium after human interference is eliminated there would be a single answer to the question of what it means to conserve a species An unrealistic understanding of


24

the development of ecology and it exerted a powerful hold on conservation biology and conservation practice(Botkin 1990)rsquoEnvironmental conservation entails the prevention and combating of pollution and the conservation of resources and species There are minimum reproductive levels below which living resources should not be permitted to drop Conservation agreement therefore frequently aims at the objective of lsquooptimum sustainable yieldrsquo which is determined by biological and other scientific criteria (Strydomamp King 2009152)

With the recognition that conservation often fails to achieve goals when local people are unsupportive or are not meaningful partners the question of local participation is now firmly on international conservation and sustainable development agendas As a result many people involved in the conservation development and academic communities as well as local people themselves are involved in the search for sustainable futures (Furze et al 19973)

Environment

In more recent years environmental concerns have become more explicit at a national level with for example the creation in 1966 of the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) This umbrella agency advises local and district committees on acceptable ways of managing the environment Although these committees formulate their own natural resource policies they are to be developed in conformity with key principles of environmental management as laid down by NEMA The sustainable use of natural resources receives particular emphasis and district environmental management plans target areas needing special assistance to ensure that resources are used sustainably(Jones ampCarswell 200441)

Environmentalism sees humanity as a biological species tightly dependent on the natural world Many of Earthrsquos vital resources are about to be exhausted its atmospheric chemistry is deteriorating and human populations have already grown dangerously large Natural ecosystems the wellsprings of the healthful environment are being irreversibly degraded (Samuelson ampNordhaus 2001363)

The memorandum of understanding between conservationists and economists

One of the few hopeful developments has been a greatly increased understanding both of the economy and ecology interaction and of the necessary conditions for a development process that is not environmentally destructive now widely called lsquosustainable developmentrsquo (Ekinsamp Max-Neef 199260) As cited by Goldman (201166) lsquothe focus has been predominately on the impact of conservation-related evictions on the rural poor and the idea that conservation should contribute to development and poverty alleviation Additional work has focused on the neoliberalisation of conservation leading to a disconnect between human rights and conservation as new spaces of investment are promoted over the needs of local communities and the state is no longer trusted to provide for and protect its citizens (Igoe amp Croucher 2007)


25

The research methodology

The methodology focuses on the research design the sample to be examined the instrument to be used to conduct investigation and techniques that will be used to analyse data According to Henn at al (200910)

ldquomethodology concerns the research strategy as a whole including as Seale(19983) notes lsquothe political theoretical and philosophical implications of making choices of method when doing researchrsquo To this we might add the ethical implications and consequences of our research negotiating access to the field and the role of values ndash both those of the author and those who have the power to impose some control over the research agenda such as sponsors of researchrdquo

Research sample

The sample size of the study was 300 therefore questionnaires were made considering the number of targeted respondents It is important to note that the study is still in progress

Data collection and analysis

Questionnaires were used to collect data The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for statistical analysis

Findings and discussions

The main emphasis on this section is on the preliminary findings of the study The findings presented here are based primarily on the perception of the public regarding conservation and commercialisation of the environment In these perceptions the state and condition of the environmental resources is closely scrutinised as human interventions have impacts on nature

Awareness of biodiversity conservation

The awareness of biodiversity conservation in the local community of the study area revealed that most respondents were not acquainted with it The collaboration of all individuals and stakeholders with interests in nature is of paramount importance If biodiversity conservation is to be made realistic the custodians need to reinforce their campaignsTable 1 below indicates the degree of awareness of biodiversity conservation

TABLE 1AWARENESS OF BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

RESPONSES PERCENTAGE Yes 36 No 47 Not Sure 7 Total 100


26

The table above explicitly indicates that only 36 per cent of respondents are aware of biodiversity conservation This may adversely affect the natural environment47 per cent of respondents do not know about biodiversity conservation on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal a fact that could be damaging to the environment A very low number of respondents was not sure as shown bythat7 per cent The implications of these latter indications show that there is a lot that needs to done concerning the awareness campaigns of biodiversity conservation in the study area

Perceptions of conservation measures versus commercialisation measures

The perception of conservation measures as opposed to commercialisation measures by the respondents was evaluated The intention was to weigh the value of conservation and commercialisation to the local community Table 2 below indicates the perception of conservation and commercialisation measures

Table 2 THE PERCEPTIONS OF CONSERVATION AND COMMERCIALISATION MEASURES

MEASURES PERCENTAGE Conservation 33 Commercialisation 43 Not Sure 24 Total 100

Table 2 shows the conservation and commercialisation measures The perceptions of respondents concerning conservation show that there are conservation measures and practices in place Howeveronly33 per cent of respondents perceived that there are conservation measures in the study area On the other hand 43 per cent acknowledge the measures of commercialisation as more valuable to the local or host community It is interesting that a significant 24 per cent of the respondents are not sure about the measures of conservation and commercialisation When these latter percentages are combined as for commercialisation that will make 67 per cent of respondents who can be placed in the commercialisation category

Sustainability of conservation and commercialisation benefits

The benefits of conservation and commercialisation were examined to find whether they are sustainable It is essential to indicate that respondents had to compare benefits brought through conservation with those which come as result of commercialisation in the study area The key point was the question of sustainable benefits offered by either conservation or commercialisation Figure 1 below reflects the perception of respondents regarding the sustainability of conservation and commercialisation benefits


27

FIGURE 1 PERCEPTION OF SUSTAINABLE BENEFITS OF CONSERVATION AND COMMERCIALISATION

The perception of respondents indicates that most people encourage commercialisation of natural or environmental resources hence 44 per cent agreed that benefits brought through commercialisation are sustainable On the other hand 36 per cent of respondents said that benefits brought through conservation are sustainable It is worth noting that 20 per cent of respondents were not sure about the sustainability of benefits of both conservation and commercialisation If one critiques the above results or percentages it is imperative to combine the percentages of those who regarded conservation as bringing sustainable benefits with those who were not sure of the benefits It would be clear that differences in terms of percentages showed closeness although the difference is 11 per cent If the results remain in isolation the difference is 8 per cent It is therefore an open secret that people favoured commercialisation at the expense of conservation

The types of naturalmineral resources found in the north coastal region

The study area has various types of natural and mineral resources found on the coastline of the northern region The respondents were required to mention any types of natural or mineral resources they know in the study area There are various resources that were mentioned as they appear in Figure 2 below


28

FIGURE 2 TYPES OF NATURALMINERAL RESOURCES

Figure 2 clearly shows the types of natural and mineral resources found in the study area as mentioned by the respondents The popular mineral resource is ironsteelwith 30 per cent of respondents identifying it as the dominant resource in the study area Titanium and wetlands natural resources each have 20 per cent of respondents indicating their availability in the study area Coal resources have 11 per cent and ore resources have 9 per cent Only 10 per cent of the respondents are not sure or did not respond about the mineral resources found in the north coastal region

On the basis of the above findings the north coast zone is rich in natural or environmental resources The mineral resources are readily available on the earthrsquos surface thus the mining is called surface mining Although there are respondents who claimed not to be sure about the resources it can be deduced that they do not know the types of resources but they have an understanding of the mining activities that are taking place in the region

Biodiversity conservation strategies perceived to be benefiting the local communities

The biodiversity conservations strategies that exist in the north coastal region need to benefit the local communities Figure 3 below simply shows the perception of local people regarding benefits derived from biodiversity conservation strategies that benefit the local communities

2011 9

2030

100

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Series1


29

FIGURE 3 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION STRATEGIES FOR COMMUNITY BENEFICIATION

Figure 3 shows the perception of the respondents concerning biodiversity conservation strategies that benefit the local communities 47 per cent indicated that conservation strategies were not benefiting the local communities 38 per cent of respondents perceived that conservation strategies that are in place benefit the local communities Only 15 per cent of respondents were not sure about the benefits brought by biodiversity conservation strategies It can be assumed that there are very few people who benefit from conservation measures implemented in the study area Some people see commercialisation as a way out of the unemployment and poverty which exist in the communities around the north coastal region of KwaZulu-Natal

Summary of findings

In the matter of biodiversity conservation awareness it appeared that most respondents are not aware of biodiversity conservationnor do they see how imperative it is Awareness programmes need to be reinforced in the communities It is evident that the north coastal region of KwaZulu-Natal is rich in mineral resources The respondents perceived commercialisation measures and benefits as the way out of poverty and unemployment This is contrary to conservation measures and benefits which promote practices that bring tourism development and its related sectors The conservation strategies are not seen as benefiting the local communities as there are limited opportunities offered by conservation related sectors

Hill et al(20013) argue that lsquoif there are no gains and community improvements both the researcher and the process can lose credibility As far as is possible research must contribute to both knowledge and developmentrsquo It is obvious that community gains are valuable to the local community so the essence of community benefits needs to be reinforced in any future development practices


30

Conclusion

The deterioration and degradation of the environment continue to emerge in the north coastal region of KwaZulu-Natal despite its provincial and national environmental laws and policies The socio-economic development that is brought by commercialisation entails benefits which are not sustainable in nature Conservation is seen as a process that would save the existing natural environment for future purposes Miller (1998666) asserts that wildlife tourism sometimes called ecotourism is the fastest growing segment of the global travel industry and generates an estimated $30 billion in revenues each year Conservation biologist Michael Soule estimates that one male lion living to age 7 generates $515 000 in tourist dollars in Kenya by contrast if killed for its skin the lion would bring only about $1000 Similarly over a lifetime of 60 years a Kenyan elephant is worth close to $1 million in ecotourist revenue Floridarsquos coral reefs are worth an estimated $16 billion a year in tourism revenue

Conservation and effective management of the environmental resources benefit the host country The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increases significantly thus alleviating unemployment the root of poverty The socio-economic development is commonly evidenced through the establishment of new business ventures and the sustainability of existing ones Nevertheless tourism has been identified as a gateway to promote environmental and conservation awareness as these environmental resources would not only be enjoyed by the local and regional people but also the global communitylsquoTourism gave value to lands that were otherwise useless in terms of other forms of economic exploitationrsquo (Hall and Lew 199817

References

Asit KB Khoshoo T N ampKhosho A (ed) (1990)Environmental Modelling forDeveloping

Countries London Tycooly

Chiras DD ampReganold J P (2005)Natural Resource Conservation 9th edLondon Pearson

Ekins P and Max-Neef N (1992)Real-Life Economics Understanding Wealth Creation

London Routledge

Furze B De Lay T ampBrickhead J(1997)Culture Conservation and Biodiversity The Social

Dimension of Linking Local Level Development and Conservation through

Protected Areas Chichester John Wiley

Goldman M J (2011) Strangers in their own land Maasai and wildlife conservation in

Northern Tanzania In Conservation and Society 9(1) 65-79

Hall C M amp Lew AA (1998)Sustainable Tourism A Geographical Perspective


31

New York Longman

Henn M Weinstein M ampFoard N(2009) A Critical Introduction to Social Research2nd ed

London SAGE

Hill TR Motteux N Nel E L ampPapaloizou G (2001)Integrated rural community and expert

knowledge through applied participatory rural appraisal in the Kat RiverValley South

Africa In Meadows M E (ed)The South African Geographical Journal83(1) 1-7

Jones S ampCarswell G (eds) (2004) TheEarthscan Reader in Environment

Development and Rural Livestock London Earthscan

Kent HR Amato G Baillie J et al (2011) What does it mean to successfully conserve

a(vertebrate) species In Bioscience 61(1) 39-48

Macmillan C(1996) South African Studentrsquos Dictionary Manzini Macmillan Boleswa

Miller GT (Jr) (1998)Living in the Environment 10th edBelmont Wadsworth

Onimode B (1998) Apolitical Economy of the African Crisis London Zed

Ravenhill JC(1986) Africa in Economic Crisis London Macmillan

Samuelson PA ampNordhaus WD (2001)Economics 17thedNew York McGraw-Hill

Savino J O ampTurvey B T (ed) (2005)Rape Investigation Handbook London Elsevier

Shafer G L (1990)Nature Reserves Island Theory and Conservation Practice

Washington Normal

Strydom H A amp King N D (ed) (2009)Environment Management in South Africa

Cape Town Juta

Tait J Lane A amp Carr S (1988)Practical Conservation Site Assessment and

Management Planning East Kilbride Thomson Litho

Torri M C (2011)Conservation Relocation and the Social Consequences of Conservation

Policies in Protected Areas Case Study of the Sariska Tiger Reserve India In

Conservation and Society 9(1) 54-64

Welch-Devine M amp Campbell L M (2010)Sorting Out Roles and Defining Divides


32

Social Sciences at the World Conservation Congress In Conservation andSociety 8(4)

339-348

Wilson G A amp Bryant R L (1997)EnvironmentalManagement New Directions for the

Twenty-First Century London UCL Press

httpwwwlegal-dictionary-thefreedictionarycom (2011) [Online] Rape [Accessed on 4 July 2011]

httpwwwsanparksorgconservation (2011) [Online] Conservation [Accessed on 27 June

2011]


33

Caritas and Habitus in Dan Jacobsonrsquos

lsquoThe Zulu and the Zeidersquo

Myrtle Hooper3

Department English


Email mhooperpanuzuluacza

Prelude

There is a striking television advertisement screening on South African channels at present It flashes up retrospective episodes in the life of a woman that take place one by one in the back seat of a large vehicle We see her first old and grey and alone then middle-aged journeying to the hospital with a stricken husband then as a young mother nursing a child then as a teenager making out with a boyfriend then as a ten-year-old in bunny ears on her way to a ballet performance The narrative ends with her as a baby decked out in bonnet and bootees crying The car has been hijacked ndash a common event in our society at this time A uniformed man reaches in through the open door to lift her out The by-line goes she may not remember him but he has given her a lifetime of memories to come The man is black The child is white He cradles her small head as he holds her close She clutches his arms with both chubby hands

Dan Jacobson is a prolific writer whose oeuvre spans some 65 years Although he has lived in Britain for most of his adult life his roots are South African he was born in Johannesburg in 1929 and set his early work in our country Encyclopaedia Judaica describes this work as lsquocontemporary in setting realistic in mode and liberal in political outlookrsquo revealing lsquoan intense awareness of the currents of social and race conflict in South Africarsquo His oeuvre also includes writing in a range of different genres fantasy historical fiction memoir critical essays travel writing translations stories

The story I wish to introduce to you today is probably his most famous published first in 1959 widely anthologised since then and staged as a musical on Broadway It is also a story I have taught over a number of years and found to be one that elicits strong student interest and debate Its central characters are on the one hand Jewish immigrants who have settled in Johannesburg in the Fifties and on the other Zulu men with roots in the rural areas lsquoJim comes to Jorsquoburgrsquo figures who are employed in the household of the immigrant Harry

3 Myrtle Hooper PhD is Senior Professor and Head of the Department of English University of Zululand


34

Grossman It thus deals in interesting ways with issues of transnationality border crossings and multiculturality

In particular Jacobsonrsquos story presents a striking instance of the family drama by inverting many of the common expectations we bring to a story about the relations between fathers and sons Old man Grossman the Zeide of the title is impulsive and irresponsible and has spent much of his life running away from the normal obligations of providing for his family Sent from Lithuania to make his fortune in South Africa he gets side-tracked en route by some other Jews who are going to South America lsquoWhy are you going to South Africarsquo they ask him lsquoItrsquos a wild country the blacks there will eat you Come to South America and yoursquoll make a fortunersquo He does so but finds life there intolerable Six months of silence later he gets a friend to write and tell his wife that lsquohersquos dying in the Argentine the Spaniards are killing him hellip and he must come homersquo And so he is shipped back at his brother-in-lawrsquos expense The family then emigrates as a whole to South Africa where he takes up and loses many jobs Once it is clear that his son will be able lsquoto make his way in the world and be a support to his whole familyrsquo the father becomes suddenly dramatically so short-sighted as to be almost blind His son buys him glasses which he persistently loses or breaks until it is lsquomade clear to him that he [is] no longer expected to do any workrsquo At the point the story opens he is widowed and retired and lives with his sonrsquos family in a large masculine house in a middle-class suburb

Grossmanrsquos son Harry is presented first in contrast to the old man Harry is a successful businessman and a responsible son husband and father By his hard work and dedication he has redeemed the debts incurred by his father and thus secured a successful relocation from old Europe to the new country South Africa He has a wife and children who respect him and commands admiration within the community for his commitment and sympathy for the troubles he has had to endure He is in the habit of eliciting this sympathy by telling and re-telling the story of the old manrsquos past His lsquorewardrsquo comes when his audience responds lsquoat least yoursquore being as dutiful to him as anyone can bersquo Although he lsquorefusesrsquo this reward their comment hits the keynote to his character The narrator remarks lsquoDutifulness had been his habit of life it had had to be having the sort of father he had and the strain of duty had made him abrupt and begrudgingrsquo The extent of his dutifulness is indexed by his refusal to send his father to an old age home He doesnrsquot like the idea he says because his father wouldnrsquot like it hersquod be unhappy lsquoWersquoll look after him as long as we can Itrsquos a job Itrsquos something yoursquove got to dorsquo

Although the narrative begins with Harryrsquos point of view and seems sympathetic to it there is a telling physical similarity between him and the old man Harry himself is lsquoa thick-set bunch-faced man with large bones and short jabbing gesturesrsquo He is lsquoin the prime of lifersquo His father by contrast is old and has grown thin Yet it is clear that Harry has inherited his strength from his father lsquoon whom the largeness of bone showed now only as so much extra leanness that the clothing had to coverrsquo This physical connection I think is part of an ethical framework of embodiment which serves to deepen and to complicate their relationship of inverse dependency


35

The problem the old man poses to his son is acute Although he is in good health is lsquoquite spryrsquo can lsquowalk farrsquo and lsquojump and duckrsquo if he has to he is lsquoworse than a nuisancersquo he is a lsquomenacersquo he is a lsquobutt and a jestrsquo to all the neighbourhood The reason is he keeps running away lsquoIt was impossible to keep him in the house He would take any opportunity to slip out ndash a door left open meant that he was on the streets a window unlatched was a challenge to his agility a walk in the park was as much a game of hide-and-seek as a walkrsquo Hersquos always been like this says Harry lsquoHersquos my father and I know what hersquos like He gave my mother enough grey hairs before her time All he knew was to run awayrsquo

The third significant character in the story is brought in to solve this problem Paulus is the lsquoZulursquo of the title Like Harry and Harryrsquos father he is characterised in terms of physical strength His body is huge He is lsquoa muscular moustached and bearded Africanrsquo who wears a pair of khaki shorts that are too small for him and a shirt with no buttons lsquobuttons would in any case have been of no use for the shirt could never have closed over his chest He swelled magnificently out of his clothingrsquo Despite his strength he is shy as Harry speaks to him he looks to the side of Harryrsquos head and stands lsquowith his hands behind his back and his bare knees bent a little forward as if to show how little he [is] asserting himself no matter what his ldquobrotherrdquo might have been saying about himrsquo His lsquobrotherrsquo Johannes presents him to Harry as lsquoa good boy come straight from the kraal hellip He is strong he is a hard worker he is clean and he can be lsquoas gentle as a womanrsquo Possibly it is this last quality amongst the others that clinches his employment cut

Paulusrsquos employment contract is carefully spelt out he is given a room a uniform food three times a day and a bar of soap once a week cast-off clothing at odd intervals the sum of one pound five shillings and one afternoon off per week And yet his employment for Harry is lsquosomething in the nature of a joke ndash almost a joke against his fatherrsquo The crux of the joke is that neither speaks English Despite the working relationship that develops between them Harry persists lsquoin regarding the arrangement as a kind of joke and the more the arrangement [succeeds] the more determinedly [does] he try to turn it into a joke not only against his father but against Paulus too It [has] been a joke that his father should be looked after by a raw Zulu it [is] going to be a joke that the Zulu [is] successful at itrsquo What draws most mockery from him are their names for each other His father never learns Paulusrsquos name calling him always lsquoDer schwarzerrsquo the black one Paulus adopts the grandchildrenrsquos name for the old man prefacing it with the Afrikaans term of respect lsquoBaas Zeidersquo

They do not share a common language and they do not develop one Rather they speak in their own languages to each other lsquothey both commented on or complained to each other of the things they saw around them and often they agreed with one another smiling and nodding their heads and explaining again with their hands what each happened to be talking aboutrsquo What Harry does not register in his deliberate mockery is the real communication that is taking place paralinguistically as it were This is in sharp contrast to the non-communication in which the old man has been isolated before the arrival of Paulus Harryrsquos wife lsquoput up with the


36

old man she did not talk to him The grandchildren had nothing to do with their grandfatherrsquo even Harry does not talk to the old man so much as lsquotalk of him to othersrsquo

Because he is new to the city and speaks no English it takes Paulus some time to work out a modus operandi He has to conquer lsquonot only his own shyness and strangeness in the new house filled with strange people ndash let alone the city which since taking occupation of his room he had hardly dared to enter ndash but also the hostility of old man Grossman who took immediate fright at Paulus and redoubled his efforts to get away from the house upon Paulusrsquo entry into itrsquo The old manrsquos persistence is matched by Paulusrsquos quiet determination however lsquoa willingness of spiritrsquo that the old man cannot lsquovanquishrsquo but can only lsquoteachrsquo After a few days of bewilderment Paulus finds his way and that is simply to go along with the old man Initially he follows him at a distance because he knows he is not trusted but by degrees he gets closer walking side by side with him and even when the traffic is particularly heavy crossing the street with him hand-in-hand

This image of two innocents wandering in wonderland is emphasised by their reactions to their environment and by its reaction to them They walk together in the streets of the town that is strange to them both looking over fences and into foyers standing on pavements and watching cars and trucks walking in the parks and resting together when the old man is tired Harryrsquos mockery of their relationship is echoed in the reactions of the people around them This is because public space is socially and politically demarcated and the old manrsquos perambulations are disruptive to the spatial order The opening paragraph couched him as a nuisance not only to his family but to others lsquohe was a menace to himself and to the passing motorists into whose path he would step to the children in the streets whose games he would break up sending them flying to the householders who at night would approach him with clubs in their hands fearing him a burglar he was a butt and a jest to the African servants who would tease him on street cornersrsquo Paulusrsquos company brings protection and support to the old man but it exposes him to the ridicule the old man triggers in others When lost Paulus asks for help and generally receives it but he also gets teased for his lsquorawnessrsquo and for holding the sort of job he does And there are people who avert their eyes from the sight of the old manrsquos lsquodegradation which could come upon a man when he was senile and dependentrsquo Their environment too is structured in ways that are antithetic to their growing closeness When the old man gets tired Paulus finds him a park bench to sit on but since only whites are allowed to sit on the benches he himself must squat at the old manrsquos feet

The demarcation of public space is echoed within the private spaces of Harryrsquos household The house itself is big and single-storied with a lsquocorrugated iron roof above and a wide stoep [veranda] all aroundrsquo It looks old-fashioned but is lsquosolid and prosperousrsquo the furniture is made of lsquothe heaviest African woods dark and built to lastrsquo the passages are lsquolined with bare linoleumrsquo and the pictures on the walls are brown and grey mezzotints in heavy framesrsquo It seems to be the imprisoning solidity of the house that old man Grossman continually seeks to escape He has a lsquopassion for freedomrsquo that Harry perhaps recognises when he concedes how unhappy his father would be in an old age home Although he runs away from the house the old man also disputes Harryrsquos ownership of it His senility means that he sometimes recognises


37

his son and at other times does not On those occasions he challenges him lsquoWho are yoursquo lsquoWhat do you want in my housersquo and threatens lsquoOut of my housersquo The pathos of his fury is emphasised by Harryrsquos patronising smile and his mean-spirited teasing lsquoYour house Do you call this your housersquo

Although Harry owns the house there are spaces in it which he will not enter When Paulus is employed he is given a room in the lsquoservantrsquos quarters in the backyardrsquo in which he is lsquoallowed to entertain not more than two friends at any one timersquo Once the relationship between Paulus and the old man develops Harry begins to feel jealousy which manifests itself during a key conversation in a joking threat to send Paulus away His father does not believe him and goes straight to Paulus and sits in his room with him In doing so he finds a refuge from his son because Harry lsquowould never have gone into any of his servantrsquos rooms least of all that of Paulusrsquo Paulusrsquos room is demarcated as a lsquoblackrsquo space demeaning for a white person to enter It is the old manrsquos senile innocence that frees him in this instance from the hysteresis of spatialised race relations All his son can do is bluster lsquoAnother time he wonrsquot be therersquo

Harry is also excluded from the two spaces of greatest physical intimacy that occur between Paulus and his father Paulus quite rapidly takes on the role of manservant because the old man cannot ndash or will not ndash take adequate care of himself Paulus dresses him bathes him trims his beard and attends to him at night Harry is drawn by this physical closeness Night after night he comes to the bedroom where Paulus is dressing or undressing the old man or to the lsquosteamy untidy bathroomrsquo where the old man is being bathed Although Paulusrsquos smile encourages him to draw forward he does not do so rather he stands lsquodourly and silently hellip in his powerful begrudging stancersquo Harryrsquos presence does not stop Paulus from talking to the old man lsquoin a soft continuous flow of Zulursquo to encourage and praise him And when the old man is particularly tired he stoops low and picks him up to carry him easily down the passage to his bedroom Harry is left to watch the door close behind them

Harry has threatened his father lsquoAnother time he wonrsquot be therersquo Indeed it is ironical that having brought safety to the old man by his presence Paulusrsquos absence at a critical point exacerbates his danger Although Harry mocks the linguistic disparities between the two it is the physicality of the relationship between Paulus and his father that so unsettles him because it reflects an intimacy that is impossible for him To him as we have seen caring for his father is a duty lsquoItrsquos a job Itrsquos something yoursquove got to dorsquo One day he returns home to find his father wandering around the house shouting for der schwarzer His wife has told him repeatedly that Paulus has the afternoon off but it does not help The old man goes from room to room ignoring Harry until he reaches his lsquoown bare bedroomrsquo and then confronts Harry demanding over and over lsquoI want der schwarzerrsquo Harry offers himself instead

He threw his arms towards his father but the gesture was abrupt almost as though he were thrusting him away lsquoWhy canrsquot you ask me You can ask me ndash havenrsquot I done enough for you already Do you want to go for a walk ndash Irsquoll take you for a walk What do you want Do you want ndash do you want ndash rsquo Harry could not think what his father might want lsquoIrsquoll do itrsquo he said lsquoYou donrsquot need der schwarzerrsquo


38

His offer is rejected His father turns from him and Harry sees that he is weeping His tears remind Harry of all the times in the past that his father has failed him all the times he has lost yet another job But it is the inscription of Paulusrsquos care upon his fatherrsquos body that most defeats him lsquohe could not look at his fatherrsquos back at his hollowed neck on which the hairs that Paulus had clipped glistened above the pale brown discolorations of age ndash Harry could not look at the neck turned stiffly away from him while he had to try to promise the return of the Zulu He dropped his hands and walked out of the roomrsquo Correspondingly his father has become so fixated upon Paulus that he cannot allow his son to minister to him The old man has never learned Paulusrsquos name but his racial term for him has become emblematic it has become shorthand for the caritas Paulus brings to him

Paulusrsquos absence on this occasion leads the old man again to run away and his end comes fast No one sees him get out of the house and through the front gate and onto the road He is struck down by a man on a bicycle and dies a few days later

The tears that the old man shed before his son are then repeated in the tears of those left behind lsquoHarryrsquos wife wept even the grandsons wept Paulus weptrsquo Harry does not weep he is lsquostony and his bunched protuberant featuresrsquo are immovable they seem lsquolocked upon the bones of his facersquo

Before his fatherrsquos death there has been a confrontation between Harry and Paulus in which he demands to know why Paulus has allowed his father to get so tired The narrative has earlier made it quite clear that Paulus paces the old man in his wanderings making him rest when he needs to and so the accusation is unfair as well as mean-spirited This malevolence is emphasised in Harryrsquos abuse of the power of language

The sight of Paulusrsquo puzzled and guilty face before him filled him with a lust to see this man this nurse with the face and figure of a warrior look more puzzled and guilty yet and Harry knew that it could so easily be done it could be done simply by talking to him in the language he could not understand lsquoYoursquore a foolrsquo Harry said lsquoYoursquore like a child You understand nothing and itrsquos just as well for you that you need nothing Yoursquoll always be where you are running to do what the white baas tells you to do Look how you stand Do you think I understood English when I came herersquo Then with contempt using one of the few Zulu words he knew lsquoHamba Go Do you think I want to see yoursquo

In their conversation after his fatherrsquos death Harry is initially less angry He says to the other servant Johannes lsquoTell him he must go His work is finishedrsquo Paulus waits however to collect the savings he has left with Harry As in their first encounter he will not meet Harryrsquos eyes Harry understands that this is not out of fear or shyness lsquobut out of courtesy for his masterrsquos griefrsquo Again it is the sight of Paulusrsquos body lsquoin the mockery and simplicity of his houseboyrsquos clothingrsquo that angers him and he feeds his anger by asking what Paulus has been saving for what hersquos going to do with the lsquofortunersquo he has made Paulusrsquos innocent reply triggers Harryrsquos breakdown Johannes translates lsquoHe says baas that he is saving to bring his wife and children from Zululand to Johannesburg He is saving baasrsquo Johannes said for Harry had not seemed to understand lsquoto bring his family to this town alsorsquo The two Zulus are bewildered then by his


39

reaction His lsquoclenched fist-like featuresrsquo fall from one another he stares with guilt and despair at Paulus and he cries lsquoWhat else could I have done I did my bestrsquo before the first tears come

This anagnorosis is triggered by guilt and shame at his own failings as a son compared to the care that Paulus has managed to give his father compared to the lsquosonrsquo that Paulus has become But it is also triggered I think by his confrontation with Paulusrsquos status as husband and father and the care Paulus shows his family His envy is redoubled because he sees the father in Paulus that he himself has never had

It might seem strange that I should have chosen for my analysis of a story about Jewish people and rural Zulus the Christian concept of caritas which is defined in the COED as lsquoChristian love of humankind charityrsquo Perhaps it would have been more apt to invoke a concept more in keeping with the African renaissance promulgated by our previous president Ubuntu which is expressed in several Bantu languages as lsquoa person is a person because of other peoplersquo Certainly many of my students who come from rural backgrounds find it hard to understand why Harry cannot manage to care for his father My more westernised students have a stronger sense of why Harry would need to employ someone else to do so for him and of how aggrieved Harry is that his father did not play out a fatherrsquos role

We can I think recognise in the dynamics of this story something of an oedipal tension between the son growing up and replacing the father in his role within the family We can also see the shaping influence of a formulaic master-servant relationship Perhaps in Paulusrsquos intuitive natural response we can see Jacobson representing the organic unity of the primitive and challenging with it Harryrsquos civilised repression And I would argue that both Paulusrsquos relaxed occupation of space and the natural decency he brings to the meanness of this household are enabled because hersquos not constrained by language It seems unlikely for example that Johannes who does speak English would manage the same grace of affection Paulus lets himself feel for the old man who is both a job and a person to him

Writing in 1959 then Jacobson presents a story of interaction across the colour bar that makes certain general points about human closeness and human difference Realistic in mode and liberal in outlook his political enlightenment is necessarily contained He does not advance in this story or in his other South African fiction broadscale solutions to the divisiveness of the apartheid system There is thus an internal logic written into the way this story ends The age of the father and the jealousy and rage of the son are both set up in opposition to the closeness that emerges between the Zulu and the Zeide rendering their relationship necessarily transient Their closeness does not destabilise social structures or bring about significant social change It is true that when we read we look back and see differences between ourselves and characters so contained by the excrescences of apartheid (it causes a jolt for example to read in class the racial terms used by Harry in his conversations both with his friends and with his servants) And yet I would argue that Jacobsonrsquos story achieves a fleeting greatness as literature because he captures something in this story that arrests us into seeing ourselves in his characters We are ethically engaged


40

There are particulars I think that make the relationships within the story quite unique and very moving I would like to hint at this by considering the several references to hands that occur in the story because they qualify and supplement and sometimes substitute for verbal communication Harry is an intense and an intensely repressed person and his jabbing gestures his tight hold on his wrists with elbows supporting his waist his arms that seem to thrust away in the very act of reaching towards his father show his physical unease in relation to others Paulus when he first meets Harry keeps his hands behind his back but quite soon after this he is holding the old manrsquos hand to cross a street and both he and the old man use their hands to explain what they are talking about in their own languages When Paulus is flustered at being castigated by Harry lsquohis hands beat in the air but with care so that he would not touch his baasrsquo Unable to communicate with him in English lsquohe brought both hands to his mouth closing it forciblyrsquo and then remembering that Johannes can interpret for him he flings his hands away Stopped short from calling him however he can only lsquoopen his hands in a gesture to show that he understood neither the words Harry used nor in what way he had been remiss that Harry should have spoken in such angry tones to himrsquo

It is in the bathroom scene that the care he gives the old man is most strikingly rendered In the running commentary that Paulus keeps up (intriguingly we must infer that its meaning is translated for us by Harry) he encourages the old man and exhorts him to be helpful and expresses his pleasure in how well the work is going As Harry watches he sees that lsquoThe backs of Paulusrsquo hands were smooth and hairless they were paler on the palms and at the fingernails and they worked deftly about the body of the old man who was submissive under their ministrationsrsquo The old man to Paulus is work but he is also a person and it is in the grace that combines this recognition of him this regard for him that caritas is embodied

Caritas here is transgression of habitus Whereas Harry is prevented by habitual restraint from physically caring for or even touching his father the relationship between Paulus and the old man crosses the boundaries that ordinarily structure interaction between blacks and whites between masters and servants In the Tracker advertisement with which I prefaced this paper I noted the hands of the man that cradle the babyrsquos head and the hands of the child that clutch his arms In this story the hand that Paulus gives the old man embodies care in his hands the old manrsquos humanity is secured

References

Jacobson D 1959 lsquoThe Zulu and the Zeidersquo in Hirson D amp Trump M (eds) 1994 The

Heinemann Book of South African Short Stories Oxford Heinemann

Encyclopaedia Judaica Website accessed 07072011

httpwwwencyclopediacomarticle-1G2-2587509917jacobson-danhtml

Joe Public 2010 The Tracker Ad Produced by Egg Films Cape Town Directed by Kevin

Fitzgerald Website accessed 07072011


41

httpwwwthemarketingsitecomlivecontentphpItem_ID=12877ampRevision=en2F1ampStart0


42

The death of Osama Bin Laden A qualitative-investigative enquiry with specific reference of impact ballistics and Natorsquos M855A1 EPR round

Johan Ras4

Department of Criminal Justice


Email jraspanuzuluacza

Abstract

This article focuses on the death of Osama Bin Laden the former leader of Al-Qaeda who had been killed by the United States of Americarsquos clandestine Navy Seal Team Six Through a qualitative-investigative enquiry the author has tried to establish the precise circumstances of his death specifically related to impact ballistics and NATOrsquos M855A1 round Although the information surrounding his death is scanty and classified impact ballistics and crime scene techniques assist us to get a more coherent picture of his death There is no doubt in the mind of the author that Osama Bin Laden did not suffer any trauma before he died instantly after being shot

Introduction Osama Bin Laden was killed on Monday morning 2 May 2011 (eastern time) at about 01h15 by the United States of Americarsquos elite clandestine Navy Seal Team Six in his three storey hideout in the city of Abbottabad in Pakistan He was a wanted man since the 911 twin tower attacks in New York City in which 2 976 people were killed (Ras 2010c httpanswersgooglecomanswersthreadviewid= 434113) Osama was shot twice and died because of ballistic trauma Ballistic trauma refers to a form of physical trauma sustained from the discharge of arms or munitions (httpenwikipediaorgwikiBallistic_trauma) The article focuses specifically on the technical aspects of the manner in which he died Operational background The whole operation known as Operation Neptune Spear (or the ldquoMcRaven optionrdquo) from landing at the compound with two helicopters until evacuation took exactly 38 minutes from 01h00 to 01h38 (http enwikipediaorgwikiOsama_bin_Laden) The raid was executed by 79 commandos consisting of Navy Seals and CIA para-military operatives and one bomb-explosive and sniffer dog Seal Team Six was under direct command of Vice-Admiral William McRaven in Afghanistan He was electronically linked to and directly reporting to his legal

4 Johan Ras PhD is Associate Professor and Head of Department of Criminal Justice as well as Vice Dean Faculty of Arts University of Zululand


43

command CIA-director Leon Panetta in Langley Virginia Panetta on his turn was directly reporting to President Barack Obama who was with his National Security Team in the National Security Room in the situation room in the White House in Washington DC (Thompson 2011 httpwwwmsnbcmsncomId42852700nsworld_news-death_of_bin_ladentus-forces-kill-osama-bin-laden-pakistan Talarico 2011 Tapper Schrifrin amp Hopper 2011) The US Navyrsquos counter-terrorist unit also known as DEVGRU (US Naval Special Warfare Development Group) first flew from Camp Alpha at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan to Tarbela Ghazi Airbase in North West Frontier Province in Pakistan and from there to the compound in the Bilal area of the town of Abbottabad (Ambinder 2011) The grid reference of the compound where Osama Bin Laden was in hiding was 34deg11rsquo153882 ldquoN 73deg14rsquo133954 ldquoE Members were transported in two modified MH-60 (Black Hawk) helicopters followed by two Chinook helicopters (Sherwell 2011) The pilots were from the US Armyrsquos 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (httpenwikipediaorgwikiUnited_States_ Naval_Special_Warfare_Development_Group) Mapping and pattern-recognition software belonging to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency was used to determine Osama Bin Ladenrsquos presence in the compound There were twenty one people staying inside the compound at the time of the attack ndash eight adults (four males and four females) and thirteen children (eleven boys and two girls) (Guerin 2011) Research approach My approach was qualitative in nature and I have used and analyzed electronic information that was available on the world-wide web (Le Roux 2003 Ras 200680-8294 2010c) in order to gather back-ground information that could assist me to reconstruct the scene of the incident in which he was killed Information in the electronic media were used analyzed and interpreted in the light of basic ballistic and crime scene procedures and information that I believe may shed more light on the specific manner in which he had died (Osterburg amp Ward 1992 Van der Westhuizen 1996 Prinsloo 1996 Du Preez 1996 Van Schalkwyk 1996 Svensson amp Wendel 1976) Personal involvement and interest in the research The researcher has also incorporated his past knowledge and experiences in the military police and law enforcement specifically related to search and seizure procedures house clearance firearms and ammunition to shed more light on what possibly had transpired (Ras 2006 2010a 2010c) He has lectured forensic criminalistics (including crime scene procedures and ballistics) at the University of Zululand to Police Science students has done several firearms courses exercises and operations in the military and police over the years and is at present an active firearm practitioner The author is an accredited firearm Assessor and Moderator of the Safety and Security Sector Education Training Authority (SASSETA) for all categories of firearms in South Africa He is also accredited by the South African Police Force (formerly known as the South African Police Service ndash SAPS) to train learners in the Firearms Control Act (Act 60 of 2000) and all different categories of firearms (handguns shotguns rifles hand machine carbines) in South Africa He


44

is also a training instructor of the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) for all private security courses including response officer (armed) and cash-in-transit Besides the researcher holds three doctorates in three different fields (New Testament Criminal Justice and Psychology) The second doctorate was on body guarding in a private security context (Ras 2006) and a great part of the research was focused on bodyguards and firearms including shooting stances firearm techniques and firearm theories (Ras 2006141-146160245-281) Insights from this research are used in this article His third doctorate was on ldquoUnderstanding Al-Qaeda A Qualitative Approachrdquo (Ras 2010c) A qualitative approach was used to better comprehend this international terror group and insights from especially logotherapy were used to assist those working in law enforcement to be able to identify members of this group and thus prevent them from committing any deeds of terror (Ras 2010cv) The author also had paid attention to the profiling of Osama Bin Laden (Ras 2010c33-44137-140) During an International Police Executive Symposium (IPES) conference in Dubai United Arab Emirates during March 2007 the author was asked by Fasihuddin from Pakistan to assist and evaluate a document from him and to make recommendations for the establishment of a Criminological Society for Pakistan This society the Pakistan Society of Criminology (PSC) was formed during 2008 (httpwwwpakistansocietyofcriminologycom) The founding of this society the first of its kind in the history of Pakistan subsequently has led to the publication of the Pakistan Journal of Criminology that inter alia aims to disseminate information on all crime and police related matters in Pakistan Fasihuddin was the main founding member of the PSC and is at present the President of the Pakistan Society of Criminology as well as the Editor-in-Chief of the Pakistan Journal of Criminology The author is part of the Advisory Board of this journal This society is housed in New Warsak Colony in Peshawar Khyber Pakhthunkwa (formerly known as the Northwest Frontier Province ndash NWFP) The researcher recently had published two articles in this journal The first was on the policing of the Northwest Frontier Province in a special issue entitled ldquoTerrorism Organized Crime and Law Enforcementrdquo The authorrsquos article was entitled ldquoPolicing the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan Practical Remarks from a South African Perspectiverdquo (Ras 2010d 107-122) The second article had appeared in a special issue entitled ldquoWomen Rights and Violence Against Womenrdquo The name of the article was ldquoEmpower Pakistan Detonating the Minds of Pakistan Femalesrdquo (Ras 2010e21-32) In both these articles the researcher often referred to Osama Bin Laden and the threats of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban The author did not know that Osama Bin Laden was in hiding in a compound in the city of Abbottabad in the same Pakistani province that he had discussed his first article (httpenwikipediaorgwikiAbbottabad_District) He also did not know that Osama was literally almost 1 200 meters (12 km) away from the Military Academy at Kakul in Abbottabad that was inter alia mentioned in his second article (Ras 2010e23) However at a personal level the hundreds of hours that the researcher had spent in the past to research Al-Qaeda and Osama is probably the main reason why he decided to write this article (Ras 2011)


45

Why is it important to know about the circumstances of Osama Bin Ladenrsquo death With 25 million American dollars as a bounty on his head (httpenwikipediaorgwikiOsama_bin_Laden) Osama Bin Laden had costs taxpayers billions and billions of dollars ndash just think of the after-effects of 911 and the ongoing war on terror that was triggered by the events of 911 (Fasihuddin 2011) If multi-billions of dollars were spend on the search and capturing of the FBIrsquos most wanted terrorist then ordinary people certainly have a right to know what happened in the compound A possible reconstruction of Osama Bin Ladenrsquos death will also bring more clarity to those who are still wondering what really did transpired and also will assist those who are wondering if he had suffered any harm or was even tortured before he had died In short people want closure and any publication focusing on his death is a kind of psychological ventilation or catharsis that may be meaningful to those who are still traumatized by the events of 911 (Ras 2000 2010c) Different viewpoints While many in especially Muslim circles regard Osama Bin Laden as a hero there are others who regard him as a mass murderer or simply as an international terrorist who had used terror and terror tactics in a futile attempt to establish a world-wide Islamic Caliphate (Ras 2010c) Because of these different viewpoints there are already some conspiracy theories going around the most important one that Osama Bin Laden was not killed by members of US Navy Seal Team Six but by his own bodyguard (http wfoltvindexphpoption=com_k2ampview=itemampid=13reports-bin-laden-killed-by-hellip) The author does not doubt the United States of America lsquos president who had claimed that it was done by the United States Navy Seals (Fasihuddin 2011 Thompson 2011 httpwwwmsnbcmsncomId42852700nsworld_news-death_of_bin_ladentus-forces-kill-osama-bin-laden-pakistan Talarico 2011 Tapper Schrifrin amp Hopper 2011) General remarks about the mission The author has tried to reconstruct the event in which Osama Bin Laden died specifically the manner in which he met his death The real facts surrounding his death are classified by the White House and although what has been released by the media is quite thorough enough for the average reader who is interested in this topic this information is definitely insufficient for crimes scene experts (Ras 2011) The mission to get Osama Bin Laden was a typical military search and destroy mission and definitely not a police operation where the purpose is to arrest a suspect Osama was killed not arrested Seal Team Six went in to capture him but they knew he would resist any form of capture and had prepared them-selves to bring him back even if it means to kill him The fact that they were fired upon at their arrival and in the process had returned fire and had shot five people (including Bin Laden) and also had left one helicopter behind after blowing it up to


46

leave no trade secrets behind underlines the authorrsquos belief that this was a search and destroy mission (http enwikipediaorgwikiOsama_bin_Laden) The direct or original evidence also called factual evidence (Prinsloo 199616) of what really happened were greatly disturbed at the scene of the compound because of the search for information that took place after the place had been taken over After Bin Ladenrsquos death the commandos had canvassed the whole compound in order to find any further possible clues and information about any other planned attacks or members of Al-Qaeda or those who have possible links to Osama or Al-Qaeda During this searching process valuable clues (objective evidence ndash Van Heerden 1995 Du Preez 1996a1) of what exactly had taken place at the time of his death were possibly destroyed Evidential lacunes There are serious lacunes or gaps of information when it comes to the existing evidence that were published on the internet Examples of these are the published pictures related to those that were killed inside the compound There is simply not enough information available to form a comprehensive picture of the precise chronological order of events and the details surrounding all the different incidents that had made up the whole mission Specific information related to crime scene procedures and ballistics (Van der Westhuizen 1996 Osterburg amp Ward 1992 Svensson amp Wendel 1976) is lacking More information on especially the shooting incidents specifically-related related to the death of Osama Bin Laden and his 22-year old son Khaled Khalid for example are typical examples The author did not see a picture on Osama Bin Laden but he did see electronic versions of the other three men that were shot (Allbritton Boyle 2011 Reuters - photos) In terms of serology (Du Preez 1996b201-206) more specifically blood pattern analysis (Svensson amp Wendel 19976117-134 Osterburg amp Ward 1992129-136) there was too much blood concentrated underneath the body of Khalid especially at the back of his head There was also blood on the front parts of his arms and on his t-shirt that is difficult to explain Also present were two strange purple marks around his neck that seems unnatural ndash one of them looking like a cord mark indicating a form of strangulation There was also blood coming out of the right hand side of his ear that is difficult to comprehend Boot marks and boot patterns were on the white floor and it seems his body and blood was placed over it ndash indicating that he did not die at that specific place but was removed to this particular spot when the photo had been taken

The excessive pool of blood underneath the double bed and also at the right hand corner of the double bed is perhaps the most difficult to explain but also the most important piece of information related to Osamarsquo death The huge pool of blood underneath the bed indicates someone was bleeding excessively underneath the old bed frame This excessive bleeding is absent on top of the bed the blankets and the matrass except for some blood on the right hand side corner of the bed


47

This means practically-speaking that someone was laying or hiding underneath the bed and was bleeding there ndash a further indication that the person must have been already severely wounded before he landed underneath the bed or alternatively he was hiding underneath the bed and was then shot through the blankets mattress and wooden bed This means the person was shot in the back because a person who hides under a bed in a hurry normally moves in while laying flat on his stomach face down But and this seems more likely the bed was moved after the shooting incident and placed over the pool of blood in the process of searching the compound for further evidence that may link Osama to Al-Qaeda

Some of the photos were taken when the sun was already coming up One picture was taken 05h21 and another at 06h43 The time when it had been taken is important because the closer it is to the time of the incident (0h100 to 0h38) the closer one gets to the truth The present pictures indicate that there was a great time lapse between the time of the incident and the time when the photos had been taken This is clear because of the dark colour of the blood the clotting of the blood and the dark purple marks on the pale white faces of the deceased This long time-period will also explain the large dark pools of blood at the backside of the heads of some of the deceased Enough time had elapsed so that excessive bleeding could take place

There was also a strange yellow copper object looking like an empty cartridge case a few centimeters away from Khalidrsquos face laying on his right hand side close to the back side of his head A cartridge case is normally ejected much further away from a body of a person except if he was shot at an extreme close range and the cartridge case has hit the person for example at the back of his head or body There was no visible bullet mark on the photo indicating an entrance or exit wound except for blood coming from the right hand side of his right ear This may indicate an exit mark on the right ear which means he was shot from the left hand side or side of the neck that is obscured in the picture There is also a large entrance wound on the breast of the one man that was shot (one of the Khan brothers) It seems that he was hit by a slug coming from a shotgun If this is the case then it means Seal team Six had used different weapons to kill the dead men

Whatever the present beliefs of those who have read the newspapers one fact remains Osama is dead and we do not have all the facts how he had been killed We only know what has been published and the researcher had used the limited information that is difficult to verify to reconstruct the death of Osama Bin Laden The published photos have convinced the author that he was looking at pictures that are not typical of either an organized or a disorganized crime scene The scenes in which the deceased were present were not planned not chaotic just disturbed - as if it was not the intention to do so

The photos that the researcher had seen electronically had been published by Reuters that bought it from Pakistani security officials The one photo was taken an hour after the incident at 02h30 and the other photos taken by another official at 05h21 and 06h43 Despite the time-factor of the photos the author is happy to have seen electronic versions of it (Allbritton amp Boyle 2011) However at this stage we can just ask the same question that Pontius Pilate had


48

asked Jesus centuries ago τι εστιν αληθεια ldquoWhat is (the) truthrdquo (Novum Testamentum Graece - John 1838)

Immediate events at the time of the landing at the compound To put the death of Osama Bin Laden in perspective a few remarks are necessary about the events that preceded his death The two Black Hawk helicopters had approached the compound to land but the one had developed a problem and as a result had to do a crash-landing Two commando teams bailed of the helicopters with one team storming the guest house and the other the building in which they believed Osama Bin Laden was sleeping During the first 18 minutes five people included Osama Bin Laden were shot and killed The first person who was shot who had offered resistance with an AK-47 assault rifle was Abu al Kuwaiti the personal courier of Osama Bin Laden Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti also known as Arshad Khan or Mohammed Arshad Khan had fired from the guesthouse in the compound Both he and his wife were killed in this encounter His wife was killed by bullets that went through the door It seems that he was shot in the chest There was a huge bullet wound in his chest that perhaps indicates that he was shot with a slug fired by a shotgun The third person who was shot was Al-Kuwaitirsquos brother Tariq Tareq Khan who was also a courier of Bin Laden Both of them were Pashtuns coming from Charsadda in North-West Frontier Province (httpenwkipediaorgwikiOsama_bin_Laden httpenwikipediaorgwikiAbu_Ahmed_al-Kuwaiti) The fourth person that was shot was Khalid Khaled the son of Osama and the brother-in-law of the two Khan brothers Khalid was married to a sister of the Khans He was shot when he had blocked the entrance to the stairways going up to Osamarsquos room He was unarmed When they went upstairs they saw Osama for the first time at the end of the corridor They fired at him in the darkness but missed as he was running into a room They then immediately rushed forward towards the door of this room Visual clearance When the commandos stormed the door they did that in darkness The whole operation took place in the early hours of the morning between 01h00 and 01h38 when it was dark outside More precisely all the shooting took place in darkness place between 01h00 and 01h18 There were no bright lights inside the house where the people were sleeping when the commandos had moved in The Navy Seals made use of night-sight equipment to see in the darkness Night vision goggles with helmets with mounted video cameras were worn by some members (httpenwkipediaorgwikiOsama_bin_Laden) The night sight had turned the darkness into a bright green color so that they could see where to move although this light was not as clear and bright as daylight Every Seal also had a torch attached to his rifle to assist him to shine in the darkness and to see what he was doing Despite the fact that the members of Seal Team Six are superbly trained in firearms and the taking out of enemies in the line of fire and many also underwent sniper training the first shot


49

that had missed Osama can probably be ascribed to the high speed chase the consequent adrenaline rush and the instinctive point shooting instead of deliberative aimed shooting that took place (Ras 2006) How did they enter the room Knowledge about house penetration specifically entering doors or rooms assists us in reconstructing the events in which Osama Bin Laden had died Members normally enter the room through the typical crisscross method When they want to enter a room through the door members are standing outside on each side of the door post When the hand signal is given the one member to the left of the door post will go into the room to the right hand side and the member to the right will enter the door and goes straight to the left hand side A third member will follow and go in straight Each member will then face any kind of threat coming their way In this particular case they probable followed one another at high speed in single file that is they were running behind one another (Ras 20026) They also would not take up position on both sides of the door post because that would have meant that one member had to move pass the open door to the other side of the door post They would not have taken this risk while they already had drawn fire upon themselves at the time of the landing and because they did not know what Osama is up to inside the room It is uncertain how they had entered the room in which Osama had been shot but the author is of the opinion that the first member had moved in straight the second member immediately had followed him but went to the left hand side and the third member went in to the right hand side By doing this the first member actually had assessed and covered the room in literally a split second However what is important is not the exact order of entrance but the speed in which they had entered the room in order to deal with Osama in an effective and decisive manner The events inside the room When the members had crisscrossed into the room they were confronted by two screaming women who had shielded Osama Bin Laden The one seal member immediately had pulled the one woman away from Osama although one report says that the one seal member has bear-hugged both woman in order to get them away from Osama When Osama became visible for the second time he was shot twice above the left eye and in the breast (httpwwwmsnbcmsncomid42852700nsworld_news_death_of_bin_ladentus-forces-kill-osama-bin-laden-pakistan httpenwikipediaorgwikiOsama_bin_Laden Sherwell 2011 Tapper Schrifrin amp Hopper 2011)


50

Why Osama Bin Laden was short The reason why he had been shot was simple The members were not sure if he after he had run into the room went in to arm himself or to trigger a bomb Because of the darkness and because they were unsure what he was up to they were thinking that he was reaching for a weapon a suicide vest or per-haps a hand grenade or something similar He also did not surrender by raising his hands or anything like that before he was killed (httpenwkipediaorgwikiOsama_bin_Laden httptopicsnytimes comtopreferencetimestopicspeoplebosama_bin_ladenindexhtml Sherwell 2011) How was osama shot Osama was shot in typical military style He had received two shots known as ldquodouble taprdquo or ldquotap-taprdquo It was a military operation and members are trained to shoot to kill Firing twice ensures the enemy is neutralized effectively Was Osama Bin Laden at the time of his death He had no firearm in his hands when he had died but there was a Makarov pistol close to him Some reports say that members found an AK-47 assault rifle and a Makarov 9 x 18 mm pistol not far away from him while others only refer to the Makarov pistol (Sherwell 2011 httpenwikipediaorgwikiOsama_bin_Laden) Both these weapons are well-known Russian weapons (Ras 2010a25-34) that Osama had kept with himself for any possible attacks On television and in pictures Osama was always armed There was always an AK-47 very close to him (Ras 2006 615 2010a) It is strange that Osama did not attack the Seal Team Six members with an AK-47 when he heard them coming What do we know about the circumstances of Osamarsquos death According to the media he was shot twice in the left eye and in the breast The shot to the breast indicates Osama was shot from the front ndash not in the back Part of the debris or shrapnel of a bullet had hit the 12 year old daughter of Osama Bin Laden Safia in her foot or ankle while her mother (Osamarsquos youngest wife of 29 years) Amal Ahmed Abdullah was hit in the left calf of her leg (httpwwwibtimescomarticles14209520110506bin-laden-wife-amal_al-sadah-fifth-5th-afghanistan-yemen-9-11htm) Osama was shot at very close range The official version is that he was shot in the left eye and breast while another report specifically said it was above the left eye Although it was not mentioned if he first was shot in the left eye and then in the breast or vice versa special forcesrsquo operators are trained that shot placement is the critical factor in killing the enemy When military operators shoot at somebody they aim for central body mass that is they aim at the heart lung area of a person to ensure they hit the vital organs Decapacitation of the central nervous system especially the spinal cord visualized as a ldquolong downward tuberdquo is normally emphasized during shooting exercises

The operator who had shot Osama


51

The operator who had shot Osama Bin Laden was probably right handed tall just like Osama about 18 meters or more He was wearing gloves to protect his hands and his right hand trigger finger (his index finger) that he had put on the trigger inside the trigger guard was put right through the trigger guard so that the first part of the trigger finger was protruding to the left hand side of the rifle The trigger was positioned exactly between the first and second part of his index finger During the high speed chase to get inside the room with the adrenaline rush to get there as quickly as possible in order to stop Osama from what he thought he was doing the shooting was typical instinctive point shooting were muscle memory took over and where there was no time to deliberately implement aimed and selective shooting When a person shoots instinctively with the index finger protruding outside the trigger guard to the left while at high speed and while experiencing an adrenaline rush then the two shots that he fires tend to pull to the left in a downward movement especially when a person is firing from the right shoulder position This explains why Osama was hit in the left eye and in the breast He was first hit in the left eye and then in the breast The recoil of the firearm has pulled the rifle downwards to the left hand side when the shots were fired

The rifle It is not known if the official rifle of the US-Army the Colt M16A1 was used during the raid or not or perhaps the M4 carbine While some say it was there are more indications that it was the German Heckler amp Koch 416 carbine that was used (Terril 2011 Orndorff 2011) Some rifles (like the M16A2) are designed to give burst fire that is three shots are fired at the same time with a single depression of the trigger These three shots are very tightly grouped together in the form of a perfect triangle Osama was not hit like this which means that no rifle with burst fire capabilities was used on him The HK-416 (Heckler amp Koch) started to replace the M4 in 2005 because of latterrsquos unreliability in desert conditions This strengthens the argument that either the official US-M16A1 rifle was used on Osama or normally the choice of Special Forcesrsquo operators the Heckler and Koch 416 However it is not really important which rifle had been used in the killing of Osama Bin Laden More important is the specific round that had been used Although some operators behind enemy lines normally use the weapons of their enemies like the AK-47 the recoil of this rifle is so strong that it normally pulls upwards to the right when one fires If an AK-47 was used on Osama it practically means Osama was first hit in the breast and then in the left eye However the special nature of this operation necessitates that members would use the best weapons available and that would have excluded the AK-47 (Ras 2010a) The rounds that were used to kill Osama Bin Laden The rounds that hit Osama Bin Laden were NATO rounds NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and includes countries like the USA Canada Britain Australia New Zealand Germany and South Africa Countries belonging to NATO have decided to make use of the same size of infantry round so that they can be better prepared in times of world wars to face their enemies when it comes to mutual cooperation and logistical matters on the front


52

(httpenwikipediaorgwiki556C39745mm_NATO) Soldiers can also carry much more of these rounds than the former NATO round the 762 x 51 mm The present size of the NATO round is 556 mm by 45 mm This means the width of the round is 556 mm and the length of the cartridge case is 45 mm According to ammunition manufacturers the speed of the 556 mm round is between 980 meter per second to 900 meter per second depending on the length of the rifle barrel (DenelVektor 1998) If Seal Team Six had used the a M16A1 rifle then it means that the speed of the bullet that has hit Osama Bin Laden was about 980 meters per second but if it was the Heckler amp Koch 416 carbine then the speed was about 900 meters a second (Ras 2011) NATO testing indicates that the average speed of the 556 x 45 mm with a 62 gram bullet weight is 940 meter a second (httpenwikipediaorgwiki556C39745mm_NATO) In both cases these rifles have a right hand twist inside the barrels which means the projectile or bullet inside the rifle develops a right hand side spin inside the rifle After ignition the right hand side rifling causes the bullet to spin (so-called gyroscopic force) to the right while moving straight to the aimed target at a muzzle velocity of either 980 or 900 meters a second depending on the type of rifle being used The M855A1 enhanced performance round (EPR) In order to better understand how exactly Osama Bin Laden had died it is necessary to pay attention to the latest and most up to date NATO type round that is used at present in the war on terror in Afghanistan The M855A1 EPR (enhanced performance round) is a specialist round that is specifically used by special operators like Nave Seal Team Six This specific round had been made known during 2010 and in June 2010 the United States Army began to ship it to combat zones The United States Marine Corps had purchased 18 million rounds in 2010 (Woods 2010 httpenwikipediaorgwiki556C39745mm_NATO Lowe 2011) The new 62-grain (4 gram) projectile or bullet has a copper core with a 19-grain (12 gram) steel ldquostacked-conerdquo penetrating tip It is known as green ammo because it fires a lead free projectile Before 2009 this round consisted of a bismuth-tin alloy core but this has been replaced with solid copper in 2010 to eliminate heat issues and to be more effective at high temperatures This round consists of a sharp point (almost spear point) spitzer nose and a small boat tail base bullet The round consists of the 556 mm width-size bullet the copper case that is basically 45 mm long nitrocellulose gun powder inside the case and a military Berdan-type primer This primer consists of two small flash holes to ensure a definite smooth and consistent ignition once the primer has been hit by the firing pin after the trigger has been pulled (Ras 2011 Woods 2010 httpenwikipediaorgwiki556C39745mm_NATO) The 556 x 45 mm NATO cartridge with the military ball bullet (US M855) will penetrate approximately 15 to 20 inches (38 to 50 cm) into soft tissue in ideal circumstances This projectile opens up (yaw) in soft tissue At impact velocities (speed) above 820 meters a second it may yaw and fragment at the cannel lure that is at the crimping grooves around the cylinder


53

of the bullet These fragments can disperse through flesh and bone inflicting additional internal injuries httpenwikipediaorgwiki556C39745mm_NATO) In earlier days before the newly improved M855A1 was made the bullet tip was made of soft lead that was made to expand It was then followed by a sharp point bismuth-alloy jacket filled with a steel core The function of the steel core is to penetrate more viciously into any target and to break down any human resistance Behind the steel core are the annexure that consist of incisions made into the metal jacket When the bullet hits its target the cannelures ensure that the copper jacket breaks up further The jacket parts that are folding back also have sharp cutting edges that ensure a much larger wound channel to ensure a more rapid and immediate blood loss for a quicker death The quicker the blood loss the quicker death sets in

What makes this bullet (the M855A1) unique is the fact that it incorporates a jacketed copper slug pushing a sharpened steel penetrator During a May 4 demonstration the round had punched through quarter-inch steel armor at 300 yards with ease Army engineers at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey Jim Newill who had led the military team that has developed the round said that they have doubled the ability to perforate armored targets (Woods 2010 httpenwikipediaorgwiki556C39745mm_NATO) This jacketed copper slug pushes a steel penetrator core The steel and copper (steel inside and copper outside) are better than the former tungsten and bismuth alloy copper According to Lieutenant-Colonel (LtCol) Jeff Woods the armyrsquos small caliber ammunition product manager this new round is superior to the former NATO round the M80 762 on soft targets (httpwwwmilitarycomnewsarticleMay-2011new-army-ammo-puts-mean-in-greenh Woods 2010 Lowe 2011) There is no doubt that the M855A1 bullet was made to go right through its target Experts normally say that the heavier the bullet (weight is measured in grains) the slower it goes but the more impact it has A heavy bullet at a high velocity has a tremendous impact If it goes too slow than the impact is not so severe However this bullet conforms to the humanitarian rules of the well-known Geneva (Red Cross) convention At the Hague Convention in 1899 and the subsequent Geneva Conventions decisions were made that all bullets that will be used in battle must not be made of soft lead that will cause inhumane or unnecessary suffering Round nose or sharp nose bullets that are made to go through the bodies of persons were regarded as the most humane form of bullets that will cause the least suffering (httplibrarymedutaheduWebPathTUTORIALGUNSGUNBLSThtml) The fact that the US Navy Seal Team Six are were using these bullets indicate that they are were conforming to the set-standards of the Geneva (Red Cross) conventions The high speed of the bullet (known as rdquovelocityrdquo) clocks anything between 900 to 980 meters a second on a rifle chronograph depending mostly on the length of the barrel of the rifle the power charge (amount of nitrocellulose gun powder inside the case) and the grain (weigh) of the bullet (DenelVektor 1998) There is no doubt that the Seal Team Six members would have


54

used the best available bullets for this special operation The newly M855A1 rounds would have been part of the raid

In practical terms the bullets that had struck Osama Bin Laden can be described in an anthropomorphic way as simply ldquolightning fastrdquo In firearm and self-defense circles they would say this is one of the best ldquoman-stoppersrdquo available on the market In military circles they would say ldquoItrsquos deadlyrdquo According to LtCol Jeffrey K Woods ldquoThe M855A1 EPR represents the most significant performance leap in small-arms ammunition in decadesrdquo (Woods 2010)

Impact ballastics Ballistics is the science that studies the use movement and construction of bullets or projectiles (Van Schalkwyk 1996289) When the bullet is still inside the firearm is called internal ballistics when it is leaving the firearm it is called external ballistics When the gunpowder and gasses are still travelling and accompanying the travelling bullet or projectile it is called intermediate ballistics (Du Toit 2004) When it hits the target it is called impact ballistics and when one studies the wound that is caused by the bullet it is called wound ballistics Impact ballistics and Osama Bin Laden When the Navy Seal Team Six operator had Osama Bin Laden in his sights and had pulled the trigger the two M855A1 EPR rounds that have hit him was hitting Bin Laden faster than the speed of sound Sound travels 3432 meters per second (httpenwikipediaorgwikiSpeed_of_sound) Both bullets were travelling between 900 to 980 meters a second If a M16A1 rifle was used then the muzzle velocity would be about 980 meters a second because of the longer rifle barrel that was used If the Heckler amp Koch 416 carbine was used then the bullet that had struck Osama Bin Laden was hitting him at a speed of 900 meters a second What it means in practice is that Osama Bin Laden was already hit and killed before the sound waves had reached the ears of the operator When the bullets had struck at a speed of 980 ms (if the M16A1 was used) the sound of the shot would have reached the ears of the operator 286 seconds later and if the bullet had hit Osama at a speed of 900 ms (if the HK-416 was used) the sound of this hit would have reached the ears of the operator 262 seconds later The faster the bullet (higher velocity) the more hydrostatic shock is dropped into the target to incapacitate or to neutralize him The purpose of high speed bullets is to reach and to kill the target as fast as possible The hydrostatic shock waves drop kinetic energy into the body of the target that quickens the death of a person While spinning to the right hand side all the time the bullets that had struck Osama Bin Laden can only be described as lighting fast Shot placement is always the most critical factor in any kill A hit in the head and in the breast is normally deadly He was killed on impact The shot placement including the shock waves of these high velocity rounds have ended Osamarsquos life in what can be described as only ldquolightning fastrdquo Because of the extreme close range between Navy Seal Team Six and Osama when the shots had been fired the nitrocellulose gun powder and accompanied gasses would still be travelling with the two projectiles that have hit him There would have been very clear burned marks at the entrance wounds as well as gun powder particles These particles would have


55

indicated to use exactly how far the operator was at the time when he had shot Osama Bin Laden (Ras 2011 Van Schalkwyk 19963030307)

The flight path of the bullets that hit Osama Bin Laden The flight path of a bullet also known as the bullet trajectory will assist to better comprehend Osama Bin Ladenrsquos final moment If the operator was taller than Osama this means practically that he had shot downwards towards Osama and not upwards If he did shoot downrange then it means the trajectory of the bullet that has hit the left eye went through the left eye and through the front skull the brain and rear skull More precisely the bullet that hit the left eye had moved through the part of the brain that is called the medulla (responsible for breathing and circulation) and the cerebellum (which controls bodily balance) (Feldman 200880-83 Nietzel Bernstein amp Milich 1994421-429) This means Osama would have suffered severe breathing problems and would have been off balance (bodily balance) if he had survived this particular shot If the operator was of the same length of Bin Laden (he was about 18 meters plus) and the bullet went straight into the eye and through the brain then it would have passed through the pituitary gland (regulating endocrine glands) the lowest part of the hypothalamus (responsible for controlling basic biological needs like hunger thirst temperature) and the cerebellum (responsible for the control of bodily balance) In this case the bullet would have gone through the temporal lobe and the occipital lobe of the brain The temporal lobe has to do with hearing abilities and the occipital part with seeing abilities In practical terms if Osama had survived this shot he would have been severely impaired in terms of basic bodily functions like bodily balance and he probably would have been deaf and blind (Feldman 200880-83 Nietzel Bernstein amp Milich 1994422-423)

If the Navy Seal Team Six member was shorter than Osama Bin Laden and have shot him from a down-ward position meaning he was aiming upwards so that the bullet went through the left eye with an upward angle then it also would have went through the brain specifically through the thalamus (the relay center of the cortex that handles incoming and outgoing signals) the middle or upper parts of the corpus callosum (responsible for passing information between the two cerebral hemispheres) and the rear parts of the cerebral cortex (the so-called ldquonew brainrdquo) The bullet would have damaged what is known as Brocarsquos area (responsible for speech and language) that is part of the front lobe of the brain and part of the parietal lobe (responsible for somatosensory functions) Damage to the left side of the brain would have impacted upon Osamarsquos bodily functions on the right hand side of his body (Feldman 200880-83 Nietzel Bernstein amp Milich 1994421-429)

David Martin a CBS News National Security correspondent has been told that Osama was shot right above the left eye The bullet had opened his skull exposing the brain and also had blown out the eye (Talarico 2011) This information came to light on 4 May 2011 three days after the incident had occurred If this is correct then it means that the bullet that had hit Osama came from a downward-upward angle However only those who had been present in the room of


56

the compound and at the brief forensic autopsy afterwards will be able to supply more precise information

The precise position of Osamarsquos body when he was shot In reconstructing the precise scene in which Osama Bin Laden died it is important to know the exact position of his body When the shooting took place inside the room a piece of shrapnel or a piece of a bullet had hit the 12-year old daughter of Osama Safia in her left foot or ankle Her mother was also shot in the lower left leg in the calf of her left leg to be more precise (Sherwell 2011) How many shots were fired inside the room we do not know but the fact that the Osamarsquos wife was hit in the left calf (between 250 mm and 300 mm in length) and their daughter in the left ankle or foot indicates that the operator had deliberately fired very low in order to get Osama The researcher is of the opinion that the bullet or shrapnel that has hit Osamarsquos 29 year old wife Amal Ahmed Abdullah in the left calf of her leg is providing a possible answer We know that Osama was shielded by two women We also know that he was hit by two bullets - one hitting him above or in the left eye and another one hitting him in the breast There were no visible bullet marks in the bed or any splintering of wood that could have caused shrapnel according to the one photo that the author had seen The bullets that were used only break up and fragment the moment it enters the body of a person The picture of the bedroom reveals that a lot of blood was lying underneath the bed There was also a huge blood smear on the right hand side corner of the bed and there were some (less) blood on top of the bed and blankets on the same side of the bed The pool of blood under the bed must have been the blood of Osama while the smaller amount of blood on the right hand side of the bed and on top of the bed can rather be traced back to that of Amal The Seal Team Six members were tasked to get Osama and not his wife or children Osama was shielded by the two women and Safia was standing behind her mother When Osama run into the room he had panicked and run behind his two women for shelter ndash it was survival instinct He ducked to hide and was hiding very low almost sitting on his ankles with his buttocks almost touching the ground In Afrikaans we say ldquohy sit op sy hurkerdquo He was hiding behind her dress close to her left calf behind her knees and upper thighs but more to her left hand side peeping to the front to her left hand side From the perspective of the incoming Seal Team Six operator he could only see Osama peeping to his right hand side He opened fire and deliberately fired low to his right hand side (to Amalrsquos left hand side) so that she could move away to reveal Osama It was like a quick warning shot She was hit and Safia received a shrapnel in her left ankle or foot Almost at the same time both women who were holding one another at the shoulder were pulled away from the operatorsrsquo side to the left ndash this has exposed Osama Osama was starting to make himself


57

straight (Afrikaans ldquoHy was besig om op te staan op te komrdquo) when he was shot The operator who had shot Osama at that time was making use of the revised FBI crouch stance (Ras 2006274-275) and was bending his knees very low and shoot upwards hitting Osama in the left eye and then in the breast This particular shooting stance is not a military stance which means that the operator who had shot Osama Bin Laden was someone who had done some training with the FBI or the CIA He was probably a CIA-operative Bullet tumbling

To further comprehend the impact of the bullets on his body it is necessary to pay attention to Osamarsquos length and body weight Osama was 54 years old at the time of his death The one photo that was found in the compound pictured him as a rather old man with a long grey beard sitting under a thick brown jacket or blanket working the remote of a television set with his right hand In Afrikaans we would say that he was at this stage ldquorsquon ou krom manrdquo With a length of l93 meters his weight was probably between 72 to 80 kilograms nothing more

At the time of his death he was wearing probably only a t-shirt or night gown over the upper parts of his body - definitely not a bullet proof vest If one accepts the powerful hitting power of the M855A1 EPR round then it seems safe to say that the two bullets that had hit him in the left eye and breast at a muzzle velocity (speed) of between 900 and 980 meters a second would have done maximum damage like a lighting strike

In the researcherrsquos opinion Osama was shot at an extreme close range and as a result the bullets that had left the barrel of the firearm did not move straight to the target because the bullet did not yet stabilize in flight It has ldquokey holedrdquo that is it had hit his body and made a mark that looks like a key hole That is also the reason why the eye has ldquoexplodedrdquo and the skull was removed on top and parts of the upper left brain were spattered against the wall

Wounds that are caused by missiles with a high velocity and of higher mass without doubt produce greater tissue disruption then missiles of lower mass and velocity The immediate damaging effects of the bullet wounds were typical bleeding and hypovolemic or hydrostatic shock More kinetic energy is dropped into the target with military rifles and military rounds because the weapons and rounds are made to operate at much higher pressures which means greater velocities (speed) and greater tissue damage

The precise time of Osama Bin ladenrsquos death Operation Neptune Spear took 38 minutes The first 18 minutes were used to eliminate all resistance and the last 20 minutes to search for information in the compound (httpwwwglobalpostcomprint5671995) During the first 18 minutes five people including Osama Bin Laden were shot and killed The first person who had been shot when offering resistance with an AK-47 assault rifle was the personal courier of Osama Bin Laden Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti Also known as Arshad Khan or Mohammed Arshad he had fired at the commandos from a guesthouse inside the compound Both he and his wife were killed in this encounter His wife was killed by bullets that went through the door The third person who was shot was Al-Kuwaitirsquo brother Tariq Khan who was also a courier of Bin Laden Both of


58

them were Pashtuns coming Charsadda in North-West Frontier Province (httpenwikipediaorgwiki Osama_bin_Laden httplibrarymedutaheduWebPathTUTORIALGUNSGUNBLSThtml http enwikipediaorgwikiAbu_Ahmed_al-Kuwaiti) The fourth person that was shot was Khalid the son of Osama and the brother-in-law of the two Khan brothers Khalid was married to a sister of the Khanrsquos He was shot when he had blocked the entrance to the stairways going up to Osamarsquos room He was unarmed If everything was over during the first 18 minutes then it means that we are a little closer to the exact time of his death when we would say that he was killed between 01h15 and 01h17 It normally takes a minute or so for soldiers to ensure every resistance has been eliminated and there are no further possible threats before they start to look at their watches At this stage it seems safe to postulate that that Osama Bin Laden must have been killed at about seventeen minutes passed one in the morning The terminus a quo and the terminus ad quem were 01h15 and 01h18 The Seal Team Six leader had then passed on the news over the radio by using the words ldquoGERONIMO EKIArdquo The name ldquoGeronimordquo was a reference to Osama Bin Laden and ldquoEKIArdquo was an acronym for the words ldquoEnemy Killed In Actionrdquo (httpenwikipediaorgwikiOsama_Bin_Laden) Did Osama die like a coward The early morning raid must have been a huge surprise for Osama and it had caught him totally by surprise The noise of the two helicopters especially must have been deafening His body probably went into shock He became pale starting to sweat his heartbeat had increased dramatically and he had experienced a typical adrenaline rush He was gripped with fear that made him to panic and to go into a typical flight mode There is no doubt that he did not expect soldiers to enter into the compound The high walls around the compound the secret undisturbed life that he had lived the past five years in the compound the availability of weapons and ammunition close to him and his trust in Allah were all crumbling away during the start of the raid He was shaken he panicked and he started to run away If he was disciplined and thoroughly trained in military fire fighting movements he definitely would have first reached for his gun and then moved out to meet the enemy and fought back ndash but he did not The electronic media have portrayed him as someone who had hid behind two women during his final hour He was not fighting back and he did not die like a hero who was trying to make a last man stand In all probability he was in a crouching and hiding position The manner in which he died cannot serve as an example If there were heroes then it rather must be the women who tried to shield him and men of Navy Seal Team Six who went in to get him because both groups were willing to stand in the line of fire The words of Joe Bidden the Vice-


59

President of the United States of America that Osama died as a coward because he hid himself behind two women were later withdrawn by the White House and an apology was made Last remarks Osama and his men were outnumbered There were too many Americans with guns Osama and the people inside the compound also did not have the technology to prevent any attack What has made the Abbottabad mission a success was the people the technology and the political will Osama died because of a lack of information He did no die as hero He also did not die as a coward He just died because he was shot And with those two shots the Americans had ended the life chapter of Osama Bin Laden

Concluding remarks There were great jubilation and celebration all over the United States of America when it was announced by President Barack Obama that Osama Bin Laden had been killed Crowds spontaneously went to Ground Zero in New York and started to wave American flags and started to celebrate In the words of Obama ldquoI think we can all agree this is a good day for America Our country has kept its commitment to see that justice is done The world is safer It is a better place because of the death of Osama Bin Ladenrdquo (Wilson Whitlock amp Branigin 2011) While the dead body of Osama was taken to the US aircraft carrier Carl Vinsson and the 45-year old deceased was buried in the North Arabian Sea (Wilson Whitlock amp Branigin 2011) there are just another thirteen children left behind in Pakistan who do not understand international politics All they know and will remember is that they had a father who had loved them and now he is gone Forever And they donrsquot know why References

Allbritton C amp Boyle J 2011 Reuters release photos of 3 men killed in compound httpforumsislamicawakeningcomf18reuters-release-photos-3-men-killed-compound-45615 [Accessed on 3 August 2011]

Ambinder M 2011 The secret team that killed bin Laden May 3 2011 httpwwwmsnbcmsncomid42858824nsworld_news_death_of_osama_bin_ladentsecret_team_killed_bin_laden[Acces sed on 6 August 2011] DenelVektor 1998 LM 456 556 mm Rifle Ownerrsquos Manual Lyttelton Pretoria DenelVektor Du Preez G 1996a Criminal Investigation pp 1-11 Forensic Criminalistics

Editor J J Vander Westhuizen) 2nd edition 1st impression Johannesburg Heinemann

Du Preez G 1996b Serological Examinations pp 201-206 Forensic Criminalistics Editor J J Van der Westhuizen) 2nd edition 1st impression Johannesburg Heinemann Du Toit A 2004 Personal conversation wit Du Toit in October 2004 during an Instructorrsquos

Firearm Training Course Durban He is a former KZN-SAPS Head Ballistic Unit Fasihuddin E-mail received from Fasihuddin


60

Feldman R S 2008 Understanding Psychology Boston MA McGraw-Hill Higher Education Guerin O 2011 What was life like in the Bin Laden compound 9 May 2011 httpwwwbbccouknewsworld-south-asia-13266944 httpanswersgooglecomanswersthreadviewid=434113 [Accessed on 25 July 2011] httpenwikipediaorgwikiAbbottabad_District [Accessed on 9 August 2011] httpenwikipediaorgwikiAbu_Ahmed_al-Kuwaiti [Accessed on 3 August 2011] httpenwikipediaorgwikiBallistic_trauma [Accessed on 31 July 2011] httpenwikipediaorgwikiOsama_bin_Laden [Accessed on 23 May 2011] httpenwikipediaorgwiki556C39745mm_NATO [Accessed on 2 August 2011] httpenwikipediaorgwikiSpeed_of_sound [Accessed on 27 July 2011] httpenwikipediaorgwiki556C39745mm_NATO [Accessed on 2 August 2011] httplibrarymedutaheduWebPathTUTORIALGUNSGUNBLSThtml

Accessed on 28 July 2011] httpwfoltvindexphpoption=com_k2ampview=itemampid=13reports-bin-laden-killed-by- [Accessed on 18 June 2011] httpwwwglobalpostcomprint5671995 [Accessed on 5 August 2011] httpwwwibtimescomarticles14209520110506bin-laden-wife-amal_al-sadah-fifth-5th-

afghanistan-yemen-9-11htm [Accessed on 2 August 2011] httpwwwmilitarycomnewsarticleMay-2011new-army-ammo-puts-mean-in-greenh [Accessed on 2 August 2011] httpwwwmsnbcmsncomId42852700nsworld_news-death_of_bin_ladentus-forces- kill-osama-bin-laden-pakistan) [Accessed on 2 August 2011] Le Roux C J B 2003 Tapping Indigenous Knowledge on the World-Wide Web Indilinga African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems2(1)107-113 June 2003 Lowe C New Army Ammo Puts Mean in lsquoGreenrsquo Published on May 5 2011

httpwwwmilitarycomnewsarticleMay-2011new-army-ammo-puts-mean-in-greenhhellip [Accessed on 2 August 2011]

Moar J 1996 Forensic Pathology 117-126 Forensic Criminalistics Editor J J Van der Westhuizen 2nd edition 1st impression Johannesburg Heinemann Nietzel M T Bernstein D A amp Milich R 1994 Introduction to Clinical Psychology Englewood Cliffs New Jersey Prentice Hall Novum Testamentum Graece Ed XXVI 1979 The Greek New Testament Compilers K Aland M Black C M Martini B M Metzger amp A Wikgren Stuttgart Deutsche Bibelstiftung Orndorff C 2011 httpsigforumcomeveforumsatpcf320601935m3510081052 [Accessed on 30 July 2011] Osterburg J W amp Ward R H 1992 Criminal Investigation A method for reconstructing the past Cincinnati Ohio Anderson Publishing Company Prinsloo J 1996 The scene of the crime as a source of information pp 13-30 Forensic

Criminalistics Editor J Van der Westhuizen 2nd edition 1st impression Johannesburg Heinemann

Ras J M 2000 An Evaluation of the Logotherapeutic Techniques of Viktor FranklMasters dissertation (Psychology) KwaDlangezwa University of Zululand


61

Ras J M 2002 An Introduction to Physical Warfare (Combat)KwaDlangezwa University of Zululand Ras J M 2006 Body Guarding in a Private Security Context Vol 1 amp 2 Doctoral thesis KwaDlangezwa University of Zululand Ras JM 2010a The AK-47 A Brief Background Study Akriboos Articles Studies on Safety and Security Issues December 201025-34 KwaDlangezwa University of Zululand Ras JM 2010b Understanding the lsquopsychersquo of Al-Qaeda pp 55-71Akriboos Articles Studies

on Safety and Security Issues December 201055-71 KwaDlangezwa University of Zululand

Ras J M 2010c Understanding Al-Qaeda A Qualitative Approach Doctoral thesis KwaDlangezwa University of Zululand Ras J M 2010d Policing the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan Practical Remarks from

a South African Perspective Pakistan Journal of Criminology 2(1)107-122 January 2010 [httppakistanpakistansocietyofcriminologycom]

Ras J M 2010e Empower Pakistan Detonating The Minds of Pakistan Females Pakistan Journal of Criminology 2(2)21-32 April 2010 [httppakistansocietyofcriminologycom]

Ras J M 2011 The death of Osama Bin Laden A qualitative-investigative enquiry with specific reference to impact ballistics and NATOrsquos M855A1 EPR round Paper delivered at the Criminological and Victimological Society of Southern Africa (CRIMSA) on 28 September at the Innovation Centre Howard College University of KwaZulu-Natal

Sherwell P 2011 httpwwwtelegraphcouknewsworldnewsal-qaeda8500431osama- bin-laden-killed-Behind-the-scenes-of-the-deadly-riadhtml Published on May 7 20-11 [Accessed on 30 July 2011]

Svensson A amp Wendel O 1976 Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation 10th printing New York American Elsevier Publishing Company Talarico B 2011 President Barack Obama Wonrsquot Release Osama Bin Laden Death Photos May 4

httpwwwokmagazinecom201105president-barack-obama-wont-release-osama-bin-laden- death-photos [Accessed on 7 August 2011]

Tapper J Schrifrin N amp Hopper J 2011 httpabcnewsgocomPoliticsosama-bin-ladens- death-confirmed-al-qaedastoryid=13543148 Published May 6 2011 [Accessed on 29 July 2011]

Terril D 2011 httpwwwgunscomthe-gun-that-killed-osama-bin-ladenhtml [Accessed on 30 July 2011] Thompson M 2011 The Man who Got Bin Laden The Most Deadly Would-be Journalist in

the World May 4 2011 httpbattlelandblogstimecom20110504the-man-who-got-bin-laden-the-most-deadly-journalist-in-the-world [Accessed on 3 August 2011]

Van der Westhuizen J J 1996 Forensic Criminalistics Editor J J Van der Westhuizen 2nd edition 1st impression Johannesburg Heinemann Van Heerden T J 1995 Introduction to Police Science Latest edition Pretoria UNISA Van Schalkwyk A 1996 Examination of firearms toolmarks and prints pp 285-308 Forensic


62

Criminalistics Editor J Van der Westhuizen 2nd edition 1st impression Johannesburg Heinemann Wilson S Whitlock C amp Branigin W 2011 Osama bin Laden killed in US raid buried at sea

May 2 2011 httpwwwwashingtonpostcomnationalosama-bin-laden-killed-in-us-raid- buried-at- sea20110502AFxOyAZF_storyhtml [Accessed on 3 August 2011]

Woods J K 2010 Evolution of the M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round httpwwwarmymilArticle48657 [Accessed on 2 August 2011]


63

Who is God

Johan Ras




Abstract

Who is God A text-immanent and autho-etnographic approach are used to analyze the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the Novum Testament Graece in search for a meaningful answer to this important philosophical question The author points out that human beings can only speak about God in an anthropomorphic and anthropopathetic manner and concludes like the early church fathers that God from a Christian perspective is mia ousia treis hupostaseis or tres personaeuna substantia three persons one in essence More important God is also there for us because God is Emmanuel

Introduction

I am not a Jew or a Muslim a Buddhist or a Hindu (Anderson 1989) I do not worship the son or the moon the stars or I do not speak to three stones in the middle of a hut or to any ancestral spirits that must make some form of intersession for me to one or other unknown deity or higher being or spirit I do not slaughter goats or cows and do not put their horns on top of my house to indicate to visitors that I pay respect to my forefathers And whoever believes differently I accommodate them ndash because that is how we can maintain social order (Van Heerden 1995) In fact there is probably more truth in the saying ldquohellipreligions are bearers of messages from the past to the current situationshelliprdquo that what people may think (Brown 200913)

I am not a lounge-theologian (Afrikaans ldquositkamer-teoloogrdquo) who constantly try to philosophize and try to outthink God (Wright 2009) nor do I have a deistic thinking or one or other ethnocentric or racial perspective that tries to make God either black or white Nor do I share the feministic idea (Schuumlssler-Fiorenza 1994) that God is exclusively motherly or have a common chauvinistic belief that God is always favouring males I try to keep it simple I am a Christian (Neill 1982) So I like to stick to the Bible to the bread the water and the red wine (grape juice) I also like to think of the oil the miracles the angels heaven and everything that sounds too good to be true As a child I was raised and disciplined in the fear of the Lord so it is for me just normal to believe anything from the first ldquoekuqaleni uNkulunkulu wadala izulu nomhlabardquo (Ibayibhele Elingcwele20081)in Genesis 1 verse 1 to the last ldquoamenrdquo of Codex


64

Sinaїticus or Codex Aleph in the book of Revelation 22 verse 21 (Novum Testamentum Graece 1979680) However things are not always simple in life Life is complex at times and that includes our thinking about God (Heyns 197837-77) I mean who is God really When we speak about God where does our knowledge come from What are our view points what are our points of departure when we try to say who he or she is It is not easy And when we try to be scientific we really get into trouble because we simply cannot make an appointment and put God in a laboratory or under a microscope to analyze him like soil monsters crime objects (Van der Westhuizen 1996) or one or other botanical wonder or medical cure

Research approach My point of departure in trying to say who is God is the text of the Bible The approach is a text-immanent approach (Louw amp Nida 1987xvi Ras 1996) that is in the first place the text functions for me like a mirror in which I can see myself but in the second place although I do not emphasize this in this article it also functions as a window through which I can see ldquodeeperrdquo into the world of the text ldquothrough the textrdquo to the world ldquobehind the textrdquo (Combrink 1986) It starts with a synchronic approach and then moves over into a diachronic one (Kruger 1982) I also combine my own subjective experien-ces and engage with the text ndash an approach that some would be called an autho-ethnographic approach (Liebenberg 2010) It is when an author ldquohimselfrdquo (from the Greek word αυθος ndash ldquoauthosrdquo) gets invol-ved in order to bring more depth and a greater richness to the fore when it comes to descriptive-meaning It is actually part of the qualitative research approach a kind of engaged hermeneutics a type of Biblical ldquoaction-researchrdquo (Ras 200679-82 201067-70) Our knowledge about God Our knowledge about God is limited to our beliefs our traditions customs and simply our cognitive imagination While the Roman Catholic Church believes that traditions are the infallible measures of truth (Jonker 1984) and that what we know about God was handed over to us through the church traditions the Reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin had basically confessed that we can only know God through the Scriptures The words ldquoSola Scripturardquo ldquoonly (the) Scripturesrdquo are famous in Reformed circles (drsquoAssonville 198149) According to Matthew Jesus once said ldquoNo-one knows the Son except the Father and no-one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son choo-ses to reveal himrdquo (Matthew 1127) In other words if we want to know God (the Father) we first need to know Jesus because Jesus alone can reveal the Father (that is God) to us (Ras 2011) While the Muslims swear by the Holy Quran the Jews by the Tenak and the Buddhists by the Bhagavad-Gita (Anderson 1989) I was raised and trained think that the Bible is sufficient The Old and New Testaments consists of sixty six (66) canonical books Thirty nine (39) in the Old Testament and twenty seven (27) in the New Testament When one analyzes the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament then it is clear that all the references to God or about


65

God are presented by the people or authors in an anthropomorphic and anthropopathetic manner (Koumlnig 197573-137) Differently put it speaks in a human manner about God and describes God in human emotional terms (Eybers 1978)

Understanding the God of the bible The history of the Bible is also not something that can be separated from our own history but it is a history with a different kind of emphasis - it is kerygmatic history this means it is a history that wants to say something about God and Godrsquos dealings with human beings like ourselves in a historical world in our real world The word ldquokerygmaticrdquo comes from the Greek word κηρυσσειν (ldquokerrusseinrdquo) which means to ldquoproclaimrdquo To paraphrase - the history of the Bible is a proclamation about God but and this is important this history does not exclude the real life history of mankind and ourselves (Ras 2011) This is one reason why there is also Old Testament and New Testament archaeology We dig up the past in order to understand what has happened long time ago during ancient times (Postgate 1977 Unger 1980 Yamauchi 1979) But we do not stop there We also try to make those things that were meaning-ful in those days (De Vaux 1980) meaningful to us today ndash and that is a real challenge especially when it comes to God According to the Hebrew and Greek for example God speaks God laughs God smells God sees and God hears (Koumlnig 197574-75) People and prophets during ancient times have spoken about God in terms of their own experiences knowledge traditions philosophical ideas and beliefs They expressed themselves in different linguistic and cultural settings in different socio-religio and political circumstances In short even though modern-day readers constantly need to first follow a typical text-immanent approach in order to ldquodiscover Godrdquo in the Bible they actually have to go further and deeper and try to reconstruct the original Sitze im Leben (ldquooriginal settingsrdquo) of each textual reference about God This could assist each community especially those in church circles to follow and implement the explicatio-applicatio hermeneutical method of Bible interpretation (Robinson 1983) including interpreting God

Explicatio-application model of interpretation With the explicatio-applicatio model of Bible interpretation we mean that we first have to explain what a text meant in those days before we can apply its meaning to our present day situation The reason is simple there are different ldquogapsrdquo or distances between the people of ancient times and us to-day linguistic gaps cultural gaps socio-economic gaps political gaps and religious gaps Without con-sidering these ldquogapsrdquo we will seriously misinterpret the Bible and will do ldquoeisegesisrdquo ndash reading something into the Scriptures that is no there or even ldquoapogesisrdquo (from the Greeks word απο + εξεγεσθαι ) taking out what must be there For example if God said the Israelites must not eat pork (Leviticus 111-8) we cannot just say today Godrsquos people must not eat pork (Romans 1414-23 1 Corinthians 81-13 1025) We first have to find out what exactly He said to whom why at what time and for what reason In others words the typical ldquoWho what when where why howrdquo and ldquoso questionsrdquo need to be analyzed in the light of its time before we just can apply Godrsquos Word to our contemporary situation (Robinson 1983)


66

The same is true when we speak about God The God of the Old and New Testaments may be the same but those who speak of this God were children of their time Truths of those days are not necessarily truths today Advice commands suggestions instructions and all kinds of rituals that were norms and rules in those days need to be scrutinized assessed and be evaluated in a critical manner to see if it is still applicable to us today or not That is perhaps the main reason why it is not as easy to talk about God today Speaking about God today

The people of old could not ldquogooglerdquo God they also could not ldquoyahoordquo Jahwe or ldquoAlta Vistardquo Allah or Vishnu they also could not send e-mails or take a plane to see where they could find him although many people had climbed mountains to see if they could get closer to him (Ras 2011) The same with us We also cannot do that We can study about God we can go into a library and search books about Him We can go to different universal resource locators (URLs) and hit the keyboard to see how many hits come up about ldquoGodrdquo We can go to church and we can pray and we can study for academic degrees with grey-haired professors who are supposed to know and we can peruse the Scriptures for years but we cannot know God scientifically like in the objective sense of the word Why This is because He is God

He is too big for the microscope or the computer lab or for our so-called modern or post-modern minds He also does not fit into our business plans and in our human capital management systems or teams He is different Because in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (the Hebrew Bible) He is simply portrayed as ldquoElohimrdquo (God) not ldquoishrdquo (man) or ldquo isshahrdquo (woman) (Genesis 11-226-27) He has ldquomaderdquo (Hebrew ldquoashahrdquo) and ldquocreatedrdquo (Hebrew ldquobararsquordquo) them ndash thatrsquos why he is seen as different as superior He is not seen as a human being In the eyes of the Biblical authors He is simply God (in Hebrew ldquoElrdquo or ldquoElohardquo or ldquoElohimrdquo in Greek ldquoTheosrdquo ldquoKuriosrdquo)

I think He likes it outside - outside our boxes of cognitive thoughts and thinking Outside our cognitive constructs (Kelly 1963 Hjelle amp Ziegler 1992393-439 To be in the cold where we do not want to go or in the heat of the blistering son Outside there were there are suffering and human need That is where I believe we will mostly find him Not in a black suit and a white tie or in a beautiful robe but in an ove-rall with dirty hands in the minds of people and together with those who sweat and toil for their daily bread We find him in the eyes and ears and hands of those who are rolling up the sleeves to assist us in our daily challenges We find him in the smiles of the women in the power of the men who are laying bricks and connecting water pipes and electronic cables to create a better quality life for all of us We find God where we normally do not expect Him to be He likes to surprise us Why Because He is God Not the Deus Absconditus (the ldquohidden Godrdquo) but the Deus Revelatus (the ldquorevealed Godrdquo) (Berk-hof 197929) The problem is just that we do not always see Him ndash He needs to reveal Himself to us (Bavinck 198061-94) ndash and that happens through the proverbial praedicatio verbi Dei the ldquopreaching of the Word of Godrdquo (Romans 108-14 Ras 2011)


67

Who is God For me God is personal I know God because I know Jesus (Matthew 1127-30 John 112-13 31-21) I know Jesus because I know the Bible (John 831-32 2 Timothy 316-17) In the Bible I have met Jesus I have met Him Κατα Μαθθαιον ldquoaccording to Matthewrdquo through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 51-729) and when I have met Jesus He took me to the Father (Matthew 1127) That is how I have met God For me God is like an old Father figure I can go to him anytime day or night 247 He is always there He never sleeps He can manage time He always makes time for all of us He is the only One I know who knows how to properly manage time ndash He knows how to work the ldquotime-machinerdquo He is the eternal God Κατα lsquoΙωαννην according to John God was always there from the beginning εν αρχη ην ο λογος και ο λογος ην προς τον θεον και θεος ην ο λογος ldquoIn the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was Godrdquo (Novum Testamentum Grace - John 11) ndash a direct reference to the ldquoabsolute beginningrdquo mentioned in the Hebrew of Genesis 1 verse 1 ldquoberesjit bararsquo lsquoelohim lsquoet hasjsjamim wersquoet harsquoaretsrdquo (ldquoIn the beginning God created the heavens and the earthrdquo) Κατα lsquoΙωαννην according to John 1 verse 14 this Word (God) has ldquobecome fleshrdquo ndash that is God became a human being through Jesus In the Greek και ο λογος σαρξ εγενετο ldquoand the Word became fleshrdquo (John 114) John has added και εσκηνωσεν εν ημιν (Novum Testamentum Graece) ldquohellipand lived for a while among usrdquo (New International Version) Κατα Μαθθαιον according to Matthew this Jesus was Εμμανουηλ μεθrsquo ημων ο θεος ldquoEmmanuel God with usrdquo (Van Aarde 1994) Jesus God Emmanuel is always there to help and to pull me out of trouble and danger He never fails Sometimes I feel lonely and worried but He always will come and help me or comfort me or show me a way out He knows all the roads of life and all the dangers that lay ahead In my mind there is no way I can get lost or be caught unaware because He is there He is always there because He is God That is how I see Him Why do I speak personal about God Why do I speak personal about God Because I can and because I want to I mean who said we canrsquot What we know about God today is based mostly upon a simple subjective conglomerate of beliefs woven together in different forms of genres and narratives that make up the Bible The Bible consists of different stories with different genres handed down to us in different languages (Hebrew and Aramaic in the Old Testament and Koine Greek in the New Testament) with different dialectic influences and loanwords (like Latin) that through the years have exposed me to different worlds but also confronted me in a persuasive manner with the issues of those days with the issues of today and even the issues of tomorrow (Ras 1996) The Zulu Bible the English Bibles the Xhosa Bible the Afrikaans or the German French Portugese or Swahili Bibles for all that matters are just pointers reliable translation guides to the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament that had been compiled in an eclectic


68

manner by Hebrew and Greek linguistic scholars that wanted to make text critical copies of the Hebrew and Greek Old and New Testaments available in two different volumes for critical readersrsquo consumption (Fuller 1981 Hodges amp Farstad 1982) By doing this they had strive to make a very reliable Old Testament and New Testament that we can call a ldquobiblerdquo available for Bible translators who again can make ldquoGods word in human languagerdquo available to every one in his or her own mother tongue (Louw amp Nida 1988)

So when I am seeing God in the Bible and reading about God in the Bible I want to get personal because I am a human person I can feel I can touch I can laugh I can cry I can experience pain and I can make love just like you can and are supposed to do Why because that is the essence of being human but more that is also the essence of being God That is how He has made us and in essence that is how He wanted us to be ndash according to the Bible authors That is why the book of Genesis says in chapter one verse 26 ldquoLet us make man in our imagehelliprdquo Verse 27 adds ldquoSo God created man in his own imagehelliprdquo What this means is that man was created to represent God on earth We rule here because He wanted us to rule In Genesis one verse 26 He added ldquohellipand let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air over the livestock over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the groundhelliprdquo Verse 27 add ldquoin the image of God He created him male and female he created themhelliprdquo Now that I know that I am here to rule and to represent Him on earth does that mean that I cannot know who is God I donrsquot think so I believe we can know Even if it is just a tiny part of whom God really is God has revealed himself to us through Jesus his Son If I know Jesus I know Him (Matthew 1127 John 112-13) If I can use a metaphor If God is a cake and I have a piece of that cake then I certainly can say that I have the essence of God My piece of cake certainly comes from the heart of the cake and represents a true part of who He really is God and semantics When we speak about God we speak about semantics We always speak about Him as we understand Him in our language This is what the Bible authors did long time ago Hebrews one verse 1 and verse 2 say it very beautifully ldquoIn the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Sonhelliprdquo The people spoke about God but they had spoken in a human language about God that is they have said what they have said in an anthropomorphic manner (Koumlnig 1975) And when the did that they have spoken in terms of their own understanding and they also did that in their own vernacular or mother tongue that was steeped and embedded in their own cultures and socio-economic and political circumstances (Duvenhage sa) Let us just look what the Bible is saying about who is God remembering quite well that these sayings are just anthropomorphic sayings It is just sayings of people how they to say it in Carl Rogersrsquo terminology ldquo had perceived Godrdquo (Hjelle amp Ziegler 1992515) It was humans like us who have said things about God It lies outside the scope of this article to discuss the different names of God in the Old Testament and New Testament Suffice to say that my knowledge about God is based on what I have learned and studied through the years God reveals himself


69

in mysterious and at times in explicit ways but each time the different authors of the specific Bible book tells us something about God and his people or his enemies in a human language Our language about God is human (Eybers 1978)

According to the authors of Genesis God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 11-2) In the same chapter (Gen 1) the Bible says ldquoLet us make man in our imagehelliprdquo ldquoLet usrdquo is a plural form Here God is plural The famous ldquopluralis majestatisrdquo as scholars have tried to explain the Hebrew word ldquoelohimrdquo the word for God God (ldquopluralrdquo form) has said The New Testament authors have seen this (ldquoLet usrdquo) as a reference to God the same God who according to Genesis 1 verse 1 and 2 created the heavens and the earth while the Sprit of God was hovering over the waters The Father and the Holy Spirit were described as working together (Genesis 11-2)

When we look at John 1 verse 1 we see ldquoIn the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was Godrdquo In the textual context of John chapter one the word is Jesus the incarnate Christ (verse 14) The Bible is also saying that the Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son (John 11418 amp 1-30 ndash Grant 1990376-382) Jesus is seen as standing at the right hand side of God his Father (Acts233) The Father also sends the Holy Spirit The Father sends the Spirit (but also Jesus sends the Spirit- John 167) In John 2028 Thomas confessed Jesus as Lord and ldquomy Godrdquo Peter said that Ananias and Sapphira had lied to the Holy Spirit and then he said ldquohellip(that they) did not lie to the Holy Spirit but to Godrdquo (Acts 53-4)

That is why the Vulgate (Latin Bible) have added the well-known theological crux interpretum the so-called comma Johanneum (1 John 57) in verse 7 ldquoFor there are three that testify in heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Spirit and these three are onerdquo Although there are no convincing text-critical manuscripts that support this reading (verse 7) the contents of different canonical books are clear enough When seen in a holistic manner it is evident that the Bible teaches that the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit (ldquoall threerdquo) are ldquoperceived asrdquo or ldquoseen as Godrdquo but at the same time they are also seen as ldquoonerdquo Reference is especially made to the well-known ldquoShemah Jisraelrdquo in Deuteronomy 6 4 ldquoHear o Israel the Lord our God is onerdquo It is three in one and one in three It is like one tree with three branches Like the Afrikaans sweet dish ldquokoeksistersrdquo Three pieces of dough woven together and fried in hot oil ndash these are three pieces of distinct dough but these three different pieces are woven together to become one ndash the same can be said about God it is ldquothree in one and one in threerdquo

The early church fathers had established through the years and through fierce debate that Jesus is one in essence with God That is Jesus is ldquohomo ousiosrdquo (drsquoAssonville 1981 p 30) as stated at the Church Synod of Nicea in 325 AD Jesus is ldquoone withrdquo the Father (in Afrikaans ldquoeenswesensrdquo) not just ldquolike Himrdquo Not ldquohomoi ousiosrdquo that is ldquolooks likerdquo the Father but ldquohomo ousiosrdquo - drsquo Assonville 198131) ldquoHomo ousiosrdquo means Jesus is of the same essence of God that is He is God ldquoHomoi ousiosrdquo means ldquoHe is like God but He is not Godrdquo The early Church Synods later believed that Jesus and God are one and that they are also one with the Spirit of God (Praamsma 1979 drsquoAssonville 1981)


70

That is why the early Church Fathers who were nothing else but human beings could only confess what they had found in the Scriptures and that is that God is from a Christian perspective in Greek ldquo mia ousia treis hupostaseisrdquo or in Latin ldquotres personaeuna substantiardquo ldquothree persons one in essencerdquo The perceived interpretative fact was that God is ldquoone in essencerdquo but He reveals himself ldquoin as three personsrdquo as ldquoGod the Father God the Sonrdquo and ldquoGod the Holy Spiritrdquo The baptismal command in the name of the Triune God (Berkhof 1979 82-99) in Matthew 2819 was normally quoted to support the concept of the ldquoTriune Godrdquo ldquohellipbaptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirithelliprdquo (Ras 1998810-831)

So who is God So who is God Many Zulu ladies told me through the years that when they think of God they see Him as an old man a wise old man who listens and who cares One who can caress their hair and comfort them He is someone to whom they can go in times of need He sits on a throne high above the sky in heaven and from there He sees and rules everything because He has the whole world in his hands I like this description It is beautiful and rich in meaning I was asking my wife while I was typing and she was watching ldquoGenerationsrdquo on the television ldquoWho is Godrdquo and she immediately answered without hesitation ldquoHe is the One who has created the heavens and the earthrdquo I liked that answer I liked it because I cannot say with all my theological training that she is wrong What about you Who is God for you If you accept the Bible then it becomes simple and I think simply straight-forward You will discover God in the pages of the Bible You will see him in the beginning as the Creator then you will see him flying like a bird over the water as the Spirit of God then you will see him talking to Eve and the snake and then you will see him talking to Noah telling him to build the ark and you will see him for example commanding Moses to go back to Egypt to lead the Israelites out to the promised land Whatever you will see or think - He will be there waiting for you

I can quote scholarly Greek and Hebrew words even Aramaic and Latin ones that talk about God Like ldquoTheos Kurios pantokrator elohim (2570x ndash Ringgren 1979267) el (Cross 1979242-261) eloha Jahwe Adonairdquo and whatever you like but it all boils down to this when we talk about God then it is just our way our human way an anthropomorphic manner to speak about Him This is part of our general and even a specialist understanding about God God is not a paper God and we the assessors and modera-tors that assess and moderate him in order to see if He passes our expectations No he is God

According to different Bible stories that I have read the early prophets very often had said ldquoKoh lsquoamar Jahwerdquo ldquoThus speaks the Lordrdquo At times they also have said ldquoMassah davar Jahwerdquo which means ldquoThe burden of the word of the Lordrdquo These expressions were used to say to human beings who were listening ldquoPay attention Because God is speaking to yourdquo And the reason why they did this was simple As humans they believed that God spoke through human beings in human language to human beings What about you What do you believe


71

Conclusion Why did I choose a topic like this Is it because I am searching for meaning in my life or do I try to convert you or try to impress you I donrsquot know I just like it because I like God because I believe He is big and He is who He is ndash the ldquoI am that I amrdquo or in Hebrew ldquoehjeh ʹasjher lsquoehjehrdquo (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia 197789 - Ex 313-15 Bromiley 1988497) The Hebrew word ldquoElohimrdquo (God) occurs 2570 times in the Old Testament (Ringgren 1979272) and the Greek word ldquoTheosrdquo (God) 1318 times (Concordance to the New Testament Greek 1987815) These references from a text-immanent point of view are references that were made by humans Ordinary people who have just tried to say something about ldquoElohim chayyimrdquo the ldquoliving Godrdquo (2 Peter 119-21) To know the living God we have to approach Jesus because in Jesus God has become Emmanuel (Matthew 123 -Concordance to the New Testament Greek 1978610) Matthew one verse 23 is the only place in the whole Bible where it is said that Jesus is Emmanuel ldquoGod with usrdquo I remember the story of the Russian astronaut who had met the American astronaut in space with a smile He said that he did not see God in space while he was travelling The American then answered him ldquoMe too I also did not see him because He is too big I do not conclude my paper with an ldquoamenrdquo I just conclude it with the opening words of the first book of the Bible Genesis one verse 1 ldquoIn the beginning Godhelliprdquo I leave the rest to your imagination For me God is μια ουσια τρεις υποστασεις (Greek) ldquomia ousia treis hupostaseisrdquo or in Latin ldquotres personaeuna substantiardquo ldquothree persons one in essencerdquo But on a more personal note through the incarnate Jesus He is according to ivangeli ngokukamathewu ldquou-Emanuwelirdquo ldquoEmmanuelrdquo ldquouNkulunkulu unathirdquo ldquoGod with us) (Ibayibhele Elingcwele 20085 - Matthew 123) When I die I will die with the belief that I have internalized during my early childhood days in the Sunday school ldquoJesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me sorsquordquo References Anderson N 1989 Religions of the World Latest imprint London IVP Press Bavinck H 1980 Our Reasonable Faith A Survey of Christian DoctrineTranslated from the Dutch edition Magnalia Dei by H Zylstra Grand Rapids Michigan Baker Book House Berkhof L Systematic Theology Latest reprint Edinburgh The Banner of Truth Trust Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia 1977 The Hebrew Bible Stuttgart Deutsche Bibelstiftung Bromiley G W 1988 The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Vol 2 E-J Gen Ed G W Bromiley Grand Rapids Michigan WM B Eerdmans Brown D 2009 Religion and Spirituality in South Africa New Perspectives Pietermaritzburg KZN Press Combrink H J B 1986 Professor in New Testament at the University of Stellenbosch Combrink constantly has emphasized this approach The author was a student of Combrink from 1984 to 1996 Concordance to the New Testament According to Nestle-Aland the 26th edition and the Greek


72

New Testament 3rd edition 1987 Edited by the Institute for New Testament and Textual Research and the Computer Center of Muumlnster University with the collaboration of H Bachmann amp W A Slaby Berlin Walter de Gruyter

Cross F M 1979 Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament pp242-261 Edited by G J Botterweck amp H Ringgren Translator J T Wallis Vol 1 Revised edition Reprint Grand Rapids Michigan WM B Eerdmans drsquoAssonville V E 1981 Bakens vir die Dogmageskiedenis Potchefstroom Marnix De Vaux R 1980 Ancient Israel Its Life and Institutions 5th impression Translated by John McHugh London Darton Longman amp Todd Duvenhage Ssa Die Deacutekor van die Nuwe Testament lsquon Kultuur-Historiese Agtergrondstudie

Pretoria Interkerklike Uitgewerstrust Eybers I H 1978 Gods Woord in Mensetaal Deel III Die ontstaan inhoud en boodskap van

die ldquoGeskrifterdquo in die Hebreeuse Kaacutenon Durban Butterworths Fuller D O 1981 Which Bible Edited by D O Fuller 5th edition Reprinted Grand Rapids Michigan Grand Rapids International Publications Grant R M 1990 Encyclopedia of Early Christianity Editor E Ferguson New York Garland

Publishing Company Heyns J A 1978 Dogmatiek Pretoria NG Kerkboekhandel Hjelle L A amp Ziegler D J 1992 Personality Theories Basic Assumptions Research and Applications International edition New York McGraw-Hill Hodges Z C amp Farstad A L 1982 The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text Nashville Thomas Nelson Publishers Ibayibhele Elingcwele 2008 The Bible in Zulu Cape Town Bible Society of South Africa Jonker W J D 1984 Personal remarks of Professor Jonker Professor in Dogmatics at the University of Stellenbosch The researcher was a student of Jonker from 1984 to 1987 Kelly G 1963 A Theory of Personality The Psychology of Personal Constructs New York

Norton Koumlnig A 1975 Hier is Ek Pretoria N G Kerkboekhandel Kruger G Van Wyk 1982 Professor in Greek at the University of Stellenbosch The author was a student of Kruger from 1982 to 1986 studying New Testament (Koine) Greek Liebenberg I 2010 Liebenberg recently published an article in Acta Aacademica that was

making use of this approach He is Professor at the University of Stellenbosch at the Faculty of Military Science and has a strong background in theology philosophy and political science

Louw J P amp E Nida 1988 Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains

Vol 1 Introduction amp Domains New York United Bible Societies Novum Testamentum Graece 1979 The Greek New Testament of Nestle-Aland 26th edition

Compilers K Aland M Black C M Martini B M Metzger amp A Wikgren Stuttgart Deutsche Bibelstiftung

Neill S 1982 A History of Christian Missions Latest reprint London Penguin Books Postgate N 1977 The First Empires The Making of the PastOxford Elsevier Phaidon


73

Praamsma L 1979 De Kerk van all tijden Verkenningen in het landschap van de kerkgeschiedenis

Deel 1 Franeker Uitgeverij T Wever B V Ras J M 1996 Die Wederkoms van Christus in the Matteusevangelie Doktorale proefskrif Stellenbosch Universiteit van Stellenbosch Ras J M 1998 Matteus 2819-20 Enkele tekskritiese en eksegetiese opmerkinge aan die

hand van Nestle-Aland se 27e uitgawe van die Griekse Nuwe Testament pp 810-831 Hervormde Teologiese StudiesJaargang Volume 54 Aflewering Number 3 amp 4 September

November 1998 Ras J M 2006 Body guarding in a private security context Doctoral thesis KwaDlangezwa University of Zululand Ras J M 2010 Understanding Al-Qaeda A Qualitative Approach Doctoral thesis KwaDlangezwa University of Zululand Ringgren H 1979 Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament pp 267-284 Edited by G J Botterweck amp H Ringgren Translator J T Wallis Vol 1 Revised edition Reprint Grand

Rapids Michigan WM B Eerdmans Robinson H W 1983 Biblical Preaching The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages 8th printing Grand Rapids Michigan Baker Book House Schuumlssler-Fiorenza E 1994 Searching the Scriptures A Feminist CommentaryEdited by E Schuumlssler- Fiorenza Vol 2 London SCM Press Van Aarde A G 1994 God-with-us the dominant perspective in Matthewrsquos Story and other essays HTS Supplementum 5 (Series ed A G Van Aarde) Pretoria University of Pretoria (Faculty of Theology) ndash Section A) Van der Westhuizen J 1996 Forensic Criminalistics Latest edition Johannesburg Heinemann Van Heerden T J 1995 Introduction to Police Science Latest imprint Pretoria UNISA Wright R 2009 The Evolution of God New York Little Brown amp Company Yamauchi E 1979 Archaeology and the New Testament pp 645-669 The Expositorrsquos Bible

Commentary with the New International Version of the Holy BibleVol 1 Introductory articles General Editor F E Gaebelein London Pickering amp Inglis


74

Unequal official languages the case of South Africarsquos official languages

Themba Cromwell Moyo5

Head of the Department of General Linguistics


Email tcmoyopanuzuluacza

Abstract Arguments for bottom-up approaches in language planning and policy formulation are currently in vogue This article focuses on the South African language policy and argues that while it is one of the most progressive and enlightened in the world this is only theoretical In practice it has in the last seventeen years of democratic rule since 1994 failed to develop the nine indigenous African languages out of eleven official languages English and Afrikaans the two official languages in the apartheid era remain highly developed and command considerable prestige and are largely the de facto languages of power in the nine provinces In a way the language policy has thus far failed to develop indigenous African languages functionally and emancipate the very majority that it intended to emancipate linguistically Their languages are marginalised and this only illustrates the continued colonial legacy in the post-apartheid era and how the language issue has been politicised in post-apartheid South Africa A language policy is formulated essential to solve language problems whether in high or low functions Considering the countryrsquos past apartheid history which condemned the Black majority to mediocre education African languages are still circumscribed This means that the constitution has failed to solve imbalances where the majority who speak and interact in African languages in their day-to-day lives remain confined within a linguistic prison nationally as it were These languages are devalued compared to former official languages Afrikaans and English The conclusion argues that the biggest challenge for professionals politicians and interested parties is to assess and reformulate a language policy which would be appropriate where indigenous languages can relate to the market economy be functionally used in education government and public life at large to raise the citizens social life and social mobility not instead of English and Afrikaans but in addition to them Introduction Owing to the colonial legacy that has ushered in neo-colonialism in most African states it is common knowledge that language planning projects are characterised by top-down and

5 Themba Cromwell Moyo PhD is Professor and Head of the Department of General Linguistics University of Zululand


75

authoritarian approaches Ekkehard (2000) in Makoni and Makoni (forthcoming) observes that status planning is most often initiated from the top (government) rather than from below (speech communities at grassroots level) to cultivate specialised language that the majority use in African states in their day-to-day interaction It these languages that ought to be fully developed and used to access services and also be preserved as part of the communitiesrsquo heritage and culture The argument is that these have received pejorative perceptions from the ruling elite This small class of the ruling elite has stepped in the colonial mastersrsquo shoes This myth has continued to look down upon indigenous African languages as uncivilised In has overlooked underrated undermined and viewed indigenous African languages as retrogressive in many respects On the other hand ex-colonial languages enjoy enormous prestige and are hegemonic to indigenous African languages South Africa is the focus of this discussion where there are eleven official languages of unequal status Two of these English and Afrikaans are the de facto languages of power and are official in the countryrsquos nine provinces while the nine official indigenous languages are only official in their respective provinces Even in their provinces where the majority speak them ndash they are heavily devalued functionally in government courts documentation and particularly on the public broadcaster the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) where English has the lionrsquos share The notion of heritage defined Heritage embodies the arts buildings tradition and beliefs that a society considers important to its history and culture It becomes difficult to separate language and cultural activities which involve music literature and other art forms Language is therefore a central symbolic tool of a peoplersquos culture For centuries Africa has handed down songs poems narratives proverbs riddles and many other literary forms which ought to form its cultural heritage All these features which are largely expressed through language testify the craftsmanship of some of manrsquos finest compositions However the written word as a medium of communication ndash showing a written culture came to many parts of Africa via Europe as part of the colonial agent Unfortunately this has had the effect of undermining the African heritage ndash as languages were re-written as European scripts disfigured primarily to suit colonistsrsquo needs and wishes The ultimate effect is that the preservation of the African heritage has been sporadic if not non-existent owing to the blurred and distortion of indigenous African languages as central vehicles in expressing what is African and hence in the preservation of its heritage In Africarsquos effort to rediscover herself through this labyrinth after a delibating colonial experience as part of a soul-searching is the direction of ranascent energy toward the appreciation Africarsquos tradition particularly through the previously marginalised languages (PMLs) Sunkuli and Miruka (1990) A brief theoretical framework of the hegemony of English and Afrikaans


76

From colonial times languages policies were designed to serve interests of colonists Colonial administrators were only keen in local languages lsquoto contain fluid identities within colonial contexts so as to facilitate European rule by creating new linguistic and political identitiesrsquo (Brutt-Griffler 2006 in Ndhlovu 200759) The central idea was to develop languages which in the colonistsrsquo views were constructed versions of specific varieties of indigenous languages which epitomised a system and deliberate effort towards developing a lsquocommand over languagersquo which would eventually lead to a lsquolanguage of commandrsquo to suit their exploitative interests In British colonial world English remained the supreme language of dominance and in the case of South Africa it was the fight of the two for the supremacist languages (English and Afrikaans) The two languages were official languages of conquest and trade and also well-resourced while indigenous African languages were inferior and were relegated to tribal communities with the creation of Bantustan communities as a major dehumanising instruments in the apartheid era English and Afrikaans were fully developed as languages of academic excellence African indigenous languages on the other hand provided a mediocre and inferior education within the created Bantustans where the majority of Africans were viewed as lsquohewers of wood and drawers of watersrsquo according to Hendrik Verwoerd the architect of apartheid English and Afrikaans were poured lsquoconsiderable resources into the process and social motivation was secured by hitting the language to the socio-political bandwagon of Afrikaner Nationalismrsquo (Wright 200049) Through out most of post-colonial Africa development of PMLs have taken a secondary and rather lukewarm attention This has tended to be conditioned by two facts economic constraints and an absence of a strong will as well as social motivation on the part of governments and the emergent elite Afrikaans in particular to the social bandwagon of Afrikaner Nationalismrsquo after 1948 The ideological control through political machinery controlled the reigning government apparatus which gave these two languages political control of the entire country A dominant class merged This generated a dialogue between history of structures and the history of cultures (Gramsci 1971 Ndhlovu 2007) Through language political control English and Afrikaans became institutionalised or the two official languages and both were colonial Colonialism thus shaped and mediated languages ecologies in South Africa and Africa at large Unfortunately the post-apartheid ndash language policy which has emerged has done little if any to liberate the majority Blacks whose languages were marginalised in the apartheid era and this heritage has erroneously been passed on where ex-colonial languages are de facto languages of control and power as African indigenous languages are functionally devalued and therefore of unequal official status Tollefson (199112) has argued that hegemony may be achieved in two ways first through spontaneous consent of people to the direct social life imposed by dominant groups and second through apparatus of state coercive power which enforces discipline on members who do not consent to the dominant ideology In the case of South Africa the second stipulation by Tollefson (ibid) seems to have been more of the case ie through the state machinery in the creation of Bantustans which created an


77

inferior education where indigenous African languages were relegated through lsquocoercive powerrsquo of lsquoboxingrsquo languages The dialects of African languages that were invented and created were not known or spoken by the people These were colonial scripts which missionaries and colonists created Mwikisa (2004) has argued that there was a hodgepodge of such dialects which in essence were bastardised artificial creations Their elegance natural rhythm and local authenticity were fictitious for the intended speech communities In effect therefore they were products of missionaries and colonial administratorsrsquo efforts to develop their created standard forms which at times invariably tended to create more dialectal diversity and confusion among indigenous peoples and departed remarkably from the norm that was used by powerful linguistic groups locally Toward legitimacy to redress past linguistic imbalances and cultivate appropriate language rights Language planning and policy formulated needs to be re-considered and rest in the comfort zone of policy reformulation given the discussion above (Wright 200042) Following on Freirersquos (1972) Pedagogy of the Oppressed people must be aware of their oppression and challenge it particularly in the media and also to access sources through the use of their languages in national life This would demonstrate how democratic governance maybe fostered from initiatives from below when institutions academic and traditional authorities collaborate This would illustrate how complexities of notions of language or a language and heritage are conceptualised and what it means to preserve a language (Makoni and Makoni (forthcoming) A socially constructed nature of ethnicity and language ought to be stressed in formulating and implementing language planning and policy if it involves all groups This is because language is fundamentally the property of the individuals (Makoni and Pennycook 2007) The notion of citizensrsquo linguistic identify first before they clutch on to the notion of national languages or a national language and later on to a global language community languages should be developed first These are languages like isiZulu seSotho seTswana etc as markers of individual identify first before English as a homogenous global language Language development ought to be socially-inclusive Such a policy would have potential meaning for all citizens ndash hence the bottom-up approach as opposed to top-down approach which has thus far failed to take in the languages that people use in their day-to-day interactions There is therefore need to look at issues of grassroots community and specialised language cultivation if the formulated language policies are to be relevant to learners and users Kaplan and Baldauf (1997196) argue that most of traditional participants in language policy and planning have to come from hellip top-down language planning situations when people with power and authority make language-related decision for groups often with little or no consultation with ultimate language learner and users


78

The South African regime had habitually taken this view for granted where lsquolanguage cultivationrsquo to use Wrightrsquos (200072) terms were sidelined in favour of the more immediate tasks as Jernnud and Das Gupta (1975196) observed that the broader authorisation of planning is obtained from politicians and this is then legislated by set-up organization by the planning executives where these ideal processes a planning agency is charged with overall guidance The central concern is one of language cultivation for the majority which is all-inclusive to usher in a new dispensation and make this a reality What seems to matter to the ruling elite is to continue with the status quo and use the most powerful language in this case English for gate-keeping purposes and not be concerned about regional and local community languages Politiciansrsquo only concern seems to be to be returned to parliament through the poll There is however need to indigenise laws values beliefs of a diversified South African society which is multilingual and multicultural The question of equitable use of languages for most politicians seems a pastime to them Fishman (1972204) has argued that such a language policy has been lsquolittle employed by those who are ostensibly its guardiansrsquo as South African indigenous languages are much devalued and of little consequence functionally in official communication except in brief news broadcasters and some entertainment programmes only on the national broadcaster the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Indigenous African languages are largely on the periphery and not in the mainstream of languages of communication and programmes that are aired In other words they are only languages for communication with friends family members and at village level only What is desired then is that target groups are served by government structure which should address the eleven official languages (English and Afrikaans along with the nine indigenous African languages) equitably and where lsquono person shall be prevented from using the language of his or her preference at any timersquo (the South African Constitution 1996) As matters stand there is no indigenous African language that could ever be envisaged as a language of national communication English is the current de facto official language This is internationally and pragmatically understood but not by sociolinguistic determination nationally The ruling elite have enforced this language engineering so that the gap between the legislative force and the practical implementation remains elusive (Wright 2000) For the foreseeable future English seems the language of power A situation therefore of `further language coercion on the grand-scale hellip where language policy is more honoured in breach than in observance` (Wright 200047) Suggestion toward curbing Englishrsquos linguistic hegemony In order to preserve the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of South Africa Wright (2000) suggest that the government ought to vigorously and consistently inject financial resources to develop and thus allow the marginalised languages and cultures to come closer to ex-colonial


79

languages and cultures English and Afrikaans The priorities that he suggests need to be established in this way I to develop previously marginalised languages (PMLs) and cultures in the foundation

phase of the education system ii the development of literature publication and reading of PMLs and culture iii to capture and document oral history and indigenous knowledge systems and iv to develop the institutionalisation of PMLs for community medicine psychiatry and law The cited initiatives would go a long way only if there is government will to cultivate and preserve the diverse linguistic and cultural heritage of South Africa Unless there is vigorous cultivation of the itemised points language politics of the hegemony of English and thus the entire language planning exercise will fall into `disrepute or desuetude` (Wright 200048) In the past few years the government attempted to pull in financial resources and developed indigenous languages in the hope that these could someday see the light as instructional languages particularly in the foundation phase so that learners grow up with feelings of identifying learners and attain pride in their languages and cultures as markers of their identity In this way it set up Language Research Development Centres (LRDC) in each of the nine provinces These financial resources were suddenly discontinued in December 2009 One would ask the question would learners have the desire to seriously learn indigenous languages when they are not tied up to employment and have little value in the socio-economic and political life of the country Besides what does this indicate about the governmentrsquos will with regard to its attitude towards its own indigenous languages and cultures Additionally there has to be a strong element of social motivation to drive the cultivation process among the citizenry particularly for the government so that the youth and learners have a strong identity and respect for their indigenous languages and cultures Unless this is fostered and effectively done and injected into their thinking ndash with respective communities whatever government-initiated strategies are embarked on there is little else that could be achieved Awareness campaigns need to be mounted to develop PMLs which equally need to be backed by financial support for the directed community programmes These would encourage the development and practice of speech communities In this light the suggestion is to have i professional groups trade associations rural writers groups to develop budding writers

in local languages so that there is abundant reading of indigenous languages and thus establish a tradition of literature in these languages

ii actors and actresses in indigenous African languages with the mushrooming of more publishing initiatives in the form of publishing houses in indigenous languages to encourage reading circles so that there is active development of a reading culture At the moment a reading culture is dismal particularly in indigenous languages The youth hardly read established writers stories poems etc of their respective communities


80

iii oral history projects science awareness projects film and television iniatives etc (Wright 2000) The stipulated points require that there is a focused way where language centres need to be established and ensure that language planning provisionary is followed to the letter in order for language cultivation to take root Such ventures are not costly to develop if only the government has a strong will besides mere rhetoric gestures We only need to compare calculating the linguistic cultural and political cost to develop such iniatives to a country to attain a genuine diverse heritage South Africans would call this a laager mentality (ie the thinking and feeling that the great trek still lingers in post-apartheid era and that mother tongues are still inferior to Afrikaans and English)

Discussion The suggestions given above all point to appropriate language planning for an appropriate language policy and in particular a strong will on the part of the ruling government In all we would note that all the above have not been seriously followed up There has been under utilisation of the little publication that the Department of Arts and Culture published from grade 1-5 of indigenous languages terminologies dictionaries and textbooks for learners The result is the polarisation of a reading culture in indigenous African languages and English urban and the rural continuum There is need for this to have a strong and powerful social motivation among learners particularly to counteract the instrumental value that is attached to English which has all along been well-resourced through conquest and trade besides its technical elaboration and the promises that it pragmatically holds as the sought-for language of bread and butter However indigenous African languages too need to be fully developed tied to employment prospects in professions like medicine nursing revenue collectors to journalists ndash and all for there to the genuinely the development of all languages and cultures equitably The development of PMLs must be found in the stimulation of individualsrsquo own social motivation which would then be able to force the government elite to take them seriously This would hopefully secure the linguistic and cultural significance which would lead to a steady modernisation though preservation of South Africarsquos entire linguistic and cultural heritage In other words top-down language planning prescriptions need to mesh with linguistic and cultural energies within each community It is only then that we could claim that there is an equitable development of South African diverse society South Africa and the rest of African states generally seem to fall short of their own languages cultures history and identity They do not seem to have any philosophy or ideals of their own The central idea is that it should be a requirement that all languages of wider communication ought to be used at tertiary level This would not uneconomical Even in the days of the rise of Afrikaner Nationalism terminological development millions of rands were poured into the development of Afrikaans Pragmatically English would remain a global language for everyone


81

to think in it and operate in it What is desired is that there ought to be equitable development of all viable indigenous languages of wider communication while the language of higher order conceptually in disciplines like Physics Forestry Chemistry etc be a world language for communication There would be sufficient development where indigenous African languages would gradually move from Basic Communication Skills (BICS) towards higher levels of Cognitive Academic Proficiency Language Proficiency (CALP) Teachers would need to be fully au fait in the home language at conceptual levels as most texts are largely in English in content subjects as a language of instruction In early education learners would need to have a sound conceptual grounding in mother tongues Advocating mother tongue education (MT) at tertiary level would have the risk of marginalising the very majority rural people whose languages were maginalised in the apartheid days and further continue to weaken national cohesion in a global language In other words practical language cultivation measures are essential in terms of teacher training text-book provision teacher education and translation (Wright 2009 ) Conclusion This paper has briefly shown how language and politics of heritage continue to erroneously blur the picture of the language situation in South Africa albeit in the colonised world in Africa by and large It has questioned the powerful role of English its non-complentary role which is supposed to be understood and acquired by most indigenous Africans even when it is not a language of their day-to-day interaction and communication The pointer as we have noted is at the lingering of the continued colonial projects of linguistic domination and exclusion and post-colonial policies of ethno linguistic assimilation have played a pivotal role in shoring up the supremacist position of English in South Africa ndash and other African states where ex-colonial languages are held as supremacist languages of power (Ndhlovu 2007) While English undoubtedly remains the pragmatic language of bread and butter issues it seems this is a well-calculated colonial and post-colonial process of politicising the language question in hindsight The development of indigenous African languages should not be just because African economies suffer from a symptomatic dependency syndrome owing to the power of English We might go along with Diale Dioprsquos words in 1998 at an African Renaissance conference where he argued that to resort to African languages in institutional life is not only the condition for an efficient promotion of those languages but also for the rapid and massive development of literacy which could allow the widespread dissemination of basic education and the entrenchment of science to take place in Africa (199906) Rubagumya (1998) further adds that the biggest challenge that face professionals and in particular linguists is to advise politicians who are decision-makers o language policy issues that indigenous African languages equally need to be developed just like English and Afrikaans which are languages of academic excellence - in terms of media for instruction through-out the


82

educational system besides wielding socio-economic and political power There is thus need for there to be a relationship between language use education employment and he market value Indigenous African languages have to be equally developed not instead of English and Afrikaans but in addition to them References Brutt-Griffler J 2000 Language endangerment the Construction of Indigenous Languages and World English In M Puumltz JA Fishman and JA Aertselaer (eds) Along theRoutes to Power Explorations of Empowerment through Language Berlin and New York Mouton Gruyter35-54 Constitution of South Africa 1996 Crystal D 1997 English as a Global Language Cambridge Cambridge University Press Diop Diale 1998 Africa Mankindrsquos Future African Renaissance The New Struggle (ed) Malegapuru William MakgobaCape Town Matube Ekkehard W 2000Language and Society Bernd Heine and DerekNurse (eds) African Languages An Introduction298-347 Cambridge Cambridge University Press Fishman JANational Languages and Languages of wider Communication n Developing

Nations Languagein Socio-cultural change Essays by JoshuaFishman (edit) Anwar SD Stanford CA Stanford UniversityPress Gramsci A 1971Selection from Prison Notebooks London Lawrence and WishartJernnud B and Das Gupta J 1997Toward a Theory of

Language Planning Can Language be Planned Sociolinguistic Theory and Practice for Developing Nations (eds) J Rubin and B Jernnud

Kaplan RB and Richard Baldauf RB Jr 1997 Language Planning From Practice to Theory Clevedon Multilingual Matters Makoni SB andMakoni B (forthcoming) Language Planning from below the case of Tonga

in ZimbabweMakoni SB and Meinhof VH 2003 Introduction to Africa Applied Linguistics AILA Review Vol16 Amsterdam and PhiladelphiaJohn Benjamins 1-12

Moyo T 2008 Diglossic bilingualism and language rights in Malawi Implications for Education on national administrationMutasa D E and Ogutu E E (eds) Teaching andAdministering in African Languages A Roadmap toAfrican Renaissance Pretoria Simba Guru Publisher

Mwikisa P 2004 Achebe Contra Ngugi The languages of African Literature in the new millennium Paper presented at the Association forLiteratures and Languages (ATOLL) held at the University ofSwaziland 1-5 August

Ndhlovu F 2007 Historisizing the Socio-Politics of Shona Language Hegemony inZimbabwe Lwati A Journal of Contemporary Research Vol 4 55-74

Sankuli LO and Miruka SO 1990 A Dictionary of Oral Tradition Nairobi Heinneman


83

Tollefson J W 1991 Planning Language Planning Inequality London Longman

Wright L 200 From Planning to Practice implementing challenges of South Africarsquos Language Policy Plan Socially Responsible AppliedLinguistics Proceedings of the Southern Africa Applied Linguistics Association (SAALA) Conference Vol 2compiled by AJ Weideman 42-45

Wright L 2001 Intellectual challenges are as necessary as breathing Laurence Wright interviewed Brian Pierce English Academy Review 26 (1)May 72-86


84

The Integrated Management Plan (IMP) in protected areas of KZN community tourism

development

Cynthia Nokubonga Dube6



Email cndubegmailcom

Abstract

It has become a generally accepted principle by tourism writers (Rogerson amp Visser 2006 SSA 2010a 2010b) that tourism is the greatest generator of jobs and that for every eight tourists that visit a country one job is created It is estimated that communities are expecting to reap fruit from tourism activities in their areas In addition Wahab (2000 132) has argued that ldquoTourismrsquos contribution to the economic social political and environmental advancement of developing countries is contingent upon the able implementation of suitable scientific factorsrdquo The procedure associated with the IMP is one which could potentially make local communities benefit substantially from tourism which could improve the supply of local public services and infrastructural development (Murphy amp Murphy 2006)

This research paper explores the extent to which the [IMP] process can facilitate community involvement in the development of natural resources in KZN The basic objectives of the study were (a) To investigate the extent to which stakeholders are aware and understand the role of the IMP process in their area(b) To identify the type of IMP programmes that contributes to community development and benefits(c) To explore the degree to which the IMP have contributed to community-based tourism in and around the protected areas of KwaZulu-Natal(d) To examine the extent to which the outcomes and recommendations of the IMP process have been successfully implemented in the study areas

In the light of these overall study objectives this paper aims at presenting the conceptual framework the methodology and the preliminary findings emerging from the work done thus far The theoretical work referred to is by tourism authors such as DEAT (1996) Aaronson (2000) EKZNW (2006) Cooper et al (2008) Magi amp Nzama (2008) on tourism policies planning and management of resources

6 Cynthia Nokubonga Dube is a Lecturer in the Department of Recreation and Tourism University of Zululand


85

The methodology of this study is sub-divided into the research sample instrumentation collection and analysis of data The investigated areas and sample allocated are total sample of 350 respondents distributed in the three core areas the Ndumo Game-Park (114) Isimangaliso Wetland Park (116) and Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game-Park (120) respondents The collection and analysis of data in these areas is presently ongoing and some of the preliminary findings of the study should be available at the time of presentation of this paper at the forthcoming conference

Key Words Biodiversity Conservation Community Tourism Protected Areas Tourism Resources Community Benefits

Introduction The tourism White Paper (DEAT 1996) has suggested that a positive impact of tourism on the environment could only be achieved if there were adequate training opportunities for previously disadvantaged communities [PDCs] of the South African and KwaZulu-Natal in particular but the greatest setback in the tourism service delivery system and options for the sustainability of natural resources in protected areas is the absence of adequate education training and awareness opportunities for the local communities Hall (2000) has argued that when governments adopt policies they are selecting from different sets of values which can have a direct impact on the form of tourism that is developed In other words the political ideology of a government can determine whether that government favours the large operations on natural or protected areas

This study looks at the integrated management plan [imp] in protected areas of KZN It looks at how the IMP can sustainably conserve resources and how communities can benefit in various ways The principle of integrated management plan [IMP] in its broadest sense could be seen in some areas as having the potential to enhance the development of local economies In this regard the integrated management planning process could enhance conservation biodiversity and the sustainability of natural resources as well as improve the quality of life of people to be found adjacent to protected areas of KwaZulu-Natal It is necessary and important to emphasise the involvement of local communities in the tourism planning process Lew et al (2004) state that a rapid growth rate together with uncontrolled development has been identified as a reason for negative host community attitudes towards tourism and related resources This paper therefore highlights the role of the IMP in involving all the stakeholders in the planning and management of protected areas in a manner that is beneficial to all

Background

The integrated management planning technique is a recent approach in tourism as it dates back to 2003 According to the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) 57 of 2003 the integrated management plan describes the administration and legal framework contextual background and public participation process followed and management policy framework within which all other planning components are developed The above-mentionedact is a directive from the national government of South Africa and it emphasises the involvement of


86

the public in the planning process Davids et al (2005) states that public participation is the empowerment of people to effectively involve themselves in creating the structures and in designing policies and programmes that serve the interests of all as well as to effectively contribute to the development process and share equitably in its benefits It is really saddening to note that local communities are in most cases not involved in decision-making but the resources are their heritage and such resources are not meant to benefit a few individuals and so locals must be involved fully in decision-making Integrated management plans are valuable particularly where multiple land uses are involved and many issues need to be resolved It is clear that integrated management plans are a prerequisite for the management of protected areas and for the involvement of all the stakeholders in the process The value of integrated management planning process is well recognised by the well-informed authorities and much less by the up-and-coming and inexperienced officials This research study was inspired by the need to sustainably develop all tourism facilities in most tourist destinations located in protected areas of KwaZulu-Natal


The principle of integrated management plan [IMP] in its broadest sense could be seen in some areas as having the potential to enhance the development of local economies In this regard the integrated management planning process could enhance conservation biodiversity and the sustainability of natural resources as well as improve the quality of life of people to be found adjacent to protected areas of KwaZulu-Natal It is therefore of utmost importance to establish the possible relationship between ecotourism development and the impact tourism could have on local areas with diversity of resources (Odendal amp Schoeman 1990)

Community tourism and development

According to Manwa (2009 84) community-based tourism approaches have involved the following benefits and conditions

(i)People can benefit from tourism and participate in tourism planning(ii) People can benefit from tourism on their land and conserve wildlife and natural resources (iii)People will be encouraged to develop tourism enterprises(iv)Development on communal land must be acceptable to the people living there (v) Established tourism businesses are encouraged to work with people in communal areas(vi) Tourism development will work hand-in-hand with conservation of the environment

The above-cited benefits or pre-conditions of tourism development assuming a community tourism approach suggest that the communities next to the natural environment would be rewarded through direct participation in decision-making and several other activities

According to Page (2005) the role of the government is to provide infrastructure such as roads and water as well as policies that foster community tourism beneficiation For tourism to thrive the ideal conditions which need to be attended to include political stability security well-defined legal framework and essential services On planning and government


87

The IMP related Model

For purposes of this study a model is conceived as a phenomena or idea representing reality In other words the world of perceived reality is a product of the organisation of perceptions according to some previously learned pattern (Theodorson amp Theodorson 1970) Scientists have been known to consciously attempt to discover and clarify the existence of order in the natural environment by relating observations and data by analogy to previously developed patterns of relationships already in use for observing and ordering other types of data (Theodorson amp Theodorson 1970) The key dimension of modelling policy and planning presents a scenario wherein managers are able to implement the spirit and intent of designed policies in relation to what has been called the integrated management planning process The model in figure 1 explains the relationship between the natural resources industry policy and the community

FIGURE 1 THE IMP RELATED MODEL

What is evident from the model is that the community plays a central role in the success of the relationship between the natural resource local industry and the existing policy governing the sustainable management of the natural facility In this relationship some of the variables that need to be monitored or catered for in the process are (a) The value of the habitat which


88

includes vegetation conservation status gap analysis rarity of resource and land cover (b) The sensitivity of the landscape which includes slope water bodies clay soil depth and vegetation vulnerability According to Holden (2008) the greatest need for the environmental planning and management of tourism is for the government the NGOs local communities and the private sector to direct more interest in the management of the environment

Holden (2008) further states that through the passing of legislation and use of fiscal control governments have potentially a wide range of powers that they can exert upon tourism development with the aim of mitigating negative environmental impacts

Land-Use Planning Methods

Holden (2008) highlights the fact that the pressure that can be placed on destinations and protected areas from tourism makes its planning and management of utmost importance both for conservation of natural and cultural resources and for the securing of the benefits of tourism into the future A range of planning and management techniques that are available to control any negative consequences of tourism upon the natural environment include

bull Zoning - Williams (1998) contends that spatial zoning is an established land management strategy that aims to integrate tourism into environments by defining areas of land that have differing suitabilities or capacities for tourism

bull Carrying Capacity Analysis It refers to the maximum use of any site without causing negative effects on the resources reducing visitor satisfaction or exerting adverse impact upon the society economy and culture of the area

Sustainable Tourism Development

Authors such as Lickorish amp Jenkins (1997) have begun to recognise that tourism is now generally recognised as a leading global economic activity Further that tourism cuts across economic cultural and environmental issues particularly where the community is concerned It is also in the book of Lickorish amp Jenkins (1997) where the issues of definition of tourism the history of tourism tourism research and the philosophical basis of tourism are dealt with in the context of sustainable tourism development Tourism statistics survey methods policy development the social and cultural impact of the tourism trade as well as the role of government in tourism planning and policy making are also dealt with Supposedly some of these factors would play an important role in the structuring of the integrated management planning process

Similarly Faulkner et al (2000) have debated various issues on sustainable cultural and heritage tourism These issues range from cultural tourism types such as eco-tourism which is nature-based tourism the role of transport the development of tourist attractions qualitative tourism research sustainable tourism and many others Their book relates to this study in that it outlines the interrelated issues that inform the tourism development practice and the culture


89

of the host community Contributors such as Mascardo (2000) on cultural and heritage tourism Pigram amp Wahab (2000) on sustainable tourism Var (2000) on nature-based tourism and Vukonic (2000) on the growth of tourism destinations have all cut an image that makes a valuable contribution to tourism for the future mainly the 21st Century Each topic put forward by these authors fills its own space in as far as the broad field of ecotourism is concerned and more specifically as it relates to areas in protected environments

Regarding the subject matter of tourism development and growth Wahab amp Pigram (2000) have introduced a topic that is critical to this research investigation The concept of sustainable tourism is treated through various case studies and tourism development models Challenges are highlighted and solutions suggested by various contributing authors on sustainable tourism The most relevant article is that by Wall (2000) and addresses relevant matters such as sustainable tourism policy cultural and landscape tourism and mass tourism to name but a few This book relates to this study because of its focus on tourism development planning and management in the context of policy-making authorities

Objectives of the problemStudy

As was indicated earlier this paper discusses the extent to which the [IMP] process can facilitate community involvement and service delivery in the development of natural resources in KZN In the introduction of this study the question of policies planning and management was referred to with a view of placing into context the role that local communities are supposed to play in the development of tourism initiatives within the KwaZulu-Natal protected areas it is important and necessary to outline the purposes and objectives of this research study The core objectives of the study are given below

(a) To investigate the extent to which stakeholders are aware and understand the role of the IMP process in their area (b) To identify the type of IMP programmes that contributes to community development and benefits (c) To explore the degree to which the IMP have contributed to community-based tourism in and around the protected areas of KwaZulu-Natal (d) To examine the extent to which the outcomes and recommendations of the IMP process have been successfully implemented in the study areas Objectives which are set for the study assisted in accomplishing the main goals of the study (Magi 2009) In addition these objectives assisted the researcher to keep focus on the problem under investigation

Delimitation

This particular study focuses on the role of Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife a provincial conservation management agency in managing the natural resources for the benefit of all concerned From this statement it is clear that the study is delimited to the province of KwaZulu-Natal This section is subdivided into two spatial delimitation and conceptual delimitation


90

Spatial Delimitation

Geographically speaking the study focuses on three conservation areas found in KwaZulu-Natal These three areas can be regarded as the case study area and are widely distributed in the province that is one in the interior part of KwaZulu-Natal called Ndumo Game Reserve The second is located along the coast in the Northern part of the province and is called iSimangaliso Wetland Park finally the one located in the interior northern part of the province is the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Park [httpwwwsouthafricainfostluciahtm (2008)]

Conceptual Delimitation

It has been decided to conceptually scrutinise some of the concepts in order to delimit the scope meaning and perspective of their use in the study Some of these concepts include minimizing the diverse meaning of terms such as local municipality and the stakeholders [which was used synonymously with the term lsquorespondentrsquo]

Methodology

In order to establish the involvement of communities in the development of the IMPs with a view to identifying practices that develop and benefit communities this paper discusses the outcomes of empirical findings from three study areas which are Ndumo Game Reserve Hluhluwe imfolozi Park and iSimangaliso Wetland Park All the three mentioned areas are some of the protected areas of northern KwaZulu-Natal In these areas biodiversity conservation is practiced and these areas provide both international and domestic tourists with nature- based tourism All the study areas have high levels of unemployment and poverty and have no choice but to improve processes of tourism development and delivery through the Integrated Management Planning

Sampling and sample size

Stratified random sampling was adopted Three protected areas were targeted The following stakeholders were included Tourism and conservation officials Service providers Business Operators Tourists and Local communitiesamp EKZNW 42 A sample size was 350 people was selected distributed as follows Ndumo Game Reserve= 114 iSimangaliso =120 amp Hluhluwe-iMfolozi= 116

Instrumentation

Both the English and IsiZulu questionnaires were distributed to the local communities Electronic questionnaires were administered to tourism and conservation officials Person to person interviews were conducted with departmental officials Both close-ended amp open- ended questions were used Semantic differentiation amp Likert scale were used in designing the questionnaire


91

Collection of Data

In collecting data both the interviews as well as questionnaires were used as it was stated above that the study includes both a qualitative as well as a quantitative approaches

Interviews

As for this study interviews were used as a follow up to a questionnaire so as to explore in more depth issues that emerged from the standard questionnaire Semi- structured interviews were conducted whereby the researcher decided in advance what broad topics were to be covered and what main questions were to be asked

Questionnaire

The questionnaire was the main instrument used to collect data [Refer to Appendix A] Structured questionnaires were directed to the relevant stakeholders who included Tourism and Conservation Officials Service Providers Tourists Business Operators and the Local Community

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Even though the study is still in progress a statistical procedure called SPSS will be used to analyse data Data will be converted into Frequency percentages tables Bar amp Pie graphs will be used to represent the findings of the study

Preliminary findings and challenges

The researcher noted that all study areas do have IMPs One of the aims of this study was to find if the community is aware and understand the IMP process however it is apparent that the community is not aware that some of the projects initiated in their areas are a result of the IMP for example there is a Nselweni camp inside Hluhluwe- iMfolozi Park which is owned by the community and there are a number of lodges around Ndumo game reserve which are a community levy

Even though the final analysis and interpretation have not been done the work done on the study so far indicates that

The community is not aware of and does not understand the IMP process

Only a small percentage of the community represents the community and the information is not well communicated to the rest of the community thereafter

There are programmes that contribute to community development and benefits in the study area

Challenges relate mainly to data collection within protected areas in that the application process is long and officials are not easy to find for interviewing process


92

Conclusion

This paper has attempted to present how the Stakeholders perceive the usage of the IMP as a tool for community service delivery in KZN protected areas The researcher hopes that the results of this study will yield positive contributions towards community tourism development in the study area The researcher also fears that if policy-makers fail to deliver services there will be no sustainability of tourism resources as the communities will engage in strikes and destroy the very same resources they are supposed to protect

References

Aaronson L 2000 The Development of Sustainable Tourism London Continuum Press

Magi LM 2009a Statistical and Field Research in the Recreation Tourism and Spatial Sciences -ManuscriptUnpublished Manuscript for the Department of Recreation and Tourism KwaDlangezwa University of Zululand

Davids I Theron F amp Maphunye K J 2005Participatory development in South Africa

- A development management perspective Pretoria Van Schaik Publishers

Faulkener B Laws E amp Moscardo G (2000) Embracing and Managing Change in Tourism London Cromwell Press

Hall CM 2000 Tourism Planning Policies Processes and Relationships Harlow Pearson Education Limited

Holden A 2008Environment and Tourism London Routledge Publishers

Lew A A Hall CM amp Williams AM 2004A Companion to Tourism Brisbane Blackwell Publishing


Lickorish LJ amp Jenkins CL (2000) An introduction to tourism Oxford Butterworth ndashHeinemann

Magi LM amp Nzama AT 2008 Interplay of Nature and Heritage for Communities Around the Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg World Heritage ParkJournal of Tourism and Hospitality 6 (2) 13-30

Mascardo G 2000 Cultural and Heritage Tourism Great Debates InFaulkner B Moscardo G amp Laws E 2000 Tourism in the 21st Century Lessons from Experience New York Continuum Publishers

Odendal A amp Schoeman G 1990Tourism and Rural Development in MaputalandA case study of the Kosi bay area Vol7 (2) 194-205


93

Page S J 2005 Tourism Management London Elsevier Publishers

Pigram J J amp Wahab S 2000 Sustainable Tourism in a Changing World In Wahab S amp Pigram JJ 2000 Tourism Development and Growth The Challenge of Sustainability New York Routledge

Rogerson CM amp Visser G 2004 Tourism and Development Issues in Contemporary South Africa Pretoria Africa Institute of South Africa

Theodorson GA amp Theodorson AG 1970 A modern dictionary of sociology New York Thomas Y Cromwell Company

Var T 2000 Nature Tourism Development Private Propert and Public Use In Wahab S amp Pigram JJ [eds] 2000 Tourism Development and Growth The Challenge of Sustainability 129-146 London Routledge

Vukonic B 2000 Selective Tourism Growth Targeted Tourism Destinations In Wahab S amp Pigram JJ [eds] 2000 Tourism Development and Growth The Challenge of Sustainability 129-146 London Routledge

Wahab S amp Pigram JJ 2000 Tourism Development and Growth The Challenge of Sustainability London Routledge


Wall G 2000 Sustainable Tourism and Unsustainable Development In Wahab S amp Pigram JJ [eds] 2000 Tourism Development and Growth The Challenge of Sustainability 129-146 London Routledge

Williams S 1998 Tourism Geography London Routledge Publishers


94

Indigenous ldquoUnderutilizedrdquo green leafy vegetables A review

Nomahlubi Makunga7

Faculty of Arts


Email nvmakungapanuzuluacza

Abstract

The awareness of indigenous or traditional vegetable is not very high In South Africa these ldquounderutilizedrdquo or ldquoneglectedrdquo crops are many A few years ago people harvested leafy vegetables ndash which are often called wild spinaches or imifino in IsiZulu ndash from the wild as part of their diet Due to their nutritional and medicinal value as well as a source of food security during times of drought and poor harvest indigenous leafy vegetables are highly recommended The purpose of this research is firstly to encourage an appreciation of some ldquounderutilizedrdquo or ldquoneglectedrdquo leafy vegetables found in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa and secondly to work on these species to start redressing their status of neglect as they are essential to the livelihoods of people

Keywords Indigenous leafy vegetables ldquounderutilizedrdquo or neglected crops

Introduction

Several geographical areas of South Africa experience food shortages due to economic constraints Statistics South Africa (2000) acknowledges that millions of South Africans are vulnerable to food insecurity ndash women children and the elderly being particularly vulnerable

In the past availability of indigenous vegetables which are commonly referred to as ldquounderutilizedrdquo or ldquoneglectedrdquo crops contributed to security of food supply and helped to safeguard peoplersquos livelihoods Odhav Beekrum Akula and Baijnath (2007) agree that decline in the use of indigenous vegetables by rural communities has resulted in poor diets and nutritional deficiency

Two issues we often witness mostly in far-flung rural areas where livelihood opportunities are scarce and nutrition advocacy programmes fail to reach are poverty and malnutrition Yet indigenous ldquounderutilizedrdquo vegetables are accessible and often ignored Younger generations also are ignorant about the existence of these nutritional rich plants Knowledge of indigenous plant use needs investigation and documentation before it is lost to future generations This presentation describes useful information about ldquoimbuyardquo (Amaranthus) a traditional underutilized leafy vegetable

7 Nomahlubi Makunga DPhil is Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts University of Zululand


95

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study was to collect and disseminate critical information about ldquoneglectedrdquo leafy vegetables in an attempt to redress their neglect status

Method

Design

A non-experimental design was used to obtain the data for the study Literature search was chosen as an appropriate approach for the study The search was manual thus not exhaustive

Materials

Data took many forms which included formal academic journal articles books magazines and newspaper articles This method of document study seemed appropriate as it was relatively more affordable than a comprehensive survey and also because the content of the documents was not affected by the activities of the researcher (Strydom amp Delport 2007) The authenticity validity and reliability of the documents studied were evaluated by the researcher in order to minimize memory lapses and inaccuracies

The researcher strictly observed that original data were of relatively recent origin for it to be useful for further analysis Contents of the original material were not modified in any way

Imbuya An Indigenous ldquoUnderutilizedrdquo Crop

Description

Imbuya is a traditional green leafy vegetable According to Jana (httpwwwpubhortorgactahortbooks752752_107htm) traditional leafy vegetables are those leaves or aerial parts have been integrated in a communityrsquos culture for use as food over a long span of time Imbuya grows as a common weed in fields but it is usually neglected because of lack of complete knowledge about this green leafy vegetable Imbuya is a traditional food plant in Africa and has the potential to improve nutrition boost food security foster rural development and support sustainable landcare (Odhav et al 2007) Like most traditional leafy vegetables imbuya which does not require any formal cultivation is resilient adaptive and tolerates adverse climatic conditions (Raghuvanshi 2001)

Nutritional Value

Imbuya emerges as a most economical and nutritious food It is declared as healthy food owing to its health benefits Imbuya occupies an important place among food crops as it provides adequate amounts of


96

(i) Vitamins including Vitamin A Vitamin K Vitamin B6 Vitamin C riboflavin and folate and

(ii) Dietary minerals including calcium iron magnesium phosphorus potassium zinc copper and manganese (Nnamani Oselebe amp Agbatutu 2009) Because of its valuable nutrition some farmers grow amaranthus or imbuya today

(iii) Proteins As noted by George (2003) proteins in these green leafy vegetables are superior to those found in fruits although inferior to those found in grains and legumes

Medicinal Value

Withstanding its food value amaranthus does serve as a source of medicines Several studies (Czerwinski Bartnikowska Leontowicz et al 2004 Gonor Pogozheva Derbeneva Mal ldquotsev Glu Trushina amp Mustafino (2006) Martirosyan Miroshnichenko KulaKova Pogojeva amp Zoloedo (2007) have shown that amaranthus may be of benefit for those with hypertension and cardiovascular disease Indications are that regular consumption reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels while improving antioxidant status and some immune parameters Noteworthy is that amaranthus lowers cholesterol via its content of plant stanols and squalene George (2003) explains that the potassium content of these green leafy vegetables is good in the control of diuretic and hypertensive complications because it lowers arterial blood pressure Like most other green leafy vegetables amaranthus is rich in dietary fibre which prevents constipation (Noonan 1999)

Although the focus of this presentation is on imbuya it may be beneficial to point out that other edible wild growing leaves identified in a study undertaken in rural areas of Hlabisa Mahlabathini Port Dunford Ingwavuma and Ubombo are

Other edible wild growing leaves

Uqadolo ndash Bidens bipinnata L

Umsobo ndash Salanum americanum Mill

Cucuza ndash Bidens pilosa L

Imbati ndash Urtica Urens L

Impuzi ndash Pumpkin Leaves

ImbiliKicane ndash Chenopodium album L

Isihlalakahle

Isiqanga

Igusha


97

Isheke

Imbobela

Discussion

Unacceptable high rates of micronutrient malnutrition persist today Iron deficiency for instance affects numerous people particularly women and children in developing countries Again Vitamin A deficiency is the major cause of preventable visual impairment and blindness These deficiencies affect resource poor rural communities (Statistics South Africa 2000) Consumption of indigenous green leafy vegetables such as imbuya can be the most sustainable way of reducing and controlling micronutrient deficiencies in resource poor communities

Imbuya as an indigenous vegetable may be at risk of extinction as it is replaced by high-yielding commercial varieties Once it is lost it will never be recovered Yet improving its production and consumption can be the most low-cost way for many rural and urban poor

Many ldquounderutilizedrdquo crops are used by the poor and are not high priorities for national governments and people working on these plants feel isolated

Conclusion

The importance of traditional green leafy vegetable crops in the survival strategies of people have not been adequately recognized by researchers policy and decision makers technology providers and consumers in South Africa Venter van Rensburg Vorster van den Heever and van Zyl (2007) agree that in South Africa the awareness of traditional vegetables is not very high Pandey (2008) also supports this notion There is a clear need to help promote and publicise work on underutilized crops for the benefit of our communities This paper attempts to contribute to knowledge of the nutritional properties of imbuya and other indigenous green leafy vegetables which have been only partially documented to date

References

Czerwinski J Bartnikowska E Leontowicz H et al (2004) ldquoOats (Avena Sativa L) and amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) meals positively affect plasma lipid profile in rats fed cholesterol ndash containing dietsrdquo J NutriBiochem 15(10) 622-9 dol101016jnutbio2004060024 PMID 15542354

George PM (2003) Encyclopedia of foods Volume 1 Human Press Washington p526

Gonor KV Pogozheva AV Derbeneva SA Mal ldquotsev Glu Trushina EN amp Mustafina OK (2006) The influence of a diet withincluding amaranth oil on antioxidant and immune status in patients with ischemic heart disease and hyperlipoproteidemardquo (in Russia) Vopr Pitan 75(6) 30-3 PMD 17313043


98

Jana JC (httpwwwpubhortorgactahortbooks752752 107htm)

Martirosyan DM Miroshnichenko LA KulaKova SN Pogojeva AV amp Zoloedo VI (2007) ldquoAmaranth Oil application for coronary heart disease and hypertensionrdquo Lipids Health DS 6 l dol 1011861476-511 X-6-1 PMC 1779269 17207282

Mnamani CV Oselebe HO amp Agbatutu A (2009) Assessment of nutritional values of three underutilized indigenous leafy vegetables of Ebony State Nigeria African Journal of Biotechnology Vol 8 (9) pp 2321-2324

Noonan SC amp Savage GP (1999) Oxalate content of foods and its effect on humans Asia Pacific J ClinNutr6764-74

Odhvav B Beekrum S Akula Us amp Baijnath H (2007) Preliminary assessment of nutritional value of traditional leafy vegetables in KwaZulu-Natal South AfricaJournal of Food Composition and Analysis 20 pp 430-435

Panday AK (2008) Underutilized vegetable crops Satish Serial Publishing House

Raghuvashi RS amp sign RC (2001)Nutritional composition of uncommon foods and their role in meeting in micronutrient needs International Journal Food SCINutr32 331-335

Statistics South Africa (2000)Measuring Poverty in South Africa Pretoria Statistics South Africa

Strydom H amp Delport CSL (2007) in de Vos AS Strydom H Foucheacute CB amp Delport CSL (Ed) Research at Grass Roots for the Social Sciences and Human Service Professions Pretoria Van Schaik Publishers

Venter S van Rensburg J Vorster HT van den Heever E amp van Zyl JJB (2007) Promotion of African Leafy Vegetables within the Agricultural Research Council ndash Vegetable and ornamental Plant Institute The Impact of the project African Journal of Food Agriculture Nutrition and DevelopmentVolNo



99

TZ Ramphele8

Department of Social Work


Email tzramphelepanuzuluacza

Abstract

This work is based on a critical analysis of the state of research production and application on the development agenda in society ndash regarded in this writ as intellectual property for society It is reflecting on society and the state of development which is a problem The work attempts to critic the situation in society and highlights the factors that hinder development and recreate a state of development which takes the form of negate development trends in some instances Central to the argument is the misconception of the concept intellectual property in the area of research which this work attempts to clarify and critically puts it at the centre of development initiatives and as a panacea and condition for the improvement of conditions as they are Again concentration is on researchers in terms of academics scholars research experts - all working on research production and application ndash both at universities as tertiary homes of intellectual property and research institutes as fields of practical research utilities Universities produce graduates yearly but society experiences un-abating underdevelopment crisis ndash a contradiction whose causal factors need to be exposed and addressed ndash in order for development to take the positive rote out of a crippling crisis situation communities find themselves in at present

Objective of this work

To clarify certain conceptions regarding research as intellectual property on development

To instigate dialog andor debates around issues of development

To critique development trends in society

To contribute toward transformation and development in society

To contribute knowledge to lay a new ground for understanding social phenomenon

Clarification and justification of the concept intellectual property as a product of society

The present conceptualization and operationalization of intellectual property posed a problem for the researcher to interrogate issues of service delivery based on research as a subject The definition of intellectual property is narrow and limited toward addressing individual rights and in some cases group rights and ignores or shifts focus away from society and its development

8 TZ Ramphele is a Lecturer in the Department of Social Work University of Zululand


100

needs The creation of copy rights trademarks licensing patents and the like are defining conceptual areas to intellectual property and have no mention of society as a factor in innovation and development course The limitation has a propensity for intellectual property to be used as a monopoly in some instances where the control of such artefacts and creations would be used in limited situations prescribed strictly by or favouring only to the innovator of intellectual property in a situation wwwenwikipediaorgwikiIntellectual_property There are laws made to deal with intellectual property and those laws tend to favour individuals as against the welfare and good of society This situation needs to be reviewed and the researcher assumes that the definition of intellectual property needs to include society which harbours resources and cues and other aides to allow an individual to come up with intellectual product of any kind However blanketing of the use of intellectual property laws to all intellect accruals is a misnomer ndash serving as a control measure rather than human right (that tends to be narrowly defined) in society (Ibid) The narrow conceptualization and application of intellectual property as a property of the mind of an individual has a propensity to treat people as converging accidentally within an environment which they are located without consensus but do not have ties purpose or meaning in it ie people living as aggregates in one space and never co-habiting or co-existing This implication if it is true explains exactly how problems can exist accumulate and replicate in society with gifted and talented professional people present but contributing nothing to help change the situation

Viewed the other way round the communitysociety and not necessarily an individual possesses the properties of the intellect Without society there shall be no library to tap information no workshop or conference to exchange ideas or no artefacts to form human experience necessary to arouse an intellect in a person Human intellect is therefore functional and nurtured only in the context of experience something that materializes only through collective exchange that is becomes possible in society Peter Reason again asserts that in his Human Inquiry as Discipline and Practice in research ldquoSo persons can only properly study persons when they are in active relationship with each other where the behaviour being researched is self-generated by the researchers in a context of co-operationrdquo (Reason 199441) Research as intellectual property therefore shall function as a quid pro quo of service delivery to enhance development in society This will be in keeping with a sense of community which all individuals shall have in order that we can survive as a people and contribute collectively toward society we share together and lived in If not society then becomes a mere delusion ndash an aggregation of people who find themselves accidentally in space but meaninglessly cohabiting

Illustratively in sociological terms an individual is a product of society he lives in ndash this being an environment responsible for nurturing his intellect Peter Reason writing on Human Inquiry as Discipline and Practice has to say ldquoThis means that all those involved in the research are both co-researchers who generate ideas about its focus design and manage it and draw conclusions from it and also co-subjects participating with awareness in the activity that is being researchedrdquo (Reason 199442) This is made possible through a process of socialization that accounts for transmitting intellectual capabilities from one generation to another ndash the force that is practical only when people in society are cultured and cohesive in relationships and


101

belief systems Society above individuals in it is responsible for an individual to exercise their minds and build ideas and later work on those ideas to produce matter Without socialization nothing of intellectual property shall be possible and without society no one will realize their dream of innovation and intellectual talent Allisi (198039) socialization is a powerful instrument of changing behaviour and conduct of individuals and make them adapt to the societyrsquos way of doing things

There are three types of knowledge systems which account for the end-product of any research undertaken These are first experimental knowledge which is knowledge gained through direct face to face encounter with persons places or things secondly practical knowledge which is gained through practice - lsquoknowing how to dorsquo something ndash demonstrating skill and competence and thirdly propositional knowledge expressed usually in statements and theories concretizing terms and making conclusions on social phenomenon This propositional knowledge lays a foundation later for presentation of research results for consumers of research Reason (199442) The dialectical connection among the knowledge systems was important in explaining how research especially is not necessarily the product only of the producer of research but was shared to others including the environmental factors in which it is produced Reason puts it that ndash based on research of persons - the propositional knowledge stated in the research conclusions needs to be grounded in the experimental and practical knowledge of the subjects in the particular inquiry If that is not considered by the researcher and the concluding propositions are generated exclusively by the researcher who is not involved in the experience being researched and are imposed on presentation without consultation on the practical and experiential knowledge of the subjects we definitely would have findings which directly reflect the experience neither of the researcher nor of the subjects In other words the experimental and practical knowledge components are the precursors to the presentational or propositional knowledge which when it is concluded must reflect on the knowledge in experimental and practical components of the inquiry

Dialectically experiential and practical knowledge informs the propositional knowledge system the researcher usually proposes with his intellect These latter are not necessarily the properties of the intellectual but the researcher uses them as they are available in the public domain of research practice The product of research in this regard therefore becomes a shared endeavour between society and an individual As Peter Reason concluded ldquoThe development of presentational knowledge is an important and often neglected bridge between experiential and propositional knowledgerdquo (Abid 42) The two principles ndash a person (a researcher) as an agent and the extended epistemology (knowledge systems) are realized only in the process of co-operative inquiry (Abid 42) Conclusively as Peter Reason points out that an injunction is drawn in this type of research focus where co-operative inquiry becomes art of mutuality ndash where mutually exclusive roles are replaced with relationships based on reciprocal initiative and control - so that all those involved in research work together as co-researchers and co-subjects (Abid42)

On the premise of that argument research which might be a monopoly and a patent to a particular university or groups thereof misrepresented the concept intellectual property since


102

university was intellectual property of society in the first place and in its own right When a particular municipality required a particular expedient service someone or instituteinstitution was sitting with a treasure of knowledge in research without disseminating information to that needy areas - that was a contradiction seen through a cross-purpose in intellectual property practice in society If that happened it was possible to notice a country like South Africa with a host of expert researchers and institutions of great repute in knowledge production like universities present in an agonizing and highly disintegrating crisis-ridden communities without any positive and informed suggestions or inputs made

General background to the research work

At present South Africa is seventeen years in democracy The need for development is a bare necessity that is made possible by all people in society especially the skilled people Owing to the socio-economic and political changes that take place in South Africa there is a necessity according to Dlamini (199545) that it is inevitable the universities divest themselves of the image of being ivory tower institutions and should instead identify themselves much more with the local communities As Makgoba (19962) puts it ldquoNo doubt universities in South Africa have to transform (change) not for knowledgersquos sake but for the broad requirement of improving the quality of life of all people in societyrdquo Among those people are the intellectuals ndash Black intellectuals in particular - who are seen to be central to the question of development and who should help with transformation programmes to ensure progress in society The realisation is soon made that intellectuals seem to contribute less toward development or conversely development is slow even though there are contributions made by intellectuals The situation creates a concern which needs to be investigated checking what is standing on the way of progress for development as regard the role of intellectuals in society According to Vilakazi (2001 2) ldquoAfrica is in the midst of a severe crisis The most apparent and disturbing manifestation of this crisis in our continent is the failure of developmentrdquo

It is further observed that yearly the country produces a fairly large number of graduates from universities around the country presumed to be skilled and experienced individuals who should be able to mane all spheres of society and contribute progressively toward development The intellectuals should be able to manage transformation and lead toward economic and social changes that ensure development in society However and on the contrary it is also realised that underdevelopment prevailed in society and seems to be on the rise adversely growing to affect society negatively The increase in education therefore contradicts the fair expectation among citizens on development conditions in society and to the extreme end that leaves a mark around underdevelopment crisis in society The role of intellectuals comes to the spotlight under such circumstances to examine the place they occupied in development issues in society One needs to undertake a study to understand the dynamics that exists in relation to the state of development in society to comprehend the problem and its nature To site Khotseng (1992) as in Makgoba (19971) ldquoAs a matter of concern these universities seem to ignore the fact that they are operating in an underdeveloped African context and as such universities become ivory tower institutionsrdquo (Vilakazi 19971) historically concretized the state of underdevelopment as a portrait of a


103

troubling combination of two worlds in South Africa the First World characterized by advanced industrial development represented and serving the interests of White people and the Third World is characterized by the level of underdevelopment experienced by Blacks In that respect the Whites represent the tiny drop of the total population of South Africa and live in developed environments Blacks on the other hand constitute the overwhelming majority of the population who are subjected to underdevelopment conditions in the same society and live in shacks and other underdeveloped locality settlements

Another point worth noting is that South Africa is still battling to un-do the legacies of apartheid education which still grossly influence the way things are done in society Vilakazi (19973) expresses that sentiment when he states that with the African Slave Trade the creators of African civilization are reduced from human status to that of semi-animal thus denying Africa the status of a civilization Such a legacy predetermines the relationships among intellectuals ndash with Black intellectuals still experiencing problems of adjustment and re-defining their role in society ndash while counter-part White intellectuals enjoy the advantage over the period of time The same author sums it up by stating that ldquoAs a result of socialization by the White masters educated Africans were educated as part of Western Civilization and as such became alienated from the mass of African society and culture with educated Africans somewhat better-off than the othersrdquo( Ibid) This condition prevailes because the Eurocentric oriented social science research agenda has not yet explored understood and accommodated the Afro-centric view-point in society On the other hand Benatar (19914) asserts that the challenges facing South Africa are the crippling and dehumanising shackles of racial discrimination which blight society and the lives of many people and denies these people an opportunity to rectify the injustices surrounding social political economic and cultural milieus to foster a dignified and prosperous spirit among people in society This brings us to a point where the researcher assumes in conjunction with Stewart(200159) who believes that no civilization can rescue itself and move itself forward using a development paradigm conceived formulated and developed from a paradigm of another civilization or by intellectuals of another civilization

Research as a panacea for development

Research needs to be put at the top of the priorities on skills development to answer to questions of development crises around the municipalities and other societal conditions According to Joel Netshithendze the Director of Mistra during the launch of Maphungubwe as quoted from Sunday Independent(20 March 201117) ldquoSouth Africa need more not less researchrdquo Supported by Deputy State President Kgalema Motlante in the same event who says ldquoThe creation of new knowledge is key to our developmentrdquo (Ibid17) The Minister of Education Dr Blade Nzimande is quoted in the Mail and Guardian of 6-14 October (201142) asserting that ldquoNow is the time for the teaching of research in social science and for the humanities to take their place again at the leading edge of our struggle for transformation and developmentrdquo Research as panacea for development therefore has two dimensional imperatives which need to be nurtured to insure research serves as an intellectual property for society Quoting further from Deputy President Kgalema Motlante who asserts that ldquoPrime


104

capital for the survival (development) of societies is largely dependent upon turning knowledge into serviceable data and productsrdquo (Ibid17) Adding to the view the creation of new knowledge through research was sacrosanct and served as a key determinant toward development to enable South Africa to uplift itself and compete globally Minister Trevor Manuel during the National Planning Committeersquos findings in Parliament remarks ldquoSociety is ailing but not terminal If we did not dialog about the grim-looking issues we could as well be like Libya today but we talked and still we can talk to improve the situationrdquo( SABC 2 10 June 20118 ndash 830) Some of the challenges at present standing on the way for development are found in the way research is structured both in productive fields in tertiary institutions and application fields in practice There is observed lack of coordination and collaboration of institutes and institutions dealing with research which needs to be addressed in order that progress toward development is made The recent spectacle around municipalities was a microcosm of the larger development problems society was faced with calling for more drastic steps to be taken to remedy the situation and find the way toward the betterment of the conditions in society

Among aspirant attempts made to contribute toward development are intellectual research outputs from various scholars who are concerned with the plight of development in South Africa and the larger African Diasporas Central to their contributions the following count toward making attempts at development

- University Mergers Which come during the nineties as a means toward forming provincial entities among universities to concentrate on a shared platform and focus as collectives on addressing provincial development objectives of the country The intended outcome of the functional mergers of universities is a development goal - allowing universities in a regional setting to collaborate and cooperate in production processes of research to translate into serving locality interests in the form of service delivery The mergers however work slowly in some situations while creating serious problems of power contests and academic bickering which calls for intervention from education authorities in government In some situations these mergers are a dismal failure owing to indecisions and bickering by powers that be in those institutions Contestations over the mergers prolongs solutions toward service delivery in municipalities ndash some of which are caught into crises of underdevelopment ndash requiring double if not triple efforts in resolving the problems in those settings in turn ndash a thing that hold South Africa ransom on development The prolongation of transformation becomes a problem in itself above the service delivery problems ndash when solutions like mergers of universities are rebuffed ignored or undermined

- The call for indigenization of Research Which is a scholarly product of some of the African experts professionals and practitioners like Benatar Makgoba Vilakazi and Dlamini ndash to site a few - who become activists in knowledge production management and utilization calling on the paradigm shift in research to be indigenous ie an attempt to refocus research in addressing African development problems using models that are established in African communities The indigenization call is often resisted till


105

to date the move toward indigenization of universities in South Africa is far from being realized These scholars are contemporary research production and application advocates in attempting to shape research focus and utility in dealing with issues of development

- The position on African Studies in Universities Which is a calculated drive from activists in higher education advocating for the inclusion of a discipline dealing with African languages and related research activity in the university syllabus to invigorate the spirit of working toward addressing African development needs The relevance of African Studies at contemporary university settings is made policy which many of the universities adopt and practically act upon by creating departments and centres for the initiative However that does not go without problems as some of the institutions resist the move and refuse to implement it in their institutions Those that operate they do so within great impediments that are created by the system within making the discipline to have little if any progress at all on the intended changes Some of the institutions recently debate whether there is any need for African Studies in their universities ndash a thing which manifests in divisions among academics students and the broader university communities

The implications of research on development in South Africa

Historical meanings of research and its application in South African universities and the broader Diasporas is not necessarily objective instrument of knowledge production and dissemination That research lack connection to the grassroots of society and it is based on foreign models objectives and goals According to Professor Mahmood Mamdani of Makerere University (quoted from Mail and Guardian May 27 ndash 02 June 201101) ldquoThe lsquoconsultancy culturersquo at universities (African Universities) across the continent has a corrosive effect on education The organization of knowledge production in contemporary African universities is everywhere based on that disciplinary mode developed in Western universities in the 19th and 20th centuriesrdquo In South Africa this consultative culture reduces the utility of research as intellectual property for society dealing fairly with issues of transformation and fosters all research programmes to be institutionalized ie upheld to serve Western intensions Consultants who are Western educators presume that research is all about finding answers to the problems defined by clients ndash in this case African research scholars in universities (Abid2) The model of consultancy therefore presumes research in Africa is for answering questions and not necessarily formulating a problem as it is presumably already formulated in Western perspective To sum up the conviction Professor Mahmood asserts that ldquoThe expansion and entrenchment of intellectual paradigms that stress quantification above all has led to a peculiar intellectual dispensation in Africa today the dominant trend is increasingly for research to be positivist and primarily quantitative carried out to answer questions that have been formulated outside the continent not only in terms of location but also in terms of historical perspective This trend either occurs directly through the lsquoconsultancyrsquo model or indirectly through research funding and other forms of intellectual discipliningrdquo Mail and Guardian 27 May to 02 June 201102


106

To make the consultative culture to work and pursue Western intentions certain constrictive measures are being designed to run research education in universities and the following are among the most noticeable research intentions on the system of education

Designing and proliferation of short courses for staff and students in African universities to be able to collect empirical data in quantitative terms

Migrating extracurricular seminars and workshops toward expensive hotels out of the reach of ordinary students and research teachers and keep it closed from the public who need the results most

Turning academic papers and other publications into corporate-style presentations and away from libraries where intellectuals can gain easy access

Discouraging debates and dialog on social issuesphenomenon and research products and sorting out means to change debate forums into some mind distorting exercises

Research is de-historicised and de-contextualized and is produced into a mere descriptive accounts of data collection with researchers turning into assistants and managers of data rather than problem formulators and architectures of research theory This leads to Intellectual dignity diminishing from researchers where theory and debate is discarded from the entire research process undertaken ndash a thing Professor Mahmood Mamdani calls ldquolsquoNGO-isationrsquo of the universityrdquo( Mail and Guardian 27 May to 2 June 201102)

For South Africa in particular and Africa in general to forge ahead and secure research which shall serve as intellectual property for society fundamental changes to the present mode of research education and research practice shall be realized Former State President Thabo Mbeki in his Africa Day Lecture in Johannesburg (Africa Day Annual Lecture) 20101 asserts that ldquoHowever notable by its absence in these observations is an element I consider to be of vital importance if Africa is to claim the 21st century ndash the need for Africa to recapture the intellectual space to define its future and therefore the imperative to develop its intellectual capitalrdquo More than this and also adding to the lsquoindigenisation of universitiesrsquo call by Professor Makgoba 1997 Professor Mahmood Mamdani suggests changing the consultative model toward independent researcher in Africa is a bare necessity The writer expresses the feeling that ldquoThere is no model to counter the spread of consultancy culture on the African continent It is something we will have to create ourselvesrdquo Mail and Guardian 27 May to 02 June 20112 Over a long term period African universities has to create a multidisciplinary course-work based PhD programme to train a new generation of researchers away from consultancy programmes serving foreign educational objectives To brainstorm these changes the universities of Addis Ababa and Western Cape met in Cape Town to deliberate on cooperative measures to improve research education of the two institutions and come up with the following recommendations

To create a graduate PhD programme in research that combines both local and regional commitment to knowledge production favouring Africa and its objectives


107

The programme should be rooted into relevant linguistics and disciplinary terms suitable to the needs of the continent

The programme should globalize on modern forms of knowledge and modern instruments of power

The programme should change mindsets on locals serving global powers and rather seek to understand the global community from the vantage point of the local power house in research

The Doctoral programme should allow researchers to think and should be equipped to rethink in both intellectual and institutional terms the very function of universities the programme is meant to serve locally and globally and

To seek to understand and provide platform for alternative forms of intellectual aesthetic and ethical traditions from which new knowledge shall be derived and nurtured(Mail and Guardian 27 May to 02 June 201102)

Conditions in the tertiary institutions in South Africa

Nature of scholarship in tertiary education

Universities are responsible for scholarships and scholarship product that would be able to address the skills deficit in all disciplines and faculties That means all scholastic material in the different disciplines is important in dealing with research quotas necessary to address service delivery in society The report by Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAF) as captured in the Mail and Guardian ( 5 -11 201136) make the situation sound gloomy and threatening to the prospects of improved skills as it portrays the situation as shock findings with humanities in universities being stagnant and un-progressing in scholarly outputs for the past 15 years Calling the situation the lsquoanatomy of a crisisrsquo the report cites the disproportionate attempt in addressing scholastic question and skills shortage by leaning on the natural sciences and neglecting humanities and the social sciences ndash leading to the decrease in input among scholars in humanities Scholars and research that humanities and the social sciences are capable to produce are relevant to mane all spheres of service delivery with their power on analytical abilities and precision in identifying problems in social phenomenon However the decrease in research outputs frustrates prospects toward progress on the development process and leaves a crisis in education generally

wwwassaforgzawp-contentuploads20110825-july-finalpdf

Reflective of the situation affecting scholarship in tertiary institutions in South Africa the Academy of Science of South Africa pointed to a ten-point findings that were worrying and needed attention to reverse the status quo

The decline in student enrolments reflected falling graduations and decreasing government funding in institutions of higher learning


108

The process of skewed benefit which advantaged the natural sciences disciplines exclusively at the detriment of the humanities that were relevant and supposed to be on the driving seat of the development agenda in service delivery situations

Humanities as a result were in a state of stagnation or collapse and have become moribund for period of 15 years so far

Graduates in humanities ndash almost the entire pool recently graduated - were working either as government employees and private sectors ndash some self-employed - with few in research initiatives in teaching and fields placements so f far

Decline in humanities had affected many human sectors bilaterally ndash across academy on students and academics to parents and all preferential fields of choice

The scholarship in humanities reels far behind and did not match the international standards in publications and practice All journals and other publications are for national consumption and most are non-accredited journals or publications

The scholarship of the humanities still reflected the racial inequalities within the student and staff demographics in knowledge production at tertiary institutions ndash with one discipline representative of the Black sector falling in 20 percentiles in total outputs

A threat existing in the humanities of the aging of the intellectually vibrant scholarship and research workforce ndash a contributory or complimentary force toward the decline in doctoral graduates and scholarship in humanities

The problem of low proportion of academic force that had doctoral degrees ndash a thing which had a potency undermining progression and reproduction of scholarly viable doctoral products at tertiary institutions Replacement of high level scholars and scholarship in general remained compromised and

The performance and prospects of humanities varied considerably across the spectrum of academic disciplines ndash a thing that called for a fine-tuned strategy to address the deficit rather than blanketing the solution on policy changes only and as a substitute for humanities as a whole


Education factors affecting universities in South Africa

a) Skills shortage in South Africa

Stalled development and underdevelopment trends that gripped certain parts of the communities are a direct manifestation of skills shortage in those areas Government identified this problem and declared an emergency to deal with the problem In the area of research


109

several mechanisms have been put on place and the ministry of education is working on the programmes into universities to alleviate the skills shortage However there is a missing dialect in the approach used to calculate the skills shortage reducing a measure of such an inference into monolithic quantitative or numerical expressions Exponentially the skills shortage in South Africa is lacking a historical explanation which is a factor in explaining the nature of skills shortage and its impact on the countryrsquos development trends While calculating andor measuring skills on the basis of trainable and potential researchers in the country and possibilities for the universities to produce such the measurement applied does not cover bilaterally any research accrued over years and meaningfully relevant as a utility to be counted on development objectives There are many people with good research but do not come forward to contribute toward development in the democratic dispensation These people cause a deficit in research measurement and procurement strategy toward development Their skill is crucial as it has an experience base that could readily apply as intellectual property for society to assist in solving problems and engineer proper mechanisms to mane the municipalities in the meantime when tertiary process in producing future researchers is going on For instance a problem of consumption-water- shortage in the country is worrying while there are many engineers who dealt with water for a long time They are there in the country today A threat that South Africa lacks water in floods-infested climate of good rains is a worrying prospect while we have engineers and geographers land surveyors geologists demographers hydrologists climatologists meteorologists and statisticians who could readily use expertise knowledge to pioneer new dams and water catchment areas improve water reticulation strategies manage water supply patterns and match water consumption statics with national demographics to supply necessary water consumption patterns equal to our civilization

The concept lsquolack of skillsrsquo is therefore problematized by incongruence in the supply of knowledge and opportunity especially in the area of research in the country There is lack of collaboration necessary to deal with the supply of knowledge and those that implement the strategies for enhancing development Dialectically speaking such water-tied compartmentalization of knowledge is a problem more than the skills shortage in managing development in the country This account for why our universities remain lsquoivory tower institutionsrsquo secluded from communities which they suppose to be in partnership with Research institutes and related bodies dealing with research are aloft working in enclosures separate from each other and the larger public These institutes maintain artificial relationships with universities selecting institutions with which they cooperate There is no clear cut stakeholder bond existing among the government universities and research institutes on how research could best be articulated to enhance development programmes in communities In other words there is a visible lack of synergy to coordinate research service in keeping with service targets in society All remaining connections are merely superficial while the country daily reels into cathartic state of underdevelopment

Skills shortage problem is being exacerbated by some factors which need thorough interrogation to ensure change in the way society is appraised on issues of research practice leading toward development Some of the impediments related to skills shortage include


110

The decline in social science and humanities around universities Social Science and Humanities which refers to general Faculties Arts at various universities were at the forefront of major research activity utilized to aid development goals in the country as it is a norm every else in the world Over time these department dwindled in productivity and lesser research is produced The Minister of education Dr Blade Nzimande captured this situation when asserted that ldquoI share the concerns of many social scientists that the role and vigour of Social Sciences and Humanities have declinedrdquo (The Star Monday 06 201113)

coaching and mentoring of research students There is visible lack of mentorship at tertiary institutions by institutes which posses a host of research expertise technical know-how and resources All what is done is a distance provision of finance to fund students on scholarship but there is no relationship between the donor and the university less the student on the basis of education imperatives for which the donor is responsible especially to the student It is only assumed that students are learning well and the outcomes shall be well because they are supervised by impeccable qualified professoriate staff

lack of integrated approach to tertiary education there is skewed productivity in research among tertiary institutions owing to individualist approach ramified by university autonomy This approach gives advantage to institutions which are few and lead to other institutions to struggle out their way to success in research Unfortunately for research to be comprehensive and development objectives to be met the whole tertiary institutions must contribute all at the same level and resourcefulness More than that an integrated approach calling for a synergy among universities is well timed and good enough to change conditions of underdevelopment ravaging the communities on service delivery Any calculated position involving university research output taken from some universities in exclusion of others is not going to make a quota enough to influence change in the country

Lack of infrastructure for research practice Professor Bongani Mayiso (medical professional) says that ldquoThe government should design the infrastructure to enable career direction on research in the countryrdquo SABC 2 Bonitas Life Discussion House call-Izwi ndash 2011 June 19 10 -11 slot the interview with Victor Ramathesselle He concludedrdquo We need to be entrepreneurs for the public goodrdquo The government should coordinate this research practice to ensure there are necessary and enough pool of researchers to mane all government departments and sectors so that service delivery should have a flow In this undertaking the private sector should cooperate and equally share the energies to ensure society development goals are enhanced For instance the pharmaceutical companies need to assist in establishing infrastructure for medical research to advance medical practice and all related service needs on health in the country

lack of synergy among research stakeholders Tertiary institutions research institutes and the government function individually but separately on issues of research rather than coordinate and collaborate collectively to ensure progress in research output in society Unilateralism and discretion rather than sanction and norm apply in the way various research houses operate ndash making the function of research almost unworkable ndash begging with research education at university and ending with the application of such product of research on the field of service


111

delivery and policy maintenance This research funding obviously lack proper coordination and necessary timing which if it is proper research education would lead to predictable and reliable outcomes in research functionally contributing toward service delivery as a consequence

b) Race and class as factors in tertiary institutions

Seventeen years into democracy South Africa sadly reels in race and class debacles over race relations and these race and class factors determine and shape interactions of people in all strata of society Present academic dispensations are run and feature these factors of race and class factors and more often than not academics collide on course in tertiary institutions owing to these influences Weber and Vandeyar(2004 175) quote Cwele Manganyi and Makgoba as pioneers in having exposed the discriminatory practices and humiliations that have been embedded in the search for the truth and the construction and reproduction of Oxford Cambridge and Sussex in this part of Africa The two writers continue to asset that the future of tertiary education in South Africa and elsewhere is likely to be influenced by battles within academy about issues of diversity in regard to race and gender (Abid 175) Race and class factors in universities are entrenched by university autonomy which is a power dynamic that reinforces the status quo in universities favourable to those who control a tertiary education away from any national mandate a university might have

Toward a significant extend tertiary education is influenced by race and class which shape the way postgraduate students acquire their skills in research and later utilize such skills in their fields of work The race and class are dual nuances which do not arguer well with progressive learning and teaching at universities in South Africa with race factor being an outlawed practice and constitutionally declared non-functional in society generally but things are still looking bleak as racism remains a factor in society According to Weber and Vandeyar (2004175) ldquoIt is argued that the future of tertiary education in South Africa and elsewhere is likely to be influenced by battles within the academy about issues of diversity in regard to race class and genderrdquo Despite the constitutional reference the influence of class was still prevalent in society and among tertiary institutions operating clandestinely and influencing and affecting research progress among practitioners and learners alike Quoting from Rutherford (1990208) the authors further maintained that within societies where multiculturalism was encouraged it was significant that racism and sexism would continue to exist in a variety of ways (Ibid 182) Further Professor Mokubung Nkomo quoting extensively from a book by Nhlanhla Maake whose book he recommended as a lsquomust-read workrsquo ndash Barbarism in Higher Education ndash as quoted by Mail and Guardian 27 May to 02 June (20114) asserted ldquoIt is indisputable that tangible changes have taken place in the tertiary sector in the past two decades or so Racial gender and other apartheid discriminatory practices that largely defined the admissions policies and the demographic profiles at many universities have been abolished at least in their de jure form But behind the proud achievement record lurks a furtive world with an utter disregard and a contemptuous cynicism that goes against the grain of meaningful progressrdquo The writer continues to regrettably acknowledge that there are unreasonable conditions of racism in universities that resonate with untold stories of subtle secrecies in some


112

of South Africarsquos tertiary institutions even far after 1994 Conclusively the writer remarked that ldquoIt seems that the stains of the past still remain stubbornly etched in institutional memoriesrdquo (Mail and Guardian 27 May to 02 June 20114) Professor Pitika Ntuli Mhlabohlongo Sompisi Ntloke-Mamba quoted from SABC 2 news broadcast ndash 08 June 2011 ndash 08 to 0830 time slot appraised the book of Professor Nhlanhla Maake and commented that it is unlike the university where critical thought should be debased or limited forced to silence by academics who should be pioneering steering and encouraging it Professor Ntuli strongly expressed that critical thought form part of the university community and should be encouraged as part of universal condition in the university and not to be reduced to a monolithic discussion or event (SABC 2 News Broadcast 08 July 2011 08 to 0830)

Political apathy and bickering as a manifestation of both class and race relationships among citizens are evident in all relationships and communications bearing on how people in groups fail to cooperate and collaborate easily in all civil and communal matters This observation is relevant toward explaining the influence of class and race in society justifying why South Africa could develop so slowly but yet having expertise and resources in the field of research and other innovations The State President Jacob Zuma as quoted by SABC 2 May 21 ndash 18h00 to 19h00 pm ndash addressing the last meeting of the Independent Electoral (IEC) Commission after Local Government Elections ndash he thanked all South Africans and their political parties and in particular the IEC - and said that all political parties need to put all the results of the elections behind them and start to cooperate to see South Africa prosperous in Local Municipalities He summed up the Elections Day by saying ldquoThe elections are over Let us go back to work ndash and working together we can do morerdquo All South Africans owe the countryrsquos municipalities that honour or virtue in order that development can be a reality

c) The university autonomy

The universities in South Africa are autonomous educational entitiesinstitutions functioning outside government and independent from each other This practise precludes government influence and is predestined to protect universities against what is regarded as harsh laws that may limit potential in all academic endeavours and repress all academic functions In other words university autonomy serves as freedom of expression for universities These manifest considerations are sound and real in situations of repressive governments In fleshing democracies they are redundant and empty presuppositions which turn university function easily into power blocks or competition rivals rather than proactive community entities or collectives University autonomy therefore is a contentious subject that needs to be debated in South Africa with the objective to redefine the need for such autonomy within the collective spirit of knowledge production to be used in community affairs Universities needed to practice in shared environment that allows free and collective knowledge exchange ndash with little boundaries on which a university shall hide itself in creating its niche areas or proffered aspirations

Latently one of the critical problems university autonomy has brought to the South African tertiary institutions ndash directlyconsciously or indirectlyunconsciously - is an encouragement of


113

race practice The use of fees for instance is decided by a university independently of other universities The pricing on education is a puzzling phenomenon where universities differ in the way they charge fees on students creating a landscape in education of super-rich and down-right poor conditions in tertiary education ndash a thing which account for the creation of class among the university graduates What rationale do we have on the difference in fees among universities that impart the same knowledge to the same students in the same country A university can charge exuberant fees on its students irrespective and ill-considerate of the unfavourable economic conditions of recession causing underprivileged students to be cut off such university without the issue being rationalized and ratified - let alone negotiated - to suit the knowledge production targets objectified by all universities in the country If the underprivileged happen to be a racial group like Blacks are in South Africa such a phenomenon has potency in encouraging race and class among students predetermining even their status at productive levels of function into careers after graduation Besides fees question such an autonomy makes exclusion of staff and keeps the university pure of race and encourages a socialization of people according to class and race That obviously amounts to and accounts for how intellectual property is going to function in society and how society itself is going to be shaped or skewed in development

University autonomy during transformation still favours the previously White institutions which are monopolizing research and research production All systems in education are purely western in design and are run that way Western Methodologies in research practice are not the only ones capable of generating scientific knowledge Makgoba ( in Gray 199877) asserts that with an attempt to indigenise social science research there is a need to establish systems designed to break the tradition of research being an elitist realm The situation warrants change of the conditions mindsets and circumstances surrounding the present mode of operation pertaining to the teaching and practising of research in South Africa For indigenization of research to take place and conditions to improve in the way research served society fully as intellectual property the following conditions of change ndash as espoused by Moulder 1996 ndash have to be realized

1 Changing the composition of students the academics and administrators to ensure changes in the way in which power and privilege are distributed

2 Changing the syllabus and the content of what is taught in order to deal with a biased dominance of the Eurocentric view of education and

3 Changing the criteria of what determines what is an excellent research programme in order that we can dispel a notion or fallacy that research is if not of excellent then at least of high standard only if it is an attempt to solve a problem that have arisen in a Northern Hemisphere(Moulder 19961)

University autonomy has a propensity to undermine cooperation which is critical for a synergy among stakeholders necessary to create a collective in research process and output In South Africa a united and non-racial society there is no need for autonomy in tertiary systems especially when all citizens are faced by common problems and common destiny ndash operating


114

consciously within a multiparty defined norms and working through transformation Perhaps university autonomy is reasonable and relevant under previous government system of education whose missions and goals are diffuse or at least objectionable The experience at University of Cape Town (UCT) reveals the autonomous position in a case involving the debate to scrap the African Studies from its content of education which end up creating huge divisions among academics and students manifest in racial overtones and shock among certain university community members Professor Bennett quoted from Mail and Guardian April 15 ndash 20(201041) saying ldquoThe public debate on African Studies at UCT (University of Cape Town) has been shockingly revealingrdquo In her protest against what she sees as University of Cape Townrsquos (UCTs) unreasonable stand Professor Bennett further explains ldquoFrom my point of view as Head of Department of African Gender Institute (one of the lsquosmall departmentsrsquo whose future is in negotiation alongside that of others) the public conversation (debate) has been unhelpful and yet deeply and shockingly revealing of the degree to which South African voices are unable to think speak or engage with one another under stress beyond the Manicheanrdquo A Committee on Higher Education concretized that situation involving university autonomy when adjudicating over audits at the University of Natal Howard College attempting to protect the integrity of Council on Higher Education (CHE) albeit illusively Defending the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and acting as its Executive Director Professor Ahmed Essop as quoted by Mail and Guardian February 18 ndash 24 (201147 ndash 48) states ldquoThe fact that one out of twenty-one (21) institutional audits completed to date has been withdrawn should not be allowed to tarnish the legitimacy andor weaken public confidence in the institutional audit processes Finally in reflecting on the role of institutional audits it is also important to recognize that institutional quality audits are not a mechanism for addressing internal institutional differences and conflicts If anything attempts to drag Council on Higher Education into addressing internal institutional conflicts holds greater danger for institutional autonomy and academic freedom than does the quality assurance role of the CHErdquo On a note of contradiction Professor Essop states categorically that lsquothe focus on the coalface of the higher education system is critical to ensure that the transformation project in higher education was firmly linked to the social and economic development of South Africarsquo (ibid 48) Surely differences conflicts and other negative trends which need intervention did not contribute toward the ideal Professor correctly outlines and need Council on Higher Education to offer some solution - as an important role player - to enhance proper accountability in institutions of higher learning However evading this responsibility when narrowing down CHErsquos responsibilities to a mere public service exercise or routine spells an unfortunate aftermath in that particular instance

Universities need transformation which shall move the present lsquoautonomous statusrsquo of universities toward a free collaborative and interdependent institutions in order that South African academic institutions can meet with the necessary research quotas to enhance development in society on equal footing Those institutions need a paradigm shift to a more cohesive course in academic programmes ndash balancing and closing on the gap of disparities created over the epochs of apartheid system of education ndash on power relations and curricula substance in class The nature of White institution versus Black institution or advantaged versus disadvantaged perceptions which are still prevalent in the way institutions operate do


115

not necessarily augur well with objectified progress aimed at facilitating transformation and meeting necessary targets for development in communities especially crisis stricken municipalities in South Africa A need for changing universities from autonomous institutions into public institutions in good standing needs to be accelerated and realized This initiative should help create a platform for robust discussion and drive society toward fundamental progress in the direction of asserting university function in society Professor Piyushi Kotecha a Chief Executive of the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA) as quoted in the Mail and Guardian of 27 May to 02 June (20113) asserts that ldquoIt is important that national governments follow through on their commitment to build and maintain strong public universities by reinvesting in these institutions and in particular providing adequate levels of funding for basic researchrdquo The response of the envisaged university must then go ldquo beyond the outward manifestations of the problem to a critical examination of what that means in terms of curriculum and teaching research and knowledge production and engagement with communities in the broadest senserdquo (Abid3) The Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA) ndash in its report - make a proposal which is twofold on research collaboration functions among universities

Regional research collaboration based on knowledge generation effort in the region by sharing resources and creating clusters among regional institutions This also involves partnerships and co-authorships in the production of knowledge

stilizing the regional research capacity to generate knowledge which serves as stimulus for improving capacity in teaching and research at previously neglected universities The proposal also strongly recommends improved research funding which should go together with knowledge generated to boost the impoverished disadvantaged and neglected institutions Mail and Guardian 27 May ndash 02 June (20113)

The coordination brings about by the fund will strengthen not only the demand for improved research faculties and budgets at an institutional level but will also recognize the cross-disciplinary nature of much research and as well it will give universities the opportunity to advocate jointly on policy matters emerging from their research Through such improvement it is assumed Southern African Universities will be able to take their rightful place as intellectual innovation in the affairs of their home countries and of the region (Ibid)

d) Funding research for development

The research capacity presently available does not form a necessary research pool to service communities The entire research presently available falls short of appraising the societyrsquos social needs All research is uncoordinated and fragmented ie it is spread unevenly among centres of research and institutions of learning at tertiary levels A survey by SARUA of various national and institutional policy documents reveals agreement about the importance of innovation and research research collaboration and of the production of the PhDrsquo as critical for building research capacity in society According to a report by the Southern African Regional Universities Association(SARUA) as reported in the Mail and Guardian 27 May to 02 June


116

(20113) ldquoIn spite of this understanding its translation into improved environment for research and teaching continue to lag behind other developing regionsrdquo The survey identifies Egypt Nigeria and South Africa as the only countries that have better research outputs ndash the rest of the Diasporas experience a grave underdevelopment in research education in particular South Africa in this instance statistically produce 80 of the Southern African Development Communityrsquos research output and 89 of PhDrsquos in the whole region However that South African PhD output is even low measured by international standards and it is not showing signs of an increase or improvement in the foreseeable future

The disconcerting state of affairs warrants emergency measures to rescue the situation that is rather too dire for development objectives in society According the SARUA report chronic underperformance is led by factors that need to be addressed and they largely fell on two grounds namely

That research is fragmented Southern African Development Community Universities are working in isolation from their counterparts in the region and collaboration tend to be biased in favour of universities from the developed world In Lesotho and Swaziland for instance foreign researchers outside Africa share authorship on every science and engineering article produced In South Africa 50 of all science and engineering papers is co-authored by foreign academics compared with 30 in the United States

That research funding is unevenly distributed and scattered in addressing university needs in the region The situation creates disparities in the distribution of research resources to meet development objectives and need to be overhauled and adjusted to the needs of the universities in the region Mail and Guardian 27 May to 02 June (20113)

The funding of institutions of higher learning in research should be funded differently and Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA) outlines the following points as their objectives to change the situation on funding for the better

To strengthen university research capacity within SADC region

To strengthen the networks between researchers working in SADC particularly those working in countries that historically have not collaborated despite having good reasons for doing so

To increase research output in areas of specific relevance to the region including health infrastructure social sciences mining finical services and manufacturing and

To increase the output of post-graduates who are well equipped to undertake the development of innovative products and services to meet the needs of the region wwweducationorgzadocumentpoliciespolicyMeasurementResearchpdf

Finally the emphasis placed on the independence of universities as autonomous bodies is misleading in the context of tertiary institutional function in South African universities On a fair


117

note the word independent should suggest freedom to attest value and purpose to a particular university and its function However if such a value over-rides imperatives of function of that particular university to portray control hidden functions andor possibly racism as some of these features are overloaded in academic records and environments at tertiary institutions university autonomy loses meaning and serves as an unauthentic force or consequence beyond normal expectations of an independent university function

e) National research evaluation

The national research evaluation programme which is founded on 1984 by the then Committee of the Foundation of Research Development (FRD) one of the predecessors of the now National Research Foundation (NRF) is established on the objective to organize research for enhancing development in South African society On his remarks in the foreword of the National Research Foundationrsquos 2010 report the President and Chief Executive Officer Dr Albert van Jaarsveld remarks that ldquoWe are building a globally competitive science system in South Africa and regard the NRFrsquos evaluation and rating system as one of the key drivers of this ambition It is a valuable tool for benchmarking the quality of our researchers and our entire research system against the best in the worldrdquo The presently serving National Research Foundation has a sector a sister organization called Research and Innovation Support and Advancement ( RISA) which deals with rating universities and other institutes and institutions based on research function monitoring and evaluating their work and possibly offering support or assistance where necessary The need for evaluation of research process and output is important in order that niche areas in research can be benchmarked and intellectual property in the area of research ascertained This would contribute toward identifying potential research product for service delivery initiatives in all areas of society and possibly affect society with positive development outcomes at the end The rationale in evaluation is to inject the spirit among researchers to be motivated to do research assemble and categorize research in accordance with the practice areas where it is mostly needed This should cover all tertiary institutions and make recollection of research product into a national asset to change conditions in the communities The National Research Foundation is therefore South Africarsquos national agency for promoting and supporting research across all fields of the humanities social and natural sciences engineering and technology wwwnrfaczaprojectsphppid=33

There is however an observed gap existing between the ideal objectified by National Research Foundation on its mission and the actual practical implementation of the missionrsquos objective in real terms The initial founding of the National Research Foundation and subsequent running of the project excludes the role players and stakeholders in part among Historically Black Institutions The entire board members who hold executive positions are all representatives of White institutions and sister organizations running research in the country Although with developments there may be changes to that setup the National Research Foundation remains predominantly a domain of white executive function with previously named White Institutions still privileged above Black Institutions - at least on policy positions financing and decision making in general on all matters pertaining to research in the country The ratings and evaluation of 2010 research in the NRF report explicitly reflects that scenario ndash where all the


118

Black Institutions lag far behind their counter-part White Institutions on research output and standing generally across faculties and disciplines Notwithstanding the rating that includes some of the Blacks who are members of the White institutions in South Africa but the exclusion of Black institutions in major role play in NRF affairs is problematic in terms of the distribution and utilization of intellectual property in research The ideal condition should be that an aggregation of all institutions and measurement of progress to all universities on equal footing should be considered within a synergy of function to meet the national research quotas necessary to contribute toward development in South Africa Fragmented approach and bipartisan operations suppress potential for the country to realize its research strengths and development goals Perhaps the remarks by Dr van Jaarsveld ushers some beam of hope for the future when he says ldquoI firmly believe that we can pursue excellence in science while not slipping on critically important transformation goals We are making progress in transforming the community of rated researchers to become more representative of South Africarsquos population demographics but the process is frustratingly slow It is imperative that we do whatever we can to increase the pace of this transformation rdquo wwwnrfaczaprojectsphppid=33

The President of National Research Foundation postulated that the process might take twenty years for the rating of a researcher on lsquoYrsquo rating from a disadvantaged position to lsquoArsquo rating at higher level of performance and people must be ready to accept that wwwnrfaczaprojectsphppid=33 While the transformation process under conditions of severity among communities was in distress the postulation did not address adequately the needs of researchers in tandem with the developmental objectives in society ndash and as well did not offer factors put in place to reduce time span and prolongation of the process - a thing which the former President Thabo Mbeki in Africa Day Annual Lecture 20101 coins in his address at Johannesburg quoting from the text of the World Bank Report and asserting that ldquoOurs is a case of trickledown knowledge a variation of the theory of trickledown economics a character of capitalist modernity reflected more particularly in its colonial manifestation which of course is the root base of modern educationrdquo Additionally even from the cursory glance at the situation the former State President added it was clear that there is a discrepancy between the quality and quantity of that production of knowledge and the quality and quantity of its consumption by the populace of South Africa (Ibid)

Research challenges in tertiary institutions

Universities face many challenges which need to be dealt with to enhance transformation Some of the challenges are administrative while others were academic Some of the identified research challenges based on research at tertiary institutions around South Africa are among others the following conditions or situations

Student drop-out Drop out among students at tertiary institutions especially Black institutions is very high Circumstances and reasons for such a phenomenon are varied but phenomenal in nature The cost-to-institution and cost-to-the-nation of drop-out is immeasurable In the field of research alone such a draw-back was enormous According to Craig Mckune as quoted from


119

The Mecury 2011 February 1917 ldquoSouth African academics say they face a funding crisis as the government agency responsible for supporting research shifts strategic direction allowing many lsquoto fall between the cracksrsquo And the National Research Foundation (NRF) this year faced its first cut in its discretionary spending allocated by the Department of Science and Technologyrdquo The fund now supports half the number of students formerly illegible This situation compels some supervisors to cut on the number of students they supervise consequently leading to some students automatically dropping out or being delayed to finish their research projects on time Translated into physical and financial costs drop-out is a major liability to tertiary academic goals and national development initiatives

Student adventure Pile-ups Student pile-ups referring to student academic redundancy and lack of progress among research students due to adventure and side-tracked activity which has nothing to do with academic objectives and progress Students are hang-ups into the system ndash lsquobusy learningrsquo ndash even when academic progress is not seen due to clouding activities that delay productivity and academic role among students Pile-ups are costly to institutions and national objectives on development There is measurable financial loss sustained due to piling by students at universities and that remains a challenge to tertiary institutions on research

Categorization of tertiary institutions Categorization of tertiary institutions especially universities as research institutions and teaching institutions has a limitation whose consequence is a challenge in tertiary education experienced today Categorization entrenches the formerly white universities progress and grossly limits potential among Black universities who need empowerment Research is progressing well among formerly white institutions and there is a struggle and backlash among Black institutions The situation talks to funding of research ratios which are vast between the two categories ndash allowing for diametrically skewed and bi-polar development trends between the two institutional categories If the country needs potential from all institutions to maximise research output the discrepancies between the two categories of institutions need to be mended to insure synergies of production leading toward meeting the quotas in research output nationally The model for categorization of the two institutional infrastructures is unfortunately a condition for polarization rather than solving the educational ills of the past and addressing development needs in society

Socio-political factors the socio-economic factors which are affective factors to the poverty stricken lower class people is an over arching challenge on research outputs in tertiary education Research as a relatively difficult subject requires concentration and above-average energies for those students who studied the subject Affective poverty factors dislodge students and render them less attentive and less interested Those who donrsquot drop out struggle hard toward the goal post ndash often coming up with meagre knowledge resources which can hardly carry them through or make any significant improvements in research skills to add toward intellectual property in society In other words they remain semi-skilled If the net-pool of graduates expected to totals 300 students a year for instance to contribute toward post-graduate research training to meet the necessary quotas on research skill the normal trends in South Africa are that only one-tenth of 300 students may succeed to go to postgraduate level ndash with those succeeding in research being less than the number entering postgraduate studies


120

This makes university product around research skill always to run at a deficit with most of postgraduates consumed into managerial positions and other specializations ndash away from research portfolio or discipline Usually that was owing to economic dictates that channelled students into ends-meet education programmes for subsistence rather than career progression around research

Student ndash staff ratios and admission requirements The process leading to student intake at tertiary institutions in South Africa is problematized by several constraints which have been placed on policies of universities - dealing with different criteria to address studentsrsquo needs These criteria has tended to be discretionary methods of admission of students and it hinges on the autonomous status of a university rather than a general policy affecting intake at university in South Africa The condition is so affective of the situation that dealing with skills shortage in South Africa is uncoordinated and unorganized due to systemsrsquo different approaches ndash more often than not leading to divergence of practice and experience in the way things are done on admissions The experience causes the divergence in admissions that make former White led institutions to have lesser numbers while former Black run institutions are faced with huge intakes which bombard the system with impositions Staff ndash student ratiosrsquo in all universities have however markedly increased but staff-student ratios in Black institutions are a serious condition to contest with due to un-matching number of staff to those rising student numbers every year The challenge have been partly identified and captured by the Association of South African Social Workers Education Institutions (ASASWEI) in the report commissioned and consisted of Proffessor Roelf Reneke Professor Hanna Nel and Mr John Rautenbach to investigate the lecturer ndashstudent ratios and admission requirements of Social Work Departments in all South African Universities The general findings of the report reflects difficulties in managing classes for junior and post graduate students dealing with administration duties of the departments and conducting practical work which is a benchmark requirement for social work education Further the shortage of staff makes it impossible for staff to attend to individual needs of students to coach on supervision of practice and of the research wwwasasweiorgzareport-201105-asaswpdf

Staff shortage In all major faculties there are experienced staff shortages dealing with relatively large numbers of students The present capacity of staff is grossly under-complement and is struggling to cope with student numbers The general staff shortage impacts negatively on supervision of research projects by postgraduates who hang on for longer on their studies as supervisors try hard to reach a balance between demanding teaching and research work-loads Most postgraduate students doing research are forced to drop out while othersrsquo registration had to be stopped because of constricting factors on lack of supervision The trend have been the same for years For teaching and learning to continue under the circumstances poses serious challenges which at times is very difficult to appraise by both staff and students alike For progress to be made certain hurdles has to be overcome and some of those impediments include

Tackling studentrsquos learning on mass public systems which reduces formal learning into informal settings that risk limiting potential for skills acquisition


121

Assessing students through aggregation methods rather than singling individual students for appraising their strengths and weaknesses had a deficiency of under-evaluating student progress and encouraging semi-skilled outcomes in research

Student numbers (which are huge) without supportive complements of staff encourages quantitative outcomes in research and undermined quality of product from such outputs The entire situation is bothersome and allowed for the measurement of outcomes to be difficult when quantitative goals superseded qualitative outcomes

Staff shortage is made possible by a number of factors of which the following were most common

Staff disgruntlement with salaries Staff left tertiary institutions for attractive avenues like the private and public sectors in droves

Filling the gaps of staff that departed was difficult as work became crammed onto the remaining staff for too long without change ndash any change for improving the situation comes as a trickle-down effect and never landed the system to its maximum complement and potential In certain circumstances where the filling of gaps is not possible the disciplines depend on under qualified staff that may not be well grounded on research teaching andor supervision

Migration by academics and misplacement of research talent a brain-drain internal and external to the university is an observable phenomenon which grips tertiary education with enormous negative consequences on the socialization and nurturing of research talent among students and scholars in the field of research Over a period of time inside and outside tertiary institutions there is a traceable record of renowned intellectuals and research scholars who shift to other areas of work and leave a serious vacuum in research and research education Some of these skilled intellectuals are serving outside research talent in areas of governance and other leadership positions as well as industry The shift toward the avowed positions inside tertiary institutions leaves teaching and learning marred by such movements creating a big gap and vacuum more often than not not easy to replace in research Notwithstanding the contributions of the leavers in those new areas of work however the vacuum they create by leaving the field of research is vast and cannot easily be replaced Most professionals are reluctant to take up to teaching posts and are attracted outside academia for more rewarding positions Research is an indispensible skill and rare in the country and the loss of one talent is one too much or too many and places a huge challenge in the process of development at university in particular and society in general

The gap between teaching and publication in research the demands on teaching and on publication in research at tertiary institutions are a big challenge given the gross impact left by staff shortages That gap in some instances is enormous Instead of the gap being narrowed to allow for improvement in research outputs the gap is busy becoming a challenge which widens the rift between learning and supervision processes impacting on students and staff in research matters In this instance in major respects more often than not the students suffer the setback ndash sacrificed easily by overarching publication goals which have to be considered To


122

balance between teaching and publications is not an easy thing Speed is required usually in dealing with the situation ndash a thing which sometimes leaves serious problems of management and coping on dealing with research process The general analysis of the situation at Ngoye Universityrsquos Social Science and Humanities Faculty is made by Professor Dennis Ocholla and Dr Jannecke Mostert writing in Inkanyiso 2010 over the capturing of Masters and Doctoral records for publication that ldquo We noted a few problems that relate to capturing research output at university such as the duplication of research documents or records mixing published and unpublished documents and the poor record keeping of theses and dissertationsrdquo( Ocholla and Mostert 201042)

Research funding Funding research at tertiary institutions is still a problem with some of the traditionally Black institutions receiving low government subsidies and donations The rational used in funding is on a pro rata basis pending number of inputs a University is making on and measured by publications Such funding may be justifiable at face value ndash judging from tangible results and paying a university according to those publications results However some universities especially the disadvantaged former Black universities need a different quota for funding to allow them to have leverage on the research playing field This imperative as a consideration stems from the historical legacy of the tertiary institutions which are differently classified and managed by the former system of education To encourage progress and motivation of students particularly in that area requires a revisionist position on university funding formulae to accommodate the formerly disadvantaged institutions to cope with research education that later can impact positively toward acquisition of skills necessary to contribute toward the development agenda of the country The situation contradicts the criteria for a recognized research output in South Africa as promulgated in 2003 in the lsquoPolicy and Procedure for Measuring Output for Higher Education Institutionsrsquo whose purpose and objectives include ldquoEncouraging research productivity by rewarding quality research output at public higher education institutions specifying eligibility for subsidization for journals books and proceedings in sufficient detailsrdquo Motivation and encouragement of the disadvantaged institutions is necessary to ensure a product of synergy among tertiary institutions ndash a thing that arguers well with progressive planning and implementation of research strategy to contribute toward alleviating research skill shortage in the country nationally wwweducationgovzadocumentspolciesPolicyMeasurementResearchpdf

The role of government in tertiary education

Government is playing a significant role in tertiary education especially in research education which is identified as a necessary link into service delivery and development Several measures have been taken and resources and energies put in place to realize the objectives of government on development Among the important roles played by government the following are prominent in sketching the way toward development

- Management of transformation process toward total change in all spheres of influence Transformation formulas and infrastructure is put in place and guide by policies


123

- Human capital and other relevant resources are supplied and strategies sought to influence activities to ensure progress in development

- University mergers are encouraged to influence regional progress on research education

- Improved subsidies for tertiary education is made possible and the process is consciously monitored and evaluated

- Institutional subsidies are provided and revised with time to accommodate new trends in facilitating tertiary education

- Improved coordination of stakeholders and resources in education based on consultative models of inclusivity that draws in various role players and stakeholders to share responsibilities around education of the youth of the country in particular to focus on future remedies to the skills shortage in South Africa models for inter-governmental functions as well as intra-governmental organs of state are designed on integrative strategies to foster collaboration and cooperation among stakeholders and organs of the state

- Setting of Commissions on Higher Education to deal with problems on the education system and

- Report of 2008 on higher education in South Africa on funding of research that sums up the deal and intentions of the government on education matters in society wwweducationgovzadocumentspoliciesPolicyMeasurementResearchpdf

With all efforts there are still large areas which are wanting with some plummeting toward the lower standards expected What would probably be standing on the way for progress if the government is capable to unleash the best strategies and carry out fervent plans to improve situations in tertiary institutions regarding research What contributes to stagnation in input and output of research among universities and colleges in South Africa

Some of the findings regarding the stagnation and prolongation of transformation effort by government on tertiary institutions and research output have been among others

Governmentrsquos inability to foster the degree of cooperation and collaboration among major stakeholders in education beyond the White Paper position on education

The Universities are autonomous bodies functioning outside authority of government in major respects

University mergers are still lingering and shatteringly un-cohesive even when major agreement has been reached on unity with some institutions clinging on autonomy that superseded the mergerrsquos intentions and purpose

Universities are monopolizing knowledge production


124

stakeholder ship among government tertiary institutions and institutes of research is weak in facilitating research production in society

The role of research institutes and research bodies

Critical role players and stakeholders in research

Among many institutes and bodies dealing with research in South Africa the following are important in drawing the landscape of research

Research institutes like Markinor CSIR HSRC and Meraka

NGOrsquos dealing with research

Institute of Race Relations

Institute of security studies and

Media Houses

Singling out the media consortium as a measurement tool to determine progress made toward integrated approach in research production and research practice or application it is established that media is not more often than not cohesive in approach in dealing with questions of national interest Media subjectivism is captured clearly by former journalist and editor and now Deputy Executive Officer of the Government Information and Communication Systems when he defended Mr Jimmy Manyi on government affairs and writing that ldquoOne of the depressing features about the recent debate on the mediarsquos relationships with the government is that it has been reduced to personalities Jimmy Manyi in particular I call this an intellectual cop out by those who know but would not admit the flaws of the economics of publishing and how it shapes the newsrdquo Journalists have a tendency of relegating those they donrsquot like or they put them down to lower ranks of news and elevate above board all those they are eyeing and have regard for This tendency shapes how media deal with government matters and seek to report selectively but biased toward undermining government functions The media apportions fewer journalists in those areas preferred by them and leave fewer journalists in all other areas which mattered less to them According to Mr Vusi Mona quoted by Sunday Independent July316 ldquoExcept for the obvious beats like education health crime sports and business very few reporters today can be said to report authoritatively on issues like rural development land reform labour defence science and technology water environmental affairs and international relations among othersrdquo

Finally institutions like media houses are part of the democratic dispensation Media is an instrument of research in its own right manned by professionals who have their pulse in society and have technical and professional material to influence the research direction based on objective reporting in society Media is a powerful communication instrument in progressive societies around the world In South Africa too media need to be at the forefront of development issues ndash assisting in interpreting and analysing research and placing objective


125

journalism at the centre of debate and mediating between factions and groups that struggle for power This media should do adopting a sense of society which is critical and constructive toward nation-building However present trends in media process do not arguer well with that ideal with media blamed for confusion and divisions in society and at times undermining governance and progress the government is trying to make in society Often dirty journalism and somewhat ideological and un-objective reporting characterizes mediarsquos relationship with society ndash utterly leading to differences of opinion and tempering with fundamental values that should enshrine democracy It is immaterial and irrelevant whether few in the Media Houses do not do all these wrongs - but that it takes only one journalist to be explosive enough to bring the country down - owing to the power media wielded on communication role in society No country survives if it has such hostile media in its mist no progress in development can be possible or measurable with such obscene mediatisation and hope for the bright future is not possible while media is busy driving the country into a banana-republic

Recommendations

Some of the recommendations advanced for consideration in this work ndash the work intended to change and improve the landscape of knowledge production and knowledge application in South Africa ndash to contribute toward progress in development are the following

Creating models of synergized university collaborative This calls for universities in Provinces to form networks of shared value for education which consciously fosters a model of total cooperation and collaboration in matters of research and focus on community engagement This model attempts to improve on the mergers which adversely turned negative and were reduced to power struggle and contestation The synergization process is voluntary and conscience-ready approach from research community that realize the need and importance of research on community goals and the dire crisis conditions communities already experience

Establishing research schools research education need to be singled out and dealt with within an environment and models of education that is separate from the present systems of knowledge production for purposes of setting new parameters and ethos to education-for development Functionally new order of education in this terrain has a potency and propensity to rejuvenate the character of skills development and activism for development which shall finally help realize the dream of transformation in society

Advocating for strong stakeholder-ship in research education practice present order of institutionalized and compartmentalization of autonomous bodies create bottlenecks and slow progress toward research knowledge production and application A record-of understanding involving all stakeholders in education coming to a summit to agree on the best model and strategy to produce a team that conjoins all research entities ndash from government to tertiary institutions and to research institutes serving as a untied purposeful conglomerate or consortium to address research issues and sought out formulas for progress in knowledge production and skills alleviation in research This


126

would lessen control and improve participative processes leading to collective responsibilities purpose

Rethinking university autonomy university autonomy need to be revised as a principle of governance among universities in South Africa Democratization of society allows for changing modes of operations to align the thinking purpose and energies toward cooperative and collaborative networks - away from staunch competitive models that have potency for conflicts and divisions - to keep on track with norms and principles of the multiparty democratic ethos we created for ourselves

Recalling all retired and dislocated research scholars the government need to recall all research scholars retired and migrated to other fields and places due to various reasons to come and occupy centre stage in all research deliberations and service The skill among these experts is needed now in teaching managing and strategizing as well as in service stations in communities This the government should consider when means are sought to tackle the larger skill shortage in the country From time to time willing internationals should be given tenures to come and assist with research expertise where necessary

Research funding need to be improved presently the funding on research is under-par constricting on knowledge production and knowledge application in communities This need to be corrected and the government should together with partnerships from all stakeholders set an agenda for working out formulas for financial generation and pricing of research function in all its manifestations This would augur well with motivation of students of research and have positive bearing on knowledge production processes in the country

Society should dialog around education issues society should robustly debate issues of education and do so constantly to appraise and make checks-and-balances on models applied and progress made in knowledge production Education is one critical area which measures progress in the entire countryrsquos missions and it needs constant appraisal by the entire populace or citizenry Again coming from repressive conditions that made a terrible blow to peoplersquos futures need to keep society alert to ensure progress is made in this regard and conditions are improving for the better Dialog or debate is education in itself and upholding that is good for progress in knowledge production and development goals

Rethinking evaluation systems on research the evaluation of research as an important barometer for progress in knowledge production and serving as a mercury for postulating future of development in practice is an important instrument of change The present system needs to be revised and new parameters set to favour an inclusive broader system to capture demographics and profiles of tertiary institutions and operational fields of research on equalized footing These new parameters should ideally be the tasks of the new stakeholder function based on tertiary institutions- government-


127

institutes of research configuration ndash upon which decisions and strategies should emanate - to sketch the way forward on knowledge production and knowledge application in South Africa

Conclusion

The work rethinking intellectual property as an instrument for development seeks to instigate debate leading toward accelerated rate of change in society This change is needed in communities where underdevelopment is seen growing ndash threatening to rip communities apart Research is identified as a core critical factor which can be used to solve human problems and offer solutions for a sustainable future Concentration is therefore made on intellectuals in society especially those in tertiary intuitions ndash functioning as intellectual group to facilitate development in society The work seeks to clarify the use of research as intellectual property for society rather than as a property to define individual capabilities or achievements A sense of community which an individual must adopt to contribute toward society is emphasized here ndash to ensure that society survives and does so on the power of individual inputs in it ndash otherwise a concept society remains a figment of imagination ndash existing only in words as concepts The work therefore emphasize collective expressions of will and intent among intellectuals ndash whose purpose and goal is to contribute toward synergy of operations among intellectuals to meet with the necessary quotas in research production ndash to facilitate development in South Africa

Bibliography

Africa Education Review 2004 A site of struggle Black Academics at historically White Universities in South Africa E Weber and S Vandeyar Faculty of Education ndash Department of Curriculum Studies Pretoria Unisa Press 2004 Volume 1 Number 2 175 - 192

Alissi A 1980 Social Group Work Process ndash 2nd Edition New Jersey Prentice-Hall Incorporation

Bailey KD 1987 Methods of Social Research Third Edition New York The Free Press

Benatar SR 1991 Freedom of Speech Academic Freedom and challenges to Universities in

South Africa South African Journal of Science 1991 Volume 87 ndash Number 1

Creswell JW 2009 Research Design ndash Qualitative Quantitative and Mixed Methods

Approaches Third Edition New Delhi SAGE Publications


128

Dlamini CMR 1995 Towards a definition of a Peoplersquos University South African Journal of

Higher Education 1995 Volume 9 ndash Number 2 pages 44 - 49

Vilakazi Hebert W 2003 Africa and the problem of the State Can African traditional Authority and the Western Liberal State be Reconciled IndilingaAfrican Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems Vol 2N2 27 ndash 35

Mkabela Queeneth2003 ForewordIndilinga African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems Vol2N2 ii ndash vii

Ocholla Dennis N and Mostert J2010The research trends of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Research at the University of Zululand 1994 ndash 2008 InkanyisoJournal of Humanities and the Social Sciences Volume 2 Number 1

Khotseng BM 1992 Universities in Post Apartheid South Africa South African Journal of Higher Education Volume 6 Number 2

Sunday Independent 2011 interview between Manas and

Mail and Guardian 2010 Women in Science The South African Women in Science Awards Department of Science and Technology ndash Republic of South Africa Education Section August 20 ndash 26 2010 Pages 1 ndash 4

Mail and Guardian 2010 lsquoHumanities must lead againrsquo ndash Nzimande Reporter David Macfarlane Education Section October 6 ndash 14 2010 Page 42

Mail and Guardian 2011 CHE panel lsquoacted with integrityrsquo Leaked letter Written by University of KwaZulu-Natal audit chair Martin Hall lsquoSubstantially compromised auditrsquo Reporter Professor Ahmed Essop Education Section 2011 February 18 - 24 pages 47 ndash 48

Mail and Guardian 2011 Banish colonial spectres Africa Day is an opportunity for Universities to interrogate Western hegemony Education Section Comment by Anwar Osman May 20 ndash 26 2011 Page 41

Mail and Guardian 2011 Africarsquos post-colonial scourge The lsquoconsultancy culturersquo at the universities across the continent has a corrosive effect on education Tertiary debate ndash Postgraduate studyProfessor Mahmood Mandani University of Matekere 27 May to 02 June 20111 ndash 2

Mail and Guardian 2011 Getting Ahead ndash Fund mooted to boost SADC universities Support for intraregional collaboration in Higher Education is essential to boost local development Piyushi


129

Kotecha Chief Executive of the Southern African Regional Universities Association 27 May to 02 June 021-3

Makgoba WM1996 Africanise now ndash or perish Transformation Enterprise Networking for Africarsquos entrepreneurs and Leaders South African Journal for Higher Education Volume 48 Number 99

Moulder J 1995 lsquoAfricanisingrsquo our Universities Some ideas for a debate Journal for constructive Theology Volume 1 ndash Number 2

The Mecury 2010 Funding of tertiary institutions A challenge for the future

Neuman WL 2011 Social Research Methods ndash Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches Seventh Edition Boston Pearson Publishers

Reason P 1994 Participation in Human Inquiry ndash Research with People New Delhi SAGE Publications

Sunday Independent 2011 Mapungubwe Shake us from the slumber of short-termism ndash

MISTRA should not posit subjective views as the paragon of profound intellectual thought Reporter Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe Opinion and Analysis March 20 2011 page 17

Sunday Independent 2011 Mapungubwe Shake us from the slumber of short-termism ndash Our country needs more not less research Reporter Mr Joel Netshitenzhe Opinion and Analysis March 20 2011 page 17

South African Broadcasting Corporation 2011 Local Government Elections Independent Electoral Commission Final Elections Announcement SABC 2 President Jacob Zuma Speech 21 May 2011 18hoo -19h00 time slot

South African Broadcusting Corporation 2011 Parliamentory Debates Interview between Mluleki Thanda and Minister Trevor Manuel - diagnosis of the state of the country NPC report Parliament SABC 2 10 June 2011 08h00 to 0830 time slot

South African Broadcasting Corporation 2011 House Call-Izwi Bonitas Life Interview between Professor Victor Ramathesele and Professor Bongani Mayiso SABC 2 Sunday 2011 June 19 10 -11 time-slot

South African Broadcasting Corporation 2 (SABC 2) 2011 Morning Edition ndashNews Broadcast 700 to 830 Comment by Professor Pitika Ntuli Saturday Bulletin 08 July 201108 to 0830 time-slot


130

Struwig FW amp Stead GB Planning Designing and Reporting Research Cape Town Maskew Miller Longman Press

Terre Blanche M Durrheim K amp Painter D 2006 Research in Practice ndash Applied Methods for the Social Sciences Second Edition Cape Town University of Cape Town Press

Thabo Mbeki Leadership Institute 2010 Investing in Thought Leaders for Africarsquos Renewal Africa Day Lecture Annual ndash Thabo Mbeki Lecture Mr Thabo Mbeki May 27 2010 1 to 15

Voster PJ 1995 Africanization An explanation and some implications South African Journal of Education February 1995 Volume 15 ndash Number 1

Weber E and Vandeyar S 2004 A site of struggle Black Academics at historically White Universities in South Africa Article Department of Curriculum Studies ndash Faculty of Education University of Pretoria Pretoria University Press Pages 175 ndash 192

Wiarda HJ 1997 The Ethnocentrism of Social Sciences Modernization and Development

wwwasasweiorgza201105-asaswpdf

wwwnrfaczaprojectsphppid=33

wwweducationgovzadocumentspoliciesPolicyMeasurementResearchpdf

wwwenwikipediaorgwikiIntellectual_property


ii

Proceedings of the Faculty of Arts 5thAnnual Conference 2011

Theme


Editors

Dennis N Ocholla and Thandi Nzama


2011


iii



Private Bag x1001

KwaDlangezwa

3886

South Africa


atnzamapanuzuluacza

All rights reserved

copy Authors 2011

ISBN 978-0-620-45758-3




iv

FOREWORD











v






Thank you



vi

CONTENTS







Myrtle Hooper ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 33



Johan Ras -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------42

Who is God

Johan Ras -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------63


tourism development





TZ Ramphele -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------99


vii


1






Abstract





Introduction



2












3








4







5






6



Methodology






7




470

1270

8

10

930

870

1130

18

11

1430

1030

17

84

6930

81

7570

8030

7430

000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000


creation





transport





8




Disagree Neutral

Agree


140 140 720


190 133 677


83 157 760


110 143 747


133 97 770


123 197 680


Disagree Neutral

Agree


270 153 577


9



360 137 500


397 150 453


283 163 553


343 177 480


303 187 510


273 220 507



10

1030

1670

1770

1470

17

16

18

17

7270

6730

6430

6830

000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000


in decision making


alleviation


industry








11




0

10

20

30

40

50

60



12





83

17

YES NO


13









14








15







16



Conclusion


References








17


















18











19






Introduction









20












21











22



Conservation






23











24



Environment






25




Research sample











26










27






28






2011 9

2030

100

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Series1


29



Summary of findings




30

Conclusion



References





London Routledge








31

New York Longman


London SAGE















Washington Normal


Cape Town Juta








32


339-348





2011]


33



Myrtle Hooper3

Department English



Prelude






34






35






36






37







38








39







40




References








41



42


Johan Ras4




Abstract





43



44



45



46




47







48




49



50




51




52



53




54





55






56




57








58



59









60









61















62





63

Who is God

Johan Ras




Abstract


Introduction




64




65





66






67



68




69







70






71



72













73








74









75



76



77



78



79






80




81



82











83





84


development





Abstract






85





Background



86










87






88











89






Delimitation



90





Methodology




Instrumentation



91

Collection of Data


Interviews


Questionnaire












92

Conclusion


References















93












94


Nomahlubi Makunga7

Faculty of Arts



Abstract



Introduction






95



Method

Design


Materials




Description


Nutritional Value



96




Medicinal Value










Isihlalakahle

Isiqanga

Igusha


97

Isheke

Imbobela

Discussion




Conclusion


References





98













99

TZ Ramphele8




Abstract












100





101






102






103






104






105






106










107













108















109





110







111






112







113








114




115








116












117






118







119






120






121









122







123















124









Media Houses




125


Recommendations






126








127


Conclusion


Bibliography









128















129















130












iii



Private Bag x1001

KwaDlangezwa

3886

South Africa


atnzamapanuzuluacza

All rights reserved

copy Authors 2011

ISBN 978-0-620-45758-3




iv

FOREWORD











v






Thank you



vi

CONTENTS







Myrtle Hooper ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 33



Johan Ras -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------42

Who is God

Johan Ras -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------63


tourism development





TZ Ramphele -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------99


vii


1






Abstract





Introduction



2












3








4







5






6



Methodology






7




470

1270

8

10

930

870

1130

18

11

1430

1030

17

84

6930

81

7570

8030

7430

000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000


creation





transport





8




Disagree Neutral

Agree


140 140 720


190 133 677


83 157 760


110 143 747


133 97 770


123 197 680


Disagree Neutral

Agree


270 153 577


9



360 137 500


397 150 453


283 163 553


343 177 480


303 187 510


273 220 507



10

1030

1670

1770

1470

17

16

18

17

7270

6730

6430

6830

000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000


in decision making


alleviation


industry








11




0

10

20

30

40

50

60



12





83

17

YES NO


13









14








15







16



Conclusion


References








17


















18











19






Introduction









20












21











22



Conservation






23











24



Environment






25




Research sample











26










27






28






2011 9

2030

100

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Series1


29



Summary of findings




30

Conclusion



References





London Routledge








31

New York Longman


London SAGE















Washington Normal


Cape Town Juta








32


339-348





2011]


33



Myrtle Hooper3

Department English



Prelude






34






35






36






37







38








39







40




References








41



42


Johan Ras4




Abstract





43



44



45



46




47







48




49



50




51




52



53




54





55






56




57








58



59









60









61















62





63

Who is God

Johan Ras




Abstract


Introduction




64




65





66






67



68




69







70






71



72













73








74









75



76



77



78



79






80




81



82











83





84


development





Abstract






85





Background



86










87






88











89






Delimitation



90





Methodology




Instrumentation



91

Collection of Data


Interviews


Questionnaire












92

Conclusion


References















93












94


Nomahlubi Makunga7

Faculty of Arts



Abstract



Introduction






95



Method

Design


Materials




Description


Nutritional Value



96




Medicinal Value










Isihlalakahle

Isiqanga

Igusha


97

Isheke

Imbobela

Discussion




Conclusion


References





98













99

TZ Ramphele8




Abstract












100





101






102






103






104






105






106










107













108















109





110







111






112







113








114




115








116












117






118







119






120






121









122







123















124









Media Houses




125


Recommendations






126








127


Conclusion


Bibliography









128















129















130












iv

FOREWORD











v






Thank you



vi

CONTENTS







Myrtle Hooper ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 33



Johan Ras -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------42

Who is God

Johan Ras -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------63


tourism development





TZ Ramphele -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------99


vii


1






Abstract





Introduction



2












3








4







5






6



Methodology






7




470

1270

8

10

930

870

1130

18

11

1430

1030

17

84

6930

81

7570

8030

7430

000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000


creation





transport





8




Disagree Neutral

Agree


140 140 720


190 133 677


83 157 760


110 143 747


133 97 770


123 197 680


Disagree Neutral

Agree


270 153 577


9



360 137 500


397 150 453


283 163 553


343 177 480


303 187 510


273 220 507



10

1030

1670

1770

1470

17

16

18

17

7270

6730

6430

6830

000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000


in decision making


alleviation


industry








11




0

10

20

30

40

50

60



12





83

17

YES NO


13









14








15







16



Conclusion


References








17


















18











19






Introduction









20












21











22



Conservation






23











24



Environment






25




Research sample











26










27






28






2011 9

2030

100

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Series1


29



Summary of findings




30

Conclusion



References





London Routledge








31

New York Longman


London SAGE















Washington Normal


Cape Town Juta








32


339-348





2011]


33



Myrtle Hooper3

Department English



Prelude






34






35






36






37







38








39







40




References








41



42


Johan Ras4




Abstract





43



44



45



46




47







48




49



50




51




52



53




54





55






56




57








58



59









60









61















62





63

Who is God

Johan Ras




Abstract


Introduction




64




65





66






67



68




69







70






71



72













73








74









75



76



77



78



79






80




81



82











83





84


development





Abstract






85





Background



86










87






88











89






Delimitation



90





Methodology




Instrumentation



91

Collection of Data


Interviews


Questionnaire












92

Conclusion


References















93












94


Nomahlubi Makunga7

Faculty of Arts



Abstract



Introduction






95



Method

Design


Materials




Description


Nutritional Value



96




Medicinal Value










Isihlalakahle

Isiqanga

Igusha


97

Isheke

Imbobela

Discussion




Conclusion


References





98













99

TZ Ramphele8




Abstract












100





101






102






103






104






105






106










107













108















109





110







111






112







113








114




115








116












117






118







119






120






121









122







123















124









Media Houses




125


Recommendations






126








127


Conclusion


Bibliography









128









Mail and Guardian 2010 lsquoHumanities must lead againrsquo ndash Nzimande Reporter David Macfarlane Education Section October 6 ndash 14 2010 2






129















130












v






Thank you



vi

CONTENTS







Myrtle Hooper ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 33



Johan Ras -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------42

Who is God

Johan Ras -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------63


tourism development





TZ Ramphele -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------99


vii


1






Abstract





Introduction



2












3








4







5






6



Methodology






7




470

1270

8

10

930

870

1130

18

11

1430

1030

17

84

6930

81

7570

8030

7430

000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000


creation





transport





8




Disagree Neutral

Agree


140 140 720


190 133 677


83 157 760


110 143 747


133 97 770


123 197 680


Disagree Neutral

Agree


270 153 577


9



360 137 500


397 150 453


283 163 553


343 177 480


303 187 510


273 220 507



10

1030

1670

1770

1470

17

16

18

17

7270

6730

6430

6830

000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000


in decision making


alleviation


industry








11




0

10

20

30

40

50

60



12





83

17

YES NO


13









14








15







16



Conclusion


References








17


















18











19






Introduction









20












21











22



Conservation






23











24



Environment






25




Research sample











26










27






28






2011 9

2030

100

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Series1


29



Summary of findings




30

Conclusion



References





London Routledge








31

New York Longman


London SAGE















Washington Normal


Cape Town Juta








32


339-348





2011]


33



Myrtle Hooper3

Department English



Prelude






34






35






36






37







38








39







40




References








41



42


Johan Ras4




Abstract





43



44



45



46




47







48




49



50




51




52



53




54





55






56




57








58



59









60









61















62





63

Who is God

Johan Ras




Abstract


Introduction




64




65





66






67



68




69







70






71



72













73








74









75



76



77



78



79






80




81



82











83





84


development





Abstract






85





Background



86










87






88











89






Delimitation



90





Methodology




Instrumentation



91

Collection of Data


Interviews


Questionnaire












92

Conclusion


References















93












94


Nomahlubi Makunga7

Faculty of Arts



Abstract



Introduction






95



Method

Design


Materials




Description


Nutritional Value



96




Medicinal Value










Isihlalakahle

Isiqanga

Igusha


97

Isheke

Imbobela

Discussion




Conclusion


References





98













99

TZ Ramphele8




Abstract












100





101






102






103






104






105






106










107













108















109





110







111






112







113








114




115








116












117






118







119






120






121









122







123















124









Media Houses




125


Recommendations






126








127


Conclusion


Bibliography









128















129















130












vi

CONTENTS







Myrtle Hooper ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 33



Johan Ras -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------42

Who is God

Johan Ras -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------63


tourism development





TZ Ramphele -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------99


vii


1






Abstract





Introduction



2












3








4







5






6



Methodology






7




470

1270

8

10

930

870

1130

18

11

1430

1030

17

84

6930

81

7570

8030

7430

000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000


creation





transport





8




Disagree Neutral

Agree


140 140 720


190 133 677


83 157 760


110 143 747


133 97 770


123 197 680


Disagree Neutral

Agree


270 153 577


9



360 137 500


397 150 453


283 163 553


343 177 480


303 187 510


273 220 507



10

1030

1670

1770

1470

17

16

18

17

7270

6730

6430

6830

000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000


in decision making


alleviation


industry








11




0

10

20

30

40

50

60



12





83

17

YES NO


13









14








15







16



Conclusion


References








17


















18











19






Introduction









20












21











22



Conservation






23











24



Environment






25




Research sample











26










27






28






2011 9

2030

100

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Series1


29



Summary of findings




30

Conclusion



References





London Routledge








31

New York Longman


London SAGE















Washington Normal


Cape Town Juta








32


339-348





2011]


33



Myrtle Hooper3

Department English



Prelude






34






35






36






37







38








39







40




References








41



42


Johan Ras4




Abstract





43



44



45



46




47







48




49



50




51




52



53




54





55






56




57








58



59









60









61















62





63

Who is God

Johan Ras




Abstract


Introduction




64




65





66






67



68




69







70






71



72













73








74









75



76



77



78



79






80




81



82











83





84


development





Abstract






85





Background



86










87






88











89






Delimitation



90





Methodology




Instrumentation



91

Collection of Data


Interviews


Questionnaire












92

Conclusion


References















93












94


Nomahlubi Makunga7

Faculty of Arts



Abstract



Introduction






95



Method

Design


Materials




Description


Nutritional Value



96




Medicinal Value










Isihlalakahle

Isiqanga

Igusha


97

Isheke

Imbobela

Discussion




Conclusion


References





98













99

TZ Ramphele8




Abstract












100





101






102






103






104






105






106










107













108















109





110







111






112







113








114




115








116












117






118







119






120






121









122







123















124









Media Houses




125


Recommendations






126








127


Conclusion


Bibliography









128















129















130











proceedings of the faculty of arts 5th annual conference

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