Loooking back: A reflection on the failure of the Developmental Model of Welfare in South Africa

Introduction
The paper will seek to locate South Africa’s poverty within historical sphere and will highlight positive steps that the post apartheid government led by ANC took to eliminate this social ill; steps which culminated into the development of the White Paper for Social Welfare and the adoption of the developmental approach to welfare. The paper will again look at the challenges that make the implementation process of the developmental model a big challenge for the government, NGO, Civil society organization and practitioners. It will then advance for some recommendations which would be integral to the successful implementation of the developmental approach to welfare, within which political shift and political will are central.
2.0) Poverty eradication in South Africa: Impact of GEAR and ASGISA
At the foremost, it is important to highlight that the poverty in South African context is historically rooted. On this premise, it is therefore important to highlight that the apartheid socio-economic order had in many ways played a significant role in the entrenchment of poverty in the periphery of economic consumption-thus in rural areas and informal settlements outside major town. This had a major impact on the creation of poverty in the black communities and polarized the country across two divides, with the economically well off white minority on one side and the poor black majority on the other side. The black society was mostly socialized around the provision of labour to the mines and informal jobs not high economic capital activities like the white population. Frye (2007) states that in order to ensure optimal reproduction of labour, the former colonial government, and later the former government of the Republic of South Africa introduced a legislated strangulating latticework of repressive policies and legislation that systematically dispossessed black South Africans of the right to own land except in reserves, the right to operate businesses, to accumulate surplus, as well as the right to human capital development
Thus the black majority across the country lived within the trap of impoverished situations because their lives were systematically incarcerated in situations of poverty. It is from that historical perspective that we will see that the dawn of democracy in South Africa, though a rebirth of the nation, presented a major challenge to the ANC government due to the class and race inequalities that existed at that time. The majority of the country lived in places with poor infrastructural development and with limited possibilities for socio-economic development. Thus the adoption of Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) by the by Nelson Mandela’s ANC led government in 1994, which was cognizant of the socio-historical and economic realities within which most South Africans lived. Thus this macro-economic framework provided the foundation and parameters within which a nation could be reunified towards achieving greater goals of uplifting the lives of the majority of the population which was living in poverty. This is what the nation needed, to even the gaps that existed, the need for mobilization of all the people towards reconstruction and development of the nation. At that time the RDP was viewed as a holistic perspective in which nation building could occur, as its introduction stated “the RDP is an integrated, coherent socio-economic policy framework. It seeks to mobilize all our people and our countries resources towards the final eradication of apartheid and the building of a democratic, non racial and non-sexist future” (RDP ,1994). Thus the RDP encapsulated six key basic principles within which nation building would occur (RDP, 1994), which are:
1) An integrated and sustainable programme
2) A people driven process
3) Peace and security for all
4) Nation building
5) Link reconstruction and development
6) Democratization of South Africa
The shift to nation building equally meant the consolidation of the welfare system which was racially biased towards the ruling minority white. Consolidation had to happen to bring the two welfare set ups- for the white and the black- into a unified entity. “The welfare model inherited from colonialism and apartheid was inequitable, discriminatory and relied on inappropriate and unsustainable methods of service delivery. Social policy was modeled on Western European institutional welfare for the white minority whilst a residual system of social welfare prevailed for black” (Patel, 2008:72). The adoption of the White Paper for Welfare (1997) was a hallmark to this transition process. It is important at this far to mention that the White Paper for Social Welfare was formulated within the parameters of Reconstruction and Development Programme, recognizing that there was need to shift from residual welfare system to social development model in which active citizenship is the norm “Social development is conceived of, first, as a pro-poor strategy promoting the participation of the socially excluded in development activities to achieve social and economic justice, human rights, social solidarity and active citizenship. Second, a collaborative partnership approach is envisaged between government, civil society, and the private sector, with government playing a proactive leading role. Third, high impact intervention strategies, a community based and developmental approach to service delivery and a better balance between remedial, protective, preventative and developmental strategies were proposed by the White Paper of 1997”, (Patel, 2008:73). This was the right direction that the nation took towards reconstruction and poverty alleviation, however as Patel (2008:80) indicated “ten years from White Paper for Social Welfare it is clear just how complex it is to redesign a social welfare system in a society in transition within a changing regional and global context”. The reality in modern South Africa is that poverty remains quite high. This is greatly attributed to the shift in macro economic policies from RDP to Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) and later to Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA). This represented a focus shift from people’s development to the economic growth which is consistent with neoliberal ideological agenda. “Government’s investigations, supported by independent research, indicate that the growth rate needed for us to achieve our social objectives is around 5% on average between 2004 and 2014. Realistically assessing the capabilities of the economy and the international environment, we have set a two phase target. In the first phase, between 2005 and 2009, we seek and annual growth rate that averages 4.5% or higher. In the second phase, between 2010 and 2014, we seek an average growth rate of at least 6% of growth domestic product (GDP)” (ASGISA:2006:2 )
At this far it is important to indicate that this shift, which meant that people’s social development would be as a result of trickle down effects of an economic growth to the projected levels by the government meant abandoning people’s welfare to the market forces. While in the apartheid era the society was divided along racial lines, It is equally worthy noting that the post apartheid South African society while trying to recover from the apartheid legacy is heavily impacted upon by the neo liberal policies. Neo liberal policies have polarized the country into two different poles, with the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ living side by side, this deliberate movement by the government from being people centered to economic growth and capital accumulation at the expense of people’s welfare, has had enormous contribution to poverty and powerlessness in the communities. In neo-liberal capitalistic societies ‘what emerge are gigantic monopolies which cripple creativity, freedom and participation in economic, political and social efforts. The end result is the existence of a massive global population of silenced, blind and apathetic consumers on the one hand, and disadvantaged, desperate and a starving population on the other. Neo-liberalism has made it possible for a “powerful few” to tie up global resources in terms of ownership, production and massive capital gains’ (Okosun, 2008:4). The result of which has been rampart poverty in the periphery of the cities and economic establishments, while at the same time with a few very rich people who have benefited from policies like Black Economic Empowerment at the expense of the greater needy population.
The economic policies of GEAR which was later re-casted in the form of ASGISA have in many ways contributed to poverty growth, embracing neo-liberalism by the government meant implementation of structural adjustment programmes (SAPS). “Structural adjustment programmes (SAPS), with its emphasis on creating macro economic stability, impose a range of negative effects. SAPS have failed throughout Africa to increase investment and saving rates, improve export performance, diminish debt, create jobs, bring about sustained growth, or bring out the productive capacity of the poor, the majority of whom are women” Sewpaul (Unpublished:13). The lives of the poor are thus left to unconcerned global forces; the result is the entry into the market of multinational companies which are mostly tied up in the West and United States of America. These multi national companies only serve to grow the economies of their countries at the expense of South Africans, a problem in these multinational economic players results in serious consequences in the people of South Africa, as evidenced by the global recession which started in United States, had direct impact on people’s lives with high cost of living, especially on the food market. “Ideological hegemony of neoliberal capitalism” (Sewpaul: Unpublished:16), presents the greatest challenge to poverty alleviation in South Africa
The implementation of the structural adjustment programmes meant a special challenge to South African manufacturing industries, especially textile which had to compete with large volumes of imported Chinese goods; this stifled the market for locally produced textile products. This resulted in falling of many companies in the textiles industries, the result of which was the increase in job losses and increase in unemployment, especially on the part of the women who constitute a great percentage in the textile industries. While is true that this opening up of the countries borders to open up the markets for competitive trading may be as a result of following World Trade Organization (WTO), the environment created by WTO is not conducive for emerging economies, it is used to the advantage of larger economically well off countries of the West. “The United States government uses the WTO to protect the market for its Multinational corporations, (Kema, 2005, cited in Sewpaul, unpublished: 14). Thus the free trade promoted by the WTO through free market ideologies is thus orchestrated by an invisible hand that is trying to take advantage of the weak and emerging nations for its own economic growth through its own multinational companies-the direct and indirect result is increase in deprivation due to poverty and joblessness in South Africa, as Sewpaul (unpublished:14) affirms, “under the guise of free trade poverty and inequality are repeatedly reproduced”
At this far it is important to indicate that while people in the periphery of the town and cities may experience their own impoverished conditions and locate their troubles within their own failure, it is important to indicate that as illustrated above, much of South Africa’s poverty is systematically made by adopting neo liberal and capitalistic driven agendas.

Constraining factors to operationalization of developmental approach welfare in South Africa
Operationalization of developmental approach to welfare is a big challenge in the contemporary South Africa; this part will tackle some of the major factors that inhibit successful implementation of the developmental approach to social work. Which are:

Ideological conflict in the policies
The conflict at a policy level is in many ways crippling the efforts to implement the developmental approach to welfare. As indicated in the forgoing discussion, the White Paper for Social Welfare was formulated within the parameters of RDP, in which people participation and empowerment was integral to the realization of the greater goal of poverty alleviation after the end of the apartheid era, as the RDP document (1994:7) indicated, “thorough going democratization of our society is in other words, absolutely integral to the whole RDP. The RDP requires fundamental changes in the way that policy is made and programmes are implemented. Above all, the people affected must participate in decision making. Democratization must begin to transform both the state and civil society. Democracy is not confined to periodic elections. It is, rather, an active process enabling everyone to contribute to reconstruction and development”. However market fundamentalism entrenched in GEAR and ASGISA have alienated people participation. The ideological conflict between those of macro-economic policies of GEAR and ASGISA against that of the welfare policy is not conducive to the successful implementation of the developmental welfare policy. Implementing the developmental welfare within these macro economic policies is just like the battle between a lion and a rabbit, the social democratic principles underpinned in the developmental welfare policy are being crippled by the macro economic policies and the agendas entrenched in them. “The government has veered from social development, leaving the developmental welfare floundering in uncertain and turbulent waters; in a shaky structure filled with holes” (Gray, 2006:54)
While the government may have good reasons warranting much focus on economic growth rather than people’s social development, it is important to indicate that priority over one of the two constitutes a grave mistake that has in many ways slowed down the people’s holistic development, as the White paper for Social Welfare (1997:1) affirms, the welfare of the population will not automatically be enhanced by economic growth. Economic development has to be accompanied by equitable allocation and distribution of resources, if it is to support social development. Social development and economic development are therefore interdependent and mutually reinforcing”

Shortage of skilled personnel
The shift in economic policies from RDP to ASGISA and GEAR in many ways increased poverty in the periphery of towns and cities as demonstrated in the foregoing paragraphs, thus we would appreciate that there was demand on the skilled personnel to offer services to the disadvantaged poor. The pressure on social services and its workforce is in many ways as a result of poverty increase, this does not give the social workers enough space in which they can offer proactive means of facilitating programmes with the people that need them. Patel (2008:77) indicated that “the slow process of change in the welfare sector pertains to lack of social workers and inadequate overall human resource capacity. While the number of registered social workers has increased by 27% (3000) social workers over the past decade, in 2006, there were still 11000 registered social workers nationally for a population of some 48 million people”. It is important to mention that “approximately 40% of [whom] …..are living in poverty – with the poorest 15% in desperate struggle to survive”, (Landman et al cited in Holscher, 2008:116). It is also important to mention that before the ANC government came into place, civil society leadership was quite strong, it was part of the process advocating for change, “however when the ANC government was into place and the RDP launched…..many of community leaders in the community based NGO moved to employment within the public sector…when the time came to implement the RDP and developmental welfare programmes, the government was faced with a much weakened civil or non-government sector as well as an in efficient public sector, especially at the provincial and municipal levels”, (Lodge, 2002; Sparks, 2003, cited in Gray, 2006:S55). The weakened NGO sector has had a profound impact on the failure of the development model of services delivery, especially in the rural areas.

Equitable financing
The South African welfare system is made up of government sector, non government organization (NGO) and civil society organizations (CSO). Most NGOs are dependent on the government for financing. It is important to mention that there disparities between the salaries for the social worker working in the NGO sector and those in government, with a greater social service work force in the NGO sector getting less pay compared to their government counterparts. This in many ways does not motivate social workers in the NGO sector. It thus presents a special challenge for NGOs working in rural area. As Patel (2008:77) stated “the majority (social workers) are concentrated in urban areas. Many social workers have left the profession due low salaries and poor working conditions. There is therefore limited human resource capacity to implement new approach”. At the same time the change needed to be reinforced with budgetary adjustments to have long lasting impact. “Sustainable programmes are not cheap! Somebody pays……whether community volunteers, family members who take on the roles of carers, practitioners who commit themselves to making things happen, the organization or government” (Sewpaul and Holscher, 2007, cited in Holscher, 2008:119). Thus there was need for greater and equal collaboration between government, NGO sector civil society organizations and the people themselves in the communities for a sustainable change.

Personnel orientation
The developmental approach to social welfare is an empowering paradigm; integral to the process is people involvement and active participation. At the same time, it is “a process of planned social change designed to promote the populations whole in conjunction with a dynamic process of economic development” (Gray cited in Holscher, 2008:115). It is thus a proactive process which needed skills reorientation for social workers to start appreciating that they can start viewing service users as masters of their own lives, thus the need for greater collaboration between service users and social workers. It is a radical process that is difficult to undertake, for it challenges the dominant perception that the university acquired knowledge is privileged over knowledge acquired over life time by our service users. Therefore “a skills mismatch exists between what social workers feel competent to do and what is required by the developmental welfare policy as set out in the White Paper. Social workers are historically trained in a treatment paradigm and practice settings required these skills. This situation has reinforced resistance to change and has caused considerable confusion and inertia in the implementation of the developmental approach” (Patel, 2008:77)

Over expectations and impatience
The country is just over a decade out of one of the most unequal systems of governance, the apartheid social economic order. It is important to say that while the country had experienced a lot of disadvantages, especially on the part of the black people, the need for quick fix solutions to problems that had been enduring for centuries since colonialism, was setting unfair expectations which were bound to collapse the efforts. These social disadvantages were part of historical processes of the country, “they are seen to arise from centuries of colonial and apartheid oppression wherein indigenous populations were systematically robbed of their lands, their productive assets, their cultural heritage and their self respect. The historic disinheritance of the vulnerable and poor is seen to have been exacerbated and entrenched by contemporary global political and economic conditions”, (Terreblanche, 2002, cited in Holscher, 2008:121). Undoing the wrongs of the past, though people expected change as promised by the ANC government, it is important that this change should have been looked at within historical parameters and also within the changing global economic climates.

Recommendations to overcome the challenges
While it is possible to look at the negatives and failures that have hampered the positive and successful implementation of the developmental welfare approach, it is important to mention that in many ways, the approach has not entirely failed; it has equally facilitated the development of the welfare system to what it is today. “The adoption of the social development model as a guiding framework for post apartheid social welfare and social work practice brought notions of poverty and underdevelopment into the centre of concern” (Gray, 1996; Patel and Triegaardt, 2005, cited in Holscher, 2008: 116). However, there is need to look at some of the changes that may facilitate a successful implementation of the model. The following are some of the recommendations that this paper advances for:
The need for harmony between macro economic policies and the welfare policy cannot be overstated, as indicated earlier on people’s social development and economic development are issues which cannot be looked at in isolation, they are mutually dependent on each other. Thus this paper would strongly argue for the bold decision for economic shift from capitalism to social democracy in which people’s welfare takes centre stage. “In its pre election manifesto, the Reconstruction and Development Programme (African national Congress, 1994), the African National Congress (ANC) committed itself to a social democratic welfare ideology, (Gray, 2006 cited in Holscher, 2008:116). While, it may have been abandoned, one of the major reasons for its failure is impatience and quick fix ideas to undoing the wrongs of the past, which led to the implementation of GEAR and ASGISA, capitalistic laden policies; which have greatly contributed to poverty, especially as impacted by the economic recession that started in 2008. “The current crisis might present the political and theoretical spaces to reconceptualize the relationship between the market, the state, the corporate world, the public good and democracy, and challenge the presumed inevitability of welfare models being subservient to the dictates of the global economy”, (Sewpaul, unpublished:14). For successful implementation of the developmental welfare to happen, then there is need to combine economic shifts as well as political will, this would be integral in meeting the holistic needs of the people of South Africa.
With the creation of the necessary political and economic environment, the developmental model would be feasible; however, this should be integrated with equitable funding to welfare organizations both in the government sector and the NGO sector which would create an equal partnership that would enhance successful implementation of the model. An environment should thus be created that would be attractive for social workers to work both in urban and rural areas to meet the needs of the people of South Africa. At this far it is important to appreciate that the government is in many ways trying to adopt proactive measure as evidenced by the provision of bursaries to social work students to attract more people into the social work profession. This would be integral in the implementation social work practice through the integrated service delivery model (2005) which seeks to harness social security, social welfare and community development. This is a holistic perspective to welfare approach that looks at empowering the communities with sustainable development strategies. ‘Despite having adopted a developmental approach to service delivery, the focus of the department over the last decade has been predominantly on social security, primarily due to the need for urgent and effective interventions to alleviate poverty. However, the intensive social security focus has been to the detriment of other developmental social services’ (Benjamin, 2005). There by rendering pressure on social security. Integrated development approach would thus allow for people participation in economic development through deliberate programmes that have people’s social economic development in their interest.
Finally, it is thus important to highlight the need for greater democratization of services to allow for true participation that allows people to show their own creativity and own the need to change their personal situations of poverty. Without thoroughgoing democratization the resources and potential of our country and people will not be available for a coherent programme” (RDP, 1994)


References
ASGISA (2006) accessed from http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/briefings/asgibackground.pdf on 27 June, 2008 at 10am
Benjamin, J. (2005) Benjamin: Launch of the integrated service delivery model. Accesses from: http://www.polity.org.za/article/benjamin-launch-of-the-integrated-service-delivery-model-28112005-2005-11-28 on 15/09/09 at 6pm
Frye, I. (2007) The ‘second economy’ as an intellectual sleight of hand. Africanus: Journal of Developmental Studies
Gray, M (2006) The progress of social development in South Africa. In International Journal of Social Welfare. Blackwell Publishing. Oxford
Holscher, D. (2008) The Emperors new clothes: South Africa’s attempted transition to developmental social welfare and social work. International Social Welfare. 17:114-123
Patel (2008) Getting it right and wrong: An overview of a decade of post Apartheid Social Welfare. Practice: Social Work in Action, 20(2)71-81
RDP (1994) Accessed from http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/policy/white.html on 27 June, 2008 at10 am
Sewpaul, V (unpublished) Social work education in the era of globalization.
White Paper for Social Welfare (1997) Department of social development.

An honour from the University of KwaZulu-Natal

This month has been quite special. What made it especially something to remember was that i was part of the first students to be honoured by the University of KwaZuluNatal school of Social Work and Community Development with a luncheon at the Innovation Centre. It was all because of good performance as they indicated. On this day we had the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Fikile Mazibuko, The Dean Professor Maclacken, The deputy Dean Professor Mgubani, The head of School of Social Work abd Community Development Professor Xaba, Professor Sewpaul, Dr Barbra Simpson, Head of academic studies social work and numerous lecturers that have shaped our path to this end in the academic life while in this institution

Several friends too were part of the glitering ceremony. Guys that we have been together since some three years back. It was just good to see how they too have been consistent in their performance.

Standing on top of the Pavilion: An insight into South African urban life

The Pavilion is a symbol of South African wealth and success in the economic growth and its presence on the Global World Market. Located along N3 out of Durban on the way to Johannesburg, this is shopping mall of World class stature which would stand 'shoulder to shoulder' with the best malls around the World. Standing on top of the pavilion however, one is faced with the reall realities of the urban life in South Africa. From the Pavilion one is able to see the economic divide created in the post apartheid South Africa in which few South Africans have grown immensely rich and with millions relagated inot the periphery of consumption in which poverty has become pathological. The coexistence of the urban suburbs and the developing informal settlements is adversorial, with the later blamed for bleeding the high crime levels which target the suburbs.

While it is important to appreciate the impact and levels of crime in urban centres in South Africa, this is in many ways a manifestation of negative economic growth in which there is constant job losses and inceased poverty levels at the bottom. While crime in urban centres is highlighted with much negativity, it is imperative to equally point out here that looking at crime as a survival strategy for people in the lowest economic segments of the population will allow for the development of holistic strategies that would go a long way in positively mitigating against this social ill. Thus crime should in many ways be viewed from the development process and strategies that the country is taking.

NB:

Image courtsey of the Pavilion

The Pavilion is the BEST PLACE TO BE WHEN IN DURBAN. TRY IT AND YOU WILL NEVER BE DISAPPOINTED. I HAVE USED THE NAME ONLY AS A SYMBOL OF SOUTH AFRICA'S GROWTH NOT ITS CREDIBILITY

Trip to Mandeni: Ubuntu in the face of HIV pandemic

Monday the 22nd of June, i woke up with one objective in mind- that i was going to travel to Mandeni about 120km out of Durban to evaluate some projects on behalf of Durban RAG. This was essentially to build a profile of two organizations in that rural area to make a recommendation on whether RAG should fund them in their endevours or not. The two organizations i visited were quite distant apart in organization and stature. However both organizations are centrally focussed on contributing to the well-being of the people through health programmes and HIV and AIDS as forming the integral aspects of their objectives.

The focus of this piece is not to discuss these organizations but some tenets which manifested themselves in the interaction with the people on my visit and the major one being the ability of the women in Mandeni to mobilize themselves and form an organization which is making high strides in the development and definition of the community health agenda, by among other things facilitating home based care programmes for the community. It is important to mention that HIV rate in South Africa remains quite high with the country being rated at one of the top spots in HIV rates in the world. Coupled with high poverty levels and high unemployment levels, These social ills have side by side torn the South African social fabric into pieces. While the South African urban population celebrates living in world class cities- in which they rich and the poor live side by side (*Pls read Standing on top of Pavilion a sequel to this article), the situation in rural areas is quite a different story. Poverty is quite hight as well and previously HIV and AIDS viewed as the urban disease has infiltrated into these peripheries of urban life where resources are as scarce as any third world country.

When the women leadership in Mandeni talked with ease on how they are contributing to the welfare of others through HIV programmes, especially home based care, i just thinking, wow! that is the way to go. While the government in South Africa has the capacity to create more tangible health programmes which would benefit the terminally ill, the extent of the HIV scorge is equally in many ways making it quite difficult for expansive programmes that would be of profound impact to all corners of the country. That is why efforts by organizations like Kwasamukera Home Based Care provide a tangible alternative. In many ways these organizations contribute to women's skills development and broaden and acculturate ubuntu to the source of life where many of us constantly retrace our values from, the rural areas. While these organizations function mostly due to the good will of the members and the charismatic elements of the leadership- the shortage of resources like gloves which are essential in their day to day work, requires that such oragizations should have equal access to clinics which can provide such small amteral resources.

Kwasamukera is in many ways a rich face of true African values in which your neighborhood relationships play an important role in watching each others backs. While the country reels from thed impact of the epidemic it is imperative to equally retrace our African values, integrating posive aspects of our tradition in HIV and AIDS programmes could have positive and integral impact on the successful implementation of far reaching HIV and AIDS agenda

Understanding violence against women

Introduction

Violence against women takes place on many premises, however, in this paper the focus would be to understand that violence against women happens mostly on two fronts, at a family level and society level. This paper will seek to critically understand theories that explain the etiological factors on violence against women.

2) Defining abuse and violence.
The words abuse and violence are often used to mean “similar” issues and are often times used to mean one/or the same thing; however, as Gelles (1985: 350) indicates “the concepts “violence” and “Abuse” have frequently been used interchangeably by those who study violence. These concepts however are not conceptually equivalent. Moreover there are considerable variations in how each concept is nominally defined”.
Gelles and Straus (1979, in Gelles, 1985:353) have defined violence as an act carried out with the intention, or perceived intention of physically hurting another person” and Gelles (1985:353) adds that “this definition includes spankings and shovings as well as other forms of behavior; injury and/or death are also included in this broad definition”. On the other hand “abuse focused on acts of damaging physical violence directed towards women by their spouses or partners” (Gelles, 1974; Martin, 1976 cited in Gelles, 1985) “as wife abuse became recognized as a social problem, the definition was sometimes broadened to include sexual abuse, marital rape and even pornography” (London, 1978, in Gelles, 1985). In this paper the definitional complexity that these two words bring out would be deliberately neglected and these two words would be used interchangeably, for dwelling too much on ideological mishaps would be to miss the profound impact that consequences of actions that are inherently embedded in these two words bring out to the social world of women, after all, they are ‘knitly’ linked and inform each other.

3) Violence against women
At this far it is imperative to acknowledge that the post apartheid South Africa is facing numerous challenges which are a threat to the dreams of the freedom fighters, like Madiba and the others. Crime, poverty, HIV/ADS and violence have greatly become entrenched in the modern day South Africa. Looking at the later in particular, it is imperative to appreciate that violence against women has greatly become a major feature of the contemporary South African society. “In South Africa, violence has become normative and, to a large extent accepted rather than challenged” (Simpson, 1992; Wood, Maforah, and Jewkes, 1998 cited in Outwater, Abrahams, Campbell, 2005: 139). Families and the society at large are greatly impacted by this social ill, with women being the most impacted upon by this social phenomenon. “Two population prevalence studies have documented high levels of violence against women and that one in four women reported having been abused by a partner” (Jewkes, Levin and Penn-Kekana, 2001; South African Law Commission, 2002 in Outwater et al, 2005: 137). Thus women experience a lot of violence perpetrated against them by men and most of which come in the form of physical and sexual violence. “A prevalence study among working men in Cape Town found that 42% of them reported the use of physical violence and nearly 16% reported use of sexual violence against an intimate partner with whom they had a relationship in the past 10 years” (Abrahams, 2002, cited in Outwater et al, 2005:137,138). While it is difficult to tell emotional and psychological abuse that women experience at the hands of men, the experience of the former two forms of abuse, sexual and physical is an important pointer to their experience of the later two forms of abuse, emotional and psychological abuse and equally be a cause of emotional or psychological distress; as Sen (2006:220) indicates “rather they speak to each other and sometimes strongly encourage one another…may not only move together –be covariant- but they may be linked to each other through causal connections”.
The following part of the paper will now explore critically some of the theoretical perspectives underpinning the etiological/causation of violence against women.

3.0) Theories on violence against women
3.1) Social learning theory.
This is a theory that was developed by one Albert Bandula around 1977; the major theoretical assumption in social learning theory is that children learn behaviors through observation and imitation of their models. Thus social learning theory advances the idea that parent and child interactions play a very key role in the child development and learning. “Observational learning was thus promoted to the role of prime mechanism whereby children acquire a behavioral repertoire that equips them for social living: a great deal of psychological development can be explained, Bandula believed, by the simple act of watching suitable models and subsequently reproducing their behavior, Freud too had stressed the role which identification with others plays in children development, and he too had singled the motive to be like parent as a significant force in their growth” (Schaffer, 1996: 23). Through this theoretical perspective it would be possible to explain that children’s exposure to violence in violent homes predisposes them to learning violence as an accepted norm. By extension, the influence that fathers have on the boy child as role models has got a profound impact the children’s capacity to replicate the violent behaviors that the fathers exhibit in the home. “Children in violent homes learn several lessons about conflict resolution. They are taught that violence is the appropriate way of resolving conflict in intimate relationships. These children learn that assaultive behavior and threats are very effective means to maintain power and control over other people” (Dhabicharan, 2004, cited in Mathe, 2007:139). It is thus imperative to affirm that fathers have got a profound impact on teaching the boy child what it takes to be a man and how to show love to women, it is through such modeling process that violent behaviors are maintained overtime, according to Thomas (1968, cited in Mathe, 2007:137), “the son directly internalizes the male role through his interaction with his father”. Thus the perceptions, the language used and the values that the fathers exhibit towards women in the house hold have equally got a profound impact on the knowledge formation about the perceptions that the male child has about women and how they should be treated. Thus when violence is used in relationships; ‘children learn that the victims of violence have brought this upon consequence upon themselves by their own behavior or by the fact that they are devalued by being a woman” (Dhabicharan, 2004, cited in Mathe, 2007:139). It is thus true to say that the family is a powerful tool through which knowledge and values are transmitted into the child systems from the parental system.

At this far it is also important to appreciate that although it is true that violent behaviors that fathers express to their women have got a profound impact as determinants of the behaviors that the boys in the family would exhibit, it is also equally true to say that children have the capacity to resist and “select what to imitate” (Schaffer, 1996:24). Although the children may look at the father in the house as a role model, they may equally look at the plight of the mother, her experience of violence and abuse as a point of critical reflection through which they would despise the father for subjecting their mother to such horrible experiences. Thus this may serve as a motivation to always treat women and others more respectfully and different to how the father treated their mother.

3.2) Social disorganization theory
“Social disorganization theory suggests that neighborhood poverty, residential instability, and ethnic heterogeneity attenuate the community level capacity to regulate local crime. Poverty diminishes the resources necessary to sustain basic institutions like the family, churches, schools, and voluntary organizations”, (Browning, 2002:834). It is important to indicate that concentrated disadvantage in a community has got a profound impact on the mental health of the community members. The stress levels in socio-economically deprived communities has the capacity to trigger violence against women, for women in most of these set ups in South Africa are economically dependent on the men, thus, the failure for the men to live a productive life in a socially disadvantaged community, threatens their very core understanding of who a man is, a provider for the home. “Consistent finding in domestic violence research is that violence is highly related to social stress. Life events research has indicated that negative life events, especially those threatening the status of the traditional male role, are highly related to spousal abuse” (Gelles, 1987, 1989; Steinmetz, 1987, cited in McKenry, Julian and Gavazzi, 1995:310).

A coherent working community, in which people’s contributive capacity is acknowledged, their freedoms and the socio-economic wellness guaranteed, has got as a profound impact on the wellness of its members and the quality of their behaviors. ‘the prevalence and density of kinship, friendship, and acquaintanceship networks and the level of participation in community based organizations contribute to the emergence of solidarity and mutual trust, or social cohesion among community residents, In turn social cohesion promotes effective social controls or a community capacity to monitor and manage criminogenic social situations” (Browning, 2002: 834). At same time such working communities provide a system through which the weak of its members are protected and cushioned against malfunctioning elements of its systems. The strength of such communities lies in its capacity to provide the social capital network through which women in particular can draw the strength. “They may be more likely to elicit the disclosure of conflict and violence in intimate partnership from women who are experiencing these things. Disclosure to potential sources of support is a critical mechanism by which women leverage the social control capacities of their environment” (Bowker, 1983; Fagan, 1992 in Browning, 2002:834)
Thus in many ways the rupture of the social system has got direct impact on the people within its fold, the socio-disorganization of the communities and increased levels of poverty and unemployment have a direct and un-indirect causal effect on the tensions and stress levels in relationships and in the reduction of the collective efficacy of the community.

3.3) State-centric theory
The organization of the state as a bureaucratic machinery has profound influence in the people’s total livelihood and it equally has a powerful influence on the sustenance and perpetuation of violence against women. State centric perspective argues for the premise that the hierarchical organization of the state is deeply acculturated to the patriarchal dominance. “The neutral nature of the liberal democratic state as a bureaucracy and the apparent objectivity of the law as it applies to the abstract, independent citizen with rights in the polity mask the ways in which state policy reinforces gender inequality. One way is by propping up the ideology of the family and personal life as private locations, thus neutralizing the family as a sphere of social life where power does not normally impinge" (Eisenstein,1984, 1988; Fraser, 1990; Gordon, 1990; Pateman,1989, cited in Bush, 1992: 590). At the same time, the implementation of neo-liberal capitalists informed policies puts families far removed from state responsibility and relegated into the periphery of social economic consumption, where experience of social ills like poverty, violence, unemployment and HIV/AIDS are blamed on the individuals and families inability to cope in the fast paced world. However, in this perspective “the individual versus society is seen as a false dichotomy as private troubles cannot be understood and dealt with outside their socio-economic and cultural dynamics that promote class systems” (Sewpaul, 2003:311)
So although the state may put across a lot of legislative frameworks through which inequality and violence against women can be managed but the structural arrangements in which these legislative processes are embedded in, are not conducive for unbiased application. With reference to the case in which one South African senior politician was being accused of raping a woman and a daughter of his comrade, the woman’s dressing and the fact that she had visited him at night as well as her sexual history that of being raped in the past and the politician’s construction of his behavior in his cultural realm were elevated by the judiciary beyond the plight of this woman; and any other victim of rape might perceive the state as being biased towards abusers. Again it is important to appreciate that such processes have got a profound impact on formation of wrong ideological perceptions in the public about women and how women should be treated. O’Neill (1998, cited in Bassadein and Hochfield, 2005:7) illustrates the power of discursive practices in the field of domestic violence by plainly foregrounding the link between how we think about a phenomena and how we act on what we ‘know’. In other words, the way we understand violence against women in the home, informs not just an overt theoretical perspective but also how we think about, respond to, allocate resources for and offer services for survivors and perpetrators of the violence”. Thus violence against women in South Africa is in many ways an indictment on the state and its policies that sustain and entrench patriarchal discourses. ‘‘These discourses tend to privatize domestic violence, obstruct violence from becoming the business of the state and reinforce a patriarchal status quo, all of which can be harmful to women”, (Bassadein and Hochfield, 2005:9)

3.4) Biopsychosocial perspective
“The biopsychosocial perspective is an attempt to understand health and illness through an appreciation of how biological, psychological, and social elements persist in affiliation with one another”(McKenry, Julian and Gavazzi, 1995: 307). This theoretical perspective argues for the premise that social, biological and psychological factors work in concert in influencing a person’s capacity to be potentially violent. “here biological systems factors are thought to exist in and interact with psychological systems factors, both of which are hypothesized to exist in and interact with family and other social systems factors” (McKenry, Julian and Gavazzi, 1995:308). Thus the interplay of these facets of a human being have in many ways the capacity to be predispositional factors to violent behaviors. “For example, Dabbs and Morris (1990, cited in McKenry et al, 1995:308) found that relationships between testosterone and antisocial tendencies in a sample of males were moderated by their socio-economic status”. At the same time Julian and McKenry (1993, cited in McKenry et al, 1995:308) reported that men’s intimate relationship quality and depression levels predicted male violence towards female partners” and in addition Leonard and Blane (1992, in McKenry et al, 1995:308) “in a national sample of young men, found that the relationship between alcohol use and marital aggression was moderated by both the males level of hostility and level of marital satisfaction”. Thus the complexity of a human being is that the hormonal system has got an important impact as a determinant of the behaviors, Meyer-Bahlburg (1981, in McKenry et al, 1995: 308, 309) “contended that to understand aggression, there is need to increase our understanding of the role of androgens. A recent comprehensive literature review has indicated that, in a majority of studies, high testosterone levels tend to co-vary with high probability of aggressive behaviors, dominance status, and pathological forms of aggression”. Finally, Booth and Dabbs (1993, cited in McKenry et al, 1995: 309) found in the in their sample of former servicemen that testosterone was positively and linearly related to every aspect of marital quality, including hitting or throwing things at spouses”. Violence towards women is as a result of these biological, social and psychological factors functioning in concert with each other.

Humans function as a systems in systems which mediate on ones imbalances, thus although biological or social or psychological elements may predispose the person towards violence and aggression towards the opposite sex, the complimentarity of the systems prevents such from being the case. It is thus true that not all men have got into violent behaviors just because of a failure in one dimension of their lives, however for preventive understanding, the theoretical perspectives underpinning violence toward women as exemplified and illustrated in the biopsychosocial perspective should equally be seriously acknowledged.
3.5 Cultural perspective
The intersection between violence and culture is a phenomenon that manifests itself in most of the violence that women experience. This is particularly evident in patriarchal dominant set ups, in which women subjugation to the men is a norm. As Mathe (2007:137) indicates “violence against women is always embedded in patriarchy as an ideology and structure of domination. Fathers are viewed as kings and gods of their families….their fathers infected them from a very young age with the ‘power and control over women’ disease and the subject of ‘respect for women’s rights and dignity’ is an alien to them”. For the men power and control over women’s life is part fulfillment of the roles subscribed to their perceptions of who a man is and how a man is supposed to behave. Thus their identity and their world view as constructed in a patriarchal dominant culture, has acculturated and inculcated in them the perceptions that women are less equal to men and that they are socially and politically supposed to be managed and controlled by the men. “Like femininity, masculinity operates politically at different levels. At one level it is a form of identity, a means of self understanding that structures personal attitudes and behaviors. At another distinct but related level masculinity can be seen as a form of ideology in that it represents a set of cultural ideals that define appropriate roles, values and expectations for and of men” (Leach, 1994, cited in Khumalo, 2005:89).

The construction and understanding of violence against women by the men as constructed in the realm of cultural understandings is thus construed as an appropriate and justified behavior. At the same time women’s construction of their identity too, in this perspective become ‘complicit with oppression’ (Fook, 2002) of themselves. They equally perceive themselves as less equal to the men and that they deserve to be subjugated to the male authority. Thus patriarchal power plays its role on both the women and the men front.

4) Conclusion
Violence against women is a major problem that women in South Africa and across are experiencing, so although this paper has explored the theoretical explanations underpinning the behavior, it is imperative to again indicate that an understanding of these perspectives should be used as a guide to broader preventive strategies than an explanation to justify wrong behaviors which are detrimental to the women’s livelihood.

References
Bassadein, S and Hochfield, T (2005) Across the public/private boundary: contextualizing domestic violence in South Africa. In Agenda 66 (1) 4-15

Browning, C. R (2002) The span of collective efficacy: Extending disorganization theory to partner violence. In Journal of Marriage and the Family. 64 (4) 833-850. Accessed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/3599986%20on%2028/04/09%20at%2011.45%20a.%20m

Bush, D. M (1992) Women’s movement and the policy reform aimed at domestic violence against women: A comparison of the consequences of movement mobilization in the U.S. and India. In Gender and Society, 6(4) 587-608. Sage Publications. Accessed from http://www.jstor.org/stable/189727%20on%2001/05/2009 at 3.45pm.

Fook, J (2002) Social work: critical theory and practice. Sage Publication.

Gelles, R. J (1985) Family violence. In Annual Review of Sociology. 11, 347-367. accessed from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2083298%20on%2028/04/09 at 12:40p. m.

Khumalo, B(2005) The role of men in the struggle for gender equality: Possibilities for positive engagement. In Agenda Special Focus, 2005.

Mathe, S (2007) Juvenile sexual offenders: we are the sons of our fathers. In Agenda, 74, 2007.
McKenry, P. C, Julian, T. W and Gavazzi, S. M (1995) Towards a biopsychosocial model of domestic violence. In Journal of Marriage and the Family. 57(2) 307-320. Accessed from http://www.jstor.org/stable/353685%20on%2028/04/09%20at%2010:45 a.m.

Outwater, A, Abrahams, N and Campbell, J. C (2005) Women in South Africa: Intentional violence and HIV/IDS: intersections and prevention. In Journal of Black Studies. 35(4) 135-154. Sage Publications. Accessed on http://www.jstor.org/stable/40027215%20on%2001/05/09 at 4.05pm
Schaffer, H. R (1996) Social development. Blackwell Publishing. Oxford

Picture by Riccardo la Valle on http://www.flickr.com/photos/21463954@N08/3327339071/

Sen, A (2005) The argumentative Indian: writings on Indian Culture, History and Identity. Penguin Books. London.

Sewpaul, V1993, The family as a focus for intervention for the prevention of mental disorder: An empowerment approach in the Journal of social work/Maatskaplike Werk: 1993:29(3)

Jacob Zuma's presidency: What does it mean to ordinary South Africans

Elections in South Africa are past news now and ANC has come out as a victor with great baggage of expectations on its shoulders

-This article is on its way to the page, Editor and Manager.

Politics and peace

South Africans have started voting today, on this day South Africans outside the country are voting for their next president, it is believed that there are almost 100, 000 South African in the UK but so far only 7000 are expected to vote. Next week we will be having Zuma for president, yesterday he said he does not care about numbers all he wants is outright majority to make him implement ANC policies. We are just waiting to see what kind of president he is gonna be.

One thing, that we could have learnt from the South Africans is letting us vote from where ever we are am sure we could have joined others in Malawi to vote for Bingu at the embassy in Pretoria, it is believed that there are about 3000 000 malawians in Zim and a lot others here in South Africa, i have met wanthu wanandi wazukulu waMalawi kuno Ku Durban some of whom have never been to Malawi, am sure they could have increased the patronage in the voting process.

For now let us wait and see who is gonna get it, I see John Tembo as a big contender, it will need Bingu to do more than just talk about food and fertilizer. Who ever wins, as long as we are economically stable, as long as we do not see ma young democrats, as long as he does not use obscene language on national TV, as long as he allows us to mock him without arresting us because public figures ought to be open to criticism and scrutiny.

In South Africa however, the greatest challenge that the incoming president has is assuring the world that we can have a World Cup without major security risks. At the moment security is a major concern. I really feel sad when everytime i read a paper, almost two first pages would be covered with stories of shooting and death at the hands of bandits. Lately, policemen have equally been victims of these merciless killings, sometimes i really do not know how to distinguish between Iraq and this place. A week, ago one of my friends from Zambia experienced a horrible encounter with thieves. They had been following them with their car. They did not realize it. However when they packed outside his home, the bandits too parked just behind them, he called them foot soldiers, everyone of them had guns, they demanded for his wallet and cell phone. He said that he tried to do all he could to get some features of these guys for identification but when one noticed that he was scrutinising them, he was slapped heavily. The most sad thing on this day was that the girl who was driving the car was hit with the butt of a gun and she bled heavily, this was because she did not belieave it that her sisters car was gonna go just like that. It is crazy and horrible to see these events everytime. But this is a life that has been normalized in South Africa and when you say that there are places where these things happen only in movies, people think you are just saying fantasies.

That is one of the reason i am hoping that with Zuma at the helm, we might see some change, he is passionate about safe communities and he is an advocate of death penalty. These are things that as a Malawian, i look up to politicians and measure their capacity to safeguard our peace, i get proud to claim that i can answer my phone in town in Mzuzu and i remember one day walking all the way to town from MZUNI after watching Wambali perform, in our drunken state we sang all the way to Katoto filling station that is where we got a Taxi, In South Africa izi ni Nthano

An encounter with racial prejudice

It was quite a sunny day, Sunday 1st of March, my spirits were high and excited that after a long time I was able to speak to people I could identify with; I had just arrived home from visiting some Malawian friends in Musgrave area, this time it was around five in the evening. The moment I opened my door, my mind went back a hundred steps back to where I started my day- in the morning before I went out, I was feeling down about my inability to make a break through on some of my major issues like literature review for my dissertation and my assignment for HIV/Aids and Gender was complete only in my head- it was this feeling of not having the power to do anything that made me to think that may be I needed to cool my head off by doing something totally off books, that was when I called my folks in Musgrave. However when I arrived home, the laptop on my bed, papers strewn all over, brought me back to the same spot I stood in the morning.

However, I realized that my life was much larger than these little things that were worrying me and I just needed to summon my energy from where it lies hidden somewhere in me. At that point I told myself that Durban weather, with its cool humid breeze at times provides a nourishing cool brush with nature and it could provide me with the possibility to allow myself to get the best out of myself if I went and submerged into the spirit of the calming winds. I decided to get down onto the road for a walk, with as little covering on me as possible to allow the fresh breath that nature provides to soothe my being and calm my nerves. When I opened the gate, the first thing I noticed was that some dude was reversing his car into our drive, the moment he saw me, he pulled his windows up. I did not mind him; I just went on with my objectives. After walking for about five minutes I saw a white car in front of me with a guy and possibly his gal, however when they saw this ‘black’ guy walking aimlessly towards their direction they appeared quite apprehensive, the immediate thing that I saw them do was to pull the windows up.

This is South Africa in 2009, being a black man in Mzansi is a challenge. I recall one of my friends from Kimberley saying that I should reflect seriously on one of my hobbies, running, this is a sport that is close to my heart, it shapes my whole life. On this day, he told me “hey wena, if you want to keep on running like that make sure that you do it at the sports ground because in South Africa a black man rarely does that for sports and if you see one it is possible that the person might have mugged someone of precious items, a thief. It is true that the crime in Mzansi is mostly committed by our brothers who we share the skin color. Like in the past week more than thirteen people have been short dead by the police for various serious crimes, out of this figure no white face appears.

Thus the apprehension that people express when they see a black dude walking up the road in the suburb could in a way be justified. However for someone from Malawi, a country in which racial issues do not even make headlines, it sounds quite a hectic thing to comprehend. That you always have to justify that you are not a threat as people think, I remember telling some white lady, last year, she had come out of her house to pick an umbrella that had been blown outside by the wind, when she saw me she dashed back inside the fence, but I had to shout to reassure her that I was just a guy from across and she can just get her thing. Although I could see her embarrassed but I felt this is a challenge that South Africa still has to carry.
I am writing this article after reading Obama’s Dream from my father, in which he illuminates some of the challenges that he encountered because of his skin color, while that was in the 60s and 70s, in South Africa this is now in 2009 almost a decade and a half after democracy and the demise of apartheid, while it is easy to say that the nation is still young, I believe that the country has enough capacity, its economy, the human capital and the infrastructure on which to implement programmes that will allow for inclusively sharing the spaces on which as human beings we interface each other without being apprehensive or looking behind your back. Coz it sulks that you always have to explain yourself, it’s terrible!!!!!

NB: After talking to some friends over this issue in the past week, they made me realize, the other aspect which i did not depict in the foregoing paragraphs. On our reflection on this issue it became apparent that as black people in South Africa, we tend to fear each other more than other races, one of my friends made it a point of asking me, if i would not be afraid when i see another black fellow walking aimlessly like i was doing. Ofcourse, i would. Most of the times when i am sitting at home, it does not take more than five minutes before i check who is walking outside and i get threatened when i see a suspicious figure. This has especially increased in this week when some students from Botswana were atacked in their apartment at seven in the morning. Some gun trotting fellows went broke into the house and beat up the students, taking with them their precious items. The issue of crime in South Africa makes the fight against racialised biasses very difficult to deal with. But i still am of the opinion that the government is to blame. Poverty, though not a justifiable reason, is making the lives of the people very difficult to negotiate. If we had a pro-poor mindset in the formulation of policies, we would have a deliberate strategy to minimize the poverty levels. One question that i alawys ask is- If the government says that it does not have enough economic capacity to deal with the peoples socioeconomic situation, how did they mobilize the resources to construct a new satdium in Durban at a cost of (in 2006) 1.83 billion rands, which now might have risen to some greater heights due to the economic melt down on the global market? The answer to this questionb lies in Growth Employment and Redistribution a macro economic policy that the government introduced after Nelson Mandela's Reconstruction and Development Programme, from building people's welfare and capacity shifting to economic growth at the expense of the people. Although GEAR failed, it has been recast as Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA) the motive is still GEAR's objectives but it has just been burried in different words and style of presentation- It is like painting a hyena white to look like a sheep.

Poverty in Malawi

This is one of my old articles, I wrote this piece in response to Professor Kanyama Phiri’s reading that Malawians were living below United states 10 cents a day in 2006 and it was published in Malawi’s The Nation News Paper of 31st May, 2006 under a title Politicians’ tinted glasses. I thought of bringing it up again because of several reasons, firstly to preserve it and then secondly, as we approach the 2009 elections, it is imperative to have our politicians realize that they have a great responsibility to the poor Malawians, it is one of my duties as a bona fide citizen of my beloved country Malawi to contribute to the voices of reason.

The indication that Malawians live on the periphery of the poverty line—10 United States cents a day—and the denial by some officials of this fact, not only indicates to the nation the extent to which life has become a struggle for fellow country men but equally the gravity of which our government is not aware of a true Malawi and the plight of its people. This is pathetic. The extent to which poverty can be understood in Malawi should not be based on the politicians’ scope and, at the same time, they are not the best people to outline the gravity of this social ill. Their understanding of poverty is limited to where their plush cars can reach. Real poverty lies beyond. The only time politicians and the poor interact is when the former seeks the consent of the later to assume those positions that widen the gap between the two. When we talk about real poverty in our country, we do not need to observe it from the balcony of the houses in the suburbs. It is the thought of not knowing where the next meal is going to come from. The people who are in frequent touch with the communities in the periphery of the towns and cities would attest to the fact that Malawians are now extremely poor and more desperate than they were during the Dr Hastings Banda’s era. It is sad to see the extent to which poverty is killing the talent in the youths due to lack of education. How many people in the villages can consistently raise K20,000 for school fees apart from other costs? Yet this is the generation that is the future resource of our nation. The extent to which HIV and AIDS are tearing the society is another indicator of our problems. If real, meaningful development is to occur, at the macro level, then it is about time that we refocused our energies and start dealing with the challenges imposed on the nation by neo-colonization.

Our country is potentially very rich, with numerous natural resources which need to be shaped into a manufactured product that would bring about the much needed foreign exchange and pride. We need to refocus our energies. The country needs policies that will encourage manufacturing and at the same time policies that would protect the market of its products. This is the one way our country can come out of the economic shackles that the colonialists left us in. This is the time that we should start drifting away from running the economy and the country on taxes. Tax money doesn’t bring about development. It is circuitous and an economy based on taxes is suppressive to the social life of the people for it makes consumption exorbitant for the poor masses. An economy should serve the people and not the reverse. The dependency on donors is another challenge that we have to gradually detach from. We are a sovereign state but they have the power over us. Our choices and decisions are always under their microscope and all we do is lick their palms to please them. It is about time that we started being radical and pro-active in the management of our country. What we are making is history and all the generations to come will assess us by the quality of the nation that we will pass on to them. On the micro level, development being preached from political podiums does not reach the people. It goes over their heads into the abyss but for real development to be realized, we need to dismantle the political podiums. Politicians and their noise-makers on development need to be closer to people. We need to initiate-active communication which is not vertical or up-down but horizontal, talking at an equal level with the same motivation with a likely result to achieve integrated objectives, in the process realizing development for the people. It is important to indicate that if war on poverty is to be worn, it is important to understand poverty as a multifaceted problem that needs a multidimensional, holistic management which includes the poor themselves for they understand their needs better than others who either perceive the issue from book chapters or images of malnourished children conjured up by the media. Crucial again is the notion that it is normal to be poor as some religions claim. You cannot sing praise on an empty stomach. This alienates the masses from engagement in real, hard work that can move them from the pit of poverty. Faith should be practical. As Karl Marx indicates, religion serves as a poor substitute for social justice and happiness in the present world. It is about time that we started challenging our thinking and socialization for the greater good of the nation and the future of all the Malawians that will live after us. While we are looking up to government and its policies, it is of much value to start dealing with colonization of the minds that continuously haunts our nation. It is about time that we started appreciating what Malawi produces on all economic fronts. At the same time it is schizophrenic for someone born in Malawi, a Malawian to say for example, that they can’t dance to Malawian music. This is another major form of poverty that exists in our country that we need to defeat. To borrow the words of David Korten (1990) “poverty in Africa would not only be known by images of malnourished children but also through the ladies and gentlemen who dance in clubs in Kinshasa, Congo Brazzaville, Lilongwe and all the major towns of our continent when music is being played in Paris, New York and London”.-.

Family and mental health

The world health organization defines health as the state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of a disease. The attainment of which is what people believe to be fullness of life- this to many appears illusive and shrouded in fantasy due to multi factorial impingement on the growth and development process. At the foremost, it is imperative to highlight the tendency to equate mental health to mental illness- an illusion which stems from the stigma associated by the latter and while acknowledging that the tendency is deep rooted in us, it is worthwhile to indicate that lack of attention and neglect of this health paradigm by the government- as evidenced by budgetary allocation and the state of dis-repair of its two mental health institutions in Zomba and Lilongwe- heightens this perception. Mental health is the fulcrum of individuals and society’s heart beat and fullness- it is the daily ability that enables us to reason, function and relate rationally with ourselves and others plus the environment. It is thus at the centre of our successes and failures.

The family as an institution is the central piece in this jigsaw puzzle of human life, while acknowledging that the family plays a pivotal role in nurturance, molding and inculcating values and norms in its subsystems- it again as, Robin Skynner (1992 in Sewpaul, 2003) indicates, ‘has enormous creative potential, including that of life itself, and it is not surprising that when it becomes disordered, it possesses an equal potential for terrible destruction’. Thus the need for policies, and economic, political and social systems that would foster the integral development of the family and its fulfillment of its entitled virtues and fundamental responsibility- an integral development, fulfillment and nurturance of life itself. With the current social economic and structural mishaps, it is worthwhile to evaluate the position of this beacon of mental health- the family.

The current free markets ‘copied’ ideologies that have led to the closure of a number of industries and small businesses alike; have triggered untold miseries on micro-systems including the family itself. Families have to adjust and readjust to suit and cope with the economic virulence- the result is high levels of stress in people- both in the parental and children sub-systems. Parents have to work with their ‘teeth out’ to fend for their children and the entire family’s survival but at the same time children have to bear the enormous load and consequences of being in a struggling family structure. Thus the unending long queues in hospitals with presentations of head-aches, hyper/hypotension, insomnia and that entire long list that general practitioner come across. It is imperative to say that with the current status of our nation on the economic front and on the political arena, the peoples mental health needs and the family’s struggles to cope with the ever changing market terrain, is an indictment on the state and its political bed fellow, for failing to adopt ‘people centered’ policies and for a political system that its immaturity lies in old men’s hormonal inadequacy- not the poor average Malawian whose socio-economic and mental health needs are as complex as the direction in which they might re-route if there is no multi- directional and multi- dimensional plastering on their causes. At the same time it is imperative to conscientize our people that much as their problems originate from the greater socio-economic and political hegemonic influences, they have the greater responsibility to advocate for themselves and take part in the development and social change of their own lives. It is again imperative to advance here that assessment of mental health problems should be inoculated in every general health practitioner’s assessment plan of every patient to ably, competently and holistically manage the presenting problems that they come across, for often times these problems are a symptom an existing conflictual relationship between the individual and environmental factors. It is therefore important to recognize the integral participation and contribution of the family in nation building and development – thus we will not only empower families but also create an enabling socio-economic and political premise that would promote blossoming and unchain family’s creative potentials and again we will know our real problems and re-direct our attention into the right perspectives.

NB: I was inspired to write this article after reading an article by Pro. Sewpaul bearing the same title.

20 billion dollar boiled maize cob

Traveling between Malawi and South Africa is a journey of many tales. In the present day however cholera dominates the stories in the buses as you cross the wide Zimbabwe from Mozambique to Beit Bridge border post. Often times the bus host would warn passengers not to buy food and water in Zimbabwe to prevent picking up the cholera bugs. On my recent trip however, it was rather difficult to resist buying anything especially fresh boiled maize, this happened because we had a breakdown which took over twelve hours to fix and by then almost everyone was looking for food to eat. At this time what caught people's attention was rather the price attached to the maize cob. One was going for a whooping 20billion dollar. The mention of this figure triggers the millionaire feelings in people, for a billion dollar is quite a huge sum of money which a lot of people do not even think and dream of ever possessing but in Harare this is possible. Like one man from Mzimba put it 'ndalama izi kukaya nizakuti tikuzizunula yayi, panji kuzighana ghanako yayi" (this type money is never thought of ). However the real monetary value of this amount is what should make us really realize to what extent is the economic melt down crampling the social life of the people in Zimbabwe. When i asked one of the traders in the fresh boiled maize cobs how much i would be paying in Rand (ZAR), he stated that 20 billion was by then equivalent to R5, in Malawi this would be about K75. These figures made me to ask how much a teacher receives in this country, the response to this was that a teacher gets about 300Billion. What it means then is that if a teacher decides to buy one maize cob at 20billion, he is left with about 280billion. In South Africa, if a teacher gets R7000 and decides to buy a similar maize cob for R5 out of his/her salary, the difference is almost negiligible.

What this means is that with all honesty our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe are heavily repressed by this economic melt down. Although the current global economic crisis may equally be a culprit in the current socio-economic problems in Harare, the political leadership of Zimbabwe should take responsibility for the suffering of the millions of people in that country, people who have got no escape routes from this economic upheaval. While the elite often times cross the border into Musina to purchase the groceries, the poor person on the ground has no means and resources to do the same. On the other hand, the government has authorised trading in foreign currency in a bid to reduce inflation, at the same time, this is completely relegating the poor person on the ground into the forgotten chambers of living, condemning their existence because they have no means of finding the foreign money.

Yesterday the civil society here in South Africa lauched "Save Zimbabwe campaign", this ought to be supported by all people of good will; the suffering of millions of Zimbabwe's people is no longer a problem of a few people, it needs a collective approach which demands all of us to join hands. At the same time while appreciating the sovereignity of Zimbabwe, the universality of the human race is beyond our political borders, it is thus the responsibility of all people of good will to rethink their position on Zimbabwe, so that millions of suffering women and children can be spared the burden of carrying the load of suffering which is predominantly brought on them by egotistic and selfish leaders, thus these people's suffering is totally an indictment on the politicians

My tears

The Obama's evening today presents another challenge to me, since morning i have been asking myself if i will cry again or not. It always happens to me that when there are big impressive occassions like Obama's day i usually shed tears. When i watched a movie in India by Aamir Khan, Taare zameen par, i could not hold back my tears, the performance by the young boy in this movie makes you shed litres of tears. Again last month i was home in Malawi, on one afternoon, i was invited to be the guest of honour when young boys and girls in one of the programmes run by St John of God Community services-Umoza childrens programme, a programme for street children in the town of Mzuzu- orgainzed a cultural afternoon in which they were showcasing different dances to their parents and invited members of the community. On this day when i saw how the young boys danced ingoma, my tears drifted down my cheeks and i thought ohh again.

Barak Obama's day presents to me one of those moments in which i will not hold back my tears, Obama to me is a symbol that all men can actualize beyond the limits that are structurally and socially constructed to oppress and cripple the growth in all humanity. He shows to all of us that no matter what challenges, it is possible to achieve our higher goals if we work towards them, go my man we are with you all the way, your life presents to us in the social work profession that explanatory angle into the possibilities that lie in all men. Bravo Obama! Bravo America!

Barak Obama's day

Today is the big for all progressive minds, the day in which America will see the coming in of a new president and a president of rare occurence and that is Barak Obama. This is the man that carries the hopes of all people, a man who is a dream for the new dawn of a new world. That is a world in which men and women live side by side appreciating each others strength and abilities without necessarily dwelling on subtle issues like race, gender, religion and cultural differences.

That is a world in which equality is embodied in the very nature of being human. The wisdom and ability to mobilize young people who are often time apathetic, especially when it comes to involvement in political issues and as well as his leadership style in which he has not allowed a gulf to be created between his party and his adversaries, allows him to have the much needed resource in his new term as an American 44th president. Young people are the future, thus their involvement in decisions about their countries always ought to be captivated. The selection of his government team in which he has managed to coolly allow himself the freedom of engaging the republicans in his cabinet makes this man a president that is defining history- appreciating that the republican party has largely failed, mostly due to poor international relations, with two wars being simultaneously faught in Iraq and afghanistan. These are some of the political decisions that had been the focal points during the campaign. Areas which made the two camps look at each other with red eyes, yet at this moment, Obama has managed to reach out, indicating that America is for all without necessarily dwelling on little issues of party affiliation. Together America will rise out of its troubles- yes, this will happen! the journey might be long but if all are awakened to take part in the process, young and old, women and men, America has a future and Obama will forever be a figure to be reckoned with in the walls of history

Democracy a market ideology and misunderstood

Democracy a market ideology and mis-understood.
As we approach the general elections, a lot of political parties are trying to build their popularity in the grassroots population. It is however interesting to note that all the major parties are preaching the virtues of democracy, UDF, DPP and MCP, have embraced this concept as a market tool to the people. Muluzi has often times stated that he is a true democrat, a Bingu nawoso chimodzimodzi, however for John Tembo, it is an interesting case, as a person he preaches democracy, trying to sell himself as a changed leader, but his personality refuses to change, he still threatens his juniors, his party on the other hand, has greatly embraced the democratic values, Majoni's case being an example of such.

UDF and DPP on the other hand are the parties that i felt should have read the signs of time pretty well but lo! DPP is saying no governing council elections during its convention, protecting the elite of the party, UDF on the other hand is saying no primaries in certain constituencies, where there are sitting UDF MPs.

MCP, has in my opinion built up the right tempo of approaching the election, unification of its leadership at all levels has been the key, through people's vote, although John Tembo has been bull dozed into the affair. For DPP their conventions would result in frustration among the aspiring elite of the party, the same applies with UDF, its aspiring MPs who are being repressed would not be helpful to the party as it approaches the general elections. Just like any organization in which there is oppression, apathy becomes dominant, which is antithetic to progress. If these political parties knew what they were doing, they could have realized that true democracy belongs to the people, let the people command, let the people take control of the party decisions, for it is these people that have the power to vote, otherwise handpicking individuals without the grassroots consent breeds failure and is a symbol of political immaturity and lack of political acumen.

The case of Barack Obama, is a classical example of what lies in potent when true grassroots involvement is enacted. Otherwise our politicians though embracing the paradigm, democracy, do not know what it means and what it entails, they do not even understand that potential that lies within its fold. Our political masters are in themselves retrogressive to the development of our nation, they embark on campaigns that ride on tribalism, regionalism and personalization of their very organizations which rely on the very people they neglect when it comes to decision making. Malawians have lived like divided people as a result of these politicians who never grow and read the time, our Malawi needs political maturity, the kind we see in other countries in the region, like Botswana.

It is imperative to indicate that a leader who does not have grassroots popularity will always remain threatened, and thus promote undemocratic systems of governance, the 2009 elections as already it appears, will bring more divisions among Malawians as a result of these leaders who do not have political insight, they do not have the best interest of the people. For them democracy is a market ideology to buy the people’s vote but within them and their parties, they are as dark as ‘the party’ that governed us in the first epoch of our independence. While appreciating that most of these leaders were previously MCP cadres, and may be that is where they learned their leadership styles, they should have however appreciated that MCP has moved on to the people although still with some dents.
If this country has to develop, it is really upon us Malawians to critically assess these people who claim to be our leaders, upon serious critical reasoning, we will appreciate that most of them just want us to employ them through our vote but they seriously do not have that capacity to be our leaders, they come to us now for our vote but they are as unethical as they were some few rains ago. Our leaders need to know that beyond the jobs that they want there is a vote of that Malawian who toils day in day out to eke for a living, yet within that he finds time to go and deep his/her finger in ink and throw that important vote in the ballot that gives these people the power and jobs. That person needs respect and protection for that is where real power lies.