South African Non-governmental Organisations Research Articles

Building economic strengthening programmes for youth in South Africa: determinants of success and failure

Africa, conceptually, geographically, politically, economically, religiously and socially is in bondage and this bondage is South Africa has one of the worst youth unemployment problems in the world. The high rate of youth unemployment results in multi-dimensional range of social challenges that negatively affect the wider community and economy. Social workers in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are adopting economic strengthening programmes (ESP) to empower unemployed youth. However, factors that are key to determining success of ESP are not precisely understood. The study utilised qualitative case study research design. Data was collected using in-depth interviews from 30 purposively selected youth aged 15–24 years, 6 NGO practitioners and 5 Department of Social Development (DSD). The Ubuntu philosophy was used as a theory for analysing and interpreting data. Ethical clearance was obtained from the University of Fort Hare. The aim of the study was to explore the determinants of youth’s success in ESP in South African NGOs. Findings established that lack of access to start-up finance, poor links to strategic partnerships and mentorship platforms were inhibiting factors for youth to establish successful enterprises. The study recommends social workers and NGOs to merge efforts and resources with other stakeholders to foster implementation of effective ESP in marginalised communities. How to reference using ASWNet style: Zibengwa, E. & Tanga, P. T. (2023). Building economic strengthening programmes for youth in South Africa: determinants of success and failure. African Journal of Social Work, 13(3), 325-332. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ajsw.v13i6.6 Visit journal website: https://ajsw.africasocialwork.net

South African Non-Governmental Development Organisations (NGDOs) - organising and coordinating for ‘Development Effectiveness’? A Case Study of KwaZulu-Natal Province

South African Non-Governmental Development Organisations (NGDOs) - organising and coordinating for ‘Development Effectiveness’? A Case Study of KwaZulu-Natal Province

Neoliberal Impact on Social Work in South African Non-Governmental Organisations

The South African social work profession, which can be considered to still be in the early stages of rebirth post-apartheid, has been affected by neoliberal compromise. This paper reflects on the impact of neoliberalism on South African social work, particularly within the context of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as perceived and experienced by front-line social workers and social work managers. The findings highlight some of the unseen struggles of South African social work practice, as the profession is caught between the demands of social development and neoliberalism. This study invites the voices of front-line social workers to join academic debate and offer on-the-ground insight which social work academics might not be able to identify. In doing so, the discussion around neoliberal impact on South African social work and NGOs is deepened, allowing for authentic reflection on the challenges for the profession within an environment of neoliberal and developmental conflict.

The Conundrums of Counselling Women in Violent Intimate Partner Relationships in South Africa: Implications for Practice.

Little research focuses on how counsellors experience counselling encounters concerning intimate partner violence. This study reports on narrative research conducted with eight South African non-governmental organisation counsellors. Participants spoke of creating productive and caring counselling dynamics, and providing non-directive counselling. However, they also indicated providing moral guidance, particularly in cases where pregnancy or children were involved. Success was viewed rather narrowly as the women leaving the relationship, setting up ‘all-or-nothing’ outcomes. Such ‘success’ led to counsellor happiness, whilst failure in this regard led to counsellors experiencing anger and burn-out. We conclude that the conundrums evident in these data are grounded in patriarchal systems, limiting the efficacy of counselling based on a bondage and deliverance narrative. Implications for practice and training are also outlined.

The uses, benefits and limitations of social media for public relations in South African non-governmental organisations

The uses, benefits and limitations of social media for public relations in South African non-governmental organisations

Female agency in action

This study examined the discursive and interactional processes by which adolescent female participants present and discuss their romantic relationships in a ‘Love and Relationships’ MXit forum, a mobile phone-based project created by the South African Non-Governmental Organisation, HIVSA. In doing so, it was possible to explore some of the norms and ‘taken-for-granted’ practices of romantic relationships that the participants describe, which offered insight into present research into adolescent experiences of gender and romantic relationships, as well as new subjects for consideration during intervention or analysis. In particular, it is suggested that because conceptions of love and having children appeared not to be foreclosed normative practices, these could prove fertile points of intervention with young women’s choices, agency, and ultimately, empowerment. This study thus recommends disseminating and increasing the scope of hi4LIFE and similar projects that provide platforms for the production of female agency.

NGOs’ Advertising in South Africa and Implications for NGOs in China

In this paper, we discuss NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) and NPOs (Non-Profit Organizations) in general and focus on the advertising strategy NGOs should undertake. More specifically, we compare and contrast the NGO history in South Africa and China, its corresponding past advertising, and implications for advertising strategy for Chinese NGOs going forward. This includes a discussion of a key issue of the efficacy of advertising that evokes emotion, and how it can be a “mixed-blessing.” It is suggested that the advertising strategy of South African NGOs can usefully inform NGOs in China.

Stretching between learning and accountability: Experiences of South African non-governmental organisations

This article contributes to knowledge around organisational learning in relation to Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) processes of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).While learning and accountability are two fundamental purposes of M&E, in practice NGOs often perceive donor accountability as the only function of their organisation’s M&E system. Learning through meaningful monitoring of actions is a necessary process to satisfy effective functioning of organisations working on social change.The article is based on action research, which included qualitative methods such as case studies, focus group interview(s), semi-structured interviews and questionnaires with participating organisations from an 18-month Monitoring and Evaluation Capacity Development Programme of the Community Development Resource Association, which involved nine South African NGOs. Organisations benefited from the programme through peer learning, consulting and research linked to the programme.The research revealed that NGOs have a perception of M&E as an accountability procedure that has been imposed on them by donor communities and are resistant to it as well as to rigid data collection.Organisations require specific capacities to realise their power and to be able to negotiate more developmental approaches to M&E within their organisations and with donors. The model is suggested that fosters learning in M&E systems and includes two interlinked processes: self-awareness (a sense of core organisational values and intuitive ability) and awareness about the outside world and the effects of organisations’ work.The model for M&E systems can be explored further and help those organisations who are working towards better balance between learning and accountability.

The Illuminative Potential of Organizational Ethnographies

Evaluation studies, especially of South African educational institutions and non-governmental organisations offering educational programmes have been criticised for focussing inadequately on the ethnographic and anthropological dimensions of organisations. The dominant approaches to evaluation have been structuralist and empirical-rational in orientation, serving narrow bureaucratic functions for funders and donors, based on self reports by programme participants. One way of resolving the dilemma of unreliable evaluation reports is producing richly contextualised organisational ethnographies which illuminate organisational contexts beyond superficial analyses. What are the potential benefits of an organisational ethnography, and what are the epistemological and ethical implications of such an endeavour? I shall attempt to answer these questions by drawing on an organisational ethnography of a South African non-governmental organisation offering language teacher development programmes, as I trace its mutating identity over three decades. I use insights derived from the traditions of empowerment evaluation (Fetterman, 1999) and illuminative evaluation (Parlett & Hamilton, 1976) as theoretical lenses to appraise the value of narratives in understanding organisational behaviour. Further, I appropriate Discourse Analysis to interrogate selected narrative data as a methodological lens in organisational analysis, and reflect on my experience of engaging in such a project. In the latter part of the chapter, I revisit the methodological wisdom of engaging in an institutional ethnography, highlighting some of the ethical, representational and epistemological dilemmas in negotiating a non-conventional approach. I conclude the paper with brief allusion to the potential value of organisational ethnographies in mediating an emerging performativity driven higher education culture.

Literacy coaching in gauteng province: needs and possibilities

Current scholarship advocating the role of pre-service and in-service teacher development for counteracting the multiple levels of South African ‘school dysfunction’ (Bergman & Bergman 2011) has said relatively little about the substantial role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the multiple layers of reform at play in literacy education – and even less has been said about the role of NGOs in developing teacher-leaders, or in our case, ‘literacy coaches’, for engaging grass-roots in-service teacher change. In this article, we theorise findings from a participatory, qualitative needs analysis examining a South African NGO's development of literacy coaches as part of a broader Gauteng Province Literacy and Maths Strategy (GPLMS). Embedded in sociocultural conceptions of ‘thoughtfully adaptive teaching’ (Fairbanks et al. 2010), our findings suggest that although coaches were confident in their ability to interact as coaches for the curriculum generated by the GPLMS reforms, they were less confident ...

Implementing a large-scale systematic tuberculosis screening program in correctional facilities in South Africa.

Background. Tuberculosis (TB) prevalence is high in correctional facilities in southern Africa. With support from local South African nongovernmental organizations, the South African Department of Correctional Services initiated a program of systematically screening newly admitted and current inmates for symptoms followed by GeneXpert Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)/rifampicin (Rif) for microbiologic testing of symptomatic inmates.Methods. We conducted a program evaluation during a 5-month window describing program reach, effectiveness, adoption within the facilities, cost, and opportunities for sustainability. This evaluation included 4 facilities (2 large and 2 smaller) with a total daily census of 20 700 inmates.Results. During the 5-month evaluation window from May to September 2013, 7426 inmates were screened at the 4 facilities. This represents screening 87% of all new admits (the remaining new admits were screened by correctional staff only and are not included in these statistics) and 23% of the daily inmate census, reaching 55% of the overall screening target as calculated per annum. The reach ranged from 57% screened during these 5 months at one of the smaller facilities to 13% at the largest facility. Two hundred one cases of pulmonary TB were diagnosed, representing 2.1% of the screened population; 93% had documented initiation of TB treatment. The cost per TB case identified was $1513, excluding treatment costs (with treatment costs it was $1880).Conclusions. We reached a large number of inmates with high-volume screening and effectively used GeneXpert MTB/Rif to diagnose pulmonary TB and rapidly initiate treatment. The cost was comparable to other screening programs.

Conflicting policy narratives: Moving beyond culture in identifying barriers to gender policy in South Africa

This paper explores barriers to gender policy implementation arising from the narratives framing gender as a policy issue. Through examining the influence of gender policy narratives on practitioners, it challenges those who represent policy failures as the result of unsupportive cultural contexts. The paper draws on Fraser’s (1995, 2005; Fraser and Honneth, 2003) conceptualisation of recognition and redistribution to highlight tensions between three different gender policy narratives: (1) gender as instrumental for development; (2) gender as women’s rights and empowerment; and (3) gender as relations of power requiring personal transformation. Interviews with 32 gender practitioners in 26 South African non-governmental organisations and observations of meetings between these organisations show how these narratives lead to unhelpful conflicts between practitioners. These conflicts inhibit both the uptake of gender policy recommendations and collaboration between practitioners in ways that undermine efforts to address gender inequalities in the South African context.

FACTORS THAT HINDER THE UTILISATION OF THE EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME IN THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR

In 1999 the Department of Public Service and Administration developed and implemented an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) within the public service. This reaffirmed the government’s commitment to intensify the programme to fight, inter alia, HIV and AIDS, and to deal with the traumas of everyday life, experiences of discrimination, cultural alienation and stress. A change in the programme focus has clearly occurred, to a certain extent, in response to the major transformation in South African governmental and non-governmental organisations. This change occurred as a result of the introduction of worker-related regulations such as the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997, the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995, the Employment Equity Act 58 of 1998 and the Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000, and made it necessary for the employer to investigate, assess and assist employees with problems relating to substance abuse or incapacity. These acts formed a solid basis for implementing the EAP. The Department of Labour (DOL) responded promptly to the implementation of the EAP in 2001, yet the programme remains under-utilised and is seen both by management and employees of the Department as a social responsibility programme rather than a sound business strategy.

From public–private partnerships to private–public stick ’em ups! NGOism, neoliberalism, and social development in post-apartheid South Africa

This article argues that the good work non-governmental organizations (NGOs) perform tends to produce one of two responses: it either shields them from the kinds of scrutiny to which mainstream businesses are subjected or, failing this, earns them the label of unwitting or unwilling participants in neoliberal programs imposed by multilateral international organizations on poor countries. This article examines the response by South African NGOs to a call by the Department of Social Development to offer financial support for students studying social work. It presents an analysis of neoliberal influences on the business nature, managerial structure, and logistical operations of social development NGOs, and the way in which their relationship with donors impacts on the interests of the beneficiaries of their projects as well as those of countries in which they work. This article argues that, much more than appendages of neoliberalism, some NGOs in South Africa voluntarily privatized their services in the interest of the private rather than the public good.

If You Don't Count, You Don't Count: Monitoring and Evaluation in South African NGOs

ABSTRACT Non‐Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are increasingly challenged to demonstrate accountability and relevance, with reporting, monitoring and evaluation arguably having become development activities in their own right. Drawing on interviews and observation research, this article examines the impact of intensified monitoring and evaluation (M&E) requirements on a number of South African NGOs. M&E — and the types of expertise, vocabularies and practices it gives rise to — is an important area that is usually neglected in the study of NGOs but that significantly impacts on NGOs’ logic of operation. By focusing on three areas — data that are considered appropriate to conduct M&E, staffing and organizational cultures, and NGOs’ reformist relationships with other civil society organizations (CSOs) — M&E is revealed as a central discursive element in the constitution of NGOs appropriate to neoliberal development. By engaging a neo‐Foucauldian framework of governmentality, M&E practices are thus understood as technologies through which governing is accomplished in the trans‐scalar post‐apartheid development domain.

2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup: an opportunity to raise awareness of challenges to social transformation and peace building in South Africa – a coordinated approach

As there are only eighteen months before the world's biggest soccer event will be staged on African soil, it is pertinent to address the many expectations and challenges in the field of social transformation for Africa and South Africa's civil society in particular. This article sees the forthcoming FIFA Soccer World Cup to be hosted by South Africa as an opportunity to raise awareness concerning the current challenges to social transformation, peace building and development work experienced by South African non-governmental organisations, governmental and tertiary institutions. It stresses the use of sport as a vehicle for peace building and development in a coordinated approach as exemplified by the Western Cape Network for Community Peace and Development and its Kicking for Peace Programme. The paper recommends the need to strengthen both social transformation and peace building initiatives and those organisations engaged in it by forming or supporting similar active networks as well as by adopting a holistic and coordinated approach involving unconventional methods such as sport. The paper further sugegsts the need to actively use the soccer world cup as a nation-building event which can spread the joy and enthusiasm about soccer before and after 2010 to all communities in South Africa and Africa as a whole.

Cryptococcosis in Gauteng: implications for monitoring of HIV treatment programmes.

South African government authorities and non-governmental organisations have difficulty measuring the burden of disease due to HIV / AIDS, or obtaining objective evidence for effectiveness of interventions such as antiretroviral therapy (ART) to mitigate its impacts.

Cross-cultural management in South African NGOs

Little has been written on cross-cultural management in Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), despite their apparent importance in managing people through reconciling cultural influences from post-colonial. Western and local sources, and despite development NGOs' working predominantly in multicultural societies. This article provides a model for analysing cross-cultural dynamics in the management of people through a concept of cultural crossvergence and hybridisation, and by incorporating the idea of locus of human value, focusing on instrumental and humanistic views of the value of people. Hypotheses are developed regarding the appropriateness of management systems to the cultural expectations of local staff, and the consequences for motivation and commitment. Through a study of local NGOs in South Africa, as an example of management in a multicultural, developing country, there is evidence of resistance to instrumental and results-oriented principles of managing people, such as performance related reward. Rather, there is a development of hybrid management forms that incorporate local, humanistic values and expectations. Yet cross-cultural issues appear not to be addressed formally through capacity building. These initial findings have implications for the way people are managed in local NGOs, and should be noted by local managers as well as policy makers in development agencies.

Women's safety from violence not a privilege—it's a right

Since the advent of South Africa's democracy in 1994, there has been a significant increase in activity to combat gender-based violence (GBV) through the efforts of various government departments, the South African police service, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and academia. Before 1994, domestic violence was not codified under South African law, and abuse of women was often seen as acceptable within the privacy of the home. Today, there is little doubt that GBV is one of the most prevalent social problems undermining South Africa's development, as regularly acknowledged by South African political leadership. But how effective have been the changes in South African legislation over the past ten years, such as the Domestic Violence Act of 1998 and the still unratified Sexual Offences Bill? In this interview, prominent GBV activists Cookie Edwards, provincial coordinator of the KwaZulu-Natal Network on Violence Against Women in Durban, and Lisa Vetten, senior researcher and policy analyst for the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre (TLAC) in Cape Town, reflect on the successes and challenges to curbing violence against women within the last decade. Christine Davis (CD): What are the primary causes of GBV in a South African context? Cookie Edwards (CE): Violence against women happens because women are denied equal access to social and economic rights and opportunities. Women trapped in poverty are more exposed to violence and less able to escape it. Violence against women happens because we, as society, allow, tolerate and make excuses for it. Safety from violence against women is not a privilege; it is a human right. All women are entitled to be free from violence by state or private actors.

Systems of Accountability, Webs of Deceit? Monitoring and Evaluation in South African NGOs

International requirements that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) adopt systems of monitoring, evaluation and reporting for their funded development work are generating surprising effects. Although such systems were introduced to enhance the accountability of NGO staff and to better guide implementation, her research in South Africa suggests that they often foster fear and deceit, resulting in systemic distortions of information and limited improvements of projects and their implementation.