Social Movements and NGOs

Gladys Mpepho is the Chairperson of the Grahamstown branch of the Unemployed People’s Movement (UPM). Thembani Onceya recently interviewed MaMpepho on the role of NGOs in bringing about social justices in South Africa. This interview was conducted in Xhosa and has been translated. Here's the Xhosa version if you'd like to read it in Xhosa.

You can contact  UPM Grahamstown on 0466222318 or like the Unemployed People’s Movement page on Facebook.

'There is no "outside the law"': How can Social Movement use the law to bring about radical change and social justice.

Tshepo Madlingozi will be participating in our upcoming Thinking Africa colloquium. Sally Matthews recently interviewed him about his work. This is the second part of a two part interview, the first part of which can be found here Thinking Africa blog.

Tshepo Madlingozi teaches law at the University of Pretoria. He is also a research collaborator with the ALICEproject, based in Portugal, which is dedicated to promoting Epistemologies of the South. Tshepo also serves as an Advocacy Adviser and Board Member for the Khulumani Support Group and is a member of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution. He recently co-edited Socio-economic Rights in South Africa: Symbol or Substance.  One of Tshepo’s key research areas relates to the use of the law by social movements. In this research he asks some very important questions about how the law (and NGOs providing legal advice) can assist social movements in their attempts to achieve social justice.

The difference between NGOs and Social Movements

Tshepo Madlingozi will be participating in our upcoming Thinking Africa colloquium. Sally Matthews recently interviewed him about his work. This is the first part of a two part interview.

Tshepo Madlingozi teaches law at the University of Pretoria. He is also a research collaborator with the ALICE project, based in Portugal, which is dedicated to promoting Epistemologies of the South. Tshepo also serves as an Advocacy Adviser and Board Member for the Khulumani Support Group and is a member of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution. He recently co-edited Symbol or Substance:Socio-economic Rights in South Africa (2014). One of Tshepo’s key research areas relates to the use of the law by social movements. As such Tshepo asks some very important questions about how the law (and NGOs providing legal advice) can assist social movements in their attempts to achieve social justice.

NGOs - the new missionaries?

While many NGOs in Africa see their work as closely tied up with struggles against poverty and inequality and in favour of a more just, equitable world, critics of NGOs argue that they often end up undermining rather than furthering struggles for justice in Africa. This view has, for example, been expressed in a much-debated article by Firoze Manji and Carl O’Coill. Pambazuka published a summary of the article in which they describe it as follows:

“Development NGOs operating in Africa have inadvertently become part of the neo-liberal global agenda, serving to undermine the battle for social justice and human rights in much the same way as their missionary predecessors, argues a paper in the July issue of International Affairs. The paper says that the contribution of NGOs to relieving poverty is minimal, while they play a "significant role" in undermining the struggle of African people to emancipate themselves from economic, social and political oppression. In this compromised position, NGOs face a stark choice: They can move into the political domain and support social movements that seek to challenge a social system that benefits a few and impoverishes the majority; or they can continue unchanged and thus become complicit in a system that leaves the majority in misery.”

Firoze Manji (pictured left) will be participating in the 2014 Thinking Africa colloquium on ‘NGOs and Social Justice in Africa’ where he will be discussing the role of NGOs in furthering (or hampering) struggles for social justice in Africa.

The original article is available here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-2346.00267/abstract.

The summary which appeared in Pambazuka is available here: http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/9672.

More information about the upcoming colloquium can be found here:  http://www.ru.ac.za/thinkingafrica/latestnews/name,104671,en.html. 

NGOs and Social Justice in Africa

2014 Thinking Africa Colloquium

Thinking Africa is a project of the Department of Political and International Studies at Rhodes University, South Africa. Thinking Africa integrates teaching and research on Africa in the Department with an aim to encourage both teaching-led research and research-led teaching. We hold annual colloquiums on a range of topics relevant to Africa. Previous colloquiums have discussed the legacy of Frantz Fanon, the idea of ubuntu and the work of V-Y Mudimbe. This year’s colloquium focuses on the role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in achieving social justice in Africa.

The NGO sector in Africa has grown considerably over the last few decades. The term NGO covers such a broad range of organisations – from huge international organisations with large budgets and high profiles to small, locally based organisations with very particular mandates. It is therefore very difficult to make generalisations about their role in any particular country, and certainly in the continent as a whole. Nevertheless, there has been much debate about the increasing presence of NGOs in Africa with some seeing NGOs as essential players who help alleviate poverty and improve the lives of Africans while others accuse them of eroding the power of the state, creating dependency and facilitating imperialism.

Many NGOs in Africa claim to be doing work that will bring about greater social justice in that they claim to be working to eradicate poverty or bring about greater equality, democracy and accountability. Their goal appears to be to bring about a situation of greater justice, equality and freedom. However, critics counter that while these may be the stated goals (and even the honest intentions) of many NGOs, the actual effect of their presence in Africa is not conducive to the achievement of greater social justice.

This colloquium will bring together academics writing on the NGO sector, people actively involved in NGOs, and activists involved in social movements in order to have a robust conversation about the role of NGOs in Africa. The intention is to reflect carefully and collaboratively on what role NGOs do and should play in Africa and to go beyond sweeping statements about their role towards a more nuanced and detailed picture of their contribution to the achievement of a more just and equitable Africa.

The colloquium will be held from 27-28 September 2014 at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. The colloquium will consist of academic papers, panel discussions and open debates. Those interested in participating can email Sally Matthews (s.matthews@ru.ac.za)