Browsing by Author "Mantzaris, Evangelos A., 1953-"

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    Corruption and the erosion of citizen trust in Brazil and South Africa
    (African Consortium of Public Administration (ACPA), 2017) Mantzaris, Evangelos A., 1953-; Pillay, Pregala
    The exploration of public trust towards a democratic government has taken different forms throughout history because it is a multi-dimensional and complicated process determined by actions, inactions, political, social and economic processes and societal power relationships. It is widely accepted that good governance, in turn, is a crucial element in the process of building citizens’ trust in government. This implies that unethical, corrupt actions negatively affect citizens’ trust, which is one of the reasons the relationship between social trust and governance has been a focal point of the academic and policy-making communities. The present case studies are based on primary and secondary qualitative research and deal with concerns such as those in South Africa and Brazil and seek to explore the causal relationship between good governance and citizen trust and the effect of corrupt actions. Citizens’ trust takes different forms that fluctuate from the ‘general’ to the ‘particular/specific’ and such realities have different effects on governance as well as the shaping of public policy, attitudes and political imperatives. In both of the aforementioned countries issues of political, economic and social transformation and development are societal imperatives, empirical studies on such relations of trust and good governance can pave the way forward in re-evaluating the differences, similarities and forms of the struggle against corruption.
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    Xenophobic violence and criminality in the KwaZulu-Natal townships
    (AOSIS, 2019-04-23) Ngcamu, Bethuel S.; Mantzaris, Evangelos A., 1953-
    This study’s focus on the xenophobic violence in South Africa is topical, mostly concentrating on the economic competition between foreign nationals and local people as a root cause. Whilst the South African government’s record of poor governance has led to a high crime rate, poor service delivery, corruption and poorly implemented and enforced legislations have been overlooked and disassociated with xenophobia. The current study explores other forces that have triggered the xenophobic violence in South Africa in 2015 with a clear focus on the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The study aims to ascertain some of the causes and dimensions of the xenophobic violence and the government’s inability to detect and respond to such a catastrophe in KwaZulu-Natal. The research methodology chosen was interpretivism, utilising qualitative in-depth interviews. Seventeen informants, comprised of community activists, non-governmental organisations and government officials, including the South African Police Service, were interviewed. Four major themes that triggered and influenced xenophobia emerged in this study. Firstly, there is economic competition amongst foreign nationals who use local gangs to attack their competitors, as well as competition between foreigners and local business owners. Secondly, the study established an association between xenophobia and criminal business, where both victims and perpetrators compete over turf and skills in committing crimes. Thirdly, the study noted the inability of the state to employ risk-reduction to prevent and mitigate the impacts of xenophobia. Fourthly, the state apparatus’s failed to detect, prevent or mitigate the impact and respond timeously. A number of themes and issues untouched in previous research surfaced. This study necessitates the need for municipalities to develop or review by-laws on economic development in the townships and in the informal settlements by regulating informal businesses. The research study will further encourage the government to apply effective, efficient and appropriate crime-intelligence strategies that can detect or combat any sign of xenophobia in all sectors of society. The study will contribute to the conceptual and theoretical empirical developments and realities regarding the issues, as well as the policy, as most studies published on xenophobic violence have concentrated on the economic dimension, to the exclusion of other underlying causes.