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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Strongmen on the Cape Flats
Authors:Du Toit, PierreISNI
Gagiano, JannieISNI
Year:1993
Periodical:Africa Insight
Volume:23
Issue:2
Pages:102-111
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:urban population
political systems
informal settlements
Politics and Government
Urbanization and Migration
Abstract:In the contest for hegemony in South Africa the assault on the apartheid regime has led to a marked weakening of the State. The aim of this article is to explore one site of State weakness as it emerged from the late 1970s. The focus is on the communities in the informal shanty towns on the periphery of the Cape Town metropolis, known as the Cape Flats, with special emphasis on the Crossroads community, and the political career of mayor Johnson Ngxobongwana. Three themes are addressed. The first is the informal political structure and rules that evolved within Crossroads and that provided effective government within Crossroads and other shanty town communities on the Cape Flats. The second theme is the interaction between the State and the powerholders within these communities. The third theme consists of an assessment of the strategic options that have been used by rival shanty town leaders in their engagement with one another and the State after 1990, given the rapid changes in the wider political context that is characterized as a contest for hegemony between the incumbents of the State and their challengers. The conclusion presents the implications of the findings for the prospects of the emergence of a civil society in postapartheid South Africa. Notes, ref.
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