Mfaniseni Fana Sihlongonyane
Biographic Data
| ID | 75920 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mfaniseni Fana Sihlongonyane |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mfaniseni Fana |
| FAMILY NAME | Sihlongonyane |
| SIGNATURE | SIHLONGONYANE M F |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of the Witwatersrand |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2550-485X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 37 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2001 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Everyday Urban Practices in Africa
Unpacking the intricacies of urban development in Eswatini
It is well acknowledged that most African cities are inheritors of colonial systems of administration, legislation, policy and plans. In most of them, this inheritance has not changed, even though it is several decades after gaining independence. As a result, many scholars have tended to overemphasize the influence of the colonizers, precluding an analysis of the ability of indigenous populations to resist, reimagine and remake colonial visions o…
The Nelson Mandela Bridge as a Great Sign of Urban Transformation in Johannesburg, South Africa
Viewpoint Theorisations of African cities need to be careful of jumping onto the ‘urban band wagon’
The observation that cities are growing rapidly especially in the African continent is well acknowledged around the world. Indeed, ‘an urban-centric discourse’ has emerged to assert that the future is ‘urban’ as more people are moving to live in cities (UN, 2018). While the issue of growth cannot be challenged, one needs to look at the dangers of this discourse in African cities. The dynamics of urban growth in African cities are more complex and…
A Comparative Analysis of the Influence of Traditional Authority in Urban Development in South Africa and Eswatini
Scholars have tended to overemphasise the influence of the colonisers. This precludes an analysis of the ability of indigenous populations to resist, reimagine and remake colonial visions of urban life. However, Tom Goodfellow and Stefan Lindemann (2013) have observed a widespread 'resurgence' of traditional authorities in Africa since the 1990s – meaning indigenous political structures have recently experienced a revival (Englebert 2002; Foucher…
Reinventing urban South Africa through global-Africanisation
Globalisation and Africanisation remain largely polarised and diametrically opposed to each other between the global and the local in much of the literature focusing on urban restructuring in South Africa in the 1990s. This polarisation has rendered invisible the in-between spaces of glocalisation which yield to new signs of urbanity, and the innovative sites of collaboration and contestation in the act of defining a new urban hood in South Afric…
The impact of political dualism on urban governance in Swaziland
The article focuses on the experience of dualism and the challenges that arose in the implementation of the Swaziland Urban Development Project (SUDP) in Moneni, a peri-urban township located on the east of Manzini City. The article draws on the existing body of literature on Swaziland (albeit limited) and on Africa to analyse the implications of dualism within the Tinkhundla political system and its precipitous influence on local urban governanc…
The global, the local and the hybrid in the making of Johannesburg as a world class African city
In 2000 the city of Johannesburg adopted the vision of becoming a World Class African City (WCAC). Since then Johannesburg has been energetically promoted in accordance with this vision. The tagline ‘world-class African city’ is now used in the branding of the city. It has become a major signifier on its logo and a notable catchphrase in its radio adverts of its brand. However, the nested opposition of the ‘world-class’ and ‘African’ discourse ha…
Empty Signifiers of Transformation in Participatory Planning and the Marginalization of Black People in South Africa
There is no doubt that participation as a development paradigm for the transformation of planning in South Africa took off in the early days of democracy with a revolutionary zeal. The mood of transforming planning practice from apartheid planning associated with top-down authoritarian modernist systems towards bottom-up post-apartheid democratic systems was marked by the emergence of a deluge of African metaphors such as indaba, lekgotla, simuny…
The rhetorical devices for marketing and branding Johannesburg as a city
Since the founding of the city of Johannesburg in 1886, the city has taken up the quest to project a modernist image whose meaning has an international reach and a local foundation. In this endeavor, its locational advantages, product (gold), ethnicity (African), race, and class (notwithstanding the interconnections of these factors) has been used as part of the branding narratives of the city. However, the use of these factors has been closely s…
African conflicts and informal power
Through a variety of indepth case studies – from DRC to Somalia to Liberia amongst others – this book shows how important informal political and economic networks are in many of the continent’s co
Africa's Odious Debts
Leonce Ndikumana and James K. Boyce Africa's Odious Debts: How Foreign Loans and Capital Flight Bled the Continent Zed Books, London and New York, 2011, ISBN 9 781 8481 3459 1, 152 pp. Africa's Odi
Close to the sources
(2011). Close to the sources: essays on contemporary African culture, politics and academy. Critical Arts: Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 327-333
Africa and the New Globalization
Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008, ISBN: 978-0-7546-7138-1, 192 pp. This book is written by a group of scholars from various US universities with special interests in African and African-American Studies, a
Community development' as a buzz-word
This article examines the semantic evolution of the term ‘community development’ (CD) in the latter half of the twentieth century. It is argued that CD has acquired different meanings, theoretical grounding, and practical applications, starting from a focus on traditional societies up to the 1960s, moving to a focus on social and/or civil-rights movements up to the 1980s, and further to a focus on the modern middle class from the 1990s. The thrus…
Local economic development in Swaziland
The Invisible Hand of the Royal Family in the Political Dynamics of Swaziland
Why does Swaziland remain authoritarian despite the democratic political changes that have occurred in the other parts of the African continent since the 1990s? Does it mean that Swaziland is immune to political change? The answers to these questions are diverse and wide-ranging from the international relations view to the radical perspectives and to the functionalist view. But the tendency of these views is to analyse Swazi politics according to…
The rhetoric of the community in project management
The concept of 'community' became a popular buzzword towards the end of the twentieth century. However, its meaning is increasingly vague because of its rhetorical use in politics, as well as in development, gender, and environmental circles. Based on the experience of a Mohlakeng Township Site and Service Scheme that was undertaken between 1990 and 1994, the paper examines some of the implications of the flexible use of the term 'community' in S…
The rhetoric of the community in project management
The concept of 'community' became a popular buzzword towards the end of the twentieth century. However, its meaning is increasingly vague because of its rhetorical use in politics, as well as in development, gender, and environmental circles. Based on the experience of a Mohlakeng Township Site and Service Scheme that was undertaken between 1990 and 1994, the paper examines some of the implications of the flexible use of the term 'community' in S…
The impact of political dualism on urban governance in Swaziland
The article focuses on the experience of dualism and the challenges that arose in the implementation of the Swaziland Urban Development Project (SUDP) in Moneni, a peri-urban township located on the east of Manzini City. The article draws on the existing body of literature on Swaziland (albeit limited) and on Africa to analyse the implications of dualism within the Tinkhundla political system and its precipitous influence on local urban governanc…
The Invisible Hand of the Royal Family in the Political Dynamics of Swaziland
Why does Swaziland remain authoritarian despite the democratic political changes that have occurred in the other parts of the African continent since the 1990s? Does it mean that Swaziland is immune to political change? The answers to these questions are diverse and wide-ranging from the international relations view to the radical perspectives and to the functionalist view. But the tendency of these views is to analyse Swazi politics according to…
A Comparative Analysis of the Influence of Traditional Authority in Urban Development in South Africa and Eswatini
Scholars have tended to overemphasise the influence of the colonisers. This precludes an analysis of the ability of indigenous populations to resist, reimagine and remake colonial visions of urban life. However, Tom Goodfellow and Stefan Lindemann (2013) have observed a widespread 'resurgence' of traditional authorities in Africa since the 1990s – meaning indigenous political structures have recently experienced a revival (Englebert 2002; Foucher…
Community development' as a buzz-word
This article examines the semantic evolution of the term ‘community development’ (CD) in the latter half of the twentieth century. It is argued that CD has acquired different meanings, theoretical grounding, and practical applications, starting from a focus on traditional societies up to the 1960s, moving to a focus on social and/or civil-rights movements up to the 1980s, and further to a focus on the modern middle class from the 1990s. The thrus…
Reinventing urban South Africa through global-Africanisation
Globalisation and Africanisation remain largely polarised and diametrically opposed to each other between the global and the local in much of the literature focusing on urban restructuring in South Africa in the 1990s. This polarisation has rendered invisible the in-between spaces of glocalisation which yield to new signs of urbanity, and the innovative sites of collaboration and contestation in the act of defining a new urban hood in South Afric…
Africa's Odious Debts
Leonce Ndikumana and James K. Boyce Africa's Odious Debts: How Foreign Loans and Capital Flight Bled the Continent Zed Books, London and New York, 2011, ISBN 9 781 8481 3459 1, 152 pp. Africa's Odi
The global, the local and the hybrid in the making of Johannesburg as a world class African city
In 2000 the city of Johannesburg adopted the vision of becoming a World Class African City (WCAC). Since then Johannesburg has been energetically promoted in accordance with this vision. The tagline ‘world-class African city’ is now used in the branding of the city. It has become a major signifier on its logo and a notable catchphrase in its radio adverts of its brand. However, the nested opposition of the ‘world-class’ and ‘African’ discourse ha…
Close to the sources
(2011). Close to the sources: essays on contemporary African culture, politics and academy. Critical Arts: Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 327-333
The rhetoric of the community in project management
The concept of 'community' became a popular buzzword towards the end of the twentieth century. However, its meaning is increasingly vague because of its rhetorical use in politics, as well as in development, gender, and environmental circles. Based on the experience of a Mohlakeng Township Site and Service Scheme that was undertaken between 1990 and 1994, the paper examines some of the implications of the flexible use of the term 'community' in S…
Local economic development in Swaziland
The Invisible Hand of the Royal Family in the Political Dynamics of Swaziland
Why does Swaziland remain authoritarian despite the democratic political changes that have occurred in the other parts of the African continent since the 1990s? Does it mean that Swaziland is immune to political change? The answers to these questions are diverse and wide-ranging from the international relations view to the radical perspectives and to the functionalist view. But the tendency of these views is to analyse Swazi politics according to…
Africa and the New Globalization
Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008, ISBN: 978-0-7546-7138-1, 192 pp. This book is written by a group of scholars from various US universities with special interests in African and African-American Studies, a
Community development' as a buzz-word
This article examines the semantic evolution of the term ‘community development’ (CD) in the latter half of the twentieth century. It is argued that CD has acquired different meanings, theoretical grounding, and practical applications, starting from a focus on traditional societies up to the 1960s, moving to a focus on social and/or civil-rights movements up to the 1980s, and further to a focus on the modern middle class from the 1990s. The thrus…
Close to the sources
(2011). Close to the sources: essays on contemporary African culture, politics and academy. Critical Arts: Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 327-333
Africa's Odious Debts
Leonce Ndikumana and James K. Boyce Africa's Odious Debts: How Foreign Loans and Capital Flight Bled the Continent Zed Books, London and New York, 2011, ISBN 9 781 8481 3459 1, 152 pp. Africa's Odi
African conflicts and informal power
Through a variety of indepth case studies – from DRC to Somalia to Liberia amongst others – this book shows how important informal political and economic networks are in many of the continent’s co
Empty Signifiers of Transformation in Participatory Planning and the Marginalization of Black People in South Africa
There is no doubt that participation as a development paradigm for the transformation of planning in South Africa took off in the early days of democracy with a revolutionary zeal. The mood of transforming planning practice from apartheid planning associated with top-down authoritarian modernist systems towards bottom-up post-apartheid democratic systems was marked by the emergence of a deluge of African metaphors such as indaba, lekgotla, simuny…
The rhetorical devices for marketing and branding Johannesburg as a city
Since the founding of the city of Johannesburg in 1886, the city has taken up the quest to project a modernist image whose meaning has an international reach and a local foundation. In this endeavor, its locational advantages, product (gold), ethnicity (African), race, and class (notwithstanding the interconnections of these factors) has been used as part of the branding narratives of the city. However, the use of these factors has been closely s…
The global, the local and the hybrid in the making of Johannesburg as a world class African city
In 2000 the city of Johannesburg adopted the vision of becoming a World Class African City (WCAC). Since then Johannesburg has been energetically promoted in accordance with this vision. The tagline ‘world-class African city’ is now used in the branding of the city. It has become a major signifier on its logo and a notable catchphrase in its radio adverts of its brand. However, the nested opposition of the ‘world-class’ and ‘African’ discourse ha…
The impact of political dualism on urban governance in Swaziland
The article focuses on the experience of dualism and the challenges that arose in the implementation of the Swaziland Urban Development Project (SUDP) in Moneni, a peri-urban township located on the east of Manzini City. The article draws on the existing body of literature on Swaziland (albeit limited) and on Africa to analyse the implications of dualism within the Tinkhundla political system and its precipitous influence on local urban governanc…
Reinventing urban South Africa through global-Africanisation
Globalisation and Africanisation remain largely polarised and diametrically opposed to each other between the global and the local in much of the literature focusing on urban restructuring in South Africa in the 1990s. This polarisation has rendered invisible the in-between spaces of glocalisation which yield to new signs of urbanity, and the innovative sites of collaboration and contestation in the act of defining a new urban hood in South Afric…
Unpacking the intricacies of urban development in Eswatini
It is well acknowledged that most African cities are inheritors of colonial systems of administration, legislation, policy and plans. In most of them, this inheritance has not changed, even though it is several decades after gaining independence. As a result, many scholars have tended to overemphasize the influence of the colonizers, precluding an analysis of the ability of indigenous populations to resist, reimagine and remake colonial visions o…
The Nelson Mandela Bridge as a Great Sign of Urban Transformation in Johannesburg, South Africa
Viewpoint Theorisations of African cities need to be careful of jumping onto the ‘urban band wagon’
The observation that cities are growing rapidly especially in the African continent is well acknowledged around the world. Indeed, ‘an urban-centric discourse’ has emerged to assert that the future is ‘urban’ as more people are moving to live in cities (UN, 2018). While the issue of growth cannot be challenged, one needs to look at the dangers of this discourse in African cities. The dynamics of urban growth in African cities are more complex and…
A Comparative Analysis of the Influence of Traditional Authority in Urban Development in South Africa and Eswatini
Scholars have tended to overemphasise the influence of the colonisers. This precludes an analysis of the ability of indigenous populations to resist, reimagine and remake colonial visions of urban life. However, Tom Goodfellow and Stefan Lindemann (2013) have observed a widespread 'resurgence' of traditional authorities in Africa since the 1990s – meaning indigenous political structures have recently experienced a revival (Englebert 2002; Foucher…
Everyday Urban Practices in Africa
Political science (16 works) · Sociology (16 works) · Law (13 works) · Politics (11 works) · Economics (8 works) · Gender Studies (8 works) · Economic growth (7 works) · Legal Issues in South Africa (7 works) · African history and culture studies (6 works) · Geography (6 works)