Mandla Mfundo Masuku
Biographic Data
| ID | 201312 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mandla Mfundo Masuku |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mandla Mfundo |
| FAMILY NAME | Masuku |
| SIGNATURE | MASUKU M M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of KwaZulu-Natal |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3743-0779 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 25 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Facilitators and barriers to the use of Ubuntu values in social work and social development
The article explores the facilitators and barriers to integrating Ubuntu values into social work and social development practice. Ubuntu values justice, freedom, community, reciprocal relations, responsibility, service to humanity, culture, and spirituality. Drawing from an empirical study involving participants from 19 African countries, the research highlights Ubuntu not merely as a philosophical abstraction but as a lived and culturally embedd…
Trouble in the Nile Basin
This paper employs a semi-systematic literature review and conceptualises the concept of hydroponics to understand the current stalemate between Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan concerning Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) Dam. This paper employed a qualitative research approach to critically analyze the Nile River conflict and to understand how water has become a cause of the tension between these three countries. The diplomatic impass…
Utilisation of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme's Learning Material Allowance for Higher Education Students
Public higher education institutions in developing countries have faced a steady increase in student enrolment, driven by historical factors such as the expansion of access to education following the end of apartheid in South Africa and other policies aimed at addressing socio‐economic inequalities. This increase, however, has led to challenges in adequately meeting the growing demand for resources and services, often resulting in institutions op…
The State of Infrastructure in the Proclaimed Small Harbours in Enhancing Livelihoods in South Africa
The South African small harbours development is rooted in the colonial era, but over centuries, their conditions have depreciated. This paper argues that proclaimed small harbours face significant infrastructural challenges and their impact on enhancing livelihoods. Secondary data were extracted from peer‐reviewed scholarly, media articles and government documents. Three phases of comprehensive literature review were employed to elucidate the phe…
We are all equal
South Africa is globally rated as the most unequal society, which does not conform to democratic principles. Inequality is perpetuated by uneven security provisions at the behest of the state, which entrenches elitism. The study investigates the extraordinary utilisation of Very Important People’s blue light security by politicians and the budgetary implications and multiplier effects, such as exacerbating inequalities in South Africa. In pursuit…
Births driven by statutory rape in South Africa
Role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Ubuntu in Addressing Gender-Based Violence Against Young Women in Rural KwaZulu-Natal
We are human beings
The vulnerability of sex workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their real-life experiences, are discussed in this paper. The study uses the humanitarianism theory as a lens to understand why sex workers are excluded from social safety programmes, and why they should receive government and non-governmental organisation (NGO) aid. To comprehend the lived experiences of sex workers, in their own words, the researchers adopted a qualitative resea…
Understanding the Horizontal and Vertical Nature of Africa Migration in Contemporary Times
Bars of Suffocation
The study’s objective was to give a critical analysis of the Covid-19 pandemic, while also assessing the influence of Covid-19 on correctional facilities in South Africa. The correctional society was not immune to the detrimental impacts of COVID-19, and its arrival forced all South African correctional facilities to take several measures, including limitations on correctional facility visitation and the early release of some offenders. Therefore…
Unleashing the development potential of Africa’s women through African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)
This paper aims to analyse the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and its potential to unleash the development of women in Africa. The envisaged benefits of the AfCFTA include increased trade diversification, regional integration, enhanced human security, increased foreign direct investment and technological advancement. Despite optimism about the prospects of the agreement as a local innovation spearheaded by the African Union, pe…
Executive functions in understanding certain disabilities within an African context
Cognitive and social functioning are important aspects of the development of all children. In the transition from one stage of development to another, children are expected to master related skills. There is sufficient literature depicting that children with learning disabilities often experience challenges in a range of executive functions, which are necessary for the successful negotiation of their educational and life-related tasks. As a resul…
Expressions from Zulu proverbs on the uniqueness of motherhood in mitigating the adverse effects of orphanhood
Proverbs are labelled as the expression of messages embedded in a language. This article analyses a selected proverb which reflects on motherhood and orphanhood and which is used to show the value of motherhood in the Zulu culture. The meaning of the selected proverb is profound in that it shows the value of the relationship between the mother and her child. After birth, the first person a child encounters is the mother, and through bonding and b…
Funding Open Educational Resources in Higher Education
The direct crediting of book allowances to student accounts was, among other reasons, underpinned by the belief that students would be able to substitute prescribed study material with online content. The article attempts to understand if the local open educational resources (OER) funding policy environment was prepared for this significant transformation. The paper applied a critical theory paradigm and a documentary research strategy to identif…
Neglected with No Social Protection
This study aims to shed new light on the sex industry by questioning the lack of government assistance for female sex workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and looking at their rights from a feminist perspective. The study employed the conflict theory to understand the manifestation of sex work as a profession and its associated drivers. It used a phenomenological approach to understand the lived experiences of sex workers in their own words. A sa…
Africa Trade with Yourself
This article examines the challenges of consolidating the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) through a systematic review of the literature. The article concludes that while the ACFTA seeks to boost continental trade, its actual implementation and success will depend on whether it can resolve the multiple national, regional, and continental interests of member states. Based on the review, it is recommended that high-level inter-state…
Restoring Inclusive Education
This paper outlines a critical analysis of the paradigm shift from a medical to a social model, using the key concepts impacting on learners with disabilities in a schooling system. The social constructionist perspective and the social model provide a conceptual frame for examining disability and inclusive education. Inclusive education is significant for its multidimensional nature and lack of universal definition. The two main issues concerning…
Enhancing Food Security Through Systematic African Women Empowerment in South Africa
This paper critically argues how the gender and development approach influences food security for women. A critical literature review analysis was conducted using peer-reviewed publications and grey literature from relevant organisations. Sources from 1993 to 2020 were manually selected from Sabinet and Google Scholar using a purposive and snowball approach and 69 articles were analysed. Findings indicated that although the Gender and Development…
Cross-parallels in isiZulu proverbial messages
This article analyses Zulu proverbs and examines contradicting and contrasting expressions embedded in the selected proverbs. A contrast occurs when the first part of a proverb is followed by its antithesis in the second part. This is referred to as parallelism or cross-parallelism, where the meanings of two verbs in a proverb contradict each other and where nouns in the same proverb are antithetical. This is also called ‘paired contrast’, to des…
Terror at the front gate
The paper, employing a qualitative research approach through the review of literature seeks to examine the increasing acts of terrorism in Mozambique's Northern Cabo Delgado region and its implications for the SADC and South Africa. Regionally, the SADC's failure to act has cast doubt on the regional body's ability to protect and support member states in times of need and has painted a bleak picture for the region's security, should the insurgenc…
Subsistence Agriculture as the Basis of Rural Livelihoods in Msinga Local Municipality, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
Subsistence agriculture is recognised as a livelihood contributing to food security for households in rural communities. The sustainable livelihood approach is employed in this study, based on its strength and optimistic orientation to grant rural people an opportunity to improve their environment, economic standing, and social development. Data were collected from 180 households using a questionnaire analysed with the SPSS software. The subsiste…
Community Participation in Mahikeng Local Municipality
In South Africa, community members have the constitutional right to partake in local governance and the local municipal council has the constitutional mandate to facilitate community participation. Qualitative research was used to assess the impact of power relations on community participation in the Mahikeng Local Municipality. The study findings indicate that power differentials contributed to the abandonment of the legislative provisions in th…
Public service delivery in South Africa
This paper analyses poor service delivery at local government level, which is attributed to the politicisation of administrative components in municipalities, resulting in poor local governance. The public service delivery system has been perceived as one of the most important ways of reducing poverty through poverty alleviation programmes. As part of the South African government's cooperative system, key stakeholders in municipalities ought to a…
Small Scale Agriculture in Enhancing Household Food Security in Rural Areas
Agriculture has a significant role in contributing to rural economic growth and ensuring food security. However, the agricultural sector has been exposed to challenges such as climate change and scarcity of resources that affect production. In spite of agricultural challenges, South Africa is still food self-sufficient nationally, except at household level. The study sets out to determine the effects of agriculture on household food security in r…
The Socio-economic Status as a Factor Affecting Food (In) Security in Rural Areas, uThungulu District Municipality, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa
South Africa is food-secure nationally, but at household level, it is food-insecure due to socio-economic factors that limit access to food to a large number of people who live below poverty line. The study examined the impact of socio-demographic status on food (in) security particularly in the rural areas of uThungulu District Municipality. The results of this paper form part of the major study. One hundred and forty seven respondents, who were…
Public service delivery in South Africa
This paper analyses poor service delivery at local government level, which is attributed to the politicisation of administrative components in municipalities, resulting in poor local governance. The public service delivery system has been perceived as one of the most important ways of reducing poverty through poverty alleviation programmes. As part of the South African government's cooperative system, key stakeholders in municipalities ought to a…
Neglected with No Social Protection
This study aims to shed new light on the sex industry by questioning the lack of government assistance for female sex workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and looking at their rights from a feminist perspective. The study employed the conflict theory to understand the manifestation of sex work as a profession and its associated drivers. It used a phenomenological approach to understand the lived experiences of sex workers in their own words. A sa…
Terror at the front gate
The paper, employing a qualitative research approach through the review of literature seeks to examine the increasing acts of terrorism in Mozambique's Northern Cabo Delgado region and its implications for the SADC and South Africa. Regionally, the SADC's failure to act has cast doubt on the regional body's ability to protect and support member states in times of need and has painted a bleak picture for the region's security, should the insurgenc…
Small Scale Agriculture in Enhancing Household Food Security in Rural Areas
Agriculture has a significant role in contributing to rural economic growth and ensuring food security. However, the agricultural sector has been exposed to challenges such as climate change and scarcity of resources that affect production. In spite of agricultural challenges, South Africa is still food self-sufficient nationally, except at household level. The study sets out to determine the effects of agriculture on household food security in r…
Small Scale Agriculture in Enhancing Household Food Security in Rural Areas
Agriculture has a significant role in contributing to rural economic growth and ensuring food security. However, the agricultural sector has been exposed to challenges such as climate change and scarcity of resources that affect production. In spite of agricultural challenges, South Africa is still food self-sufficient nationally, except at household level. The study sets out to determine the effects of agriculture on household food security in r…
The Socio-economic Status as a Factor Affecting Food (In) Security in Rural Areas, uThungulu District Municipality, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa
South Africa is food-secure nationally, but at household level, it is food-insecure due to socio-economic factors that limit access to food to a large number of people who live below poverty line. The study examined the impact of socio-demographic status on food (in) security particularly in the rural areas of uThungulu District Municipality. The results of this paper form part of the major study. One hundred and forty seven respondents, who were…
Public service delivery in South Africa
This paper analyses poor service delivery at local government level, which is attributed to the politicisation of administrative components in municipalities, resulting in poor local governance. The public service delivery system has been perceived as one of the most important ways of reducing poverty through poverty alleviation programmes. As part of the South African government's cooperative system, key stakeholders in municipalities ought to a…
Community Participation in Mahikeng Local Municipality
In South Africa, community members have the constitutional right to partake in local governance and the local municipal council has the constitutional mandate to facilitate community participation. Qualitative research was used to assess the impact of power relations on community participation in the Mahikeng Local Municipality. The study findings indicate that power differentials contributed to the abandonment of the legislative provisions in th…
Restoring Inclusive Education
This paper outlines a critical analysis of the paradigm shift from a medical to a social model, using the key concepts impacting on learners with disabilities in a schooling system. The social constructionist perspective and the social model provide a conceptual frame for examining disability and inclusive education. Inclusive education is significant for its multidimensional nature and lack of universal definition. The two main issues concerning…
Enhancing Food Security Through Systematic African Women Empowerment in South Africa
This paper critically argues how the gender and development approach influences food security for women. A critical literature review analysis was conducted using peer-reviewed publications and grey literature from relevant organisations. Sources from 1993 to 2020 were manually selected from Sabinet and Google Scholar using a purposive and snowball approach and 69 articles were analysed. Findings indicated that although the Gender and Development…
Cross-parallels in isiZulu proverbial messages
This article analyses Zulu proverbs and examines contradicting and contrasting expressions embedded in the selected proverbs. A contrast occurs when the first part of a proverb is followed by its antithesis in the second part. This is referred to as parallelism or cross-parallelism, where the meanings of two verbs in a proverb contradict each other and where nouns in the same proverb are antithetical. This is also called ‘paired contrast’, to des…
Terror at the front gate
The paper, employing a qualitative research approach through the review of literature seeks to examine the increasing acts of terrorism in Mozambique's Northern Cabo Delgado region and its implications for the SADC and South Africa. Regionally, the SADC's failure to act has cast doubt on the regional body's ability to protect and support member states in times of need and has painted a bleak picture for the region's security, should the insurgenc…
Subsistence Agriculture as the Basis of Rural Livelihoods in Msinga Local Municipality, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
Subsistence agriculture is recognised as a livelihood contributing to food security for households in rural communities. The sustainable livelihood approach is employed in this study, based on its strength and optimistic orientation to grant rural people an opportunity to improve their environment, economic standing, and social development. Data were collected from 180 households using a questionnaire analysed with the SPSS software. The subsiste…
Africa Trade with Yourself
This article examines the challenges of consolidating the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) through a systematic review of the literature. The article concludes that while the ACFTA seeks to boost continental trade, its actual implementation and success will depend on whether it can resolve the multiple national, regional, and continental interests of member states. Based on the review, it is recommended that high-level inter-state…
Executive functions in understanding certain disabilities within an African context
Cognitive and social functioning are important aspects of the development of all children. In the transition from one stage of development to another, children are expected to master related skills. There is sufficient literature depicting that children with learning disabilities often experience challenges in a range of executive functions, which are necessary for the successful negotiation of their educational and life-related tasks. As a resul…
Expressions from Zulu proverbs on the uniqueness of motherhood in mitigating the adverse effects of orphanhood
Proverbs are labelled as the expression of messages embedded in a language. This article analyses a selected proverb which reflects on motherhood and orphanhood and which is used to show the value of motherhood in the Zulu culture. The meaning of the selected proverb is profound in that it shows the value of the relationship between the mother and her child. After birth, the first person a child encounters is the mother, and through bonding and b…
Funding Open Educational Resources in Higher Education
The direct crediting of book allowances to student accounts was, among other reasons, underpinned by the belief that students would be able to substitute prescribed study material with online content. The article attempts to understand if the local open educational resources (OER) funding policy environment was prepared for this significant transformation. The paper applied a critical theory paradigm and a documentary research strategy to identif…
Neglected with No Social Protection
This study aims to shed new light on the sex industry by questioning the lack of government assistance for female sex workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and looking at their rights from a feminist perspective. The study employed the conflict theory to understand the manifestation of sex work as a profession and its associated drivers. It used a phenomenological approach to understand the lived experiences of sex workers in their own words. A sa…
Understanding the Horizontal and Vertical Nature of Africa Migration in Contemporary Times
Bars of Suffocation
The study’s objective was to give a critical analysis of the Covid-19 pandemic, while also assessing the influence of Covid-19 on correctional facilities in South Africa. The correctional society was not immune to the detrimental impacts of COVID-19, and its arrival forced all South African correctional facilities to take several measures, including limitations on correctional facility visitation and the early release of some offenders. Therefore…
Unleashing the development potential of Africa’s women through African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)
This paper aims to analyse the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and its potential to unleash the development of women in Africa. The envisaged benefits of the AfCFTA include increased trade diversification, regional integration, enhanced human security, increased foreign direct investment and technological advancement. Despite optimism about the prospects of the agreement as a local innovation spearheaded by the African Union, pe…
Trouble in the Nile Basin
This paper employs a semi-systematic literature review and conceptualises the concept of hydroponics to understand the current stalemate between Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan concerning Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) Dam. This paper employed a qualitative research approach to critically analyze the Nile River conflict and to understand how water has become a cause of the tension between these three countries. The diplomatic impass…
Utilisation of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme's Learning Material Allowance for Higher Education Students
Public higher education institutions in developing countries have faced a steady increase in student enrolment, driven by historical factors such as the expansion of access to education following the end of apartheid in South Africa and other policies aimed at addressing socio‐economic inequalities. This increase, however, has led to challenges in adequately meeting the growing demand for resources and services, often resulting in institutions op…
The State of Infrastructure in the Proclaimed Small Harbours in Enhancing Livelihoods in South Africa
The South African small harbours development is rooted in the colonial era, but over centuries, their conditions have depreciated. This paper argues that proclaimed small harbours face significant infrastructural challenges and their impact on enhancing livelihoods. Secondary data were extracted from peer‐reviewed scholarly, media articles and government documents. Three phases of comprehensive literature review were employed to elucidate the phe…
We are all equal
South Africa is globally rated as the most unequal society, which does not conform to democratic principles. Inequality is perpetuated by uneven security provisions at the behest of the state, which entrenches elitism. The study investigates the extraordinary utilisation of Very Important People’s blue light security by politicians and the budgetary implications and multiplier effects, such as exacerbating inequalities in South Africa. In pursuit…
Births driven by statutory rape in South Africa
Role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Ubuntu in Addressing Gender-Based Violence Against Young Women in Rural KwaZulu-Natal
We are human beings
The vulnerability of sex workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their real-life experiences, are discussed in this paper. The study uses the humanitarianism theory as a lens to understand why sex workers are excluded from social safety programmes, and why they should receive government and non-governmental organisation (NGO) aid. To comprehend the lived experiences of sex workers, in their own words, the researchers adopted a qualitative resea…
Facilitators and barriers to the use of Ubuntu values in social work and social development
The article explores the facilitators and barriers to integrating Ubuntu values into social work and social development practice. Ubuntu values justice, freedom, community, reciprocal relations, responsibility, service to humanity, culture, and spirituality. Drawing from an empirical study involving participants from 19 African countries, the research highlights Ubuntu not merely as a philosophical abstraction but as a lived and culturally embedd…
Sociology (16 works) · Economics (15 works) · Economic growth (14 works) · Political science (14 works) · Geography (11 works) · Law (9 works) · Socioeconomics (9 works) · Business (8 works) · Agriculture (6 works) · Medicine (6 works)