When discussions about South Africa’s townships arise, the focus is often predictable: unemployment, poverty, crime, service delivery protests, or the promise of the “township economy”. Yet there is another, quieter feature that rarely enters public debate. It is not what is present in townships, but what is absent. Walk through many townships and you will notice the quiet absence or limited presence of trees lining the streets, the limited presence of birds and greenery, and the scarcity of shaded parks or communal green spaces. These absences might appear incidental or simply the result of poverty or municipal neglect. But they…
Dr Mmabatho Mongae
Dr Mmabatho Mongae
Dr Mmabatho Mongae is a Lead Data Analyst at Good Governance Africa (GGA), where she plays a key role in developing innovative, data-driven tools to improve governance and urban management across the continent. Her work includes the Governance Performance Index (GPI), a first-of-its-kind assessment of local municipal performance, and the African Cities Profiling Project, an initiative aimed at building a comprehensive information bank to assist cities in enhancing service delivery for both citizens and enterprises. She has a PhD in International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand, and is a research fellow at the Centre for Africa China Studies.
There is extensive literature on transportation, and given the rapid urbanisation in Africa, public transportation will play a significant role in the continent’s evolution. But to what extent does gender influence the use of public transportation? And to what extent are these experiences taken into consideration when formulating transport policies? For women living in African cities, the use of public transport can be a daunting experience. Due to the lack of reliable transport services, women in African cities rely more heavily on informal or para-transit systems than their counterparts in developed countries, who primarily depend on formal public transportation systems.…
Africa’s digital landscape is rapidly changing. Over the past seven years, digital news sources have almost doubled. According to the Afrobarometer, four in 10 adults across 43 countries surveyed report turning to the internet or social media a few times a week or daily for news. Interestingly, the rise in digital sources coincides with a decrease in trust in news. Digital media, meanwhile, is not only reshaping information landscapes but is also influencing politics. Alongside this is the resurgence of Russian and Chinese interest in Africa. The expansion of China and Russia is often analysed through economic and military influence,…
The introduction of the 2010 Constitution in Kenya was monumental, particularly for the decentralisation of civic participation. This framework was a significant step in further cultivating civic engagement in Kenya. This article examines the factors that strengthen and impede civic engagement in Kenya and finds that although the deepened institutionalisation of governance and democracy strengthens civic participation, it does not sustain it. It is therefore worth identifying factors that contribute to the gap between the institutionalisation of governance, democracy, and civic engagement, as this can provide insight into how to narrow this gap. Historically, civic engagement has played a central…
