Roddy Fox

Lesotho's general election of 1998: rigged or de rigeur?

The official result of Lesothos general election of i998, which saw a 79 out of 8o seat victory for the ruling Lesotho Congress of Democrats (LCD), was repudiated by the opposition, notably the former ruling Basotho National Party (BNP) and the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP). These latter parties were historic enemies but forged an alliance of convenience to contest the outcome of the election. By mobilising their supporters to occupy Maseru they successfully paralysed the capacity of the LCD to govern. After diplomatic preliminaries, this led to military intervention by South Africa and Botswana in September i998 and their brokering of an agreement which restored the LCD to power, on the condition that a new election would be held within eighteen months, with the rules for that contest being discussed between the parties in the interim. That election has now been scheduled for April 2000. The article reviews the conduct and result of the general election of i998. It concludes that the oppositions objections were largely spurious, but notes that the unbalanced nature of the LCDs victory - a product of the first-pastthe-post electoral system - was a major cause of the wider crisis. It therefore proposes that any lasting settlement of political differences in Lesotho is going to require a new electoral system which will allow for a more inclusive outcome.

Consolidating South Africa's New Democracy: Geographical Dimensions of Party Support in the 1999 Election

South Africa’s second open election in 1999 was a critical stage in the country’s democratic consolidation. Geographical analysis of the results is complicated by the data release policies of the Independent Electoral Commission and by the need to match polling district data with magisterial district boundaries. This paper focuses on spatial patterns of party support in the nine provinces. The data is examined in relation to the racial composition of provincial electorates, possible relationships between ethnicity, language and voting for parties with regional support bases, and in terms of rural, urban and metropolitan population. The election results are also analysed in relation to the internal apartheid boundaries of the ‘homelands’ and the former Coloured Labour Preference Area. The findings are related to South Africa’s racial divisions and the consolidation of liberal democracy.

Linking the Doing to the Thinking: using criterion-based assessment in role-playing simulations

Abstract This paper uses a case study to show how we developed a criterionbased assessment instrument in the context of a postgraduate level module in a South African University. The module’s pedagogy is based on three inter-linked active learning strategies. The ‘African Catchment Game’ is a role-playing simulation game and is the focus of this article. The other activities were a portfolio and a computer simulation. The assessment was designed to promote conceptual understanding after each activity and so can be positioned within Kolb’s experiential learning cycle. Evaluations from the learners in 2003 showed that the module had been successful in developing their ability to relate experiences from simulations to the theoretical literature.

The Impact of Space: Land Division and Urban Development in Kenya and South Africa:

In the context of the debate between Belsky and Karaska, who advocate a location-allocation approach to rural development, and Rondinelli, who argues for a functional integration approach, this article adds an element neglected by both, the impact of land division on the development of urban systems. Urban development in Kenya between 1962 and 1989 was greatly affected by the division of land. A case study from South Africa demonstrates that Kenyas experience may be applicable elsewhere.

West African urbanization: a reassessment.

The author comments on an article by Barbara J. Kilbourne and Brian J. L. Berry concerning urbanization in West Africa. The focus is on the extent to which African urbanization has been affected by market forces. A reply by Kilbourne and Berry is included (pp. 501-2). (ANNOTATION)

Learning About Water Management through the African Catchment Game

The African Catchment Game (ACG) is an innovative role-playing game for Geography educators that simulates a “real imaginary country”. It enables the participants to explore how rural and urban stakeholders in southern African countries may, or may not, develop scenarios of sustainable water use. The ACG has been developed from Graham Chapman’s the Green Revolution Game/Exaction of the 1970s and 1980s. Our modifications to Chapman’s game are under-pinned by theories of Complex Adaptive Systems and educational approaches based on constructivist, active/experiential learning models. This paper examines the impact of two game runs through examining the experiences of the participants and managers of the game and analyzing empirical data collected during each game run. The African Catchment Game was played twice in Finland in 2008 as part of a collaboration intended to explore the possibilities of simulations being used as tools for predicting African futures. Our analysis shows that the participants’ understanding altered and deepened as a result of playing the game. The nature of the game, as a Complex Adaptive System, and the use of a constructivist learning approach, means that the particular learning that took place cannot be extrapolated to more universal contexts, but the value of the learning process can be more generally applied.