Institutionalisation of a social movement: the case of Thembelihle, the Thembelihle Crisis Committee and the Operation Khanyisa Movement and the use of the brick, the ballot and the voice.

• Main Author: Pingo, Nicolette
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12883

The contradiction between contestation with and loyalty to the ANC majority lead government has been interrogated by leading planning and political theorists (Booysen and Matlala& Bénit-Gbaffou, 2012). This case study aims to provide insight into a political phenomena in the contemporary South African political landscape, which challenges these, previously documented political trends. The emergence of the Operation Khanyisa Movement (OKM) in operates as a unique shift (albeit in a small scale) to ANC party dominance in impoverished settlements. The particular organisational structure that makes up the OKM as an umbrella configuration of social movements and its decision to enter the space of local government has not been seen elsewhere in the South African context. This paper will explore the work of the current PR OKM councillor, Simphiwe Zwane to gain a better understanding of this distinctive strategy in attaining access to services in Thembelihle, an informal settlement in the Southern periphery of Soweto where she is based. The history of the Thembelihle context, as well as the formation of the TCC and OKM will be explored first to provide a basis for understanding the current role of the OKM. The research will explore the effects of the presence of an OKM councillor as a representative voice for an impoverished urban population. More broadly the text explores the impacts of the Institutionalisation of this social movement configuration. What institutionalisation means at this point in time in a South African local urban governance context is unpacked extensively as a transitional space for contemporary South African social movements. The use of different strategies and tactics and their impacts as utilised by the TCC and OKM is explored with reflection on the functioning of the movement and the integral role of leadership in the OKM. These impacts will encompass many of the challenges faced by the OKM as an institutionalised form of social movements. This research takes the format of a case study to explore a unique phenomenon in local party politics and the role of social movements in post-apartheid South Africa.