Independent Projects Trust - Conflict resolution specialists.

Directors report

The process of writing a ten year review gave us an opportunity to reflect collectively on just how far both IPT as an organisation and South Africa as a Nation have come in the turbulent years since 1990. As individuals we vary in service between 10 and 4 years and so reflection for each of us has been different in emphasis and context.

It is important to say "thank you" right at the beginning. Our work has been largely funded and we would like to say how grateful we are for the commitment and confidence that funders have shown to our work with rural communities, schools and the police service.

When we began in 1990 schools were segregated and a political settlement was being negotiated, there were fears of the "right wing" threat and concerns about so many things which never happened.

Our school work was difficult, the notion of "cross cultural" weekends in 1990 was alien and threatening. We spent many hours persuading reluctant teachers to allow pupils to attend multiracial weekend workshops and often found concerned parents lurking at the venue in the evening, on the pretext of bringing a "forgotten toothbrush" in order to check on their child¹s safety. When schools integrated we spent the first week observing the process and were delighted with the tolerance and ease with which desegregation was achieved.

At the time the province was also characterised by exceptionally high levels of violence and, in addition to our work in schools, we soon became involved in providing conflict resolution training to political party women and youth in the north and south of the province. The experience gained in this difficult task deepened our long term understanding of the complexity of both the region, and rural issues that face it.

Since 1996 we have provided training and facilitation to the South African Police Service and have focused much of our attention on achieving an improvement in the level of service to victims. South Africa has some of the highest figures for violent crime in the world, and the level of support for victims is notably low. Through our interventions in stations, rural and urban, evaluations have shown improvement in the level of service to victims as well as enhanced station dynamics.

In the year 2000 we continue to work in one of the most rapidly changing and challenging environments in the world. We have responded and adapted to changes in the external environment and now describe ourselves as a facilitation, training and research consultancy which seeks to assist organisations, both public and private, with the conflicts which arise during transformation processes. A large portion of our work is still funded, but we find ourselves under increasing pressure to become self sustainable as foreign donors either prioritise very poor countries, and South Africa misses the category, or bilateral agreements are signed.

With the second democratic election in 1999, South Africa is seen as a miracle nation, and therein lies the challenge. For while South Africa is a rich by aid standards, the rural poor, the township schools, and the marginalised who are our recipients, remain on the fringes of a society where relatively few are affluent.

We want to continue our work at both the micro level with these disadvantaged groups and at the macro level by helping major public service organisations redefine and realise their strategic priorities. An ability to work at both levels is in part the uniqueness of IPT. Should donor funding decrease we will be forced to focus on income generating work which our experience has shown tends to be concerned with short term gains rather than long term transformation. This will severely threaten our capacity to deliver services which have a long term impact and benefit.

Thank you again to everyone for their support, our loyal Trustees, dedicated staff and our funders.

Background & Context

The Independent Projects Trust has its head office in Durban within the province of KwaZulu-Natal on South Africa¹s east coast. One of nine provinces, KwaZulu-Natal is bordered by Mozambique in the north and the former Transkei homeland, now part of the Eastern Cape province, in the south. KwaZulu-Natal occupies 8 per cent of South Africa¹s land surface, but is home to about nine million people or 21 per cent of the country¹s population. This ranks KwaZulu-Natal as the second most densely populated province after Gauteng. About 80 per cent of the residents speak isiZulu followed by English (16 per cent) and Afrikaans (2 per cent). Durban is the busiest harbour in South Africa, and one of the 10 largest in the world, and the city also qualifies as one of the fastest growing urban areas in the country. Other important urban centres in KwaZulu-Natal include Pietermaritzburg, Richards Bay, Empangeni, Estcourt, Ladysmith and Newcastle.

Rural Conditions in KwaZulu-Natal
Outside the above urban centres, the province is largely rural so that many communities are found in areas inaccessible by road. Traditional authority structures, with a system of amakhosi (traditional leaders) and izinduna (headmen), often govern these areas where communal ownership of land and resources is common. A large portion of the population is unskilled, uneducated and poor, with almost 23 per cent having received no schooling. There is a huge gap between the urban and rural per capita income of people in KwaZulu-Natal, with the unemployment rate in rural parts of KwaZulu-Natal estimated to be as high as 70 per cent. With the province employing less than half of the potential labour force in the formal economy, some 46 per cent of all households are estimated to be dependent on men who migrate to Gauteng as contract labourers on the mines and in other industries. A large number of rural households are dependent on the old-age pension as their only source of income. The rate of infection of HIV/Aids in KwaZulu-Natal is higher than elsewhere in South Africa. An estimated 35 per cent of women attending antenatal clinics are HIV-positive, but the figure is most likely higher in rural areas. The infrastructure is rudimentary outside urban areas with little or no provision of running water and access to power. The average monthly per capita income is R210 per month against a household subsistence income which is estimated at R900 per month. Approximately one million children do not attend school and for those that do, many of the province¹s 5340 schools still do not have running water, electricity and basic resources such as desks and books. Health facilities are often crude but, as with other facilities, are slowly improving in some areas.

Politics in KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal has a history of political violence which dates back to the 1980¹s when the Inkatha Freedom Party sought to consolidate its influence in the province, against growing support for the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the United Democratic Front, both of which were aligned to the African National Congress. This had a long term negative effect on relationships in the region. KwaZulu-Natal remained politically unstable throughout 1995 and 1996 after South Africa held the first democratic elections in 1994. The Inkatha Freedom Party won the majority support in the province in those elections and actively campaigned for regional autonomy on the platform of a homeland for the Zulu nation, with greater governing powers for the traditional authorities. This raised fears of regional secession and provoked opposition from the significant African National Congress support base (based mainly in the urban areas as opposed to the Inkatha Freedom Party¹s largely rural electorate), highlighting the conflict of interest over elected versus inherited leadership practices in the region. This tension was often acute in rural areas where the November 1995 election of local councillors in the new governing structure resulted in considerable ambiguity about the role of traditional leaders. In the 1999 general election the African National Congress increased its support in the province and a coalition government was established to govern KwaZulu-Natal with Inkatha Freedom Party senior member Lionel Mtshali as Premier. Violence continues in the region, although not claiming as many lives as in previous years, and is increasingly viewed less as political in nature, and more as criminal. However, the legacies of the violent past are evident in fractured communities out of touch with their cultures and traditions, shattered family structures, displaced communities and a deep-rooted history of division. Over-riding this, South Africa has been left with a culture in which violence is commonly used as an acceptable method of problem solving. Today, the roots of this violence can also be found in sources such as staggering poverty and unemployment as well as the general insecurity generated by extensive processes of transition. Issues of governance, and the role of traditional leaders will continue to play an important role in KwaZulu-Natal in the future especially during the run-up to elections, such as the local government elections, scheduled to be held in November 2000.

10 Year History

On April 1st 2000 the IPT celebrated ten years of activity - over those ten years the organisation has endeavoured to remain relevant within a constantly changing environment. This has required a commitment to an ongoing process of adaptation - in terms of our size, areas of activity, methodology and focus - whilst adhering to an intrinsic commitment to creative conflict management and the core values of consultation, participation and inclusivity.

1990: The Independent Projects Trust opens in Umbilo Road, Durban with core funding from Alusaf in Richards Bay, and the objective of providing cross-cultural and lifeskills workshops to youth in underfunded schools. We also offer conflict resolution training for organisations and communities.

1993: High levels of violence demand a response and the IPT begins to work with rural communities engaged in political conflict. Training staff concentrate their efforts in rural KwaZulu-Natal which culminates in the opening of an Empangeni branch office, funded by the Royal Netherlands Embassy and US Aid.

1994: We open a small operational unit in Ulundi to facilitate work with traditional leaders and rural community members, particularly around the period of South Africa¹s first democratic general elections.

1995: We open an office in Port Shepstone as training expands into the politically volatile area of the southern KwaZulu-Natal coast and launch the SMART programme provincially, which eventually provides training to scores of schools in KZN.

1996: Gender awareness and sensitivity issues are incorporated into all our training programmes owing to the particular inequalities and challenges facing women and the great need for these to be addressed.

The IPT also begins to work with the South African Police Service which is undergoing a major transformation process. We undertake conflict management training workshops for all station commissioners in KwaZulu-Natal province.

1997: A research department is added to monitor our programmes, disseminate our findings, and to monitor, assess and explain conflicts. The first, of what will become a regular series of Background Briefings is held for the press, consular officials, non-governmental organisations and other interested parties. It is at one of these later briefings, entitled "Violence in Durban Schools", that the Community Alliance for Safe Schools (CASS) is initiated.

1998: We are appointed to a committee intended to advise the Culture of Learning, Teaching and Service (Colts) campaign at the national education directorate level, which leads to the IPT producing a strategic plan to implement the COLTS philosophy

1999: Two unique products are launched by the IPT - one is "Peace Begins with Me", a primary school teaching aid developed in partnership with the Media in Education Trust and designed to provide teachers with the means to impart the skills of conflict resolution and peacekeeping. The second is the guide Protecting Your School from Violence and Crime developed through the CASS initiative.

The first edition of insight@ipt, our web based publication is released with the aim of generating discussion and debate on various issues, primarily in the fields of education and safety and security.

Based on an initial meeting with the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) during attendance at the 4th International Conference on Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution in Belfast, the IPT initiates an exchange between the RUC and the South African Police Service around issues of change management.

2000: Our commitment to rural communities is further supported through a grant from Charles Stewart Mott Foundation for a two year research project to analyse the relationship between traditional authorities and democratically elected government structures.

Education

Since our early beginnings in April 1990, a substantial portion of our work has always been within the education sector. Our earliest interventions involved the hosting of cross-cultural weekends for youth through the Unity Through Youth (UTY) programme. Over the next four years we became involved in training, curricula development and lobbying around peace education, actively participating in the Forum: Educating for Peace, a national forum which was officially launched at a conference hosted by the IPT in August 1995. As a result of this, our work with the Department of Education became more proactive and by the end of 1995 we were providing training in basic conflict management and mediation skills to teachers, school pupils, interested parents and members of school governing bodies. This programme, SMART for Schools Mediation and Reconciliation Training, focused on the provision of communication skills, assertiveness training, building co-operative behaviour and supporting Peer Mediation in more than 60 schools in the province. Research into the efficacy of the schools programme began in 1997 and an evaluation was conducted with 10 schools in the Durban area. This research found that although most of those participants who had been through the conflict resolution training thought it had been useful on a personal level, the programme had not had any measurable effect on the high level of violence within the schools. Further research indicated that this was because the violence was largely caused by external gang activity on the school premises. While gang-related violence was the number one problem in nine out of the 10 schools in the study group, in three areas in particular, rape, theft and intimidation were also rife. In all but one school we found that security measures were seriously inadequate. This research helped to redirect our earlier efforts. It became clear that while we should retain our conflict management skills training we should suspend our efforts to create peer mediation structures, rather focusing on an approach which contributed to the creation of schools safe from external threats of violence and crime. Peer mediation would have to wait until the school environment was able to provide support for such a system.

A Combined Effort to increase School Security These high levels of violence in schools in the Durban area made the IPT realise that it was important to foster a multi-agency approach to fight school-based violence and crime. With this in mind we took a leading role in organising a response by key role-players. We shared the research findings at the first in a series of highly successful Public Information Briefings beginning on November 18, 1997. In attendance were representatives of some forty different organisations from both the government and private sectors. It was as a result of this first meeting that the Community Alliance for Safe Schools (CASS) was founded, consisting of government, non-government, community-based and voluntary organisations working together to fight violence and crime in schools. The ongoing activities of CASS are facilitated and administered by the Independent Projects Trust with funds accessed through Interfund.

Police

The history of South Africa, and the role of the previous South African Police Force in the implementation of apartheid, has resulted in a high level of distrust between the police and the communities they serve. This distrust, coupled with poor service levels, has fuelled vigilantism and the privatisation of justice with an increase in private security, kangaroo courts and other extrajudicial responses to crime. Possibly the most serious consequences of this weak public confidence in the police is the drop both in police morale and in the inclination to provide excellence in service. A lack of a culture of training and lifelong learning amongst members of the police service contributes to the problems of the demotivated and fragmented organisation. This has given rise to the need to build relationships and create dialogue and forums for debate amongst police and community members.

Our initial work with the police was conducted in this context when, in 1996, we provided training in conflict management skills to all KwaZulu-Natal Station Commissioners. This early work was followed by numerous projects run in partnership with the SAPS and aimed at improving service delivery and supporting the transformation process being undertaken by the SAPS. Over the years our work has expanded and while we continue to provide skills training and facilitation around the building of dialogue and improving service, we also provide police management with access to research and analysis. For instance, in 1999, we completed an audit of external training service providers to SAPS within KwaZulu-Natal on behalf of the Provincial Commissioner and have also provided a series of maps of police areas and station details.

Work with community policing forums
Our involvement with community policing forums was concerned with facilitating dialogue between the community and the police in areas that have been embroiled in political conflict. We facilitated the establishment of common ground rules for dialogue and a common understanding of conflict management and problem solving processes. This was followed by the promotion of joint sessions that led to the establishment of longer term joint structures able to engage in problem solving exercises.

Victim Support
One aspect of improved service delivery by the police is the manner in which victims are treated. During 1999-2000 the IPT provided training and facilitation for police members in order to ensure that the police respond effectively to the needs of victims and contribute to an environment that offers an increased access to justice to victims of crime.

A pilot project has been completed in four police stations in KwaZulu-Natal and two in the Eastern Cape. The project was supported by ongoing data collection and research to evaluate the impact of our intervention on actual service provision. Our November 1999 issue of "insight@ ipt" has victim empowerment as its focus.

Royal Ulster Constabulary / South African Police Services Exchange
An exchange programme that the IPT facilitated between Northern Ireland¹s Royal Ulster Constabulary and the South African Police Service has been one of the highlights of our police work. We first made contact with the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 1998 at the 4th International Conference on Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution held in Belfast. During discussions it was obvious that, whilst there were enormous differences, the challenges of transformation faced by the two police services had much in common. As a result of this first meeting, the Independent Projects Trust hosted three senior police officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary on an exploratory visit to South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal in October 1999. This visit provided the opportunity for meetings between the Irish delegation and key national and provincial South African Police Services members involved in the change process in South Africa. These meetings reinforced the belief that both services faced a similar journey, even though the South Africans were further down the road, and that a collaborative process had the potential to be beneficial for both organisations. This initial fact finding visit was followed by a two way engagement, the purpose of which was to tease out how large scale organisational transformations can best be implemented, what were the most common hindrances and how were the greatest successes achieved.

The first phase of the engagement consisted of a visit to South Africa by key members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary's Change Management Team for "engagement" sessions with the South Africa Change Management staff. These sessions provided first-hand insight for the RUC team into the challenges and pitfalls which the South African police faced and will assist them to define and shape their own process. The second phase of the exchange continued with a visit to Belfast in March 2000 by key SAPS personnel involved in the South African Police Services change management process and we are confident that this process will continue to yield long term benefits to the SAPS in KwaZulu-Natal, as well as nationally and also to the RUC.

Rural Communities

Over the last ten years we have maintained our strong links to rural communities and a commitment to the provision of service to these areas. Work within rural areas has focused around forty one communities within the Empangeni, Ulundi and Port Shepstone areas and has consisted of the delivery of workshops in conflict management, co operative behaviour and group problem solving to community based organisations, traditional leadership structures, local government structures and women¹s and youth groups.

Our work within rural communities has also involved extensive liaison with traditional leaders and in March 1996 we provided conflict management skills training for a group of amakhosi, representing diverse communities from KwaZulu-Natal.

A key concern within all our projects has been the development of community skills and resources which ensures that a conflict management capability remains within the community. In response to this concern a "train-the-trainer" workshop for 14 aspirant community trainers was held in August 1996 in the Empangeni area in order to ensure sustainability within those communities once funded interventions ceased.

Another project which arose from this commitment was our Audio Project, a project emanating from the numerous requests we received from rural and semi rural communities for training in conflict resolution skills. Unfortunately, we had a limited capacity to provide this service to so many people and so the Audio Project was born - a radio drama in Zulu which would provide both entertainment and education around conflict management skills and processes. The IPT contracted Vuleka Radio to develop a 30 part drama series which aimed to illustrate effective conflict resolution thinking and practice. Our extensive collective training and facilitation experience, complemented by self-analysis of our work, informed the process, establishing guidelines and providing philosophical and methodological input into the development of the story. The situation and characters were applicable to an African context and the story moved from urban to rural settings in order to address the real issues that both face. In late 1998, after two years of development, the series was aired on Ukhosi FM Radio.

Our focus during the 1999 / 2000 period has been around the Port Shepstone region, especially within the areas of Murchison, Bhoboyi, Bomela, Nyandezulu, Bambayi, Shobashobane and Izingolweni. A large percentage of our interventions have been through the UGU Regional Council Structures, where councillors have facilitated our work with local development groups.

Consultancy

In anticipation of an environment in which funding is more competitive and in order to ensure the organisation¹s long term sustainability, since 1997 we have endeavoured to build our capacity to deliver services for which we receive payment. Some of these initiatives have included:

The development of a gender training manual for the National Association for People with Aids;

Facilitating the implementation of a two year pilot Peace Education programme for secondary school pupils on behalf of the Centre for Education Development of the University of Stellenbosch;

Training for child care workers and staff members of St Thomas¹s Children¹s Home;

Strategic planning for the KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife Society;

Provision of a facilitation service in order to assist in the amalgamation process for three KwaZulu-Natal colleges of education;

Facilitation for Business Against Crime (KZN) in several SAPS stations in KwaZulu-Natal;

Production of a general overview on South Africa's borders for an IDASA publication on crime prevention;

An exchange with the Institute for Multi-Cultural Success, a United States organisation that builds relationships between the police and youth;

Provision of an experience review on violence in urban schools in South Africa on behalf of the national Secretariat for Safety and Security;

The completion of a communications audit for Hillcrest High School, followed by training for management and students;

Provision of training to staff from the Department of Education, Gauteng;

Facilitating the Conflict Management module of the Management Development Course for St Mary's Hospital in collaboration with Participative Solutions Africa

Staff from the Independent Projects Trust have provided input and gained valuable experience from several conferences and missions:

International Peace Research Association
(Brisbane 1996 and Durban 1998)
National Conference on Peacekeeping and Conflict Resolution
(Pittsburgh, 1997)
World Congress on Human Violence
(Dublin 1997)
European Conference on Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution (Belfast 1998)
International Boundaries Research Unit Conference
(Durham 1998)
International Seminar on Conflict Resolution in Schools
(Netherlands 2000)

Publications

Human Rights and Democracy: An Education for the Future - our first publication appears in September 1994. An easy to read book in both English and Zulu which defines democracy and discusses the role of government within a democracy as well as the issues around human rights and public participation.

Peace Begins with Me: an easy to use teaching tool for educators of intermediate phase children. The material comes in the form of a stand alone flip-chart style lectern with 20 lesson which are flipped over daily or weekly to cover conflict management skills for grades four to six. This programme, which fits into an outcomes based learning system, was developed in conjunction with the Media in Education Trust.

Protecting Your School from Violence and Crime: a book which provides guidelines for the development of a school based strategy for a safer school. The book was developed for school governing bodies and school management and reinforces the need for collaborative processes.

Research Publications:
Public Information Series: a series of occasional background briefings for the press, consular officials, non-governmental organisations and interested parties which was initiated in April 1997. These papers allow us to share our research findings through publications and oral presentations with the intention of promoting a deeper understanding and analysis of contemporary issues as evidenced in news reporting and policy making.

April 1997
The Great Lakes Conflict:
Strategies for Building Long-Term Peace
Dec 1997
Democratisation and Culture in the South Coast Areas
March 1998
Inadequate Security in Public Schools:
Coordinating A Response
June 1998
African Renaissance:
The Geopolitics of a New Discourse
July 1998
Crime, Violence and Silence in Durban Metro Schools
Oct 1998
Mapping the War in KwaZulu-Natal:
The geography of political strongholds
Nov 1998
Update on Police Transformation in KwaZulu-Natal
Feb 1999
The Four Elements of School Security Planning
May 1999
The KZN Civilian Secretariat for Safety and Security:
The missing link in Police Transformation
Nov 1999
Children At Risk:
The Security Situation in Durban Schools
Nov 1999
Protecting Your School From Violence and Crime:
Implementing the CASS Strategy
May 2000
Protecting Your School From Violence and Crime:
Evaluation of a one year Pilot Programme

insight@ipt
Our web based publication, insight@ipt, was released in July 1999 with the aim of being a catalyst for activity and transformation and a valuable lobbying tool. The publication was the initiated with seed money from SAIH (a Norwegian based student organisation). The issues raised in insight@ipt are those we believe warrant greater public attention or further analysis. They are generally linked to the areas of education and police transformation since this is the environment in which we currently operate.

The publication is available at no cost from our web site which provides regularly updated information about work undertaken by the Independent Projects Trust.

June 1999
Transformation within the South African Police Service
July 1999
After the Elections: A focus on key portfolios
Aug 1999
The Independent Complaints Directorate: white paper discussion document
Nov 1999
Victim Empowerment: Can the South African Police Service deliver?
March 2000
Election Promises in KwaZulu-Natal: Truth or Fiction?

Resource Centre
The Independent Projects Trust has an well-equipped resource centre which is made available to researchers and other non-governmental organisation staff who may find the material useful. The centre has over one hundred and forty books and manuals. Publications and newsletters around conflict management and transformation issues are added regularly.

Other research publications:

An Audit of External Service Providers to the South African Police Service in KwaZulu-Natal

Colts Business Plan.

An Experience Review of Programmes and Interventions into Violence in Urban Schools in SA.

Trustees

Bishop Rubin Phillip
Bishop Rubin was ordained as a deacon in 1971 and as a priest the following year at St Paul's Church, Durban. He served in five Durban parishes with a three year interval at St James Church, New York before becoming Dean of Pretoria in 1994 and then returning to KwaZulu-Natal as Bishop Suffragan. He was enthroned as the ninth Bishop of Natal in February 2000. The chairperson of the board of Trustees is involved in many non-governmental organisations and has a great desire to champion social justice and transitional procedures.

Paul Graham
Mr Graham is the Executive Director of IDASA, the Institute for Democracy in South Africa. A past head of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa's Education and Youth Department, he is an adult educator by profession and an election support and local democracy practitioner. He was educated in KwaZulu-Natal and lived there for 20 years.

Sue Brittion
Sue Brittion manages the Resource Team for the Diakonia Council of Churches in Durban and is an active member of the Anglican Church. She has trained in many fields, including conflict handling, direct non-violent action, reconciliation, peace monitoring and social action. For many years she counselled unwilling conscripts and was a founder-member of the End Conscription Campaign (ECC). As a feminist theologian, Sue was active in the successful Movement for the Ordination of Women (MOW) in the Anglican Church.

Dr Devi Rajab
Dr Rajab is a counselling psychologist and Dean of Student Development at the University of Natal, Durban. Her interests include women, gender issues and intercultural diversity. She has been on the board of the Independent Projects Trust since 1994 and also serves on the boards of the Advice Desk for Abused Women, Action against Abuse, and Durban Girls College as well as the Broadcasting and Monitoring Complains Commission.

Personnel

Glenda Caine, the Director, and one of the founders of the I PT, is an experienced fund-raiser who acts as the primary liaison and co ordinator ofiPT programmes and projects.

lole Matthews, a conflict management specialist and experienced training facilitator, has designed numerous training programmes around themes such as peer mediation, victim empowerment, school safety, gender equity and participative management. lole co ordinates the implementation of projects within the organisation.

Anell Beckhari, an attorney with a background in Human Rights, provides support on issues pertaining to law and government to ensure that our implementation strategies conform to existing legislation and policies. He also acts as facilitator on many of our programmes with the South African Police Service.

Mpume Jiyane, an educator with extensive experience as a facilitator in programmes designed for the police and education sectors. Mpume is also actively involved in developing training programmes for the organisation.

Dr Richard Griggs is a social scientist who previously lectured in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town and now heads the IPT research department.

Vaterie Smith co ordinates the IPT school safety programme and provides key support to the Community Alliance for Safe Schools through administration, production of regular newsletters and the facilitation of the network.

Pearl Mackie, accountant and administrative manager, provides the organisation with the skills needed to ensure financial accountability as well as ensuring long term sustainability of the organisation.

Noma Chiliza, qualified as a journalist and now maintains our press clipping system as well as fulfilling reception duties and assisting the administration department when needed.

Hendrew Lushozi has been with the IPT since its inception and provides support to the administration department.

Ellen Mbele is a community worker with a background of administration experience and a Public Relations qualification. Ellen co-ordinates and facilitates our conflict management and schools programmes in the greater Port Shepstone area. Independent Projects Trust

Edmund Mthuli, an experienced facilitator, conducts life skills workshops in various communities as a contribution to peace making, poverty alleviation initiatives and community development.

Zwelihle Memeia and Dingani Mthetwa, are contract researchers conducting research on the interface between traditional leaders and elected representatives at local government level. Also, responsible for mapping out alternative models of cooperative governance at municipal level.

Finances

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