Bongiwe Sibisi

Anthropologists Sam Khandlhela, Danie van der Merwe and Bongiwe Sibisi, who are all part of a South African national research team on the Status Quo Report (SQR) on traditional leadership, were invited to do research in the
African Studies Centre library on traditional leadership in Africa. The SQR research was initiated by the Department of Constitutional Development (Chief Directorate Traditional Affairs) in 1998 as part of policy formulation and the White Paper Process by the South African government on traditional leadership. The comparative study researched in the ASC library runs parallel with extensive SQR research amongst traditional communities in South Africa. The experience of other African countries on traditional leadership since their independence is considered a valuable resource on which South Africa can draw. Nine African countries from West, Central and Southern Africa were selected as focus countries and a general bibliography on the subject in all African countries was compiled. The information collected from the ASC library will ultimately be integrated into a SQR discussion document, which will be published for public and professional comment as part of the policy and White Paper Process.

The visiting fellows worked mainly in the ASC library but also accessed information at the Van Vollenhoven Institute and had discussions with ASC staff members in an effort to adopt a multi-dimensional approach. At the end
of their stay, they presented their findings to ASC staff members at an internal seminar.

While in Leiden, the three visiting fellows, in spite of the weather, developed an appreciation for the Dutch way of life and biking, and also a rather unhealthy appetite for stroopwafels!