What Can South Africa Learn from Other African Countries in Respect of Upgrading Customary Systems of Land Tenure?

Author(s):  
William Beinart
Author(s):  
Samuel Kwasi Opoku ◽  
Walter Leal Filho ◽  
Fudjumdjum Hubert ◽  
Oluwabunmi Adejumo

Climate change is a global problem, which affects the various geographical regions at different levels. It is also associated with a wide range of human health problems, which pose a burden to health systems, especially in regions such as Africa. Indeed, across the African continent public health systems are under severe pressure, partly due to their fragile socioeconomic conditions. This paper reports on a cross-sectional study in six African countries (Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Namibia, Ethiopia, and Kenya) aimed at assessing their vulnerabilities to climate change, focusing on its impacts on human health. The study evaluated the levels of information, knowledge, and perceptions of public health professionals. It also examined the health systems’ preparedness to cope with these health hazards, the available resources, and those needed to build resilience to the country’s vulnerable population, as perceived by health professionals. The results revealed that 63.1% of the total respondents reported that climate change had been extensively experienced in the past years, while 32% claimed that the sampled countries had experienced them to some extent. Nigerian respondents recorded the highest levels (67.7%), followed by Kenya with 66.6%. South Africa had the lowest level of impact as perceived by the respondents (50.0%) when compared with the other sampled countries. All respondents from Ghana and Namibia reported that health problems caused by climate change are common in the two countries. As perceived by the health professionals, the inadequate resources reiterate the need for infrastructural resources, medical equipment, emergency response resources, and technical support. The study’s recommendations include the need to improve current policies at all levels (i.e., national, regional, and local) on climate change and public health and to strengthen health professionals’ skills. Improving the basic knowledge of health institutions to better respond to a changing climate is also recommended. The study provides valuable insights which may be helpful to other nations in Sub-Saharan Africa.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-75
Author(s):  
Ainara Mancebo

A tripartite alliance formed by the African National Congress, the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions has been ruling the country with wide parliamentarian majorities. The country remains more consensual and politically inclusive than any of the other African countries in the post-independence era. This article examines three performance’s aspects of the party dominance systems: legitimacy, stability and violence. As we are living in a period in which an unprecedented number of countries have completed democratic transitions, it is politically and conceptually important that we understand the specific tasks of crafting democratic consolidation.


Author(s):  
Endurance Uzobo ◽  
Aboluwaji D Ayinmoro

Background As it is common with the most devastating events in the world, women always seem to be at the most disadvantage position. This situation manifested during the period of COVID-19 lockdown throughout the world and Africa in particular. The purpose of this study is to explore Domestic Violence (DV) cases in African during the COVID-19 lockdown. Methods Data for this study were gleaned from an electronic literature search using various databases PubMed and BioMed Central, Web of Science, etc. Key search words were gender DV during and after COVID-19. A total of 68 records were identified during the search. However, only 46 of these sources met the inclusion criteria. Results From the review done in selected African countries which include Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe; it was discovered that COVID-19 lockdown across these countries worsens the already existing cases of DV. The study also noted that generally, the response of the government has been very poor in terms of dealing with DV cases in the period of COVID-19 lockdown. Conclusion The study concluded that despite the failures of government in tackling the DV pandemics, NGOs have been very active in championing the cause of those violated while also trying to provide succour to victims. Thus, the study recommended that countries in Africa need to join international initiatives in prioritising DV cases while trying to deal with the virus itself. Thus, one disease should not be traded for another.


Author(s):  
EKUNDAYO PETER MESAGAN ◽  
KAYODE ABIODUN AKINYEMI ◽  
ISMAILA AKANNI YUSUF

As economies integrate financially and both investment and output increase, the environment may be affected depending on the nature of international financial resources attracted into the country. Hence, this study examines the effect of financial integration, output growth, and foreign direct investment (FDI) on the environment in selected African countries involving Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, and Angola between 1980 and 2017. The study uses carbon emissions and particulate emissions (PM) to proxy pollution and analyze the data through the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) technique. Empirical results show that financial integration worsens pollution in Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria, and in Africa; output growth deteriorates pollution in South Africa, Algeria, Angola, and in Africa; while FDI fuels environmental degradation in Egypt and South Africa. We recommend that African countries should strive to establish specific targets for lowering emissions even though the Kyoto Protocol did not set specific emissions reduction targets for them.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia Lannegren ◽  
Hiroshi Ito

ANC would always rule in South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC), which has been governing the country since the end of apartheid in 1994, received the worst results ever recorded. The ANC with president Jacob Zuma received 54 percent of the votes, which is a considerable decrease from 62 percent in 2011. This election was a clear sign that the ANC is in trouble towards the 2019 elections. The party seriously needs to rethink its strategies and investigates why the votes are decreasing. Given South Africa being a key player in global governance and in particular a strong leader among the African countries, it is significant to understand this political turmoil, as it may influence the political directions of other countries in that area. With reviews of relevant literature, therefore, this paper analyzes the current political situation in South Africa, focusing on corruption and inequality. The paper suggests connections between corruption, Jacob Zuma, and the potential end of the ANC era. The issues of inequality describes more the difficult situation that South Africans are facing and can be connected to the desire for change. It would be interesting to further analyze whether South Africa would be ready for a multiparty democracy with a peaceful transition of power after the national elections in 2019.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-60
Author(s):  
Godfrey Thenga

Counterfeit goods are a health hazard to human life, environment and business. More so as the goods destroy the viability of legitimate businesses across the world. Counterfeit goods are characterized as a threat to the financial viability of legitimate businesses and has a dire impact on the tax revenue of countries, necessitating its effective and efficient policing for the financial wellbeing of countries. If not well managed, counterfeit goods could lead to unemployment, disinvestment and capital flight in countries. The available evidence reveals that even though counterfeit goods has dire consequences for the economic wellbeing of countries, its penalties in most African countries are less severe in comparison to penalties for other crimes. The sight of counterfeit goods in many places, such as on busy street corners and transportation terminals in the Southern parts of Africa, attests to its prevalence in the continent. Especially in South Africa as the country has become a transit point for contrabands. Post 1994, South Africa opened its borders to the world of branded and protected goods and this enabled rogue people to trade in counterfeit goods. Effective policing is hindered by the use of sophisticated skills and expertise that leads to counterfeit goods resembling genuine goods. Moreover, in South Africa, the problem persists despite the promulgation of the Counterfeit Goods Act 37 of 1997, thus questioning the effectiveness of the policing strategies in use to quell the problem.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-33
Author(s):  
Florencia Rubiolo

Abstract: The diplomatic ties between Africa and Southeast Asia (SEA) have historically been sporadic and erratic. The only country in the SEA that the first decades after independence maintained a relatively narrower link to some African countries was Indonesia. Today, trade has gained momentum, being South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria, the largest trading partners of ASEAN in Africa, thanks to the growth rates of emerging countries in both regions.This increasing trade relation has been accompanied by some political diplomatic initiatives such as the AASROC (Asian African Sub Regional Organizations Conference), theNAASP (New Asian African Strategic Partnership) and the interregional approach between ASEAN and the African Union (may 2012). And, in the cases of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, there has also been a slight development in bilateral relations. From a South-South perspective, our aim in this paper is to discuss the density and possibilities of this bilateral and multilateral relation and what consequences might bring to Africa.Keywords: Africa – Southeast Asia foreign policy – South South relations – diversification


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Pasiecznik ◽  
Julissa Rojas-Sandoval

Abstract Opuntia stricta is a cactus species native to the Americas that has been introduced worldwide as a popular ornamental. This species escaped from cultivation and has become invasive in many countries across Africa and Australia, but also more recently in the Mediterranean basin. Large and serious invasions have been reported in Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Yemen, India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar and lately also Spain and some North African countries. It has also become naturalized in many other regions (primarily in Africa and Asia) where it has not yet been recorded as a pest. In South Africa and Namibia large infestations have been reported, mainly in dry savanna bushlands, while in Australia all states are invaded with widespread populations invading southeastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales. Successful biological control programmes have, however, severely reduced the spread of this species in many areas where introduced, though there continues to be a risk of further introduction through the nursery trade.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeyemi Adetula ◽  
Patrick S. Forscher ◽  
Dana Basnight-Brown ◽  
Jordan Rose Wagge ◽  
Takondwa Rex Namalima ◽  
...  

Improving the generalizability of psychology findings to a culture requires sampling participants in that culture. Yet few psychology studies sample Africans. We believe we can expand the capacity of African psychology researchers by giving them freely available, cutting-edge research tools and workflows. We used a training method developed by the Collaborative Replication and Education Project (CREP) to support and train 23 African collaborators to conduct a paradigmatic replication of the psychology of moral transgressions (Rottman & Young, 2019) in 6 African countries (Egypt, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania). We completed extensive preparatory work, including developing training materials in African languages, assessing our collaborators’ current research capacity, and conducting a re-analysis of Rottman and Young’s original data. This project has the potential to improve research capacity in Africa and provide empirical evidence on Africans' moral judgment of purity transgressions.


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