KwaZulu-Natal instability weakens South African state

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
African State ◽  
Strategic Communication ◽  
Vote Share ◽  
Gauteng Province ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Death Toll ◽  
Kwazulu Natal

Significance The incarceration of former President Jacob Zuma sparked looting, destruction of critical infrastructure and denial of strategic communication routes. Inter-communal confrontations in Indian areas near Durban helped to boost the provincial death toll to 251, as against 76 in the more populous Gauteng Province. KZN’s demographic, historical, economic and strategic features make its stability particularly precarious. Impacts The ANC will likely lose vote share in KZN in upcoming municipal elections. KZN is the most likely location for any repeat of the July uprising. The proliferation of local militias during the July uprising will further erode state authority.

South African labour movement will fracture further

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Gauteng Province ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Democratic Movement ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Inkatha Freedom Party ◽  
Do So

Significance COSATU is part of the longstanding tripartite alliance with the ruling ANC and the South African Communist Party (SACP). Relations between Zuma and COSATU are irreparably damaged: the union has endorsed South Africa's deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, to succeed Zuma as ANC head at December's national conference. Impacts Whoever wins the ANC presidency will struggle to end party divisions, although Ramaphosa looks best placed to do so. The United Democratic Movement and Inkatha Freedom Party could make electoral gains in Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, respectively. The ANC's control of economically vital Gauteng province could be in jeopardy in 2019.

Risk management factors contributing to transgressions in the procurement practices in South African SOEs

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindani Myeza ◽  
Naledi Nkhi ◽  
Warren Maroun
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
African State ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Executive Level

PurposeThe study aims to deepen the understanding of why risk management principles are circumvented, thereby contributing to transgressions in public procurement for South African state-owned enterprises (SOEs). A deeper understanding of why risk management principles are circumvented is especially important in South Africa, given the high social, economic and environmental risks to which national and major SOEs are exposed in the procurement process.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a qualitative design, based on detailed semi-structured interviews with 19 participants comprising management advisors, forensic investigators and auditors to explore why risk management principles are circumvented by South Africa SOEs.FindingsThe results of the study indicate that the tone that is set at political and executive level plays an important role in determining compliance with risk management principles by lower-level staff. Intense levels of political influence at SOEs are the main reason behind risk management systems being undermined.Originality/valueThe current study is one of the first explorations of why transgressions in public procurement continue to be evident despite risk management reforms being adopted by South Africa public sector. The research responds to the call for more studies on why reforms in South Africa public sector are not reducing transgression in public procurement. The study provides primary evidence on the importance of political and executive leadership in influencing the effectiveness of risk management reforms in the public sector.

Rising South African populism will divide parties

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Economic Freedom ◽  
Capital Flight ◽  
Land Expropriation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Freedom Fighters ◽  
The Government

Significance His comments come amid lingering concern over parliament’s endorsement last month of land expropriation without compensation. The contested policy was proposed by the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and backed by the ruling ANC, but the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) argues that such a policy will jeopardise property rights and lead to capital flight. Impacts Improving national land and agricultural data collection will prove crucial to substantive land reform. Attempts to overhaul land reform policy could see a deterioration in relations between the government and traditional leaders. Political violence in flashpoints such as KwaZulu-Natal province could worsen ahead of the 2019 poll.

Managing bullying in South African secondary schools: a case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1029-1040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gertruida Maria Steyn ◽  
Gunam Dolan Singh
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
South African ◽  
Peer Pressure ◽  
School Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Bullying Perpetration ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
The Family ◽  
Bullying In Schools

Purpose The high prevalence of bullying in South African schools in recent times is a cause for serious concern. Bullying is traumatic and has a painful, corrosive and damaging impact on children, families and society. Hence, curbing the problem before it spirals out of control in secondary schools requires immediate urgent attention from all stakeholders of the school. The purpose of this paper is to report on part of the investigation done for a doctoral thesis (Singh, 2016), which looked at the factors contributing to bullying perpetration in secondary schools and on the basis of the findings, recommend a model that may be used to curb bullying in secondary schools. A qualitative research design was used to investigate the problem through an interview process with participants from secondary schools, as well as a circuit manager from the Uthungulu district of KwaZulu-Natal. The findings confirmed that the problem of bullying emanated at the level of the family, the school and the community. The paper concludes with the provision of a model to manage and curb bullying in these secondary schools. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach, in particular a case study design, was selected to give a clear understanding of participants’ views and experiences (Johnson and Christensen, 2011; Mason, 2013). The design involved a social constructivist paradigm, which was primarily concerned with meaning and understanding people’s “lived experiences” and “inner-worlds” in the context of the conditions and circumstances of their lives, which in this particular instance was bullying in secondary schools, occurring within a social context, which was the school (Johnson and Christensen, 2011). Purposeful sampling was used to identify five secondary schools in the Uthungulu district of KwaZulu-Natal where the problem of bullying was most prevalent principals at circuit and district-level meetings complained about the high incidence of bullying perpetration in their schools. Findings This paper highlights the findings in respect of the factors contributing to bullying perpetration in schools and presents a management model to curb bullying in secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal. Factors contributing to bullying: the findings from the empirical investigation avowed that the three key factors contributing significantly to bullying behaviour are located at the level of the family, the school and the community. First, influence at family level: “60–70 per cent of our learners come from broken homes”. An overwhelming majority of participants in all five secondary schools attributed the escalation of bullying in schools directly to the influence at the family level. Broken homes, poor upbringing, the absence of positive role models and the influence of media violence on learners have had a negative impact on the culture of discipline, teaching and learning in the classroom and the general ethos of schools. Second, influence at school level: “the foremost problem here is peer pressure”. An overwhelming number of participants identified several factors at the school level that contributed to bullying in secondary schools. Learner 3 (School A) highlighted the problem of peer pressure and the need to belong to a group as a critical factor in advancing bullying in schools. Third, influence at community level: “they come from that violent environment”. Participants explained that the absence of after-school programmes and a lack of facilities, particularly in rural communities, misdirected youngsters into engaging in other destructive vices such as forming gangs and indulging in drugs and alcohol, to keep themselves occupied. Originality/value Various studies have been conducted in South Africa to understand the phenomenon of bullying and violence in South African schools. While the current body of research highlights the problem of bullying in schools and provides some guidelines on what measures may be adopted to address the problem, the suggested methods are not effective enough, resulting in the problem continuing unabated. This study therefore suggests a model to manage and curb bullying in secondary schools in South Africa.

A study of the competency requirements of property development graduates to meet the qualifications of the South African construction industry

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
South African ◽  
The South ◽  
Property Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Importance Index ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
The University ◽  
Graduating Students

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the competency requirements of property development (PD) graduates at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) as an approach to fulfil the qualifications of the construction industry in South Africa (SA). Design/methodology/approach – To achieve the above-mentioned aim, a research methodology is designed to accomplish three objectives. First, literature review is used to investigate the structure of the (PD) programme at (UKZN), National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and construction management (CM) education. Second, survey questionnaires are used to investigate the relevancy of the (PD) programme at (UKZN) towards meeting the (NQF) unit standards and the South African construction industry (SACI) requirements. Finally, summarising the conclusions and recommendations useful for future improvement of (PD/CM) education in SA. Collected data are analysed using the measure of central tendency and dispersion as well as Relative Importance Index (RII). Findings – Although the research revealed that the (PD) programme succeeded in graduating students who are adequately equipped to meet the expectations of the (SACI), a number of key areas and issues have been highlighted to enhance the (PD/CM) education in (SA) generally and (UKZN) in particular. Addressing these issues will increase the competency of (PD) graduates to meet the expectations of an ever-changing construction industry. Originality/value – This paper identifies the competency requirements of (PD) graduates at the KwaZulu-Natal region, a topic that received scant attention in construction literature and has not been previously undertaken in UKZN.

scholarly journals Listeriosis outbreak in South Africa: Are we winning the battle?

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Gboyega A Ogunbanjo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Core Genome ◽  
Case Fatality ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Gauteng Province ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Current Outbreak

South Africa’s listeriosis outbreak has topped the charts as the largest outbreak in history. The first reported case of the current outbreak of listeriosis was in January 2017. On 27 Feb 2018, the South African National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported 945 confirmed cases, of which 176 had died (case fatality rate of 19%). Most reported cases were from Gauteng Province (59%, 555/945), followed by the Western Cape (12%, 116/945) and KwaZulu-Natal (7%, 66/945) provinces.1 South Africa is not the only country experiencing outbreaks of listeriosis. Europe has been experiencing a multi-country outbreak since 2015, with a combined number of only 26 cases from Austria, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom classified as a confirmed microbiological cluster on the basis of whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis, including core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) based analysis, depending on the country. Four cases have died (case fatality 15.4%).2

scholarly journals The role of universities in promoting social entrepreneurship in South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Mpele Lekhanya
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Gauteng Province ◽  
Comprehensive Universities ◽  
Kwazulu Natal

Social entrepreneurship can help to reduce socio-economic problems facing many countries including South Africa. Also it can be used as a strategic tool in building social cohesion in country. This paper aimed to examine the role of Universities in promoting social entrepreneurship in South Africa. The study also look assess the support that universities are providing to social entrepreneurship and to evaluate the extend of the support. The paper also analyses most strategies used by South African universities to help the development of social entrepreneurship. Mix approaches of qualitative and quantitative techniques were employed for data collection. The primary data was collected from six universities in South Africa where two comprehensive universities, two universities of Technologies from KwaZulu -Natal province and two comprehensive universities in Gauteng province were chosen for sample for this study. The sample consisted of 40 respondents made up of deans of faculties, heads of departments, and director of social entrepreneurship and head of social entrepreneurship department respectively according to structure of each university. Combination of structured qualitative and five –point Likert scale questionnaire were emailed to the respondents to complete. The results reveal that most of respondents are not involved in social entrepreneurship activities, or any entrepreneurship development programs. The findings also indicate that some respondents they had no clue about social entrepreneurship that their universities are involved in. the study was limited by exploratory nature. Therefore, generalization must be done with care. Further research should aim to target large sample and include other academic staff rather than focusing only on the deans and heads of departments.

scholarly journals Anglo American Corporation and the South African State

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 1399-1423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa Hammond ◽  
Christine Cooper ◽  
Chris J. van Staden
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
African State ◽  
The State ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
American Corporation ◽  
Ongoing Relationship ◽  
Anglo American

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the complex and shifting relationship between the Anglo American Corporation (Anglo) and the South African State (“the State”) as reflected in Anglo’s annual reports. Design/methodology/approach This paper builds on research on the role of annual reports in ideological conflict. To examine the ongoing relationship between Anglo and the State, the authors read all the annual reports published by Anglo American from 1917 to 1975, looking for instances in which the corporation appeared to be attempting to address, criticise, compliment, or implore the State. Findings During the period under study, despite the apparent struggles between the South African State and Anglo American, the relationship between the two was primarily symbiotic. The symbolic confrontation engaged in by these two behemoths perpetuated the real, physical violence perpetrated on the oppressed workers. By appearing to be a liberal opponent of apartheid, Anglo was able to ensure continued investment in South Africa. Social implications The examination of decades’ worth of annual reports provides an example of how these supposedly neutral instruments were used to contest and sustain power. Thereby, Anglo could continue to exploit workers, reap enormous profits, and maintain a fiction of opposition to the oppressive State. The State also benefited from its support of Anglo, which provided a plurality of tax revenue and economic expansion during the period. Originality/value This paper provides insights into the ways the State and other institutions sustain each other in the pursuit of economic and political power in the face of visible and widely condemned injustices. Although they frequently contested each other’s primacy, both benefited while black South African miners suffered.

The adoption of integrated reporting by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) – an international comparison

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry Ackers ◽  
Adeyemi Adebayo
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
African State ◽  
Mandatory Reporting ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Reporting Requirement ◽  
Reporting Framework

Purpose This paper aims to establish the extent to which South African state-owned entities (SOEs), where integrated reporting is a quasi-mandatory reporting requirement, have incorporated the principles of the international integrated reporting framework. These identified South African SOE reporting practices are compared with the ‘integrated reporting’ related disclosures of SOEs in selected countries, where integrated reporting remains voluntary. Design/methodology/approach This paper deploys a qualitative research approach, to thematically analyse the content of publicly available annual or integrated reports of South Africa SOEs, as the primary country of analysis, with those of their counterparts in five purposively selected countries. The relative scores for the SOEs of each country is calculated using a disclosure index derived from the international integrated reporting framework principles. Findings The paper found that despite being a quasi-mandatory reporting requirement, not all South African SOEs complied with all the international integrated reporting framework principles. Accepting the assertion that integrated reporting enhances organisational transparency and accountability, the accountability disclosure practices of South African SOEs appear more comprehensive than their counterparts in other countries. Originality/value Extant research into integrated reporting has primarily focussed on the profit-seeking private sector, with limited research into its applicability in the public sector. This paper attempts to address this paucity by examining aspects of integrated reporting by South African SOEs, which are then compared to accountability reporting practices in other countries.

scholarly journals Factors Associated with Ceftriaxone Nonsusceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae: Analysis of South African National Surveillance Data, 2003 to 2010

2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 3293-3305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire von Mollendorf ◽  
Cheryl Cohen ◽  
Linda de Gouveia ◽  
Vanessa Quan ◽  
Susan Meiring ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ◽  
South African ◽  
Treatment Guidelines ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
Surveillance Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Northern Cape

ABSTRACTIt is important to monitor β-lactam antimicrobial nonsusceptibility trends forStreptococcus pneumoniaeto inform empirical treatment guidelines. In this study, we describe penicillin and ceftriaxone susceptibility trends using national laboratory-based pneumococcal surveillance data from 2003 to 2010. A sentinel enhanced-site patient subset (2009 to 2010) contributed to the risk factor and mortality analyses. We included 9,218 invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) cases for trend analyses and 2,854 IPD cases for risk factor and mortality analyses. Overall, we detected no significant changes in penicillin (patients <5 years of age,P= 0.50; patients ≥5 years of age,P= 0.05) or ceftriaxone nonsusceptibility rates (patients <5 years of age,P= 0.21; patients ≥5 years of age,P= 0.60). Factors associated with ceftriaxone nonsusceptibility on multivariate analysis were an age of <5 years (<1 year of age: adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.87; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.70 to 4.86; 1 to 4 years of age: aOR, 2.58; 95% CI, 1.53 to 4.35, versus 25 to 44 years of age), province (Gauteng [aOR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.26 to 4.84], and Northern Cape [aOR, 4.52; 95% CI, 1.95 to 10.52] versus KwaZulu-Natal), β-lactam use within 24 h preceding admission (aOR, 2.52; 95% CI, 1.41 to 4.53), and 13-valent vaccine serotypes (aOR, 51.64; 95% CI, 7.18 to 371.71). Among patients ≥5 years of age with meningitis who were treated according to current guidelines, HIV-infected patients (aOR, 2.94; 95% CI, 1.32 to 6.54) and patients infected with ceftriaxone-nonsusceptible isolates (aOR, 3.17; 95% CI, 1.27 to 7.89) had increased mortality rates. Among children <5 years of age with meningitis, mortality was increased in HIV-infected patients (aOR, 3.04; 95% CI, 1.40 to 6.56) but not in those with ceftriaxone-nonsusceptible isolates. Penicillin and ceftriaxone nonsusceptibility remained stable over the study period. Ceftriaxone nonsusceptibility was associated with increased mortality among patients ≥5 years of age with meningitis. The introduction of a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine may reduce ceftriaxone-nonsusceptible meningitis.

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