scholarly journals Afrophobic Attacks in Virtual Spaces: The Case of Three Hashtags in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-46
Author(s):  
Kudzayi Savious Tarisayi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Illegal Immigrants ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Foreign Nationals ◽  
New Frontier ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government

Contemporary discourse on migration in the Republic of South Africa reveals recurring attacks on foreign nationals over the past decade. Recent literature shows that the attacks have mainly targeted foreign nationals from other African countries. However, this growing literature focuses on physical attacks on foreigners while negating cyberspace ones. This article focuses on attacks on foreign nationals in virtual space. The study sought to answer two research questions: In what way are migration and migrants being portrayed on South African Twitter? In what way are Twitter hashtags being used to perpetuate afrophobia? A study of three hashtags was conducted. The article drew from the scapegoating theory to interrogate tweets on South African Twitter. Data was generated using an online hashtag tracker. A qualitative content analysis of three hashtags (#PutSouthAfricansFirst, #NormaliseHiringSACitizens and #SAHomeAffairsCorruption) was conducted. The study noted the omnipresent view that all black foreigners in South Africa were “illegal immigrants” regardless of their migration status. Besides, black foreigners were stereotyped as criminals. The Department of Home Affairs was viewed as complicit in the influx of illegal immigrants in South Africa through corrupt activities. The tweets also blamed the government for its inability to resolve the problem of illegal immigrants. The study established that hashtags were now the new frontier for afrophobic attacks on black foreigners in South Africa.

Companies convicted of economic crimes and their participation in government tender processes in South Africa: A comment on Namasthethu electrical (PTY) LTD v City of Cape Town and another (201/19) [2020] ZASCA 74 (29 JUNE 2020)

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-122
Author(s):  
Jamil Ddamulira Mujuzi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The Public ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
The Government ◽  
South African Police ◽  
Economic Crimes

In South Africa, persons or companies convicted of fraud or corruption or companies whose directors have been convicted are debarred from participating in bidding for government tenders. Although it is easy to establish whether or not a natural person has been convicted of an offence, because a certificate can be obtained from the South African Police Service to that effect, it is the opposite with juristic persons. This issue came up in the case of Namasthethu Electrical (Pty) Ltd v City of Cape Town and Another in which the appellant company was awarded a government tender although the company and its former director had been convicted of fraud and corruption. The purpose of this article is to analyse this judgment and show the challenges that the government is faced with when dealing with companies that have been convicted of offences that bid for government tenders. Because South Africa is in the process of enacting public procurement legislation, the Public Procurement Bill was published for comment in early 2020. One of the issues addressed in the Bill relates to debarring bidders who have been convicted of some offences from bidding for government tenders. Based on the facts of this case and legislation from other African countries, the author suggests ways in which the provisions of the Bill could be strengthened to address this issue.

scholarly journals 'South Africa is Not an Accused'

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-175
Author(s):  
Jerusha Asin
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
African Union ◽  
Judicial Decision ◽  
High Court ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government

There is a confrontation between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and state parties, and at this particular point in time, the Republic of South Africa, in connection with the arrest warrants issued by the Court for the President of Sudan in 2009 and 2010. Between 13 and 15 June 2015, President Omar al-Bashir was present on the territory of South Africa for purposes of attending the 25th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union. Despite judgments from both the ICC upholding the obligation of South African authorities to arrest and surrender President Bashir and parallel domestic proceedings at the South African High Court in which authorities were ordered to prevent the departure of President Bashir from South African territory pending final judicial decision on whether the Government was required to execute the ICC arrest warrants, President Bashir nevertheless departed from the Waterkloof military air base on 15 June 2015, even as Government lawyers assured the High Court in a hearing on the same date that he was still in the country. Only after his plane had safely landed in Khartoum did the same lawyers then notify the High Court that he had left South Africa. This article will analyze this case in the following lines.

scholarly journals Regulating Traditional Justice in South Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Selected Aspects of the Traditional Courts Bill

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1469
Author(s):  
Caiphas Brewsters Soyapi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Legal Representation ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Justice Systems ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Formal Justice ◽  
Similar Legislation

Traditional justice systems have been in place for a very long time in South Africa and in Africa in general. They are characterised by informal systems that are not beset by the normal technicalities prevalent in formal justice systems. In recent times South Africa has sought to do away with the Black Administration Act, which was the regulating legislation on traditional justice systems, by introducing the Traditional Courts Bill. Initially introduced in Parliament in 2008 and withdrawn for another tabling in 2012, the Bill has been met with much criticism. Instead of venturing on a clause by clause analysis of the provisions of the Bill this note considers selected aspects of it which are perceived to be significant and which have courted controversy. These are ascertainment, legal representation, jurisdiction, gender, and the hierarchy of courts. The essential arguments are that the Bill has not been properly aligned with the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act 41 of 2003 (as amended in 2009) or the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and that the above issues have not been addressed adequately or are at times only vaguely addressed.The note also considers various provisions from other African countries with similar legislation and which also regulate on the same issues, for the purposes of identifying better ways of addressing the selected issues. In the final analysis, the recommendations are not that the South African legislature must transpose the provisions of other countries, but that the framers of the Bill must reconsider these issues along the lines in which they are addressed in the countries with which comparisons are drawn here. Without a reconsideration of the issues, the Bill will still be met with criticism even from those it is meant to regulate, and could potentially result in various constitutional challenges and litigations.

The Independence of Transkei - a Largely Constitutional Inquiry

1978 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
William B. Harvey ◽  
W. H. B. Dean
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
White Population ◽  
The World ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government

The South African commitment to racial separation is well-known. The deep historic roots of apartheid, the religious fervour with which it is justified by its proponents, and the rapidly growing weight of criticism by which it is condemned throughout the world have served to make it a familiar ideology and policy. Less well-known is the extent to which separation in a relatively superficial, transient context – in stores, theatres, parks, some hotels and restaurants – has been eroded in recent years. Least familiar, despite the substantial propaganda of apologists for the system, is the transmutation of the negative commitment to apartheid into an affirmative effort to foster and guide what the Government labels ‘separate development’. One of the most significant achievements thus far of this policy was the birth on 26 October 1976 of Transkei, presented to a doubting world by its South African parent as a sovereign, independent nation in which its African citizens could work out their destiny, just as the dominant white population of the Republic of South Africa assert an entitlement to realise their own.

United States Policy Toward South Africa

1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 66-72
Author(s):  
Donald B. Easum
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
West Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
South West ◽  
South West Africa ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Southern Rhodesia ◽  
The Government

The decolonization process set in motion by the spectacular change of government in Lisbon in April 1974 produced a geopolitical earthquake across all of southern Africa. Its repercussions were deeply felt in the Republic of South Africa, where the government was forced to undertake a fundamental reassessment of South African relations with Mozambique, with Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), and with Namibia (South West Africa).

scholarly journals ACCESS TO SOCIAL SECURITY FOR NON-CITIZENS: AN INTERNATIONAL, SOUTH AFRICAN AND EUROPEAN VIEW

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taryn Lee Vos
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Security ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
The South ◽  
Foreign Nationals ◽  
European Approach ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Right

South Africa has become a magnet to a larger group of foreign migrants than the global average. This is due to the fact that it is a front-runner, economically speaking, in Sub-Sahara Africa with a reputation of political stability. The South African Constitution is the supreme law of the Republic, to which all other law is subject. South Africa’s constitutional framework, coupled with immigration legislation and policies, aim to promote the rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights for all individuals living within the borders of the Republic. While certain rights are expressly reserved for citizens only and are largely of a civil or political nature, the remaining rights are those that ‘everyone’, including foreign nationals, may enjoy. Non-citizens within the borders of the Republic receive, inter alia, the protection of South Africa’s basic constitutional values; in particular the right to equality, human dignity and freedom. Socio-economic rights, subject to the limitations clause in section 36 of the Constitution, are also made available to everyone. This includes both citizens and foreign nationals. These rights can be found in section 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 of the Constitution and relate to issues of access to land, housing, health care, food, social security and education. The focus of this paper will be the right of access to social security for non-citizens, particularly migrants, in South Africa. Who falls within the scope of the term ‘everyone’ as found in section 27 of the Constitution? The international perspective on the issue of social exclusion of non-citizens from accessing social security benefits is briefly dealt with, followed by a discussion of the South African perspective on the matter. The approach of the South African Constitutional Court in respect of the protection of the rights of noncitizens will then be discussed. The European approach to the matter, including the approach of European courts, will then be examined. The concluding paragraphs entail an evaluation of the improvements that can be made to the South African social security system as inspired by the European approach.

scholarly journals Re-Categorising Public Procurement in South Africa: Construction Works as a Special Case

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Allison Megan Anthony
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Unique Form ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Special Case ◽  
Construction Works

Public procurement is generally known to be the acquisition of goods and services by the government from the private sector. Construction works are considered to constitute services and as such are not specifically referred to in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Re-categorising public procurement may hold many advantages for the regulation of construction procurement law as a unique form of public procurement in South Africa. The definition of construction works is thus important when establishing what is procured in construction procurement. This definition in turn may indicate that the procurement of construction works is indeed a unique form of procurement and should accordingly be re-categorised in South African public procurement law.    

CONSTITUTIONALISM IN DEMOCRATIC SOUTH AFRICA: CELEBRATIONS, CONTESTATIONS AND CHALLENGES

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Henning Melber
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Mirror Image ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government

South Africans often proudly proclaim that our Constitution is one of the most progressive in the world. Yet if you ask most South Africans how they really feel about gay rights, abortion and the death penalty, their answers, more often than not, contradict the values enshrined in the Constitution. (Ahmed 2014) This is the sobering assessment of the Chief Executive of the South African Human Rights Commission 20 years into democratic South Africa. The document adopted by The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 was considered an exemplary showpiece for the new democratic, human rights based era — embraced as "proudly South African" among the world's most enlightened legal frameworks. Taking stock almost two decades later, however, constitutionality seems to have not yet been deeply and firmly anchored in public awareness or ingrained into a ] social fabric guiding the fundamental values, ethics and norms as reflected by ordinary public perception and opinion. Nor have policy makers in the government seemingly internalised an unconditional respect for and recognition of the governance principles enshrined in this Constitution, as some recent examples seem to suggest. The current controversy around the "spy tapes", but even more so the contested role of the public protector — dubbed "a jewel in South Africa's constitutional crown" (Pieters 2014) — and her stance with regard to Nkandla and the obligations of the head of state to respond to her recommendations are obvious tips of the iceberg. But current discourses at the same time are a mirror image of the ongoing struggles over the power of definition and the interpretation, as well as adherence, to the rules of the game as laid down in the normative framework. As constitutions elsewhere, there is a discrepancy between what is stated, how it ought to be understood and interpreted, how it should be adhered to and applied, and what the intended effects, as well as the real consequences are. It therefore is not by accident that debates and contestations over the meaning and implications of constitutional principles are an eminently political affair and an integral part of governance. It would be more worrying, if this would not be the case, since this would suggest that those in control over society reign supreme in the sense of governing without checks and balances. So then let's have a closer look at the issues at stake.

A Call for Public Participation in the Treaty-making Process in South Africa: What can South Africa Learn from the Kingdom of Thailand?

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Retselisitsoe Phooko
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Legal Implications ◽  
Future Situation ◽  
Rules Of Procedure ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government ◽  
Personal Jurisdiction

On 2 August 2002 South Africa signed the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Tribunal and the Rules of Procedure Thereof, thus effectively recognising and accepting the jurisdiction of the SADC Tribunal. Among the cases received by the SADC Tribunal was a complaint involving allegations of human rights violations by the government of Zimbabwe. It ruled that the government of Zimbabwe had violated human rights. Consequently, Zimbabwe mounted a politico-legal challenge against the existence of the Tribunal. This resulted in the review of the role and functions of the Tribunal in 2011 which resulted in the Tribunal being barred from receiving new cases or proceeding with the cases that were already before it. Furthermore, on 18 August 2014, the SADC Summit adopted and signed the 2014 Protocol on the Tribunal in the SADC which disturbingly limits personal jurisdiction by denying individual access to the envisaged Tribunal, thus reducing it to an inter-state judicial forum. This article critically looks at the decision of 18 August 2014, specifically the legal implications of the Republic of South Africa’s signing of the 2014 Protocol outside the permissible procedure contained in article 37 of the SADC Protocol on the Tribunal. It proposes that South Africa should correct this democratic deficit by introducing public participation in treaty-making processes in order to prevent a future situation where the executive unilaterally withdraws from an international treaty that is meant to protect human rights at a regional level. To achieve this, this article makes a comparative study between South Africa and the Kingdom of Thailand to learn of any best practices from the latter.

Is Xenophobic Violence and Criminality Systemic in Post-Apartheid South Africa? A Critical Analysis of Growing Denialism to 2015 Incidents

Politeia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mbekezeli Comfort Mkhize ◽  
Kongko Louis Makau
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Hate Crime ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Foreign Nationals ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Structural Problems ◽  
The Government

This article argues that the 2015 xenophobic violence was allowed to spread due to persistent inaction by state officials. While the utterances of King Goodwill Zwelithini have in part fuelled the attacks, officials tend to perceive acts of xenophobia as ordinary crimes. This perception has resulted in ill-advised responses from the authorities, allowing this kind of hate crime against foreign nationals to engulf the whole country. In comparison with similar attacks in 2008, the violent spree in 2015 is characterised by a stronger surge in criminal activities. The militancy showcased fed a sense of insecurity amongst foreigners, creating a situation inconsistent with the country’s vaunted respect for human rights and the rule of law. Investors lost confidence in the country’s outlook, owing in part to determined denialism in government circles regarding the targeting of foreigners. While drawing from existing debates, the article’s principal objective is to critically examine the structural problems that enable xenophobia to proliferate and the (in)effectiveness of responses to the militancy involved in the 2015 attacks. Of particular interest are the suggested responses that could be effective in curbing future violence. The article concludes that xenophobia is systemic in post-apartheid South Africa. Strong cooperation between the government, national and international organisations could provide the basis for successful anti-xenophobia measures. The article further argues that the country is obliged to find a sustainable solution to the predicament for humanitarian reasons firstly, and in recognition of the support South Africans received from its African counterparts during the liberation struggle.

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