Public Service Transformation and Affirmative Action Perspectives in South Africa

1996 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.S. Reddy ◽  
R.B.G. Choudree

Affirmative action is on the agenda in South Africa. It is generally accepted that the new constitution will include a bill of rights which will contain a clause ensuring equality of all persons. It is this clause which will outlaw discrimination and which will sanction affirmative action. However, it is probably that the bill of rights will have to be supplemented by legislation on discrimination, affirmative action and employment equity, which will determine, for example whether and how the Public Service (and the private sector) are compelled or permitted to implement affirmative action. While approaches and strategies to affirmative action vary considerably, there is general acceptance that it may be an effective mechanism of ensuring social justice in the public service. It can play a pivotal role in equalizing and democratizing public instirutions in South Africa.

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Emily J. M. Knox

AbstractOver the past few years, tensions between two core values in U.S. librarianship, intellectual freedom and social justice, have roiled the profession. This conflict was most recently seen in the insertion and subsequent removal of “hate groups” to the list of entities that cannot be denied access to library meeting rooms in the American Library Association’s Meeting Rooms Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights. This paper is intended to provide context for this conflict. It begins by situating its arguments within ethical philosophy, specifically the study of values or axiology. It then provides an overview of the theoretical foundations of the values of liberalism. Next, the paper discusses the values of truth and freedom from harm in librarianship. Finally, it suggests that a fuller understanding of the library’s place within the public sphere is a possible model for mitigating the tensions currently found in American librarianship. The paper is intended to provide a theoretical foundation for further research.


Author(s):  
Pandelani H. Munzhedzi

Accountability and oversight are constitutional requirements in all the spheres of government in the Republic of South Africa and their foundation is in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996. All spheres of government are charged with the constitutional mandate of providing public services. The level of responsibility and public services provision also goes with the level of capacity of a particular sphere. However, most of the direct and visible services that the public receives are at the local sphere of government. As such, enormous resources are channelled towards this sphere of government so that the said public services could be provided. It is imperative that the three spheres of government account for the huge expenditures during the public service provision processes. The parliaments of national and provincial governments exercise oversight and accountability over their executives and administrations through the Public Accounts Committees, while the local sphere of government relies on the Municipal Public Accounts Committees. This article is theoretical in nature, and it seeks to explore the current state of public accountability in South Africa and to evaluate possible measures so as to enhance public accountability. The article argues that the current public accountability mechanisms are not efficient and effective. It is recommended that these mechanisms ought to be enhanced by inter alia capacitating the legislative bodies at national, provincial and local spheres of the government.


Author(s):  
Hakan Yurdakul ◽  
Rifat Kamasak

The public-private partnership (PPP) model has been increasingly popular in recent decades as a mechanism to support infrastructure related investment activity. PPPs creates many advantages for countries such as releasing from financial burden of high cost infrastructure investments, bringing high quality of public service and increasing efficiency of operations through transfer of private sector expertise. However, these benefits are not guaranteed for every PPP project since successful implementations are subject to several factors. This chapter aims to review the different aspects of PPPs in detail and examine the factors which play crucial roles for successful PPP implementation.


Author(s):  
Andreas Wörgötter ◽  
Sihle Nomdebevana

AbstractThis paper investigates the public-private remuneration patterns in South Africa with time-series methods for the first time since the introduction of an inflation-targeting framework in 2000. Co-integration tests and analysis confirm that there is a stable, long-run relationship between nominal and real remuneration in the public and private sector. The adjustment to the deviations from this long-run relationship is strong and significant for public-sector remuneration, while private-sector wages neither respond to deviations from the long-run relationship nor lagged changes in public-sector remuneration. The causal direction from private- to public-sector remuneration does not change if real earnings are calculated with the gross domestic product deflator. This is confirmed by simple Granger-causality tests.


2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 406-435
Author(s):  
W. B. Cunningham

The author states that the conventional wisdom has viewed collective bargaining in the public service as unnecessary, impractical and illegal. And he adds that, in general, and until recently, the prevailing practices in the United States and Canada have been in close harmony with the conventional wisdom. But the restless change of events threatens the existing state of affairs, described by the conventional wisdom, with progressive obsolescence. And the author answers the two following questions: Can the industrial relations system of the private sector be applied to public employment? To what extent does the nature of government employment raise unique problems? The enemy of the conventional wisdom is not ideas but the march of events. J.K. GALBRAITH, « The Affluent Society »


2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (02) ◽  
pp. 309-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Crewe ◽  
Alison Liebling ◽  
Susie Hulley

Prison privatization has generally been associated with developments in neoliberal punishment. However, relatively little is known about the specific impact of privatization on the daily life of prisoners, including areas that are particularly salient not just to debates about neoliberal penality, but the wider reconfiguration of public service provision and frontline work. Drawing on a study of values, practices, and quality of life in five private‐sector and two public‐sector prisons in England and Wales, this article seeks to compare and explain three key domains of prison culture and quality: relationships between frontline staff and prisoners, levels of staff professionalism (or jailcraft), and prisoners' experience of state authority. The study identifies some of the characteristic strengths and weaknesses of the public and private prison sectors, particularly in relation to staff professionalism and its impact on the prisoner experience. These findings have relevance beyond the sphere of prisons and punishment.


2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele S. Moses

The author’s primary aims are to clarify the differing rationales for affirmative action that have emerged in five nations—France, India, South Africa, the United States, and Brazil—and to make the case for the most compelling rationales, whether instrumentally or morally based. She examines the different social contexts surrounding the establishment and public discussion of each nation’s policy. Next, she examines four justifications for affirmative action in these nations: remediation, economics, diversity, and social justice. She offers philosophical analysis of the justifications for affirmative action in each country and synthesizes federal and state legislation, court decisions, news media sources, and research-based scholarship. She argues that the social justice rationale ought to be invoked more centrally, underscoring affirmative action’s role in fostering a democratic society.


1970 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robyn Hunt

This paper explores the assumptions underlying the merit principle in relation to disabled people in the New Zealand Public Service. It suggests a view of merit which is more compatible with affirmative action strategies and it discusses some of the implications for EEO disability.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reeya Singh ◽  
Frasia Oosthuizen ◽  
Ebenezer Wiafe ◽  
Kofi Boamah Mensah ◽  
Varsha Bangalee

Abstract Background The development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has improved chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) management and increased CML prevalence due to low mortality rates. CML management is potentially lifelong and expensive and requires pharmacoeconomic approaches and regular review of therapy to ensure that patients obtain cost-effective therapeutic outcomes. Although the introduction of TKIs generics has improved the availability of TKIs, the high-cost implications continue to hinder TKIs accessibility and translate into poor quality of life. To improve the availability and accessibility of TKIs in South Africa, interventional programs have been instrumental. A notable intervention is the collaborative effort of Novartis pharmaceuticals and The Max Foundation which has provided free access to Imatinib to patients in need. In recognition of the needs of CML patients, this study aimed to provide an overview of TKIs regulatory approval, availability, and cost profile in the South African (SA) context for the 2019 period. Methods The researchers searched the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) website on 20 August 2019 to identify TKIs, generic and innovator brands, that was duly registered. The costs of the registered TKIs were extracted from the Medicines Price Registry (2019) and the Department of Health awarded tenders for oncology medications (2019). The results were analysed quantitatively using Microsoft Excel and presented as tables. Results Three TKIs were registered in SA: Imatinib, Dasatinib, and Nilotinib. Generics were only available for Imatinib. Despite the numerous Imatinib generics available in the private sector, treatment for CML chronic phase (CP) patients in the private sector was more expensive than in the public sector. Apparent cost inequality was noted where the same TKI (Nilotinib 200 mg) costs substantially less (by 92.4%) in the public sector than in the private sector. Conclusion The study concluded that the accessibility to CML management in the private sector is hindered by the high cost of therapy compared to the public sector. The availability of generic forms of Imatinib eliminated monopoly and improved medicated access compared to Dasatinib and Nilotinib. To improve CML medication access, stakeholders' engagement is required to control cost.


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