The State of Neoliberalism in South Africa: Economic, Social, and Health Transformation in Question

1997 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Bond ◽  
Yogan G. Pillay ◽  
David Sanders

Recent overhauls of the South African government's ruling machinery, in the context of an ever-deepening commitment to neoliberal economic philosophy, have done serious, even irreparable harm to this country's political transformation. Notwithstanding some progress in policies adopted by the Department of Health, the March 1996 closure of the Reconstruction and Development Ministry and the subsequent announcement of a neoliberal macroeconomic policy have been cause for disgruntlement by those advocating progressive social and health policies.

Curationis ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Hof ◽  
H.M. Esterhuysen ◽  
C.J. V.d. Merwe ◽  
C. V.d. Burgh ◽  
L. Lomberg

In the U.S.A. and most European countries the establishment of community based genetic services has emerged only within the last decade. There has been a tendency for the relevant government departments to assume partial or complete responsibility for these services. In South Africa such a community based genetic service under direction of the Genetic Services Division of the Department of Health and Welfare was conceptualised in 1971 and put into operation in 1975.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Leslie ◽  
Nishendra Moodley ◽  
Ian Goldman ◽  
Christel Jacob ◽  
Donna Podems ◽  
...  

The article explains the rationale for the development of standards for evaluation practice, the process followed in developing those standards, and how those standards inform the quality assessment of evaluations. Quality assessment of evaluations are conducted as a routine activity of the South African National Evaluation System (NES). The importance of quality assessment for improving the state of evaluation practice in South Africa is illustrated by presenting results from the quality assessments undertaken to date. The paper concludes by discussing the progress on the development of a public Evaluations Repository to manage and provide access to completed evaluations and their quality assessment results, and offering some concluding analytical remarks.


Author(s):  
Georgi Verbeeck

The use and abuse of anachronism is often seen as the quintessence of the writing of history. Historians tend to conceive it as the hardcore of their métier to avoid anachronism. It designates a confusion in order of time, especially the mistake of placing an event, attitude, or circumstance too early. The awareness of historical anachronism is omnipresent in times of a radical rewriting of history, in particular as a result of political transformation. History reflects the needs and ambitions of a political context, and the sense of what is deemed historically significant does not remain unattached hereby. Chronology and anachronism are essential to particular conceptions of history, and if history is in a process of being rewritten, they are the first items to be addressed by the defenders of the old system and the advocates of a new discourse. In political debates on the use or abuse of history anachronism is often seen as ultimate proof of the (un-)reliability of new insights and conceptions. As anachronism is defined as a way of transferring contemporary sets of values, assumptions and interpretative categories, every political reorientation inevitably provokes a discussion on that level. If a ‘new nation’ is in search of a ‘new past’, a new reflection on the basic categories of historical thinking becomes necessary. The changing discourses in South African historiography since the end of Apartheid serve here as an illuminative example.


Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 268
Author(s):  
Wonchul Shin

This paper aims to examine the ambiguity of faith in the intersection of religion and state violence. I pay attention to the state-operated system of apartheid in South Africa and critically analyze the Afrikaner community’s faith that motivated and justified vicious state violence against people of color. I name this faith demonic faith and present two key features of demonic faith in the South African case: idolatrous absolutization and destructive dehumanization. I also examine how the Afrikaners’ demonic faith came to its existence through the complex dynamics of their existential anxieties, desires, and distorted ways to fulfill the desires. I then argue for the ineffaceable possibility of redemptive faith, and theoretically construct how two features of redemptive faith, consisting of courage and empathy, could have empowered the Afrikaners to break the shackles of demonic idolatry and destruction. Redemptive faith is tragically paired with demonic faith, but truth serves as a key criterion to guide us in this tragic ambiguity of faith.


Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Charles Moorhouse ◽  
David Abrahams

The purpose of this article is to put forward submissions regarding the implementation of a weapons review process in compliance of South Africa’s obligations under Additional Protocol I (hereinafter “API”) Article 36. Article 36 requires each state party to determine whether the employment of any new weapon, means or method of warfare that it studies, develops, acquires or adopts would, insome or all circumstances, be prohibited by international law. Article 36 does not specify how such a legal review should be implemented or conducted. Thus this article puts forward proposals regarding both the substantive and procedural aspectsof a review of the legality of weapons, means and methods of warfare that the authors submit best befits the South African context.A background regarding the legal limitations placed upon the use of certain weapons, means and methods of warfare and an explanation of South Africa’s obligations regarding national implementation of a weapons review process, is given in paragraph 1 so as to create an understanding as to why it is necessary for the Republic of South Africa to implement a process to review the legality of weapons, means and methods of warfare. Before the implementation of a weapons review process can be discussed, the subject matter of such a review must first be ascertained. Thus paragraph 2 contains a discussion regarding the definition of the term “weapons, means and methods of warfare” and a determination of which weapons shall form the subject matter of legal reviews. No specific manner of implementation is contained within API and thus it is at the discretion of the state in question, in this case South Africa, to adopt the necessary measures to implement this obligation. In this regard, paragraph 3 contains submissions regarding the status of the review body within the state hierarchy and its method of establishment. This paragraph also contains an explanation of the process by which South Africa acquires its weapons. The legal scope of the review process is dealt with in paragraph 4. Within thisparagraph, the place of both treaty-based law and customary international law (“CIL”) in the South African legal system is discussed. Furthermore, the treaty-law and customary international law rules binding upon South Africa regarding limitations of specific weapons and general weapons limitations are enumerated and the paragraph ends with a discussion of the Martens Clause. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Naidoo ◽  
R Naidoo ◽  
V Bangalee

BACKGROUND: The South African dietary supplement market will undergo a period of transition within the next few years due to the establishment of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), which has superseded the former Medicines Control Council (MCC). While regulatory steps are yet to be fully outlined, products such as whey protein, regarded as food, will be governed by the Department of Health R429 draft Regulations Relating to the Labelling and Advertising of Foods. The guideline provides for the minimum value of essential amino acids (plus cysteine and tyrosine) per gram of protein that products claiming to contain protein will be required to comply with. Determining the compliance levels of whey protein products currently available will assist in establishing the readiness of the dietary supplement industry for regulation, and provide an indication of the overall state of the industry.OBJECTIVES: To determine the amino acid profile of whey protein powder and compare analysed content to manufacturer stated content.To compare analysed amino acid content to the Department of Health R429 draft Regulations Relating to the Labelling and Advertising of Food template amino acid profile.METHOD: 15 of the best-selling whey protein products available in South Africa were selected for amino acid analysis. Tested amino acid content were compared to the label stated claim and the amino acid reference pattern, as stated in the Department of Health R429 draft Regulations Relating to the Labelling and Advertising of Foods.RESULTS: Sixty percent (60%) of products tested were non-compliant with the Department of Health R429 draft Regulations Relating to the Labelling and Advertising of Foods. Of the 15 products tested, 11 were manufactured in South Africa, with 8 being non-compliant to the guideline amino acid profile. Considerable variance was noted in the manufacturer stated and the tested amino acid content (ranging from 16–48% variance).CONCLUSION: Many of the whey protein products available in South Africa are not compliant to proposed industry guidelines. The considerable variance noted highlights the need for greater oversight of the industry with clearly defined regulatory procedures.


1969 ◽  
Vol 12 (03) ◽  
pp. 305-314
Author(s):  
Reuben Musiker

This is a two-year survey of bibliographical work completed in the Republic of South Africa. Recent developments in current and retrospective national bibliography are outlined. The South African National Bibliography has been mechanised and good progress has been made with the retrospective volume for 1926-1958. Attention is drawn to the State Library's work on the documentation of banned books. Catalogues of important collections completed are briefly described, and recent developments in the field of periodical lists and indexes are outlined. Special attention is paid in the review to Africana indexes and bibliographies. The author concludes that despite lacunae which remain to be filled, the bibliographical scene in South Africa is satisfactory and full of promise. This review, like its forerunner covers a two-year period and is based on information derived from a questionnaire sent to the major libraries of South Africa. The interim period has also been covered to some extent by a number of informal bibliographical progress reports published in the South African Library Association Newsletter.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Michael Womack ◽  
Jerry Pillay

Prior to 1994, the South African Council of Churches (SACC) was a major role-player both globally and within South Africa, fulfilling a vital role in the struggle for justice in South Africa. Yet, since 1994 the SACC has all but disappeared from both the global as well as the popular South African ecumenical scene. The history of the SACC since 1994 is relatively unknown and sparsely documented. This article attempts to fill in some of that missing detail and to explore what has happened to the SACC since 1994. Working predominantly from news articles and documents from the SACC, the authors have endeavoured to piece together the state of the SACC since 1994. This article shows how the SACC emerged from the brink of closure and has once more started to function as a prophetic voice in South Africa. This movement from almost extinction to a rejuvenated function has been designated into three stages, namely survival, discernment and regeneration. However, the challenges are not over and this article concludes by highlighting two main challenges that the SACC is currently facing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Africa

The article assesses the state of oversight of the budget and expenditure of the South African civilian intelligence services (now called the State Security Agency). The roles of various structures, including the National Treasury, the Executive, the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) and the Auditor-General, during the period 1995 to 2014, are examined. The article argues that whilst the system of financial oversight has strengths, there are systemic weaknesses which have resulted in uneven levels of financial accountability over the years. The article therefore proposes that measures to strengthen the system of oversight are needed to improve financial accountability. These include reforming the relevant legislation and providing more robust powers to the oversight actors.


Author(s):  
Bellita Banda Chitsamatanga

Tapping on International and regional law, the South African constitutional law places an obligation on the state and other duty-bearers to protect every child from violence. However, the extant literature and electronic media is awash with cases of violence against children which remains high in South Africa. This review gives a synopsis of why South Africa stands accused of paying lip service towards the protection of children from different forms of violence. Keywords:


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