scholarly journals Opportunities and challenges for statistics education in South Africa

Pythagoras ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Temesgen Zewotir ◽  
Delia North
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
New School ◽  
Fundamental Building Block ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
The Face ◽  
Sliding Scale ◽  
The Government

The South African educational system is in a state of transformation as the Government embarks on a process of grappling with legacies of the past, whilst balancing risks and opportunities for the future. Accordingly, a new school curriculum with outcomes-based education as the fundamental building block was introduced along a sliding scale, starting in 1997. This curriculum, with a vast statistics content, has the potential to change the face of statistics education in South Africa, as statistics had previously been virtually absent from the school syllabus. This article highlights the challenges to and opportunities for optimising the teaching of statistics across all education levels in South Africa.

scholarly journals COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY AS A RESPONSE TO CRISIS: THE ROLE OF THE JALI COMMISSION IN CREATING PUBLIC AWARENESS OF CORRUPTION (PART 2)

Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Allister Peté
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
The Face ◽  
Commissions Of Inquiry ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Many ◽  
High Level

When the government of a liberal constitutional democracy is confronted by some or other existential crisis that threatens a major institution of state or the very foundations of the democracy itself, it will often appoint a high-level judicial commission of inquiry as part of its response to the crisis. South Africa is no exception to this tendency, as is evidenced in recent years by the appointment of no fewer than four such commissions in response to a series of crises related to ongoing corruption within state institutions – commonly referred to by ordinary South Africans as “state capture”. This has raised questions as to the alleged benefits of such commissions when viewed in relation to their considerable costs. This article seeks to contribute to this general debate by focusing on one of the purported benefits of such commissions that may be somewhat under appreciated. This is the creation of public awareness, during the life of the commission itself, about the nature and extent of the particular grave threat that confronts the society in question. It is contended that, mediated by a free and vibrant press, the public narrative that emerges during the operation of a commission of inquiry may serve to make a liberal democratic society more resilient in the face of threats to that society’s continued existence. This article seeks to support this contention by focusing on an important precursor to the more recent commissions of inquiry on corruption in South Africa – that is, the Jali Commission of Inquiry into corruption within the South African penal system, which sat in the early years of the new millennium. By analysing the many articles and reports that appeared in a range of South African newspapers during the initial hearings of the Jali Commission, this article documents the emergence of an important public narrative on corruption within South Africa’s prisons, and reflects upon the ultimate significance. This article is divided into two parts: the first part deals with the initial hearings of the Jali Commission in KwaZulu-Natal, and the second part with subsequent hearings in the Free State.

scholarly journals Commissions of Inquiry as a Response to Crisis: The Role of the Jali Commission in Creating Public Awareness of Corruption (Part 1)

Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 903-925
Author(s):  
Stephen Allister Peté
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
The Face ◽  
Commissions Of Inquiry ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Many ◽  
High Level

When the government of a liberal constitutional democracy is confronted by some or other existential crisis that threatens a major institution of state or the very foundations of the democracy itself, it will often appoint a high-level judicial commission of inquiry as part of its response to the crisis. South Africa is no exception to this tendency, as is evidenced in recent years by the appointment of no fewer than four such commissions in response to a series of crises related to ongoing corruption within state institutions – commonly referred to by ordinary South Africans as “state capture”. This has raised questions as to the alleged benefits of such commissions when viewed in relation to their considerable costs. This article seeks to contribute to this general debate by focusing on one of the purported benefits of such commissions that may be somewhat under-appreciated. This is the creation of public awareness, during the life of the commission itself, about the nature and extent of the particular grave threat that confronts the society in question. It is contended that, mediated by a free and vibrant press, the public narrative that emerges during the operation of a commission of inquiry may serve to make a liberal democratic society more resilient in the face of threats to that society’s continued existence. This article seeks to support this contention by focusing on an important precursor to the more recent commissions of inquiry on corruption in South Africa – that is, the Jali Commission of Inquiry into corruption within the South African penal system, which sat in the early years of the new millennium. By analysing the many articles and reports that appeared in a range of South African newspapers during the initial hearings of the Jali Commission, this article documents the emergence of an important public narrative on corruption within South Africa’s prisons, and reflects upon the ultimate significance of this narrative. This article is divided into two parts: the first part deals with the initial hearings of the Jali Commission in KwaZulu-Natal, and the second part with subsequent hearings in the Free State.

Accountability and the Media

2014 ◽  
Vol 652 (1) ◽  
pp. 206-221
Author(s):  
Anton Harber
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Access ◽  
Political Interference ◽  
The Face ◽  
Public Broadcaster ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Poor Management

Two decades of contestation over the nature and extent of transformation in the South African news media have left a sector different in substantive ways from the apartheid inheritance but still patchy in its capacity to fill the democratic ideal. Change came fast to a newly open broadcasting sector, but has faltered in recent years, particularly in a public broadcaster troubled by political interference and poor management. The potential of online media to provide much greater media access has been hindered by the cost of bandwidth. Community media has grown but struggled to survive financially. Print media has been aggressive in investigative exposé, but financial cutbacks have damaged routine daily coverage. In the face of this, the government has turned its attention to the print sector, demanding greater—but vaguely defined—transformation and threatened legislation. This has met strong resistance.

Effective Planning for Rural Development in A Democratic South Africa: The Prospects of Rural Cooperatives

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
France Khutso Lavhelani Kgobe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Rural Cooperatives ◽  
The Government ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Effective Planning

This paper explores the potency of rural cooperatives for the effective planning and implementation of rural strategies to address poverty. Rural cooperatives function as a participatory approach that provides the potential to equip and empower people in rural areas with various skills. Hence, rural cooperatives represent the means and strategies to unshackle rural people from the vicious circle of poverty. The contestation about a deadlock of rural development has become pertinent in the recent and ongoing political transformation in South Africa. This paper is grounded on the social capital theory and its ideals. As such, it depends on a literature review for its premise, argument, crux and purpose, as well as drawing up results and conclusions. The paper gathers information in respect of various scholars’ notions on rural cooperatives and rural development from related articles, journals and books. The paper reveals that where the South African government is confronted and characterised by some form of upheaval and service delivery challenges, so rural cooperatives are fit to capacitate citizens to avoid depending on the government for scarce resources. The paper further reveals that rural cooperatives are deemed to ameliorate the long-standing patterns of developmental backlogs in almost all South African municipalities. The conclusion that can be made from this paper is that the authentic promotion of rural development in the formulation of a well-informed legislative framework, that is clear and unambiguous, can deal effectively with the challenges of rural cooperatives.

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.

South African Foreign Policy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fritz Nganje ◽  
Odilile Ayodele
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
South African ◽  
Foreign Relations ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
The World ◽  
Role Conception ◽  
The Government

In its foreign policy posture and ambitions, post-apartheid South Africa is like no other country on the continent, having earned the reputation of punching above its weight. Upon rejoining the international community in the mid-1990s based on a new democratic and African identity, it laid out and invested considerable material and intellectual resources in pursuing a vision of the world that was consistent with the ideals and aspirations of the indigenous anti-apartheid movement. This translated into a commitment to foreground the ideals of human rights, democratic governance, and socioeconomic justice in its foreign relations, which had been reoriented away from their Western focus during the apartheid period, to give expression to post-apartheid South Africa’s new role conception as a champion of the marginalized interests for Africa and rest of the Global South. Since the start of the 21st century, this new foreign policy orientation and its underlying principles have passed through various gradations, reflecting not only the personal idiosyncrasies of successive presidents but also changes in the domestic environment as well as lessons learned by the new crop of leaders in Pretoria, as they sought to navigate a complex and fluid continental and global environment. From a rather naive attempt to domesticate international politics by projecting its constitutional values onto the world stage during the presidency of Nelson Mandela, South Africa would be socialized into, and embrace gradually, the logic of realpolitik, even as it continued to espouse an ethical foreign policy, much to the chagrin of the detractors of the government of the African National Congress within and outside the country. With the fading away of the global liberal democratic consensus into which post-apartheid South Africa was born, coupled with a crumbling of the material and moral base that had at some point inspired a sense of South African exceptionalism, Pretoria’s irreversible march into an unashamedly pragmatic and interest-driven foreign policy posture is near complete.

Strategic Litigation in South Africa and Uganda: Shared Perspectives and Comparative Lessons

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
John C Mubangizi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
Advocacy Groups ◽  
Care Services ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
South African Constitution ◽  
Strategic Litigation

Abstract The South African Constitution, particularly its Bill of Rights, is regarded as one of the most progressive in the world. The Ugandan Constitution, adopted around the same time as its South African counterpart, also has a Bill of Rights. Lawyers and advocacy groups in both countries have taken advantage of their constitutions to challenge the government to enforce several rights ranging from health care services, education, water and sanitation, to housing and social security, albeit at a lower scale and with less impact and significance in Uganda than South Africa. The purpose of this paper is to discuss and determine the constitutional impact of strategic litigation in South Africa and Uganda. The paper begins with a conceptual context of strategic litigation. The specific reasons for the choice of the two countries are highlighted before focusing, in a comparative way, on some relevant organizations and the various court decisions that have emanated from strategic litigation in both countries. The paper identifies similarities and differences between Ugandan and South African approaches to strategic litigation. Conclusions are then made after highlighting the comparative lessons that both countries can learn from each other, but also what other African states can learn from these two countries’ experiences.

Facilitating Consumers' Adoption of E-Government in South Africa

2019 ◽  
pp. 243-265
Author(s):  
Richard Shambare
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Information Communication Technologies ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Government Programs ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
The Government

This chapter examines the diffusion and adoption of electronic governance systems (e-government) in South Africa. The purpose of the chapter is to determine how the supply side in South Africa has facilitated consumers' adoption of e-government. To achieve this objective, an extensive review of the literature encapsulating e-government, South African public services, information communication technologies (ICTs), and commerce was conducted. Findings revealed interesting results. First among many was that e-government is viewed by the government as a panacea to a plethora of socio-economic problems facing the country. It was further revealed that e-government initiatives at the municipality level are quite instrumental in driving the e-government agenda in South Africa. Of note, municipalities have rolled out various e-government programs. As a result, the country's overall e-government rankings were observed to have significantly improved in the recent past. The chapter concludes by highlighting several opportunities through which e-government could be further strengthened.

The Resilient Constitution

2021 ◽  
pp. 277-309
Author(s):  
David Dyzenhaus ◽  
Alma Diamond
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Extreme Pressure ◽  
The Face ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
The One

This chapter evaluates the so called 'transitional constitution' of South Africa and the 'permanent constitution' of Colombia. Through a comparative approach, it contends that constitutions are better understood in terms of their resilience rather than either being transitional or permanent, and that a 'resilient constitution' is the one capable of springing back even after being subjected to extreme pressure, as long as leaders maintain their commitment to governing within the limits of the law. In this sense, the differences between the Colombian transitional justice and the South African case do not stem primarily from the 'permanence' of its Constitution, but rather from the difficulties and tensions inherent to any transitional justice process, because it derives from some of the very rights it is designed to promote. The chapter then details how the jurisprudence of the Colombian Constitutional Court on transitional matters can be understood as having moved from an understanding of the Constitution as permanent, to one of resilience that does not represent a new power grabbed by the Court. Rather than that, it signals an understanding of the role of the Court in maintaining a constitutional order even in the face of existential threats to it.

Incentive Guidelines for South African Tourism: Implications and Challenges in the Context of Developing Socio-Political Trends

1995 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Z. Bloom ◽  
Frederik J. Mostert
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
South African ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Significant Issue ◽  
The South ◽  
Decision Matrix ◽  
Fiscal Incentives ◽  
Tourism Policy ◽  
The Government

The need for some form of support from governmental sources to advance the tourism industry by means of financial and fiscal incentives has become a significant issue. This article provides a comparison of incentives found internationally with those available in South Africa. Various shortcomings pertaining to the types of incentives provided are discussed. The main aim of the paper is to analyse three incentive options in the context of tourism policy together with a decision matrix which could be used by the government to make a choice between alternative options. A conceptual framework is provided which could form the basis for the government in its choice of incentives. The implications and challenges of providing incentives for the tourism industry are discussed in the context of developing socio-political trends within the South African environment

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