Anatomy of State Capture

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
The State ◽  
The Public ◽  
South Africans ◽  
State Capture

Following the release of the Public Protector’s State of Capture Report in November 2016, South Africans have been witness to an explosion of almost daily revelations of corruption, mismanagement and abuses by those entrusted to lead the nation. The extent of this betrayal is overwhelming and it is often difficult to distil what actually happened during the Zuma administration. This book draws on the insights and expertise of 19 contributors from various sectors and disciplines to provide an account of what transpired at strategic sites of the state capture project. The ongoing threat of state capture demands a response that probes beyond what happened to understanding how it was allowed to happen. The stubborn culture of corruption and misgovernance continue to manifest unabated and the predatory practices which enable state capture have not yet been disrupted. It is our hope that the various case studies and analyses presented in this book will contribute to confronting these shortcomings in current discourse, and open avenues for progressive deliberation on how to collectively reclaim the prospects of a just and prosperous South Africa for all.

Notes: ‘Observations’ on the State Capture judgment

2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-500
Author(s):  
Michael Tsele
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Controversial Issue ◽  
Court Decision ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
High Court ◽  
The Public ◽  
State Capture ◽  
The Law

This note concerns a controversial issue that has, surprisingly, received limited academic interrogation: whether the Public Protector has the power to instruct the President of South Africa to appoint a commission of inquiry. In this respect, I critique a high court decision which answered the question in the affirmative. I contend that the judgment contradicts prior case law, including Constitutional Court precedent. Thus, I argue that the court misconstrued the law on the President’s powers, particularly when it concluded that those powers are not purely discretionary but entail ‘responsibilities’ which are ‘coupled with a duty’. This reasoning led the court to conclude that the President thus has a constitutional ‘obligation’ to appoint a commission. In summary, I take issue with the court’s conclusion that the Public Protector has the power to instruct the President to appoint a commission of inquiry. I conclude that the decision caused uncertainty on the limitations of the Public Protector’s powers. I further say it is questionable whether the commission, better known as the ‘State Capture’ commission, was established lawfully.

The Prophetic Voice of the Church in a Democratic South Africa – A Theological Reflection

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lufuluvhi Maria Mudimeli
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
The State ◽  
Black Liberation ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Black Liberation Theology ◽  
Prophetic Voice ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Church

This article is a reflection on the role and contribution of the church in a democratic South Africa. The involvement of the church in the struggle against apartheid is revisited briefly. The church has played a pivotal and prominent role in bringing about democracy by being a prophetic voice that could not be silenced even in the face of death. It is in this time of democracy when real transformation is needed to take its course in a realistic way, where the presence of the church has probably been latent and where it has assumed an observer status. A look is taken at the dilemmas facing the church. The church should not be bound and taken captive by any form of loyalty to any political organisation at the expense of the poor and the voiceless. A need for cooperation and partnership between the church and the state is crucial at this time. This paper strives to address the role of the church as a prophetic voice in a democratic South Africa. Radical economic transformation, inequality, corruption, and moral decadence—all these challenges hold the potential to thwart our young democracy and its ideals. Black liberation theology concepts are employed to explore how the church can become prophetically relevant in democracy. Suggestions are made about how the church and the state can best form partnerships. In avoiding taking only a critical stance, the church could fulfil its mandate “in season and out of season” and continue to be a prophetic voice on behalf of ordinary South Africans.

(Un)Liberated and Contested Narratives

2019 ◽  
pp. 334-347
Author(s):  
Bongani C Ndhlovu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
The State ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Many ◽  
Contested Narratives

This chapter analyses the influence of the state in shaping museum narratives, especially in a liberated society such as South Africa. It argues that while the notion of social cohesion and nation building is an ideal that many South African museums should strive for, the technocratisation of museum processes has to a degree led to a disregard of the public sphere as a space of open engagement. Secondly, the chapter also looks at the net-effect of museums professionals and boards in the development of their narrative. It argues that due to the nature of their expertise and interests, and the focus on their areas of specialisation, museums may hardly claim to be representative of the many voices they ought to represent. As such, the chapter explores contestations in museum spaces. It partly does so by exploring the notion “free-spokenness” and its limits in museum spaces. To amplify its argument, the chapter uses some exhibitions that generated critical engagements from Iziko Museums of South Africa.

scholarly journals The state of heritage and cultural property policing in England & Wales, France and Italy

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Kerr
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
The State ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
The Public ◽  
The World ◽  
Cultural Economies

Presenting a large threat to irreplaceable heritage, property, cultural knowledge and cultural economies across the world, heritage and cultural property crimes offer case studies through which to consider the challenges, choices and practices that shape 21st-century policing. This article uses empirical research conducted in England & Wales, France and Italy to examine heritage and cultural property policing. It considers the threat before investigating three crucial questions. First, who is involved in this policing? Second, how are they involved in this policing? Third, why are they involved? This last question is the most important and is central to the article as it examines why, in an era of severe economic challenges for the governments in the case studies, the public sector would choose to lead policing.

South Africa: Prophetic Christianity and the Liberation Movement

1991 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Walshe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
The State ◽  
Christian Identity ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Liberation Movement ◽  
Church Affiliation ◽  
Biblical Values

The struggle against racial discrimination in South Africa, as many have argued, is theological as well as political. This is so, in the words of Ben Marais, because ‘Apartheid erodes the very basis of humanity’. It is also because the great majority of South Africans have some Christian identity and church affiliation, yet their faith commitments are heavily conditioned by class interests and particular ideologies. Consequently, prophetic Christianity, in relating biblical values to the analysis of society and the search for justice, has divided Christian communities by confronting the established churches as well as the state.

scholarly journals Governance of the public health sector during Apartheid: The case of South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30
Author(s):  
Melody Brauns ◽  
Anne Stanton
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
The Public ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Official Policy ◽  
National Congress ◽  
Set Up

The healthcare system that the African National Congress (ANC) government inherited in 1994 can hardly be described as functional. Indeed the new government had inherited a combination of deliberate official policy, discriminatory legislation and at times blatant neglect. This paper presents an overview of the evolution of the healthcare system in South Africa. The structures set up under apartheid had implications for provision of public healthcare to South Africans and reveals how governance structures, systems and processes set up during apartheid had implications for the provision of public healthcare to South Africans.

scholarly journals From “life support” to collaborative partnership: A local/global view of academic libraries in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reggie Raju
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
The Public ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Global View ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
K 12

South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy has been labeled a success. The growth in democratic institutions, transformation of the public service, extended basic services, and stabilization of the economy have been used to measure this success. Despite these successes, it is acknowledged that far too many South Africans are trapped in poverty, and South Africa still remains a highly unequal society. A major contributor to poverty and an unequal society is the poor quality of K–12 education for the majority and the continuation of that into higher education.

In the Shadow of the Butcher

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia C. Wells
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
General Public ◽  
Community Members ◽  
The Public ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Wide Gap ◽  
Racial Divide ◽  
Social Healing

The year-long commemoration of the bicentennial of Grahamstown, South Africa, exposed the wide gap between heritage practitioners, broadly defined, and much of the general public in confronting a troubled past. Although experts and a few community members enthusiastically promoted social healing through a variety of creative activities, much of the public retreated from participation. The nature of a full year of commemorative events is significantly different from many other forms of heritage work in South Africa today, because it engages the general public rather than a few select individuals. The Project revealed the still strong racial divide and self-concepts of many South Africans.

Determinants of skills demand in a state- intervening labour market

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 408-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khotso Tsotsotso ◽  
Elizabeth Montshiwa ◽  
Precious Tirivanhu ◽  
Tebogo Fish ◽  
Siyabonga Sibiya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
South African ◽  
The State ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Content Type ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Wage Rates ◽  
The Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the drivers and determinants of skills demand in South Africa, given the country’s history and its current design as a developmental state. Design/methodology/approach In this study, a mixed methods approach is used. The study draws information from in-depth interviews with transport sector stakeholders including employers, professional bodies, sector regulatory bodies and training providers. Complementary to the interviews, the study also analyses employer-reported workplace skills plans from 1,094 transport sector firms updated annually. A Heckman correction model is applied. Findings The study finds that changes in competition, technology, ageing employees, market conditions and government regulations are among the most frequently stated determinants reported through interviews. Using a Heckman regression model, the study identifies eight determining factors, which include location of firm, size of a firm, occupation type, racial and generational transformation, subsector of the firm, skills alignment to National Qualification Framework, reason for skills scarcity and level of skills scarcity reported. The South African transport sector skills demand is therefore mainly driven by the country’s history and consequently its current socio-economic policies as applied by the state itself. Research limitations/implications Wage rates are explored during stakeholder interviews and the study suggests that wage rates are an insignificant determinant of skills demand in the South African transport sector. However, due to poor reporting by firms, wage rates did not form a part of the quantitative analysis of the study. This serves as a limitation of the study. Practical implications Through this research, it is now clear that the state has more determining power (influence) in the transport sector than it was perceived. The state can use its power to be a more effective enabler towards increasing employer participation in skills development of the sector. Social implications With increased understanding and awareness of state’s influence in the sector, the country’s mission to redress the social ills of the former state on black South Africans stands a better chance of success. Private sector resources can be effectively mobilized to improve the social state of previously disadvantaged South Africans. However, given the economic dominance of the private sector and its former role in the apartheid era in South Africa; too much state influence in a supposedly free market can result in corporate resistance and consequently, market failure which can be seen as result of political interference. Originality/value South Africa has had an unprecedented social and economic trajectory to date. This said, its economic and social policies are unlike what we have observed before. Thus, identification of determinants and understanding of mechanisms of influence, on skills demand in the sector in which an African state plays such a close and active role, is in itself a unique contribution to knowledge and compels us to revisit our traditional assumptions about market behaviour. This study is one of the very few of its kind in the labour market research with a South African context.

An Ordinary Country

2010 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 687-690
Author(s):  
Dilip Menon
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
World Cup ◽  
The Public ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media ◽  
Public Imagination

South Africans see themselves as a nation that loves sport, but with the World Cup in football imminent, there appears to be a sense of exhaustion both in the media and among the population. One important reason is that football does not dominate the public imagination of sport, as cricket and rugby do. The game is played and loved in the black townships, the fortunes of African football-playing nations are followed devotedly, and players such as Didier Drogba have a larger-than-life standing in the country. But football has not become a metaphor for the nation, as rugby and cricket have become. Whether this reflects a racial affiliation alone is hard to get at, because the local team, Bafana (which could be genially translated as “the boys”), are eighty-eighth in the FIFA rankings, without a ghost of a chance of winning the Cup, while at rugby and cricket, South Africa are world beaters.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document