tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/south-africa-5995/articlesSouth Africa – The Conversation2024-03-28T15:08:05Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2244172024-03-28T15:08:05Z2024-03-28T15:08:05ZMaking short films is a powerful way to learn job skills: 5 ways it prepares students for work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578598/original/file-20240228-18-mdyusr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Making short films can change the way people learn. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">ASphotowed/iStock/Getty Plus</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world of work is changing all the time. Technology is driving innovation and productivity, leading to the creation of new industries and employment opportunities. This means people need new skills to meet the demands of an ever-changing economy.</p>
<p>While universities can and do equip young people with important skills, tertiary education isn’t available to everyone. This is especially true in a country like South Africa, where <a href="https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/over-one-million-enrolments-expected-public-universities#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CIn%20the%202023%20academic%20year,skills%20areas%2C%E2%80%9D%20Nzimande%20said">about 43% of students</a> in 2023 who qualified to pursue a bachelor’s qualification at university could not because of limited spaces. </p>
<p>Valuable knowledge and skills can also be acquired through non-formal and alternative pathways, however. We are education scholars who ran a pilot project using artistic media to teach important life skills to young adults (18–24 years old). Our project, Myturn, ran in South Africa’s Western Cape province over ten months in 2020. It used simple technology like smartphones and editing software to make short films.</p>
<p>Myturn benefited participants in several ways, as we’ve documented in <a href="https://td-sa.net/index.php/td/article/view/1382">a study</a>. For instance, it honed their communication and teamwork skills. It bolstered their digital skills. It also allowed the students to connect with their communities. This connection, in turn, provided a platform for the communities to witness the participants’ willingness to learn and become change agents, while also allowing them to share their own stories and experiences.</p>
<p>The project showed how short films could be used to change the way people learn. This method meets many needs of young people by combining the learning of soft skills, computer literacy and artistic expression. It gets them ready for the problems of the future – not just ready for work, but also as <a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-can-nurture-students-who-care-about-the-world-four-approaches-that-would-help-them-214172">socially involved people</a>.</p>
<h2>Five main benefits</h2>
<p>Our research paper focused on the perceptions of nine (out of the initial group of 17) Myturn participants. All had completed secondary school. They were involved in various dance, drama, music and visual arts projects when recruited for Myturn and came from semi-rural communities in the Langeberg district of South Africa’s Western Cape province.</p>
<p>In 2020 they found themselves in a transitional phase between jobs, were preparing to enter the workforce for the first time, or were between school and tertiary education. They were also dealing with the effects of the pandemic, which began after we’d launched Myturn. This global crisis created difficulties but was also an opportunity for learning and adaptation. </p>
<p>During the project, participants learned the technology and skills needed to create and produce their own short films.</p>
<p><a href="https://td-sa.net/index.php/td/article/view/1382">Our study</a> identified five ways in which participants benefited from the project. </p>
<p><strong>1. Improved emotional intelligence and soft skills:</strong> </p>
<p>Making short films helps build skills like leadership, teamwork and communication. It pushes young creators to figure out how to work together on complex tasks. This helps team members from different backgrounds understand and care about each other. People learn how to resolve disagreements, make their points clear, and inspire others to work towards a shared goal. These skills are necessary in any professional setting.</p>
<p><strong>2. Improved digital skills and connectivity:</strong></p>
<p>Participants learned how to use software programmes, handle digital content and interact with online groups. They were empowered to offer their skills globally and work remotely and flexibly.</p>
<p><strong>3. Encouraged new ideas and creative ways to solve problems:</strong></p>
<p>Making short films encourages people to try new things and to look at problems from different angles. This way of handling problems creatively makes one <a href="https://en.unesco.org/themes/gced/1974recommendation">more flexible</a>. </p>
<p>As a way to reach their artistic goals, participants learned to make changes and accept loss. This approach is in <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/49ccabb1-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/49ccabb1-en">high demand</a> across various sectors.</p>
<p><strong>4. Supported personalised learning and finding out more about oneself:</strong></p>
<p>Making a short film is a very personal process. It lets people explore themes that are important to them based on their own experiences, interests and goals. Personalising the way people learn reveals their skills, flaws and interests. </p>
<p>One participant, reflecting critically on her role as short film producer in the project, showcased her ownership of learning and the potential for transpersonal growth:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Being able to watch my video back before sending it made me realise how fast I speak and that (I) can come across as unclear, so I worked on speaking slower and I was satisfied with the final product. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Participants became more self-aware and confident. Young adults need help to figure out who they are and what they want to do with their lives. </p>
<p>One told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>When the opportunity came I told myself it’s time to stretch myself and explore my skills.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>5. Made the community more involved and gave people more power:</strong></p>
<p>Making short films is a way to hear opinions that aren’t always heard. A participant said she enjoyed the chance her short film presented “to be able to comment or talk about the issues that everybody is most likely aware of but refuses to publicly speak/comment on”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-introduced-social-entrepreneurship-to-my-trainee-teachers-why-itll-make-them-better-at-their-jobs-197622">I introduced social entrepreneurship to my trainee teachers -- why it'll make them better at their jobs</a>
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<p>Young film-makers can bring attention to problems that matter in their communities by sharing their stories. This can start a conversation and help bring people together. This involvement goes beyond the project. People can be inspired by hearing these stories, which can lead to a shared sense of power and a dedication to making things better.</p>
<h2>What came next</h2>
<p>In the time since the Myturn project, participants have flourished. One was selected for a six-month jewellery design research programme in Belgium. Three more have been accepted for tertiary education; others became involved in education as teaching assistants. One started a media house company with a colleague. Two participants created their own YouTube channels and another started making TikTok reels with her brother. </p>
<p>While the project itself couldn’t guarantee personal change within its informal setting, it did offer significant benefits for some participants: developing critical self-awareness, overcoming cultural and language barriers, and gaining a deeper understanding of themselves. This suggests that meaningful interactions, both in person and online, can equip young people with valuable skills. These skills, like critical thinking and empathy, will be crucial for navigating their future lives and careers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224417/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article is based on my independent research, which did not receive direct funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF). However, I gratefully acknowledge the partial funding support from Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) for dissertation editing and the publication of a collaborative article titled "Nurturing Youth Film Literacy: Post-qualitative Arts-Based Inquiry into Critical Self-Awareness" in the Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zayd Waghid is the current Director of the Global Institute for Teacher Education and Interim Chair in Teacher Education which receives funding through the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) from the National Research Foundation (NRF). He is an executive member of the South African Education Research Association and a Fulbright Scholar.</span></em></p>Making films meets many needs of young people by combining the learning of soft skills, computer literacy and artistic expression.Wendy Smidt, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Global Institute for Teacher Education Society (GITES), Faculty of Education, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyZayd Waghid, Associate professor, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2247522024-03-28T12:17:22Z2024-03-28T12:17:22ZProtected products: what makes lamb from South Africa’s Karoo and France’s Mont Saint-Michel so special<p>A meal or food shopping experience can be more interesting and enjoyable when you know more about a particular product, like what region it came from and the culture that shaped it. Knowing what makes the food “unique” can improve the tasting experience.</p>
<p>Think about drinking an ice-cold glass of <a href="https://www.vindulge.com/what-is-champagne/">“real” Champagne</a> from France or the satisfaction of serving your dinner guests <a href="https://parmacrown.com/why-prosciutto-di-parma/">“Parma ham”</a> from Italy’s Parma region. </p>
<p>In 1994 the World Trade Organisation put in place an agreement on intellectual property (Trips) that had a <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/27-trips_04b_e.htm#3">section</a> on Geographical Indications. This increased the protection of certain products, and extended it to more countries. The rights are territorial – the name of a product can only be used if it is sourced from a designated country or region. All members of the WTO are required to make sure this protection happens in their territories. </p>
<p>As a result of the agreement most countries realised they had food products with unique “backstories”. Examples include: Basmati rice (India and Pakistan); Darjeeling tea (India) and Café de Colombia (Colombia).</p>
<p>African countries have also joined the global Geographical Indication family: there’s <a href="https://www.adams.africa/alissa-naran/poivre-de-penja-cameroons-first-eu-geographical-indication/">Poivre de Penja (Penja pepper) from Cameroon</a>, for example. And in 2021 South Africa registered <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021R0865">Rooibos</a>, a locally grown fragrant plant used to make tea. In 2023 it registered <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202310/49556gon3992.pdf">Karoo lamb</a>. This is meat from lambs born and raised in the Karoo, a semi-desert area of the country which gives it a distinctive flavour.</p>
<p>This means that Karoo lamb has its <a href="https://www.news24.com/fin24/economy/amazing-day-for-sa-karoo-lamb-is-now-protected-just-like-champagne-20231027">own Geographical Indication</a> protection with its own unique story.</p>
<p>There are similarities between the backstories of Karoo lamb and Mont Saint-Michel lamb, also known as <a href="http://www.aop-pressales-montsaintmichel.fr/">Agneau de Prés-salés du Mont-Saint-Michel</a> (salt meadow lamb).</p>
<h2>Lamb: two tales</h2>
<p>The story of France’s Agneau de Prés-salés du Mont-Saint-Michel starts in the vast salt marshes that surround the <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/80/">Mont Saint-Michel abbey, a Unesco World Heritage Site in Normandy, France</a>. The marshes are flooded twice daily by the tides of the English Channel. The sheep that roam these salt meadows feed on a variety of grasses and herbs that impart a distinctive flavour to their meat. </p>
<p>The high saline content of the vegetation, combined with the coastal climate, results in lamb that is tender, succulent, and imbued with the essence of the sea. For centuries the farmers have moved their livestock between different grazing areas seasonally, and during spring and summer the sheep are brought to the salt marshes to graze. In 2013, Mont Saint-Michel lamb was given <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52023XC0526(03)">official recognition</a> as a Protected Geographical Indication under European Union law.</p>
<p>This designation acknowledges the unique characteristics of the lamb produced in the bay area and provides legal protection against imitation or misuse of the name. The <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52023XC0526%2803%29&qid=1709802332744">status</a> ensures that Mont Saint-Michel lamb can only be produced within the designated geographical area and according to specific production criteria outlined in the official regulations. </p>
<p>South Africa’s Karoo lamb story has echoes of this.</p>
<p>The Karoo covers <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Karoo-region-in-South-Africa-KMOO-2016a_fig1_320066652">almost 50%</a> of the total area of South Africa and is sparsely populated, far away from major urban and distribution centres. This lonely corner of the earth is home to one of South Africa’s living treasures: flocks of sheep, grazing freely among the scattered shrubs. Their meat is spiced on the hoof as the sheep feed on wild vegetation. </p>
<p>Karoo lamb Geographical Indication can now be traced to its own “salt marshes”, in this case the Karoo’s unique shrubs and grasses (“veld”). According to <a href="https://www.greengazette.co.za/notices/agricultural-product-standards-act-119-1990-registration-of-karoo-lamb-karoo-lam-as-a-south-african-geographical-indication-gi_20231027-GGN-49556-03992">the statement</a> giving it this special status: </p>
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<p>It is only Karoo Lamb when it is a lamb which was born and raised on Karoo veld in the defined Karoo region. It has never been in a feedlot, and never grazed on planted pastures. </p>
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<h2>Compliance</h2>
<p>Trading these authentic products outside the region of origin and beyond national borders brings into play a host of problems. These include traceability, labelling and consumers being misled. Protecting the reputation and authenticity of these products needs to be done with great care and precision. </p>
<p>Most high value products with intrinsic value lose their reputation through misappropriation, usurpation and simple fraudulent and counterfeit practices. This is why some form of assurance is critical to protect the value of the product.</p>
<p>Rigorous traceability systems are needed to ensure compliance and to provide the necessary consumer assurance. The regional collective organisation, the <a href="https://www.karoolamb.org/">Karoo Lamb Consortium</a>, tries to ensure the integrity and honesty of all role players – from the farmer to the retailer to the restaurateur.</p>
<p>There are nevertheless opportunities for opportunistic behaviour, dishonesty, shirking and plain food fraud. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>farmers who market feedlot or pasture lamb as Karoo lamb </p></li>
<li><p>abattoirs that source from farms outside the region </p></li>
<li><p>butchers who don’t confirm the origin but sell it as Karoo lamb</p></li>
<li><p>restaurateurs who tell the naive tourist that the lamb on the plate is from the Karoo when it is actually sourced from a feedlot far away from the Karoo.</p></li>
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<p>Fortunately science can detect the origin of lamb through analysis of the meat and fat. In a 2017 <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814617307094">paper</a> researchers showed it was possible to authenticate the origin. Their results showed clearly that fat from Karoo lamb had a higher concentration of key terpenes, validating the direct link with the herbaceous plant samples. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-true-what-a-sheep-eats-affects-the-taste-of-your-lamb-roast-51877">It's true: what a sheep eats affects the taste of your lamb roast</a>
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<p>Overall, the analysis shows considerable differences between the Karoo and non-Karoo samples.</p>
<p>This research was followed by an extensive exercise to develop a database for more regions and sub-regions in the Karoo. Scientists can now easily analyse samples from retail shelves and confirm the authenticity of claims on labels. </p>
<p>These techniques have been <a href="https://oritain.com/">successfully applied</a> to protect the authenticity of Welsh lamb and New Zealand lamb.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224752/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Johann Kirsten is affiliated with the "Karoo Lamb Consortium".. </span></em></p>Meat from sheep that graze in South Africa’s Karoo and France’s Mont Saint-Michel lamb is deemed special.Johann Kirsten, Director of the Bureau for Economic Research, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2245532024-03-26T16:03:55Z2024-03-26T16:03:55ZZulu culture and sexual orientation: South African study reveals the health costs of stigma<p>Same-sex relationships are legal in South Africa and <a href="https://www.concourt.org.za/index.php/gay-and-lesbian-rights">protected</a> by the constitution. Unfair discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is against the law. </p>
<p>But in practice many cultures don’t necessarily see this as a right.</p>
<p>Traditional Zulu culture, for example, perceives same-sex relationships and sexual intercourse as taboo and <a href="https://njas.fi/njas/article/view/185">unAfrican</a>. Statements like <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0146167209338072?casa_token=3Nlm_dy4VSAAAAAA:tsFKGVDS7M-aA6S7bf0WSEMP79fpblscX-UsoJ6oXi_G-VBMMicAAQVwROuOrvzsMm4JYDfjNu0CLdQ">“real men are not gay”</a> indicate some people’s ideas about masculinity and sexuality. </p>
<p>These cultural norms have profoundly negative effects on Zulu men who have sex with men.</p>
<p>This abuse often triggers <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5843994/">depression, suicide and drug abuse</a>. </p>
<p>As a public health specialist with an interest in marginalised groups, I conducted <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/full/10.31920/2634-3649/2023/v13n1a2">research</a> looking into the role Zulu culture plays in discouraging men who have sex with men from accessing healthcare. </p>
<p>Stigma rooted in cultural beliefs was rife and many of the men we interviewed were too afraid to go to a health clinic.</p>
<p>This research is a tool for policymakers to use to ensure better healthcare for marginalised communities.</p>
<h2>How we went about our study</h2>
<p>In South Africa, men who have sex with men are categorised as a <a href="https://southafrica.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl1136/files/documents/KeypopPolicybrief.pdf">key population</a>, a vulnerable group more likely to get sexually transmitted infections, due to their socio-economic isolation. </p>
<p>Our study participants were living in <a href="http://umlazi.co.za/what-is-the-population-of-umlazi/">Umlazi</a>, an urban area of least 400,000 inhabitants in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The province is the home of the Zulu monarchy and the majority of Zulu people – the largest ethnic group in South Africa. More than <a href="https://www.worlddata.info/languages/zulu.php">13 million</a> people speak isiZulu as their first language. </p>
<p>Many Zulu people forced from “<a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/umlazi">white” towns</a> during apartheid ended up in Umlazi. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666154323000728#:%7E:text=The%20mushrooming%20of%20informal%20settlements,Isipingo%2C%20Amanzimtoti%2C%20and%20Jacobs.&text=Fig.,1.">Informal settlements</a> have also mushroomed around Umlazi as those desperate for work flock to urban areas in search of jobs. </p>
<p>In our study we interviewed 25 participants, men who have sex with men, between the ages of 21 and 55. They were representative of different areas of KwaZulu-Natal as they had roots in Ulundi, Nongoma, uPhongolo, eDumbe and Vryheid. </p>
<p>They shared their experiences in a very emotional way. They described how they were frequently forced to conceal their sexual orientation to avoid being rejected or discriminated against. Study participants were representative of different areas of KwaZulu-Natal as they had roots in Ulundi, Nongoma, uPhongolo, eDumbe and Vryheid. </p>
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<p>Culture is very stigmatising, discriminatory, and depriving. I grew up in a community where people see same-sex relationships as culturally taboo, so tell me, how would you come out in such a community? People create culture; instead of discriminating against same-sex relationships, these same people must accept and embrace them as cultural norms. (Funani) </p>
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<p>For some participants, the traditional rite of passage from boyhood to manhood at the age of 21 was a source of alienation and pain.</p>
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<p>At the age of 21 you are celebrated as a man in the Zulu culture … you are dressed like a Zulu warrior with skin, a spear, and a shield. I was deprived of this because they said I am not a man. … I became sick because of this and was admitted to the hospital for weeks. I almost lost my life because I was deprived of my rights. (Linda) </p>
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<p>Yet another participant spoke about his experiences of not being accepted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I don’t care about culture because the culture has let me down as a gay man. Culture does not respect me … I would have killed myself in the more conservative rural areas because the culture does not accept me. I have suffered so many mental health crises because of this. (Sanele) </p>
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<h2>‘I could hear them laughing’</h2>
<p>The men consistently cited fear of discrimination and a lack of understanding among healthcare providers as reasons they avoided health clinics. </p>
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<p>I went to my local clinic because I had a sexually transmitted infection and needed care. When being attended to by the nurse, I was asked some silly questions that did not feel like they were taking my medical history. Then I was reprimanded about my sexuality as being culturally wrong and needing to change, which made me decide never to use my local clinic again. (Lindani) </p>
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<p>Most of the participants related to these experiences.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I had a sexually transmitted infection and went to my local clinic for medical care. Getting there, a nurse attended to me, and during the section, she walked away to a separate room, where she went to tell other nurses about me. I could hear them laughing. I took my bags and left the clinic and never went back. (Siyanda) </p>
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<p>The impact on the men’s health could be critical:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I would rather die with my sickness than use such facilities. (Anele) </p>
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<p>Another said:</p>
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<p>Due to my outfit I was kept in the queue for a long time, and when I was finally attended to, the nurse asked me if I am male or female. I respectfully answered her, and she called her other colleagues to make fun of me. (Solomon)</p>
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<h2>Cultural sensitivity</h2>
<p>Collaboration with cultural influencers and community leaders is essential to protect the rights of men who have sex with men while honouring cultural values. </p>
<p>Such interventions should be culturally appropriate, holding in esteem and respecting the Zulu traditions and values, as well as embracing the full spectrum of health matters encountered by men who have sex with men. </p>
<p>Similarly, healthcare providers should receive training to support this community and establish discrimination-free healthcare environments. </p>
<p>Efforts such as these would promote inclusivity and healthcare access for all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224553/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ikekhwa Albert Ikhile does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Same-sex relationships in Zulu culture are perceived as taboo and unAfrican. Some men who have sex with men avoid seeking care at health clinics.Ikekhwa Albert Ikhile, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of South AfricaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2244152024-03-24T08:45:39Z2024-03-24T08:45:39ZParents who believe their children can have a better future are more likely to read and play with them – South African study<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581072/original/file-20240311-30-um21gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C330%2C3020%2C2319&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Both children and parents benefit from daily play and reading activities.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">iThemba Projects</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every day, a small group of women make their way through the community of Sweetwaters, near the South African city of Pietermaritzburg, with bags of toys and books. They work as home mentors supporting families who signed up for an early childhood development intervention. They swap puzzles and stories and provide resourceful activities for children and caregivers. Even the older siblings often sit and join the stories and games.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.unicef.org/southafrica/press-releases/more-40-cent-households-surveyed-have-no-books-home">An estimated 40% of homes</a> in South Africa do not have children’s books, according to Unicef data. In Sweetwaters, my research team has found (and reports in a forthcoming academic article), that number gets up to 83%.</p>
<p>Two decades ago a non-profit organisation, <a href="https://ithembaprojects.com/">iThemba</a> Projects, was established to partner with the community of Sweetwaters to provide opportunities for education and mentoring. (The word <em>ithemba</em> means “hope” in the predominant local language, isiZulu.) </p>
<p>The organisation’s child development intervention focuses on getting parents to read to, play with and talk to their children, whether newborn or already in school. The organisation believes that if it could change parents’ beliefs about children’s potential, this would instil hope in a community with the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7498647/">highest HIV</a> infection rates in the world, <a href="https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0211/Presentation%20QLFS%20Q2%202023.pdf">high unemployment</a>, and <a href="https://ilifalabantwana.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/SA-ECR_2019_12_09_2019_online_pages.pdf">low access</a> to early childhood education. </p>
<p>iThemba’s approach is in line with what’s long been established by developmental psychology researchers: that playing and reading time <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20150183">in early childhood</a> has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjac036">long-lasting</a> positive effects. </p>
<p>In a recent <a href="https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s10826-022-02334-w?sharing_token=ElJRvEtUkzhqY_-TM1069_e4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY7InKGn6fXK64EbylCyxWRnGZzkr3-N2HoxUUB3Zku3fdZZFZegNXjJckpI494qGEo2LonQRaxOZWFh7kQ4EOMbgbQ5MaaaMrqzZejVjipnxpkpG0NieK7WL7D9wEOjDOc%3D">collaborative paper</a> involving my research team from the US and iThemba, we set out to understand how parental beliefs and behaviours changed throughout the intervention and what best explained their progress. </p>
<p>We know that playing and reading are parenting practices that positively influence children throughout their lives. But how can non-profits support parents in high adversity contexts? How long does it take to change parenting habits? And what are the necessary preconditions? </p>
<p>We used programme data from between 2019 and 2021 to answer these questions. We found that length of time in the programme before the pandemic influenced how much reading and playing happened during the 2020 COVID lockdown. We also found that parents who believed their children could have a better future than them were more likely to read and play with them. </p>
<h2>What the research found</h2>
<p>As part of iThemba’s programme, 157 homes were visited every two weeks by mentors – most of whom live in the community – for up to two years. The mentors tracked caregivers’ reading and playing behaviours on every visit and parents reported on their support system and beliefs about children every six months. The programme encourages parents to engage in some reading and play behaviours every day.</p>
<p>The best predictors for parental reading and playing were the amount of time people spent in the programme, whether they had friends they could depend on, and how hopeful they were about their child’s future.</p>
<p>South Africa had <a href="https://www.news24.com/citypress/news/timeline-a-look-back-at-the-past-two-years-of-lockdown-20220323">several strict lockdowns</a> during the pandemic. The programme paused from March 2020 until November that year, then home visits resumed with masks and outside. </p>
<p>The pandemic disrupted the rhythms of most households and was especially stressful for those with young children. But the families who had been in the programme for at least a year before the onset of COVID were most likely to continue reading and playing with their children during the pandemic. Moreover, the parents who reported having people they could count on to help with childcare were more likely to read and play.</p>
<p>When the programme restarted in November those same families were more hopeful than those who had not had much time in the programme before the first lockdown. As a psychology researcher who studies <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36532158/">virtuous hope</a>, I found this aspect especially striking. </p>
<p>Virtuous hope is morally driven. It is the desire for a better future that serves a common good, rather than hope for personal success or fame; it often involves personal sacrifice and long-term thinking. Even after accounting for programme engagement and support systems, parents who believed – and hoped – their children could have a better future were more likely to read and play even when their daily lives were altered by something as disruptive as a global pandemic.</p>
<h2>Slow but sustainable</h2>
<p>However, neither hopefulness nor childhood development can occur in a vacuum. The work of iThemba Projects in Sweetwaters suggests that a relationally-driven home visitation programme is a necessary catalyst. Unlike many other interventions, this one is focused on relationship building. It expects change to happen over two years rather than over the course of a weekend-long seminar. It recognises that parents and caregivers need support, not just information.</p>
<p>The parenting changes being measured are slow, yet sustainable. Caregivers slowly built habits of playing and reading with their children and reported higher beliefs that these practices were important for child development. Most <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.671988/full">existing parenting</a> interventions in low and middle income countries are less than 12 sessions. Psychology is filled with micro-interventions, focusing efforts on brief workshops. However, we typically saw stable family improvements only after six months to one year (25 sessions). This should not be surprising. Forming new habits, establishing a support system, and building hope take time.</p>
<p>Hope cannot be studied in a vacuum. Nor can it be divorced from the human drive for the betterment of one’s community. This kind of hope cannot be quickly cultivated. It is sown through repeated visits, long-term family-community partnerships, and colourful children’s books.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224415/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kendra Thomas receives funding from the John Templeton Foundation.</span></em></p>Neither hopefulness nor childhood development can occur in a vacuum. Strong relational bonds matter, too.Kendra Thomas, Associate Professor of Psychology, Hope CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2261352024-03-21T14:40:20Z2024-03-21T14:40:20ZThis is how President Ramaphosa got to the 25% figure of progress in land reform in South Africa<p>Nearly three decades into democracy, land reform remains central to South Africa’s transformation policies and agricultural policy. </p>
<p>We have over the years pointed out that the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/37171/chapter/323739043?login=true">progress on land reform has been incorrectly reported</a>. It’s been consistently understated.</p>
<p>We have argued that, if the statistics are treated carefully, the progress has been much better than politicians and activists often claim.</p>
<p>We were encouraged earlier this year when South African president Cyril Ramaphosa <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5d28EqZ-t8">acknowledged</a> in his <a href="https://www.parliament.gov.za/state-nation-address-president-cyril-ramaphosa-8-february-2024">State of the Nation address</a> that there had been better progress in land reform. The commonly cited argument is that land reform has been a failure and that only 8%-10% of farmland has been returned to black South Africans since apartheid ended in 1994.</p>
<p>Ramaphosa stated that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Through redistribution, around 25% of farmland in our country is now owned by black South Africans, bringing us closer to achieving our target of 30% by 2030.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This figure is based on an update of <a href="https://theconversation.com/land-reform-in-south-africa-5-myths-about-farming-debunked-195045">our work</a> at the Bureau of Economics Research and the Department of Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University.</p>
<p>Below we provide a detailed explanation of how we arrived at this figure. We also highlight policies the government can use to fast track the land reform programme to ensure that black farmers become central to a growing, and inclusive agricultural sector.</p>
<h2>Land reform data</h2>
<p>In reviewing the progress with land reform we should be mindful that the land reform programme consist of three elements (refer to <a href="https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/saconstitution-web-eng.pdf">Section 25 of the constitution</a>: redistribution, restitution and tenure reform.</p>
<p>Substantive progress has only been made in the land redistribution space and through the process of land restitution managed by the <a href="https://nationalgovernment.co.za/units/view/62/commission-on-restitution-of-land-rights">Land Claims Commission</a>.</p>
<p>The progress of land reform can only be tracked where we have surveyed land, and land with title deeds registered. Even then it is tricky as the title deeds do not record the “race” of the registered owner.</p>
<p>To understand the progress with land reform it is important to start from the correct base. How much farm land is in question here? </p>
<p>In 1994, total farm land with title deeds (thus outside what the apartheid government set aside for black people) covered <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-land-reform-agency-could-break-south-africas-land-redistribution-deadlock-165450">77.58 million hectares of the total surface area of South Africa of 122 million hectares</a>. It is assumed, merely by the fact that black ownership of farm land in South Africa was not possible before 1991, that all <a href="https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/37171/chapter/323739043">77.58 million hectares were owned by white farmers when land reform was initiated in 1994</a>.</p>
<p>Let us now unpack the progress with land reform based on the various data sources.</p>
<h2>Land restitution</h2>
<p>The land restitution process involves the restoration of land rights to black communities who lost their (registered and legally owned) farm land as a result of various forms of dispossession introduced by the apartheid-era governments after 1913.</p>
<p>Through the process of land claims, the Land Claims Commission has transferred 4 million hectares back to communities who previously were dispossessed (Source: various annual reports of the Land Claims Commission). </p>
<p>What’s missing from this calculation is the fact that communities have also been able to elect to receive financial compensation instead of obtaining the formal rights to the land.</p>
<p>Over the years a total of R22 billion (about US$1.1 billion) was paid out in financial compensation (Source: various annual reports of the Land Claims Commission). The commission never reported the number of hectares for which financial compensation was paid out for. It took some work by us to get the number of hectares of farmland involved in financial compensation from the commission, and it has now been confirmed that a total of 2.68 million hectares have been restored in this way.</p>
<p>That means that, in total, the restitution programme managed to restore the land rights of black communities equivalent to 6.68 million hectares.</p>
<h2>Land redistribution</h2>
<p>For the first 10 years of the land reform programme the government applied a market assisted programme of land redistribution based on the <a href="https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/2537/Kirsten_Approaches(1999).pdf?sequence=1">willing-buyer-willing-seller principle</a>. Government grants assisted the purchase of the land by groups or individual beneficiaries. </p>
<p>These initiatives resulted in the transfer of 7.55 million hectares of farm land to black South Africans (Source: Various annual reports by Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to parliament). This is probably where the stubbornness of the 10% figure came from. People have focused only on the one dimension of the land reform programme.</p>
<p>One element of redistributive land reform that is usually ignored is the private acquisition of farmland by Black South Africans outside the formal government assisted processes. Here individuals have used their own resources or financial arrangements with commercial banks or the <a href="https://landbank.co.za/Pages/Home.aspx">Land Bank</a> through which they fund the purchase farm land. </p>
<p>The only way you can find the exact number of these deals is to comb through every land transaction and, based on the surnames of the seller and buyer, confirm that the land was transferred from White to Black.</p>
<p>The Bureau of Economic Research at Stellenbosch University estimated that since 1994 a total of 1.9 million hectares of farm land were acquired by black South Africans without the assistance of the state. This might even be an undercount because some surnames such as Van Wyk, Van Rooyen, and even Schoeman do not necessary belong to white South Africans, and then there are many transactions to proprietary limited companies that are majority black owned but with typical names that would resemble an Afrikaans name such as Sandrift Boerdery. These are not picked-up in these searches.</p>
<h2>Government acquisition</h2>
<p>Our final source of the data is the farmland acquired by the state. The first is via the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-government-has-been-buying-land-and-leasing-it-to-black-farmers-why-its-gone-wrong-and-how-to-fix-it-211938#:%7E:text=By%20June%202023%2C%20the%20state,to%20the%20leasing%20of%20land.">PLAS</a>) that was introduced in 2006 after dissatisfaction with the earlier land reform efforts.</p>
<p>By August 2023, the state had acquired 2.54 million hectares of productive farmland through the programme and lease it out to beneficiaries. The <a href="https://www.gtac.gov.za/pepa/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ALHA-Spending-Review-Report.pdf">State Land Holding Account Entity</a> is the custodian of this land.</p>
<p>Most of the roughly 2500 beneficiaries have a 30-year lease agreement with the state.</p>
<p>In addition, state owned enterprises and provincial governments have also acquired farmland which is now used for non-agricultural purposes. A total of 630 000 hectares have been acquired over the last 30 years.</p>
<h2>Getting to 25%</h2>
<p>If we now add all the numbers together:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Restitution: 6.68 million ha</p></li>
<li><p>Government Land redistribution: 7.55 million ha</p></li>
<li><p>Private transactions: 1.9 million ha</p></li>
<li><p>Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy programme: 2.54 million ha</p></li>
<li><p>Government acquisition for non-agricultural use: 0.63 million ha</p></li>
</ul>
<p>This gives a total of 19.3 million ha or 24.9% of the total of all freehold farmland in South Africa. The correct way to word the statement on the progress of with land reform since 1994 is therefore as follows:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Almost 25% of all farm land previously owned by white land owners have been restored, redistributed to black South Africans or moved away to state ownership.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This does not say anything about the financial and commercial viability of the land that was transferred and doesn’t speak to the fast tracking of the land reform programme to bring about a just, equitable and inclusive commercial agricultural sector. Here we need more specific policy interventions.</p>
<h2>Policy considerations</h2>
<p>There are vast tracts of land within the government books that could be transferred to black South Africans for the benefit of agricultural progress and land reform success. The government should consider the following steps:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Establishing a <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-land-reform-agency-could-break-south-africas-land-redistribution-deadlock-165450">Land Reform and Agricultural Development Agency</a>. It would primarily be responsible for land registration and transfer under the redistribution programme. It could operate under the <a href="https://landbank.co.za/About-Us/Key%20Policies/1.%20Land%20Bank%20Act.pdf">Land Bank Act</a>, effectively execute the government policy, and deal with beneficiary selection.</p></li>
<li><p>The government’s <a href="https://www.greenagri.org.za/blog/blended-finance-scheme/">Blended Finance programme</a>, in collaboration with the <a href="https://www.gcis.gov.za/sites/default/files/docs/resourcecentre/newsletters/issues.pdf">development finance institutions</a> and other financial institutions, should provide financial support to the selected beneficiaries.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226135/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Johann Kirsten does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Almost 25% of all farmland previously owned by white landowners has been restored, redistributed to black South Africans, or moved away to state ownership.Johann Kirsten, Director of the Bureau for Economic Research, Stellenbosch UniversityWandile Sihlobo, Senior Fellow, Department of Agricultural Economics, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2259122024-03-15T13:28:50Z2024-03-15T13:28:50ZUndersea cables for Africa’s internet retrace history and leave digital gaps as they connect continents<p><em>Large parts of west and central Africa, as well as some countries in the south of the continent, were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/14/much-of-west-and-central-africa-without-internet-after-undersea-cable-failures">left without internet services</a> on 14 March because of failures on four of the fibre optic cables that run below the world’s oceans. Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Ghana, Burkina Faso and South Africa were among the worst affected. By midday on 15 March the problem had not been resolved. Microsoft <a href="https://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/528961-massive-undersea-cable-outage-fix-delayed-says-microsoft.html">warned its customers</a> that there was a delay in repairing the cables. South Africa’s News24 <a href="https://www.news24.com/fin24/economy/nine-undersea-cables-make-the-internet-work-in-sa-four-are-currently-damaged-20240315">reported</a> that, while the cause of the damage had not been confirmed, it was believed that “the cables snapped in shallow waters near the Ivory Coast, where fishing vessels are likely to operate”.</em></p>
<p><em>Jess Auerbach Jahajeeah, an associate professor at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, is currently writing a book on fibre optic cables and digital connectivity. She spent time in late 2023 aboard the ship whose crew is responsible for maintaining most of Africa’s undersea network. She spoke to The Conversation Africa about the importance of these cables.</em></p>
<h2>1. What’s the geographical extent of Africa’s current undersea network?</h2>
<p>Fibre optic cables now literally encircle Africa, though some parts of the continent are far better connected than others. This is because both public and private organisations have made major investments in the past ten years. </p>
<p>Based on <a href="https://www.submarinecablemap.com/">an interactive map</a> of fibre optic cables, it’s clear that South Africa is in a relatively good position. When the breakages happened, the network was affected for a few hours before the internet traffic was rerouted; a technical process that depends both on there being alternative routes available and corporate agreements in place to enable the rerouting. It’s the same as driving using a tool like Google Maps. If there’s an accident on the road it finds another way to get you to your destination. </p>
<p>But, in several African countries – including Sierra Leone and Liberia – most of the cables don’t have spurs (the equivalent of off-ramps on the road), so only one fibre optic cable actually comes into the country. Internet traffic from these countries basically <a href="https://blog.cloudflare.com/undersea-cable-failures-cause-internet-disruptions-across-africa-march-14-2024">stops when the cable breaks</a>. </p>
<p>Naturally that has huge implications for every aspect of life, business and even politics. Whilst some communication can be rerouted via satellites, satellite traffic accounts for <a href="https://blog.telegeography.com/2023-mythbusting-part-3">only about 1% of digital transmissions globally</a>. Even with interventions such as satellite-internet distribution service <a href="https://www.starlink.com/">Starlink</a> it’s still much slower and much more expensive than the connection provided by undersea cables. </p>
<p>Basically all internet for regular people relies on fibre optic cables. Even landlocked countries rely on the network, because they have agreements with countries with landing stations – highly-secured buildings close to the ocean where the cable comes up from underground and is plugged into terrestrial systems. For example southern Africa’s internet comes largely through connections in Melkbosstrand, just outside Cape Town, and <a href="https://www.submarinenetworks.com/en/stations/africa/south-africa/mtunzini-cls">Mtunzini</a> in northern KwaZulu-Natal, both in South Africa. Then it’s routed overland to various neighbours. </p>
<p>Each fibre optic cable is extremely expensive to build and to maintain. Depending on the technical specifications (cables can have more or fewer fibre threads and enable different speeds for digital traffic) there are complex legal agreements in place for who is responsible for which aspects of maintenance.</p>
<h2>2. What prompted you to write a book about the social history of fibre optic cables in Africa?</h2>
<p>I first visited Angola in 2011 to start work for <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781487524333/from-water-to-wine/">my PhD project</a>. The internet was all but non-existent – sending an email took several minutes at the time. Then I went back in 2013, after the <a href="https://www.submarinenetworks.com/en/systems/brazil-africa/sacs">South Atlantic Cable System</a> went into operation. It made an incredible difference: suddenly Angola’s digital ecosystem was up and running and everybody was online. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-our-wi-fi-world-the-internet-still-depends-on-undersea-cables-49936">In our Wi-Fi world, the internet still depends on undersea cables</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>At the time I was working on social mobility and how people in Angola were improving their lives after <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/angolan-civil-war-1975-2002-brief-history">a long war</a>. Unsurprisingly, having digital access made all sorts of things possible that simply weren’t imaginable before. I picked up my interest again once I was professionally established, and am now writing it up as a book, <a href="https://stias.ac.za/2022/03/when-a-cable-is-not-just-a-cable-fellows-seminar-by-jess-auerbach/">Capricious Connections</a>. The title refers to the fact that the cables wouldn’t do anything if it wasn’t for the infrastructure that they plug into at various points. </p>
<p>Landing centres such as Sangano in Angola are fascinating both because of what they do technically (connecting and routing internet traffic all over the country) and because they often highlight the complexities of <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad582-digital-divide-who-in-africa-is-connected-and-who-is-not/">the digital divide</a>. </p>
<p>For example, Sangano is a remarkable high tech facility run by an incredibly competent and socially engaged company, Angola Cables. Yet the school a few hundred metres from the landing station still doesn’t have electricity. </p>
<p>When we think about the digital divide in Africa, that’s often <a href="https://www.bmz-digital.global/en/datacolonialism-double-interview/">still the reality</a>: you can bring internet everywhere but if there’s no infrastructure, skills or frameworks to make it accessible, it can remain something abstract even for those who live right beside it.</p>
<p>In terms of history, fibre optic cables follow all sorts of fascinating global precedents. The 2012 cable that connected one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other is laid almost exactly <a href="https://www.slavevoyages.org/blog/volume-and-direction-trans-atlantic-slave-trade">over the route of the transatlantic slave trade</a>, for example. Much of the basic cable map is layered over the routes of the <a href="https://notevenpast.org/to-rule-the-waves-britains-cable-empire-and-the-birth-of-global-communications/">copper telegraph network</a> that was essential for the British empire in the 1800s.</p>
<p>Most of Africa’s cables are maintained at sea by the remarkable crew of the ship Léon Thévenin. I <a href="https://mg.co.za/africa/2023-11-27-down-to-the-wire-the-ship-fixing-our-internet/">joined them</a> in late 2023 during a repair operation off the coast of Ghana. These are uniquely skilled artisans and technicians who retrieve and repair cables, sometimes from depths of multiple kilometres under the ocean. </p>
<p>When I spent time with the crew last year, they recounted once accidentally retrieving a section of Victorian-era cable when they were trying to “catch” a much more recent fibre optic line. (Cables are retrieved in many ways; one way is with a grapnel-like hook that is dragged along the ocean bed in roughly the right location until it snags the cable.)</p>
<p>There are some very interesting questions emerging now about what is commonly called <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo216184200.html?trk=public_post_comment-text">digital colonialism</a>. In an environment where data is often referred to with terms like “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nishatalagala/2022/03/02/data-as-the-new-oil-is-not-enough-four-principles-for-avoiding-data-fires/?sh=23be1821c208">the new oil</a>”, we’re seeing an important change in digital infrastructure. </p>
<p>Previously cables were usually financed by a combination of public and private sector partnerships, but now big private companies such as Alphabet, Meta and Huawei are increasingly financing cable infrastructure. That has serious implications for control and monitoring of digital infrastructure. </p>
<p>Given we all depend so much on digital tools, poorer countries often have little choice but to accept the terms and conditions of wealthy corporate entities. That’s potentially incredibly dangerous for African digital sovereignty, and is something we should be seeing a lot more public conversation about.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225912/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jess Auerbach Jahajeeah receives funding from the Stellenbosch Institute of Advanced Study where she is an Iso Lomso Fellow, the National Research Foundation of South Africa and the UCT Vice Chancellor’s Future Leaders Program. </span></em></p>Fibre optic cables now literally encircle Africa, though some parts of the continent are far better connected than others.Jess Auerbach Jahajeeah, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2253022024-03-13T14:22:57Z2024-03-13T14:22:57ZFinancial abuse from an intimate partner? Three ways you can protect yourself<p><a href="https://www.divorcelaws.co.za/what-is-financial-abuse.html">Financial abuse</a> occurs when one person takes control over another person’s ability to acquire, use and maintain financial resources. An example is being denied access to your own funds or being forced to deposit your salary into a joint bank account but not having access to the account. It could also take place when large withdrawals are made from joint bank accounts without any explanation. </p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.isdj.org.za/">Institute for Social Development and Justice</a>, a South African non-profit company, financial abuse can vary and change shape or form but happens when access to economic opportunities is controlled or limited by an intimate partner. </p>
<p>This can happen when your partner withholds financial information or hides money from you. Another example is when your partner refuses to allow you to work, thereby controlling your ability to earn an income. Or being coerced into paying for most of the household expenses when you earn less than your partner. Alternatively, it can happen when the abuser racks up debt on a credit card, knowing the card is not in their name. </p>
<p>South Africa’s <a href="https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/acts/2021-014.pdf">Domestic Violence Act</a> identifies financial abuse as a criminal act. Several other African countries, such as Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe also recognise it to be a criminal offence. But it remains largely unprosecuted.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, financial abuse is not a new problem. Over the years, my <a href="https://researchprofiles.canberra.edu.au/en/persons/bomikazi-zeka">research</a> has found that the proper use of financial services can help those in disadvantaged situations to turn income into wealth. But when money is entangled with relationships, it can become a tricky situation to navigate. </p>
<p>Financial abuse can happen to anyone, irrespective of age, gender, marital status, employment status or income levels. When financial abuse occurs, it is women who are more likely to see their financial security threatened should the dynamics in a relationship take a turn for the worse. Women are more likely to experience financial abuse since it can happen in tandem with <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10896-023-00639-y">other forms of abuse</a>. </p>
<p>When you know the signs, you can put the following three measures in place to increase your financial safety: prevent, prepare and protect. </p>
<h2>Prevent</h2>
<p>Knowing your partner’s financial history is an important starting point in preventing financial abuse. Ask about how they have managed their debt in the past (and how they got into it in the first place) or whether they are actively saving money. </p>
<p>Broaching the money-talk conversation is difficult but this information should give you insight into their past financial behaviours which could influence and explain future financial behaviours. </p>
<p>Another strategy in prevention is asking about their attitudes towards money in relationships. For instance, do they believe that gender roles influence who manages money? Engaging in this topic early can also help you set boundaries about how money is managed within the relationship. </p>
<h2>Prepare</h2>
<p>Learning the signs of financial abuse can help you be prepared. If you suspect that financial abuse is beginning to emerge then keep close tabs on it by documenting all the evidence. This is important because an abuser may gaslight you into thinking you’re exaggerating, especially when the signs are subtle. Document as much evidence as you can and ensure you have copies of all important legal documents as this will help you, should you require legal assistance. </p>
<p>If you don’t already have one, speak to a financial advisor about how you can protect your finances and assets. </p>
<h2>Protect</h2>
<p>As far as possible, keep an independent source of income as this reduces any likelihood of dependency on a partner. Financial dependency can lead to feelings of isolation and hopelessness, which makes it more difficult to leave an abuser because they control the finances. </p>
<p>Another way you can protect your financial position is by making sure you don’t sign any documents you don’t understand. Often abusers will acquire financial assets in their partner’s name and leave them with the financial burden of the repayments, thereby entrapping them through debt. </p>
<h2>Getting help</h2>
<p>While the measures outlined here are not exhaustive, they are a good starting point to think about when your finances are merged with someone else’s. </p>
<p>If you are concerned about your financial safety, there are ways to get help. FIDA-Kenya, a women’s rights organisation in Kenya, offers <a href="https://www.fida-kenya.org/">free legal aid</a>. In Nigeria, the Women at Risk International Foundation operates a 24-hour confidential toll-free <a href="https://warifng.org/contact-us/">helpline</a>. </p>
<p>You can access free counselling from a social worker via the South African Department of Social Development’s <a href="https://gbv.org.za/about-us/">website</a>, which provides a call centre facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The call centre operates an emergency line number on 0800 428 428. You can visit the <a href="https://thewarriorproject.org.za/helplines/">website</a> of the Warrior Project, a non-profit organisation, for more information on helplines and resources.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225302/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bomikazi Zeka does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When money is entangled with relationships, it can often become a tricky situation.Bomikazi Zeka, Assistant Professor in Finance and Financial Planning, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2254332024-03-12T14:30:38Z2024-03-12T14:30:38ZIs my water safe to drink? Expert advice for residents of South African cities<p><em>In early March 2024 the residents of Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city and the economic capital of the country, were hit <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J57luR-r_R8">by extended cuts in water supplies</a>. This was a new low after months of <a href="https://theconversation.com/johannesburgs-water-crisis-is-getting-worse-expert-explains-why-the-taps-keep-running-dry-in-south-africas-biggest-city-223926">continuous deterioration</a>. Professor in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand Craig Sheridan sets out the risks this poses to drinking water in the city.</em> </p>
<h2>What can get into my water that will make me sick?</h2>
<p>Two things. </p>
<p>You can have chemicals in the water that are toxic, or you can have pathogenic organisms which can make you ill. These lead to different diseases and have different treatment strategies. </p>
<p>As a general rule, South Africa’s water works are able to remove almost all chemicals such that the water is safe to drink. The water treatment works also disinfect the water, killing harmful bacteria and viruses. This is primarily done with chlorine, but the water is overdosed slightly. This leaves a little chlorine in the water for “residual” disinfection. The residual chlorine travels with the water down the pipe to the reservoir and into your home, keeping the water pathogen free. Pathogens include viruses, bacteria and small animals such as worms and larvae. </p>
<p>This is why the water from taps sometimes smells a little like chlorine. This is a good thing. It means your water is safe. </p>
<h2>Is my tap water safe to drink?</h2>
<p>As a rule, the answer here is yes, <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/specialreports/water/weve-been-quietly-testing-drinking-water-quality-in-6-cities-for-a-month-heres-what-weve-found-20230810">but probably only if you live in a big city</a>. If there is a continuous supply of water, the pressure in the pipe prevents contaminants from entering the pipeline. And if the water has residual chlorine in it, that means the supply to your home is good. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, this relies on drinking water treatment works functioning properly, which is not always the case. The department of water and sanitation runs an auditing process of the water treatment works and the water they supply. The results are released as <a href="https://ws.dws.gov.za/IRIS/releases/BDN_2023_Report.pdf">Blue Drop reports</a>. Johannesburg has been classified as having excellent quality of supply, both chemically and microbiologically. However, the overall scores in Gauteng, the province Johannesburg is located in, are dropping even though they are still high. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/water-crisis-in-south-africa-damning-report-finds-46-contamination-67-of-treatment-works-near-to-breaking-down-219350">Water crisis in South Africa: damning report finds 46% contamination, 67% of treatment works near to breaking down</a>
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<p>Across the country 46% of drinking water is classified as “unacceptable” and scores of towns and cities have <a href="https://ws.dws.gov.za/iris/releases/BDN_2023_Report.pdf">substantially declined in the last decade</a>. The <a href="https://ws.dws.gov.za/IRIS/releases/BDWR.pdf">latest Blue Drop report</a> shows a decreasing quality of drinking water supply across South Africa.</p>
<h2>My water supply has been interrupted a lot. Is my tap water safe to drink?</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, the answer to this question may not be yes, depending on a range of factors. </p>
<p>If there is no water in the pipe, and there is an underground sewage leak near the water pipe, or contaminated storm water near the pipe, there’s a real possibility that contaminated water can enter the pipe. Or, if maintenance work is done on a pipeline, as happens after any major leak, there is no real way to prevent soil and external untreated water entering the pipeline.</p>
<p>As water supply returns, this “first flush” down the pipe has the potential to contain contaminants. Because there is no way to know what it looks like underground around the pipe, it is sensible to protect yourself as water returns. You can protect yourself by flushing your taps until the water is fully clear. I would recommend that you wait until after the air has finished exiting the pipe and give it another minute or so, or until fully clear. Collect this water in a bucket for watering plants or flushing toilets. Once the water is clear, your quality should be similar to the bulk supply. </p>
<p>If you are worried, boil the water before use. </p>
<p>If your water remains brown or discoloured, report it and drink purified water.</p>
<h2>I get my water from a mobile water tanker. Is this safe to drink?</h2>
<p>Here the answer is supposed to be yes. But there are far too many instances of
unscrupulous, roaming water tanker suppliers selling water, especially in areas with <a href="https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/south-africa/2023-05-27-hammanskraal-residents-cautioned-against-buying-water-from-roaming-tankers/#google_vignette">no access to safe tap water</a>.</p>
<p>Since water supplies have become less dependable, the state has turned to businesses to supply water to communities. This has developed into a big business, as is clear from the size of one of Johannesburg’s <a href="https://www.johannesburgwater.co.za/scm/supply-chain/tenders/awarded-tenders/">tenders</a> for vacuum trucks (honeysuckers) and water tankers. As a result, <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/725620/a-new-type-of-mafia-is-thriving-in-south-africa/">fraud and collusion</a> are on the rise. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/johannesburgs-water-crisis-is-getting-worse-expert-explains-why-the-taps-keep-running-dry-in-south-africas-biggest-city-223926">Johannesburg's water crisis is getting worse – expert explains why the taps keep running dry in South Africa's biggest city</a>
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<p>Unfortunately having no access to piped tap water is the daily reality more than <a href="https://census.statssa.gov.za/assets/documents/2022/P03014_Census_2022_Statistical_Release.pdf">4 million South Africans</a>. If this is the case, it is sensible to purify the water. </p>
<h2>What are the diseases that make drinking water unsafe? How are they spread?</h2>
<p>There are a number of water-borne diseases that can cause very serious illness and death. </p>
<p>When water is sent to a laboratory for testing, the first test is for an organism called <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/e-coli"><em>Escherichia coli</em></a>, or <em>E. coli</em>.</p>
<p><em>E. coli</em> is found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded animals. It does not necessarily cause disease. But if it is found in the water, there is absolute certainty that the water has been contaminated with faecal matter which has not been properly treated. This is why it is used as a screening tool for more serious diseases which are also spread through faecal matter. </p>
<p>Not all water that has <em>E. coli</em> will have pathogens. But the presence of <em>E. coli</em> is a serious warning that there is a high chance of other pathogenic organisms in the water such as cholera. </p>
<p>Cholera is caused by a bacterium found in the faecal matter of sick people. It is highly contagious and can spread by contact mainly from drinking contaminated water, food or from unwashed hands. The symptoms of cholera are watery diarrhoea (runny tummy), vomiting and leg cramps. </p>
<h2>If I store water in bottles, how long before it’s unsafe to drink?</h2>
<p>This is a really tricky question to answer. There are too many factors that can cause your water quality to deteriorate. For example, is the cap of the bottle open? How warm is the water? Is the container very clean or just rinsed? Water safety cannot be fully assured without analysing the actual water. </p>
<p>At the Centre of Water Research and Development we are doing research partly funded through the <a href="https://www.wrc.org.za/">Water Research Commission</a> to develop test strips to give a rapid analysis of drinking water quality that can easily be understood by the general public. </p>
<p>But I’d recommend that you try not to keep water too long. Preferably not more than a day. And if you do, then boil or purify the water before drinking it.</p>
<h2>Is purifying water difficult?</h2>
<p>At the University of the Witwatersrand we commissioned a short animation in all of South Africa’s 11 official languages as well as French and Portuguese on how to prevent cholera transmission and how to purify your water to ensure you stay safe.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hrOEVCLIe2Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">There are eight videos in different languages on the University of Witwatersrand’s YouTube account, this is the English version.</span></figcaption>
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<p>We have also <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/general-news/2023/2023-05/cholera-what-is-it-and-how-can-you-avoid-getting-sick.html">shared guidance</a> on how to purify your water to make it safe.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225433/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Sheridan receives funding from The Claude Leon Foundation, the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), The Water JPI, The BMBF, FORMAS and the Water Research Commission. Craig Sheridan is a member of the South African Institution of Chemical Engineers (SAIChE), the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), and the International Water Association (IWA).</span></em></p>Water can make you ill for two reasons: it can contain toxic chemicals or pathogenic organisms.Craig Sheridan, Professor, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2235682024-03-11T12:51:48Z2024-03-11T12:51:48ZFintech is sold as the answer to Africa’s problems, but digital money services have downsides which media often overlook<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577861/original/file-20240226-16-p2toeq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The research assessed newspaper coverage of fintech in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The online financial products and services known as “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/what-is-fintech/">fintech</a>” have become deeply embedded in the economic and social life of many African countries over the past decade.</p>
<p>Headlines across the continent often extol fintech’s virtues. Technology is “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S19bJvbYrE">driving financial inclusion</a>” and “<a href="https://observer.ug/businessnews/63783-fintech-revolutionizing-how-we-spend-our-money">making life better for people</a>”. It’s helping “<a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001452750/how-fintech-tools-can-help-cushion-kenyans-during-inflation">consumers to manage inflation</a>”. Fintech is “<a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/09/27/how-nigeria-is-expanding-financial-inclusion-through-fintech">too sweeping to ignore</a>”. And, if it’s not embraced, “<a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/10/06/on-boarding-financially-excluded-rural-women">the country and the entire economy will be left behind</a>”. </p>
<p>These headlines depict a popular story about fintech: it is the answer to several of Africa’s economic problems. This story is also appearing in policy documents in countries like Uganda. Fintech is now a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3dno0vThbc">key component</a> of the country’s <a href="https://bou.or.ug/bouwebsite/bouwebsitecontent/FinancialInclusion/2023/Signed_2023_2028_National-Financial-Inclusion-Strategy_.pdf">National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2023-2028</a>. </p>
<p>However, a counter-narrative is emerging. Political economists, anthropologists and social theorists warn that fintech is an example of an exploitative, <a href="https://www.theelephant.info/ideas/2021/07/09/neocolonial-components-of-algorithmic-capitalism-in-africa-today/">neocolonial</a> and <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/histories-of-racial-capitalism/9780231190756#:%7E:text=Racial%20capitalism%20is%20not%20simply,value%20from%20racial%20classification%20">racialised</a> form of platform capitalism, a system by which a fairly small number of commercial networks profit from user activities and interactions. They caution that it is inherently <a href="https://africasacountry.com/2019/10/kenyas-mobile-money-revolution">anti-development</a>. It is, they say, likely to cause a crisis of <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/life-and-style/lifestyle/debt-trap-ensnared-by-loans-women-turn-to-suicide-as-escape-4086004">consumer debt</a>, <a href="https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/perpetual-debt-silicon-savannah/">emotional distress</a>, <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/life-and-style/smart-company/suicide-that-jolted-cbk-inside-plan-to-rein-in-digital-lenders-251530">self-harm</a> and <a href="https://www.theelephant.info/opinion/2019/11/29/data-protection-in-the-age-of-huduma-namba-who-will-benefit/">data piracy</a>. </p>
<p>We wanted to know how the press in Africa reports on fintech. Are its failings and potential pitfalls acknowledged? Is it mostly presented as a “good news” story?</p>
<p>So, in a project we began two years ago with South African political economist <a href="https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/monobook/book/9781529221770/9781529221770.xml">Scott Timcke</a>, we <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2023.2275816">set out to answer these questions</a>. This kind of analysis helps reveal how public attitudes about this new pillar of everyday economic life are formed. It also shows whether the press is serving as the public’s watchdog with regard to economic matters and corporate affairs. </p>
<p>Our analysis, the first to look at how the fintech story is being told in the African press, reveals that the coverage is celebratory and offers limited cautionary and critical reporting to the public and to policymakers. We found that fintech is most often covered with a positive tone and as a business story. </p>
<h2>The fintech context</h2>
<p>International and African <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Africas-Media-Image-in-the-21st-Century-From-the-Heart-of-Darkness-to/Bunce-Franks-Paterson/p/book/9781138962323">media coverage of the continent</a> is often accused of fuelling negative stereotypes, a trend characterised as “afro-pessimism”. But in the past decade, much of the media conversation has focused on business buzz and followed an “afro-optimism” or “Africa rising” script, as the headlines above depict. </p>
<p>The fintech ecology is shaped by dynamics from the late 2000s. These include the rapid uptake in <a href="https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/sub-saharan-africa-embraces-5g-and-smartphone-adoption-soars-gsma-report-reveals/9xnt95l">broadband use</a> and the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. Proponents claim that fintech will reduce poverty and motivate development (sometimes referred to as “<a href="https://academic.oup.com/wbro/article/33/2/135/5127166?login=false">leapfrogging</a>” or “<a href="https://thefintechtimes.com/here-are-four-cities-in-africa-emerging-as-fintech-hubs/">Silicon Savannah</a>”), uplifting those unserved by formal banking. One 2016 study credited fintech with delivering a remarkable <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aah5309">2% poverty reduction</a> in Kenya. </p>
<p>Others call for a more cautious and sceptical approach. Critics dispute claims that fintech produces significant progressive change. They also argue that fintech can be <a href="https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/fintech-digital-futures-paper-tni-web.pdf">exploitative</a> and <a href="https://botpopuli.net/how-fintech-became-the-gateway-to-predatory-lending-in-sub-saharan-africa/">predatory</a>, and that it fuels inequality by further enriching the already wealthy. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-mobile-money-system-has-a-dark-side-even-though-its-convenient-new-study-explores-the-risks-207777">Nigeria's mobile money system has a dark side even though it's convenient - new study explores the risks</a>
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<h2>Our analysis</h2>
<p>Previous research into the roll-out of fintech in countries across the continent revealed community-level tactics. “<a href="https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/jams_00035_1">Change agents</a>” are deployed to recruit new customers for mobile money services. “<a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IMR-05-2019-0130/full/html">Brand ambassadors</a>” are hired to “sit in public transport and talk about” fintech products. </p>
<p>We wondered whether journalists were similarly talking up fintech or were warning of its risks. We analysed news coverage and looked at journalism published between 2016 and 2021 by leading newspapers in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa, as well as through the <a href="https://allafrica.com/">AllAfrica</a> news aggregator. We began with a set of 1,190 news pieces and analysed a sample of 368. </p>
<p>Based on our initial examination of articles, we identified nine themes or frames that appeared frequently in news coverage of fintech. </p>
<p>The dominant frame was one we labelled “announcement”: the proclamation of a new fintech product through the media; a celebration of innovation. “Gender inclusivity” was the least common frame. This is the kind of reporting that focuses on a commonly shared <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2022/06/03/Fintech-Female-Employment-and-Gender-Inequality-518871">rationale</a> for fintech: that it particularly benefits women and gives them new opportunities for equality and participation. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-makes-fintech-solutions-succeed-we-built-a-model-based-on-ghanas-experience-169286">What makes FinTech solutions succeed? We built a model based on Ghana's experience</a>
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<p>We paid particular attention to the frame we called “trepidation”. We were surprised that 61% of news stories within that frame had a positive overall tone, despite the frame implying potential danger. This trepidation often appeared as the backdrop for a news item rather than as the main story. </p>
<p>These kinds of stories, we reason, allow government officials to advise the public on safe financial conduct and fintech companies to promote the benefits of their “safe” products. The advice includes guidance on how individuals can enhance their awareness of potential risks, such as fraud, and act with caution. This consumer education approach is typical of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-fight-against-economic-fraud-how-african-countries-are-tackling-the-challenge-161432">anti-fraud measures</a> across sectors.</p>
<p>Most stories about the hazards of fintech conclude that it is nonetheless a beneficial force and that any “hiccups” are minor. These can be soothed through state action (such as regulation) or individual responsibility (such as consumer education). Overall, this reinforces a narrative that it is safe and logical to embed fintech in society: it is “sanitised” through this style of news coverage. </p>
<p>Overall we concluded that the journalism in the African press we examined was largely sanitised. The tone, content and sourcing of reporting, even in the context of well-founded fears about fintech, point to an uncritical promotion of fintech products, firms and the entire industry.</p>
<h2>More critical journalism needed</h2>
<p>The breadth of fintech’s expansion across Africa and extent of potential harm it carries – even if its critics are only minimally correct – indicates a pressing need for further analysis of what story is being told. News audiences, politicians and civil society need to demand a more critical journalism.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223568/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Coverage is celebratory and offers limited cautionary and critical reporting to the public and to policymakers.Cathleen LeGrand, Postgraduate researcher, University of LeedsChris Paterson, Professor of Global Communication, University of LeedsJörg Wiegratz, Lecturer in Political Economy of Global Development, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2232342024-03-07T08:44:06Z2024-03-07T08:44:06ZSouth Africa: women play a key role in early childhood learning and care – but they need help accessing university<p>In South Africa, the <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201610/national-integrated-ecd-policy-web-version-final-01-08-2016a.pdf">early childhood development sector</a> is <a href="https://womensreport.africa/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/WomensReport_2021.pdf">dominated by women</a> who build creches from the ground up. These women offer services to communities that go far beyond childcare. They teach, feed and nurture children and keep them safe. They also build sustainable businesses and provide employment opportunities to members of their communities.</p>
<p>Previously managed under the Department of Social Development and currently under the Department of Basic Education, the early childhood development sector runs on an entrepreneurship model. Some individuals in the sector opt to set up and run childcare businesses; there are also many not-for-profit early childhood development centres. It’s a model that lends itself to informal sector economic practices.</p>
<p>Like most women in the informal sector in developing countries, these early childhood development practitioners work long hours for very little money. This reality echoes the findings of <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/115591468211805723/pdf/825200WP0Women00Box379865B00PUBLIC0.pdf">a World Bank report</a> which showed that women who trade in any part of the informal sector in African countries are prone to economic exploitation.</p>
<p>Most of the women who run these facilities have certificates and diplomas from vocational colleges. But they are unable to get accepted at universities so they cannot pursue degrees. This limits their earning ability and their ability to formalise their businesses.</p>
<p>Having taught in vocational colleges, I set out to better understand the obstacles faced by women early childhood development practitioners who wanted to further their studies by going to university. I <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/full/10.14426/jovacet.v6i1.317">conducted research</a> for my doctoral studies on practitioners and their learning journeys, as well as a focus on what’s known as recognition of prior learning. </p>
<p>This concept assumes that people learn through experience; it then provides access to qualifications based on that experience. In some cases, people can also gain university credits through recognition of prior learning. This can then be used towards the completion of a higher education qualification.</p>
<p>I interviewed 11 women, aged between 33 and 46, based in Cape Town. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/full/10.14426/jovacet.v6i1.317">My findings</a> suggest two potential changes to the existing system. One, there should be a standard policy across all South African universities related to recognition of prior learning as a criterion for entrance. And two, universities should accept women early childhood development practitioners who have successfully completed early childhood development qualifications at vocational colleges. </p>
<p>The benefits would be twofold. It would benefit the women, who could build better lives for themselves and their families. And it would benefit <a href="https://theelders.org/news/empowered-women-create-empowered-societies">society</a>. <a href="https://www.unicef.org/early-childhood-development">Research has shown</a> that early childhood development is critical to children’s lives.</p>
<h2>Women’s own stories</h2>
<p>All the women in my study held early childhood development qualifications from technical and vocational education and training colleges. These qualifications train women to work in centres with babies and children between the ages of 0 and 9. They completed their qualifications while working as teachers, principals and owners of early childhood development centres. </p>
<p>The women wanted to further their education by going to university and continue training as teachers and find better employment. They applied at different universities but were rejected, primarily because their matric results – the final secondary school exam – had not qualified them for university entrance and partly because of their ages.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/radical-adjustments-needed-if-universities-are-to-make-it-easier-for-people-to-study-while-working-45531">Radical adjustments needed if universities are to make it easier for people to study while working</a>
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<p>In some cases they were unsuccessful because universities didn’t recognise their existing vocational college early childhood development qualifications. </p>
<p>The only route of access was therefore through recognition of prior learning. However, this programme is not offered at all higher education institutions for access into the faculty of education. </p>
<p>Jenna (not her real name) found out from a friend about one university’s recognition of prior learning programme. The application process was arduous and costly – Jenna paid R2,750 (about US$145) overall. She submitted her work history, certificates, a motivational letter, and letters of support from the principal of the early childhood development centre where she worked and from a mentor. She also submitted lesson plans and a portfolio reflecting her teaching philosophy. </p>
<p>Her application was successful. However, at the close of my study, because of ineffective administration from the university’s side, Jenna had not yet entered into the first year of her degree programme.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.saqa.org.za/">South African Qualifications Authority</a> allows only 10% of entrants into any undergraduate and postgraduate university programme via recognition of prior learning. Some of my participants also applied at a different university, located in the Western Cape, where Cape Town is, for this alternative route. They were advised that, even if they successfully completed the recognition of prior learning process, there was no guarantee they’d be accepted into their desired programme, because of the 10% rule. </p>
<p>In my study, different institutions managed recognition of prior learning very differently, which caused a lot of confusion for my participants – and, by extension, the many people hoping to access it. Some institutions do not consider recognition of prior learning at all. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/economies-grow-when-early-childhood-development-is-a-priority-69660">Economies grow when early childhood development is a priority</a>
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<h2>Answers</h2>
<p>I argue for a number of steps to be taken.</p>
<p>Firstly, universities should provide access to early childhood development teachers who have successfully completed vocational qualifications. They can do this by recognising these qualifications.</p>
<p>Secondly, universities should recognise prior learning and standardise recognition of prior learning processes in their access criteria. </p>
<p>Thirdly, they should make the process more affordable and easier to navigate. </p>
<p>This would help early childhood development teachers to keep learning, no matter their age. And that would be good for South Africa more broadly: when women learn, children and communities learn and grow as well.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223234/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kaylianne Aploon-Zokufa receives funding from The European Union (EU) Department of Higher Education and Training’s Teaching and Learning Development Capacity Improvement Programme (TLDCIP).</span></em></p>There should be a standard policy across all South African universities related to recognition of prior learning as a criterion for entrance.Kaylianne Aploon-Zokufa, Lecturer, University of the Western CapeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2249742024-03-05T13:13:04Z2024-03-05T13:13:04ZDry weather hits southern Africa’s farmers, putting key maize supplies at risk: how to blunt the impact<p><a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/africa/news/south-africa-and-the-region-face-grain-strain-despite-record-harvests-20231128">South Africa</a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/drought-national-disaster-emergency-electricity-4cc6a2105f4641efe17e10a5b75f78a5">Zambia</a> and <a href="https://english.news.cn/20240229/c7454e0f49e74fd6b891519993f943b9/c.html">Zimbabwe</a> have recently published reports indicating a potential decline in grain harvest because of intense El Niño-induced dryness. These developments could put the entire Southern Africa maize supply chain at risk, with Zambia and South Africa hard hit by heatwaves and dryness. The neighbouring small producers such as Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia are also struggling with dryness.</p>
<p>Given that South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe <a href="https://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circulars/production.pdf#page=29">are among the largest maize producers </a> within the Southern Africa region, a potential decline in the harvest in these countries suggests there could be an increase in the risk of food insecurity. This would necessitate imports to meet the shortfall in the region’s maize supplies.</p>
<p>The dryness in an El Niño event is not unexpected in the <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/madagascar/southern-africa-el-nino-positive-indian-ocean-dipole-forecast-and-humanitarian-impact-october-2023#:%7E:text=El%20Ni%C3%B1o%2Drelated%20climate%20variability,during%20the%20November%20%2D%20April%20season.">Southern Africa region as this weather phenomenon is typically accompanied by dryness</a>. The year started favourably, with excellent rains. But the dryness intensified from the end of January. Major damage has been <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/29/zambia-declares-national-disaster-after-drought-devastates-agriculture">caused</a> to crops since then. The unusual pattern may be part of the broader climate change challenges.</p>
<p>Based on research into <a href="https://agbiz.co.za/content/open/sa-2023-24-summer-crop-production-forecasts-lowered-notably-72">grains markets</a> in the region, and recent observations from our field work across the summer crop growing regions of South Africa, it is clear that the region faces a difficult time ahead.</p>
<p>While the extent of the impact of the heatwave and dryness on crops changes daily, the pattern thus far is clear that the whole Southern Africa region has taken strain and will see a significant reduction in the volume of the crop produced.</p>
<p>Although the domestic hunger challenges may rise in some countries, as we already see in the forecasts in <a href="https://fews.net/sites/default/files/2024-01/FAOB-January%202024_1.pdf">Zimbabwe </a> and <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/zambia/statement-unicef-zambia-situation-children-following-recent-emergency-declaration">Zambia</a>, the governments in the region must be careful about the response policies and programmes. For example, they should avoid export restrictions and maize price caps. And they should make sure that any government support should be at the household level.</p>
<h2>South Africa</h2>
<p>In South Africa, <a href="https://www.grainsa.co.za/news-headlines/press-releases/climate-conditions-problematic-for-grain-producers">a recent farmers’ survey</a> by <a href="https://www.grainsa.co.za/pages/about-grain-sa/overview">Grain South Africa</a>, a lobby group for the sector, found that extreme heat and dry conditions had caused the grain and oil-seeds harvest to deteriorate much faster than initially expected. </p>
<p>These challenges have probably worsened since the survey was completed towards the end of February.</p>
<p>The Crop Estimates Committee in South Africa – a grouping of scientists, economists and statisticians from the government, private sector, academia and independent research organisations – also fears the possible decline in the summer grains and oilseed harvest. <a href="https://agbiz.co.za/content/open/south-africas-summer-crop-production-prospects-remain-bleak-363">In its latest production estimate</a> for the 2023/24 season, the Committee placed the summer grains and oilseed harvest at 15.8 million tonnes, down 21% on 2023.</p>
<p>This is primarily a function of lower expected yields rather than a reduction in the acreage planted, thus reflecting a negative impact of the drier weather conditions and heatwave. This is an overall production figure, and the decline varies crop by crop. Still, a positive aspect of South Africa is that the expected harvest will still be enough to meet the country’s domestic consumption, leaving some volume for exports, albeit significantly down from the previous seasons.</p>
<p>There has not been a lot of talk about other value chains outside summer grains and oilseed, primarily because of higher dam levels from the past few years and earlier rains in the season. With all of South Africa’s commercial fruit and vegetable production under irrigation, the improved water levels in the dams assist farmers in coping with the current heatwave. The livestock industry is still in a relatively better place as the grazing veld has generally improved, and there were large maize and soybean supplies from the 2022/23 season. </p>
<p>The field crops are <a href="https://sa-tied-archive.wider.unu.edu/article/climate-uncertainty-and-agricultural-vulnerability-south-africa-0">primarily rainfed</a>, leaving a large percentage at the mercy of the natural rains, which have been scarce since the start of February.</p>
<h2>Zambia under drought stress</h2>
<p>In late February Zambia’s President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/29/zambia-declares-national-disaster-after-drought-devastates-agriculture">declared Zambia’s severe drought a national disaster and emergency</a>. There is crop damage in the majority of the summer crop-producing regions of the country because of the El Niño-induced drought. </p>
<p>Worryingly, the government reported that the drought <a href="https://apnews.com/article/drought-national-disaster-emergency-electricity-4cc6a2105f4641efe17e10a5b75f78a5">has destroyed nearly 1 million hectares of maize</a>. Given that the overall commercial maize area planting in the country is about 1.9 million hectares, this would mean half of the production has been destroyed. <a href="https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=Zambia%20Maintains%20its%20Status%20as%20a%20Net%20Exporter%20of%20Corn%20_Pretoria_Zambia_ZA2023-0001.pdf">It could have significant negative consequences on food production</a>.</p>
<p>Zambia is one of southern Africa’s main producers and exporters of maize. This means if the maize harvest is down notably in the country, there will be no volume for exports to neighbouring countries that also need supplies. This happens at a time when South Africa, although potentially with sufficient supplies for domestic consumption, would have a massive decline in the volume of maize available for exports. </p>
<h2>Zimbabwe’s grain production also strained</h2>
<p>At the start of this year, there were reports of roughly <a href="https://apnews.com/article/zimbabwe-hunger-food-aid-el-nino-climate-aa25b4d2ee6405a792d75a0d4d12d505">2.7 million Zimbabweans potentially at risk of hunger</a> because of the drought impact in their summer grain fields. Moreover, Reuters <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/zimbabwe-targets-1.1-mln-tons-of-maize-imports-state-media-reports">reported</a> that “Zimbabwe plans to import 1.1 million metric tons of maize over the next year”.</p>
<p>It is unclear how much of this volume has thus far already been imported into the country. The volume speaks to the pressures of maize supplies in Southern Africa. Typically, when Zimbabwe needs such large maize imports, South Africa and Zambia are the primary suppliers. With Zambia potentially out of the export market this year, the pressure is now on South Africa to supply Zimbabwe.</p>
<p>Still, suppose all the required maize is of the white varietal, South Africa may not be in a position to provide Zimbabwe with the total required volume, particularly if we consider that the likes of Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Madagascar, and even Zambia will also require maize imports to supplement their domestic annual needs.</p>
<h2>Policy considerations</h2>
<p>There are several key points that policy makers should consider. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Avoiding export restrictions and maize price caps. While restricting exports seems a good approach for cushioning households in the near term, such an intervention disincentivises production for the next year as the farm-level prices would be artificially depressed. This is particularly important as farmers are not protected from higher input costs and pay world prices for all the imported inputs such as fertilisers, agrochemicals and some seeds.</p></li>
<li><p>Ensure interventions are at the household level through various support packages with fiscal space used to implement such programmes.</p></li>
<li><p>The regional governments should also engage with the World Food Programme to prepare to assist the least well-off countries with maize imports from the world market.</p></li>
<li><p>The governments should also engage, collectively with the private sector, the likes of Mexico that produce white maize, to assess if they would have space to export to the Southern Africa region if the need arises.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224974/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).</span></em></p>The whole southern Africa region has taken strain and will see a significant reduction in the volume of the crop produced.Wandile Sihlobo, Senior Fellow, Department of Agricultural Economics, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2243802024-03-04T13:28:02Z2024-03-04T13:28:02ZCost-of-living crisis: experts share 3 survival tips<p>The price increases for essential goods such as food, petrol and household utilities are a global concern, but the region most hurt by the <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/ar/2023/in-focus/cost-of-living-crisis/#:%7E:text=The%20IMF%20heightened%20its%20efforts,the%202008%20global%20financial%20crisis.">surge in food prices</a> is sub-Saharan Africa. The knock-on effect from the supply chain disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate disasters that resulted in food insecurity and energy shortages have driven prices through the roof.</p>
<p>A report by <a href="https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp?title=2024&region=002">Numbeo</a>, which contains the world’s largest database on costs of living, found that South Africa is the ninth most expensive African country to live in and the most expensive in cost of living (in terms of groceries, transport, utilities and restaurants) in southern Africa. The index shows Côte d'Ivoire is the African country with the highest cost of living, followed by Senegal, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Mauritius. </p>
<p>Consumers have had to cope with food prices by meal planning or buying in bulk to save money. Unilever’s food group <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/bi-archive/south-african-consumer-go-on-tight-budgets-to-keep-meat-on-their-plate-2022-5">Knorr</a> found that the average South African was also skipping breakfast and eating two meals on weekdays, and only having breakfast during the weekend. </p>
<p>After years of researching <a href="https://researchprofiles.canberra.edu.au/en/persons/bomikazi-zeka/publications/">personal finance</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=f2301MMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">development finance</a>, we have taken a keen interest in understanding how consumers manage their resources to overcome economic challenges, such as the cost-of-living crisis. Now is a good time to be financially prudent and plan for how you can keep afloat during these tough times. </p>
<p>It’s important to know how to manage the cost-of-living crisis, whether it’s by getting out of debt, being strategic about how you save or tracking the expenses that consume a big chunk of your income. Keeping an eye out for where you can boost your savings or reduce expenses can make a significant difference to your financial wellbeing. </p>
<p>Since everyone’s financial situation is different, none of this should be taken as financial advice. It’s always best to speak to an authorised financial service provider. Some of these suggestions may only be helpful to individuals with access to banking services and those earning a regular income. With these provisos in mind, we unpack three areas to consider when managing the cost-of-living crisis.</p>
<h2>1. Consolidate your expenses</h2>
<p>Review where you’re paying for the same expense twice. A good example is bank fees. If you’re banking with more than one bank, then chances are you’re paying bank fees for similar transactions across different banks. By housing your finances with one bank, you can reduce bank fees. </p>
<p>Another example is subscriptions for streaming services. Consider how many accounts like Netflix, YouTube Premium, AppleTV and Showmax you have, and ask yourself: how many of them do you really spend time watching? All the fees add up. As Benjamin Franklin, the former US statesman, once put it: “Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.”</p>
<h2>2. Clear debt</h2>
<p>Since the cost-of-living crisis plunged more South African households into indebtedness, Nedbank’s Financial Health <a href="https://moneyedge.co.za/content/dam/moneyedge-2-0/money-conversations/NEDFIN-Health-Monitor-Report.pdf">Report</a> found that almost 50% of South Africans believe it is okay to take on debt to cover household expenses such as groceries, clothing, furniture, appliances, electricity and water. In <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/2dbc240e-328a-452b-9347-5091d74f4003">Nigeria</a>, too, consumers are turning to loans to cover daily expenses as inflation rates rise. </p>
<p>Taking on more debt when living expenses are on the rise can easily sink you deeper into the debt hole. Instead, coming up with a plan to pay off debts will eventually free up your cash flows. </p>
<p>There are two strategies to try: the debt snowball approach or the debt avalanche method. </p>
<p>The debt snowball approach prioritises paying off your smallest debts first, before moving on to larger loans. Seeing your debt clearing up motivates you.</p>
<p>The debt avalanche approach tackles the debts with the highest interest rate first and will thus save you the most money as your high interest repayments are eliminated. </p>
<p>Whichever approach you decide to use, seek the opinion of a professional financial advisor. </p>
<h2>3. Compartmentalise your savings</h2>
<p>Saving provides financial security and a buffer for unplanned financial expenses. And it helps you reach your financial goals. While households with intermittent income are more likely to struggle with building up savings, opportunities to save may come in the form of reducing shopping costs, like switching to supermarket brands (which tend to be cheaper) or buying refills for household cleaning products. </p>
<p>In general, most people who actively save keep their savings for holidays, emergency funds, future purchases and long-term goals all in the same account. The problem with this approach is that when you need to withdraw from the savings account, you don’t know which part of your savings you’re withdrawing from. </p>
<p>One way to organise your savings is by separating them into the categories you are saving for. This could be done in a spreadsheet that shows how much you have saved for each category. You can clearly see how your savings for each goal are growing, which encourages you to keep the savings momentum going. </p>
<p>If you’re interested in taking this a step further, budgeting apps such as <a href="https://www.22seven.com/">22seven</a> create personalised budgets based on your actual spending patterns. This free app allows you to set limits for what you want to spend and tracks how much you’ve already spent.</p>
<p>For example, you can decide what you plan to spend for lifestyle expenses (such as dining out or shopping) and receive a notification when you are close to reaching your spending limit. But it’s important to practise some self-discipline and not overspend once those funds are depleted. And while this may seem like yet another app that needs to be installed, think of how easy it is to tap your debit card when going about your day and spending more than you had planned. </p>
<p>Sometimes we need to put measures in place to save ourselves from ourselves, and this is one of them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224380/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Keeping an eye out for where you can boost your savings or reduce expenses when times are tough can improve your financial wellbeing.Bomikazi Zeka, Assistant Professor in Finance and Financial Planning, University of CanberraAbdul Latif Alhassan, Professor of Development Finance & Insurance, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2249152024-03-03T14:27:16Z2024-03-03T14:27:16ZBrian Mulroney’s tough stand against apartheid is one of his most important legacies<p>With his <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/brian-mulroney-passes-away-1.7130287">passing</a> announced on Feb. 29, Canadians have cause to reflect on the legacy of former prime minister Brian Mulroney. What will last when the great book of history is written is that Mulroney played a central role in the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa. </p>
<p>This contribution, along with Canada’s contributions to the First and Second World Wars and <a href="https://www.warmuseum.ca/learn/canada-and-peacekeeping-operations/">the creation of peacekeeping</a>, will stand among the great foreign policy contributions in Canadian history. </p>
<p>At the outset, we must acknowledge that apartheid — the system of racial separation and white domination of Blacks and others in South Africa — was <a href="https://theconversation.com/world-politics-explainer-the-end-of-apartheid-101602">brought down principally by South Africans themselves</a>. Their internal opposition to the regime, their mobilization of world opinion and action against it and their courage and moral clarity was a necessary condition for its end. </p>
<p>But the end of apartheid was accelerated by allies in the democratic West, and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-brian-mulroney-south-africa-ramaphosa/">at the head of that group stood Mulroney</a>. Indeed, there is good reason why <a href="https://macleans.ca/news/world/macleans-archives-mandelas-three-city-visit-to-canada/">Nelson Mandela made his first foreign visit to Canada’s Parliament</a> after his release from prison in February of 1990. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2015/12/08/statement-prime-minister-canada-former-prime-minister-brian-mulroney">South Africa awarded Mulroney its highest honour for foreign citizens</a> in 2015 for his “exceptional contribution to South Africa’s liberation movement and his steadfast support for the release of Nelson Mandela.”</p>
<p>It is important that we recognize this accomplishment not only for its moral merits, but because it can teach us how Canadian foreign policy — for moral and instrumental ends — can be done effectively. There are three lessons to learn (or relearn). </p>
<h2>Lesson 1: Mulroney recognized apartheid as indefensible</h2>
<p>Mulroney’s opposition to apartheid was not driven by simple domestic politics and certainly not by diasporic concerns. Opposition to apartheid was widely held in Canada in the late 1980s and it was a live issue. But it was not one that obviously favoured Mulroney politically. So, why did he oppose it? </p>
<p>First, the issue was to him one of simple justice and morality. Like his early political mentor, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1771019570">John Diefenbaker</a>, he thought the system was indefensible and immoral. It could not be redeemed by instrumental appeals to anti-Communism or whatever other realpolitik defences <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/brian-mulroney-legacy-south-africa-apartheid-1.7130982">U.S. President Ronald Reagan or U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher</a> advanced. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/brian-mulroney-champion-of-free-trade-brought-canada-closer-to-the-u-s-during-his-reign-as-prime-minister-224852">Brian Mulroney, champion of free trade, brought Canada closer to the U.S. during his reign as prime minister</a>
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<p>Second, he thought it was contrary to Canadian values, which have their roots in the founding of the country as a place dedicated to bringing different groups closer together, rather than farther apart. To maintain Canada’s credibility in the world as a <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/middle-power">middle power</a>, Canada had to act in a way that was consistent with a system of values, and not simple power. </p>
<h2>Lesson 2: Mulroney leveraged political and personal power</h2>
<p>Mulroney was a master of the multilateral system. By the late 1980s, accelerating and amplifying pressure on apartheid South Africa required ever stronger and <a href="https://www.history.com/news/end-apartheid-steps">tighter sanctions</a>. This required as many nations as possible to agree to as strong a sanction regime as possible. </p>
<p>I had the opportunity to directly ask Mulroney about his international leadership in the campaign against apartheid. As director of the <a href="https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/conversation-rt-hon-brian-mulroney">Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy</a>, I hosted a conversation with Mulroney in September 2022. When I asked him how he used international institutions, Mulroney said:</p>
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<blockquote>
<p>People who say that nations only have interests, no friendships, is nonsense. … Everybody has interests but also friendships. And you can’t deal at the international level with any hostility. You gotta try and bring people (together). Canada is a middle power. We’re not a superpower. So we have to leverage our assets as best we can.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The author of this article, Peter Loewen, in conversation with Brian Mulroney on Sept. 22, 2022, at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.</span></figcaption>
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<p>By 1987 and 1988, Mulroney had managed to secure the chairmanship of three international organizations covering the majority of the democratic world: The Commonwealth, the G7 and the Francophonie. In each of those organizations, he built personal ties with leaders, reinforced by a deep appreciation for their own domestic concerns and motivations. </p>
<p>When push came to shove on <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/jcs.25.4.17">tightening sanction regimes,</a> he had both personal power and agenda-setting power. He could put apartheid on the agenda, and he could use the depth of relationships to push and pull leaders to his own position. We have not had a prime minister since who has combined institutional power and personal connection to such an effect. </p>
<h2>Lesson 3: Mulroney played a long game</h2>
<p>Mulroney played a long(ish) game. When South African President <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/11/world/south-africa-s-new-era-mandela-go-free-today-de-klerk-proclaims-ending-chapter.html">F.W. de Klerk announced in February 1990 the immediate release of Mandela from a prison</a> off the coast of Cape Town, he did not simultaneously agree to dismantle the laws enforcing apartheid. </p>
<p>Despite this, by Mulroney’s telling, he was under immediate and intense <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/07/14/thatcher-and-mulroney-clash-on-sanctions-against-s-africa/125f7806-a7f5-46aa-85ec-8f49f8c7f991/">pressure from Thatcher</a> to support the lifting of sanctions. Mulroney refused to do so until the system of racial separation in law was dismantled. </p>
<p>The broader context is important here. The Berlin Wall had fallen the year before and the world was experiencing a menacing uncertainty. Mulroney knew that the creation of a broader <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/664d7fa5-d575-45da-8129-095647c8abe7">rules-based order</a> with greater international security, more trade and more, not less, reconciliation depended deeply on defending democratic values. Those values had to be as deeply defended in South Africa as they were in a soon reunified Germany. They could not be abandoned as soon as attention moved elsewhere. </p>
<h2>Mulroney’s legacy</h2>
<p>We can arrive at different judgments of Mulroney’s legacy. To me, it is one marked by huge success and risky failures — but always an ambition to do big, consequential things. But in the final judgment, his confrontation of apartheid married moral clarity and effective politics. If only our politics had that same leadership again.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224915/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Loewen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Brian Mulroney’s role in the campaign against apartheid in South Africa can teach us how Canadian foreign policy can be done effectively.Peter Loewen, Director, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2239842024-02-29T14:40:07Z2024-02-29T14:40:07ZSouth Africa’s business students want their own industry superheroes and success stories in the syllabus – study<p>In the past few years there’s been much discussion globally about the need to <a href="https://globalchallenges.ch/issue/10/decolonising-education/">decolonise education</a>. Decolonisation is the process of undoing the impact of colonial thinking and its influence in the present. </p>
<p>Scholars have <a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-cant-decolonise-the-curriculum-without-defining-it-first-63948">differing opinions</a> about <a href="https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajhe/article/view/4875">the best way to achieve this</a>, or whether it’s even necessary or desirable. </p>
<p>In South Africa, the issue of decolonisation was spotlighted by students during 2016’s <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/trending/141333/feesmustfall-leaders-explain-what-decolonised-education-means/#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CFees%20Must%20Fall%20is%20an%20intersectional%20movement%20within,imperialist%2C%20colonial%2C%20capitalist%20patriarchal%20culture%2C%E2%80%9D%20the%20statement%20said">#FeesMustFall protests</a>. Eight years on, I was interested in finding out what the current cohort of students thought decolonisation could look like in their classrooms. So I asked final-year students in the management and commerce faculty at a rural campus in the country’s Eastern Cape province to take part in <a href="https://sajournalofeducation.co.za/index.php/saje/article/view/1637/1288%205">a study</a> that would centre their voices and opinions.</p>
<p>Students expressed a desire for decolonisation to embrace two important activities, especially in commerce education. First, students needed their curriculum to feature more business and industry leaders (framed in my study as “superheroes”) from South Africa and the continent more broadly. Second, students advocated for more localised stories and case studies in the courses taught in higher education. </p>
<p>The main issue and thread uniting the two findings? Relatability. These findings offer insight into how a decolonised curriculum can be created by striving for the infusion of <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/relatable">relatable</a> “superheroes” and stories. </p>
<h2>The status quo</h2>
<p>Much of management and commerce teaching globally can be described using the acronym “<a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100630132850.htm">WEIRD</a>”: it’s dominated by western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic countries. This reality was flagged by many of the participants in my research. </p>
<p>They saw it, for instance, in which theorists’ and experts’ voices were used versus whose were not. Take US economics scholar Michael Porter: in 1979, in an article for the Harvard Business Review, Porter outlined what have come to be known as “<a href="https://www.isc.hbs.edu/strategy/business-strategy/Pages/the-five-forces.aspx">the five forces</a>”. His framework is useful in understanding the factors that drive competition in industries. </p>
<p>Students extolled the value of this work and did not suggest that it be removed from the curriculum. Instead, they suggested that more African examples be included – for instance, the work of the late Zimbabwean scholar <a href="https://theconversation.com/lovemore-mbigi-will-be-remembered-for-his-teaching-on-ubuntu-in-business-leadership-209260">Lovemore Mbigi</a>, who contributed enormously to research on ubuntu (a concept that emphasises the importance of including everyone and building a strong community) in business leadership.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lovemore-mbigi-will-be-remembered-for-his-teaching-on-ubuntu-in-business-leadership-209260">Lovemore Mbigi will be remembered for his teaching on ubuntu in business leadership</a>
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<p>To the participants, decolonisation meant giving voice to scholars like Mbigi and increasing the volume of their contribution in classrooms. This would require lecturers to be more intentional in spotlighting what they called “superheroes”: African researchers and experts whose work was relatable to the students’ own context.</p>
<p>There have been efforts in South Africa to encourage case-based teaching similar to what my study advocates for. For instance, the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria has a dedicated portal that <a href="https://www.gibs.co.za/about-us/faculty/pages/case-study-hub.aspx">houses and offers resources on case-based teaching</a>. Many of these case studies are from South Africa or elsewhere on the continent.</p>
<h2>Context and relatability</h2>
<p>One participant said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In our (focus) group there appears to be consensus of the need for a change. The type of change that places importance on the role of giving more South African and even African business leaders a chance to be heard. This for us was what decolonisation was all about.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The students suggested that management and commerce teaching lent itself to decolonisation by the very nature of the discipline, which focuses on problem solving and case studies.</p>
<p>One participant reported how their focus group saw decolonised teaching having resonance when it came to business protagonists (that is, leaders in their fields):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>At the core of strategic management instruction is a protagonist, the one that is faced with a dilemma. There needs to be more effort in seeing case examples and the lives of protagonists we can relate with.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another group reported:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(We) made important links with the entrepreneurship space. There is (a) need to bring in the experiences of entrepreneurs from the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/township-South-Africa">township</a> and even rural community to the classroom. (This) would edify the teaching experience.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And another said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Some great stories from South African business leaders fail to see the light of day in making it to the classroom. The challenge could be that researchers are not being active in making sure these stories make it to the classroom.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The students said some lecturers did introduce such examples in class and praised them for creating a pathway for African stories into the curriculum. </p>
<h2>So what happens next?</h2>
<p>I propose three points of consideration, especially for those working in higher education. </p>
<p>First, lecturers should be aware of the context in which they teach, including the material conditions around the students in their classroom. </p>
<p>Second, lecturers need to look for “superheroes” their students can relate to. Such examples are everywhere and their experiences are potentially rich learning fodder for the classroom.</p>
<p>Third, lecturers should be deliberate about making content more relatable. The process could be to train students in case-based writing or investigation skills. Students, through partnering with their lecturers, can help get local cases into the classroom.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223984/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Willie Tafadzwa Chinyamurindi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Students want more relatable examples, both of business leaders and of industry case studies.Willie Tafadzwa Chinyamurindi, Professor, University of Fort HareLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2239262024-02-27T14:07:54Z2024-02-27T14:07:54ZJohannesburg’s water crisis is getting worse – expert explains why the taps keep running dry in South Africa’s biggest city<p><em>Since <a href="https://mg.co.za/the-green-guardian/2023-11-06-joburg-water-outages-nobody-should-be-living-like-this/">the latter part of 2023</a> hardly a week has gone by without some residents of Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial capital, losing their water supply. Notices of <a href="https://twitter.com/JHBWater/status/1759553128679002329?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet">planned</a> outages from the local water authority are a common occurrence. Unplanned water shutdowns also happen regularly.</em></p>
<p><em>The entire city has been affected – shanty towns, <a href="https://crisis24.garda.com/alerts/2024/01/south-africa-water-disruptions-planned-in-parts-of-gauteng-province-due-to-maintenance-works-on-jan-21">less affluent</a> and <a href="https://www.johannesburgwater.co.za/joint-media-statement-between-rw-and-johannesburg-water-re-scheduled-maintenance-of-the-sandton-meter-on-19-january-2024/">more affluent parts of the city</a>. The Conversation Africa asked geography professor Craig Sheridan, director of the Centre in Water Research and Development at the University of the Witwatersrand, what’s gone wrong.</em></p>
<h2>Why don’t Johannesburg citizens have enough water?</h2>
<p>The water allocation for each province is based on the amount available in the dams (which must also supply our future needs) and the number of people in that province. Currently the Vaal Dam is <a href="http://www.dwa.gov.za/hydrology/Weekly/ProvinceWeek.aspx?region=FS">70% full</a>.</p>
<p>Rand Water – the area’s bulk water supplier – buys the water from the Department of Water and Sanitation, which will only sell a certain amount to it. Rand Water takes water mainly from the Vaal Dam – the region’s biggest – and treats it to potable quality. It then sells the water to Johannesburg and Pretoria (and other cities and towns) which are in Gauteng, the smallest of South Africa’s nine provinces and its industrial heartland. </p>
<p>The cities sell the water to their residents through their distribution systems.</p>
<p>Rand Water is not allowed to supply more than the amount set by the Department of Water and Sanitation. But there is a mismatch between what’s allocated by the national government and what’s needed on the ground. This is because the national government takes into consideration future needs. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/johannesburg-has-been-hit-by-severe-water-shortages-new-plan-to-manage-the-crisis-isnt-the-answer-214975">Johannesburg has been hit by severe water shortages: new plan to manage the crisis isn't the answer</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why can’t new dams be built to supply more water?</h2>
<p>This is the plan. But the next phase (Phase 2) of the Lesotho Highlands Scheme is <a href="https://www.greenbuildingafrica.co.za/lesotho-highlands-water-project-lhwp-ii-now-eight-years-delayed/">eight years behind schedule.</a> The <a href="https://www.lhda.org.ls/lhdaweb/projectphases/phaseii">Lesotho Highlands Water Project</a> is a multinational project to provide water to the Gauteng region of South Africa and to generate hydro-electricity for Lesotho. Work on the dam design started in 2017 and tender design was completed during 2020. Construction is expected to be completed with commissioning expected in 2028.</p>
<p>This eight-year delay roughly coincided with a period during which the population of Gauteng grew from 12 million to <a href="https://census.statssa.gov.za/#/">15.1 million people</a>. In 2023 the province had the same amount of water storage for a population that had grown by over 3 million people (or 25%), because the dam was not built. </p>
<p>There is now substantially less water for everyone in the province, including residents of Johannesburg.</p>
<h2>Why are Joburg residents struggling to get water?</h2>
<p>The City of Johannesburg is running <a href="https://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-06-13-sas-largest-city-may-not-be-able-to-pay-its-debt-warns-johannesburg-finance-boss/">its finances poorly</a>. The maintenance bill for water infrastructure is R2 billion (US$105 million) per year, but only R1 billion (US$52 million) is allocated. Maintenance needs are spiralling out of control. The city bills residents for rates, water, electricity, sewage and other services. However, the funds received are not ring-fenced. Other projects are competing for the same pot of money. </p>
<p>Because the infrastructure is ageing (for example in the suburb of Parkwood the infrastructure is older than <a href="https://joburg.org.za/media_/Documents/2024-Media-Statements/City-to-urgently-attend-to-Parkwood-water-outages.pdf">70 years</a>), the pipes rust and break. When they break, they leak, sometimes releasing very large quantities of water, before they are repaired. When the city responds to requests by residents for repairs, the response, if it comes, is often too little and the job is poorly done. There is little oversight or accountability by the city to ensure the contractors have done the job correctly and the repairs often do not last long. </p>
<p>Also, 15 million people are relying on a system designed for far fewer people. When everyone starts to use water, there just isn’t enough to go around. </p>
<p>There is also an additional factor in this discussion: non-revenue water. This is the term used for water that’s unbilled by the city – in other words, free water, unauthorised consumption or water lost due to leakages. This is water that is supplied by Rand Water, but is essentially “financially lost”.</p>
<p>In South Africa, the government gives a <a href="https://www.gov.za/faq/government-services/how-do-i-access-free-basic-municipal-services">free basic allowance</a> of 6,000 litres per month to every household. </p>
<p>Gauteng has non-revenue water of <a href="https://www.dws.gov.za/documents/Overall%20findings%20of%20the%202023%20Drop%20reports%20Summit%20Jan%2024%203.pptx">49.2%</a> (pages 25 to 27) – in other words, almost half the water that’s supplied to the cities in the province cannot be charged for (by the cities) because it forms part of the basic allowance, is lost through leaks or is stolen. By comparison, Denmark has non-revenue water of about <a href="https://sydafrika.um.dk/en/sector-cooperation/water-sector-program">7%</a>. Chile, also a country with variable climate, has urban non-revenue water of about <a href="https://www.thesourcemagazine.org/chiles-urban-2030-water-and-sanitation-agenda/">32%</a>.</p>
<p>Of the non-revenue water, the leakage portion for Gauteng is <a href="https://www.dws.gov.za/documents/Overall%20findings%20of%20the%202023%20Drop%20reports%20Summit%20Jan%2024%203.pptx">half</a>. In other words, for every four litres provided to Gauteng by Rand Water, one litre is wasted through leakage (the city’s fault) and one litre is either given away for free (public good), stolen (the public’s fault), or not accounted for (much harder to allocate blame). This means only half of what is provided can be charged for. </p>
<p>Now to water usage. The average consumption in Gauteng is <a href="https://www.dws.gov.za/documents/Overall%20findings%20of%20the%202023%20Drop%20reports%20Summit%20Jan%2024%203.pptx">279 litres</a> per person per day. This is:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>more than <a href="https://www.dws.gov.za/documents/Overall%20findings%20of%20the%202023%20Drop%20reports%20Summit%20Jan%2024%203.pptx">60%</a> greater than the global average </p></li>
<li><p>the <a href="https://www.dws.gov.za/documents/Overall%20findings%20of%20the%202023%20Drop%20reports%20Summit%20Jan%2024%203.pptx">highest</a> of any province </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.dws.gov.za/documents/Overall%20findings%20of%20the%202023%20Drop%20reports%20Summit%20Jan%2024%203.pptx">27%</a> more than the country average. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Gauteng citizens use too much, the cities waste way too much and there is too much theft of drinking water. The social pact is breaking down as a consequence. This is indicated by the number of civic action groups forming, for example <a href="https://watercan.org.za">WaterCAN</a>. </p>
<p>To restore this pact, the city needs to focus on non-revenue water, by allocating the correct and appropriate maintenance spend to fix and even renew the water network. At the same time citizens need to seriously consider their own water usage and how to reduce it. The citizens of Cape Town were forced to face the possibility <a href="https://www.westerncape.gov.za/general-publication/cape-town-water-rationing">of the taps running dry permanently</a> in 2018 during a five-year drought. Water consumption was <a href="https://theconversation.com/day-zero-is-meant-to-cut-cape-towns-water-use-what-is-it-and-is-it-working-92055">drastically limited</a>, forcing people to become very water conscious. </p>
<p>This has to become the new normal if there is to be uninterrupted water supply.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223926/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Sheridan has received research funding from the following organisations. The Claude Leon Foundation, the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), The Water JPI, The BMBF, FORMAS and the Water Research Commission. None of these organisations funded this work.
Craig Sheridan is a member of the South African Institution of Chemical Engineers (SAIChE), the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), and the International Water Association (IWA).</span></em></p>Citizens in South Africa’s industrial heartland use too much water, the city wastes way too much and there is too much theft of drinking water.Craig Sheridan, Chair professor, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2239832024-02-26T13:29:57Z2024-02-26T13:29:57ZSouth Africa’s apartheid legacy is still hobbling research – a study of geography shows how<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576988/original/file-20240221-30-sh4e18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Inequalities persist in the field of academic human geography.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">erhui1979</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Knowledge matters. It informs how we think about the world around us. It informs our decisions and government policies, supporting economic growth and development. </p>
<p>Knowledge is also power. Certain types of knowledge <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01436597.2020.1775487">are given more value than others</a>. This is driven by histories of privilege. In South Africa, apartheid looms large <a href="https://www.nb.co.za/en/view-book?id=9780624088547">in debates</a> about how knowledge is produced. Though it formally ended 30 years ago, it still influences whose knowledge is considered “right” and whose is sidelined.</p>
<p>And this matters in everyday lives. For instance, health and medical research and instruction used to focus on white and male bodies. This has <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03325-z#:%7E:text=Throughout%20history%2C%20racism%20and%20biases,Disease%20itself%2C%20has%20been%20racialised">directly affected</a> the provision and quality of healthcare. </p>
<p>Crucially, control over the production of knowledge provides political, economic and social power. This has real effects on education, healthcare, social policy and service delivery. </p>
<p>In a recent research paper we <a href="https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/tran.12640">studied</a> how apartheid legacies continue to affect the work of universities in South Africa. In particular we looked at the outputs of the discipline of <a href="https://geographical.co.uk/science-environment/geo-explainer-what-is-human-geography">human geography</a>, which is our specialisation. It’s the study of how space and time influence economic, social, political and cultural actions. </p>
<p>We found that universities that were historically more advantaged – that is, they served mostly white students – continue to outpace the country’s other institutions in terms of research output. This was true for quantity and quality of publication outputs in journal articles and academic books and chapters. </p>
<p>Our findings show that apartheid’s legacy continues to affect academic output. This suggests that not enough has been done to address inequalities around funding, networking and opportunities for international collaboration. It means that South Africa’s academic landscape continues to reflect the views of a privileged few.</p>
<p>We examined what drove these disparities, and identified strategies to begin shifting the dial.</p>
<h2>Historical background</h2>
<p>The history of South African human geography as a discipline is inextricably linked with colonialism. It was heavily influenced by conservative religious ideas and <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315600635-3/social-change-re-radicalization-geography-south-africa-brij-maharaj-maano-ramutsindela">notions of racial superiority</a>. And <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03736245.2016.1220545">during the apartheid era</a> topics were deliberately studied with a notional “non-political” focus, or research was used to support apartheid legislation.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/colonial-legacies-shape-urban-nature-why-this-should-change-156334">Colonial legacies shape urban nature: why this should change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In the 1970s some research began to emerge about how apartheid policies affected Black communities. This was a first. Research had largely <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/030913258100500201">toed the apartheid government’s line</a> and not focused on the deleterious effects of segregation and oppression. </p>
<p>But, overall, universities either served white or “non-white” students. White universities were well-resourced while others were not.</p>
<p>After 1994, South Africa’s human geographers turned to policy-relevant work as the country embarked on building a democracy. They began to support post-apartheid priorities related to the economy, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0376835042000325697">small business</a> and spatial development.</p>
<h2>The same dominant hierarchies</h2>
<p>The transition from apartheid led to the opening of South African universities. The racial make-up of institutions began to change. And South African academics began re-engaging with global academia after isolationist apartheid policies were lifted and international boycotts ended.</p>
<p>However, clear resourcing differences and hierarchies remain between <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.52779/9781990995057/04">(historically) advantaged and disadvantaged institutions</a>. Consequently, the discipline remains dominated by a handful of departments. Their dominance is maintained by income generation (student fees, publication income, grants), networks – and prestige. </p>
<p>Our research shows that academics from historically disadvantaged institutions feel removed from these global and national networks.</p>
<p>We found a significant concentration of research outputs among a few (historically) advantaged institutions. This allows them to generate research income and mobilise international collaborations to fund larger projects. That allows academics to take on lighter teaching loads. And that gives them more time to conduct and publish research. </p>
<p>International collaborators are drawn by these institutions’ reputations, histories and resources. It’s easier for academics to visit international universities and participate in international funding applications. Such institutions are also able to support young human geography academics and encourage greater publication outputs in ways that under-resourced and small departments struggle to match.</p>
<p>Human geographers at historically advantaged universities have mobilised international networks to appoint overseas academics to honorary positions. These moves boost the institutions’ publication outputs – and their income from <a href="https://www.dhet.gov.za/SitePages/University%20Research%20Support%20and%20Policy%20Development.aspx">government subsidies and incentives</a>.</p>
<p>As one interviewee described it, the cycle of opportunity and prestige for historically advantaged institutions leaves</p>
<blockquote>
<p>historically Black institutions always on the back foot … the playing ground is not levelled.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>These challenges could be addressed in several ways. One approach might be for more resourced universities to support historically disadvantaged institutions in developing contacts, networks and strategic policies to attract and appoint visiting research fellows. This would open up opportunities for funding. That, ultimately, will lead to more research and knowledge being produced.</p>
<p>Many of our interviewees said that more collaboration was needed between historically advantaged and historically disadvantaged institutions. This should be encouraged. Human geographers from historically disadvantaged universities must be consulted about what kinds of support they need, rather than ideas being imposed by those from well-resourced institutions.</p>
<p>Other priorities could include stronger mentoring for early- and mid-career staff. Training is crucial, too, to develop skills in journal and grant writing. Even something as simple as institutions updating online staff profiles would be valuable. This helps to promote individuals’ research interests. It also supports network building and collaborations. </p>
<p>Perhaps, most of all, there’s a need – as one interviewee told us – to push for difficult conversations about inequalities and shortcomings to “shed light on what is missing”.</p>
<p>Ultimately, commitment is required to realise a more ethical South African human geography. The government, universities, and individual academics all have a role to play in fostering inclusion and collaboration that work beyond historical inequalities. This will help to make the sub-discipline more robust and cutting edge. And that’s ultimately beneficial to academics, students and the country at large.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223983/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The cycle of opportunity and prestige for historically advantaged institutions leaves historically Black institutions on the back foot.Gijsbert Hoogendoorn, Professor in Tourism Geography, University of JohannesburgDaniel Hammett, Senior Lecturer in Political and Development Geography, University of SheffieldMukovhe Masutha, Senior Research Fellow, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2232092024-02-21T13:13:10Z2024-02-21T13:13:10ZEarth’s early evolution: fresh insights from rocks formed 3.5 billion years ago<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576464/original/file-20240219-24-5de047.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains look peaceful today - but 3.5 billion years ago the earth there was roiled by volcanoes. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Instinctively RDH/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Our Earth is <a href="https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/darwin/the-world-before-darwin/how-old-is-earth#:%7E:text=Today%2C%20we%20know%20from%20radiometric,have%20been%20taken%20more%20seriously.">around 4.5 billion years old</a>. Way back in its earliest years, vast oceans dominated. There were frequent volcanic eruptions and, because there was no free oxygen in the atmosphere, there was no ozone layer. It was a dynamic and evolving planet.</p>
<p>Scientists know all of this – but, of course, there are still gaps in our knowledge. For instance, while we know what kind of rocks were being formed on different parts of the planet 3.5 billion years ago, we are still understanding which geological processes drove these formations. </p>
<p>Luckily the answers to such questions are available. Evidence is preserved in ancient volcanic and sedimentary rocks dating back to the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/archean-eon#:%7E:text=Thus%2C%20the%20Archean%20Eon%20is,continental%20plates%20began%20to%20form.">Archaean age</a>, between 4 billion and 2.5 billion years ago.</p>
<p>These rocks are found in the oldest parts of what are today the continents, called cratons. Cratons are pieces of ancient continents that formed billions of years ago. Studying them offers a window into how processes within and on the surface of Earth operated in the past. They host a variety of different groups of rocks, including greenstones and granites.</p>
<p>One example is the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012825222000782">Singhbhum Craton</a>, in the Daitari Greenstone Belt in the state of Odisha in eastern India. This ancient part of the Earth’s crust has been found in previous research to date back to 3.5 billion years ago. The craton’s oldest rock assemblages are largely volcanic and sedimentary rocks also known as greenstone successions. Greenstones are rock assemblages made up mostly of sub-marine volcanic rocks with minor sedimentary rocks. </p>
<p>My research team and I recently published <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301926823000372">a study</a> in which we compared the Singhbhum Craton to cratons in South Africa and Australia. We chose these sites because they preserve the same kinds of rocks, in the same condition (not intensely deformed or metamorphosed), from the same time period – about 3.5 billion years ago. They are the best archives to study early Earth surface processes.</p>
<p>Our key findings were that explosive-style volcanic eruptions were common in what are today India, South Africa and Australia around 3.5 billion years ago. These eruptions mostly occurred under oceans, though sometimes above them.</p>
<p>Understanding these early Earth processes is vital for piecing together the planet’s evolutionary history and the conditions that may have sustained life during different geological epochs. This kind of research is also a reminder of the ancient geological wonders that surround us – and that there is much more to discover to understand the story of our planet.</p>
<h2>The research</h2>
<p>We sampled some rocks from the Singhbhum Craton so we could study them in our laboratory. Existing data from the same site, as well as sites in South Africa and India, were used for comparison purposes.</p>
<p>Our detailed field-based studies were complemented by <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-007-6326-5_193-1">uranium-lead (U-Pb) radiometric-age dating</a>. This common and well-established method provides information as to when a magma crystallised; in other words, it tells us when a rock formed. In this way we were able to establish key geological timelines to illustrate what processes were underway and when.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-discovery-of-a-small-continental-fragment-in-the-indian-ocean-matters-72314">Why the discovery of a small continental fragment in the Indian Ocean matters</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We also found that the geology of this area shares stark similarities with the greenstone belts documented in South Africa’s <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301926816300663">Barberton</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1342937X11002504?via%3Dihub">Nondweni</a> areas and the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/375574a0">Pilbara Craton</a> in western Australia. </p>
<p>Most particularly, all these areas experienced widespread submarine mafic – meaning high in magnesium oxide – volcanic eruptions between 3.5 and 3.3 billion years ago, preserved as pillowed lava and komatiites.</p>
<p>This differs from silicic (elevated concentration of silicon dioxide) volcanism, which research <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0040195100000585">has shown</a> was prevalent around 3.5 billion years ago.</p>
<p>These findings enrich our understanding of ancient volcanic and sedimentary processes and their significance in the broader context of Earth’s geological as well as biological evolution.</p>
<h2>Our planet’s formative years</h2>
<p>Our discoveries are pivotal for several reasons. First, they offer a clearer picture of Earth’s early tectonic activities during the Archaean times, contributing to our understanding of the planet’s formative years. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/four-ways-that-fossils-are-part-of-everyday-life-199193">Four ways that fossils are part of everyday life</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Second, the Singhbhum Craton’s unique geological features, including its greenstone belts, provide invaluable information about Earth’s surface and atmospheric processes. This is crucial for hypothesising early habitable conditions and the emergence of life on Earth. </p>
<p>Additionally, comparing the Singhbhum Craton with similar cratons in South Africa and Australia allows us to construct a more comprehensive model related to geological processes that operated during the Archaean. This can help to shed light on ancient geodynamic processes that were prevalent across different parts of the young Earth.</p>
<p>This research emphasises the need for further exploration into the geological history of ancient cratons worldwide. Understanding these early Earth processes is vital for piecing together the planet’s evolutionary history and the conditions that may have sustained life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223209/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jaganmoy Jodder received funding from the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Integrated Mineral and Energy Resource Analysis (CIMERA) and Genus DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences.</span></em></p>Cratons are pieces of ancient continents that formed billions of years ago.Jaganmoy Jodder, Post-doctoral researcher, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2217792024-02-18T07:06:55Z2024-02-18T07:06:55ZCorruption and clean energy in South Africa: economic model shows trust in government is linked to takeup of renewables<p>South Africa <a href="https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/south-africa-energy#:%7E:text=Current%20Status%3A,from%20renewables%20will%20grow%20rapidly.">relies heavily</a> on energy from coal-fired power stations, which emit large quantities of carbon. But making the transition to greater use of renewable energies, such as solar, is being hampered by a number of factors. Chief among them is corruption, which is affecting the quality of institutions.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15567249.2023.2291433">a recent paper</a> I set out how perceptions of corruption in the country’s institutions have had a huge impact on the country’s transition to clean energy. This is particularly true of institutions involved in energy, such as the state power utility Eskom.</p>
<p>My findings were based on an econometric model we developed, based on economic theory. It highlighted how perceptions of corruption and the effectiveness of government institutions influenced attitudes towards the country’s energy transition efforts. </p>
<p>Econometrics combines statistics, mathematical models and economic theories to understand and model economic problems. It uncovers the relationships and effects of various economic elements. </p>
<p>The model showed that greater trust in institutions would make people, policymakers and businesses more inclined to adopt renewable energy practices. </p>
<p>The study also found that the quality of the regulatory framework and government’s effectiveness shaped people’s views. This in turn affected decisions around adding renewable energy to the supply mix.</p>
<p>These findings matter because South Africa’s energy transition faces <a href="https://theconversation.com/cop28-south-africa-pioneered-plans-to-transition-to-renewable-energy-what-went-wrong-218851">a host of challenges</a>. These range from technical and financial challenges to broader political, socioeconomic and institutional hurdles. The key to a successful energy transition is policy that’s aligned with what the environment and the society need. It’s essential to improve institutional quality, put anti-corruption procedures in place and have clear rules. </p>
<h2>Energy mix and vision</h2>
<p>The energy situation in South Africa has changed significantly <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-energy-source-sub?time=earliest..2022&country=%7EZAF">since the mid-1990s</a>. Then, coal made up 73%-76% of the primary energy mix. Oil made up 21%-22%.</p>
<p>By 2022, coal’s share had fallen to almost 69%. The share of renewable energy sources had increased to roughly 2.3%. </p>
<p>Our study supports <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421520306145?casa_token=DpHWzhI7uCUAAAAA:leZ-aq2qmkX6h2AJbtSY5QN-0p9nlTC59L7gMJJgNRHUoJb1qEqY3bvKWt_83rXQhJ_PPe-BwQ">others</a> which show that 2008 was a turning point for the South African economy, particularly the energy sector. The factors involved included:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the global financial crisis</p></li>
<li><p>changes in government policies, such as <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/53/socar092509a">monetary policies</a> </p></li>
<li><p>leadership changes in the country and at Eskom</p></li>
<li><p>power cuts and rising electricity prices </p></li>
<li><p>a downturn in the economy. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Institutions and economic implications</h2>
<p>This research was designed to understand the impact of national policies, governmental efficiency and past dependency on fossil fuel. I based the models on historical data about the energy mix and governance scores.</p>
<p>The analysis focused on the share of renewable energy in South Africa’s total final energy consumption. I used this as a proxy for the nation’s shift to cleaner energy. </p>
<p>Institutional quality is a complex concept. In our modelling exercise we therefore used three of the <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators">World Governance Indicators</a> to stand for institutional quality: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>corruption perception index </p></li>
<li><p>regulatory quality – perceptions of government’s ability to make regulations that support private sector development </p></li>
<li><p>government effectiveness – perceptions of the quality and trustworthiness of public services. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The first model confirmed a positive relationship between perceptions of corruption-free institutions and the rollout of renewable energy. More renewable energy has been produced when governance scores have been highest.</p>
<p>The second model showed that transparent and effective regulation potentially hindered the adoption of cleaner alternatives. This can be explained by the fact that regulatory decisions have mostly supported the country’s energy dependence on fossil fuels. The energy markets, especially those for electricity, are doing better because of more sensible, open, and high-quality rules. As a result, this reduced the desire to switch to more environmentally friendly, renewable options.</p>
<p>Finally, the third model indicated a negative relationship between higher government effectiveness and the share of renewable energy. Close ties between stable governments and the conventional energy sector are common. This can influence policy choices. If these well-established businesses oppose reforms that jeopardise their interests – much like the fossil fuel sector does – the promotion of renewable energy sources may suffer. </p>
<p>I also saw that there had been a slow rate of change in renewable energy share. That can be attributed to slow procurement processes, coupled with potential lobbying and corruptive practices. </p>
<h2>Next steps</h2>
<p>South Africa has a new <a href="https://www.dmr.gov.za/Portals/0/Resources/Documents%20for%20Public%20Comments/IRP%202023%20%5BINTEGRATED%20RESOURCE%20PLAN%5D/Publication%20for%20comments%20Integrated%20Resource%20Plan%202023.pdf?ver=2024-01-05-134833-383">Integrated Resource Plan 2023</a> which proposes a near-term (2023-2030) plan that combines gas, solar, wind and battery storage. </p>
<p>But to boost the adoption of cleaner energy, South Africa needs to take urgent action to fight corruption and improve confidence in the country’s institutions. </p>
<p>Policymakers should focus first on making regulatory changes. Efficient procurement procedures and honest practices would speed up the shift to renewables. What’s needed are streamlined procurement, greater transparency and more competition.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221779/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roula Inglesi-Lotz receives funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF).</span></em></p>The key to a successful energy transition away from coal is good institutional quality supported by anti-corruption procedures and clear rules.Roula Inglesi-Lotz, Professor of Economics, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2228252024-02-15T13:43:31Z2024-02-15T13:43:31ZSouth Africa has spent billions in 4 years to create jobs for young people: how their wages affect the broader economy<p>In October 2020 the South African government launched a collection of public employment programmes, initially intended as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative, called the <a href="https://www.stateofthenation.gov.za/employment-stimulus-dashboard">Presidential Employment Stimulus</a>, has been extended since then. The total budget allocation to March 2024 was R42 billion (US$2.1 billion). </p>
<p>By December 2023 it had directly created <a href="https://pres-employment.openup.org.za/img/February_2024_Update.pdf">1.8 million jobs and livelihood opportunities</a>. These have been mostly temporary jobs in public employment programmes such as school education assistants. It has also included financial support to various sectors. </p>
<p>An important question is how much the programme’s spending stimulates economic activity in local communities and nationally. That is, to what extent it supports job creation or higher incomes outside the programme.</p>
<p>South Africa has an exceptionally high unemployment rate (<a href="https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0211/P02113rdQuarter2023.pdf">32% or 41%, depending on the definition</a>), particularly concentrated among the youth. <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.KD.ZG?end=2022&locations=ZA&start=1990">Economic growth has been stagnant</a> for the last 15 years, and increasing pressure has been placed on the national budget. While the core objective of a public employment programme is to provide direct employment and <a href="https://fundawande.org/img/cms/news/Limpopo%20Second%20Midline%20Report%202023%20V03.pdf">improve service provision</a>, in this context it is also important to understand how it might stimulate economic activity.</p>
<p>At the <a href="https://www.saldru.uct.ac.za/">Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit</a> at the University of Cape Town, we were commissioned by the Presidency to draw on our knowledge of programme evaluation and South Africa’s social assistance policy to try to answer this question. <a href="https://www.afd.fr/en/ressources/stimulus-effects-large-public-employment-programme">We evaluated</a> spending associated with the largest component of the programme – the <a href="https://www.education.gov.za/Programmes/BEEI.aspx">Basic Education Employment Initiative</a>. </p>
<p>We found that the programme likely does support broader economic activity, and these effects partly persist after the end of the programme. Participants buy goods which are produced to some extent in local value chains, and which employ local labour, rather than being imported. The programme spending does not just “disappear”, but recirculates in the South African economy.</p>
<h2>The study</h2>
<p>The Basic Education Employment Initiative has employed about 245,000 young people per phase to assist schools across the country. The duration of employment has varied with each phase. More recently it has been eight months. Participants are employed in full-time positions and are paid the monthly national minimum wage, which is approximately R4,000 (US$209).</p>
<p>The programme completed its fourth phase in 2023. Since it was launched in December 2020 it has employed over 850,000 young people, becoming the <a href="https://www.stateofthenation.gov.za/employment-stimulus-dashboard">largest</a> youth employment programme in South Africa’s history. </p>
<p>In our study, we focused on phases 2 and 3 of the programme, from November 2021 to August 2022. </p>
<p>First, we looked at how the programme affected participant spending patterns. We then estimated what kind of economic activity this spending supported.</p>
<p>Our initial evidence came from a WhatsApp survey of 31,250 participants we ran with <a href="https://www.harambee.co.za/">Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator</a>, a non-profit which supported the programme in partnership with the Department of Basic Education. Harambee holds contact details of most participants for phases 2 and 3, with permission that the records may be used for programme evaluation. </p>
<p>The survey response rate was unfortunately low. But it showed participants spent their cash mostly on groceries (about 50%), transport and rent. </p>
<p>Most of their income went to necessities, much of it from local stores. </p>
<p>However, our main evidence comes from information provided by a leading grocery retailer. The retailer gave us limited access to fully anonymised sales records from its loyalty rewards programme. </p>
<p>In partnership with <a href="https://omnisient.com/">Omnisient</a>, a privacy-preserving data collaboration platform, we were able to see who in the data was a participant in the programme and who wasn’t, while retaining individual anonymity. We explain in the paper how this was done without revealing or sharing any personally-identifying information. The data collaboration partnership went through a rigorous legal process and received University of Cape Town Research Ethics clearance.</p>
<p>Using this data, we found that average participant spending at the retailer increased from R327 (US$17) per month before the start of the programme to R437 (US$23.50) during the programme. </p>
<p>When compared to a control sample of other customers who shopped at the same locations and kinds of stores as the participants, using a statistical analysis method called <a href="https://mixtape.scunning.com/09-difference_in_differences">difference-in-differences</a>, we found that participant spending sharply increased by 15% during the programme. </p>
<p>Even after the programme ended, participants’ spending remained 4% higher than the baseline. </p>
<p>This might be due to participant savings during the programme, or participants being better placed to find work after the programme ends. </p>
<p>But this aggregate spending increase hides quite a lot of variety, per Table 1. In the largest spending categories, participant spending increased by 16% (groceries; refrigerated and frozen perishables) and 20% (toiletries), but in some smaller categories the percentage increase was much higher (off a low base).</p>
<p>For example, spending on home and small appliances increased by 51%, and kitchenware by 40%. In general, percentage spending increases were lower for food items. This was unsurprising as these necessities already took up a large part of participants’ budget before the programme.</p>
<p>This means the spending increase of 15% at the retailer is likely an underestimate of how much the programme increased participant spending overall, because food items make up over 80% of expenditure at the retailer and are therefore over-represented. </p>
<p>Another reason the 15% increase is probably an underestimate is because we can only see each individual’s shopping, and not the rest of their household. But some participants were probably shopping on behalf of their family before the programme, and during the programme someone else took over shopping responsibilities, using income from the Basic Education Employment Initiative.</p>
<h2>Income effects</h2>
<p>What can we then say about who receives income from this increased expenditure? This part of the paper is exploratory and speculative, because we cannot directly see how spending from the programme flows through the economy, and how firms respond to this increased revenue.</p>
<p>Instead, we have to use back-of-the-envelope calculations to scale up the expenditure, use <a href="https://www.oecd.org/sti/ind/input-outputtables.htm">input-output data</a> from Stats SA to guide assumptions about which industries produce which kinds of goods, and use other firm data to see how firms’ wage bills and profits usually respond to sales increases. In our paper we explain the methods, assumptions and limitations in detail.</p>
<p>With these caveats in mind, the implied direct effect of the programme on the retailer’s sales is about R8 million (US$417,500) per month. Directly, this likely increased the wage bill for workers at the retailer by about R1 million (US$52,188) per month. </p>
<p>Indirectly, the increase in the retailer’s sales would have increased demand from their suppliers, and in turn their suppliers’ suppliers, which we estimate increased employment and wages outside the retailer by another R1.7 million (US$88,734) per month. </p>
<p>What about participant spending outside the retail firm? By scaling up the retailer-specific results, we estimate that overall the programme generates about R38 million (US$2 million) per month in additional value added in the national economy, which translates to R19 million (US$991,473) in additional employment and wages per month, R13 million (US$678,376) of which went towards local community employment.</p>
<h2>What next</h2>
<p>The main beneficiaries of the Basic Education Employment Initiative programmes are the young people who are directly employed by it, and the students in the schools. But the money does not get “thrown away” – one person’s spending is another person’s income. </p>
<p>And the participants do buy goods which are produced locally, using local workers. When evaluating the costs and benefits of the programme, and similar programmes such as social grants, these “extra” economic benefits need to be part of the calculation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222825/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Budlender received funding for this research from Agence française de développement (AFD) with the support of the European Union. This independent academic research was commissioned by the South African Presidency. He has previously done academic research and policy advisory work for the South African Presidency and National Treasury.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ihsaan Bassier received funding for this research from Agence francaise de developpement (AFD) with the support of the European Union. This independent academic research was commissioned by the South African Presidency. He has previously done academic research and policy advisory work for the South African Presidency and National Treasury. </span></em></p>When evaluating the costs and benefits of the employment programme, and similar ones such as social grants, ‘extra’ economic benefits need to be part of the calculation.Joshua Budlender, PhD candidate in Economics, UMass AmherstIhsaan Bassier, Researcher in Economics, London School of Economics and Political ScienceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2147582024-02-13T15:05:19Z2024-02-13T15:05:19ZGirls and pornography in South Africa: going beyond just the negative effects<p><em>Academic research tends to focus on the negative aspects and sexual dangers of girls and young people viewing porn. But what do girls themselves say about growing up in a world where porn is so readily available from such a young age? It’s a question Deevia Bhana, a professor in gender and childhood sexuality, sets out to answer in her <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Girls-Negotiating-Porn-in-South-Africa-Power-Play-and-Sexuality/Bhana/p/book/9781032028897">book</a> Girls Negotiating Porn in South Africa: Power, Play and Sexuality. We asked her five questions.</em></p>
<h2>What’s the book’s central idea?</h2>
<p>When it comes to porn, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23268743.2015.1051914">research suggests</a> there are differences between boys and girls, where it is more acceptable for boys to view porn than it is for girls. These gendered differences are based on gender roles and identities where boys’ interest in and expression of sexuality is deemed to be more appropriate than that of girls, who are expected to be sexually innocent and subdued. </p>
<p>In South Africa, these divisions are made deeper by <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad738-south-africans-see-gender-based-violence-as-most-important-womens-rights-issue-to-address/">sexual violence</a> and <a href="https://www.inclusivesociety.org.za/post/understanding-gender-inequality#:%7E:text=%5B1%5D%20Its%20inequality%20is%20profoundly,lower%20than%20that%20of%20men.">gender inequalities</a> where girls are seen as passive victims of sexuality. Putting girls and porn together as this book does is taboo. There are many reasons for this, including perceptions of respectability. </p>
<p>In contrast, the book provides evidence of girls’ widespread engagement with porn. Digital technologies, social media platforms and a wide array of online sites offer access to sexually explicit material. Sex is all over the internet and porn is everywhere. And girls do engage with it to expand their knowledge – whether teachers and parents like this or not. </p>
<p>The book elaborates on girls’ sexual curiosity, their ideas of sexuality and bodies and their objection to racial categorisations and sexual objectification. It opens up and broadens the conversation about how girls engage with porn in a far more nuanced way beyond danger narratives. The book advocates for a more open and nonjudgmental approach to understanding teenage girls’ experiences with porn, focusing on their voices, experiences and perspectives. </p>
<h2>What research was involved?</h2>
<p>The book is based on focus group discussions and individual interviews with 30 teenage girls between 14 and 18. It draws on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/photo-elicitation">photo-elicitation</a> methods, drawings and poster making. The girls presented visual images and drawings to describe what porn meant to them. </p>
<h2>What did girls tell you about their experiences of viewing porn?</h2>
<p>The book opens with 17-year-old Nqobile (not her real name). She recalls she first encountered sexual scenes on TV when she was eight, but knew this was something that she couldn’t discuss with her parents. She found this exciting and wanted to know more about it. Like other girls in the study, she spoke about what online porn meant to her. </p>
<p>The girls in the study did not have to access porn online to see porn. They said porn was everywhere, in billboards, movies, music videos… Porn is a normalised aspect of everyday life and the online world. They openly mocked and discarded dominant understandings of porn and sex as inappropriate in their young lives. </p>
<p>They spoke about the excitement of forging sexual relationships, their concerns about first-time sex and their desire to learn about sexual intimacy. One participant said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Maybe, if you are very inexperienced with sex, you can watch something or look at something to give you an idea of what to expect, and just how to approach the situation, what to do in the situations so that you don’t feel inexperienced.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When girls engage with porn they don’t simply see sexual content. They also see women whose bodies don’t reflect reality. These images can shape girls’ perceptions of their own bodies and a desire to conform to certain beauty standards which are gendered and racialised. The book shows that girls may find themselves pursuing these elusive “ideals”, but may also challenge them. Many were aware of slim, straight haired, fair skinned and blonde ideals. </p>
<p>Rather than reinforce outdated beauty norms, the girls suggested alternative media and social media platforms that celebrate the real variety of bodies. They also used discussions about porn to talk about male power and female sexual subordination. That only men were seen as deriving pleasure from porn was viewed as one-sided. Women too, the girls argued, experienced pleasure. </p>
<h2>Where do power, play and sexuality fit in?</h2>
<p>Girls engage with porn through their online adventures as they play with the boundaries of respectability. Play also indicates the fun and pleasure they derive from talking about their online encounters with sexuality. So, they play with porn, make jokes about its content, learn about sexual relationships, while they also critically object to the domination of heterosexuality and racialised and gendered patterns of inequalities. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/help-ive-just-discovered-my-teen-has-watched-porn-what-should-i-do-215892">Help, I've just discovered my teen has watched porn! What should I do?</a>
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<p>The lack of comprehensive sex education that addresses girls’ desires and porn can leave young people with limited resources for understanding healthy relationships, consent and sexual pleasure. Online porn becomes a primary source of information. </p>
<p>But relying solely on online porn for sexual knowledge can lead to perceptions of intimacy that are unrealistic, where understandings of boundaries and consent reinforce male power. Additionally, girls’ engagement with porn without proper context or guidance can contribute to feelings of shame, guilt and confusion about one’s own desires.</p>
<p>In South Africa, while comprehensive sexuality education is compulsory in schools, a focus on disease, poor health, violence and the need to abstain is prominent. Sexual desires, pleasures and discussion of first-time sex are often of marginal consideration. In fact <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-82602-4">across the globe</a> young people are denied sexuality education that actually takes heed of pleasure.</p>
<h2>What do you hope readers will take away?</h2>
<p>The research offers five key insights:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Girls are not passive recipients: The book challenges the prevailing notion that teenage girls are passive victims of sexuality. Instead, it highlights they actively engage with and navigate the complex world of online porn.</p></li>
<li><p>Girls’ experiences are complex: The research shows girls have a wide range of thoughts, feelings and reactions to porn, including curiosity, playfulness and critical thinking. This challenges the view that porn is universally harmful.</p></li>
<li><p>Context matters: The study highlights the importance of considering the specific social, economic and cultural contexts in which girls are growing up. It recognises that girls from privileged backgrounds may have different experiences and access to online resources that permit ways of learning about porn.</p></li>
<li><p>Better sexuality education is crucial: Instead of shunning discussions about sexuality and porn, the book shows that girls do want to have conversations about these topics. It is adults who refuse to do so. </p></li>
<li><p>We should listen to girls’ voices: The book underscores the importance of valuing girls’ voices and perspectives. It advocates for an approach that recognises that girls both desire and object to porn’s racialised and sexist messages.</p></li>
</ol><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214758/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deevia Bhana receives funding from the National Research Foundation. This work is based on the research supported wholly by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Number 98407).</span></em></p>Sex is all over the internet, and girls engage with it in many different ways. They shouldn’t be judged for it.Deevia Bhana, Professor Gender and Childhood Sexuality, University of KwaZulu-NatalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2217672024-02-12T14:14:08Z2024-02-12T14:14:08ZThe San people of southern Africa: where ethics codes for researching indigenous people could fail them<p>There is a long and often complicated history of researchers studying Indigenous people. In 1999, the education scholar Linda Tuhiwai-Smith, in her book <a href="https://www.google.nl/books/edition/Decolonizing_Methodologies/Nad7afStdr8C?hl=en&gbpv=0">Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples</a>, emphasised the colonial character of much research. She warned that it</p>
<blockquote>
<p>brings with it a new wave of exploration, discovery, exploitation and appropriation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Well into the <a href="https://www.google.nl/books/edition/Anthropology_and_the_Bushman/bUUHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0;%20https://www.google.nl/books/edition/The_Bushman_Myth/BPZKDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0;%20https://www.google.nl/books/edition/Ethnologists_in_Camouflage/qGhezwEACAAJ?hl=nl">20th century</a>, researchers depicted groups like the Indigenous San of southern Africa in a racist fashion, fixating on their physical characteristics and writing of their “savage” or “primitive” state. </p>
<p>Historically, many researchers did not care about their study participants’ consent or agency, or how they could benefit from the research, for instance through improving their position in society. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-im-righting-the-wrongs-of-my-early-research-and-sharing-my-scientific-data-with-local-communities-191713">Why I'm righting the wrongs of my early research and sharing my scientific data with local communities </a>
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<p>This has gradually shifted over the past 50 years. Global organisations such as the Ethical Research Partnership <a href="https://trust-project.eu/">TRUST</a>, the <a href="https://americananthro.org/about/policies/statement-on-ethics/">American Anthropological Association</a> and most, if not all, credible academic institutions, have created ethical rules and guidelines to protect vulnerable populations from exploitation and promote their role in research.</p>
<p>But, as I and a group of fellow ethnographers, together with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/San">San people</a> from all over southern Africa, show in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02101-0">a recent paper</a>, such ethical guidelines have flaws. </p>
<p>Today there are <a href="https://peabody.harvard.edu/video-traces-and-tracks-journeys-san#:%7E:text=But%20just%20to%20give%20you,%2C%20Botswana%2C%20and%20South%20Africa.">about 130,000 San people</a> in Angola, Botswana, <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6096/">Namibia</a>, South Africa and Zimbabwe. They were historically nomadic hunter gatherers; in the past century or so their lives have become more settled, based on agriculture and wage labour.</p>
<p>The pitfalls we identified in the guidelines manifest mainly in three ways: by oppressing vulnerable groups; by being ambiguous about potential benefits to the participants; and by being difficult to follow in practice.</p>
<h2>Three issues</h2>
<p>There are several reasons why ethical conduct in scientific research is so important. Ethical rules are there to prevent what’s known as <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01423-6">“ethics dumping”</a>, in which unethical research practices are used in lower-income countries that would not normally be allowed elsewhere. They also guard against <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01423-6">“helicopter research”</a>, when scientists from high-income countries conduct their research without involving local scientists or communities.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/african-ubuntu-can-deepen-how-research-is-done-190076">African ubuntu can deepen how research is done</a>
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<p>In 2017 a <a href="https://trust-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/San-Code-of-RESEARCH-Ethics-Booklet-final.pdf">code of conduct</a> was created by academics and San leaders working with and for the South African San Institute, the South African San Council and TRUST. The <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02101-0">paper</a> discussed in this article, as well as <a href="https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/hgr.2023.4">one other</a>, analysed problems with this code and similar instruments, and individual contracts unique to a particular piece of research.</p>
<p>These were:</p>
<p><strong>1. Oppression of opinions:</strong> Authorities (often NGOs) sometimes want to push their agenda by keeping unwelcome ideas out of the research. In South Africa, a colleague of mine encountered dubious gatekeepers who claimed to represent the community she hoped to study and who wanted to dictate whom she could interview.</p>
<p>An instrument intended to promote ethical research was used to exclude particular people, or their ideas. </p>
<p><strong>2. An over-emphasis on immediate benefits:</strong> Most codes of conduct and contracts include a clause that research must be “beneficial”. This ignores the essence of what most scientific research is: fundamental and not applied. Fundamental knowledge is not immediately practical but it is crucial to make research potentially beneficial. </p>
<p>I have worked on <a href="https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3197/np.2019.230104">research</a> about a land claim by the San in northern Namibia. Knowledge similar to the sort reflected in my research <a href="https://doi.org/10.3366/ajicl.2020.0339">has helped San groups</a> in other parts of southern Africa <a href="https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/BieseleJu/1000">regain or retain land</a>. Will my research do the same? I have no idea, because that takes time – the research doesn’t instantly benefit the participants.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-steps-every-researcher-should-take-to-ensure-participants-are-not-harmed-and-are-fully-heard-191430">Five steps every researcher should take to ensure participants are not harmed and are fully heard</a>
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<p>A focus on benefits also ignores different interests and perceptions within communities. A benefit for some may be detrimental to others. For instance, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280233612_Local_impacts_of_community-based_tourism_in_southern_Africa">research</a> can support wildlife management and the creation of tourism jobs for some. But these activities may constrain other livelihoods in the same community. In a <a href="https://journals.lww.com/coas/fulltext/2017/15020/ju__hoansi_lodging_in_a_namibian_conservancy_.2.aspx">Namibian case study</a>, some San complained about restrictions on hunting, small-scale farming, or keeping livestock. </p>
<p><strong>3. Practical limitations:</strong> In southern Africa it is often unclear in advance whom you need to contact to discuss and sign something, and what the legal status of codes and contracts is. In our experiences, e-mails often go unanswered. Many local San do not even know – or, in some cases, care – that these instruments exist. For most, researchers’ needs and aims are not a priority in their ordinary lives. </p>
<p>In such cases research codes and contracts mainly legitimise the researchers’ and gatekeepers’ role in research, but not necessarily that of the people being studied. </p>
<p>This is not an exhaustive list of potential issues. Others include the imposition of a red tape culture, illiteracy among participants and a lack of clear consequences if researchers behave unethically even after signing a contract.</p>
<h2>Paper is no panacea</h2>
<p>We are not opposed to instruments that can empower research participants, but they are not a panacea. Researchers need to scrutinise such codes’ inherent and complex challenges. They also need to put collaboration at the heart of their work.</p>
<p>Examples of such scrutiny and collaboration already exist. Some San groups, such as the <a href="https://anadjeh.wordpress.com/">||Ana-Djeh San Trust</a>, have created initiatives to increase their participation in research, including community training to raise awareness about research. In such cases they like to collaborate with researchers they trust, normally because they have been in contact with them for many years already. Such trust is at the heart of good collaborations and is, we would argue, much more important than paper agreements.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221767/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stasja Koot does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There are several reasons why ethical conduct in scientific research is so important.Stasja Koot, Assistant Professor, Wageningen UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2208322024-02-07T20:46:33Z2024-02-07T20:46:33ZDemography and reproductive rights are environmental issues: Insights from sub-Saharan Africa<p>Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is growing <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/wpp2022_summary_of_results.pdf">three times faster</a> than the rest of the world with an average of 4.6 births per woman in 2021. By comparison, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/91f0015m/91f0015m2024001-eng.htm">the fertility rate in Canada was 1.3 births per woman in 2022</a>. </p>
<p>The region is projected to continue to be the fastest growing in the world, with a population increasing from 1.2 billion in 2021 to 2.1 billion in 2050. </p>
<p>Sustained and rapid population growth has deep implications for development, <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/undesa_pd_2022_policy_brief_population_growth.pdf">exacerbating social, economic and environmental challenges</a> from food insecurity and gender inequity to environmental degradation. </p>
<p>At the same time, Sub-Saharan Africa also has a <a href="https://www.populationinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Population-and-Climate-Change-Vulnerability.pdf">disproportionate vulnerability to climate change and environmental degradation</a>. </p>
<p>It is critical that population dynamics and reproductive health be at the forefront of ongoing environmental discussions.</p>
<h2>Population dynamics and environment</h2>
<p>There are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat8680">many just and humane ways to slow the pace of rapid population growth while also respecting human rights and the need for economic development</a>. Key to this goal is advancing reproductive rights, gender equity and education. </p>
<p>Advancing reproductive autonomy by ensuring that individuals have the means to choose the timing and frequency of childbearing carries significant benefits for climate change resilience and environmental sustainability. </p>
<p>As individuals are given the means to choose the number, timing and spacing of their children, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2470">they tend to have fewer children</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/africas-groundbreaking-womens-rights-treaty-turns-20-the-hits-and-misses-of-the-maputo-protocol-209607">Africa's groundbreaking women's rights treaty turns 20 - the hits and misses of the Maputo protocol</a>
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<p>It is estimated that if the United Nations’ <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/">Sustainable Development Goals</a> target for contraceptive use and education are met, global population size would decline from today’s 8 billion to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30677-2">6.29 billion in 2100</a>. If not, then the United Nations medium <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/wpp2022_summary_of_results.pdf">projection of 10.3 billion appears more likely</a>. </p>
<p>Yet, despite their far-ranging implications for environmental sustainability, demographic trajectories are largely omitted or regarded as set in stone by the development and environmental communities. This makes for a missed opportunity for transformative change. </p>
<p>Discussions that highlight the negative impacts of global population growth are also often marginalized and perceived as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10042857.2016.1149296">unwarranted, alarmist, coercive and racist</a>. At the same time, it is important to remember that high birth rates should not carry the stigma of blame but instead be seen within the lens of wider socio-economic issues.</p>
<p>We live in a demographically divided world. Some regions of the planet are experiencing sustained population growth, while others are witnessing relative stability and even decline. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/drc-has-one-of-the-fastest-growing-populations-in-the-world-why-this-isnt-good-news-209420">DRC has one of the fastest growing populations in the world – why this isn't good news</a>
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<p>In this context concerns about population growth can appear to have limited global application, making it more challenging to express alarm over increasing human numbers in relation to population declines elsewhere </p>
<p>However, this does not mean that exponential human growth cannot pose concerns in some regions.</p>
<h2>Sub-Saharan perspectives</h2>
<p>As a <a href="https://uniweb.uottawa.ca/members/4481">researcher</a> in the emerging field of planetary health, I study the nexus of reproductive rights, population dynamics and environmental sustainability. </p>
<p>In collaboration with <a href="https://www.ug.edu.gh/economics/people/staff-faculty/nkechi-s-owoo">Nkechi S. Owoo</a>, from the University of Ghana, we set out to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3197/JPS.63772236595233">explore stakeholder perceptions</a> around these issues. We were surprised to learn that sub-Saharan Africans perspectives had not been individually documented, despite their unique relevance. </p>
<p>Our study included a survey and follow-up interviews with 402 participants from 42 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The results would surprise many observers who may doubt that population growth is a concern in Africa.</p>
<p>While there were geographic and gender limitations in our sample size — and more research will be required to further explore this topic — we nevertheless feel that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/world4040048">our findings</a> provide useful insights into wide-ranging public concern for population growth. Respondents overwhelmingly perceived population growth as a phenomenon representing challenges to environmental sustainability, economic and social goals, peace and security. </p>
<p>Many participants expressed the view that population dynamics ought to be integrated in policies and discussions aimed at improving or preserving the quality of the environment. One respondent in particular stated that </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“population dynamics should always be put at the forefront whenever climate and the environment are being discussed”. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>A small number of participants argued that population growth was not a driver of environmental degradation and climate change, which was attributed to the excessive consumption habits and disproportionate responsibility of the Global North.</p>
<p>The large majority of our respondents, however, held a different view. They felt that the disproportionate role of consumption did not preclude acknowledging the role of population growth in generating environmental degradation. </p>
<p>A survey participant from South Africa, for example, stated that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The cumulative impact of 1 billion low per-capita footprints still equals a high impact. This is not to discount the high impact of people that may have lower fertility rates and higher per-capita footprints — who are as important to address.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Participants overwhelmingly felt reproductive health and rights, alongside education and women empowerment considerations, ought to be integrated in environmental sustainability discussions and policies. </p>
<p>They agreed with the notion that contraception and family planning services can have a positive impact on environmental sustainability. They also agreed that integrating family planning as an environmental policy would contribute to accelerating much needed progress on reproductive rights and sustainability. </p>
<h2>It is time to discuss demography</h2>
<p>This study presents surprising evidence that rebuts common assumptions about the sensitivity of discussing population trends in developing countries. </p>
<p>Our survey suggests that a majority of those working in a field that is related to economic, social, or environmental development in sub-Saharan Africa consider the topic of population growth important. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">‘What will it take to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals?’ Produced by the United Nations.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Our study also supports the importance of amplifying the voices of people among those most exposed to rapid population growth and most vulnerable to climate change and environmental degradation. These individuals, more often than not, live in places where gender equity and access to family planning face <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s40834-022-00198-5">significant challenges</a>.</p>
<p>Most of our research respondents are concerned by population growth because of its negative environmental and social implications, and wish to integrate demographic and reproductive rights and gender equity considerations in environmental discourses and policies. </p>
<p><a href="https://mahb.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/biad080.pdf">Similar calls to stabilize and gradually decrease the human population by supporting reproductive autonomy and gender equity</a> are regularly issued by leading environmental scientists, and must be prioritized to achieve the transformative change needed for sustainability.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220832/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Céline Delacroix is a Senior Fellow with the Population Institute (USA), which provided financial support to pursue this research project by offering a fellowship to its authors.</span></em></p>Environmental policymakers and scholars must listen to sub-Saharan Africans’ voices and recognize the importance of population for achieving sustainable development goals.Céline Delacroix, Adjunct Professor and Senior Fellow, School of Health Sciences, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2219982024-02-02T10:59:15Z2024-02-02T10:59:15ZSouth Africa needs to manage migrants better. That requires cleaning up the Department of Home Affairs<p>Legal grievances against the South African Department of Home Affairs, including contempt of court cases, are depressingly common. Too frequently the minister has to apologise to a court, or to ask for more time, on behalf of the department. Most of the court cases involve the operations of the department regarding visas and permits for foreign visitors, immigrants and prospective refugees.</p>
<p>Just a few months ago home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi said, <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-06-15-minister-motsoaledi-apologises-to-south-africa-for-the-mess-created-by-his-department/">in legal papers</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere apology to the Chief Justice, all judges of the high court and Constitutional Court, the President of South Africa, Minister of Finance, Lawyers for Human Rights and its legal representatives and the people of South Africa for the mess created by officials of the Department of Home Affairs.</p>
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<p>This particular mess was triggered by the minister’s failure to amend an unconstitutional law which allowed for the detention of irregular migrants for 120 days. </p>
<p>The rotten state of the department is widely known. Two reports released in the last three years, commissioned by the minister and the presidency and led by senior and seasoned individuals, set out the problems in detail. One, released <a href="https://static.pmg.org.za/Review-Issuance_of_visas_permits.pdf">in 2022</a>, chronicled a backlog of visa, permit and status applications, evidence of fraudulent applications being first rejected, then accepted, and the system being used illegally. The other found multiple failures in the provision of visas to senior business managers and experts.</p>
<p>The issue of migration policy and its implementation has never been more pressing for South Africa. Immigration has grown relatively rapidly in the past 20 years. The proportion of migrants to local people more than doubled from a relatively low level of 2.1% in 2000 to a moderate level of 4.8% in 2020, according to a <a href="https://nsi.org.za/publications/analysis-trends-patterns-migration-africa/">study</a> drawing on UN data.</p>
<p>The global average immigrant population is around 3.5% but countries like the US (nearly 16% in 2019), Australia and New Zealand are much higher. Côte d'Ivoire is the only country on the continent with a considerably higher percentage of immigrants than South Africa.</p>
<p>Migration policy is likely to be a key issue in South Africa’s forthcoming elections. A <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/fm/features/2023-11-16-is-south-africa-heading-for-an-immigration-election/">leading journalist</a> has argued that 2024 will be an “immigration election”. Populist parties are expected to mobilise around people’s fears, while the government will continue to use immigration as an excuse for poor service delivery and joblessness.</p>
<p>The reality is that the impact of migrants on the circumstances of poor South Africans is marginal, and far less important than the very poor performance of the economy and many governmental institutions. </p>
<p>In a paper <a href="https://nsi.org.za/publications/south-africa-migration-study-nsi-report/">just published</a> I examine the recent history of immigration policy in South Africa. I argue that the challenges would best be addressed by improvement in the operations of the Department of Home Affairs. This should be accompanied by some modernisation of migration law to encourage the use of regular migration channels and discourage irregularity. </p>
<h2>The problems</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://static.pmg.org.za/Review-Issuance_of_visas_permits.pdf">first</a> of the two investigations initiated by the minister was headed by Cassius Lubisi, former secretary of the cabinet. The <a href="http://www.dha.gov.za/images/PDFs/Report-of-the-Work-Visa-Review-2023.pdf">second</a> was headed by anti-apartheid struggle stalwart Mavuso Msimang. </p>
<p>Their main findings were as follows.</p>
<p>Fraudulent documentation was used in 36,647 applications for visas, permits or status over a 16-year period. Of these, 880 were approved and 288 were pending. 4,160 of the fraudulent applications were first rejected, and then accepted after reconsideration.</p>
<p>Systems that had been replaced were still being used illegally from time to time. The outcomes of such activities were suspicious. In some cases applications were processed in zero days. The investigation found visa expiry dates issued beyond the legal limit.</p>
<p>The department’s databases for naturalisation and population registration didn’t correlate with each other.</p>
<p>The list identifying undesirable immigrants was “fatally flawed due to incomplete and missing crucial data”. </p>
<p>In some cases, files had been inserted illegally into the information system. This process would require “a highly skilled IT user with administrator rights to execute”. </p>
<p>There were multiple cases of “forum-shopping” by applicants. This is when an applicant applies for a range of unrelated permits in the hope that one of them will get through.</p>
<p>The department did not have systems that could identify multiple applications by the same person.</p>
<h2>Possible fixes</h2>
<p>The Department of Home Affairs <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202311/49690gon4061.pdf">recently issued</a> a draft white paper which it said was aimed at addressing the problems that had been identified.</p>
<p>It proposed severely curtailing the rights of prospective refugees, restricting paths to citizenship, and strengthening the Border Management Authority and supportive institutions. </p>
<p>But, based on my findings, it is clear that these changes won’t solve the problems. Experts <a href="https://www.guilford.com/books/The-Age-of-Migration/Haas-Castles-Miller/9781462542895">show</a> that tighter restrictions lead to greater illegality, not less migration.</p>
<p>The most disappointing element of the draft white paper is that it makes no reference to recommendations made in the two reports on the problems at the department. </p>
<p>Recommendations of the reports included:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>major investment in and reorganisation of information systems </p></li>
<li><p>the integration of the various population databases </p></li>
<li><p>further forensic investigations to root out corruption </p></li>
<li><p>hiring and training staff with skills and integrity.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The draft white paper also does not mention the need to modernise the colonial-style bilateral labour agreements which South Africa maintains with five regional neighbours – Mozambique, Lesotho, Eswatini, Malawi and Botswana. These countries, and Zimbabwe, are the greatest source of regular and irregular migration.</p>
<p>These agreements are no longer fit for purpose. Firstly, they impose tight restrictions on the rights of contracted migrants from other countries. Secondly, they are based on patterns of migrant labour developed during the colonial period to support farming and mining. Thirdly, they’re written up on the basis of an unequal relationship between countries of the southern African region.</p>
<p>Modern bilateral labour agreements have been developed. An example <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---migrant/documents/publication/wcms_837529.pdf">is the Canadian system</a>. It provides for long term arrangements with full labour and social rights for the duration of the multiyear contract, but no right to permanent residence for the workers or their families. </p>
<p>Modern Canadian-style migrant labour agreements would encourage more migrants to choose regular migration routes and fewer would try to evade or abuse the law.</p>
<p>The draft white paper gives the impression that the challenge of migration policy can be solved with tighter laws on refugees and citizenship. In fact the fundamental problem is the corruption and inefficiency in the permits and visa section of the department, which the white paper hardly mentions.</p>
<p>The unfortunate conclusion that can be drawn from a reading of the draft white paper is that it was designed primarily to give the ruling party a narrative for the upcoming election, rather than to reform the migration governance regime.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221998/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Hirsch is employed as a research fellow at the New South Institute under whose auspices he researched and wrote this article.</span></em></p>Problems identified include a backlog of visa, permit and status applications, fraudulent applications being first rejected, then accepted, and the system being used illegally.Alan Hirsch, Research Fellow New South Institute, Emeritus Professor at The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2216142024-01-31T15:25:32Z2024-01-31T15:25:32ZAfrican countries are struggling with high debt, demands to spend more and collapsing currencies: the policy fixes that could help<p>Highly indebted African countries are facing stark trade-offs between servicing expensive debt, supporting high and growing development needs, and stabilising domestic currencies.</p>
<p>Government debt has risen in at least <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/SSA/Issues/2023/04/14/regional-economic-outlook-for-sub-saharan-africa-april-2023">40 African countries</a> over the past decade. As a result, some are experiencing a bad combination of high debt, elevated development spending needs amid budget shortfalls, and unfavourable exchange rate pressures. </p>
<p>These issues have become more pressing since 2022, when persistently high inflation prompted major central banks around the world to embark on the most aggressive <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/global-economic-prospects">monetary tightening campaign</a> in decades. Monetary policy tightens when central banks raise interest rates. </p>
<p>Since then, global interest rates have climbed even <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/SSA/Issues/2023/04/14/regional-economic-outlook-for-sub-saharan-africa-april-2023">higher</a>, triggering a jump in repayments on external loans and adding to debt burdens accumulated over the last decade. In addition, some countries with worsening debt situations have endured large exchange rate depreciations and struggled to stabilise the value of their domestic currencies. </p>
<p>My perspective, shaped by years of researching Africa’s development challenges, is that this presents many countries with a triple set of dilemmas that’s not easy to navigate. Tackling any of one of these issues imperils the others.</p>
<p>Here are some examples:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>stemming the rise in public debt and containing exchange rate decreases would make it more difficult to meet bigger public spending needs </p></li>
<li><p>pushing for lower public debt while supporting extra spending risks putting more strain on domestic currencies </p></li>
<li><p>prioritising higher spending needs and easing currency strains runs the risk of inviting extra government debt. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Steps can be taken to expand the policy space to tackle these challenges while easing difficult trade-offs. These steps include prioritising public spending measures that raise growth, fixing the revenue collection problem facing all African countries, and restructuring unsustainable government debt.</p>
<h2>Rising government debt and policy dilemmas</h2>
<p>The triple dilemma unfolded as government debts rose substantially over the last decade. As shown in Figure 1, median government debt has more than doubled since 2012 and amounted to <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October">61% of GDP</a> as of 2023. </p>
<p>At first, <a href="https://www.economist.com/briefing/2023/11/02/markets-think-interest-rates-could-stay-high-for-a-decade-or-more">historically low global interest rates</a> in the decade after the global financial crisis in 2008 contributed powerfully to burgeoning debt by making it easy to borrow large amounts of cheap money. </p>
<p>The debt trends of countries have worsened sharply since then. Factors have included the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered a cost-of-living crisis, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which contributed to a rapid rise in global interest rates. </p>
<p>In Africa, the pain from higher borrowing costs is particularly acute for governments, given that public debt represented <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">nearly 60%</a> of the region’s total external debt in 2022 (Figure 1). <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/SSA/Issues/2023/04/14/regional-economic-outlook-for-sub-saharan-africa-april-2023">Nineteen countries</a>, including Ghana and Zambia, are already in debt distress (meaning they are unable to meet financial obligations) or at high risk of debt distress.</p>
<p>Ghana’s public debt has more than doubled since 2012 and amounts to <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October">85%</a> of GDP. Zambia’s went up much higher and stood at <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October">98%</a> as of 2022. </p>
<p>Both <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-11/ethiopia-is-about-to-become-africa-s-next-debt-defaulter">Ghana</a> and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-11/ethiopia-is-about-to-become-africa-s-next-debt-defaulter">Zambia</a>, along with <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-11/ethiopia-is-about-to-become-africa-s-next-debt-defaulter">Ethiopia</a>, have defaulted on their foreign debt, sparking fears about a broader sovereign debt crisis on the continent if more countries fall into debt distress. </p>
<p>Others face high risk of debt distress. Kenya is on the edge of financial distress after its debt increased steadily to <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October">70%</a> of GDP. South Africa also faces elevated public debt, which has almost doubled over the last decade and currently stands at <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October">74%</a> of GDP. </p>
<p>And yet trimming high debts won’t be easy. Development needs are high after coffers were drained by higher spending tied to the pandemic and fallout from Ukraine. </p>
<p>The International Monetary Fund estimates that the median sub-Saharan African country needs to increase spending by at <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Departmental-Papers-Policy-Papers/Issues/2023/09/15/Navigating-Fiscal-Challenges-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa-Resilient-Strategies-and-Credible-529230">least 20% of GDP</a> to meet sustainable development goals on health, education and infrastructure by 2030. Climate change adaptation is expected to add <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Departmental-Papers-Policy-Papers/Issues/2023/09/15/Navigating-Fiscal-Challenges-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa-Resilient-Strategies-and-Credible-529230">billions of dollars</a> each year for the continent.</p>
<p>Coffers are also being depleted by more money being spent repaying expensive loans. This has the additional effect of depleting foreign exchange reserves, which means countries overburdened by debt also have to contend with weakening currencies. </p>
<p>Kenya’s debt interest payment as a share of revenue rose from <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">11% in 2014</a> to more than <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">20%</a> after 2020. This depleted its reserves as a share of external debt from 47% to less than 20% over the same period. This has pressured the Kenyan shilling, which lost more than <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-28/-paramilitary-tax-agents-deployed-in-kenya-budget-revenue-drive">19%</a> against the US dollar last year.</p>
<p>In the cases of Ghana and Zambia, debt interest payments climbed even higher. For Ghana they were around <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">45%</a> of revenue. For Zambia, around <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">39%</a>. By 2022 reserves had dwindled to <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">22%</a> in Ghana and to <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">10%</a> in Zambia. </p>
<p>This precipitated large depreciations of Ghana’s cedi and Zambia’s kwacha. </p>
<p>South Africa’s debt interest payments increased at a relatively slower pace to about <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">15%</a> of revenue after 2021 and it kept a higher reserve share of about <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">35%</a>. This was why the decline in the rand was not as steep as in the other three countries. </p>
<p>Weakening currencies also make foreign debt servicing costlier. Consequently, reasonable debt can quickly turn into unmanageable debt.</p>
<p>Lower government revenue collection has also intensified debt risks.</p>
<p>In 2023, revenue collected was <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October">16%</a> of GDP in Ghana, <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October">17%</a> in Kenya and <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October">21%</a> in Zambia. This is significantly below the <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/SSA/Issues/2023/10/16/regional-economic-outlook-for-sub-saharan-africa-october-2023">27%</a> median level seen in other developing economies. Although this median level is matched by South Africa, rising costs of social transfers including welfare grants and subsidies to state-owned enterprises such as the power utility Eskom and transport utility Transnet have added upward pressure on <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/global-economic-prospects">public debt amid slowing growth</a>. </p>
<h2>What can be done</h2>
<p>A number of steps can be taken to alleviate the trade-offs countries are having to make.</p>
<p>Firstly, governments should prioritise public spending measures that raise growth. </p>
<p>These include critical spending on education, health, infrastructure and other high-quality growth enhancing investments. As economic growth picks up, it is likely to generate more government revenue to pay down the debt.</p>
<p>It also means allocating more spending on first generation reforms. These are structural reforms that alleviate major growth constraints. For example, long-standing reforms in governance remain critical in African countries which generally lag behind countries in other regions on various measures of governance quality such as rule of law, control of corruption and government accountability. </p>
<p>Secondly, countries need to fix their revenue collection problems. While growth leads to a larger economy that generates additional revenue, low levels of domestic revenue collection constrain the ability of governments to pay down debt and fund vital social and growth sectors.</p>
<p>Across Africa, several countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Kenya and Ethiopia, have mobilised efforts to spur gains in revenue collection. These include new levies, higher taxes, registering more shops on the tax roll, broadening tax bases, strengthening tax administration and other revenue enhancing measures.</p>
<p>Lastly, governments need to restructure their debt portfolios. When a debt crisis cannot be avoided, restructuring debt can reduce the amount owed to creditors by revising the amount and timing of future principal and interest payments. Chad reached an agreement to restructure its external debt under the <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/SSA/Issues/2023/10/16/regional-economic-outlook-for-sub-saharan-africa-october-2023">G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment in 2022</a>. This is an initiative designed to support low income developing countries with unsustainable debt. Since then, Ghana and Zambia have also launched debt restructuring negotiations under the <a href="https://clubdeparis.org/sites/default/files/annex_common_framework_for_debt_treatments_beyond_the_dssi.pdf">G20 Common Framework</a>. </p>
<p>Other highly indebted countries struggling to service their liabilities may have to do the same amid rising concerns about slow progress of the Common Framework.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221614/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Munemo is affiliated with the Council on Foreign Relations. He was appointed as an International Affairs Fellow for Tenured International Relations Scholars for the 2023-24 academic year.</span></em></p>Many African countries face a triple set of dilemmas that are not easy to navigate.Jonathan Munemo, Professor of Economics, Salisbury UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2217872024-01-27T09:17:25Z2024-01-27T09:17:25ZMatric results: South Africa’s record school pass rates aren’t what they seem – what’s really happening in the education system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571116/original/file-20240124-19-jpr4hb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Africa's minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Luba Lesolle/Gallo Images via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa’s matric (grade 12) class of 2023, which wrote final school-leaving exams late last year, has been hailed by the country’s minister of basic education for achieving “<a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/extraordinary-class-of-2023-records-best-pass-percentage-in-national-senior-certificate-history-20240119">extraordinary</a>” results. Of the 691,160 candidates who wrote the National Senior Certificate exams, 82.9% – that’s 572,983 – passed, up from 80.1% of the class of 2022. And more candidates than ever before obtained marks that allow them to study for a bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>All of the country’s nine provinces managed to improve on their 2022 pass rates. This is despite the <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-learning-losses-what-south-africas-education-system-must-focus-on-to-recover-176622">after-effects of the COVID pandemic</a> in 2020 and 2021, when this class was in grade 9 and grade 10 respectively. The results also reflect a steady uptick in the overall national pass rate, <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/364476/south-africas-matric-pass-rate-2008-to-2019/">which has risen</a> from 60% in 2009 and stabilised over the past two years at above 80%.</p>
<p>As is clear from this summary, the release of the results focused a great deal on the numbers. As a former teacher, school principal, education circuit manager, academic expert in curriculum studies and current vice-dean of teaching and learning at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, I would caution against this approach. South Africans should not confuse quantity with quality.</p>
<p>The fanfare and hype around the results risks obscuring the big picture, which is that the actual pass rate – when dropouts are taken into account – is far lower and has been for many years. This points to huge problems within the education system.</p>
<h2>‘Real’ numbers</h2>
<p>This year, as has become the case annually, there’s been furious debate between politicians and education experts about the quality of the results. </p>
<p>Some experts <a href="https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/reports/why-matric-pass-rate-not-reliable-benchmark-education-quality">openly</a> say that government is striving for numbers instead of focusing on quality. For example, a matric class in a township (underdeveloped, generally urban areas largely inhabited by Black South Africans) will boast a pass rate of 80%. But only a few of those matriculants qualify to study at a university. </p>
<p>The essence of the debate revolves around what <a href="https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/education/matric/matric-pass-rate-da-claims-real-rate-is-55-3/">some call</a> the “real” pass rate, measured by the number of matriculants who passed as a fraction of the number who started school together 12 years earlier. </p>
<p>In 2012, 1,208,973 learners entered the first year of school, grade 1. Of these, only 928,050 were in grade 11 and only 740,566 enrolled for grade 12 (matric) in 2023. Thus, 468,407 pupils (almost 40%) <a href="https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/education/matric/matric-results-2023-dropout-real-pass-rate-atm-da/">disappeared into the system</a>. Given this attrition, some analysts and politicians argue that the actual pass rate is only <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/education-experts-pour-cold-water-over-das-553-real-matric-pass-rate-20240119">just over 55%</a>.</p>
<p>This issue of “real pass rates” also plays out in the unhealthy competition between provinces. There are nine provinces in South Africa. Eight are governed by the African National Congress (ANC), which also governs nationally. The Democratic Alliance (DA) governs one province, the Western Cape. Each year when the results are released, it becomes a competition to see which province’s matrics performed best. </p>
<p>The Free State province has achieved the <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/free-state-remains-first-for-the-fifth-year-running/ar-AA1ncb9E">best pass rate for the last five years</a>. However, it also has the <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/experts-welcome-matric-pass-rate-increase-but-note-450000-learners-dropped-out-along-the-way/ar-AA1nciwj">highest dropout rate</a> of all nine provinces, <a href="https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/education/matric/matric-results-2023-dropout-real-pass-rate-atm-da/">leading to allegations</a> by the DA and some analysts that authorities hold poorly performing pupils back to create a better matric pass rate. Some of those learners will later proceed to grade 12; others drop out entirely. For instance, almost half of the learners in the Free State who were in grade 10 in 2021 <a href="https://www.netwerk24.com/netwerk24/skole-studente/myskool/matrieks/vrystaat-se-top-prestasie-ruik-mos-na-kroekery-20240120">did not make it to matric in 2023</a>. </p>
<p>By contrast, the Western Cape only performed the 5th best but boasts a comparatively high throughput rate. </p>
<p>There is a strong feeling among educationists – and I completely agree – that a province’s “pass rate” should be published alongside its “dropout rate” to give a full perspective of the true situation. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graph showing the number of pupils who dropped out before reaching the matric class of 2023" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571605/original/file-20240126-19-oeximq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571605/original/file-20240126-19-oeximq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571605/original/file-20240126-19-oeximq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571605/original/file-20240126-19-oeximq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571605/original/file-20240126-19-oeximq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571605/original/file-20240126-19-oeximq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571605/original/file-20240126-19-oeximq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://charts.theoutlier.co.za/">The Outlier</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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<h2>What’s gone wrong</h2>
<p>The ecstasy over the results also ignores the many challenges that the majority of pupils face on a daily basis.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/overcrowding-in-classrooms-a-challenge-facing-sa-teachers-sadtu/">Overcrowding</a> is one big problem, particularly at primary school level. The <a href="https://tdd.sun.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/E.-Wills-2023-Teacher-Shortages-class-sizes-LE-ratios.pdf">average class size</a> for grade 6 is 61 in Limpopo, 59 in Mpumalanga and 54 in KwaZulu-Natal. This <a href="https://www.mopse.co.zw/sites/default/files/public/downloads/2022%20Annual%20Education%20Statistics%20Report.pdf">compares poorly</a> with some neighbouring countries, such as Botswana and Zimbabwe.</p>
<p>Effective teaching, especially in the basic skills such as reading and writing, is impossible because no individual attention is possible. </p>
<p>Add to that the fact that many schools do not have libraries and it’s clear why <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-10-year-olds-are-struggling-to-read-it-can-be-fixed-206008">only 1 out of 5 pupils in grade 4</a>, aged on average 9 or 10, can read with comprehension. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-10-year-olds-are-struggling-to-read-it-can-be-fixed-206008">South Africa's 10 year-olds are struggling to read -- it can be fixed</a>
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<p>A second problem is that most South African schools do not have the necessary physical resources to create an environment conducive to learning. The lack of libraries is one example. Another is that many schools in poor communities do not have science or computer laboratories. Yet pupils are strongly encouraged to take STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects, because these are seen as giving young people the best opportunity of employment.</p>
<h2>A glimmer of hope</h2>
<p>It’s not all hopeless, however. There are certainly things to celebrate, including the achievements of <a href="https://briefly.co.za/education/178071-matric-results-2023-meet-melissa-muller-south-africas-top-achiever-future-mechatronics-engineer/">top-performing</a> individuals. Hardworking teachers also deserve thanks for the seldom-appreciated work they do, particularly in under-resourced rural areas.</p>
<p>One <a href="https://www.ewn.co.za/2024/01/19/khayelitsha-school-celebrates-99-matric-pass-rate">especially beautiful story</a> is that of the Khayelitsha Centre of Science and Technology. Situated in one of the Western Cape’s poorest residential areas, this school boasts a 2023 pass rate of 99% and 107 distinctions (a mark of 80% or higher), including 10 in mathematics. </p>
<p>Having carefully studied the results I am also delighted to see how many distinctions are emerging from schools in impoverished communities which charge no fees or very low fees. It is also heartening to see that pupils growing up in poverty are making a growing contribution to the pool of excellence.</p>
<p>These examples prove the value of good governance in schools, which creates an environment that is conducive for learning even in the absence of resources.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221787/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Le Cordeur does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The fanfare and hype around the results risks obscuring the big picture.Michael Le Cordeur, Professor and Vice- dean Teaching and Learning, Education Faculty, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.