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2. From Paper to Practice: Enhancing Integrated Development Plans to Improve Governance
- Author:
- Stuart Morrison and Pranish Desai
- Publication Date:
- 03-2024
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Good Governance Africa (GGA)
- Abstract:
- Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PME) systems play an important role in ensuring that South Africa’s municipalities are able to effectively fulfil their core mandate of service delivery. One central component of this system is the Integrated Development Plan (IDP), a strategic framework used for several functions, including guiding key priorities and providing a roadmap for effectively delivering public services. However, even though most municipalities consistently submit IDPs, the quality of service delivery, especially amongst municipalities that have Water Services Authority responsibilities, is uneven. This raises the questions around which factors are more influential in determining effective service provision, and why they are lacking in dozens of municipalities. Using Good Governance Africa’s 2024 Governance Performance Index (GPI), this policy briefing provides a range of stakeholders with consolidated insights into how these issues can be addressed.
- Topic:
- Development, Governance, Services, Planning, Monitoring, and and Evaluation (PME)
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
3. Reversing the resource curse: Advancing good natural resource governance for inclusive growth and sustainable development in Southern Africa
- Author:
- Sikhululekile Mashingaidze and Stephen Buchanan-Clarke
- Publication Date:
- 02-2024
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Good Governance Africa (GGA)
- Abstract:
- The International Energy Agency’s Medium-Term Gas Outlook in late 2023 notes that “Africa accounted for nearly 40% of new natural gas discoveries globally in the past decade, mainly in Mozambique, Mauritania, Senegal and Tanzania. However, socio-political instability and security issues make Africa a high-risk environment for the gas industry. This results in a gap between the potential and the actual gas production projects under development.” Nonetheless, the Agency forecasts natural gas production growth of 10% (higher than current levels) by 2026. It had only grown by 2.5% from 2011 to 2021, and currently accounts for roughly 6% of global production.1 Asian and Middle Eastern markets’ demand will continue2 while African governments will bet on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). In the longer term, it is critical to phase out fossil fuels due to their exacerbation of global warming and health and environmental risks. Given the imperative for lowercarbon growth trajectories, demand for oil, gas, and coal will likely peak in 2024. Governments and mining investors’ negotiations and contracts should safeguard local populations through ecologically sensitive, responsible mining. Communities’ voices are critical to decision-making from project inception to ensure revenues usher in broad-based growth and increased domestic energy security. In 2022, Good Governance Africa (GGA), with support from the Southern Africa Trust (SAT), explored critical issues surrounding LNG exploration and development in Southern Africa in the context of climate change.3 This intelligence report is a consolidation of key lessons from these LNG projects’ impact on local communities in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado; South Africa’s Eastern Cape, and Zimbabwe’s Cabora Bassa Basin. Together, these three cases illustrate both the promise and perils of LNG mining in Africa.
- Topic:
- Development, Natural Resources, Economic Growth, Sustainability, and Inclusion
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
4. Decentralising the Just Energy Transition: The role of the private sector in supporting municipalities
- Author:
- Mmabatho Mongae and Nnaemeka Ohamadike
- Publication Date:
- 03-2024
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Good Governance Africa (GGA)
- Abstract:
- With nearly 86% of its carbon dioxide (CO2) coming from coal, South Africa is one of the world’s most coaldependent countries.1 Additionally, it produces nearly a quarter of the continent’s total carbon emissions.2 Its economy is highly dependent on agriculture and mineral extraction, which are energy-intensive. Importantly, South Africa is subject to climate variability and change.3 The effects are exacerbated by dysfunctional municipalities’ limited ability to build climate resilience systems and ensure robust disaster risk management. With local government administrative instability, service delivery failures, and financial mismanagement highlighted by Good Governance Africa’s (GGA) Governance Performance Index (GPI), societal stakeholders bear the brunt of dysfunction, particularly amidst escalating climate-induced natural disasters, which further strain government resources. As such, the fight against climate change requires a coordinated response from government, the private sector, and citizens. Presently, citizens do not identify the private sector as a key stakeholder in mitigating climate change. This suggests that the private sector does not have a visible presence in the fight against climate change, thereby presenting the private sector with an opportunity to support the decentralisation of the just energy transition. These efforts can also form part of attempts by the private sector to mainstream Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) best practices.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Governance, Economy, Carbon Emissions, and Energy Transition
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
5. South Africa’s Cyber Strategy Under Ramaphosa: Limited Progress, Low Priority
- Author:
- Joe Devanny and Russell Buchan
- Publication Date:
- 01-2024
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- During the decades of apartheid, South Africa was an international pariah. Since the country transitioned to majority rule in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) has dominated politics, and the ANC has itself transitioned from a national liberation movement to a party of government. Domestically, South African cyber strategy should be seen as part of the ANC’s wider political challenge of trying to deliver economic growth, development, and prosperity. Over thirty years, the ANC has struggled to deliver on this agenda in a profoundly unequal society with infrastructure and institutions that have weakened particularly over the past fifteen years. Alongside confronting domestic challenges, the ANC has also tried to reshape South Africa’s global role. This was perhaps most visible under its first president, Nelson Mandela (1994–1999), but it was arguably pursued most systematically under Mandela’s successor, Thabo Mbeki (1999–2008). This reorientation of South Africa in the world was an ambitious and complex project, the foundations of which were the country’s leading role in its region and continent as well as its ties within the wider Global South. The project entailed tensions between the progressive promotion of human rights and freedoms, on the one hand, and the cultivation of instrumental relations with authoritarian and repressive states, on the other. These tensions continue to affect South African foreign policy, including its cyber diplomacy. South Africa identifies cybersecurity as a key national priority and has to this end adopted a national cybersecurity strategy and established a military Cyber Command. The reality, however, is that other issues have been consistently ranked above cybersecurity, such as addressing corruption, poverty, racial and social injustice, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Cybersecurity has therefore not been seen as a high priority by successive South African governments. This has left Cyber Command underresourced and unmotivated. This deprioritization means that South Africa is unlikely to emerge as a prominent military or intelligence cyber power anytime soon. The wider lack of national prioritization will also make it harder for so-called like-minded states—which are bound together by a mutual respect for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law—to form an effective partnership with South Africa on the topic of cybersecurity. South Africa’s approach to international cyber governance debates has been cautious and noncommittal, reflecting cyber diplomacy’s relatively low priority in its national strategy. What position South Africa takes in cyber debates is, however, of keen interest to the international community. An important question is whether South Africa will support the existing multistakeholder approach to cyber governance that is championed by like-minded states or join China and Russia in their efforts to recalibrate this approach and push for greater state control over cyberspace. Indeed, under President Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa has not yet published its national position explaining how international law applies to cyberspace. A related question is whether South Africa will join like-minded states in elaborating how existing international law applies to cyberspace or side with China and Russia to campaign for new, bespoke international law (for example, treaties) to regulate this domain. When examining these questions, it is important to recognize the context of the ANC’s long-standing ties with Russia, both during its thirty years in government and in its previous decades struggling for national liberation. This is helpful for understanding South Africa’s interactions with Brazil, Russia, India, and China (which form the BRICS bloc with South Africa) and forecasting its future positions in cyber governance debates. For example, South Africa has been reluctant to unambiguously condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and it appears to have supported Moscow by covertly supplying it with weapons. In the longer term, South Africa’s positions in cyber diplomacy debates will likely be shaped by trends in both domestic politics—such as the ANC’s waning electoral performance—and the success of digital development. In this context, it is perhaps advisable for like-minded states, such as the United States, to focus on cyber capacity-building assistance and ensure that these efforts play into the wider development agenda in South Africa.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Poverty, Science and Technology, Cybersecurity, Democracy, and Racial Justice
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Iran, and South Africa
6. South Africa as a Leading Regional Power in Africa? An Analysis of the Implementation of the African Union, Auda-Nepad and Agenda 2063
- Author:
- Murilo Gomes da Costa
- Publication Date:
- 12-2024
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
- Institution:
- Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
- Abstract:
- The article analyzes South Africa’s role in the African Union’s Agenda 2063. It examines South Africa’s position as a leading regional power post-apartheid. The study contends that Pretoria has developed a strategy towards its region. The argument is supported by a descriptive analysis of the implementation of Auda-Nepad and South Africa’s efforts to broaden the thematic scope of the AU. The results show that South Africa’s strategy as a leading regional power in Africa has been achieved through Pretoria’s role as a paymaster in both the AU and Auda-Nepad, alongside the development of its own Agenda 2063 projects.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, African Union, and Regional Power
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
7. A Palestinian Gandhi or an Israeli de Gaulle? Why the Context of Violence Matters
- Author:
- Sharif Elmusa
- Publication Date:
- 01-2024
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cairo Review of Global Affairs
- Institution:
- School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
- Abstract:
- Questioning why there hasn’t been a Palestinian Gandhi or Mandela ignores the history and context in which Palestinian resistance occurs, especially the abiding violence visited on the Palestinians since 1917
- Topic:
- Colonialism, Violence, BDS, Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli–Palestinian Conflict, Nelson Mandela, and Charles de Gaulle
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, India, Israel, South Africa, Palestine, and West Bank
8. Genocide on the Docket at the Hague
- Author:
- Omar Auf
- Publication Date:
- 01-2024
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cairo Review of Global Affairs
- Institution:
- School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
- Abstract:
- International law is a tool for both oppression and emancipation, says AUC law professor Thomas Skouteris in this Q&A as he breaks down the intricacies of the ICJ’s January 26 order for provisional measures in South Africa v. Israel, and elucidates the present and future of international law.
- Topic:
- Genocide, International Law, International Court of Justice (ICJ), and 2023 Gaza War
- Political Geography:
- Israel, South Africa, Palestine, Gaza, and The Hague
9. Watts happening to work? The labour market effects of South Africa’s electricity crisis
- Author:
- Haroon Bhorat and Timothy Köhler
- Publication Date:
- 04-2024
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- Frequent electricity outages threaten to impede the benefits of expanded access achieved by many developing countries in recent decades. A large literature documents these negative effects, however almost none consider labour market effects. This paper merges labour force survey microdata with high-frequency electricity supply and demand data to provide the first estimates of the relationships between outages and labour market outcomes in South Africa, a country characterized by frequent, severe outages referred to as load shedding. Exploiting temporal variation in outage incidence and intensity, we find that load shedding is associated with significantly lower employment rates, working hours, and earnings on average. Employment appears more sensitive relative to intensive margin outcomes, threatening job creation and preservation efforts. These negative relationships, however, are not evident for low levels of load shedding, but their strength markedly increases with load shedding intensity. We document further heterogeneity by firm size and industry, highlighting the vulnerability of jobs in manufacturing. Overall, our findings suggest that the South African labour market is largely insensitive to relatively low levels of load shedding; however, high levels appear especially costly.
- Topic:
- Employment, Economy, Electricity, and Labor Market
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
10. Market power and merger control in South Africa
- Author:
- C. Friedrich Kreuser, Michael Kilumelume, and Rulof Burger
- Publication Date:
- 05-2024
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- We estimate structural, materials, and labour markups for the South African economy at the three-digit industry level for 2012–19. The fall in structural labour and materials markups found for the numerical majority of industries are generally isolated to smaller industries, with industries accounting for a higher proportion of sales generally experiencing smaller downward shifts. We show that materials-based markups are increasing over this period. Upward markup pressure in structural and labour markups are primarily driven by compositional shifts of surviving firms, while materials markup growth is driven by the average firm in a given sector. We show that merger intensity is positively related to structural markup growth, with a 1% increase in the proportion of cumulative mergers over 2013–18 being related to around a 0.27% increase in structural markup growth over the period from 2012 to 2019. We find that large vertical mergers are positively related to structural and materials markup growth while being negatively related to labour markup growth. Large horizontal mergers generally increase labour and structural markups.
- Topic:
- Markets, Economy, Industry, and Mergers and Acquisitions
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
11. How Has South Africa’s Membership of BRICS Intensified Uneven and Combined Development in the Country and Beyond?
- Author:
- Sinan Baran
- Publication Date:
- 06-2024
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
- Abstract:
- The recent African scramble has resulted in uneven and combined development (UCD) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) throughout the 21st century due to unequal exchange. South Africa plays a sub-imperial role in this scramble in SSA. It both exploits and is exploited. The mining industry in South Africa has attracted interest from colonial powers, English-speaking businesses, and foreign investors, making it a highly lucrative sector. Furthermore, most black South Africans have been employed in the mining industry since the late 19th century. Over the past 25 years, the African National Congress government has utilised the mining industry to achieve economic transformation through black economic empowerment policies. This study proposes that the mining sector in South Africa is responsible for the ongoing UCD, despite receiving new investments and empowerment policies. South Africa’s inclusion in BRICS has broadened its range of international partners beyond its traditional Western or African counterparts. However, South Africa’s decision to join the BRICS group in 2011 has not yet yielded the expected transformation in the country’s economy and growth. As a result, it is uncertain whether South Africa’s BRICS membership has addressed the country’s persistent problem of UCD. This study argues that South Africa’s BRICS membership has exacerbated UCD in the country. This study proposes that Trotsky’s UCD analytical framework is useful for analysing South Africa’s policy choice to join BRICS, which strengthens its sub-imperial role.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, Mining, Industry, BRICS, Economic Transformation, Unequal Exchange, Sub-imperialism, and Transnational Capital
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
12. Economic Forced Migration in Southern Africa: The Case of Malawi
- Author:
- Cobbener Wilfred Sungani and Pascal Newbourne Mwale
- Publication Date:
- 03-2024
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration
- Abstract:
- As with other world regions, free market capitalism or the neoliberal system has caused numerous individuals and families to lose access to viable income-generating bases in Southern Africa. This places them in a socio-economically abject and precarious position. Resource-poor and unemployed Southern Africans have for a long time been forced to migrate to less unstable economies within the region. South Africa continues to be the most attractive destination for most poor and destitute Southern Africans. These people are called ‘economic refugees’ in the dominant literature. Hitherto, the plight of the Malawian ‘economic refugee’ in South Africa has not attracted much scholarly attention. Drawing on the interdisciplinary methodologies of African social philosophy and African social history, we present the case of Malawian economic refugees in South Africa. Drawing upon ideas derived from Immanuel Kant’s analysis in Perpetual Peace (1917), this paper argues for the promotion of the spirit of fraternity between South Africans and Malawian migrants
- Topic:
- Immanuel Kant, Forced Migration, Economic Refugee, and Fraternity
- Political Geography:
- Africa, South Africa, and Malawi
13. Investigating the Vulnerability of Foreign Migrants Businesses in Durban, South Africa, During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Author:
- Ayobami Popoola, Hangwelani Magidimisha-Chipingu, and Lovemore Chipungu
- Publication Date:
- 03-2024
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration
- Abstract:
- There is lack of empirical evidence on the vulnerability of immigrant businesses in Durban, South Africa, during the COVID-19 pandemic. To investigate this, data was collected during the pandemic to evaluate the vulnerability of immigrant businesses. The research adopted the quantitative approach, with a sample of fifty-three (53) Durban city immigrants small-scale business owners, to examine their business vulnerability. A linear regression model and correlation were used to analyse the data. The findings show that business insecurity increased immigrants' business vulnerability. Thus, without underestimating the COVID-19 pandemic effect, it was evident that urban insecurity resulting in xenophobic tendencies and incidences is the main factor/determinant/predictor that increases the vulnerability of foreign businesses. The study suggests that the documentation and analysis of foreign immigrants' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic can contribute to understanding the effects and consequences for immigrants across the globe. The study contributes to debates on immigrants' inclusion and seeks to fill the gap in the literature on immigrant business experience and survival in host communities.
- Topic:
- Migration, Immigrants, COVID-19, and Business Vulnerability
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
14. Accelerating GBVF Response Through Community-Led Platforms – Lessons from the Scorecard of the Localisation of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide
- Author:
- Gugu Resha and Cathy-Ann Potgieter
- Publication Date:
- 03-2024
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
- Abstract:
- his policy brief highlights the findings from the scorecard on the localisation of the NSP-GBVF, emphasising the areas of priority for all state and community-based actors as they continue to implement to objectives of the policy. This brief is intended to be used by organisations and community leaders working to strengthen efforts against GBVF, service providers providing protection, prevention and support to victims of GBV, stewards of safety and gender equality in public institutions, police representatives, CPF coordinators and business leaders seeking to make positive contribution to the efforts against GBVF towards gender justice and a violence-free South Africa.
- Topic:
- Crime, Gender Based Violence, Violence, Legislation, Domestic Violence, Femicide, and Community Initiatives
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
15. Empowering young voices: Using action research to combat xenophobia through children’s initiatives
- Author:
- Ruth Nyamadzawo
- Publication Date:
- 04-2024
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Conflict Trends
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- Since 1994, South Africa has seen an influx of refugees, asylum seekers, skilled professionals, and socio-economic migrants seeking security and better opportunities. However, this has led to challenges, including xenophobic violence. Despite efforts by civic organisations and the government, the problem persists. Therefore, there is a need for a mindset of peace to address the recurring violence. This article is concerned with exploring the problem of recurring xenophobia in South Africa by reviewing the approaches that have been followed in response to this phenomenon and proposing an alternative response of involving children in peacebuilding measures. It highlights the importance of empowering children and helping them develop the capacity to become agents of change, and raising them as peacebuilders in the communities where they reside. Underlining the role of educating for peace in transforming human society, it is believed that peace workshops could contribute to preparing young generations for sustaining positive relationships with those considered the ‘other,’ and thus consolidating peace in South Africa.
- Topic:
- Children, Discrimination, Youth, Xenophobia, Empowerment, Stigmatization, and Peacebuilding
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
16. Macro-financial implications of public debt in South Africa: The role of financial regimes
- Author:
- Theshne Kisten
- Publication Date:
- 06-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper examines the role of financial frictions in the public debt–growth nexus, documenting that a public debt shock has different macro-financial implications dependent on the state of financial markets in South Africa. A non-linear vector autoregression model is estimated which allows the transmission mechanism to be characterized by two distinct financial regimes: stressful versus normal. The empirical results suggest that a public debt shock has a broadly insignificant impact on economic growth over the full sample, reflecting the ineffectiveness of government borrowing in stimulating the economy, and could suggest that the high and growing debt service costs faced by the government reduces funds available for investment purposes. Debt shocks are found to be deflationary in both regimes, lending support to the precautionary savings effect and the existence of a well-developed financial market, while interest rates decline with the immediate impact being moderately larger in the stress regime, providing evidence of the accommodative stance between fiscal policy and monetary policy. In response to a public debt shock, financial conditions show an immediate and transitory improvement in the high-stress regime; however, in the low-stress regime there is an immediate yet negligible improvement in financial conditions. Lastly, the responses evolve over time, with fiscal policy being less effective in stimulating the economy in the post-crisis period, but it has been effective in reducing financial stress in the high-stress regime.
- Topic:
- Economics, Finance, Economic Growth, and Public Debt
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
17. Nation building in post-conflict settings: Evidence from South Africa
- Author:
- Thomas Gautier, Daniela Horta-Saenz, and Gianluca Russo
- Publication Date:
- 06-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- How do states rebuild nations after a major conflict? Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) have emerged as one of the most common interventions to achieve this objective. Despite their popularity, little is known about their efficacy to foster reconciliation and nation building. We fill this gap by studying the seminal TRC established in South Africa after the end of the Apartheid. To measure exposure to TRC across South African municipalities, we leverage quasi-random variation in media coverage of the TRC message. South African municipalities with higher historical exposure to TRC on media have lower levels of violence today. This effect is driven by improved nation building and higher trust towards post-Apartheid institutions. Exploiting daily variation in TRC hearings and mediatic exposure in the short run, we bolster our interpretation that our long-run results are forged in the years of TRC activity. The same evidence suggests that our results are driven by the coverage of TRC on media as opposed to generic media exposure.
- Topic:
- Reconciliation, Post-Conflict, Trust, Nation Building, and Truth and Reconciliation
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
18. Employment transitions with high unemployment and a small informal sector: Examining worker flows during normal and recessionary periods in South Africa
- Author:
- Shakeba Foster
- Publication Date:
- 04-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper examines employment transitions in the South African labour market. Using the Post-Apartheid Labour Market Series, it analyses flows between the formal sector, informal sector, and unemployment, paying specific attention to how these flows differ during recessions. It explicitly considers heterogeneity within the informal sector by separately accounting for wage employment and self-employment as well as upper-tier and lower-tier informal sector segments. Transition probabilities are estimated using dynamic discrete choice models, and the extent to which transitions affect changes in real wages is estimated using a linear model. The results provide evidence of heterogeneity within the informal sector and segmentation between wage employment and self-employment. They also show a lag in the employment impacts following a recession. Finally, the paper provides suggestive evidence that the upper-tier segment of the informal sector acts as a buffer during recessionary periods by absorbing labour that would otherwise be unemployed or relegated to precarious lower-tier informal employment.
- Topic:
- Employment, Labor Market, Informal Economy, and Recession
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
19. South Africa-Russia Maintain Special Relations
- Author:
- Jędrzej Czerep
- Publication Date:
- 04-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Polish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Although South Africa declares it is neutral regarding the war in Ukraine and offers mediation, it remains a de facto ally of Russia. This is due to the strong sentiment among the ruling elites for the period of cooperation with the USSR, its successor Russia and its activity and influence in this country, and the perception that BRICS will help elevate South Africa’s international importance. If Vladimir Putin visits Johannesburg as scheduled in August, the authorities of the state, which is party to the Rome Statute, will not be willing to fulfil their obligation to arrest him or may even leave the International Criminal Court.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, BRICS, and Russia-Ukraine War
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Russia, Europe, Ukraine, and South Africa
20. Harnessing Public Employment Programmes' Potential: An Intervention Brief Focusing on Youth Inclusion in South Africa's Community Work Programme
- Author:
- M. Langa
- Publication Date:
- 01-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
- Abstract:
- Youth continue to be worst affected by social and economic issues such as unemployment, substance abuse and violence (ILO, 2021; United Nations, 2011). South African youth are no exception to this claim, experiencing the world’s highest rate of unemployment as well as some of the highest rates of homicide and gender-based violence (Clifford, 2020; Rebello, 2021). These challenges have gained increased recognition from stakeholders, such as the South African government, with the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative representing one of many recent initiatives. This intervention brief aims to contribute to conversations around how to better address the challenges faced by South African youth. It builds on research conducted by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), which focused on how public employment programmes, specifically the Community Work Programme (CWP), may contribute to youth social and economic inclusion, which may further assist in reducing the vulnerability of South African youth. This brief highlights how some youth have negative perceptions of the CWP, which primarily stem from the nature of the activities carried out by the CWP and a lack of accurate knowledge about the programme. Examples from four CWP sites highlight how youthoriented activities may attract greater interest in the programme among youth. It also highlights how youth have benefitted and can continue to benefit from the programme.
- Topic:
- Government, Employment, Youth, Unemployment, and Inclusion
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
21. When Diplomats Are Undiplomatic
- Author:
- Charles Ray
- Publication Date:
- 06-2023
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy Research Institute
- Abstract:
- The US ambassador to South Africa recently accused South Africa of shipping arms to Russia. The ambassador was criticized by some—including the South African government—for breaking with diplomatic protocol by so openly condemning his host government. However, maintaining an effective working relationship does not mean that a diplomat must never say or do anything that the host country might not like. Far from it. Effective diplomacy is built on trust, honesty, and respect, and the diplomat who never disagrees or who comes across as a sycophant, will be neither trusted nor respected. On the other hand, a diplomat who is consistently honest, but who strives to be polite and considerate, might not be universally liked, but will earn respect.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Weapons, and Russia-Ukraine War
- Political Geography:
- Russia, South Africa, and United States of America
22. Hamas Allegations Threaten Another Breakdown in US-South Africa Ties
- Author:
- Michael Walsh
- Publication Date:
- 10-2023
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy Research Institute
- Abstract:
- A reported call between South African Minister Naledi Pandor and Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh has renewed concerns that the African National Congress and government of South Africa are undermining US national security and foreign policy in the Middle East. This incident comes quickly on the heels of a springtime allegation that the African National Congress and South African government undermined US national security and foreign policy with respect to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Over the summer, members of Congress called into question the eligibility of South Africa for trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and its suitability to host the AGOA Forum. This was in response to the prior allegation that South Africa transferred arms or enabling technologies to Russia. Prior to next month’s AGOA Forum, there is an expectation that the AGOA eligibility determinations for 2024 will be delivered to Congress. This sets the stage for another potential showdown over the AGOA eligibility of South Africa and its suitability to host the AGOA Forum. At this stage, it is unlikely that South Africa will be deemed ineligible for AGOA trade benefits or removed as the host of the AGOA Forum. However, a political debate over its AGOA eligibility could cast a long shadow over the event and lead to another breakdown in the strategic partnership between South Africa and the United States. The White House will want to avoid both of those outcomes.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, National Security, Bilateral Relations, and Hamas
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Israel, South Africa, Palestine, and United States of America
23. Verifying Nuclear Disarmament: Lessons Learned in South Africa, Iraq and Libya
- Author:
- Robert E. Kelley
- Publication Date:
- 01-2023
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
- Abstract:
- Inspections in the 1990s and early 2000s in South Africa, Iraq and Libya were designed to discover the details of nuclear weapon programmes and destroy any remnants. As the global norm against nuclear weapons strengthens, the international community may once more require verification of a state’s denuclearization. But success in the three earlier cases does not guarantee success in the next similar task—any future inspection mission must learn from the lessons of the past. This report draws on the unique experience of Robert E. Kelley, a participant in all three past denuclearization efforts. In it, he gives an account of the unique scale and circumstances of each investigation and the different tools and approaches required. By publicly documenting and comparing obstacles and successes in the three cases for the first time, this report gives meaningful and practical insight into the difficult work of disarmament and its verification. It is an essential resource for future inspectors—and all others interested in what real disarmament looks like on the ground.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Disarmament, and Transparency
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Iraq, Middle East, Libya, South Africa, and North Africa
24. Growth Through Inclusion in South Africa
- Author:
- Ricardo Hausmann, Tim O'Brien, Andrés Fortunato, Alexia Lochmann, and Kishan Shah
- Publication Date:
- 11-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
- Abstract:
- It is painfully clear that South Africa is performing poorly, exacerbating problems such as inequality and exclusion. The economy’s ability to create jobs is slowing, worsening South Africa’s extreme levels of unemployment and inequality. South Africans are deeply disappointed with social progress and dislike the direction where the country seems to be heading. Despite its enviable productive capabilities, the national economy is losing international competitiveness. As the economy staggers, South Africa faces deteriorating social indicators and declining levels of public satisfaction with the status quo. After 15 years, attempts to stimulate the economy through fiscal policy and to address exclusion through social grants have failed to achieve their goals. Instead, they have sacrificed the country's investment grade, increasing the cost of capital to the whole economy, with little social progress to show for it. The underlying capabilities to achieve sustained growth by leveraging the full capability of its people, companies, assets, and knowhow remain underutilized. Three decades after the end of apartheid, the economy is defined by stagnation and exclusion, and current strategies are not achieving inclusion and empowerment in practice. This report asks the question of why. Why is the economy growing far slower than any reasonable comparator countries? Why is exclusion so extraordinarily high, even after decades of various policies that have aimed to support socio-economic transformation? What would it take for South Africa to include more of its people, capabilities, assets, and ideas in the functioning of the economy, and why aren’t such actions being undertaken already? The Growth Lab has completed a deep diagnostic of potential causes of South Africa’s prolonged underperformance over a two-year research project. Building on the findings of nine papers and widespread collaboration with government, academics, business and NGOs, this report documents the project’s central findings. Bluntly speaking, the report finds that South Africa is not accomplishing its goals of inclusion, empowerment and transformation, and new strategies and instruments will be needed to do so. We found two broad classes of problems that undermine inclusive growth in the Rainbow Nation: collapsing state capacity and spatial exclusion.
- Topic:
- Inequality, Economic Growth, Unemployment, and Inclusion
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
25. Maximising the impact of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP)
- Author:
- Vincent Obisie-Orlu
- Publication Date:
- 12-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Good Governance Africa (GGA)
- Abstract:
- This briefing assesses South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). It acknowledges programme achievements while addressing challenges, including delays to the procurement process and financial issues facing REIPPPP projects. It underscores the necessity for electricity industry reform and more cohesive energy policies. It proposes changes to how investment decisions are made, and collaboration occurs alongside the REIPPPP process to promote private sector investment, develop localisation within the REIPPPP and reduce supply chain vulnerabilities. Lastly, it provides a thorough analysis to inform recommendations that will maximise REIPPPP’s role in realising South Africa’s energy objectives.
- Topic:
- Reform, Finance, Investment, Electricity, Renewable Energy, and Procurement
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
26. Enhancing political accountability in South Africa
- Author:
- Pranish Desai and Mxolisi Zondo
- Publication Date:
- 06-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Good Governance Africa (GGA)
- Abstract:
- Enshrined in the founding provisions of South Africa’s democratic constitution is the commitment to a “multi-party system of democratic government, to ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness”.1 Today, South Africa is entering a new form of multiparty governance through the emergence of coalition governments in municipalities across the country. Following the Constitutional Court’s June 2020 decision to strike down parts of the Electoral Act of 1998, there have also been critical discussions about whether our national and provincial electoral framework of proportional representation fosters the accountability and responsiveness to which our constitution aspires.2 Both the nascent era of widespread coalition governance and the debate over electoral reform occur while the confidence that citizens have in our democracy is depreciating. In order to revive South Africans’ belief in our democratic system, we must renew that system to improve accountability. Many of the policy proposals that Good Governance Africa (GGA) considers in this briefing already exist,3 but we evaluate them in specific relation to how they can deepen political accountability in South Africa. The upshot is that a shift in approach from our institutions, political parties, civil society and citizens themselves is required.
- Topic:
- Governance, Elections, Accountability, Social Contract, and Coalition
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
27. The state of the renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme: Where to from here?
- Author:
- Busisipho Siyobi
- Publication Date:
- 12-2023
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Good Governance Africa (GGA)
- Abstract:
- Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, recently briefed South Africa on the progress of the Energy Action Plan and the challenges associated with its implementation. Minister Ramokgopa further remarked on the positive socio-economic impact that the Renewable Energy Independent Power Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) has had on the industry and economy. Over R300 billion has been attracted for infrastructure investment and over 120 independent power producers have been selected as preferred bidders. These success factors indicate great potential for an optimal energy mix, led by renewable energy sources, to be attained. They also highlight opportunities for more private-sector investment. For this potential to be fully maximised, programme design, programme management and market dynamics will be critical to factor in. This report assesses the abovementioned overarching categories and illustrates mechanisms that will be integral to facilitating increased private sector investment into grid-connected renewable energy generation. This will yield efficient management of REIPPPP and further enable improved economic growth and sustainable development.
- Topic:
- Development, Governance, Renewable Energy, Sustainability, and Energy
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
28. Gold in Ghana: A Story of Unbalanced Exchange
- Author:
- Léonce Ndikumana and William Godfred Cantah
- Publication Date:
- 09-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Abstract:
- his paper presents the historical and institutional context of the development of the gold sector in Ghana, which sets the stage for examining the contribution of the sector to the economy and its exposure to capital flight. The analysis sheds light on the important role that the regulatory framework and the fiscal regime that govern the gold sector have played in perpetuating a system of unequal distribution of gains from gold exploitation in terms of tax revenue and foreign exchange earnings in favour of foreign gold companies. The statistical analysis of gold export statistics reveals substantial discrepancies between Ghana’s gold exports and the recorded value of imports by its trading partners. These differences point to export underinvoicing as a conduit of capital flight, while also exhibiting a systematic lack of transparency and inconsistencies vis-a-vis established international conventions governing the recording of trade transactions, especially in the case of gold destined for South Africa which does not show up in the latter’s import statistics. Overall, the analysis suggests that the gains from the gold sector remain much below potential, but that at the same time there may be room for reforms that can improve the benefits from gold exploitation for the country.
- Topic:
- Development, Regulation, Capital Flight, Exchange Rates, and Gold
- Political Geography:
- Africa, South Africa, and Ghana
29. The Implementation of Sustainability Taxonomies: The Case of South Africa
- Author:
- Sören Hilbrich, Kathrin Berensmann, Giovanna Artmann, Sam Ashman, and Theresa Herbold
- Publication Date:
- 01-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
- Abstract:
- In recent years, many jurisdictions have developed sustainability taxonomies that aim to increase transparency of financial markets and redirect capital flows to sustainable investments. Such sustainable finance policies can be important levers because today’s investments shape economic production processes for decades. This case study on South Africa’s Green Finance Taxonomy (GFT) addresses the question of what factors influence the adoption of sustainability taxonomies by potential users. It finds that one year after its publication, the GFT has hardly been used in practice. Important factors hindering an effective implementation are a lack of regulatory embedding, the absence of a legal recognition of the GFT by the European Union (EU), a hesitancy among financial market participants to build capacities to collect the necessary data, and fossil-fuel path dependencies in South Africa’s economy. These findings have important policy implications (e.g. regarding accompanying governance measures) for implementation processes in many countries in the coming years.
- Topic:
- Development, Economy, Capital Flows, Investment, and Sustainability
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
30. Green Hydrogen: Implications for International Cooperation With Special Reference to South Africa
- Author:
- Andreas Stamm, Tilman Altenburg, Rita Strohmaier, Ece Oyan, and Katharina Thoms
- Publication Date:
- 01-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
- Abstract:
- Green hydrogen – produced with renewable energy – is indispensable for the decarbonisation of economies, especially concerning “hard-to-abate” activities such as the production of steel, cement and fertilisers as well as maritime transport and aviation. The demand for green hydrogen is therefore booming. Currently, green hydrogen is far more expensive than fossil fuel-based alternatives, but major initiatives are underway to develop a global green hydrogen market and bring costs down. Green hydrogen is expected to become cost-competitive in the mid-2030s. Given their endowment with solar and wind energy, many countries in the Global South are well-positioned to produce low-cost green hydrogen and are therefore attracting investments. Whether and to what extent these investments will create value and employment for – and improve environmental conditions in – the host economies depends on policies. This discussion paper analyses the potential industrial development spillovers of green hydrogen production, distinguishing seven clusters of upstream and downstream industries that might receive a stimulus from green hydrogen. Yet, it also underlines that there is no automatism. Unless accompanied by industrial and innovation policies, and unless there are explicit provisions for using revenues for a Just Transition, hydrogen investments may lead to the formation of socially exclusive enclaves. The paper consists of two parts. Part A provides basic information on the emerging green hydrogen market and its technological ramifications, the opportunities for countries with abundant resources for renewable energy, how national policies can maximise the effects in terms of sustainable national development and how this can be supported by international cooperation. Part B delves into the specific case of South Africa, which is one of the countries that has an advanced hydrogen roadmap and hosts several German and international development projects. The country case shows how a national hydrogen strategy can be tailored to specific country conditions and how international cooperation can support its design and implementation.
- Topic:
- Development, International Cooperation, Renewable Energy, and Hydrogen
- Political Geography:
- Africa, South Africa, and Germany
31. MIT X TAU Series: Africa’s New Activists
- Author:
- Busisiwe Seabe and Claude Grunitzky
- Publication Date:
- 05-2023
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- MIT Center for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The fourth webinar in the third annual webinar series focused on various aspects of sustainable development in Africa. Featuring: Busisiwe Seabe is a social justice activist in South Africa and a co-founder of the #FeesMustFall movement.
- Topic:
- Development, Social Justice, and Activism
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
32. Wage inequality, firm characteristics, and firm wage premia in South Africa
- Author:
- Shakeba Foster
- Publication Date:
- 10-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper investigates the role of firm characteristics in driving wage inequality and firm wage premia in the South African labour market. The Abowd, Kramarz, and Margolis (AKM) and Kline, Saggio, and Sølvsten (KSS) regression-based decomposition methods are applied to matched employer–employee administrative tax data for the period 2011–19. Additionally, the Theil index is used as a comparative tool for estimating wage inequality, given that the variance of logarithms applied in the regression-based decomposition methods has been established as an imprecise measure of inequality. The results show significantly high dispersion in wages, as estimated by both the AKM and the KSS methods as well as the Theil index, reaffirming the extent of high inequality in the country. Worker and firm characteristics account for 35 per cent and 18 per cent of wage dispersion, respectively, with a positive worker–firm covariance accounting for 11 per cent. Firm size, industry, profits, geographical location, and whether firms are locally or foreign-owned are found to be important in driving firm wage premia.
- Topic:
- Labor Issues, Inequality, Economy, and Wages
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
33. A reform option for pension fund contribution as tax expenditure in South Africa
- Author:
- Ada Jansen, Winele Ngobeni, and Wynnona Steyn
- Publication Date:
- 11-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- South Africa has a progressive broad-based personal income tax system with relatively few tax expenditures. The two most important are the medical contribution plus additional tax credits for medical expenses, and the deductions allowed for retirement contributions. A pertinent question for tax reform in South Africa is whether redistributive gains can be achieved by restructuring expenditures in the personal income tax system. This paper considers the redistributive implications of converting the tax deduction for retirement contributions to a tax credit. This would build on the gains achieved by introducing a medical tax credit system in 2012. We analyse the tax revenue gains/losses of income groups and in total in terms of distributional effects and progressivity outcomes using a static microsimulation model based on data for the 2019/20 tax year. We find a high concentration of taxpayers in terms of taxable income and retirement contributions. The concentration of contributions is highly skewed towards lower- and middle-income earners, whose annual contribution amounts are low compared with higher-income earners. We recommend a conversion rate that considers the current distribution of taxpayers contributing to retirement funds. Converting the pension contribution deduction to a tax credit would raise additional revenue and make the tax system more progressive, benefiting low-income earners with marginal tax rates of less than the proposed conversion rate. The revenue gained would provide increased fiscal space to fund social expenditure or reduce government debt. Further distributional and behavioural analyses are needed on low-income earners and those earning below/above the minimum tax threshold, to refine understanding of the impact on low-and middle-income earners’ contributions to retirement funds.
- Topic:
- Economics, Reform, Tax Systems, and Pension
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
34. Climate Change and Trade to the EU Priority Sectors for Policy Intervention in South Africa
- Author:
- Jason F. Bell, Sumayya Goga, and Nishal Robb
- Publication Date:
- 07-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for Business and Development Studies (CBDS), Copenhagen Business School
- Abstract:
- The deepening climate crisis has resulted in countries instituting a range of measures to curb emissions. The European Union (EU) has the most advanced climate policies, captured under the umbrella of its European Green Deal (EGD). While many of the measures being implemented impact countries within the EU, the measures are expected to impact Europe’s trading partners. The impacts on trading partners is occurring through changing regulations and policies such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), shifting consumer preferences, and impacts through value chains as a result of changing competitiveness of end products. EGD policies are forcing trading partners to the EU to adjust and decarbonise production processes, measure and report on emissions and other sustainability criteria, and, in some cases, even transform sectors to retain market share (the move towards electric vehicles). These policies include, among others, carbon taxes through the CBAM, the move towards electric vehicles in order to curb emissions, and a range of measures within the food sector. Together, these policies bring significant changes in the global trading system and the functioning of value chains. The costs associated with adjusting to these policies are high. Furthermore, these costs need to be borne by developing countries over and above the adaptation costs.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Climate Change, Development, European Union, and Trade
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, and South Africa
35. Sustainability in the South African Wine Industry: Status, Opportunities and Challenges
- Author:
- Reena das Nair, Shingie Chisoro, and Stefano Ponte
- Publication Date:
- 09-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Business and Development Studies (CBDS), Copenhagen Business School
- Abstract:
- South Africa has been a pioneer in developing a variety of sustainability programmes and initiatives from farm to bottle, placing it at the forefront of sustainability in the global wine industry. In addition to global sustainability standards, such as Fairtrade and organics, and standards applied by retailers in the Global North, domestic sustainability initiatives and regulations have also been developed since the late 1990s. The existence of sustainability initiatives however does not automatically entail that they are easing the local environmental impacts of viticulture and winemaking, that working conditions are necessarily improving, or that there has been more inclusive participation and ownership by historically disadvantaged persons (HDPs). In this working paper, we unpack whether, how and to what extent different demands and initiatives on sustainability are reshaping the functioning of the wine industry in South Africa and with what benefits for whom. We examine the various sustainability programmes and initiatives in South African wine and assess the implications for costs, investments and profitability of actors in the value chain. Furthermore, to provide a sense of how South Africa fares in the international arena, we also undertake a comparison with sustainability initiatives in the Italian wine industry. We frame sustainability initiatives in broad terms, covering environmental, social and economic sustainability. The growing effects of climate change globally demand that grape growers adapt from an environmental perspective. The pressure for social sustainability emanates from the highly skewed patterns of ownership by HDPs, legacies of racialised inequalities, and a tainted history of poor worker conditions on farms and cellars. We also cover economic sustainability, as it both affects and is affected by environmental and social sustainability initiatives and is critical for the future of commercial production. The research results presented here are part of a larger project funded by the Danish Independent Research Fund Denmark (Project #0133-00046B) on ‘Power and inequality in global production systems’ (PIPS) that also covers industrial fisheries in South Africa and the salmon and wine industries in Chile (with Stefano Ponte as the PI). This paper is focused on presenting the main empirical findings of this part of the project and is targeted at a broad audience. It is built on feedback we received on an earlier version that was discussed with South African industry actors at a webinar on 28 June 2023. More analytical and theoretical publications will follow in selected academic journals.
- Topic:
- Environment, Labor Issues, Governance, Business, Sustainability, Production, and Wine Industry
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
36. Interrogating the legality, appropriateness and sustainability of vigilantism against migrants in South Africa
- Author:
- Charity Mawire and Clayton Hazvinei Vhumbunu
- Publication Date:
- 10-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Conflict Trends
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- Since mid-2021, in the period preceding the run-up to the South African Municipal Elections that took place on 1 November 2021 to elect councils for district, metropolitan and local municipalities, South Africa experienced a rise of vigilantism against migrants and anti-immigration activism. Vigilantism against migrants and anti-immigration activism existed before 1994 and in the post-apartheid era, and it has often resulted in, or triggered, xenophobic attacks and xenophobic violence. However, it is the emergence of anti-immigration groups that has given rise to some community members, especially in urban areas, conducting vigils aimed at enforcing the country’s immigration laws and labour laws relating to the employment of foreign nationals. The communities are also focused on enforcing compliance with municipal by-laws on the regulation, control and licencing required for hiring and use of municipal premises and facilities for trading by foreign nationals, and the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants (FCD) Act 54 of 1972 together with public health regulations relating to the alleged selling of expired, contaminated, unsafe, unhygienic or counterfeit food and food products by foreign nationals mostly operating spazas or small shops. Anti-immigration groups include Operation ‘Dudula’, the social media-based Put South Africa First Movement, the South Africa First Party, and All Truck Drivers Foundation (ATDF), among others. Vigilantism against migrants in South Africa rose in intensity, scale and scope in the first quarter of 2022, reaching disturbing levels on 7 April 2022, when a Zimbabwean national living in South Africa, Elvis Mbodazwe Banajo Nyathi, was brutally assaulted and burnt to death in the Johannesburg township of Diepsloot.1 As vigilante groups continue to engage in anti-migrant activism and grow their grassroots support and geographical and regional coverage, this paper seeks to interrogate the legality, appropriateness and sustainability of vigilantism against migrants in South Africa. The analysis adds to the ongoing mainstream debate on illegal migration in South Africa.
- Topic:
- Security, Crime, Discrimination, Xenophobia, Peace, Stigmatization, and Migrants
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
37. Characteristics and efficacy of I4P in Southern Africa
- Author:
- Oita Etyang and Tunji Namaiko
- Publication Date:
- 10-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Conflict Trends
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- Compared to other regions, Southern Africa has been considered peaceful for a period of time. The relative peace experienced in the region has partly been attributed to the late decolonisation experience and the existence of strong regional institutions, such as the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), that have midwifed and quelled potential threats to peace and security. Certainly, SADC has established and operationalised peace and security organs that strategically intervene in cases of destabilisation in the region,1 including militarily in some countries. For instance, military forces under the ambit of SADC were deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Lesotho. More recently, forces were deployed by the region to quell the insurgency in Cabo Delgado in Mozambique.2 SADC has also intervened in member states to assuage political crises, as recently experienced in Eswatini where the SADC Troika was seized with this matter. Suffice it to mention that while the SADC intervention in Eswatini prevented the situation from escalating further, the root causes of political tensions remain salient. Despite the efforts outlined above, the emergence of conflict, violent demonstrations and riots experienced in some countries in this region, including Zimbabwe (2013, 2018), Zambia (2016), Eswatini (2021) and Madagascar (2020/2022), coupled with the evolving peace and security threats, such as armed insurgency, governance deficit, economic downturn, vagaries of climate change and the lack of economic development, have triggered an academic and policy appetite on the nature and efficacy of Infrastructure for Peace (I4P) in the region. Secondly, discussions on the subject area have predominantly focused on security apparatus, with little attention to other non-state-centric I4P. This article, therefore, interrogates the status of I4P within the Southern African region. Specifically, it unpacks their characteristics and roles in peace building, conflict prevention, conflict management, community cohesion and integration. The article goes further to highlight the challenges that I4P face in executing their respective mandates.
- Topic:
- Conflict, Protests, Destabilization, Peacebuilding, and Infrastructure for Peace (I4P)
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
38. How Inequality and Polarization Interact: America’s Challenges Through a South African Lens
- Author:
- Brian Levy
- Publication Date:
- 04-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- Over the past decade, toxic interactions between persistent inequality, racial tensions, and political polarization have undercut the promise of South Africa’s so-called rainbow miracle transition from apartheid to democracy. South Africa’s recent history sheds light on the United States’ recent political travails. It illustrates how interactions between inclusion and inequality on the one hand and political ideas and entrepreneurship on the other can fuel positive spirals of hope, economic dynamism, and political legitimacy—but can also trigger vicious, downward spirals of disillusion, anger, and political polarization. South Africa was able to transition from a society structured around racial oppression into a nonracial democracy whose new government promised “a better life for all.” Especially remarkable was the speed with which one set of national ideas appeared to give way to its polar opposite. From a society marked by racial dominance and oppression, there emerged the aspiration to build an inclusive, cooperative social order, underpinned by the principles of equal dignity and shared citizenship. In the initial glow of transition, South Africa’s citizens could hope for a better life for themselves and their children. In time, though, the promise wore thin. It became increasingly evident that the economic deck would continue to be stacked, and that the possibility of upward mobility would remain quite limited. Fueled by massive continuing inequities in wealth, income, and opportunity, South Africans increasingly turned from hope to anger. In the United States, a steady and equitably growing economy and a vibrant civil rights movement had fostered the hope of social and economic inclusion. But that hope turned to anger as the benefits of growth became increasingly skewed from the 1980s onward. In 2019, the U.S. economy was more unequal than it had been since the 1920s. Younger generations could no longer expect that their lives would be better than those of their parents. Such economic adversity and associated status anxiety can trigger a heightened propensity for us-versus-them ways of engaging the world. In both South Africa and the United States, polarization was fueled by divisive political entrepreneurs, and in both countries, these entrepreneurs leveraged inequality in ways that added fuel to the fire. In the 2010s, South Africa went through a new ideational reckoning, in part to correct the view that the transition to democracy had washed the country’s apartheid history clean. But opportunistic political entrepreneurs also pushed an increasingly polarized and re-racialized political discourse and pressure on public institutions, with predictable economic consequences. South Africa’s economy slid into sustained stagnation. Paralleling South Africa, America’s divisive political entrepreneurs also cultivated an us-versus-them divisiveness. However, unlike in South Africa, political entrepreneurs and economic elites in the United States also used divisive rhetoric as a way to persuade voters to embrace inequality-increasing policies that might otherwise not have won support. By the late 2010s, the risks were palpable in both South Africa and the United States of an accelerating breakdown of the norms and institutions that sustain inclusive political settlements. For South Africa, the reversals were not wholly unexpected, given the country’s difficult inheritance—though a recent turn away from angry populism suggests that, paradoxically, the rawness and recency of the anti-apartheid struggle and triumph might perhaps offer some immunization against a further-accelerating a downward spiral. But for the United States, the converse may be true. Increases in inequality since the 1980s, and their attendant social and political consequences, have been largely self-inflicted wounds. Complacency bred of long stability may, for decades, have been lulling the country into political recklessness at the inequality-ethnicity intersection, a recklessness that risks plunging the country into disaster. But this paper’s analysis is not all gloom and doom. South Africa’s escape from the shackles of apartheid teaches that, even in the most unlikely settings, downward spirals of despair and anger can transmute into virtuous spirals of hope. The country’s first fifteen years of democracy also show that, once a commitment to change has taken hold, making the shift to an inclusion-supporting economy is less daunting than it might seem. Reforms that foster “good enough inclusion” can be enough to provide initial momentum, with the changes themselves unfolding over time—and an initial round of change can bring in its wake a variety of positive knock-on effects. But lessons can be overlearned. Mass political mobilization was pivotal to South Africa’s shaking loose the shackles of apartheid—and new calls to the barricades might seem to be the obvious response to current political and governmental dysfunction. However, different times and different challenges call for different responses. In both contemporary South Africa and contemporary America, the frontier challenge is not to overthrow an unjust political order but to renew preexisting formal commitments to the idea that citizenship implies some shared purpose. Renewal of this kind might best be realized not by confrontation but rather by a social movement centered around a vision of shared citizenship, a movement that views cooperation in pursuit of win-win possibilities not as weakness but as the key to the sustainability of thriving, open, and inclusive societies.
- Topic:
- Governance, Democracy, Inequality, Institutions, and Polarization
- Political Geography:
- Africa, South Africa, North America, and United States of America
39. ‘Delangokubona’ and the distribution of rents and opportunity
- Author:
- Ayabonga Cawe
- Publication Date:
- 06-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- Capital spending on infrastructure presents a significant counter-cyclical tool, however contested it might be in a society as unequal as South Africa. The history of racial capitalism, racebased exclusion from economic participation, and an enduring political economy based on the concentration of capital, product, and service markets has given rise to a post-apartheid ‘politics of entry’ that mobilizes both formal and informal adaptations of redistributive policies aimed at ensuring redress of past injustices and access and participation by small and medium-sized enterprises owned by historically disadvantaged people. This is observed in stark form in the capital spending on economic and social infrastructure, which the South African government envisages as the ‘flywheel’ of the country’s economic reconstruction and recovery. Applying a combination of tools from new institutional economics, political sociology, and heterodox political economy frameworks, this paper considers the ‘informal’ and at times violent adaptation of policy, here defined as the ‘Delangokubona phenomenon’, which uses both formal mechanisms and the threat (perceived or real) of violent disruption to negotiate access to policy-sanctioned economic ‘rents’ under the auspices of ‘black economic empowerment’ in public infrastructure projects.
- Topic:
- Infrastructure, Economy, Rent, Redistribution, and Empowerment
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
40. Monetary policy in South Africa, 2007–21
- Author:
- Patrick Honohan and Athanasios Orphanides
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper reviews South Africa’s monetary policy since 2007 and makes recommendations towards improving the inflation-targeting framework currently in place. Following a surge in inflation into double digits in 2007/08, the South African Reserve Bank managed to guide inflation in line with the 3–6 per cent target band. Estimates of South Africa’s potential output underwent successive downward revisions. The resulting output gap misperceptions contributed to the tendency of inflation to be closer to the upper edge of the band in the 2010s. Our assessment is that the current definition of the target is not ambitious enough and reduces the benefits that inflation targeting could otherwise provide. An eventual point target of 3 per cent would better promote growth and protect the value of the currency, as mandated by the Republic’s Constitution.
- Topic:
- Monetary Policy, Economy, History, and Inflation
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
41. The Impact of Women Peacekeepers on Public Support for Peacekeeping in TroopContributing Countries
- Author:
- Laura Huber
- Publication Date:
- 05-2022
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute (IPI)
- Abstract:
- There are several common assumptions about how women peacekeepers may impact public opinion in the countries from which they deploy. Women peacekeepers may boost public support for peacekeeping by increasing the perceived legitimacy of peacekeeping missions. They may also boost public support for women’s rights by challenging norms around the roles women should perform. Finally, there is a belief that the death of women peacekeepers could decrease support for peacekeeping. Drawing on two rounds of online public surveys in India and South Africa, this issue brief tests these assumptions. It also draws on an additional survey of UN member-state representatives in New York to understand how decision makers believe the deployment of women alters public support for peacekeeping. Overall, the surveys revealed relatively high levels of support for peacekeeping in both India and South Africa. Moreover, member-state representatives in New York indicated that they not only value public opinion on peacekeeping and consider it when making deployment decisions but also believe that the deployment of women peacekeepers increases support for UN peacekeeping. However, differences between the surveys of the two countries underscore that women peacekeepers may be perceived differently by the public in different contexts and may not always increase support for peacekeeping or women’s rights. Therefore, scholars and policymakers within national governments and the UN should consider how the deployment of women may interact with other social, cultural, and political norms and practices to moderate how the public will perceive and react to women peacekeepers.
- Topic:
- Security, United Nations, Public Opinion, Peacekeeping, Women, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Africa, South Asia, India, and South Africa
42. Reparations for Victims of the Marikana Masssacre
- Author:
- Hugo van der Merwe, Jordi Vives-Gabriel, and Malose Langa
- Publication Date:
- 06-2022
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
- Abstract:
- This policy brief presents a summary assessment of the progress made in providing redress for victims of the Marikana Massacre,1 when 34 striking miners were killed by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in 2012 and ten people were killed in the conflict that led up to it. In the ten years since the massacre, there has been meagre progress in addressing its consequences. Direct victims and their relatives have not received full reparations, the community of Marikana remains underdeveloped and deeply divided, and the apartheid legacy of the mining sector in South Africa remains an unresolved wound in the national psyche. An integrated approach is required to address both the systemic injustices and the specific legacies of the Marikana Massacre, while being clear about the specific responsibilities of all the stakeholders. This policy brief spells out key facts about the events, outlines what progress that has been made in the last ten years in seeking truth, justice and reconciliation, and spells out recommendations for state, corporate and civil society actors on the way forward.
- Topic:
- Torture, Criminal Justice, State Violence, Police, and Reparations
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
43. The Marikana Massacre: Repair and Corporate Accountability 10 Years On
- Author:
- Malose Langa, Hugo van der Merwe, Modiege Merafe, and Jordi Vives-Gabriel
- Publication Date:
- 07-2022
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
- Abstract:
- This report focuses on the process of corporate redress in response to the Marikana Massacre, which occurred on 16 August 2012. The study sought to examine the various forms of reparations that have been provided to victims by the mining company and to understand this process in the context of other processes of justice and repair to address the consequences of conflict and violence. As such, this report forms part of a broader international study on the role of corporate actors in transitional justice processes.1 The report provides a brief description of the events in Marikana against the backdrop of the history of mining in apartheid South Africa and the subsequent transition to democracy. It frames the causes of the massacre as embedded in the unresolved transition and South Africa’s failure to confront the legacy of exploitation and repression in the mining sector. It also seeks to unpack the various initiatives undertaken in response to the massacre, focusing particularly on the measures to address the needs of injured and arrested mineworkers as well as the families of those who were killed.
- Topic:
- Torture, Criminal Justice, State Violence, Police, Reconciliation, and Corporate Accountability
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
44. An investigation into the role of traditional leaders in conflict resolution: The case of communities in the Mahikeng Local Municipality, North West Province, South Africa
- Author:
- Lovelyne Mboh
- Publication Date:
- 01-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal on Conflict Resolution
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- For many decades, traditional leaders have been occupied with solving conflicts in African indigenous communities. Nevertheless, their contributions to conflict resolution have not been as widely documented as work in the area of formal conflict resolution. The core of this investigation was to explore the roles traditional leaders play in resolving conflict among indigenous communities in South Africa. The study also explored shortcomings of traditional authority institutions as they carried out their roles in peace building. A qualitative research methodology was adopted to answer the objectives of the article. The research found that conflict remains an element peculiar to communities and, as such, the need for traditional leaders to intervene and maintain peace. Traditional leaders were guided by moral values and belief systems which have been passed down from one generation to the next. These authorities used processes such as mediation and arbitration in achieving peace. However, in some instances, these traditional leaders have experienced disrespect from community members. Most of the participants in this study are knowledgeable about traditional practice and have played vital roles in local conflict situations.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Indigenous, Community, and Traditional Leaders
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
45. The South African Constitutional Court Decides Against Statelessness and in Favour of Children
- Author:
- Mihloti Basil Sherinda and Jonathan Klaaren
- Publication Date:
- 07-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Statelessness & Citizenship Review
- Institution:
- Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
- Abstract:
- Shrinking citizenship is of great concern for those facing the prospect of reduction in citizenship statuses,not from two to one but from some to none—ieto the status of statelessness. Research in South Africa has only recently begun to pay increased attention to the problem of childhood statelessness, itself only seeing sustained interest at the global level for just over a decade.39The DHA does not keep official statistics on statelessness, not mentioning the topic in its annual reports through 2015.40In 2017, one of the leading NGOs addressing the issue provided legal assistance to 92 children (half born in South Africa) with problems of statelessness or at risk of statelessness.41Following a wider human rights definition,rather than the narrower UNHCR approach, South African legislation is mostly in line with international legal standards on the prevention and reduction of statelessness, including for children.42However, the implementation of those laws leaves much to be desired due to the DHA’s tendency to support restrictive interpretations of the provisions in its regulations and policies.43Chisuseclarifies the principle of the statutory interpretive presumption against retrospectivity and its application to legislation in a complex regulatory framework,which could also beinterpreted to extinguish existing citizenship rights. When read in its fullness, the historical approach adopted by the Constitutional Court led to a persuasive decision, handing success to public interest litigants acting on behalf of those faced with adegree of statelessness. Especially when seen in the context of a shrinking bureaucratic regard for citizenship applicants, the Constitutional Court continues to place itself at the centre of the rights-regarding movement within South African citizenship law.44The decision confirms the trend in childhood statelessness cases wherein the lower courts have found against the DHA,45including that of a child born to two Cuban parents where Cuba refused to extend citizenship to the child (instructing the DHA toissue citizenship to the child); a child born to refugees and reaching the age of 18(holding that the DHA’s delay in formulating guidelines for applications was not a sufficient basis to deny children the opportunity for naturalisation); and children with an unmarried South African father and a foreign national mother (ruling that the children should be properly registered so that they could access South African citizenship)
- Topic:
- Children, Citizenship, Courts, and Stateless Population
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
46. Racism, Xenophobia, and Misogynistic Prejudice in South Africa: A Case Study of Policy Interventions Since 1994
- Author:
- Masana Mulaudzi
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- Masana Mulaudzi reminds us of the challenges of undoing years of structural racism at the country level even where there are good intentions at the start of the process. While the money to finance redistribution and investment hasn’t always been made available following the end of Apartheid in South Africa, the foundational legislation that introduced a progressive framework and implemented a transitional justice process—the Truth and Reconciliation Commission–has contributed to an environment where civil society can pursue litigation, social movements, and mass campaigns related to ending prejudice and promoting equitable and just policy implementation.
- Topic:
- Apartheid, Transitional Justice, Xenophobia, and Racism
- Political Geography:
- South Africa
47. Emerging Powers and Peacebuilding Financing: Recommendations for Finding Common Ground
- Author:
- Priyal Singh and Gustavo De Carvalho
- Publication Date:
- 04-2022
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- There is currently a North-South gap in discussions on peacebuilding financing, despite the fact that emerging powers are playing an increasingly important role in fragile and conflict-affected countries. Now is the moment to create opportunities for mutual engagement, coordination, and learning.
- Topic:
- Finance, Conflict, Emerging Powers, and Peacebuilding
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, Middle East, India, East Asia, South Africa, and Latin America
48. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Use of its Documentation: An Analysis
- Author:
- Proscovia Svard
- Publication Date:
- 01-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Social Science Research Council
- Abstract:
- This paper investigates the extent to which the documentation that was generated by the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (SATRC) is being used to promote the healing of a post-apartheid society. Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) are considered a primary human rights tool for post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction. They investigate gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, uncover the truth, and promote forgiveness. In this regard, TRCs use restorative justice which focuses on the rehabilitation of perpetrators through reconciliation with victims. They offer a platform for victims and perpetrators to share their experiences in an endeavor to repair the social fabric damaged by violent or structural conflict.1 TRCs are expected to help post-conflict societies transition from a past of human rights violations to a democratic and peaceful post-conflict society where human rights are respected. TRCs, through the documentation they produce, make it hard for the perpetrators to deny the truth
- Topic:
- Apartheid, Discrimination, Reconciliation, and Truth
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
49. Mitigating Post-Apartheid Xenophobic Violence Through Language
- Author:
- Chimaobi Onwukwe
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Social Science Research Council
- Abstract:
- This policy brief draws on field-based research on multilingual practices and identity navigation among Nigerian Igbo migrants, their motivations for their language use/choices and how these relate to evading xenophobic violence in South Africa. It also makes recommendations for mitigating the effects of xenophobic violence.
- Topic:
- Apartheid, Discrimination, Violence, Language, and Migrants
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
50. Social Protection in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons from South Africa
- Author:
- Lena Gronbach, Jeremy Seekings, and Vayda Megannon
- Publication Date:
- 02-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- South Africa responded to the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown using a combination of existing social protection programmes, unemployment insurance, and additional measures to support those most affected. This paper reviews policies and implementation with the objective of highlighting lessons for the global community, including on the use of digital mechanisms. The government adopted a two-pronged and largely cash-based approach: unemployment benefits for formal sector workers and cash transfers to vulnerable individuals, informal workers, and beneficiaries of existing grants. Top-up payments for existing grants were rolled out efficiently; the new Special Relief of Distress (SRD) grant posed challenges but ultimately succeeded in reaching over six million previously uncovered beneficiaries. It may even become a permanent feature of South Africa’s social protection system. Overall, the government reached over 30 million South Africans with cash-based relief measures. A distinctive feature of cash-based emergency relief was the use of digital technologies, especially in the application and verification process for the new SRD grant. The payment system, however, relied heavily on manual cash disbursements, thus failing to reflect the adoption of innovative digital technologies observed in many other African countries.
- Topic:
- Security, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Protection
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa