Vision and future of South Africa’s oldest rural medical school as it navigates towards its first century

Jimmy Volmink: shaping the evidence base in South Africa

What has happened here thus far is precisely what we needed to see: an analysis of what is happening in other parts of Africa and an honest exchange of views, including disagreements, in preparation for the kinds of discussions which must be undertaken right now about the future of South Africa. That is what I propose to address. A couple of preliminary remarks, however. Let me thank Valparaiso University and the School of Law for inviting me and the other speakers. This kind of discussion is extremely useful. Also, I direct your attention to our symposium at the University of Pittsburgh scheduled for March 17-19, 1988, the third in a series of symposia addressing post-apartheid South Africa. The sessions are open to the public, registration is free and some of the participants here will present papers. At previous symposia, we have had people like Professor Bob Seidman and representatives of the ANC, the Pan-Africanist Congress, the Black Consciousness Movement, the United Democratic Front and the South African Council of Churches. Other participants have included Aggrey Mbere, Godfrey Sithole, Ben Magubane and Jacqueline Williams. In addition, people like Peter Mahlangu would make an important contribution in the area of future labor relations and labor legislation. This diversity illustrates one facet of the problem which I will address: the future of South Africa is not going to be determined by any single force or any single faction. It is realistic to anticipate that we will have to recognize different players in this particular drama and various tensions that will arise in the future. The symposia at Pittsburgh have been more narrowly focused on in-depth analysis of a few issues than here, where a whole range of post-apartheid issues have been examined. One important issue addressed here has been in a rather different area: to examine critically the role of the churches in South Africa and to ask certain rather difficult questions about the churches-whether they are collaborators in a system of oppression

Samir Amin’s critiques of both apartheid-era and post-apartheid political economy contributed to his scathing view of the crucial ‘semi-peripheral’ layer of the world system, a perspective typically ignored in binary formulations of Global North and Global South. Amin’s 1977 article ‘The future of South Africa’ was among his first statements of how, using that era’s dependency theory language, ‘South African capital requires an outward policy of expansionism, so that ultimately, internal colonialism becomes coterminous with sub-imperialism’. Amin also labeled post-apartheid South Africa sub-imperialist because of the domination of ‘monopoly capital’ in the extractive-industry circuits (depleting what Marx called ‘free gifts of nature’) and the below-survival-level wages that have long shaped the economic structure. Two other coterminous factors were Pretoria’s imposition of continent-wide neoliberalism through the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa BRICS network – both of which proved incapable of transcending neoliberal economic policies insisted upon by contemporary imperialism. Following the BRICS 2023 Sandton summit’s elite failure to advance de-dollarisation or other ‘delinking’ strategies, Amin would nod, knowingly, when hearing the term ‘sub-imperial’ to describe the bloc – and look for inspiration instead to successes of grassroots campaigners.

Women in local government - towards a future South Africa considers how best to integrate into local government the principles of the African National Congress for a new South Africa unity, democracy, non-racialism and non-sexism. Special attention is given to removing gender oppression. The paper considers the current role of local government in South Africa and its failure to meet any of the four principles. Later sections describe the importance to women of local government. The final section explores how best to implement the commitment to removing gender oppression within local govern ment.

In view of potential changes in the system of mineral rights in a future South Africa, all interested parties should become involved in debating this important subject. Advantages of centrally controlled mineral rights include the opening up of previously sterilised properties, and solving the problem of fragmented mineral rights. Compensation for private mineral rights should be considered if capital flight from this country is not to be accelerated. The management of mineral rights and resource revenues in a future South Africa can best be achieved through a statutory trust fund not subject to political control.

This book contains chapters by 14 prominent figures offering information on key issues concerning the Christian faith in South Africa. Three quarters of South Africans regard themselves as Christians.

This article argues that white officials in black trade unions in South Africa during the 1970s and 1980s were rebels with numerous causes. These causes were to help build a democratic and powerful black trade union movement, to work towards social and economic justice, and to secure their own long-term future in South Africa. The argument is based on presenting a historical overview of the two major black trade union federations that emerged in South Africa during the 1970s and 1980s. One was non-racial and accepted white intellectuals as officials. It eventually grew into COSATU, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, which played a major role in the mass democratic movement during the transition to democracy in 1994. The other black trade union federation was Africanist with some black consciousness orientations and appointed only blacks as officials. It eventually grew into NACTU, the National Council of Trade Unions. It never matched COSATU in size, strength or strategic leadership. The non-racial federation grew much stronger than the Africanist federation by focusing on building active democratic shop steward structures in the workplace. This was part of a deliberate strategy by white intellectuals in the unions to put control of the unions into the hands of black workers, who gradually rose through the ranks into positions of leadership. They and other black intellectuals replaced the white intellectuals in the unions who could then proceed to serve their country in other ways. One of them, Alec Erwin, is presently a minister in President Mbeki's cabinet. Far from having been rebels without a cause, white intellectuals in black unions had the privilege of working towards political reconciliation as well as the search for social and economic justice in South Africa.

South Africa has limited reserve electricity resources and many parts of the country have limited access to electricity. Predictions suggest South Africa will have a serious electricity allocation problem in the very near future, and current rolling blackouts in many of our cities can attest to the looming problem. The energy crisis in South Africa has highlighted the need to increase electricity generation capacity and to search for alternative energy sources. Solar chimney plants could form part of the solution in the near future in South Africa to create additional power. Solar radiation energy is abundant in South Africa, while wind sources are limited mainly to coastal regions. Presently, wind turbine technology is more efficient than solar voltaic cells. This study develops a wind generation system in areas where wind is absent. A solar chimney power plant is expected to provide remote areas in South Africa with electric power, or complement the current electricity grid. Solar energy and the psychometric state of the air are important to encourage the full development of a solar chimney power plant for the thermal and electrical production of energy for various uses. A solar chimney power plant consists of a greenhouse roof collector, and the chimney is located at the centre. The chimney is used to direct and vent the low density air through a wind turbine which in turn converts the air enthalpy into mechanical energy. The main advantage of a solar chimney system lies in its low maintenance cost, the simplicity to operate and the durability of the system. Research of a design within the South African context and particularly on increasing the effectiveness of the solar chimney power plant technology is lacking. Several simulations were performed to find the optimum design configuration to focus the research. The results from the simulations were used to design the best configuration for a pilot plant. * Symbols : A : Area, m2 b : Breadth, m C : Circle diameter, m Cair : Heat Capacity of air = 0.0342, J/kg K Cv : Heat Capacity of air at a constant volume, J/kg K E : Energy, J Ek : Kinetic Energy, J g : Gravity acceleration = 9.81, m/s2 h : Height, m L : Height of straight chimney, m m : Mass, kg m : Mass flow rate, kg/s P : Pressure, Pa P : Atmospheric pressure, Pa PE : Potential Energy, J Pel : Electrical Power, W/m2 Q : Flow rate, m3/s r : Radius, m Rair : Air constant = 287.058, J/Kg K s : Square diameter, m T : Temperature, K V : Velocity, m/s Wturbine : Power of turbine, W Greek symbols : ρ : Density, kg/m3 η : Efficiency, % γ : Specific heat ratio Subscripts : 1 : Inlet of the solar collector 2 : Inlet of the wind turbine/outer of the solar collector 3 : Inlet of solar chimney/outlet of the wind turbine 4 : Outlet of solar chimney

South Africa hosts some of the busiest maritime ports which are gateway ports to several landlocked countries in the region. Road transportation is the main modality for moving goods between seaports and hinterland within South Africa and beyond to at least six landlocked countries in the region. However, the high rate of violent crime against freight trucks and vans has for many years been a major known risk to the road freight transport industry. Traditionally, these crimes have been motivated by monetary proceeds from sales of stolen goods from hijacked vehicles or the vehicles themselves. Recently, however, influenced by anti-immigrant sentiments, similar attacks have been specifically targeting foreign drivers and trucks resulting in death, injury, and damage to vehicles and cargo. Previously considered an internal problem for South Africa as a matter arising from domestic social and economic challenges in that country, the emergence of attacks on foreign drivers and trucks have raised concerns about the future of South Africa as an economic powerhouse, its role as a transit country for landlocked countries, and about its relationship with regional neighbors. For the landlocked countries in the region, any instability in South Africa can have a serious impact on the logistics that sustain businesses and international trade. This exploratory study gives an overview of the increasingly complex issue of violent attacks against foreign nationals in South Africa with a focus on attacks targeting the road freight transport sector and the implications on regional integration efforts.

Southern Africa has become a battleground between two ideologically and fundamentally opposed constellation of states, Pretoria and Lusaka constellations. The conflict between the two basically concerns the domestic racial policies and the future of South Africa. The Pretoria constellation was launched on July 22, 1980, and is led by P. W. Botha, the South Africa's Prime Minister. The Botha's axis is a designed strategy which essentially aims at using South Africa's economic power and wealth to manipulate its neighboring nine black ruled states; and to exert subtle pressure to ensure that they cohere with the white minority regime of South Africa. This ambition of the Pretoria constellation is a vital part of the total strategy of survival of the Botha government. This particularly involves the use of the economy as an instrument of maintaining ultimate political power and control based on the maintenance of the basic structures of apartheid. This has in turn motivated South Africa's opposition to the policies of economic and political liberation of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) states. The second, the Lusaka constellation and also known as the “Southern Nine” was launched on April 1, 1980. It consists of the nine Southern African States of Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The declared aim of the Southern Nine is to form an alliance which would pursue an economic strategy that would reduce or eliminate their economic dependence on South Africa. To this end, the Southern Nine and the South African-occupied territory of Namibia unanimously adopted a Programme of Action aimed at stimulating inter-state trade with the ultimate objective of economic independence from South Africa.

Addressing global challenges of inequitable and unsustainable natural resource management is imperative. South African water management serves as a critical case study allowing for the deep exploration of the intricate complexities surrounding these issues. South Africa's apartheid era witnessed inequitable water distribution and, despite the efforts made through the post-apartheid National Water Act of 1998 to prioritise equity and sustainability, challenges still persist in its implementation. This review aims to bridge knowledge gaps in sustainable water management in South Africa, focusing on environmental justice and sustainable development within the framework of the three pillars of sustainability. Through a systematic literature review of 57 scientific papers published in the Web of Science database between 1995 and 2021 this study aims to provide a comprehensive examination of the complex dynamics shaping water management in South Africa. Major themes, challenges, and solutions in sustainable water management are identified, emphasising the importance of stakeholder interactions, insufficient collaboration, and a lack of capacity building. The study also explores water policy implementation, environmental impacts of business, particularly in agriculture and mining, and the management of freshwater sources and their overexploitation. Economically, the mining industry's role and associated challenges such as acid mine drainage and water use competition are assessed. The Water-Energy-Food Nexus's influence on water management, water pricing efficiency, user willingness to pay, and the potential of decentralised systems and corporate social responsibility are also explored. With South Africa facing urgent challenges of water scarcity and resource management, integrated approaches that consider environmental, social, and economic dimensions, alongside robust multi-stakeholder collaboration, are essential. This review offers valuable insights for policymakers, water managers, and researchers working toward a sustainable water future in South Africa.

Reluctant reconciliation is taking shape in South Africa. The ambivalent alliance between the two major contenders for power, the National Party (NP) and the African National Congress (ANC) results from a balance of forces where neither side can defeat the other. It is their mutual weakness rather than their equal strength, that makes both long-time adversaries embrace negotiations for powersharing. Like a forced marriage, the working arrangement lacks any mutual love but nonetheless is consummated because behind any alternative behaviour looms a worse fate for both antagonists. The emergence of multiracial domination has surprised most observers who saw the battle about legalised racism as a clear moral issue, the defeat of the last colonisers by a widely acclaimed movement of national liberation. During the 1970s and 1980s the international debate on South Africa was preoccupied with the obvious immorality of apartheid. The apartheid state was invariably treated as a monolithic racist entity, and internal strategic developments were overlooked or reduced to simple dichotomies between oppressors and victims. This either-or reasoning ignored local contexts and obscured the ambiguities, contradictions and irrationalities of life under apartheid. Undoubtedly the grotesque Verwoerdian social engineering was brutal; but it also contained a certain paternalistic benevolence that oiled the system and helps explain why apartheid lasted so long. Incontrovertibly, the racially defined privileges designated oppressors and victims, but if we are to understand South African politics, victimology needs to be balanced by accounts of how the seemingly powerless survived, gave meaning to their lives, and acted upon their particular historical circumstances. Developments in South Africa have also been widely misunderstood owing to the tendency to apply false colonial analogies or popular stereotypes of violent tribalism. Later, the personality cult surrounding Nelson Mandela and the accolades accorded to F W De Klerk have further romanticised a conflictual relationship, personalising it into a literal matter of black versus white, and thereby obscuring the social conditions and constraints under which these leaders act, the passions and interests that drive their interacting constituencies. Which are the likely futures of South Africa, compared with developments elsewhere? Scenario-planning exercises enjoy great popularity in a society beset by anxiety and ideological confusion. The Anglo-American exhortation for a

Financial development, green innovation, green tax, industrialisation, and environmental performance in South Africa: The mediating role of institutions.

The New Republic of South Africa is facing tremendous political, social, and economic upheaval as it establishes a constitutional democracy through the redistribution of powerfrom the white minority National Party government to the new black majority African National Congress (ANC) led by Nelson Mandela. The changes have been swift and immense. I focus specifically on the changes to the legal system brought on by the end of the apartheid era. I assess both the efforts of the New Republic of South Africa to increase the independence of the courts and the legitimacy of the legal system and the future of South Africa. This analysis certainly is neither exhaustive nor complete, but it is an attempt to articulate perceptions gained through recent interviews with South African legal scholars and legal practitioners. It is hoped that this effort will provide limited but helpful information in the evaluation of the “New South Africa.”

This research examines the intersection of energy economics and energy poverty in South Africa, focusing on the impacts of renewable energy adoption, market liberalization, and decarbonization policies. The study employs a qualitative, exploratory approach, utilizing in-depth interviews, focus groups, and case studies to capture the diverse experiences of stakeholders, including policymakers, energy professionals, business owners, and low-income households. The findings reveal significant economic and social impacts of renewable energy integration, highlighting both opportunities for investment and challenges related to grid stability, market inequality, and job losses in coal-dependent regions. The research also critically assesses the effectiveness of South Africa’s energy transition policies, identifying key barriers such as regulatory uncertainty, insufficient enforcement, and social resistance. Energy poverty is framed as a multidimensional issue, encompassing access, affordability, quality, and reliability of energy services, with severe health and socio-economic consequences for vulnerable populations. The study provides practical recommendations for enhancing policy coherence, supporting a just transition for affected communities, and promoting inclusive energy access through targeted interventions and behavioural change strategies. By offering a comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamics of energy economics and energy poverty, this research contributes valuable insights for policymakers, energy sector stakeholders, and community organizations striving to create a more sustainable and equitable energy future in South Africa.