Southern South Africa Research Articles

Cyprus and Africa in the Makarios Era: Igniting the ‘Hot’ Solidarity Against Western Imperialism

ABSTRACT This paper examines a relatively understudied topic in the literature of Cypriot political history, namely the relations between Cyprus and African countries during the Makarios era. Drawing upon the official archives of the UN, USA, UK, and the Republic of Cyprus (specifically the Press and Information Office, PIO, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MFA), as well as Cypriot newspapers, this research is grounded in historical analysis. The main findings of the paper suggest that Makarios perceived the Zurich-London status quo in Cyprus as contrary to principles such as self-determination, democracy, independence, and sovereignty, prompting him to engage in an international struggle for change. Makarios’s attitudes towards Cyprus aligned with African countries’ collective struggle under frameworks such as AAPSO, the Non-Aligned Movement, and G-77, both for themselves and the rest of the world. In various international forums, notably the United Nations, Cyprus and African nations provided mutual support against Western imperialism. Their collaboration extended beyond the Cyprus Problem to encompass the rights of people struggling for independence against colonialism all around the world and those seeking democracy in the face of racist regimes in Southern Rhodesia and South Africa.

Psychological Distress Among Ethnically Diverse Participants From Eastern and Southern Africa

Psychological distress is characterized by anxiety and depressive symptoms. Although prior research has investigated the occurrence and factors associated with psychological distress in low- and middle-income countries, including those in Africa, these studies' findings are not very generalizable and have focused on different kinds of population groups. To investigate the prevalence and characteristics (sociodemographic, psychosocial, and clinical) associated with psychological distress among African participants. This case-control study analyzed data of participants in the Neuropsychiatric Genetics in African Populations-Psychosis (NeuroGAP-Psychosis) study, which recruited from general outpatient clinics in Eastern (Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia) and Southern (South Africa) Africa. Individuals who participated in the control group of NeuroGAP-Psychosis from 2018 to 2023 were analyzed as part of this study. Data were analyzed from May 2023 to January 2024. The prevalence of psychological distress was determined using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), which measures distress on a scale of 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating more distress. Participants from the NeuroGAP-Psychosis study were categorized into cases as mild (score of 20-24), moderate (score of 25-29), and severe (score of 30-50), and participants with scores less than 20 were considered controls. Factors that were associated with psychological distress were examined using binomial logistic regression. From the data on 21 308 participants, the mean (SD) age was 36.5 (11.8) years, and 12 096 participants (56.8%) were male. The majority of the participants were married or cohabiting (10 279 participants [48.2%]), most had attained secondary education as their highest form of learning (9133 participants [42.9%]), and most lived with their families (17 231 participants [80.9%]). The prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe psychological distress was 4.2% (869 participants), 1.5% (308 participants), and 0.8% (170 participants), respectively. There were 19 961 participants (93.7%) who served as controls. Binomial logistic regression analyses indicated that the independent associations of psychological distress were experience of traumatic events, substance use (alcohol, tobacco, or cannabis), the physical comorbidity of arthritis, chronic neck or back pain, and frequent or severe headaches. In this case-control study among ethnically diverse African participants, psychological distress was associated with traumatic stress, substance use, and physical symptoms. These findings were observed to be consistent with previous research that emphasizes the importance of traumatic events as a factor associated with risk for psychopathology and notes the frequent co-occurrence of conditions such as physical symptoms, depression, and anxiety.

Social Protection Instruments and Strategies in Southern Africa

Purpose: This article aims to investigate social protection knowledge and strategies and their implementation in selected countries in Southern Africa, namely Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Eswatini, Zambia, and South Africa. The article is part of ongoing policy and practical debates on development and poverty reduction in Africa. Methodology: The article employs a conceptual research approach to identify the social protection strategies in seven Southern African countries that were chosen purposefully due to the nature and depth of the programs. Conceptual research was underpinned by a review of primary and secondary literature available in both academic and grey formats accessed from the Google Scholar database. Findings: The article shows elderly grants, child grants, and disability grants were the most common in the selected countries. It was also found that governments believed that social protection strategies could help reduce poverty and vulnerability. However, except for South Africa, these countries did not have permanent strategies to implement and sustain social protection. Originality/Value: The article highlights how institutions can be strengthened to reinforce social protection systems and ensure sustainability. The article, thus, showcases practical conduits through which the social protection systems in the selected countries can be strengthened.

Mesozoic rifting in SW Gondwana and break-up of the Southern South Atlantic Ocean

Abstract The opening of the South Atlantic Ocean in the Early Cretaceous was only the final stage of the complex rifting process of SW Gondwana. In this contribution, we reassess the chronology of Mesozoic basin formation in southern South America and Africa and integrate it in the long-term rifting and break-up history of SW Gondwana. During the Triassic, after the Gondwanides orogeny, plate-scale instabilities produced intracontinental rifting in Africa, and retro-arc extension on the SW-margin of Gondwana. This process was followed and accentuated by the impingement of the Karoo plume in the Early Jurassic, which triggered rifting in East Africa and ultimately produced the break-up of Eastern from Western Gondwana in the Middle Jurassic. Retro-arc extension continued to affect the palaeo-Pacific margin, with emplacement of the Chon Aike magmatic province in the Patagonian retro-arc during the Early–Middle Jurassic. By the Late Jurassic, retro-arc rifting reached a point of oceanic crust accretion, with the establishment of the Rocas Verdes back-arc basin in southern Patagonia, together with the formation of the Weddell Sea further south, between the South American plate and Antarctica. The core of the Late Paleozoic Gondwanides orogen, between southern South America and Africa, was subjected to oblique rifting at this time and produced the Outeniqua and Rawson/Valdés basins. This area was the locus of extension and oceanization in the Early Cretaceous associated with a rotation of the stress field from NE–SW to east–west extension. The formation of the South Atlantic Ocean resulted from lithospheric extension and was accompanied by extensive intrusive magmatism and extrusive flood basalts identified as seaward dipping reflectors, which were emplaced diachronically from south to north, along different segments along both conjugate margins. These volcanic rocks form the South Atlantic Large Igneous Province. The chronology of the South Atlantic opening and the magmatic sources and processes associated with the formation of seaward dipping reflectors remain interpretative as they have only been studied on seismic data but are still undrilled; hence, scientific drilling will be key to unravel many of these unknowns.

A taxonomic revision of Aloe sect. Purpurascentes (Asphodelaceae subfam. Alooideae)

Aloe sect. Purpurascentes, or the speckled aloes (not to be confused with the maculate aloes, which are members of A. sect. Pictae), occurs in southern and western South Africa and southern Namibia. This section is here revised using macro-morphology, seed morphology, palynology, chemistry, and molecular evidence. Seed morphology, palynology, chemistry, and to a greater extent molecular markers, are shown to be inconclusive for demarcation at species level in A. sect. Purpurascentes. Nonetheless, evidence from these sources does provide support for the general coherence of the group. Although some species can be clearly differentiated from most other members of A. sect. Purpurascentes, the results are not consistent among the different character sets investigated. No changes are thus proposed here in terms of the placement of taxa within the section. Two species suspected to be members of the section under study (A. pictifolia and A. chlorantha), although being chemically related, do not cluster with the rest of the members of A. sect. Purpurascentes in the morphological analysis, and evidence on the sectional placement of these taxa from molecular analyses is inconclusive. Hence, these two aloes are here excluded from A. sect. Purpurascentes. The most useful evidence to distinguish among taxa in A. sect. Purpurascentes were those from comparative morphology. In this revision five species are retained: A. framesii, A. gariepensis, A. khamiesensis, A. microstigma, and A. succotrina. The following taxonomic changes are proposed: A. knersvlakensis becomes a subspecies of A. khamiesensis; aberrant populations of the latter species from the Hantam region are described as A. khamiesensis subsp. hantamensis; A. juttae is reinstated at subspecific level under A. microstigma; A. amoena is reinstated at subspecific level under A. framesii, and a third subspecies, A. framesii subsp. maraisii, is described for the southern populations of this aloe. Lectotypes are designated for five names and epitypes for three names. The notion that DNA barcodes should not be seen as a replacement technique for comprehensive taxonomic analysis is clearly illustrated in this revision of A. sect. Purpurascentes. Since traditional barcodes are insufficient to distinguish samples at species level, alpha taxonomic techniques are essential to delimit species in this group of aloes, and likely for all other aloes.

Regional- to district-scale controls on thermal springs occurrence in South Africa: Insights from investigations of their spatial distribution and their spatial relationships with geological features

In the study presented here, the spatial distribution of thermal springs in South Africa was investigated using point distribution analysis, fractal analysis and Fry analysis, and the thermal springs’ spatial relationships with high-heat-producing granitoids (HHPGs), groundwater yield, and structural lineaments were investigated using distance distribution analysis. The purpose of these spatial investigations was to explore the regional- to district-scale geological controls on thermal springs occurrence in South Africa. The results show that regional- to district-scale geological controls on thermal springs occurrence in South Africa involve the presence of or proximity to HHPGs (as heat source control), groundwater yield of ∼2 L/s (as water source control) and intersections of structural lineaments with particular trends (as pathways control). In southern and eastern South Africa, the pathways controls are, respectively, intersections of ENE-trending lineaments with NNW- and NW-trending lineaments and intersections of ENE- and WNW-trending lineaments. This spatial information comprises a conceptual model that can be used as a framework for regional- to district-scale predictive modeling and mapping of the prospectivity (or likelihood) of areas where geothermal resources potentially exist in South Africa.

Phylogenomic Comparison of Seven African Swine Fever Genotype II Outbreak Viruses (1998-2019) Reveals the Likely African Origin of Georgia 2007/1.

Since the initial report of African swine fever (ASF) in Kenya in 1921, the disease has predominantly been confined to Africa. However, in 2007, an ASF genotype II virus of unknown provenance was introduced to Georgia. This was followed by its rampant spread to 73 countries, and the disease is now a global threat to pig production, with limited effective treatment and vaccine options. Here, we investigate the origin of Georgia 2007/1 through genome sequencing of three viruses from outbreaks that predated the genotype II introduction to the Caucasus, namely Madagascar (MAD/01/1998), Mozambique (MOZ/01/2005), and Mauritius (MAU/01/2007). In addition, genome sequences were generated for viruses from East African countries historically affected by genotype II (Malawi (MAL/04/2011) and Tanzania (TAN/01/2011)) and newly invaded southern African countries (Zimbabwe (ZIM/2015) and South Africa (RSA/08/2019). Phylogenomic analyses revealed that MOZ/01/2005, MAL/04/2011, ZIM/2015 and RSA/08/2019 share a recent common ancestor with Georgia 2007/1 and that none contain the large (~550 bp) deletion in the MGT110 4L ORF observed in the MAD/01/1998, MAU/01/2007 and TAN/01/2011 isolates. Furthermore, MOZ/01/2005 and Georgia 2007/1 only differ by a single synonymous SNP in the EP402R ORF, confirming that the closest link to Georgia 2007/1 is a virus that was circulating in Mozambique in 2005.

Four new species and three taxonomic adjustments in Lachenalia (Asparagaceae: Scilloideae) from southern and western South Africa

A novel phylogenetic hypothesis for Lachenalia (Asparagaceae; Scilloideae; Hyacintheae) based on multilocus DNA sequence data has revealed the existence of four morphologically, ecologically and/or geographically distinct species, and supports the elevation of three existing subspecies to the species level. The new species and combinations are presented here. The new species are Lachenalia komsbergensis from the Komsberg in the southern Great Karoo (Northern Cape), Lachenalia inflata from the Hantam-Roggeveld escarpment in the western Great Karoo (Northern Cape), Lachenalia granitica from the Cape West Coast (Western Cape) and Lachenalia filamentosa from the Cape West Coast, Breede River Valley and Overberg (Western Cape). The taxa elevated from subspecies to species level are Lachenalia rogersii (previously L. mediana subsp. rogersii) from the Breede River Valley (Western Cape), Lachenalia glaucina (previously L. orchioides subsp. glaucina) from the southern Cape Peninsula (Western Cape) and Lachenalia parviflora (previously L. orchioides subsp. parviflora) from the northeastern Cape Peninsula (Western Cape).

The realized efficacy of indoor residual spraying campaigns falls quickly below the recommended WHO threshold when coverage, pace of spraying and residual efficacy on different wall types are considered.

Indoor residual spraying (IRS) has been and remains an important malaria control intervention in southern Mozambique, South Africa and Eswatini. A better understanding of the effectiveness of IRS campaigns is critical to guide future elimination efforts. We analyze the three IRS campaigns conducted during a malaria elimination demonstration project in southern Mozambique, the “Magude project”, and propose a new method to calculate the efficacy of IRS campaigns adjusting for IRS coverage, pace of house spraying and IRS residual efficacy on different wall types. Anopheles funestus sensu lato (s.l.) and An. gambiae s.l. were susceptible to pirimiphos-methyl and DDT. Anopheles funestus s.l. was resistant to pyrethroids, with 24h post-exposure mortality being lower for An. funestus sensu stricto (s.s.) than for An. parensis (collected indoors). The percentage of structures sprayed was above 90% and percentage of people covered above 86% in all three IRS campaigns. The percentage of households sprayed was above 83% in 2015 and 2016, but not assessed in 2017. Mosquito mortality 24h post-exposure stayed above 80% for 196 days after the 2016 IRS campaign and 222 days after the 2017 campaign and was 1.5 months longer on mud walls than on cement walls. This was extended by up to two months when 120h post-exposure mortality was considered. The district-level realized IRS efficacy was 113 days after the 2016 campaign. While the coverage of IRS campaigns in Magude were high, IRS protection did not remain optimal for the entire high malaria transmissions season. The use of a longer-lasting IRS product could have further supported the interruption of malaria transmission in the district. To better estimate the protection afforded by IRS campaigns, National Malaria Control Programs and partners are encouraged to adjust the calculation of IRS efficacy for IRS coverage, pace of house spraying during the campaign and IRS efficacy on different wall types combined with wall type distribution in the sprayed area.

Woody plant communities of southern South Africa and new distribution records for the rare dung beetle species Sarophorus punctatus Frolov & Scholtz, 2003 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

Woody plant communities of southern South Africa and new distribution records for the rare dung beetle species Sarophorus punctatus Frolov & Scholtz, 2003 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

An exploration of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) factors simulated by SCOPE for capturing GPP across vegetation types

Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) has been regarded as proxy data of vegetation photosynthesis; thus, it is assimilated into the terrestrial carbon cycle modeling. The Soil Canopy Observation of Photosynthesis and Energy fluxes (SCOPE) model is one of the most utilized models of SIF simulation. However, the currently incomplete understanding of SCOPE SIF factors and the lack of exploring how SCOPE works under different vegetation types would deteriorate further carbon cycle research. Herein, this study disentangled decisive SIF factors in the SCOPE model; then, a sample SIF dataset (SynSIF), with spatial resolutions of both 0.02∘ and 0.05∘, was simulated through SCOPE model using factors above. Then this study validated how far SCOPE simulating SIF could capture GPP, compared with other SIF datasets. The results showed that: (1) There are five decisive SIF factors in SCOPE model, including plant status (leaf chlorophyll content and leaf area index) and meteorological parameters (incoming shortwave radiation, air temperature, and atmospheric vapor pressure). (2) The linear relationship of SynSIF-GPP outachieved other SIF datasets across all six vegetation types in southern South America, Asia, and Africa, improving R2 averagely by 0.33, 0.28, and 0.15, respectively. (3) SynSIF in Oceania and Europe, revealing GPP better in shrublands (with SynSIF-GPP R2 increasing by 0.15 and 0.16, respectively) and grasslands (with SynSIF-GPP coefficients increasing by 0.14 and 0.06, respectively), illustrated spatially complementary characteristics with GOSIF across varying vegetation types. Thus, we anticipate that this study could provide more complete information for SCOPE simulating SIF in different biome research when estimating the terrestrial carbon cycle.

The Union Defence Force and the suppression of the Bondelswarts Rebellion, 1922

ABSTRACT From the proclamation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, the Union Defence Force (UDF) had been deployed to suppress several internal disturbances. These unrests varied in terms of their scale, intensity, and geographic location, and represented dissatisfied and disenfranchised parts of the population, both in the Union and South West Africa (now Namibia). The uprisings in turn tested the organisation, force structure and strategies of the defence force. The Bondelswarts Rebellion of 1922, although brave and tragic, provides a lens through which to investigate the first large scale rural counterinsurgency operation conducted by South African forces after the end of the First World War. These operations occurred only months after the quelling of the 1922 Rand Revolt on the Witwatersrand. The reputation of the Bondelswarts as guerrilla fighters, and the fear of further unrest breaking out across the territory, prompted the South African authorities to seek a rapid resolution to the simmering unrest in the desolate terrain of southern South West Africa. The result of this brief and violent conflict also held far reaching political consequences. This article investigates the uprising and rural counterinsurgency operations undertaken by the South African authorities in suppressing the Bondelswarts Rebellion of 1922.

Relationship between Human Capital, Innovation Capability and Employee Job Performance in Academic Libraries in Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe

Abstract Human capital is considered crucial for the sustainability and success of libraries in this era of globalization. The presented study investigated the effect of human capital on innovation capability and employee job performance in academic libraries. Further, it also explored the effect of innovation capability on employee job performance in academic libraries This study implemented a survey research design. Structured questionnaires were employed to collect the data using the convenience sampling technique. The population of the study included 387 librarians and library assistants from academic libraries in the Southern Africa Region which incorporates three countries, namely Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Data were analyzed using SPSS v.23. The results indicated that human capital had a significant and positive effect on innovation capability and employee job performance in academic libraries. Innovation capability also had a significant and positive effect on employee job performance. The major limitation of the study is that it focused only on three Southern African countries, namely Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Additionally, the study only concentrated on academic libraries and excluded the other types of libraries such as public, school, and special libraries. The study illustrates essential implications to library managers on the significance of human capital and, therefore, recommends that library managers should place emphasis on the part which human capital plays and invest in the most viable elements of human capital, which can develop innovation capabilities and, in turn, play a substantial part in boosting employees’ job performance.

Fumonisins in African Countries.

Maize and other cereals are the commodities most contaminated with fumonisins. The maize acreage is increasing in Africa, and the maize harvest provides important foods for humans and feeds for domestic animals throughout the continent. In North Africa, high levels of fumonisins have been reported from Algeria and Morocco, while low levels have been detected in the rather few fumonisin analyses reported from Tunisia and Egypt. The West African countries Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria all report high levels of fumonisin contamination of maize, while the few maize samples analysed in Togo contain low levels. In Eastern Africa, high levels of fumonisin contamination have been reported from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The samples analysed from Rwanda contained low levels of fumonisins. Analysis of maize from the Southern African countries Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe revealed high fumonisin levels, while low levels of fumonisins were detected in the few analyses of maize from Botswana and Mozambique.

An Exploration of Social Assistance Programmes in Eswatini, South Africa and Zambia

Presently, many countries in the Global South are increasingly recognising the critical role that social assistance programmes play in poverty reduction and the strengthening of the livelihoods of vulnerable groups. This trend has been gaining momentum in Africa, especially in the last decade, with many countries implementing social assistance programmes or social cash transfers to improve people’s living standards. Despite this, there is still a lack of information and evidence on the way in which these programmes are being rolled out in Africa and particularly in southern Africa. In this article, we discuss social assistance programmes in three southern African countries, namely, Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland), South Africa and Zambia. We attempt to fill the said gap by providing an account of social assistance programmes in the three countries. We examine the way in which national institutions and systems are evolving in response to the provision of social assistance to the citizens of Eswatini, South Africa and Zambia. Through an exploratory study and review of secondary data, we attempt to tease out the key drivers of social assistance programmes in the three countries. Some suggestions are made for improving the social assistance in the three countries.

Climatic suitability and compatibility of the invasive Iris pseudacorus L. (Iridaceae) in the Southern Hemisphere: Considerations for biocontrol

Iris pseudacorus L. (Iridaceae) is an emergent macrophyte native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. Considered invasive in wetland habitats around the world, this species is now the target of a biocontrol programme in the Southern Hemisphere. Native range surveys of the weed led to the selection of the flea beetle, Aphthona nonstriata Goeze (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), as a candidate biocontrol agent. An important aspect to consider in weed biocontrol is the ability of an agent to establish and thrive in the environment where it is released. Climatic incompatibility between source and intended release sites can in fact limit the success of a biocontrol programme. In the current study, the potential climatic niche of I. pseudacorus and A. nonstriata in the Southern Hemisphere was analysed. The ecological niche modelling software MaxEnt was used to map the climatic suitability of both organisms across invaded regions in South America, southern Africa and Australasia. Furthermore, occurrence records from each invaded range were used independently to model the climatic compatibility of I. pseudacorus in Europe, in order to prioritize areas of the native range to explore during future surveys for potential biocontrol agents. The models identified areas at high risk of invasion by I. pseudacorus in northern Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil and central Chile, as well as numerous provinces of eastern South Africa, Lesotho, southern Australia and New Zealand. Accordingly, the highest climatic suitability for A. nonstriata was predicted across the humid temperate climates of north-east Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil, southern South Africa, south-east Australia and New Zealand. These results can eventually be used in future release plans to prioritize areas where establishment and survival of the agent is expected to be highest. At the same time, it may be useful to search the native range of the weed for biological control agents showing high climatic adaptation towards the intended release sites of each invaded range. In this regards, our climatic compatibility models identified high-priority areas across the Mediterranean regions of Italy and southern France, as well as the temperate regions of central and western Europe. Altogether, the current study provides useful new information to tackle the invasion and advance the biocontrol programme of I. pseudacorus in the Southern Hemisphere.

Spatial and Temporal Global Patterns of Drought Propagation

Drought is the most expensive natural hazard and one of the deadliest. While drought propagation through standardised indices has been extensively studied at the regional scale, global scale drought propagation, and particularly quantifying the space and time variability, is still a challenging task. Quantifying the space time variability is crucial to understand how droughts have changed globally in order to cope with their impacts. In particular, better understanding of the propagation of drought through the climate, vegetation and hydrological subsystems can improve decision making and preparedness. This study maps spatial temporal drought propagation through different subsystems at the global scale over the last decades. The standardised precipitation index (SPI) based on the gamma distribution, the standardised precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) based on the log-logistic distribution, the standardised vegetation index (SVI) based on z-scores, and the standardised runoff index (SRI) based on empirical runoff probabilities were quantified. Additionally, drought characteristics, including duration, severity and intensity were estimated. Propagation combined the delay in response in the subsystems using drought characteristics, and trends in time were analysed. All these were calculated at 0.05 to 0.25 arc degree pixels. In general, drought propagates rapidly to the response in runoff and streamflow, and a with longer delay in the vegetation. However, this response varies spatially across the globe and depending on the observation scale, and amplifies progressively in duration and severity across large regions from the meteorological to the agricultural/ecological and hydrologic subsystems, while attenuating in intensity. Significant differences exist between major Köppen climate groups in drought characteristics and propagation. Patterns show intensification of drought severity and propagation affecting vegetation and hydrology in regions of southern South America, Australia, and South West Africa.

The small world of global marine crude oil trade based on crude oil tanker flows

Global marine crude oil trade is a direct reflection of global economic trends. This study uses the real-world historical ship automatic identification system (AIS) data from 2014 to 2017 to explore the flows of crude oil tanker trade between ports and construct a port-node global crude oil trade model. An analysis framework of “AIS data -> crude oil tanker trade flows -> port-node crude oil trade network -> port-node crude oil trade backbone network” is proposed to realize the progressive analysis of global marine crude oil trade. The global port-node crude oil trade network is a small world, in which there are multiple small world port-node trade communities. Compared with the community structure of the global port-node crude oil trade in previous years, the Middle East–Southern Africa–South Asia–Oceania–Asia Pacific community and the Southern Africa–China community have more activities in port nodes and trade links in 2017, which reflects that the Asia-Pacific region, especially East Asian countries, is making efforts to expand the Oceania and African markets and increase the diversity of crude oil import sources to ensure the security of crude oil supply and demand.

Closing a biogeographic gap: a new pettalid genus from South Australia (Arachnida : Opiliones : Cyphophthalmi : Pettalidae) with a UCE-based phylogeny of Cyphophthalmi

Pettalidae is a family of mite harvestmen that inhabits the former circum-Antarctic Gondwanan terranes, including southern South America, South Africa, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand. Australia is home to two pettalid genera, Austropurcellia, in northern New South Wales and Queensland, and Karripurcellia, in Western Australia, until now showing a large distributional gap between these two parts of the Australian continent. Here we report specimens of a new pettalid from South Australia, Archaeopurcellia eureka, gen. et sp. nov., closing this distributional gap of Australian pettalids. Phylogenetic analyses using traditional Sanger markers as well as ultra-conserved elements (UCEs) reveal that the new genus is related to the Chilean Chileogovea, instead of any of the other East Gondwanan genera. This relationship of an Australian species to a South American clade can be explained by the Antarctic land bridge between these two terranes, a connection that was maintained with Australia until 45 Ma. The UCE dataset also shows the promise of using museum specimens to resolve relationships within Pettalidae and Cyphophthalmi. ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9B57A054-30D8-4412-99A2-6191CBD3BD7E

Study on Import and Export-Led Economic Growth: Cases of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe in Southern Africa

This study aims to investigate the relationship between exports, imports and economic growth of a sample of four countries in Southern Africa for the period 1980-2019. In doing so, we check whether the Export-Led growth (ELG), Import-Led Growth (ILG), Growth-Led Export (GLE) and growth-led import (GLI) propositions hold in four Southern African economies, namely Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Specifically, the present study tries to 1) understand to which extent imports, exports and economic growth are correlated in the short and long run in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe; 2) assess the effects of imports and exports on the economic growth in each of these countries. To this end, we used time series data, covering the period 1980 to 2019. In doing so, the co-integration tests, Vector Autoregressive “VAR” model (for South Africa) and vector error correction models “VECM” model (for Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe) then Granger causality tests are applied to investigate the relationship between the variables. The results show that both short run and long run relationships exist among these variables. On the one hand, our findings failed to validate the export-led growth hypothesis for South Africa in the long-run but provided support for the exports-led growth hypothesis in the short-run. The analysis finds prominent evidence of bidirectional causality between exports and growth for Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe in the long run. On the other hand, a suggestive evidence of unidirectional causality running from growth to imports was found in the case of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. In addition, bidirectional causality between exports and imports was validated by Zimbabwe case study. Key implications are that the exports development could create employment opportunities and other spillovers. Policy-makers should improve and strengthen the competiveness of export sector. Moreover, Namibian case study confirmed the imports-led growth hypothesis in the long- run, implying that an import liberalization policy could be useful for economic growth in Namibia.