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Transdisciplinary research has gained traction globally for mapping pathways for sustainable urbanisation. The involvement of local communities is believed to central to knowledge co-production needed to address sustainability challenges. But working with local communities can be challenging. This paper is structured around the authors' personal reflections on undertaking transdisciplinary household energy conservation projects in Ghana and South Africa. The paper reflects on the assumptions and challenges of doing transdisciplinary research in urban Africa and suggests some guidelines for consideration when doing transdisciplinary projects. An inductive analysis of our reflections showed five key challenges: lack of integration, divergent problem identification, tensions in knowledge co-production, asymmetrical power relations, and distrust and managing expectations. We draw on our collective experiences to develop guidelines for conducting transdisciplinary research in urban Africa. These guidelines are not prescriptive but can be useful for a growing and broader audience interested in undertaking transdisciplinary research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Path-breaking transformative change is needed in human-environment relations to move towards more sustainable development trajectories at local, national and global scales. Crises may trigger transformative change and learning in the short and in the long term. However, in particular, a short-term response to crises may also be reactive, strengthening established unsustainable practices and further perpetuating vulnerability and inequality rather than supporting transformative change towards a more sustainable path. To understand the nature and response to a crisis in the context of sustainability transformations, this paper elaborates on the following aspects of a crisis: What are the characteristics of a crisis? What and who shapes the narrative(s) of a crisis? What and who shapes the nature of the response to a crisis? Do responses to crises trigger higher levels of learning? Conceptual synthesis is complemented with an exploratory comparative analysis of the Cape Town water crisis and of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. To this end the paper analyzes the interplay between mobilizing individual, collective and relational agency and navigating and transforming power relations to challenge and profit from already weakened unsustainable structures. This approach proves to be promising to understand the role of crises in catalysing and supporting transformative learning to eventually replace unsustainable structures. ● During and immediately after crises, it is important to identify opportunities for policy change to address persistent governance failures. ● To support transformative change towards sustainability, governments typically should adopt a network governance style and act more as a convenor for deliberative processes in the later phase of the response to a crisis. ● Formation of innovation platforms bringing together actors from different levels and different roles (e.g. pioneering innovators, investors, scientists, policymakers, regulators) could support the scaling up of local initiatives and innovative approaches that have been developed during crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the ending of apartheid, the state, political parties, civil society and ordinary people in South Africa have attempted to deal with the traumatic legacies of the past to engender a common sense of nationhood. This paper examines this process of dealing with the past through the theoretical lens of post-colonialism, focusing, in particular, on attempts to establish historical truth and collective memory for black women, who have often been most marginalised by colonialism and apartheid and excluded from dominant accounts of history. It argues that if black women are denied a presence and agency in the construction of collective memory, their belonging and citizenship is consequently mediated in the process of nation building. It considers how exclusionary and discriminating patterns are reproduced through attempts to construct national memory-archives, focusing on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). It then explores the measures being taken to create a more inclusive process of restoring collective memory. In particular, it discusses the importance and possibilities of creating a postcolonial archive, where the voices and texts of historically marginalised people can be incorporated into national projects of remembering and notions of belonging. The paper focuses specifically on recent attempts to archive black women's pictorial and written testimony in a memory cloths programme. It concludes that representations of the past by women are a valuable tool in tracing the ways in which the legacy of their belonging and social standing shapes their contemporary citizenship. The radical potential of postcolonial archives lies in the fact that they can work against more sanitised representations of contemporary South Africa and towards the requirements for social justice (especially for black women) that are embodied within, but were arguably not met by, the TRC and broader nation building processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The burden of malnutrition experienced globally, coupled with the increasing rate of micronutrient deficiencies, compromises the health and well-being of women during their reproductive years. Obesity places young South African women at particular risk during pregnancy, and increases obesity risk for their offspring. To address these risks, the Bukhali trial is being implemented in Soweto, South Africa with 18–28-year-old women, as part of the Healthy Lifestyle Trajectory Initiative. A dietitian is part of the Bukhali intervention team (community health workers) to provide nutritional support for overweight/obese trial participants, making use of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Nutrition Checklist. This paper reflects on the experiences and lessons learned by the Bukhali dietitian, including the use of the FIGO Nutrition Checklist and Healthy Conversation Skills to facilitate conversations about making healthy dietary behaviour changes. Identified challenges that influence nutrition and behaviour are discussed, including lack of food affordability, cultural and social influences on healthy food choices, unsupportive environments and food insecurity. Strategies to optimise this nutritional support are also mentioned. The Bukhali trial is showing that introducing additional nutrition support by a dietitian for at-risk participants has the potential to encourage young women to prioritise nutrition and health, even in the midst of contextual challenges to both nutrition and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Railways played a crucial role in building the modern South African nation during the early decades of the Twentieth Century. After 1910, the SAR&H became not only the white state's primary means of building the economic independence of the newly-formed Union, but also its sole agency for promoting tourism, settlement and investment. The many thousands of images of the South African landscape it commissioned and distributed at home and abroad in various formats and contexts were a key to this promotion. The synergistic relationship that developed between this photographic array and the transformation of the lived space by the SAR&H's lines and services helped construct an imaginary geography of emergent nationhood. This paper explores how this joint social spatialisation by travel and landscape representation underscored the discourse of a modern, non-partisan white national identity during these politically-formative years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The professional stage act of one of South Africa's newest musical prodigies, Sho Madjozi, may be analysed as a quintessential Afropolitan example of the innovative and hybrid combination of music, costume, and dance in urban youth popular culture in Africa. This paper analyses the dynamic intersection between costume, music, and dance, presenting it as a crucial site where urban youth popular culture can reimagine tradition, while simultaneously demonstrating that contemporary African cultural identities exist in a constant state of flux. The paper borrows from scholarly insights on hybridity, identity, the Afropolitan and popular culture, as well as other writings in youth agency and popular culture, to argue that South Africa's Sho Madjozi belongs with a tradition of contemporary urban youth performance culture that continuously resurrects and destabilises elements of the past as it reimagines the future. Sho Madjozi's unique style as a rap artist in Tsonga is presented as an illustration of the progressive role that contemporary urban youths in Africa can play as proponents of cultural preservation, even as they stand at the cross-roads between the old and the new. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the symposium on historical geographies of modern southern Africa held at University of Sussex, Great Britain in April 2002. Analysis of developments in tradition of historical geographies; Effect of structuralist Marxist history on historical geography.

In this paper, we explored how vulnerable, immunocompromised groups and caregivers of the elderly experienced and perceived the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. Semi-structured interviews were conducted remotely between the 5th andthe 18th of April 2020 in the three South African provinces hardest hit by Covid-19, namely Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. In total, 60 qualitative key informant interviews and one focus group discussion were conducted. Study participants expressed concerns for elderly people and people with underlying health conditions because of their increased vulnerability to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). People living with HIV expressed an increased fear of infection following the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. The sidelining of healthcare services and stock-outs of medication proved to be an added concern in particular for vulnerable and immunocompromised groups. Overall, the data suggest that the fear of infection is ubiquitous for people who live in unstable environments such as overcrowded townships and informal settlements. Given the increased fears of infection brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the mental health of vulnerable communities and those caring for them becomes an added burden for people living in unstable environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many alien tree species were introduced into grassland ecosystems in South Africa by the commercial forestry industry for paper and timber for furniture. Over decades some of these introduced species escaped into neighbouring farms and community land. Adult trees from these alien species now provide other ecosystem services, notably fuelwood. Depending on the spatio-temporal context, many of these species can also negatively affect ecosystem services. We collected interview data from commercial and communal farmers in the upper Umzimvubu catchment in South Africa to compare farmers' knowledge and perceptions of invasive wattle species invasion and their associated ecosystem services and disservices. Fuelwood and fencing poles were the most common uses of wattle by commercial (83%; 67%) and communal (99%; 49%) farmers. On the other hand, the reduction of grass cover and loss of grazing land were the most commonly mentioned negative impacts of wattles by commercial (83%; 75%) and communal (92%; 80%) farmers. Although both groups recognise the importance of wattles in providing ecosystem services, most communal farmers perceived wattles to have more negative effects than benefits. The findings demonstrate that both farmer groups highly depend on ecosystem services and are affected by disservices of wattles. However, while large-scale commercial households favour the presence of wattles in the landscape, communal households prefer complete removal of the wattles from the landscape. This may be due to lack of locally available alternative options or inability to replace or purchase ecosystem services affected by wattles from other sources or markets like commercial farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Drimolen Palaeocave site is situated within the UNESCO Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa World Heritage Area and has yielded numerous hominin fossils since its discovery in 1992. Most of these fossils are represented by isolated dental elements, which have been attributed to either of two distinct hominin genera, Paranthropus and Homo. This paper provides morphological descriptions for a further 19 specimens that have been recovered from the ∼2.04–1.95 Ma Drimolen Main Quarry (DMQ) deposits since 2008. This paper also discusses the two primary hypotheses used to explain Paranthropus robustus variation: sexual dimorphism, and micro-evolution within a lineage. These 19 fossils are represented by 47 dental elements and expand the sample of DMQ early Homo from 13 to 15, and the sample of Paranthropus robustus from 69 to 84. The evidence presented in this paper was found to be inconsistent with the sexual dimorphism hypothesis. Some support was found for the micro-evolution hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers in South Africa are under great pressure from the state to improve their qualifications, one of the state`s strategies for improving education standards The pressure u felt more acutely by black teachers who were previously allowed to teach with lower qualifications than their white counterparts In-service teachers, irrespective of their age or length of experience, are required to obtain the school leavers' certificate post hoc to earn a salary commensurate with their duties Their duties are heavy the pupil-teacher ratio is about 451, and teachers teach between 42 and 50 periods a week, without many basic facilities Consequently, many teachers are neglecting their pupils to concentrate on their studies The call for qualifications can be viewed as a component of the South African state`a reform initiative, and, as such, is yet another cosmetic amelioration of black people`s status because it does not address their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last four years, student movements in South Africa have demanded the 'fall' of normative systems of power in government and higher education. These 'fallist' movements have called for decolonised curricula and pedagogies. However, there is debate surrounding what decolonial means and what it looks like. Drawing on four years of experience teaching gender and sexual ethics at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) we offer some tentative reflections on what constitutes a decolonial and socially just pedagogy. Facilitated through critical, queer, liberatory and feminist theories, our reflections comprise our teaching experience and the curriculum reform process of a third-year undergraduate module. In this module we explored the ways in which religious and cultural discourses form and transform understandings and experiences of gender and sexuality. This paper draws on a range of data which includes personal reflections, the module outline, course evaluations which were submitted anonymously via an electronic survey, classroom engagement and student essays. We reflect on the ways in which we made use of a transdisciplinary co-teaching method which drew on four disciplines, Ethics, Gender Studies, Sociology of Religion, and Biblical Studies. We also engage with how the classroom became transgressive as we destabilised the taken-for-granted separation between the academic and the popular. Last, by facilitating student-centred, participatory approaches to learning we argue that the classroom became a transformative space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexity and the impact of international migration on developing economies have grown to be a global phenomenon that cannot be ignored. Natural disasters, human-made disasters such as conflicts as well as political and economic instabilities in countries are at the centre of international migration. The receiving countries can have positive contributions from migration and face the glaring realities of providing social services to their citizenry and the migrants. South Africa is not an exception to this impasse. Among other challenges experienced by developing countries linked to international migration are overpopulation growth, rising unemployment and poverty levels, poor infrastructure and low lifestyle quality. Therefore, the purpose of this conceptual paper was to analyse the impact of international migration on developing economies with specific reference to South Africa. The study used secondary data comprising existing literature and legislative and policy documents related to international migration for both domestic and international migration. The information collected from the secondary data was analysed and used as the basis to give the view and the study in its conclusion. The study aimed at contributing to the body of knowledge and the shaping of policy perspectives for both policy makers and development actors in South Africa, and to broaden the understanding of how governments from both receiving and the sending countries deal with international migration. The study provided an important foundation upon which further large-scale research could be developed on international migration, especially on its impact on developing economies like South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the prospects of commercial producers who would be willing to exit voluntarily in the near future to make land available in the market. In addition, it also considers what factors are restricting the acceleration of this rate of exit from a land-supply perspective with respect to barriers to exit. The prospect of structural change from such acceleration is also explored using three scenarios. An agent-based mathematical model is used to implement the three scenarios. This model is constructed from a dataset of 450 commercial producers across South Africa. The results suggest that a reasonable amount of arable land could be available for redistribution, with only modest structural change regarding animal production, despite drastic alterations in veld. These results provide some guidelines on how assistance for struggling producers can make land available for efficient producers, which could make the sector stronger. All potential exiting commercial producers have common reasons for doing so, which could be used to initiate a positively inclined, structured discussion on land supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines a feature-level fusion framework for detecting and mapping land degradation (LD) and enabling sustainable land management (SLM) in semi-arid areas using optical sensors and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite data. The objectives of this review were to (i) determine the trends and geographical location of land degradation mapping publications, (ii) to identify and report current challenges pertaining to mapping LD using multiscale remote sensing data, (iii) to recommend a way forward for monitoring LD using multiscale remote sensing data. The study reviewed 78 peer-reviewed research articles published over the past 24 years (1998–2022). Image fusion has the potential to be more useful in various remote sensing applications than individual sensor image data, making it more informative and valuable in the interpretation process. In addition, this review discusses the importance of SAR and optical image fusion, pixel-level techniques, applications, and major classes of quality metrics for objectively assessing fusion performance. The literature review alluded that the SAR and optical image fusion in the detection and mapping of land degradation and enabling sustainable land management has not been fully explored. Advanced techniques such as the fusion of SAR and optical satellite imageries need to be incorporated for the detection and mapping of LD, as well as the promotion of SLM in halting LD in South African drylands and around the world. We conclude that there is scope for further research on the fusion of SAR and optical images, as new micro-wave and optical sensors with higher resolution are introduced on a regular basis. The results of this review contribute to a better understanding of the applications of SAR and optical image fusion in future research in the severely degraded drylands of southern Africa. The fusion of SAR and optical data still remains an open challenge. The future of different remote sensing applications lies in this kind of fusion. Land degradation is one of the greatest challenges amongst the environmental problems in South Africa, causing a reduction in the capacity of the land to perform ecosystem functions and services that support society and development. Yet, in South Africa, there are no studies that have widely investigated the potential for a fusion of SAR and optical data to detect and map land degradation and SLM practices. This paper established a baseline for understanding the application of a fusion of SAR and optical data as rapid tools for mapping, monitoring, and evaluating LD, as well as the impacts of SLM practices in South Africa's degraded drylands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the political and historical roots of collective action problems around community policing in Hout Bay, South Africa. Utilizing a social capital approach, it argues that party politics has exacerbated a racialized politics of public goods provision in the community, with implications for the local governance of security. Using original data from semi-structured interviews and secondary sources, the paper analyzes the community's environment of social capital, the influence of local and provincial party agendas on inter-group relations there, and its ultimate impact on community policing in Hout Bay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complementary medicines (CMs) that are formulated to facilitate weight loss are a popular and widely available treatment option, particularly among women. There is limited research regarding their use in the South African context. The aim of this study was to gather information on the use and perceived effectiveness of CMs for weight loss among adult women. A quantitative, descriptive survey design was used. Johannesburg, South Africa. A purposive sample of women over the age of 18 years who had used CMs for weight loss within the past five years were recruited from health stores and a university campus healthcare centre. Data were obtained through a self-administered 29-item, paper-and-pen questionnaire. Responses were descriptively analysed using cross-tabulation, multiple response analysis and frequency tables. Data from 160 questionnaires were analysed and the results demonstrated that a wide variety of CM products are used for weight loss, with branded combination products, green tea, Garcinia cambogia and conjugated linoleic acid being the most popular. Most participants also adopted lifestyle interventions such as exercise and calorie restriction during their weight loss attempt. While minor side effects were experienced by over half of the participants, the majority were satisfied with their product choice as well as the amount of weight that they lost. Most participants perceived their CM weight loss product of choice to be effective. However, other concomitant weight-loss strategies that were employed may have been responsible for these results. Despite their popularity, there is only very limited research surrounding the safety and efficacy of these weight-loss products, with most studies being conducted on single constituents rather than whole formulations as sold on the market. Healthcare providers should encourage the disclosure of the use of CM weight-loss products to ensure safe and effective patient care and mitigate the potential risks associated with their inappropriate use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify job embeddedness profiles of employees in a paper manufacturing organization in South Africa and examine the associations between these profiles and employees' relations with supervisors and their job satisfaction and work engagement. A sample of 213 participants from a paper manufacturing organization in South Africa took part in a cross-sectional survey. The Job Embeddedness Scale, the Employment Relations Scale, the Job Satisfaction Scale, and the Work Engagement Scale were administered. The results indicated four job embeddedness profiles: links-based, balanced-high, moderate links- and fit-based, and moderate sacrifice-based job embeddedness. The balanced-high job embeddedness profile (characterized by moderate embeddedness in terms of links, but high embeddedness in fit and sacrifice) was associated with the most favorable outcomes. Compared to the other three profiles, the balanced-high and moderate links- and fit-based embeddedness profiles were associated with more positive supervisor relations. The balanced-high embeddedness profile was associated with higher job satisfaction and work engagement scores. The results showed that positive supervisor relations (as an antecedent) was associated with job embeddedness profiles, which mattered for employees' levels of job satisfaction and work engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how HIV-positive abakhwetha (young male initiates) undergoing ulwaluko (traditional Xhosa initiation and circumcision) engage with HIV-related biomedical care and treatment. Health-focused life history narratives (n = 36), semi-structured interviews (n = 32) and analysis of health facility files (n = 41) with adolescent boys and young men (ages 13–24) living with HIV, and semi-structured interviews with traditional and biomedical health practitioners (n = 14) were conducted in 2017 and 2018. This research was part of the Mzantsi Wakho study, a longitudinal, mixed methods study of adolescents living with HIV (n = 1060). Findings demonstrate that ulwaluko rules of not engaging with biomedical care and treatment pose a challenge for initiates who are taking chronic medicine. Fears of inadvertent disclosure of their HIV-positive status collide with the pressure to successfully complete ulwaluko in order to be legitimised as men. In response to this dilemma, they engage a variety of strategies – including taking medicine in secret by hiding them, having a trusted person deliver them discretely, and stopping medicine-taking altogether. The three months following ulwaluko also pose a challenge in accessing biomedical treatment and care. In this time of high surveillance, amakrwala (new men) do not present at health facilities for fear of being thought to have had a botched circumcision or to have contravened 'manhood rules' and left ulwaluko before having healed properly. To get around this, those who continued taking medicine engaged caregiver pick-ups. Beyond suggesting that ulwaluko is a high-risk time for disengagement from biomedical treatment and care, this paper builds on a robust scholarship on the importance of locality and context in gender and health research. It documents the creativity, agency and resilience of initiates and their families as they subvert and re-signify health-related masculine norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early motherhood can negatively impact health, educational, and socio-economic outcomes for adolescent mothers and their children. Supporting adolescent mothers' educational attainment, and timely return to school, may be key to interrupting intergenerational cycles of adversity. Yet, there remains a paucity of evidence on the factors that are associated with mothers' postpartum return to school and the mediators of this process, particularly across sub-Saharan Africa where adolescent pregnancy rates remain high. This paper is based on interviews with 1,046 adolescent mothers from South Africa. Mothers who had returned to school after birth showed lower poverty, fewer repeated grades preceding the pregnancy, continued schooling during pregnancy, higher daycare/crèche use, more family childcare support, and lower engagement in exclusive breastfeeding within six months postpartum. Mediation analyses showed that lower poverty was directly associated with school return and via two indirect pathways: continued schooling during pregnancy and using daycare/crèche services. This study demonstrates that lacking childcare constitutes a major hurdle to mothers' school return which needs to be addressed in addition to socioeconomic and individual-level barriers. Policy makers and practitioners should consider supporting young mothers with combination interventions which include services supporting school retention during pregnancy and access to, and financial supplements for, daycare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. South Africa has an enabling legislative and policy framework that promotes the protection of adolescents and young people's sexual and reproductive health and rights. Much of the literature in this field has identified discriminatory and hostile attitudes from healthcare workers as a major underlying factor to negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes for this age cohort. Not as well understood is the role of structural violence although this type of violence, through its structures of injustice and inequalities, is closely associated with stigma and discrimination. Data and sources. To contribute to closing this research gap, this paper draws on the findings of a larger qualitative study, specifically focus group discussions with young people aged 15–24 years. Results. The consequences of these attitudes within the structural violence framework are illuminated as are recommendations for enhancing access to sexual and reproductive health and services by adolescents and young people. Discussion and conclusion. Key among the latter is that young people's sexual and reproductive health needs and wellbeing should be pursued through a multisectoral approach that encompasses stigma reduction interventions involving the young people, families, and communities collaborating with healthcare workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa is gripped by protests which have usually taken the form of service delivery protests that have become more manifest during election periods. However, each election cycle has different types of protests with varying degrees of intensity. Thus, the aim of this paper is to analyse the link between elections and service delivery protests in South Africa with a focus on the 2016 and 2021 local government elections in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. This qualitative study relies on relative deprivation theory to tease out socio-economic issues driving these protests and rational choice theory to explore the rationale behind the timing of protests. Findings are that, in both provinces, although protests were linked to poor service provision, other factors like intra-party tension were notable. This article recommends a re-visit of cadre deployment policy, because the lack of capacitated and skilled cadres has fuelled service delivery especially in local municipality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa's 2021 local government elections witnessed the lowest voter turnout since the advent of democracy. This reflects a longer trajectory of declining voter turnout. The primary objective of this paper was to discuss factors that contributed to the hesitancy of the electorate in participating in local government elections in South Africa particularly the rural perspective. The study employed qualitative approaches, designs and methods. It relied mostly on literature review and utilised document review of reports and plans in order to gather data. The findings highlight that this behaviour reflects how political parties treat the electorate once elected in municipal councils. Furthermore, elections no longer offer hope for the improvement of the lives of voters. The other factors contributing to low turnout at the polls include political, social, economic perceptions of the voters. This article recommends that multisectoral efforts be concerted to address the major challenge at hand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2021 local government elections (LGE) in the Republic of South Africa once again delivered hung metropolitan municipalities – a phenomenon that became common following the 2016 LGE results. The City of Cape Town is, however, a metropolitan municipality that has experienced coalition governance since the early 2000s, while the rest of South Africa's metropolitan municipalities were governed by the ruling African National Congress from 1994 to 2016. The 2021 LGE delivered coalition governments across the majority of metropolitan councils, namely: City of Tshwane (the capital), City of Johannesburg (Africa's economic hub), Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, City of Ethekwini, and Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality. This paper provides a conceptualisation of 'coalition governance and politics', and key characteristics of this phenomenon in South Africa and globally. Conceptual and operational understandings of coalitions is crucial given their increasing prevalence in South Africa. Areas of cooperation, compromise, consensus and divergence among the prospective coalition partners in South Africa are also examined in the article (based on political party electoral performance trends, political ideology, policy preferences and leadership personalities and qualities). Such factors are important because they determine the likely feasibility, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of coalition governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa's 2021 municipal elections present something of a paradox. The results suggested a highly competitive environment, especially in the urban metropoles, with an unprecedented number of hung councils where no single party was able secure 51 percent. The larger parties suffered losses while smaller parties made gains, suggesting voters had abandoned old political homes for new ones. In contrast, while previous local elections enjoyed modest but steady increases in participation, the 2021 municipal elections also witnessed a sharp decline in voter turnout. Less than a third of eligible voters participated. This paper argues that these paradoxical features are likely to remain a feature of South African electoral politics in the medium-term. While many who participated were likely to be volatile voters, switching their votes to a party different from previous choices, their participation was insufficient to compensate for a higher numbers of abstentions, which are a result of growing political system disaffection with electoral actors. These disaffected citizens are positioned at the periphery of politics and will be difficult to entice back to the polls, leaving the competitive aspect of South Africa's elections reliant on a diminishing number of engaged and unpredictable voters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 2003–2021, the pasture harvested on South African pasture-based dairy farms increased markedly. This increased production and consumption of pasture has helped to reduce the cost of producing milk in South Africa relative to dairying in other countries and delivered comparatively high levels of profit. National milk production has grown steadily. Over this same time, pasture as a proportion of the total diet of dairy herds has decreased significantly: supplements make up the major share of the diet. This change to dairy herd diets puts upward pressure on the average cost of feeding the herd and on the cost of production. The focus of this paper is on whether dairy farmers would be better off if they significantly increased the proportion of pasture in the total diet of their herds and relied less on supplementary feed. It is shown that progressively increasing the pasture component and proportion in the diet of dairy herds, from an industry average of 41% to 57%, could increase profit. Results were a 26% increase in profit (return on capital), a 59% increase in profit margin per litre, and a 7% decrease in cost of production per litre. If this change in production system to increased use of pasture and less use of supplementary feeds was replicated across the entire South African pasture-based dairy industry, farmers in the industry would be significantly more profitable and their businesses would be more resilient than under the current feeding regimes that are used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people, particularly adolescent girls and young women, represent a growing proportion of those living with HIV. Edutainment programmes have been widely used throughout the world to "educate" and "entertain" audiences and tackle serious social issues in bold and engaging ways. This paper examines the extent to which an edutainment programme, MTV-Shuga, was reported to influence young people's engagement with sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In 2019 we conducted eight community-based screenings of MTV-Shuga episodes followed by 25 individual in-depth interviews and 13 focus group discussions with young people aged between 15 and 30. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis was thematic and complemented by constant comparison and deviant case analysis techniques. In this rural and poor setting with a high burden of HIV, young people exhibited high levels of awareness of SRH and HIV but had constrained access to services, and limited ability to engage with parents or guardians on SRH matters. MTV Shuga provided an entertaining guide of ways to navigate the risks that they faced in a way that resonated with them. The findings highlight the importance of enabling young people in rural areas to watch MTV Shuga with peers in a safe space in which discussion of the content is facilitated. There is also value in encouraging parents to watch MTV Shuga as a means of enabling discussions between children and adults in their lives about SRH matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In striving to achieve the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda, governments have the opportunity to implement their climate and sustainability goals more coherently. Such coherence requires the coordination of interdependent policies across different policy fields, sectors and actors. This paper explores how governments design and implement synergic solutions to concomitantly achieve both international agendas. With the empirical cases of Germany and South Africa, we investigate two independent approaches to the synergic solution of a just energy transition, whereby countries aim to phase out coal as a means to tackle climate change while also ensuring that the achievement of other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is not hindered. Methodologically, we apply a deductive qualitative approach consisting of literature review, semi-structured interviews, and content analysis. To that end, we examine relevant policies and institutional arrangements by applying a combined conceptual framework of energy justice and just transition in both countries. We find major challenges in overcoming environmental, economic and social burdens of the coal phase-out, especially related to jobs and inequality (SDGs 8, 10) and the Water-Energy-Food-Land nexus (SDGs 2, 6, 7, 15). Through the selection of Germany and South Africa, we illustrate how countries with different political, social and economic backgrounds strive to manage such a transition. Our developed framework and case-studies' findings point towards important considerations when designing just energy transition pathways, such as ensuring inclusiveness in decision-making, thoroughly assessing social, economic and environmental impacts, and adequately coordinating across different actors and the local, provincial and national levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) are not a new concept and are being used in many countries to promote healthy eating and the prevention of diet-related chronic diseases. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recommended FBDGs as an approach to prevent malnutrition and promote healthy dietary behaviours in populations, taking into consideration local conditions, traditional dietary practices and socioeconomic and cultural factors whilst at the same time using evidence-based scientific principles. South Africa (SA) currently has two sets of guidelines, namely the paediatric food-based dietary guidelines and the South African FBDGs for the population aged seven years and older. The recognition that elderly malnutrition remains a major public health concern in SA led to the formulation of a specific set of guidelines for this vulnerable population group based on existing nutrition-related health issues, local dietary habits and barriers to food intake experienced by those aged 60 and above. This introductory paper on the development of the elderly food-based dietary guidelines (EFBDGs) will be followed by six technical papers motivating why these guidelines are suited to address nutrition-related issues among the elderly in SA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 17th Sustainable Development Goal seeks to promote partnerships at various levels. To this end, COVID-19 vaccines development partnerships in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are inevitable in facilitating ethical access to affordable and safe vaccines the world over. With South Africa being part of the BRICS, its presence can assist in leveraging the partnership to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines developed by the BRICS are efficiently deployed in Africa. Through the tracking of announcements, documents and critical discourse analysis, and Geographical Information Systems, this paper investigates COVID-19 vaccines development collaboration in the BRICS and its implication for Africa. It emerges that there is an inherent discord in the BRICS, with bilateral arrangements both within and outside the forum being evident. This has resulted in advance breakthrough COVID-19 vaccines from China and Russia not widely tried across the BRICS. The paper notes that these developments weaken the global south and affect its potential to develop COVID 19 vaccines. The work recommends a reconsideration in terms of COVID-19 vaccines development and future proofing of collaboration within the BRICS and finding a way of having South Africa continue to lobby for affordable and accessible vaccines for Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apartheid left in its wake a South Africa characterized by social inequalities that are embedded and reflected in all spheres of social life, including the higher education system. While the post-apartheid government has made efforts to transform the higher education system it inherited, the pace has been slow and has fallen significantly short of what many regard as modest expectations. This paper interrogates why transformation has remained elusive in the higher education sector in post-apartheid South Africa, particularly with regards to the institutional culture at historically white universities (HWUs). Focusing on the Rhodes Must Fall (RMF) campaign at the University of Cape Town (UCT), and Luister, a documentary film at the University of Stellenbosch, it employs critical race theory (CRT) as a conceptual framework and analytical tool. Using CRT identifies the centrality of racism in shaping the slow pace of transformation in general and concerning the institutional culture at HWUs in particular. The paper concludes by reflecting on the implications of this lack of transformation, particularly in a time where poverty is endemic and unemployment rampant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers an approach to understanding dramatic social change, entwined with belief revision and shifting knowledge. It explores the interplay between rapidly changing material and ideological conditions through the concept of a rupture. Ruptures are breakdowns in existing social and epistemic practices and relations: periods which call into question what is normalized, such that something else can grow through the cracks. Ruptures do not guarantee any particular replacement, but rather facilitate the emergence of new practices and understandings of the world. Ruptures thus create conditions of possibility for people to explore new social relations and ideas. To develop this idea, this paper draws on Franz Fanon's writings on the Algerian anti-colonial revolution (1954–1962), as a paradigmatic rupture, as well as two smaller-scale ruptures: the student-worker movements over 2015–2016 in South Africa (#FeesMustFall) and Brazil (the primavera secundarista). In their respective contexts, each movement has substantively challenged prevailing practices and understandings that had been hegemonic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa's recent democratic elections have witnessed a decline in political participation. Yet few studies examine the influence of political efficacy on the decision to participate. Using 2014 and 2019 post-election public opinion survey data captured after these respective national and provincial elections, the paper addresses a research gap by demonstrating a relationship between a respondent's level of internal and external political efficacy and their likelihood of voting across two consecutive elections. It finds that external political efficacy, and to a lesser extent, internal efficacy shapes the decision to vote. The responsiveness of the political system is a key determinant of voting even after other key predictors of participation are accounted for. It concludes that years of state-based failures have eroded citizen perceptions of political system responsiveness which has, in turn, undermined how citizens perceive the utility of their vote. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how the South African government and mining corporations have appropriated anti-apartheid and anti-colonial discourses to legitimise Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) as a radically transformative policy without being transformative in conception, discourse, or action. There is a presumption in academic circles that BEE is a panacea for radically transforming historical, structural, and unequal power relations in South Africa. This article rejects this presumption by demonstrating how the conception and discourse of BEE have ignored these power relations and their underlying political economic structures of apartheid capitalism even before the policy was implemented or enforced by the government. Using [Young, Marion. 1990. Justice and the Politics of Difference. Oxford: Oxford University Press] critique of the distributive paradigm of justice, and employing [Fairclough, Norman. 1992. Discourse and Social Change. Cambridge: Polity Press] three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this article argues that the government and mining corporations present BEE as a new measure of radical transformation while simultaneously reducing this transformation to the micro concept of economic participation, focusing on numbers, representation, and targets rather than on historical, structural, and unequal power relations. As a result, the government and these corporations have reinforced and maintained these power relations while employing the discourse of BEE to masquerade as advancing their transformation. The crux is that BEE encourages Black people to operate within economically and institutionally oppressive structures which amplify the conditions they purport to be challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic growth-environment nexus explores the relationship between economic growth, as understood in the neoclassical free market or neoliberalism economic theory context, and its implications for the environment. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is considered one of the most successful environmental policy instruments to deal with the consideration of environmental implications of development decisions. Because the economic growth-environment nexus is central to discourses in EIA it is helpful to gain an improved understanding of different perspectives manifesting and influencing EIA practice. This paper aims to identify pluralism in perspectives on the economic growth-environment nexus in EIA practice. This is achieved by applying the Q-method to EIA practice in South Africa and involve the sorting of 36 statements by 16 respondents. The results show pluralism and distinct patterning with four key perspectives emerging namely: the deontological perspective, neoliberal progression, EIA polarisation and new conservationist perspective. We hope this research contributes towards a growing understanding of how different perspectives on the economic growth-environment nexus might influence EIA practice and decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we aim at determining the link between EIA report substance and administratively just EIA decisions. In so doing, previous research based on 42 case studies from South Africa, which analysed whether they comprised administratively just decisions (i.e. that were lawful, procedurally fair and reasonable) were reviewed for the substance of the EIA reports on which the decisions were based. The research found that administratively just decisions can be achieved even with weak EIA report substance in areas such as: need and desirability, identifying alternatives, dealing with significance, and addressing mitigation measures. We thereby conclude that administrative justice may be a false safety net in ensuring more environmentally sustainable EIA outcomes if not supported and informed by good EIA report substance. We conclude by making recommendations to improve substance and thereby strengthening administrative justice in EIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Innovative interventions are needed to address the growing burden of breast cancer globally, especially among vulnerable patient populations. Given the success of Community Health Workers (CHWs) in addressing communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases, this scoping review will investigate the roles and impacts of CHWs in breast cancer screening programs. This paper also seeks to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of these programs, with particular attention paid to differences between CHW-led interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs).Methods: A scoping review was performed using six databases with dates ranging from 1978 to 2019. Comprehensive definitions and search terms were established for 'Community Health Workers' and 'breast cancer screening', and studies were extracted using the World Bank definition of LMIC. Screening and data extraction were protocolized using multiple independent reviewers. Chi-square test of independence was used for statistical analysis of the incidence of themes in HICs and LMICs.Results: Of the 1,551 papers screened, 33 were included based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Study locations included the United States (n=27), Bangladesh (n=1), Peru (n=1), Malawi (n=2), Rwanda (n=1), and South Africa (n=1). Three primary roles for CHWs in breast cancer screening were identified: education (n=30), direct assistance or performance of breast cancer screening (n=7), and navigational services (n=6). In these roles, CHWs improved rates of breast cancer screening (n=23) and overall community member knowledge (n=21). Two studies performed cost-analyses of CHW-led interventions.Conclusion: This review extends our understanding of CHW effectiveness to breast cancer screening. It illustrates how CHW involvement in screening programs can have a significant impact in LMICs and HICs, and highlights the three CHW roles of education, direct performance of screening, and navigational services that emerge as useful pillars around which governments and NGOs can design effective programs in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Asenze study has the long-term goal of promoting better physical, cognitive and psychosocial functioning of children in a rural area in KwaZulu-Natal, 50 km from Durban, with a view to planning interventions to promote growth and development for very young children. The specific objective in this paper was to provide information for the Child Health and Development project of the Valley Trust to assist with intervention planning. The broader goal was to assess developmental delays in communities ravaged by the HIV epidemic. The Asenze study was designed in two phases from 2008 and 2012. The current paper reports on 1 581 4–6-year-old children in the baseline phase (2008–2010) in the five adjacent tribal areas in the study area. Method: The participants included all the 4–6-year-olds whose parents had consented to inclusion in the project and their caregivers. Data were derived from a brief questionnaire administered in the homes of participants, and subsequently from medical and psychological assessments of the children and their caregivers at the Asenze clinic. The association between child factors and other factors (geographic area, socioeconomic status (SES), parental level of education, the child's preschool education) on the one hand, and the child's cognitive performance (as measured by the Grover Counter and subtests of the KABC-11) were analysed. Linear regression models were employed to determine which predictor variables of interest in a model were associated with the children's cognitive scores as the dependent variables. Results: Based on the data, the principal factors associated with children's cognitive outcomes were height-for-age z-score (HAZ), preschool education and the area of residence. Generally children who had low cognitive scores were more often stunted (as defined by the WHO anthropometric tables), had not had preschool education, and came from areas less favourable in terms of local infrastructure and access to employment opportunities and arable land. Conclusion: The finding from this cross-sectional analysis of baseline data showed that in addition to height for age and preschool education, which are commonly thought to impact on cognition, the local authority area where the children lived was associated with their scores on cognitive tests. This has implications for intervention planning. The functioning of local government in promoting the type of community development that will protect the rights of children should be taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2015 and 2016 student protests amplified criticism of university curricula which protesters proclaimed to be ill-suited to our context. This paper engages with such criticism by evaluating the South African political studies curriculam it terms of whether or not it can be considered to be 'decolonised'. I ask three questions, all of which arise from comments made by student protesters about the need for curriculum change: 'Who is teaching our students?', 'Which scholars' work is being prescribed?' and 'Which geographical areas receive attention?' These questions are answered based on data gathered from undergraduate political studies course outlines from seven South African universities. In answer to the first question, I show that while white academics are still over-represented, the demographics of those teaching undergraduate politics are shifting towards demographic representivity. In answer to the second question, I show that our political studies departments still mostly prescribe the work of male scholars, white scholars and Western scholars. Responding to the third question, I show that politics departments include courses focused on Africa and particularly on South Africa while other regions of the world receive little attention. The paper concludes by raising some difficult questions with the hope of stimulating further debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings of an assessment of the latent institutional environment factors influencing construction digitalization using South Africa as a point of reference. The study employed a post-positivism philosophical stance which informed the use of a quantitative survey approach. The survey was conducted among construction professionals actively involved in construction projects across the country. Analysis of the data gathered was done using mean item score, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). EFA revealed two principal external environment factors (legislation and regulation, and pressure from clients and competitors) that can influence construction digitalization. Further to this, SEM revealed that while the pressure from client and competitors will have a more significant influence on digitalization, the pressure from industry regulations and government legislation cannot be overlooked. The findings of the study can be used as a guide toward the digitalization of construction organizations through the consciousness of the influence of external environmental issues, an aspect that has not gained significant recognition in the construction digitalization discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The #FMF protests at the University of Pretoria (UP) and universities across South Africa reflected a confrontation with power and an exhibition of distrust in democratic institutions. #Fallists consciously chose to challenge pre-determined notions of 'the right to education' and the pervasiveness of gatekeeping and access. These were questions intricately linked with their past. On all campuses, including UP, the #Fallists encountered many challenges. At UP, students who had affiliated themselves with the AfriForum Jeug student society contested very specifically the 'rights' that the #Fallists were demanding. This paper involves a modest attempt at formulating the possibilities that have been opened up by considering the #MustFall events in light of the responses by white Afrikaans speaking students. In this case study, one of the challenges faced by the #Fallists at UP was the opposition they encountered from AfriForum Jeug. How was this tug-o-war to be read and understood? The AfriForum case study is particularly relevant since it has been significantly argued that a dominant motivation and rationale for participation in the #MustFall protests included a pushback against persistent inequality and racism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores reasons why some commercial producers in South Africa are expecting to quit and sell their farms, and others are not. Of 450 respondents to a voluntary survey, distinctly different groups of producers emerged concerning their longer-term strategic planning and how they experience and absorb current threats and challenges. Unsupervised learning on the dataset is imposed using a cluster analysis to explore the commonalities and the underlying factors why producers would expect to exit or not. Factors that we hypothesised might play a role included a producer's age and financial position, rural safety concerns, labor problems, industry-related problems, and opportunities for off-farm earnings. The factors the potentially exiting producers had in common were financial difficulty, which was uncorrelated to turnover, problems with access to dependable labor, uncertainty regarding land reform policy, and rural safety concerns. Intention to retire also played a role, although to a lesser extent. It is more often a combination of factors, rather than a single factor, that makes a producer more likely to decide to quit and sell in the future. With the exclusion of farm safety concerns and labor problems, the identified factors in this study are in step with those found internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa has faced multiple waves of COVID-19 infections since March 2020 with various levels of economic restrictions imposed to control the pandemic's spread. Such actions included intermittent bans on alcoholic beverage sales, which have had a substantial impact on the wine sector. This purpose of this paper is to quantify this impact, using a partial equilibrium simulation model to separate the direct impact of sales restrictions from the indirect impact of collapsed GDP growth and consequently also consumer spending. In 2020 alone, it points to a reduction in domestic sales and in exports as a result of the pandemic and the efforts to control its spread. The subsequent stock build up induces a prolonged period of weaker prices, and combined with additional actions imposed up to the end of July 2021, cost actors in the industry R3.6 billion in primary gross production value from 2020 to 2027, even without accounting for further value addition between bulk sale and retail value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Who are the swing voters in South Africa's elections? This study is among the first to systematically investigate the correlates of the swing vote in South Africa. The paper argues that race, cohort, performance, and partisan networks influence the likelihood that an individual is a swing voter. To investigate these arguments, this study uses original exit poll survey data from South Africa's 2016 local elections. The results indicate that swing voters are those who have weaker racial identities, weaker attachments to their racial group's party, are 'born free', have lower assessments of ANC performance, and have fewer friends and family who support their preferred party. The paper also predicts what drives swing voters to support a certain party. The results present key implications for race and identity-based voting in South Africa and dominant regimes across the continent and suggests that South Africa's elections are not clearly a racial census. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is located within the wider field of decolonial practice where those of us who were previously marginalized from 'mainstream' knowledge production by colonialism and its structures address the question of how we navigate ways of knowing from our own point of view. The paper places the concept of 'walking about' in relation to the Khelobedu saying 'go sepela ke go bona', both of which have parallels with the methodologies that Walter Benjamin espoused through the figure of the flâneur. The paper tracks my walkabouts as I follow the travels of several Balobedu from north-eastern South Africa to Berlin in 1897, by travelling to Berlin and other contemporary art centres myself. The practice of travelling offered opportunities in the form of dream as a khelobedu text, introduced me to installation art and led me to experiment with the idea and practice of the camera obscura, allowing me to confront some of the limits of photographic documentation. Overall, the paper argues that 'walking about' as a methodology resolves some of the difficulties with ideas of visuality associated with khelobedu and with mediating a text that demands a critical awareness of the relationship between the senses. The camera obscura, as a space that houses a body, becomes this medium and the text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Infant health and nutrition in South Africa are a priority, as evidenced by the political commitment and policy development history of the last 25 years. Current efforts focus on improving breastfeeding rates, but the action plan for complementary feeding receives less attention and resourcing. A thorough analysis of the current infant feeding situation is required to assist with policy and targeted programmes associated with complementary feeding. Aim: The aim of this review was to identify and collate all published research in South Africa on the complementary feeding practices of infants and young children, aged 0–24 months. Methodology: Searches included English-language research published between 2006 and 2017, within PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. All papers included in the review had to meet defined eligibility criteria. Papers older than 11 years were excluded. In total 34 papers relevant to South Africa were identified and included in this review. Main findings: Early introduction of foods and liquids other than breast milk is a common practice. Maize porridge is a common first food for infants, but there is also a high reliance on commercial infant cereal. Water and other liquids (e.g. tea, herbal mixtures) are commonly given to infants younger than six months. There is little information on the number of meals per day. The diets of many older infants do not meet the criteria for a minimally acceptable diet. Few animal source foods are used in complementary feeding. There are indications that processed meats, soft drinks, sweets and salty crisps are given regularly to older infants between six months and one year. Conclusion: Complementary feeding practices in South Africa are suboptimal and appropriate action is needed to improve this situation. Further investigation is needed on whether older infants and young children can achieve their required dietary intakes from the food that is available to them. If a change in older infant and young child feeding behaviour is desired, then existing methods and approaches need to change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates if two groups of smallholder sheep farmers who farm using communal grazing land in the N8 development corridor of South Africa can be treated in a homogenous manner. Heterogeneous production environments should result in different production responses, which are unique to the production region. A better understanding of these unique responses could guide the development of improved strategies to increase smallholder livestock production in South Africa. A stochastic production frontier approach was used to evaluate two production districts before grouping the data and estimating the metafrontier. The metafrontier represents a homogenous benchmark for all producers. Results indicate that the two districts cannot be treated the same. Therefore a single production function and strategy cannot be used to improve productivity and efficiency of livestock production in both the districts. The conclusion is that the development of strategies to increase smallholder sheep producers, productivity and efficiency requires an understanding of the production, environmental and institutional factors that the farmers experience within that particular district. Considering the study areas used in the paper, attention to the more technical aspects of production and management can improve the farmers' productivity and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criteria for the evaluation of the effectiveness of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) have evolved internationally from the requirement for mere procedural effectiveness, to include criteria such as substantial and incremental effectiveness. This paper provides an overview of the international evolution of effectiveness evaluation for SEA and its parallel progression in South Africa. Within this context, the effectiveness of the two SEA case studies conducted in support of national-scale renewable energy planning in South Africa was reviewed against internationally recognised effectiveness criteria to test their ability to influence decision making for renewable energy projects in the country. The evaluation was informed by the role of the first author as the project director in the case studies. The review found the SEAs to be partially effective, mainly through the introduction of new legislation, processes and systems at the national level that operationalise the outcomes of the SEA. A fundamental limitation emerged in determining whether incremental effectiveness had been achieved as it is too soon to evaluate the effectiveness of the recently promulgated legislation and instruments. The paper builds on previous work on effectiveness evaluations and provides the perspective of an administrative implementer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa, community participation has been embraced through the development of progressive policies to address past inequities. However, limited information is available to understand community involvement in priority setting, planning and decision-making in the development and implementation of public services. This narrative review aims to provide evidence on forms, extents, contexts and dynamics of community participation in primary health care (PHC) and water governance in South Africa and draw cross-cutting lessons. This paper focuses on health and water governance structures, such as health committees, Catchment Management Agencies (CMA), Water User Associations (WUAs), Irrigation Boards (IBs) and Community Management Forums (CMFs). Articles were sourced from Medline (Ovid), EMBASE, Google Scholar, Web of Science, WHO Global Health Library, Global Health and Science Citation Index between 1994 and 2020 reporting on community participation in health and water governance in South Africa. Databases were searched using key terms to identify relevant research articles and grey literature. Twenty-one articles were included and analysed thematically. There is limited evidence on how health committees are functioning in all provinces in South Africa. Existing evidence shows that health committees are not functioning effectively due to lack of clarity on roles, autonomy, power, support, and capacity. There was slow progress in establishment of water governance structures, although these are autonomous and have mechanisms for democratic control, unlike health committees. Participation in CMAs/WUAs/IBs/CMFs is also not effective due to manipulation of spaces by elites, lack of capacity of previously disadvantaged individuals, inadequate incentives, and low commitment to the process by stakeholders. Power and authority in decision-making, resources and accountability are key for effective community participation of marginalized people. Practical guidance is urgently required on how mandated participatory governance structures can be sustained and linked to wider governance systems to improve service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sweet potato is one of the exceptionally healthy foods that requires low inputs for production. However, in South Africa the majority of people purchase their staple food, owing to land scarcity. The woven polypropylene plastic bag (WPPB) planting technology, could be a solution for food production in limited spaces. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different sweet potato cultivars on growth performance using the WPPB technology. Compared to the standard ('Blesbok') cultivar, all the tested cultivars ('Bosbok', 'Bophelo', 'Mafutha' and 'Mvuvhelo') had higher chlorophyll content. 'Bophelo' and 'Mvuvhelo' obtained thickest (0.40 and 0.45 cm) stem diameters. 'Mafutha' achieved the highest (64.30 cm) vine length and number of shoots (4.64). Noticeably, 'Mafutha' produced the highest (4.50) number of flowers compared to the standard. 'Bophelo' obtained the highest (122 g) dry shoot mass and 'Bosbok' recorded the highest (11.2) number of enlarged roots (NER). Contrary to that, 'Mafutha' had the lowest (3.4) NER. In conclusion, 'Mafutha' performed well in terms of the above-ground plant parameters, whereas 'Bosbok' was best with regard to the below-ground plant parameters. Therefore, planting 'Bosbok' and 'Mafutha' cultivars in WPPBs achieved the best below and above growth performances, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]