Recession, inflation, interest rates, income tax, exchange rates ? We are bombarded with these terms every day - by newspapers, the radio, TV and the internet - but what do they actually mean? And how do they impact on you?
 In this updated edition of Everyone's Guide to the South African Economy, all these issues - and more - are addressed. The book clearly explains and evaluates a wide range of economic occurrences - from the budget and the rand/dollar exchange rate to the balance of payments and the role of the South African Reserve Bank.
 The book investigates the causes and consequences of the 2008/2009 global financial and economic crisis, looks at the sub-Saharan African economy, and explores human development issues in South Africa and their implications for policy-making.
 If you are baffled by the specialised jargon of economists and bankers and want to know more about the economic forces that subtly dictate your day-to-day existence, Everyone's Guide to the South African Economy will put you in the picture. This is essential reading for every South African consumer and taxpayer. Economics, after all, is too important to be left to economists.

Everyone's Guide to the South African Economy 12th edition Ed. 12

Executive summary On 28 June 2014 the Office of the Prime Minister announced the ‘White Paper on the Reform of the Federation’. The White Paper was initially devised in the Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet following the swearing in of the Abbott Government on 18 September 2013. The development of the Terms of Reference (ToRs) was subsequently handed to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) with the process being guided by ‘a Steering Committee comprising the Secretaries and Chief Executives of the Commonwealth Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, State/Territory First Ministers’ departments and the Australian Local Government Association’. The schedule for the White Paper has continued apace, with the ToRs being released on the day of the announcement, ‘Issue Papers’ scheduled to be released in the second half of 2014, a Green Paper scheduled for the first half of 2015 and the White Paper itself due to be delivered to Government by ‘the end of 2015'. Ostensibly exercises of this type are pursued in a spirit of a-political inquiry. However, as pointed out with respect to the findings of the Abbott Government’s ‘Commission of Audit’ released in June of 2014, the overwhelming assumption is that they are engaged to produce recommendations that have a grounding in a particular political economy. Prima facie this would appear to be a reasonable assumption about the White Paper on Reform of the Federation. As such, from the perspective of local government the announcement of the White Paper could be viewed as cause for concern, as well as being an opportunity for reform. Historically, the replacement of Labor governments with their conservative counterparts has been followed by a diminution of direct funds flowing to local government. Further, attempts at achieving constitutional recognition for local government in 1974 and 1988 have been characterised by party-political disagreement and framed around flows of direct funds from the Commonwealth to local government. With this track record in mind representatives of local government might be expected to be concerned about the sector’s future financial robustness and its role as the third tier in Australia’s democratic fabric. However, a more nuanced analysis of Australian political history, one which takes into account the engagement of all sides of politics with the contested nature of regionalism, understood in a variety of spatial, ideational and party-political ways suggests that the White Paper process ought not to be presaged as a party-political conflict. In the discussion below we argue that the local government sector ought to play a crucial role in defining its own future in the context of the White Paper. This ‘Draft Background Paper’ is divided into four main parts: Section one examines the ToRs of the White Paper, arguing that there is cause for concern that the local government sector will be diminished, but that the White Paper also presents the sector with an important opportunity to pursue reforms. Section two examines the historical record to support this assumption, providing a brief account of the party-political history of the Commonwealth’s relationship with local government in the post WWII era. Section three counters this narrative by examining the contested nature of regionalism in Australia’s political history and the relationship of this history with local government. In so doing we draw on the work of A. J. Brown. In section four, following Allan we identify three ideal-type responses available to Australian local government over the next 18 months, a ‘minimalist’, a ‘maximalist’ and an ‘optimalist’ response. We argue that the sector ought to realise the imminently political nature of the ‘White Paper’ process, reject a ‘third way’ or so-called ‘optimalist’ approach and embrace the possibilities for reform and revitalisation presented by the White Paper. This paper has been prepared to promote discussion. Comments to the authors are welcome.

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White Paper on the Reform of the Federation: Implications for Australian Local Government


Purpose
Existing studies reflect that traditional teaching–learning relationships between supervisors and graduate students have become disjointed with actuality seriously. In particular, there are practical difficulties in handling many students from coursework-based postgraduate degrees under current university curricula. Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationship between research supervisors and graduate students on social media, which is popular among students.


Design/methodology/approach
This study surveyed 109 graduate students from two majors (population around 100 each) of a university in Hong Kong to explore their information usage for research on social media, related attitudes and their perceived supervisor relationships. The differences between the two majors were also compared.


Findings
The authors’ findings indicated that graduate students were active on social media, and social media has successfully provided effective alternate ways for students to communicate with their research supervisors. Social media could improve relationships between supervisors and research students and among fellow students. Besides education purposes, students also discussed their personal affairs on social media with supervisors, demonstrating enhanced trusted relationships. Graduate students also showed confidence in the further application of social media in higher education. Some differences between respondents from the two programs were also found in terms of communication contents, strengths, personal preferences and purposes for using social media.


Originality/value
Scant studies focus on the relationship between supervisors and graduate students under the current social media environment, especially for students from coursework-based postgraduate degrees. At a deeper level, for the widespread use of social media in the information age, this study explores the specific changes brought about by social media. Therefore, this study is of great theoretical and practical value to graduate education under the current social media environment.


Relationships between research supervisors and students from coursework-based master’s degrees: information usage under social media

Rage is under-theorised in South Africa. This absence is more pronounced in psychological scholarship. This is a remarkable oversight since we have gained infamy as the world’s epicentre of protest...

Theorising community rage for decolonial action

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Public service delivery in South Africa: The political influence at local government level

Globally, citizens want better and more services to maintain or improve their livelihoods. In South Africa, local government is responsible for delivering basic services (e.g. access to potable water, proper sanitation, a sustainable electricity supply, and regular waste removal), in collaboration with other spheres of government, to enhance quality of life and local democracy. To improve service delivery, municipalities must design and implement comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems to facilitate continuous assessment, M&E of municipal structures, systems and processes, in line with municipalities’ integrated development plans (IDPs), service delivery outcomes, and operational plans to implement the budget. This case study on challenges hampering successful implementation of M&E in the Mfolozi municipality found that shortage of skills and lack of financial resources contribute to the ineffectiveness of M&E. The article concludes by recommending remedial actions to address the identified challenges, namely employing and retaining highly skilled workers from an increasingly diverse and mobile labour market. In addition, the municipality should involve the local community in the planning and execution of projects to ensure their success.

Challenges in implementing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) : the case of the Mfolozi Municipality

The third quarter of 2020 marks the closure of on-campus face-to-face pedagogies in South Africa’s institutions of higher learning due to Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) The need to maintain social distancing necessitated the transition to emergency remote teaching A few institutions of higher learnings could move their classes effectively to online and distance education platforms because of their pre-existing experience and some grapple with managing the ‘new normal’ This article reflects on the challenges and opportunities of an emergency remote teaching in institutions of higher learnings during the COVID-19 pandemic The article adopted a qualitative approach through relevant literature and policy reviews to critically analyse emergency remote teaching during the era of COVID-19 The findings indicate that some staff and students experience challenges related to the lack of resources and exposure to remotely use information and communication technology The article acclaims that institutions of higher learnings should acquire suitable information and communication technology equipment and develop the requisite facilities, implement rules and regulations for their availability, and adequate maintenance This recommends promoting technologically compliant ethics within the institution, provide easy access to teaching and learning by both students and academic staff at an affordable and fixed (secure) cost in safe, conducive, and unrestricted environments for students

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Emergency Remote Teaching in Higher Education During Covid-19: Challenges and Opportunities

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master’s Degree in Public
Administration (MPA), in the Faculty of Commerce, Administration & Law at the
University of Zululand, south Africa, 2012

The perceptions of youth on service delivery violence in mpumalanga province

Traditionally, the key principle of assessment was based on the depth and intensity of the knowledge taught in class. In our modern state, the notion of assessment is more about learning and less about whether it is deep or surface learning. This could be attributed to challenges facing higher education, such as marketisation, massification, access and success. This article aims to demonstrate the significance of assessment as a pedagogical and measuring tool to promote deep learning in institutions of higher learning. It analyses how different types of assessment could contribute to deep learning while enhancing critical thinking and analytical skills. The article adopted the qualitative research approach to appraise critically and examine the literature on assessment in higher education. The sequence in which assessment tasks are presented, the pedagogical approaches adopted and measurement tools used should aim to present general non-threatening questions. The article recognises Bloom’s taxonomy as it classifies educational learning objectives in the manner that accommodates deep learning. This article suggests that assessment should be made explicit, aligned with learning outcomes that consider deep learning in terms of acquisition of knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and understanding of basic concepts in what is learnt. It concludes that students need to be engaged in their assessment to enable them to develop skills and dispositions that prepare them for the future as socially responsible citizens. Research needs to be conducted on the higher education challenges that compromise the quality of assessment as this could have negative effects on the development of deep learning.

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Nokukhanya N. Jili

Papers

Public service delivery in South Africa: The political influence at local government level

Challenges in implementing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) : the case of the Mfolozi Municipality

Emergency Remote Teaching in Higher Education During Covid-19: Challenges and Opportunities

The perceptions of youth on service delivery violence in mpumalanga province

Assessment as A Pedagogy and Measuring Tool in Promoting Deep Learning In Institutions of Higher Learning