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Recent Submissions

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    Intersectionality in action: learnings from development research in the Global South
    (Routledge, 2026-03-05) Dawson, Hannah J.; Mhlana, Siviwe; Lynch, Ingrid
    While intersectionality holds much promise for recognising and addressing multiple forms of inequality and driving social change, it remains underused – and often depoliticised – in development research. As its uptake has been growing, concerns have emerged that decontextualised applications of the concept will dilute its transformative potential. This article examines these debates from a Global South perspective and explores the opportunities and challenges of operationalising intersectionality in research and praxis. Drawing on International Development Research Centre (IDRC)- funded studies and collaborations with southern organisations, we identify three principles for generating intersectional insights. Our analysis highlights synergies and tensions with other transformative methodologies and argues that southern perspectives are essential to sustaining intersectionality’s political force and transformative potential.
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    Land reform and the quest for labour tenants: reassessing tenure, power and agrarian citizenship in post-apartheid South Africa
    (Routledge, 2026-04-12) Moyo, Mbuso; Zantsi, Siphe
    This study examines the implementation of South Africa’s labour tenant programme to assess whether it has restored land rights and secured the livelihoods of labour tenant households in the post-apartheid period. Drawing on interviews with labour tenants, civil society organisations, and government officials, the study evaluates administrative performance, lived experiences of claimants, and the broader structural context shaping land reform outcomes. The findings show that, despite the programme’s transformative intent, progress remains slow and uneven, with thousands of claims still unresolved. Labour tenants continue to face entrenched power imbalances on commercial farms, limited access to post- settlement support, and prolonged administrative delays – conditions that reinforce longstanding critiques of weak state capacity and persistent rural inequality. The research contributes updated empirical evidence on an underexamined component of land reform highlighting the urgent need for institutional strengthening, clearer accountability mechanisms and sustained support for beneficiaries to realise the constitutional promise of land justice.
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    Comparative Analysis of the Utility of Current Remedies under South African Corporate Law
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025) Khoanyane, Lebohang lebu
    The Companies Act 71 of 2008 has made significant developments and changes to the statutory protection awarded to minorities through the section 163 statutory oppression remedy and the section 165 derivative action. Although the statutory remedies contain commendable provisions and intentions, this report launches an investigation into their pragmatic position as well as their interrelationship with other company law principles.
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    First investigation of micro-plastics pollution in the River Nile in Khartoum, Sudan: using Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) as a bio-indicator
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025-10) Alamin, Hadeel Fudlalla Alsadig; Richards, Heidi; Saad, Dalia
    Microplastics (MPs) have become the bane of the environment for decades, and their impact on freshwater systems is still understudied. In addition to the inevitable and potentially irreversible imbalances in ecosystems caused by particulate matter pollution, environmental standards and coordinated actions are limited by the lack of knowledge about their abundance, distribution, and fate in the ecosystem. This project aimed to generate new data on the occurrence and characteristics of MPs in the River Nile in Khartoum, Sudan, using Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) as a bioindicator. The study also aimed to assess the contribution of anthropogenic activities to MP pollution in the River Nile. To achieve this, thirty Nile Tilapia fish samples (freshly caught) were bought from Al-Mawrada fish market. Samples were frozen and transferred to the MPs laboratory at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. The digestive tracts were removed and individually digested with 10% potassium hydroxide (KOH) to degrade biogenic and natural organic matter that could interfere with MP identification. MP particles were separated according to their density using Sodium iodide (NaI) as a density separator. Nikon light microscope (stereomicroscope) was used to detect and identify MPs based on size, shape, and colour. The surface morphology of MP particles was examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Raman spectroscopy was used to identify the polymer types. The weight of the fish ranged from 0.11 to 1.39 kg with an average of 0.48 ± 0.38 kg. Two-thirds of the fish samples (twenty fish) were identified as males, leaving ten female samples. The values of condition factor (K), except for one sample, were greater than 1, implying that the fish were in good health. A total of 567 particles were recovered from the digestive tracts of the Nile Tilapia, ranging from 5 to 45 MPs/individual fish with an average intensity of 18.90 ± 9.17 MPs/individual. The average abundance of MPs in the fish samples was 72.07 ± 62.06 particles/kg. The examination of the physical characteristics of MPs revealed a predominance of fibers (85.19%), small-sized particles of less than 0.5 mm (30.51%), and coloured MPs (83.60%). However, MPs of other shapes and sizes were also present in considerable percentages, for instance, 25.93% of MPs were detected in the size range of 0.5 - 1 mm, and 27.69% were in the range of 1 - 2 mm. In terms of shape, fragments accounted for 9.52% of the total MPs, while other shapes were present in very small quantities. The chemical characterization of MPs in this study showed two types of polymers, polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). The high prevalence of fibers and fragments indicates that MP contamination in the River Nile is from secondary sources. These shapes are formed by the fragmentation of macro-plastics. Their potential sources include domestic and industrial effluent, recreational activities, and surface run off from urban centres. This study is the first investigation to assess MPs in the River Nile in Sudan. It provides the first data on their presence and bioavailability, thus providing a benchmark for guiding future monitoring studies and identifying research gaps.
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    The Right to Self Determination for the Khoi-San People in the Western Cape Region of South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025) Gabaphethe, Thuto
    This research report analyses the extent to which the Khoi-San people in the Western Cape region of South Africa are entitled to self-determination under international law and South African law, and if so, which form(s) of self-determination can they exercise and under what circumstances. A human-rights centred analysis to the right is undertaken to add on to the discourse about a rearranged approach to the concept of ‘self’ in self-determination especially in the post-colonial context. Having considered the substance of the right under international law and South African law, the research report places the Khoi-San people as a people whose subjugation remains embedded in South Africa’s history of colonisation. Within this context, the research report proposes that self-determination should be understood as more people- centred than it might have been in the colonial period. The report thereafter concludes that within this post-colonial framework, the Khoi-San people in the Western Cape region of South Africa are entitled to self-determination. Whether this entitlement is for internal or external self-determination is a question of balancing several interests which the report considers