Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs)

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Intimate partner killings, criminal defences and the law
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Sithole, Patience Thandeka
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 in section 9 resoundingly guarantees the ‘equal protection and benefit of the law’ to all who are within the Republic. This undertaking is a crucial part of the South African democracy, and it is a manifestation of the law’s progression from being grossly and arbitrarily discriminatory, to becoming more inclusive and considerate of people from all walks of life. Contrarily though, a close analysis of some aspects of the law as it currently exists, shows that equality before the law is more aspirational than it is a reality. Women, in particular, are often overlooked and subjected to unfairness by the same law that, in theory, vows to protect them. The lack of accommodation of abused women who kill, by the private defence ground of justification, under criminal law is an apt example of the law’s marginalisation of women. This marginalisation manifests itself in the rigid approaches to cases of abused women who kill. The typical approach is the objective ‘reasonable person’ standard which is effective in most instances but has fallen short in cases of abuse, as such cases require consideration of the abused woman’s unique set of circumstances. This calls for a closer exploration of the specific and subjective factors of women’s experiences in order to comprehend the nature and extent of the abuse. Although expert witness evidence is admissible in these cases, the weight placed on such evidence is minimal, often leading to a miscarriage of justice. In view of that, this paper serves to play a dual role of re-identifying the inadequacies that continue to exist under the private defence laws in South Africa, while simultaneously providing recommendations on how the law can be developed to successfully address these inadequacies.
Factors affecting the implementation of the South African Police Service directive on accessibility infrastructure
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mahlalela, Mduduzi Simanga; Wotela,Kambidima
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) Article 9 guides the implementation of universal access, as the accessibility of facilities and physical environment requires usable designs (Sholanke et al, 2019). In South Africa, the policy is implemented through the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2016) and the National Strategic Framework on Universal Design and Access (2021) to promote fairness, eradicate discrimination, and advocate for reasonable accommodation. Hence, the policy addresses the importance of user-friendly infrastructures and the implementation of universal access in all departments. However, Maart et al (2007) point out that policies on infrastructure access, experience implementation challenges. The South African Police Service Strategic Plan (2020-2024) and the SDIP (2022-2023) highlight the importance of infrastructure plans and police accessibility in police stations. While the Annual Report of 2020-2021 narrates the challenges experienced in completing accessibility projects and new police stations because of delayed suppliers. Mthethwa (2012) identifies that, assessing policy improves accountability and service delivery for policymakers and implementers. These aspects frame the research problem. Therefore, the research assesses the factors affecting the implementation of the South African Police Service directive on accessibility infrastructure, focusing on the process, attitudes, progress, and challenges as main questions. The research details the problem, identifies the knowledge gap, and further establishes a framework to understand the research findings. A qualitative research strategy is proposed for the study, employing a case study design administered with an interview schedule to gather data from participants within the Facility Management in the South African Police Service
Exploring the Operational Challenges Encountered by Selected South African Multinationals in Nigeria
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Motaung, Sefatsanyane Karabo Kabelo; Appiah, Erasmus Kofi
The report examines the operational challenges faced by South African multinationalfirms operating in Nigeria. The project aims to provide a detailed understanding of thestate of South African multinationals' operations in Nigeria, with a specific focus on theimpact of politics, culture, and logistics on their operations. Nigeria, being a significanteconomic powerhouse in Africa, offers lucrative business opportunities for foreigncompanies, including those from South Africa. However, operating in Nigeria presents aunique set of challenges, which this report seeks to explore. The research employsqualitative interviews with senior managers of selected South African multinational firmsin Nigeria and a comprehensive review of existing literature. The interviews aredesigned to gather firsthand insights into the operational challenges encountered bythese firms, allowing for a deeper understanding of the issues they face.The findings of the study highlight the intricate relationship between politics and theoperations of South African multinationals in Nigeria. Political factors such as regulatoryhurdles, political instability, and the government's attitude toward foreign companiessignificantly impact their operations. Moreover, the report delves into the influence ofcultural differences between South Africa and Nigeria on various aspects of businessoperations, including employee relations, customer engagement, and partnercollaborations.The relevance of theoretical frameworks such as internationalization, globalization, andentry modes of multinational corporations will be used in the context of the Nigerian retailsector (Chand, 2020). The applicability of these frameworks may need to be evaluatedcarefully to ensure they are appropriate for understanding the challenges faced by SouthAfrican multinationals in this specific context (Chand, 2020). In essence the paper will tryto link the intrinsic value that is key to the success of multinational firms in the retail sectorventuring into the Nigerian market. The paper will attempt to find probable reasons for thefailure of these South African multinational firms in Nigeria, and where possible, provideremedial recommendations that can be employed in the future to better grasp thecomprehension of the Nigeria market
Towards the Development of a Sustainable Procurement Framework for Improved Operational Efficiency in Donor-funded Procurements in the Zimbabwean Public Health Laboratory Services
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mayavo, Crossman; Saruchera, Fanny
The governments in sub-Saharan African countries seem to have failed to fund public health medical laboratory services adequately, and the donors have taken over such critical services. This study focused on developing a sustainable procurement framework for improved operational efficiency in donor-funded procurements in the Zimbabwean public health medical laboratory services. The study aimed to examine the donor-funded procurements processes followed by the public health medical laboratory services in Zimbabwe, to establish the effectiveness of donor-funded procurements in the medical laboratory services, to examine the determinants for donor-funded procurement for public health medical laboratories in Zimbabwe, and finally to examine the moderating effect of government policy on donor-funded procurement in the public health laboratory system. The study integrates Transaction Cost Economics, Person-Situation Interaction, and Agency theories to support the research’s argument. Guided by the pragmatism philosophy and the descriptive-exploratory nature of the research objectives, the research utilised mixed research methods in which 214 questionnaires were used while seven interviews were held with provincial scientists. The research results revealed that the donor-funded procurements processes followed by the public health medical laboratory services in Zimbabwe might be strengthened by close collaboration between the government and the donor community. The determinants of donor-funded procurement played a crucial mediating role between effective donor-funded procurement, donation requirement process, and donation recipient process. The study revealed that government policy plays a positive moderating role among the variables and effective donor-funded procurement. The Structural Equation Modelling revealed that the determinants of donor-funded procurement are the mediators among the variables and shows the direct relationship between the donation requirement, donation recipient preparation and donation implementation, and government policy as the moderator between effective donor-funded procurement and the expected procurement functions. The research findings could be of more importance as the laboratory is a crucial sub-health department that should provide accurate and reliable results for patient management, and the essential public health services entail that there should be equity in the health of all people, achievable through policies and systems that are actively promoted in the health systems. Future studies could focus on sustainable donor-funded procurement to determine how the Triple Bottom Line Approach may impact the procurement of laboratory equipment and other supporting commodities
An assessment of the implementation of the global counter-terrorism framework in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2020) Ntsalong, Kgeng; Van Nieuwkerk, Anthoni
The world is experiencing a general rising threat of terrorism. Some regions of the world have experienced more cases than others but no country in the world can claim to be immune. As such each country has a responsibility to protect its citizens, guests and installations against the risk of terrorism. This is done by having policy instruments in place and implementing them effectively to the benefit of the citizens and guests of the country. South Africa promulgated the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and related Activities Act in 2004 to criminalise acts of terrorism. This investigative and exploratory study seeks to establish how South Africa brought into effect its counterterrorism legal instruments and the challenges experienced during the implementation phase as well as to assess whether or not the policy has achieved the intended outcomes in the eyes of practitioners. Strengths and weaknesses are identified and recommendations to enhance the current instrument are proposed
Experts’ perceptions on the decriminalization of drug use for criminal justice and health in Gauteng province
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Netshivhumbe, Mukhethwa; Cairns, Murray
Drug abuse is an ongoing global challenge with the prevalence of drug abuse and drug use disorders increasing significantly in recent years. South Africa like the rest of the world is not immune to the drugs scourge. The Department of Social Development (2020) stated that South Africa has become a consumer, producer, and transit country for drugs. Growing evidence suggest that criminalising drug use has no effect in reducing the problem in South Africa, hence the need to start thinking about new methods to deal with the challenge, regardless of how radical the new methods might seem. Emphasis should be placed on evidence based public health and social justice approaches. Decriminalisation is a phenomenon that is gaining momentum worldwide but can be considered radical now, since it requires extensive overhaul of any country’s illegal drugs’ policy. This study attempted to explore the perceptions of the experts in the field of substance abuse regarding the efficacy of decriminalising drug possession and use in Gauteng province, SA. Qualitative methodology with exploratory nature was utilized in this study. Interpretivism as the underlying research method was applied for this study. A basic interpretative study research design was adopted, as the focus was the building of this knowledge. Purposive sampling method was used to select participants of this study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted face to face and using virtual platform (Zoom). Data were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Data were presented focusing on the themes and emerged themes stemming from the purpose and objective of the study. This study has established different thoughts on the subject matter of decriminalisation of drug use. The majority (11 out of 15) of participants were in support of decriminalization of drug use. Their views were that the current approaches for combating drug problem have not yielded positive results hence a need to explore an alternative approach. Those against the decriminalisation of drug use were concerned that decriminalisation will results in an increase in drug use and drug dealers will flock into the country to sell drugs. They further expressed that the scourge of drug abuse is fuelled by social ills in the country, not criminalisation of drug use, therefore the country should address social problems and the drug problems may be reduced.
Church brands and management styles: The case of South African Protestant churches
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Juqu, Thando Buhle; Saruchera, Fanny
Protestant church brands continuously fail to recognise that their brands are indeed brands. South African church brands have continuously been accused of engaging in activities that detract and decrease their customer bases. Their roles are to ensure that the customers’ needs are met and are satisfactory. This study aimed to measure the perceived relationships between brand management and other variables such as customer loyalty and consumer behaviours. Do church members and other stakeholders agree that church brands are brands and attest to this statement by identifying as customers to the brand? Guided by the positivism approach and descriptive research design, the study utilized a self-administered questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 171 respondents who were members of the South African Protestant churches. The study established that communication remains a key pillar to the growth and sustenance of any relationship. The study further proved that proper befitting brand management styles play a role in the growth of brands. Under the agency theory, the study highlighted that these customers need to be noticed and heard by protestant church brands. About Thirty six percent (36.3%) of respondents highlighted that brands did not communicate internal issues and scandals. The study further cited poor brand management and the lack of communication, and that a decrease in brand management led to detracting customer loyalty and brand trust, putting these non-profit organisations at significant risk. The study concluded that adopting proper management styles and CRM activities and observing proper brand management styles in these protestant church brands allows brand growth. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by enriching the theoretical scope of theology and brand management in the context of protestant church brands. This ultimately leads to custodians of brands becoming great stewards of the brand
Improvement of Nigeria’s Security Sector Governance to effectively control terrorism
(2022) Ossai, Vincent
This research explored the means of enhancing Nigeria’s security sector governance to effectively counter the threats of terrorism and its facilitation by terrorism financing. For this purpose, the subsisting status of the necessary requirements that can strengthen the sector was assessed. These requirements are those advocated in the traditional Security Sector Reform paradigm and in the African Union Policy Framework on Security Sector Reform. There are several of these but the ones concentrated on are: civil democratic oversight, human rights and good governance as well as its derivates including the country’s anti-corruption profile especially with relevance to the required transparency and accountability of the sector. Access to gainful employment as a means of poverty alleviation and to help reduce involvement in terrorism was equally assessed. The data for this purpose were sourced from relevant documents and the submissions of purposefully sampled experts. The result of the assessment showed that the subsisting quality of the above requirements, are deficient in terms of their efficacy to boost Nigeria’s security sector governance to effectively counter terrorism. This therefore, necessitated the following improvements; namely: development and application of better strategies to mitigate this crime and its illicit financial supports; strengthening the capacity of the sector through improved human resources, budgetary and equipment supports; better intelligence management; improvement of policy and legal supports; improvement in the collaboration of constituent institutions in the sector as well as complementary international cooperation supports. Others are: strengthening of the various oversight institutions and the proficiency of their functionaries as well as improvement of human rights standard of the sector through enforcement of civilized and ethical conducts of security operatives and complemented with sanctions for breaches. Further improvements revolved around provision of good governance including enhancement of Nigeria’s anti-corruption profile including the required transparency and accountability standard, entrenchment of professional responsibility etiquette and effective administration of sanction schemes. Further improvements include: provision of gainful employment opportunities through requisite skills and entrepreneurship development programmes as well as provision of supports to the private sector and investment in public infrastructure. Consequent upon the foregoing, it is expected that when the above improvement measures are undertaken and proficiently applied, that they can help to strengthen the capacity of Nigeria’s security sector governance to more effectively control terrorism in the country.
Overpromising and underdelivering: Zimbabwe’s extractive industry indigenisation and uneven development
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Manduna, Kennedy; McCandless, E.
Uneven development has characterised Zimbabwe’s political economy landscape since the initial days of conquest to the present. Foreign-owned corporations and non-indigenous citizens have commanded the economy from the colonial era to the present, leaving the indigenous majority outside the mainstream economy. Zimbabwe’s indigenisation programme is a strategic policy choice responding directly to this widespread unevenness. The purpose of this explanatory study was to examine the structural and contextual factors accounting for extractive industry indigenisation underdelivering upon implementation. Findings show that extractive industry indigenisation’s implementation processes, mainly through Community Share Ownership Trusts (CSOTs), are producing largely disempowering outcomes for communities involved. These include the failure to address the uneven development problem in the mining sector, which is fuelling the persistence of uneven development. Findings further show that although the extractive industry indigenisation, may, in some instances, result in the restructuring of non- indigenous private mining capital, this is not correspondingly ‘empowering’ the disadvantaged indigenous citizens and their communities. Findings of this show that the following factors explain why extractive industry indigenisation perpetuated and maintained uneven development (i.e. in terms of scale, geography, income and wealth): (a) widespread cases of fronting; (b) except the Gwanda CSOT, all CSOTs did not get shares in the foreign mining companies, only seed capital/pledges/donations that are to this day yet to be paid in full; (c) widespread incapacitation (i.e. in terms of financial, human and managerial skills) and corruption in the CSOTs; (d) the security sector companies that got 50% equity in diamond companies operating Chiadzwa are not spreading the wealth around; and (e) the Finance Act of 2018 (No. 13 of 2018) made it optional for the qualifying companies to continue funding (as well as honouring the pledged amounts in full) the CSOTs. The combination of these factors results in further impoverishment of the disadvantaged indigenous people and their communities
Barriers to Effective Performance Management in South African Public Administration
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Chetty, Paragasen Perumal; Ouma, Wycliffe
This study evaluates barriers to effective performance management within the South African public sector. The purpose of the study was to understand if barriers to effective performance management had an impact on performance appraisal outcomes, transformational leadership style, and public service motivation levels. The study further assessed transformational leadership’s ability to mediate between performance barriers and public service motivational levels. Study approach was a quantitative methodology supported by an online survey for collection of primary data from South African civil servants. An exploratory analysis and inductive reasoning method was supported by the cross-sectional observational design of the research. The research outcomes confirmed that barriers to effective performance management had a significant and negative influence on performance appraisals worth, there was also a significant and negative effect on transformational leadership style, and barriers to effective performance management reduced public service motivation levels. The findings also confirmed that transformational leadership style partially mediated between performance barriers and public service motivation levels. The implication is that whilst transformational leadership style partially mediated the impact of barriers on public service motivation, if public sector leadership does not act to assuage performance barriers, then endeavours at performance appraisals will become a cursory exercise, stratagems for public sector transformational leadership will be distrusted and team members with high public service motivation levels will exit the administration. Exorbitant costs for reduced quality of public sector services will become a common occurrence. With the help of transformational leadership strategies, employee public service motivation can be increased whilst reducing the influence that performance barrier wields over performance improvement. When barriers are reduced performance appraisal information can become more meaningful and useful for improved employee performance

Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs)

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