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18 March 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin
Rapport Regstreeks
From the left: Dr Ina Gouws, Dr Sethulego Matebesi, Dr Ebrahim Fakir, and Waldimar Pelser, who facilitated the panel discussion on the upcoming national elections.

Since the national elections of 2014 five years ago, several issues have occurred that could have an impact on the upcoming elections. A panel consisting of Dr Ina Gouws from the Department of Governance and Political Transformation, Dr Sethulego Matebesi from the Department of Sociology – both at the University of the Free State (UFS), and Dr Ebrahim Fakir from Governance Institutions and Processes at the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa, talked about these and other issues.

The panel discussion, facilitated by Waldimar Pelser, editor of Rapport, took place at the UFS on 8 March 2019. Rapport Regstreeks is presented by kykNET and Rapport.

Three factors that can handicap ruling party

“Does the ruling party have anything to be worried about?” Pelser asked, getting straight to the point. “Yes. The ruling party has a lot to be worried about. The reason for this is that voter participation has declined; secondly, there is definitely a management problem which resulted in a credibility crisis in the government; and lastly, the ANC is trying to keep people together who do not believe in the same issues,” Dr Fakir was the first to reply.

The issues mentioned by Dr Fakir have been a problem before. “Since 2016 there has been a lot of division within the ANC,” Dr Gouws said. “These divisions can have a huge impact on the outcome of the election. The divisions were exposed even more by the Nenegate situation, and the ANC could no longer manage it."

The fact that the ANC lost control over four of the major metros in the 2016 local elections must be worrying to them.

Zondo Commission and opposition parties

The Zondo Commission, with its appalling revelations has uncovered the magnitude of state capture and the shocking testimonies that have emerged, could possibly hamper the ANC in the elections. “Political parties have supporters, regardless of internal problems. Loyal party members will still vote for their parties,” said Dr Matebesi. “The promise of RDP houses before an election is the bread and butter of many voters; therefore, they will vote ANC again.”

With the rise of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the support base of the ANC has also dwindled. “If there is one party with a colonial mentality, it is the EFF. They are undermining democracy, thrive on divisions in society and exploit them,” said Dr Fakir. “They jump in on many issues for their own gain,” Dr Gouws added.

As for the Democratic Alliance (DA), Dr Gouws said its governance is ‘fantastic’ compared to the ANC, although not always 100%. “Problems were however highlighted – it is not 100% and I think they should attend to the problems.”

News Archive

Unique programme for next generation of professors launched
2010-11-19

Some of the scholars taking part in the Vice-Chancellor's Prestige Young Scholars Programme are, from the left: Dr Andréhette Verster, Ms Liezel Kotzé and Dr Nthabeleng Rammile.
Photo: Stephen Collett

The University of the Free State (UFS) has launched a programme that will provide an accelerated pathway to 25 young scholars with recent PhDs and teach them how to become professors through intensive local and international mentorship, research support and academic training.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Programme for Young Scholars focuses on the next generation of top researchers in South Africa who will fill the gap left by retiring academics. It will also add significantly to the diversity of the professoriate at the UFS.

No other university in the country has a programme of such scale and intensity for building excellence and diversity through young scholars.

“The programme is highly selective and limited to the most promising young scholars at the university. It will also contribute towards establishing an international reputation for the university and positioning the UFS as one of the best research institutions in the country,” said Prof. Neil Roos, Director of the Postgraduate School at the UFS. He will manage the programme together with Prof. Jackie du Toit, also from the university.

Running for the next three years, the programme will put the 25 scholars through an intensive programme of academic and scholarship support which includes advanced theoretical and methodological training and exposure to leading international scholars in their fields. They will also be exposed to intensive reading and writing programmes, high-level seminar and conference participation and presentation, accelerated publication schedules and personal mentoring and advising plans.

“Scholarship will only grow if there is a critical mass – and this is what we want to achieve at the UFS. We want to create a pool of young scholars, develop and connect them with international scholars and place them at top universities in the world where they can be mentored by the best in their respective fields,” said Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS at the launch of the programme.

According to Prof. Jansen, the UFS aims to draw public intellectuals and A-rated scientists to the campus and make academic work attractive to academics at the university and countrywide.

The group of scholars has a good academic record, with 69% of them completing their PhDs within the last five years. The group is well represented in terms of race and gender; the majority are in the 26 to 30-year age group and specialisations include the social sciences (including education, the humanities and arts) as well as the natural sciences.

“Scholarship develops over time. We are proud and extremely honoured to be selected for this prestigious programme. With this scholarship we acknowledge the responsibility of building the UFS and of extending our knowledge across disciplines. We will establish a scholarly advancement for our university that will enable it to compete with the best in the world,” said Dr Nalize Marais, one of the prestige scholars.

The launch was also attended by members of the university’s International Advisory Council (IAC). This council, which visited the university the past week to advise the leadership on its future positioning strategies, especially in relation to its international aspiration to become a place of scholarship and service among the leading universities in the world, congratulated the UFS on this groundbreaking programme.

“You are lucky to have a leadership that dares to dream and that can act the dream. You are fortunate that your leadership wants to take this university forward and explore new horizons,” said Prof. Aki Saweyrr, former Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities in Ghana and member of the IAC.

Ending the evening’s programme was Dr Gansen Pillay, Vice-President of the National Research Foundation. Prof. Gansen also congratulated the UFS on its visionary and inspirational leadership. “It is a privilege to make a life-changing contribution to research in the world. Universities must take ownership of their own development – which is exactly what the UFS is doing. And, although this is a truly South African programme, it could have an impact on the rest of the world,” he said.
 

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