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12 February 2020 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Charl Devenish
Prof Francis Petersen
Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor opened the workshop on Monday, 10 February 2020.
Will an enclaved state work in a country like South Africa? How can universities produce graduates who will become engaged citizens, and what is the current status of the ANC and the DA? These were some of the key topics at a workshop on South Africa and Africa: Prevarication at the Precipice, hosted by the Department of Political Studies and Governance at the University of the Free State (UFS). 

The two-day workshop is an annual collaborative discussion platform between the UFS, chaired by Prof Hussein Solomon, the Southern African Centre for Collaboration on Peace and Security, and the Osaka School of International Public Policy

The workshop opened with Prof Francis Petersen, the UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor who delivered his message from the perspective of higher education. 

He spoke about the importance of universities in South Africa being able to produce graduates who will become active citizens. 

Graduates should fulfill their role in society 

“Universities should be the place where we should educate and engage to let our students and graduates know what society should look like. If we don’t do that transformative thinking among our graduates we are going to perpetuate what society is,” Prof Petersen said. 

“I hope this conference won’t just debate the issues because we already know the answers. I hope this workshop will say what we need to do as active citizens to ensure that we start new building steps. International engagement is also important. As is our engagement with the continent.” 

Helen Zille on the State of South Africa 

Helen Zille, Chairperson of the DA Federal Council presented a talk on the State of South Africa in which she tabled three variables she believes can save the country from the precipice. “There should be three variables which can make a democracy work; a separate state (not a party-ruled state), the rule of law and a culture of accountability,” Zille said. 

Zille tabled the concept of an enclaved state a state which operates independently from party control. “There are increasingly isolated states in SA which are being pushed out of good governance and service delivery. An example of an enclave that functions well is the “justice enclave (Supreme Court of Appeal) in Bloemfontein”. 

She reiterated the importance of active citizenship. However she added that people who are active citizens are usually not the ones elected to office. 

Political Science workshop
The workshop brings together political scientists, academics, politicians and journalists who robustly discuss local
and international politics, economics and governance.  ( Photo: Charl Devenish) 

The role of active citizenship and the state of the country cannot be discussed in isolation from the state of the ruling ANC and the official opposition, the DA. Prof Dirk Kotze from the Department of Political Studies at Unisa, and Bonolo Selebano, Netwerk 24 political journalist, gave a glimpse into the status of Luthuli House (ANC headquarters in Johannesburg), and the DA. 

“ANC party politics are not unique. They are following a global trend. However, the credibility of the ANC is a big issue,” said Prof Kotze. In the political arena globally, political parties are redefining themselves and it is important for the ANC to figure out where it finds itself. Selebano wasn’t too optimistic about the DA either, saying the party should return to its liberation ideals. 


Political Studies and Governance Workshop
Political Studies and Governance Workshop
Political Studies and Governance Workshop
Political Studies and Governance Workshop
Political Studies and Governance Workshop
Political Studies and Governance Workshop
Political Studies and Governance Workhop
Political Studies and Governance Workhop

News Archive

Africa's Black Rhino conservation strategy must change
2017-07-10

 Description: Black Rhino Tags: conservation strategy, black rhino, Nature Scientific Reports, National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, extinction, decline in genetic diversity, Prof Antoinette Kotze, Research and Scientific Services, Dr Desire Dalton 

The black rhino is on the brink of extinction. The study that was 
published in the Nature Scientific Reports reveals that the
species has lost an astonishing 69% of its genetic variation. 
Photo: iStock

The conservation strategy of the black rhino in Africa needs to change in order to protect the species from extinction, a group of international researchers has found. The study that was published in the Nature Scientific Reports reveals that the species has lost an astonishing 69% of its genetic variation. 

South African researchers took part 
The researchers, which included local researchers from the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (NZG), have highlighted the fact that this means the black rhino is on the brink of extinction. "We have found that there is a decline in genetic diversity, with 44 of 64 genetic lineages no longer existing," said Prof Antoinette Kotze, the Manager of Research and Scientific Services at the Zoo in Pretoria. She is also affiliate Professor in the Department of Genetics at the University of the Free State and has been involved in rhino research in South Africa since the early 2000s.  

DNA from museums and the wild 
The study compared DNA from specimens in museums around the world, which originated in the different regions of Africa, to the DNA of live wild animals. The DNA was extracted from the skin of museum specimen and from tissue and faecal samples from animals in the wild. The research used the mitochondrial genome.

"The rhino poaching ‘pandemic’
needs to be defeated, because
it puts further strain on the genetic
diversity of the black rhino.”


Ability to adapt 
Dr Desire Dalton, one of the collaborators in the paper and a senior researcher at the NZG, said the loss of genetic diversity may compromise the rhinos’ ability to adapt to climate change. The study further underlined that two distinct populations now exists on either side of the Zambezi River. Dr Dalton said these definite populations need to be managed separately in order to conserve their genetic diversity. The study found that although the data suggests that the future is bleak for the black rhinoceros, the researchers did identify populations of priority for conservation, which might offer a better chance of preventing the species from total extinction. However, it stressed that the rhino poaching ‘pandemic’ needs to be defeated, because it puts further strain on the genetic diversity of the black rhino. 

Extinct in many African countries 
The research report further said that black rhino had been hunted and poached to extinction in many parts of Africa, such as Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Sudan, and Ethiopia. These rhino are now only found in five African countries. They are Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa, where the majority of the animals can be found. 

 

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