Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
13 October 2020 | Story Prof John Mubangizi | Photo Sonia du Toit
Prof John C Mubangizi is Dean: Faculty of Law, University of the Free State.
South Africans are sick and tired of corruption. They are angry, frustrated and despondent. And they have every reason to be. South Africa has many problems: crime, unemployment, poverty, gender-based violence, inequality, low economic growth and now – in common with many other countries – COVID-19. The list goes on and on. What makes corruption the biggest threat among all these is that it cuts across all of them and impacts on their gravity in different ways. 

The South African Constitution envisages a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights. The way things are going, that society is never likely to happen. That is because corruption has been, and continues to be, the greatest threat to any possibility of realising that constitutional dream. In South Africa, like everywhere else where corruption is rampant, it occurs both in the public and private sectors, where it affects democracy and human rights by deteriorating institutions and diminishing public trust in government. It impairs the ability of government to fulfil its obligations and ensure accountability in the delivery of economic and social services like healthcare, education, clean water, housing, and social security. This is because corruption diverts funds into private pockets – which impedes delivery of services – thereby perpetuating poverty, inequality, injustice and unfairness. The problem is aggravated when government is the main culprit. “Government” here, of course, refers to the dictionary meaning of the term, namely, “the group of people with the authority to govern a country or state”.

Corruption existed in ancient Egypt, China and Greece

There are those who argue that corruption is as old as mankind and, therefore, it is here to stay. Indeed, corruption is known to have existed in ancient Egypt, ancient China and ancient Greece. In Robert Bolt’s 16th Century play A Man for All Seasons, Richard Rich’s opening remark is “But every man has his price.” In the 1836 play The Government Inspector, Nikolai Gogol cleverly satirised the human greed, stupidity and extensive political corruption in Imperial Russia at the time. And in a recent article in The Conversation (28 August 2020), Steven Friedman wonders why South Africans express shock at corruption when “it is perhaps the country’s oldest tradition.” He locates the advent of corruption in South Africa at the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck in 1652, through to the ensuing colonialism and apartheid. He argues that in reality, “corruption has been a constant feature of South African political life for much of the past 350 years. It is deeply embedded and it will take a concerted effort, over years, not days, to defeat it”. 

Agreed, but does it have to be that way? At the time of Jan van Riebeeck and during the 350 years of colonialism and apartheid, we did not have the legal framework that we have now. Here is a brief overview of that framework.

Read full article here

Opinion article by Professor John C Mubangizi, Dean: Faculty of Law, University of the Free State


News Archive

Wayde, Karla crowned as KovsieSport’s best
2015-10-21

 

The pride of KovsieSport. From the left, are: Ox Nche
(UFS Junior Sportman of the Year), Karla Mostert
(Senior Sportswoman of the Year), Wayde van Niekerk
(Senior Sportsman of the Year), and Brett Walraven
(on behalf of his sister, Nicole Walraven – Junior Sportswoman of the Year).
Photo: Hannes Naude

The journey does not belong to him alone, but to everyone at KovsieSport.

These were the words of University of the Free State’s (UFS) Wayde van Niekerk, after being named as KovsieSport’s Senior Sportsman of the Year on Wednesday 21 October 2015.

The South African sports star walked away with the award for the third consecutive year, while the Protea netball defender, Karla Mostert, was crowned Senior Sportswoman for the first time.

The Junior Bok, Ox Nche, and the Protea hockey player, Nicole Walraven, were named as Junior Sportsman and Junior Sportswoman of the Year respectively.

Nche represented South Africa’s U20 rugby team this year at the Junior World Championships, played for the Shimlas, and was named the UFS Rugby Club’s best junior player.

Walraven made her debut for South Africa in 2015. She was crowned jointly as the best player at the Provincial U21 tournament, and was also Hockey South Africa’s U21 Player of the Year.

Van Niekerk won gold in the 400 metres at the World Championships in Beijing, becoming only the fourth athlete in history to run the 400 m in less than 44 seconds, and the 200 metres in less than 20 seconds.

“This is precious, and something I will cherish as an athlete: being part of KovsieSport,” he said.

“I arrived at the UFS as a high school boy, started as a junior, and was accepted immediately.”

“I really appreciate everybody who played such a huge part in my life.”

Mostert was named as Player of the Series in the Brutal Fruit series, as well as the Varsity series this year. She was also a star for the Proteas at the World Cup.

“This (the award) is definitely a good way to end my time at Kovsies. This is something one is trying to achieve for years, so it really is a highlight.”

She said it was difficult to describe how much KovsieSport is doing for its athletes, and this was the reason why the UFS achieves so many successes in sport.


We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept