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29 November 2021 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath


Panellists at the University of the Free State (UFS) Thought-Leader webinar, titled: Looking through a crystal ball – predictions for 2022, felt that the ineffectiveness, lack of skills, and incompetence of the government forced communities to change their attitude and start doing things for themselves. Eskom is considered a major obstacle to growth and those responsible for corruption will not be held to account, according to the panel.

The panel comprised Dr Pali Lehohla, Consultant: Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative and former Statistician General, South Africa; Dr Ina Gouws, Senior Lecturer: Governance and Political Transformation, UFS; Ms Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo, Chief Convention Bureau Officer, South African Tourism; and Mr Dawie Roodt, Director and Chief Economist: Efficient Group.

This was the sixth webinar in the series, which is part of the Free State Literature Festival’s online initiative, VrySpraak-digitaal

This year is better than next year

“In South Africa, there is the absence of policy systems with no leadership in the country at all levels,” said Dr Lehohla. The Treasury promises nothing for South Africa in terms of the future. Although South Africa can still reach 5,3% growth, which is reasonable, the elephant in the room is the macro reforms. The apartheid regime had a master plan in terms of how things were designed and developed – the current administration does not have a master plan, nor does it have good leadership, according to Dr Lehohla. If we do not have sound technical skills and the support of science, we will not move forward. We need competent people to drive the state, and the current government does not have these skills. This year is better than next year, according to Dr Lehohla.

People are ready to come back

The tourism sector is seeing signs of recovery. “South Africa is working on recovery – first on a domestic level, national, and then international,” said Kotze-Nhlapo. South Africa has the business events and conventions sector, and there is the need to get people to meet. South African Tourism is focusing on and targeting specific markets to build confidence in South Africa. “Twenty-four markets are being looked at as potential tourism gains for South Africa,” said Kotze-Nhlapo. The meeting industry, which looks good, will be prioritised and will trump leisure travel, according to Kotze-Nhlapo. She said tourism could be a catalyst to improve the broader economy of South Africa. Specific projects, such as Africa’s Travel Indaba, are looking at helping with the recovery in order to bring buyers back, as well as participation in international travel expos – people are ready to travel again, to meet, and to come back, according to Kotze-Nhlapo.

Listen to recording below: 


An incompetent government cannot implement a bad idea

The three important aspects that ensure basic economic growth are private property rights and private property rights protection, free trade, and sound money. It is difficult to trade if there is no property rights protection and money, according to Dawie Roodt.  “In South Africa, private property rights protection is under threat, free trade is being limited, and the reality is that South Africa has lost 99% of the value of its currency,” said Roodt. South Africa is experiencing significant supply chain disruptions, with high global inflation. In 1994, South Africa generated more electricity on a per capita basis in relation to the rest of the world, and today we generate less than 65% – without electricity the economy cannot grow. As an emerging economy, our fiscal debt levels as a percentage of the GDP are extremely high and unsustainable, according to Roodt. 

While we have a corrupt government, the lack of effectiveness causes more damage to the economy. The ANC was the biggest loser in the local government elections, not in numbers, but in confidence. Coalitions and instability are in the pipeline – the ANC will lose its absolute majority in the 2024 elections, according to Roodt. 

In South Africa, twelve million people are without jobs and 14 million have jobs. We have two million civil servants plus 18 million grant recipients – in total, 20 million people receive income from the state every month, plus grant recipients of ten million odd. In SA, 33 million people receive an income from the state every month. Only 12 million people in the private productive sector are paying for 30 million people who are recipients from the state in one form or the other.
Roodt projects that in terms of the budget, we will see less money being spent on the 30 million people over the next couple of years, because money will run out. “If less money is spent, we will see an increase in social and political tension, because money will be taken away from 30 million people,” said Roodt. 

“We are seeing an increase in privatisation, because the government is one of destruction and collapse,” said Roodt. The private sector is taking over – the police is privatised, with an increase in private security that is three times more than the police; electricity is being privatised, with the allowance of 100 megawatt for the private sector; and a third of the railways can have the private sector as partners, according to Roodt.  “The good thing about an incompetent government is that it cannot implement a bad idea, and therefore the NHI will not happen; we will have to cut back on grants as this is not affordable,” said Roodt.

Expropriation, import duties, and minimum wage undermines growth, coupled with Eskom, which is a major obstacle to economic growth. However, within this, an incompetent government has created opportunities in technology, education, electricity, and many other areas, according to Roodt.

 A darkness hovers over our nation

We find ourselves on the other side of local government elections, where the results at local level have not been seen before. The economic hubs of our country are now being governed by minority opposition parties. “A darkness is hovering over South Africa and it is no longer possible to conceal it with empty promises and excuses from those in charge of creating better ways,” said Dr Gouws. We need service delivery to attract investment and to stop relying on government grants. The current national administration has no interest in creating an environment for entrepreneurship, and people are tired; they are expected to care about everything without seeing changes in their daily lives, according to Dr Gouws. The run-up to the recent elections illustrates that communities have started to change their attitude; in a few pockets, communities have shown that differences are an asset in solving their problems, where they have to rely on each other as opposed to the politicians. “What made the difference was the necessity and realisation that people cannot rely on government, but only on themselves as a community to bring together what they can on the foundation of ethical leadership and integrity,” said Dr Gouws. 

The insistence on integrity in the way that people live their lives, and in their communities, really matters.
“Looking to the future, the new communal solidarity and local focus on fit-for-purpose solutions may be the only hope to prevent a complete collapse while national government sorts itself out,” said Dr Gouws. People are tired of having to bounce back and finding ways to cope with situations they are presented with or find themselves in. People want to be able to predict a problem, mitigate a crisis, or prevent the impact altogether, according to Dr Gouws.

Complete distrust exists between government and communities, and there is the need for government to approach communities and partner with them. Communities should be given the opportunity to show what has been done in communities, what has been achieved, and where they are going; there is insistence on this now. “The national government will remain as paralysed as it was, and the president will not make changes, especially to hold the corrupt to account.  Relying entirely on national policies and unexecuted plans should be avoided by local communities desperate for better lives,” said Dr Gouws. The expectation of investment to grow the economy and create the growth that people will feel on ground level will not happen until the next leadership conference, according to Dr Gouws.

Listen to a recording of the webinar below:


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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