Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
03 February 2022 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo UFS Photo Archive
Prof Rodwell Makombe, Associate Professor in the Department of English on the Qwaqwa Campus.

Prof Rodwell Makombe, Associate Professor in the Department of English on the university’s Qwaqwa Campus, will be joining a prestigious group of more than 100 academic staff from African universities for this year’s University of Michigan African Presidential Scholars (UMAPS) programme.

Each year, the programme hosts more than 180 academics from different universities in Africa for a five-month fellowship, providing academics with access to the university’s research libraries and facilities, on-campus housing, health insurance, and a stipend to cover living expenses.

Fellowship an opportunity for collaboration and career growth 
 
The fellowship comes at just the right time for Prof Makombe, who said he is looking forward to mentorship for his growth and career development in a new environment and atmosphere. “I am very excited about this opportunity, which I think has come at the right time. It will expose me to a broad network of scholars, which I need for collaboration purposes, and it will also give me an opportunity to share my research and learn from the experiences of other scholars from different parts of the world. Given that I will be working closely with a faculty member of the university for the duration of the fellowship, the programme will also provide me with the mentorship that I need for my growth and career development.”
 
Apart from the exposure to broad academic and research scholars, he said he was looking forward to having the time and resources to finish writing his second book.

“I have just published my first book in October 2021, and I have already started doing research for my second book. The fellowship will give me time and space to focus on writing the book without the usual interruptions associated with my teaching responsibilities. The book focuses on cultures of resistance in post-Mugabe Zimbabwe. It is a sequel to my recent book,Cultural texts of resistance in Zimbabwe: Music, Memes, Media, which explores discursive resistance in Zimbabwe in the context of crisis.”

News Archive

Politicians must push economic integration within SADC, Mboweni
2009-08-31

The outgoing Governor of the Reserve Bank, Mr Tito Mboweni (pictured), believes that for economic regional integration to be realized among the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, the political leadership of the region should play a pivotal role.

Mr Mboweni delivered the CR Swart Memorial Lecture, the oldest lecture at the University of the Free State, on the topic: “Seeking greater political and economic integration in Southern Africa in challenging and turbulent financial times”.

He said the necessary macro-economic convergence accords must be put in place for regional integration to take place.

These accords, he said, should be supported by prudent fiscal policies, financial balances among SADC countries, and the implementation of policies which will minimize market distortions.

“In the crafting of the macro-economic policies of the region we have to ensure that market certainty is maintained,” he said.

He said as governors of central banks in the region they have agreed that to achieve these objectives they first have to attain a free trade area.

“When the proposals were drafted the idea was that in 2008 we should have achieved a free trade area,” he explained. “Now we are behind in that regard, meaning that a free trade area has been formally and officially declared but the implementation thereof is behind schedule.”

Mr Mboweni said they were supposed to have a SADC-wide customs union in 2010, a SADC common market in 2015 and a monetary union in 2016.

“In order for us to move towards the regional integration agenda it is clear that there has to be a far greater intra-African trade than is the case now,” he said.

“In Southern Africa most of the trade is with South Africa and the other countries do not trade much with or amongst each other.”

He also said because the South African currency is legal tender in countries like Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland, they have developed a comprehensive set of proposals with these countries to deal with this matter.

“Our proposals basically center on the creation of a common central bank for South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland which, if created, would form a good basis for the establishment of a SADC-wide central bank.”

He said the macro-economic convergence criteria will not help achieve regional integration without the region’s political will.

“There has to be a commitment by the political leadership in Southern Africa to do the basic things that need to be done for the development of the region,” he said.

“That is where the notion of a developmental state must come in in support of these regional integration initiatives. There is no gain in just shouting developmental state if the basic issues supportive of development are not done.”

Mr Mboweni will leave the Reserve Bank in November this year.


Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt.stg@ufs.ac.za  
31 August 2009

 

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