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Thought-Leader Series: A culture of acceptance – is this South Africa’s greatest threat?

12 June 2023 | Story Samkelo Fetile

2023 UFS Thought-Leader Series

PRESENTS

a panel discussion titled

A culture of acceptance – is this South Africa’s greatest threat?

Watch the livestream (live on 13 July 2023)

The University of the Free State is pleased to announce the upcoming UFS Thought-Leader panel discussion titled “A Culture of Acceptance – South Africa’s Greatest Threat?” as part of the 2023 Thought-Leader Series. A public South African higher-education institution, The University of the Free State (UFS) recognises its responsibility to contribute to the public discourse. In collaboration with the Free State Literature Festival, this event will bring together esteemed thought leaders to shed light on the social, political, economic, and business landscape of South Africa and its implications for our future. The panel discussion will be facilitated by Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS.

Panel discussion presented on 13 July 2023

The general state of decay we are currently experiencing in our various structures of governance on nearly all levels is preventing the economic growth that our country so desperately needs to move forward. Our current national financial status is clearly the result of not only poor government performance, but also a totally deficient policy environment. Part of the threats currently facing our country is civil society’s attitude of accepting rampant corruption, crime, and economic degradation as if it is something inevitable and unavoidable. The question is: has our current situation created a society that has simply accepted its fate? Or has it created a society that has become more innovative and creative, actively navigating current challenges, and finding new solutions to societal issues independent of government? These are some of the aspects we look forward to discussing with the esteemed panel.

Date:	Thursday 13 July 2023
Time:	10:00-12:00
Venue:	Albert Wessels Auditorium, Bloemfontein Campus
RSVP:	https://events.ufs.ac.za/e/ThoughtLeaderPanel by 10 July 2023

Refreshments will be served.

For further information, contact Alicia Pienaar at pienaaran1@ufs.ac.za.

Some of the topics discussed by leading experts in 2022 included, among others, Crime in South Africa – who is to blame; Are our glasses half full or half empty; What needs to be done to power up South Africa?; and A look into the future of South Africa. This year’s webinar series commenced in April, when we discussed Threats to South Africa’s stability and security challenges.

Facilitator:	Prof Francis Petersen	Vice-Chancellor and Principal, UFS

Panellists:	Prof Bonang Mohale	President: Business Unity South Africa

	Prof Piet Croucamp	Senior Lecturer, Political Studies and International Relations: North-West University

	Dr Sipho Pityana	Founder and Chairman: Izingwe Capital (Pty) Limited

	Dr Lindie Koorts	Research Fellow: International Studies Group, UFS

Bios of speakers:

Prof Bonang Mohale

Bonang Mohale is the President of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), Chancellor of the University of the Free State, Professor of Practice in the Johannesburg Business School (JBS) College of Business and Economics and Chairman of The Bidvest Group Limited, SBV Services and ArcelorMittal! He is a member of the Community of Chairpersons (CoC) of the World Economic Forum.

Mohale, a highly respected South African businessman, has held several leadership positions; namely, CEO of Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), Vice President and Chairman of Shell South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Executive Vice President of SAA and MD of Otis (Pty) Ltd, among others. A vocal, agent courageous change, Mohale is known for his patriotism and active role in advancing the interests of South Africa. Mohale has a distinguished career and track record of leading and building successful companies and making significant advances in the transformation of these companies.

An avid writer, Mohale is the author of the bestselling books, “Lift As You Rise“ and “Behold The Turtle” which contain and reveals the issues he is passionate about. Mohale has been included in the Reputation Poll International’s (RPI) 2023 list of the ‘100 Most Reputable Africans’. The selection criteria are Integrity, Reputation, Transparency, Visibility, and Impact.

Prof Piet Croucamp

Professor Piet Croucamp teaches politics at the North-West University. His research interest is the social origins of violence. He has published extensively in both national and international scholarly journals.

Dr Sipho Pityana

Dr Sipho Mila Pityana is a business leader with extensive experience, having served in both executive and non-executive capacities on several local and international boards of blue-chip companies. He is the founder and Chairman of his private investment firm Izingwe. He is currently Chairman of the JSE-listed Redefine Properties, and non-executive Director of the Absa Bank Group. He is the former Chairman of AngloGold Ashanti Limited, and Munich Re of Africa. He also served as a lead independent Director of the Absa Group and an executive director of Nedcor Investment Bank, among others. He was the founding delegate of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC), and he was one of the founding members of the governing body of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. He served on the governing body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). His passion for education has seen him serve as Registrar of the University of Fort Hare, Chairperson of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), and former Chairperson of the Council of the University of Cape Town.

Dr Lindie Koorts

Dr. Lindie Koorts is a historian, biographer and author. She is a Research Associate at the University of the Free State's International Studies Group and a regular media commentator, who often writes on the links between current affairs and history.

Livestream

WATCH: 2023 UFS Thought-Leader Series (Live on 13 July 2023)

News Archive

Research into veld fires in grassland can now help with scientifically-grounded evidence

2015-04-10

While cattle and game farmers are rejoicing in the recent rains which large areas of the country received in the past growing season, an expert from the University of the Free State’s Department of Animal, Wildlife, and Grassland Sciences, says that much of the highly inflammable material now available could lead to large-scale veld fires this coming winter.

Prof Hennie Snyman, professor and researcher in the Department of Animal, Wildlife, and Grassland Sciences, warns that cattle and game farmers should be aware, in good time, of this problem which is about to rear its head. He proposes that farmers must burn firebreaks as a precaution.

At present, Prof Snyman focuses his research on the impact of fire and burning on the functioning of the grassland ecosystem, especially in the drier grassland regions.

He says the impact of fire on the functioning of ecosystems in the ‘sour’ grassland areas of Southern Africa (which includes Kwazulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, and the Harrismith environs) is already well established, but less information is available for ‘sweet’ semi-arid grassland areas. According to Prof Snyman, there is no reason to burn grassland in this semi-arid area. Grazing by animals can be effectively used because of the high quality material without having to burn it off. In the sourer pasturage, fire may well form part of the functioning of the grassland ecosystem in view of the fact that a quality problem might develop after which the grass must rejuvenate by letting it burn.

Prof Snyman, who has already been busy with the research for ten years, says quantified data on the impact of fire on the soil and plants were not available previously for the semi-arid grassland areas. Fires start frequently because of lightning, carelessness, freak accidents, or damaged power lines, and farmers must be recompensed for this damage.

The shortage of proper research on the impact of fires on soil and plants has led to burnt areas not being withdrawn from grazing for long enough. The lack of information has also led to farmers, who have lost grazing to fires, not being compensated fairly or even being over-compensated.

“When above-and below-ground plant production, together with efficient water usage, is taken into account, burnt grassland requires at least two full growing seasons to recover completely.”

Prof Snyman says farmers frequently make the mistake of allowing animals to graze on burnt grassland as soon as it begins to sprout, causing considerable damage to the plants.

“Plant roots are more sensitive to fire than the above-ground plant material. This is the reason why seasonal above-ground production losses from fire in the first growing season after the fire can amount to half of the unburnt veld. The ecosystem must first recover completely in order to be productive and sustainable again for the long term. The faster burnt veld is grazed again, the longer the ecosystem takes to recover completely, lengthening the problem with fodder shortages further.

Prof Snyman feels that fire as a management tool in semi-arid grassland is questionable if there is no specific purpose for it, as it can increase ecological and financial risk management in the short term.

Prof Snyman says more research is needed to quantify the impact of runaway fires on both grassland plant productivity and soil properties in terms of different seasonal climatic variations.

“The current information may already serve as valuable guidelines regarding claims arising from unforeseen fires, which often amount to thousands of rand, and are sometimes based on unscientific evidence.”

Prof Snyman’s research findings have been used successfully as guidelines for compensation aspects in several court cases.

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