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UFS looking to establish an academic programme focusing on coalition governments

29 June 2023 | Story Kekeletso Takang

UFS EMS Faculty hosts Coalition Governance Leadership workshop

In light of the rise of local governments being run by coalitions in South Africa, the upcoming national elections in 2024 might present the country with its first multi-party governments. However, with recent events in some of these coalition governments, questions regarding the stability of this form of government are mounting.

Through its Vision 130, the University of the Free State (UFS) seeks to positively impact society by using empirical knowledge to make a real difference. It is to this end that the UFS Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences recently hosted a workshop with the theme Coalition Governance Leadership: a social innovation approach with inspiring ideas, inclusive institutionalisation, and impactful implementation, aimed at deliberating the need for an academic programme focusing on the governance and public management of coalition governments.

This comes after Prof Erwin Schwella, emeritus professor of Public Leadership from Stellenbosch University (SU), and currently Dean at Hugenote College – also well-known for his work in public management and public policy – approached Dr Maréve Biljohn, Head of the Department of Public Administration and Management, and the Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, Prof Philippe Burger, to discuss such an academic programme.

Coalition governance part and parcel of South Africa’s landscape

The workshop was attended by Prof Schwella, Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal, and academics from the faculties of Economic and Management Sciences and The Humanities, especially the Department of Governance and Political Transformation.

Speaking at the workshop, Prof Petersen highlighted that coalition governance seems to have become part and parcel of South Africa’s landscape. “It is highly likely that we will see a significant increase in coalitions during the national elections next year. Coalition governments enable small parties to participate in government and even hold important positions of leadership. As a higher education sector, our role is to draw on the insights and expertise of specialists in public management and public policy to develop academic programmes that guide the governance and public management of coalition governments.”

As a responsible global citizen, the UFS is not only working towards developing an academic programme that addresses both governance and management pillars but is also committed to addressing the needs of the country.

Functionality and stability of coalitions are critical

Dr Biljohn believes that the current political landscape in South Africa predicts that political party coalitions will have a seat at the governance table across the three spheres of government.

“Since the last local government elections, we have seen the formation of political party coalitions across several municipal councils. The functionality and stability of these coalitions are critical for, among others, decision-making related to sustainable service delivery, the adoption of a council’s budget, as well as by-laws and policies.”

“Where these coalitions fail, the consequences are detrimental to the municipality from an operational as well as a governance perspective, and this could affect communities adversely. The current state of local governance in some South African municipalities requires an administration that is skilled to provide a stable environment for service delivery, while managing and navigating the dynamics of coalition governance,” said Dr Biljohn.

Moreover, she continued, after the 2024 elections, national and provincial administrations should be equipped to deliver on their mandate in a governance environment that could be subject to the demands of political party coalitions. With the new norm of coalition governance, it is incumbent upon political and administrative office-bearers to have the professional skills and knowledge to lead and manage coalition governance from a political, executive, and administrative level.

Fostering more cohesion among coalition partners

“Therefore, the Department of Public Administration and Management, in collaboration with the Department of Political Studies and Governance, aims to contribute to the professional development of political and administrative office-bearers in the three government spheres to navigate this new governance environment. In this regard, the development of short learning programmes that will be targeted at these office-bearers is currently under discussion,” concluded Dr Biljohn.

Prof Burger said as an institution of higher learning, “we want to focus on the creation of programmes that can assist in fostering more cohesion among coalition partners, while also training officials on how to handle coalitions”.

For more information on the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences’ offerings, click here: https://www.ufs.ac.za/econ

News Archive

Getting out of the dark

2015-04-28

Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Since 2008, the University of the Free State has been busy with the planning and implementation of projects to reduce the impact of load shedding. To date, the cost of these projects has run to R6 million. They have been done primarily to ensure that the academic programme does not suffer damage as a result of the increasing interruptions in the power supply that are continuing this year.

The university’s greatest concern has been the provision of emergency power to the lecture halls and laboratories.

Thus far, 35 generators are servicing 55 buildings on the three campuses of the UFS. This includes 26 generators on the Bloemfontein Campus, eight on the Qwaqwa Campus in the Eastern Free State, and one generator on the South Campus in Bloemfontein. The generators are already in service, and are maintained in working order.

Since 2010, the university has also ensured that all newly-built academic buildings are equipped with emergency power supplies.

On the South Campus in Bloemfontein, the new lecture-hall building and the computer laboratory are equipped with emergency power, while the installation of emergency generators in other buildings is under way. The majority of the buildings on the Qwaqwa Campus in the Eastern Free State are equipped with emergency power supplies.

In the meantime, the UFS management has approved a further R11 million for the installation of additional generators on the three campuses. A further R1.5 million has also been approved for the purchase of two mobile generators.

To extend the work already done, the main task will be the installation of more generators on the Bloemfontein Campus to ensure that lecture halls with emergency power will be available for the centrally-arranged timetables, and to ensure that more of the critical laboratories will be provided with emergency power.

There are still some important buildings and halls on the Bloemfontein Campus that must be supplied with emergency power. However, it is a costly process and must be brought into operation gradually. The further implementation of emergency power depends on the delivery of equipment. The university is also investigating alternative solutions for power provisioning, including solar power.

Generators with spare capacity are optimally deployed to satisfy the lower needs of the campus, including the Odeion, the ANNEX at Microbiology, the Stabilis ANNEX, the Agriculture Building, the UV-Sasol library, and the Francois Retief Building.

In addition, the UFS is busy on all campuses, coupling area lighting, including

street lights and pedestrian walkways, to existing generators. Procedures for the operation of mechanical equipment, such as entrance gates, lifts, and so on, are currently being dealt with on all campuses. Continuous power sources for certain ICT equipment will be installed on all campuses to protect it against power surges.

Staff and students can also equip themselves with the necessary knowledge to manage load shedding in their specific areas of work and study. It is always helpful to know who to contact. The following list with guidelines and contact numbers has been compiled to assist you:

1. In an emergency, call Protection Services. This line will continue to operate, regardless of whether the power is on or off.
2. Avoid using lifts just before planned load shedding. Some lifts have emergency power packs which will bring the lift to the nearest floor and open the doors. If you still get stuck in a lift during a power outage, use your cellphone to call Protection Services. While you're waiting, stay calm and be patient.
3. If the access control systems in your building stop working after load shedding, contact Protection Services.
4. The students and staff members who are most at risk during load shedding are those in wheelchairs or with other mobility limitations. As far as possible, plan ahead to avoid being stuck on a floor or in a room that is difficult to access when load shedding is imminent. Please contact Protection Services if you need assistance.
5. During a fire, alarms WILL go off. Alarms are not power driven, but battery driven. For assistance, contact Protection Services.
6. The main UFS Switchboard (Bloemfontein Campus +27(0)51 401 9111 and Qwaqwa Campus +27(0)58 718 5000) will continue to operate during load shedding.

Contact details of Protection Services:

Bloemfontein Campus: +27(0)51 401 2634/2911
Qwaqwa Campus: +27(0)58 508 5460/5175
South Campus: +27(0)51 5051217

Communication and Brand Management will make information available on the UFS web, Facebook page, Twitter, Blackboard and the intranet. Get the load shedding schedule from Eskom’s webpage (http://loadshedding.eskom.co.za/). The Bloemfontein Campus falls in group 4 and the South Campus falls in group 2 in Centlec’s load shedding schedule.

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