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2024 Elections: What the future holds after 29 May

02 May 2024 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath | Photo right

2024 UFS Thought-Leader Webinar Series

PRESENTS

a webinar titled

2024 Elections: Promises, Perils, and Delivery: What the Future Holds After 29 May 2024?

The University of the Free State (UFS) is pleased to present its first webinar for the year, titled 2024 Elections: Promises, Perils, and Delivery: What the Future Holds After 29 May 2024? – which is part of the 2024 Thought-Leader Webinar Series. As a public higher-education institution in South Africa with a responsibility to contribute to public discourse, the university will be presenting the webinar as part of the UFS Thought-Leader Series, which is in its sixth consecutive year. The aim of the webinar series is to discuss issues facing South Africa by engaging experts at the university and in South Africa.

Webinar presented on 23 May 2024

On 29 May 2024, South Africans will go to the polls. This election is considered by South Africans as significant and much needed since the end of apartheid in 1994. South Africa is plagued by record power cuts, poor service delivery, and high levels of unemployment, with drastic effects on businesses and the local economy. Coinciding with the celebration of 30 years of freedom and democracy, this seventh democratic election is a turning point for South Africa to determine the desired future for all South Africans.

Date: Thursday 23 May 2024

Time: 12:30-14:00

RSVP: Click to view document HERE no later than 22 May 2024.

Some of the topics discussed by leading experts in 2023 included, among others, Threats to South Africa’s stability and security challenges; The need for a global and regional plan / approach to respond to the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war; and Student protest action, politics, and higher education.

Facilitator:

Prof Francis Petersen

Vice-Chancellor and Principal, UFS

Panellists:

Prof Bonang Mohale

Chancellor, UFS

Dr Ebrahim Harvey

Political writer and commentator

Bios of speakers:

Prof Bonang Mohale

Prof Bonang Mohale is the Chancellor of the University of the Free State, former President of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), Professor of Practice in the Johannesburg Business School (JBS) College of Business and Economics, and Chairman of two listed entities – the Bidvest Group Limited and ArcelorMittal, as well as SBV Services and Swiss Re Corporate Solutions! He is a member of the Community of Chairpersons (CoC) of the World Economic Forum and author of two best-selling books, Lift As You Rise and Behold The Turtle! He 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. He is the recipient of the 2023 ME-Vision Academy’s ‘Exclusive Recognition in Successful Leadership’ Award for consistently leading self successfully, consistently leading people successfully, successfully leading as a senior executive and CEO, successfully leading society in various impactful roles, and his contribution to mentoring and inspiring future successful leaders.

Dr Ebrahim Harvey

Dr Ebrahim Harvey is a political writer, analyst, commentator, former Cosatu trade unionist, and Mail & Guardian columnist. He is currently a News24 columnist. He also wrote the authorised biography of former president, Kgalema Motlanthe (2012), and The Great Pretenders: Race and Class under ANC Rule (2021), which won the 2022 SA Literary Award for Non-Fiction. He holds a master’s degree in Public and Development Management and a PhD degree in Sociology, both from the University of the Witwatersrand.

News Archive

Research conducted on economic impact of recent international soccer and rugby matches for Bloemfontein

2004-09-09

The Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently conducted a survey on the economic impact of the international soccer and rugby games that were played in Bloemfontein earlier this year.

The research focused on the soccer match between Bafana Bafana and the Cape Verdic Isle and the rugby match between the Springboks and Ireland .

“The survey was done as a result of a research agenda about local economic development in Bloemfontein ,” said Dr Lochner Marais, researcher at the centre.

“We conducted the research by doing 402 interviews with soccer supporters and 376 interviews with rugby supporters from outside Bloemfontein ,” said Dr Marais.

The centre distributed questionnaires, collecting the following information on the soccer and rugby supporters: their age, gender and origin, the number of nights spend in Bloemfontein , their household expenditure in Bloemfontein and their rating on the quality of service.

“It is estimated that 10 800 soccer supporters and 27 000 rugby supporters came from outside Bloemfontein . Of the rugby supporters 14,4% were female and 85,6% were men. For the soccer international the percentage was 33% females and 67% males,” said Dr Marais.

The highest number of people who came to watch the soccer game in Bloemfontein (35,8%) was from the Northern Free State . The rugby supporters mainly came from Gauteng (21,8%) and the Northern Free State (18%).

When visiting Bloemfontein soccer supporters spend R912 per household, whilst rugby supporters reached deeper in their pockets and spent R1 807 per household.

“The survey indicated that the two international matches resulted in approximately R58 million been spent in Bloemfontein . Rugby supporters were accountable for the largest part (R48 787 205) spent. The largest chunk of the money spent was on accommodation (R14 593 279). On average soccer and rugby supporters from outside Bloemfontein spent 1,4 and 1,9 nights in Bloemfontein ,” said Dr Marais.

Rugby and soccer supporters were also asked to rate the quality of service received from amongst others hotels, guest houses, restaurants, and transport and entertainment facilities. Soccer supporters rated their satisfaction with services higher as rugby supporters. The rugby supporters gave the services at hotels a 3,9 rating, whilst soccer supporters awarded 4,6 rating out of a possible five.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
9 September 2004

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