We are proud to announce that Adv Sibonile Khoza has been appointed as a member of the Dullah Omar Institute's Advisory Board.
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TOPIC for 15 July 2020: Transparency in local government procurement during COVID-19
The following articles/publications are available in this issue:
The Socio-economic Rights Project at the Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape is organizing a webinar titled ‘Our Voices Matter’ to discuss the impact of the measures adopted by the government to address COVID-19 pandemic on the lived experiences of people in informal settlements in Cape Town.
The South African Research Chair in Multilevel Government, situated in the Dullah Omar Institute (DOI), offers high quality Masters and PhD programmes in multilevel government and local government. These programmes deal with questions such as: how are multilevel states designed? how are powers divided? how are the finances allocated to provincial and local governments? how does national government supervise subnational governments? They also deal with pertinent issues relating to the rule of law and good governance. Both programmes combine legal and constitutional studies with other disciplines, such as political science, public administration and finances. Applications are open for both admission and financial support in 2021.
Topic for 4 June 2020 : RESPONSIVE MUNICIPAL BUDGETING DURING COVID-19
The following articles/publications are available in this issue:
The 2020 budget proposals risk further harm to the economy by slashing funding for socioeconomic development.
In the State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ramaphosa emphasised the value of social compacts, yet he also announced that there will be reductions in expenditure. Budget Justice Coalition (BJC) worries that the President Ramaphosa’s notion of a social compact in the 2020 State of the Nation Address (SONA) will mean that low-income households and vulnerable groups will have to disproportionately shoulder the costs of “turning this economy around”. The BJC is convinced that the current spending trajectory does not prioritise the demands of a developmental state nor will it result in building much-needed state capacity.
The Dullah Omar Institute at the University of the Western Cape in partnership with the African Centre of Excellence for Access to Justice held a two-day inception meeting concerning Research on Community Based Paralegals in Africa. This took place at the Onomo Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda from 21-22 February 2020.
The Dullah Omar Institute of the University of the Western Cape in conjunction with the African Centre of Excellence for Access to Justice will hold an inception meeting concerning Research on Community Based Paralegals in Africa. This will take place at Onomo Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda from 21-22 February 2020.
When President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers his State of the Nation Address (SONA) this evening, many South Africans would want to hear what plans are in place to bring them closer to a new dawn where Eskom and other SOEs function optimally.
DOI releases three reports on SOE Board appointments and dismissals.
The South African Research Chair in Multilevel Government, Law and Development at the Dullah Omar Institute of the University of the Western Cape, and the Centre for Federalism and Governance Studies of Addis Ababa University are delighted to announce the inaugural African School on Decentralisation.
The following articles/publications are available in this issue:
The Metro Open Budget Survey (Metro OBS) is modelled on the global Open Budget Survey (OBS) initiated by the International Budget Partnership in 2006. The OBS is an independent, comparative assessment of budget accountability: transparency, oversight, and public participation.
On Friday, 29 November 2019, the Dullah Omar Institute made a submission to the Portfolio Committee on Health on the National Health Insurance Bill. Although the Institute supports the notion of universal health coverage that is aimed at providing South African’s with access to needed health care that is of sufficient quality , our submission highlights concerns about transparency and accountability to members of the public in the governance structures of the NHI Fund.
Activists and scholars this week reminded the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP), during a roundtable discussion on oversight and public participation, that they will turn up the heat so that legislatures can strengthen its oversight muscle. Too often it is National Parliament that comes under scrutiny whilst provincial legislatures escape the public eye.
Thursday, 31 October 2019, Cape Town - The Budget Justice Coalition (BJC) is concerned that the 2019 MTBPS proposes a deepening of austerity (cutting expenditure to address debt) in the country.
The Dullah Omar Institute held an in-house seminar on 'Local Government and the Changing Urban-Rural Interplay' on Tuesday 29 October 2019. It was facilitated by Prof Jaap de Visser.
Dullah Omar Institute’s doctoral researcher, Thandeka Khoza coached UWC Moot Court team which recently won the esteemed Annual Child Law Moot Competition. The UWC Moot Team was made up of Amanda Mpedi and Kirsten Lemaine Davids, both in their third year of the LLB programme. This victory was the first in history for the UWC team.
Prof Benyam Dawit Mezmur, head of the Children's Rights Project was part of a panel discussion looking at 30 years after the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
The Socioeconomic Rights Project and its partners participated in the UN Summit on Sustainable Development that took place in New York from 22-25 September in New York. This Summit was a gathering of Heads of State to deliberate on and assess the commitments made under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the Summit, SERP participated in some side events organised by civil society groups.
Dr Robert Nanima presented a paper on 'The Situation of Children affected by armed conflict in Africa: A review of progress made from the Graca Machel Report 1996 to date' at the Knowledge Exchange organised by Save the Children in Uganda.
On 23 September 2019, Prof Benyam Mezmur, head of the Children's Rights Project, was part of the panel at a side event of the 24th Human Rights Council Session in Geneva. The event was to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and it was organised by the African Union Ambassadors to Geneva.
The Children’s Rights Project of the Dullah Omar Institute (DOI) at the University of the Western Cape welcomes the Constitutional Court of South Africa’s declaration that the common law defence of reasonable and moderate parental chastisement is unconstitutional. The DOI was one of the three partners that was granted permission to submit an amicus brief to the Constitutional Court.
Dr. Usang Maria Assim and Dr. Robert Nanima researchers with the Children’s Rights Project this week participated in a 3-day child rights strategic litigation training and case-identification workshop from 10 - 12 September 2019 in Mombasa, Kenya. The workshop organised by IHRDA and East Africa Child Rights Network falls within the framework of the African Children’s Charter Project (Phase II) coordinated by Plan International.
Both Ethiopia and South Africa place state-owned enterprises (SOEs) at the centre of their state-led development effort. In both countries, there is a strong and dominant ruling party/alliance, whose influence stretches into virtually all sectors of society. However, Ethiopia has not experienced large scale corruption in its SOEs. In fact, its SOEs seem to be doing well with Ethiopian Airlines as a prominent and shining example.
On 13 August 2019, Prof Ebenezer Durojaye of the Socioeconomic Rights Project delivered a guest lecture at the Faculty of Law and Management, University of Mauritius. His presentation focused on ‘The relevance of a rights-based approach to non-communicable diseases in Africa’.