{"title":"Red Road to Freedom: a history of the South African Communist Party 1921-2021 by Tom Lodge, and: Precarious Power: compliance and discontent under Ramaphosa's ANC by Susan Booysen (review)","authors":"R. Southall","doi":"10.1353/trn.2022.0018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/trn.2022.0018","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45045,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85368617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract:Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) in South Africa has undoubtedly been ambitious in seeking to transform ownership, control, and management of the economy's productive assets and resources. While BEE policy has been applied as the African National Congress government's primary strategy for bringing about transformation in the ownership and control of productive assets in the economy, the outcomes in key sectors of the economy have been poor in terms of inclusion. This paper considers the interrelations between the black empowerment programme and industrial policies in South Africa, with specific reference to transformation in the manufacturing sector. The paper examines the extent of transformation in the manufacturing sector in South Africa. The paper seeks to understand why South Africa has not seen the emergence of a large, economically significant black industrialist class that owns and controls economic assets and resources that are competitive at different levels in the manufacturing sector. The paper further explores the extent to which South Africa's industrial policy strategies have contributed to or undermined deep transformation in the manufacturing sector. The paper identifies key limitations of BEE and South Africa's industrial policy framework, and the gaps between these policies in terms of addressing the factors that restrict the inclusion of black-owned firms in manufacturing. It further considers how industrial transformation could be accelerated in South Africa.
{"title":"Industrial policy, the manufacturing sector and black empowerment in South Africa","authors":"Sumayya Goga, E. Avenyo","doi":"10.1353/trn.2022.0013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/trn.2022.0013","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) in South Africa has undoubtedly been ambitious in seeking to transform ownership, control, and management of the economy's productive assets and resources. While BEE policy has been applied as the African National Congress government's primary strategy for bringing about transformation in the ownership and control of productive assets in the economy, the outcomes in key sectors of the economy have been poor in terms of inclusion. This paper considers the interrelations between the black empowerment programme and industrial policies in South Africa, with specific reference to transformation in the manufacturing sector. The paper examines the extent of transformation in the manufacturing sector in South Africa. The paper seeks to understand why South Africa has not seen the emergence of a large, economically significant black industrialist class that owns and controls economic assets and resources that are competitive at different levels in the manufacturing sector. The paper further explores the extent to which South Africa's industrial policy strategies have contributed to or undermined deep transformation in the manufacturing sector. The paper identifies key limitations of BEE and South Africa's industrial policy framework, and the gaps between these policies in terms of addressing the factors that restrict the inclusion of black-owned firms in manufacturing. It further considers how industrial transformation could be accelerated in South Africa.","PeriodicalId":45045,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86007117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Anxious Joburg: the inner lives of a global south city ed. by Nicky Falkof and Cobus van Staden","authors":"Manuel Dieterich","doi":"10.1353/trn.2022.0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/trn.2022.0002","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45045,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73111751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract:The SA Reserve Bank (SARB) was established in terms of the Currency and Banking Act of 1920 and opened its doors for business for the first time on June 30, 1921. The SARB had limited committee decision-making and a high degree of individual responsibility for many years after its establishment. This approach started changing in the 1980s. Currently the SARB is characterised by extensive management-by-committee. This includes monetary policy decisions; in this instance a change for the better. The current monetary policy decision-making structure results not only in improved transparency, but also a better understanding of the role of monetary policy and the impact of monetary policy decisions. The improved monetary policy decision-making structure was ushered in at the time of the adoption of inflation targeting as a monetary policy framework for South Africa and successfully focuses attention on this mandate of the SARB.This paper is a precursor to more research on the neglected topic of the institutional structures of central banks. There is an extensive body of research literature on the implementation of monetary policy and the link to inflation and general economic conditions, covering and comparing many countries. To the contrary, very little research has been published on the institutional structures of central banks. This paper is a first step in a journey to fill this void in the research literature.
{"title":"Transition in decision-making in the South African Reserve Bank: an area of interest to Vishnu Padayachee (1952–2021)","authors":"J. Rossouw, V. Padayachee","doi":"10.1353/trn.2022.0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/trn.2022.0001","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:The SA Reserve Bank (SARB) was established in terms of the Currency and Banking Act of 1920 and opened its doors for business for the first time on June 30, 1921. The SARB had limited committee decision-making and a high degree of individual responsibility for many years after its establishment. This approach started changing in the 1980s. Currently the SARB is characterised by extensive management-by-committee. This includes monetary policy decisions; in this instance a change for the better. The current monetary policy decision-making structure results not only in improved transparency, but also a better understanding of the role of monetary policy and the impact of monetary policy decisions. The improved monetary policy decision-making structure was ushered in at the time of the adoption of inflation targeting as a monetary policy framework for South Africa and successfully focuses attention on this mandate of the SARB.This paper is a precursor to more research on the neglected topic of the institutional structures of central banks. There is an extensive body of research literature on the implementation of monetary policy and the link to inflation and general economic conditions, covering and comparing many countries. To the contrary, very little research has been published on the institutional structures of central banks. This paper is a first step in a journey to fill this void in the research literature.","PeriodicalId":45045,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87526519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Primacy of the Political Community: a response to critics","authors":"M. Mamdani","doi":"10.1353/trn.2022.0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/trn.2022.0007","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45045,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76686741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Patrick van Rensburg: rebel, visionary and radical educationist. A Biography by Kevin Shillington (review)","authors":"S. Morrow","doi":"10.1353/trn.2022.0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/trn.2022.0004","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45045,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89620470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract:The first two decades of the 2000s were characterised by what has been termed Africa’s ‘third wave’ of protest, which highlighted the shortcomings of multi-party democracy and neoliberal economic policies. Angola was no exception to this trend, with small protests, beginning in 2011 and continuing into the present. Angola’s protests generated public contestations between protestors and the incumbent regime over what constituted legitimate political engagement. This contestation raised the question of what exactly defined democratic representation. The ruling MPLA appealed to established political institutions and practice to claim it embodied a democratic mandate. In contrast, protestors argued that the ruling party had emptied out the very rituals and laws it claimed to represent, thereby rendering their actions more representative of popular sentiment. What became clear was that discourses of democracy could be used for both liberatory, as well as repressive, actions. These contestations in Angola, reveal how third wave protests called for a rethinking of democracy.
{"title":"‘If Angola were Libya’: protest and politics in Angola","authors":"Claudia Gastrow","doi":"10.1353/trn.2022.0008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/trn.2022.0008","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:The first two decades of the 2000s were characterised by what has been termed Africa’s ‘third wave’ of protest, which highlighted the shortcomings of multi-party democracy and neoliberal economic policies. Angola was no exception to this trend, with small protests, beginning in 2011 and continuing into the present. Angola’s protests generated public contestations between protestors and the incumbent regime over what constituted legitimate political engagement. This contestation raised the question of what exactly defined democratic representation. The ruling MPLA appealed to established political institutions and practice to claim it embodied a democratic mandate. In contrast, protestors argued that the ruling party had emptied out the very rituals and laws it claimed to represent, thereby rendering their actions more representative of popular sentiment. What became clear was that discourses of democracy could be used for both liberatory, as well as repressive, actions. These contestations in Angola, reveal how third wave protests called for a rethinking of democracy.","PeriodicalId":45045,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77554650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Contemporary Campus Life: transformation, manic managerialism and academentia by Keyan G Tomaselli (review)","authors":"R. Morrell","doi":"10.1353/trn.2022.0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/trn.2022.0003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45045,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78879207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract:Determined by material and fashion, everyday architecture constantly evolves to fulfil societal requirements. Countries with entrenched social stratification, restrictive norms informed by tradition and legislative frameworks controlling building design and implementation, limit the scope for change in the vernacular, built environment.However, in societies experiencing significant transformation, new vernaculars, ‘architectures of the people’, are more overt. In South Africa, a rapidly expanding black middle class adopts lifestyle clues from television programmes such as Top Billing, in creating a vernacular pastiche using a neo-classical toolkit. This produces an aesthetic, spatial, and often experimental, architectural language which supports identity construction and class definition by replicating affluent homes constructed in developer-built gated estates. The action of mimicking the wealthy defies the generative clues in the extant and historic built environment and its reactionaries calling for decolonisation. It also renders the traditional roles of architectural professionals as ‘tastemakers’, irrelevant. This paper discusses these hybridised vernaculars to suggest that the proliferation of Top Billing houses infers that decolonisation of the physical and intangible built environment has in fact, ironically occurred.
{"title":"Colonials, protest and aspiration: current polemic in ‘decolonised’ South African vernacular architecture","authors":"D. Whelan","doi":"10.1353/trn.2022.0000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/trn.2022.0000","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:Determined by material and fashion, everyday architecture constantly evolves to fulfil societal requirements. Countries with entrenched social stratification, restrictive norms informed by tradition and legislative frameworks controlling building design and implementation, limit the scope for change in the vernacular, built environment.However, in societies experiencing significant transformation, new vernaculars, ‘architectures of the people’, are more overt. In South Africa, a rapidly expanding black middle class adopts lifestyle clues from television programmes such as Top Billing, in creating a vernacular pastiche using a neo-classical toolkit. This produces an aesthetic, spatial, and often experimental, architectural language which supports identity construction and class definition by replicating affluent homes constructed in developer-built gated estates. The action of mimicking the wealthy defies the generative clues in the extant and historic built environment and its reactionaries calling for decolonisation. It also renders the traditional roles of architectural professionals as ‘tastemakers’, irrelevant. This paper discusses these hybridised vernaculars to suggest that the proliferation of Top Billing houses infers that decolonisation of the physical and intangible built environment has in fact, ironically occurred.","PeriodicalId":45045,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85742903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Resist ‘Minority Thinking’, focus on the making of the Global Order of Things/Subjects instead","authors":"T. Reddy","doi":"10.1353/trn.2021.0030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/trn.2021.0030","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45045,"journal":{"name":"Transformation-Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75087301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}