This report covers four cross-cutting topics based on a survey undertaken of five African countries (Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia) By L Muntingh, J Mangwanda, K Petersen & J Redpath
News
The following articles/publications are available in this issue:
We would like to announce that the Dullah Omar Institute at the University of the Western Cape will be closed from 27 September to 28 September 2021.
At the Dullah Omar Institute (DOI), we are at a loss with the passing of our Chief Operations and Finance Manager, Ms Virginia Brookes.
The Dullah Omar Institute: Multilevel Government Project is looking for a UWC student to produce podcasts for the Local Government Bulletin.
Vivienne Mentor-Lalu, Deputy Project Head of the The Womxn and Democracy Initiative’s speaks to Saskia Falken on Cape Talk Radio about political parties’ commitment to women’s rights with an eye on the local government elections.
Canon Collins Trust in partnership with Sol Plaatje Educational Project invite applications for the postgraduate study in South Africa 2022. Funding will be provided for up to a maximum of two years for Masters and three years for PhD. Continued funding depends upon satisfactory progress and academic reports.
KwaZulu-Natal has long suffered from inadequate, corrupt and violent policing. Recent events have simply made it more obvious. The problem of policing in the province dates from before the transition to democracy. Policing is a national function - in South Africa is in crisis and in KwaZulu-Natal the crisis is magnified, writes Jean Redpath.
The severity of the punishment, if caught, is not a deterrent to committing crime. If consumers of alcohol can be fairly certain that if they get behind the steering wheel of a vehicle that they will be stopped and tested, they will be less likely to do so and make alternative arrangements or postpone their travel.
The number of prisoners writing matric is so frightfully small that we are left pondering how this is even possible 27 years into democracy. The fewer than 200 prisoners writing matric annually pales in comparison with the 111,000 sentenced prisoners in South Africa – less than half a percent.
How much discretion does a prosecutor have to decline to prosecute? Is mediation always a good thing? Is there sometimes an obligation to prosecute? Does compensation for the victim trump societal criminal justice interests? These are vexing questions, especially when attempting to answer them in the abstract. A recent case may help in crystallising some thoughts.