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The advocacy-growth nexus: the case of the Egyptian banking sector
(Emerald Insight, 2014) Abdel-Baki, Monal A.
Purpose – The Egyptian banking sector has acted as an arena for multiple alliances, some of which bred crony capitalism and others acted as growth alliances. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of private sector advocacy in the Egyptian banking sector on macroeconomic performance, with the prime aim of designing an Egyptian-centric roadmap outlining precepts of good advocacy between bankers, policymakers and businesses. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a two-stage model. In the first stage an advocacy construct is developed using confirmatory factor analysis. In the second stage the relationship between advocacy and macroeconomic growth is measured by running a set of parsimonious regressions. Findings – The empirical results show a strong relationship between advocacy and growth, albeit not on inflation rates, suggesting that an innovative set of public policy instruments is needed to promote private advocacy efforts and to institutionalise private-public partnerships. This is an innately pressing mission for the new government to mitigate the impact of the double-digit inflation that has prevailed since the Triple-F – food, fuel and finance – Crisis of 2006. Practical implications – The ousted Egyptian government failed to protect its citizens from crony alliances and corruption, be it abuse of public resources or unfair access to bank credit. Hence, the prime aim is to design a future roadmap for the endorsement of effective growth alliances between businesses, bankers and policymakers. The recommendations proposed by this study would prove helpful to future public policymakers in the fulfilment of the macroeconomic aspirations of the Egyptian society as well as to other emerging and developing nations that share similar problems. Social implications – The research addresses how reforms can be designed in an egalitarian fashion to direct credit to growth enhancing and job-generating sectors since a prompt treatment of these problems at their roots is apt to minimise the probabilities of future social turmoil. This is apt to assist the Egyptian people to transition to a truly democratic society and to convert street rebellions into inclusive institutional activism. Originality/value – This paper adds to the literature a measurable construct gauging the relationship between advocacy in the banking sector and growth. Another contribution is the set of policies proposed to institutionalise rightful advocacy efforts.
Characteristics and policies of community-based tourism in the case of Jamaica
(2015-01) Giampiccoli, Andrea; Jugmohan, Sean; Mtapuri, Oliver
The aim of the article is to investigate the relationship between relevant Community-based Tourism (CBT) characteristics and the Jamaican Community Tourism Policy and Strategy (CTPS) and to discuss its value in community development. This article makes a contribution towards the understanding of the role of government in the development CBT. It argues that while the Jamaican CTPS has many positive strategies, they seem to be skewed in favor of the well established and market ready Community Tourism Enterprises (CTEs). It argues that such a state of affairs risks increasing the inequality gap between the rich CTEs and the poor ones and the members involved. By inference, it also risks developing ‘elite’ CTEs. As such, the article also argues that support should be given to all CTEs in the various tiers depending solely on need. The article also posits that it is critically important to develop community tourism partnerships with government ministries and other agencies, the private sector and NGOs for the establishment of standards, assessments, branding, marketing, financing and legal issues and capacity building. The article argues that the forms and modes of capacity building and empowerment which it advocates should make communities independent in the interest of social justice. While Jamaica’s CTPS has numerous feasible strategies, it is their prioritization which is highly contestable.
Community-based and pro-poor tourism: Initial assessment of their relation to community development
(UIC, 2016) Saayman, Melville; Giampiccoli, Andrea
Alternative forms of tourism development from its conventional approach such as community-based tourism (CBT) and pro-poor tourism (PPT) are proposed to be specifically relevant to alleviate poverty and facilitate the development of disadvantaged community members. The intention of this review paper is to show, despite an apparent similarity, that there are indeed substantial differences between CBT and PPT. While CBT is an alternative to conventional mass tourism and it prioritises control by disadvantaged community members and the benefits of the tourism sector within a social justice perspective with redistributive aims, PPT originated, sustained and is sustained by the neoliberal system and its work does not offer great possibilities of changing the status quo. This, in effect, increases the inequality gap. The paper concludes that the tourism sector properly and holistically fosters social justice and redistributive measures to decrease the inequality gap and further proposes PPT strategies needed to take a CBT direction guiding the tourism sector as a whole.
Community-based tourism and pro-poor tourism: dissimilar positioning in relation to community development
(CUT Free State, 2015) Saayman, M.; Giampiccoli, Andrea
This paper proposes community-based tourism (CBT) as an alternative to conventional and pro-poor tourism (PPT) as a means to alleviate poverty and facilitating the development of disadvantaged (poor) community members. The substantial differences between CBT and PPT are examined. The CBT is an alternative to mass tourism and is controlled by disadvantaged community members in order to benefit from a social justice approach to tourism that is characterised by redistributive aims. The PPT, on the other hand, originated in and is sustained by the neoliberal system, thereby precluding change to the status quo.
Community-based tourism in rich and poor countries : towards a framework for comparison
(African Journals Online, 2015-12) Giampiccoli, Andrea; Jugmohan, Sean; Mtapuri, Oliver
This article is conceptual based on a perusal of academic journal articles and books on matters related to Community-based Tourism (CBT). It contends that CBT is a very important tool for local economic development, community development, empowerment and the attainment of social justice. It observes disparities between rich and poor countries in terms of endowments and how the multiple dimensions of poverty can confound how tourism can be experienced in different contexts. It posits an eight Es model which represents the fundamental pillars upon which to judge a CBT for purposes of support, monitoring and evaluation. The eight E are Endogenous (emphasising a reliance on local resources); Environment – (reflecting the importance of caring for the environment, and broader environmental conditions and infrastructure); Education – (to advance skills and education); Empowerment – (which embraces economic, psychological, social and political empowerment); Equity – (for equitable distribution and re-distribution of both benefits and resources); Evolving – (always improving and changing to take advantage of dynamic opportunities); Enduring – (for long term sustainability) and supporting Entrepreneurship – (for innovation, creativity and viability). The framework/model is also significant as it provides a common ground upon which the understanding of CBT could be carried at international and national level. The model can be customised to take into account local conditions; it is flexible and all-encompassing with potential to be used for rating facilities.
A consensus-based corporate governance paradigm for Islamic banks
(Emerald Insight, 2014) Abdel-Baki, Monal A.; Sciabolazza, Valerio Leone
Purpose - Islamic banking is a viable sustainable banking model that has shown resilience to financial crises. The aim of this research is to design a consensus-based ethical and market-driven corporate governance index (CGI) to boost financial performance and ensure compliance with Islamic rulings. Design/methodology/approach – The design of the CGI is the outcome of the feedback obtained from a cross-country survey to measure bank efforts in enhancing corporate governance (CG) throughout the ten-year period of 2001-2011. The CGI is divided into six core CG themes and 40 sub-themes. Findings – First, the results of the multiple regression analysis show a consistent positive relationship between CG and ﬁnancial performance metrics. Second, the authors detect misaligned compensation structures for directors. Third, poor governance leads to higher risk exposures. Research limitations/implications – CG in Islamic banks is yet an evolving discipline and infant practice. This research aims to introduce a CGI that should be updated and improved as the discipline evolves. Practical implications – The research concludes by proposing a CG paradigm. The outcome of the research could also be of use to both Islamic banks and to the rapidly growing sustainable banking sector in designing a similar CGI and CG model incorporating the ethical features of sustainable ﬁnance. Social implications - The core ethos of Islam are: avoiding the exploitation of the needy, avoiding excessively risky transactions, avoiding unethical transactions and justice, equity and income redistribution. If properly applied, Islamic banking will display all features of sustainable finance as well as enhance social welfare. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the ﬁrst CGI that is based on an ethical and all-inclusive input of all stakeholders.
Corporate social responsibility in the mining sector in Zimbabwe.
(La Nuova Italia Editrice, 2023-01-31) Musariwa, Priscilla; Rampersad, Renitha; Govender, Nereshnee
Zimbabwe like any other developing country, invests funds in supporting the upliftment of communities and in social programmes that enhances community development. The increasing rate of unemployment and low skills level poses a threat to sustainable development. To support a strategic shift towards impactful results, organisations with the help of the government need constructive and efficient Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy, which is simple and user friendly. This can assist project managers and company managers to improve effectiveness and efficiency of CSR programmes. Using a qualitative approach, this study examined the nature of CSR in the mining sector in Zimbabwe to understand the challenges that are faced by mining companies. This paper can be used to design a CSR policy that lead to the planning and implementation of programmes in the mining sector that yield impactful results. Using purposive sampling, four CSR managers were selected from two Zimbabwean mining companies (Zimplats and Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond mining Company). Data was collected through semi structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings indicate that mining companies in Zimbabwe are involved in CSR initiatives, but they are faced with a number of challenges including lack of participation from the communities and limited financial resources.
Crossing from violence to nonviolence : pedagogy and memory
(UKZN, 2012) Hemson, Crispin
This qualitative case study addresses the use of memories of violence in a workshop with ten young student leaders in Durban. The pedagogy included the use of guidelines and gender-based groups as ways of enabling safety. A particularly direct discussion of gender and its relationship to violence followed, though violence in relation to other social identities was also explored. Walkerdine’s work (2006) on border crossing is used to analyse the data from the records of discussion and evaluation comments. The argument is that such a pedagogy enabled participants to address some of the sedimented connections that held them to relationships based on violence. Generally, if we understand violence as caught up in social identities, work on memories of violence will require attention to dynamics related to the identities present. While gender’s relation to violence is central in this context, further cases in which the pedagogy is structured around other social identities would extend our understanding.
Decolonising the future in the untransformed present in South African higher education
(University of the Free State, 2017) Fomunyam, Kehdinga George
South Africa as a nation became democratic in 1994 because of the end of apartheid. Since 1994, higher education has geared towards transformation and redress of the inequalities created by the inhuman policies of apartheid. While few applaudable steps have been taken towards this direction, South African higher education remains largely untransformed. For the past two years, a wave of student protest swept across the nation, calling for decolonisation of higher education in general and the curriculum in particular. This move brings to mind several questions about decolonisation and transformation. What is the state of South African higher education? Why has it remained untransformed since the advent of democracy? What should be decolonised to ensure transformation of the present and the future? This paper therefore ventures to answer these three questions using the theory of social transformation as a lens. The paper points out that funding structures, research politics, administrative structures and a lack of interest are amongst the reasons for the lack of transformation. The paper concludes that there will be no transformation until higher education institutions have been decolonised. Social transformation is therefore argued as the pathway for decolonisation. The paper recommends that transformation in higher education should go beyond the shelves where they are stored as policy to the classroom and university environment for practice and universities need to revise their understandings of transformation under the guidance of the DHET.
Evaluating black women's participation, development and success in doctoral studies : a capabilities perspective
(Stellenbosch University, 2016-01-01) Loots, S.; Ts'ephe, Lifutso; Walker, M.
Although black women show an increased presence in doctoral study, the probability of intersecting gendered and racial disadvantage is often overlooked through relying on separate numerical transformation progress indicators for gender and race. To take a more active approach to furthering social justice for this marginalised group, we need to explore more holistic ways of mapping transformation. In this sense, we argue for the application of the capabilities approach as an evaluative framework which allows for an assessment of freedoms or capabilities students are able to make use of in pursuing the lives they have reason to value. Furthermore, factors impacting on students’ capability formation are also considered, thus providing a multidimensional, ethically individualistic exploration of lives. The experiences of seven black women speak of barriers they have experienced throughout their doctoral journeys, but the data also create a sense of optimism as the potential of capability expansion is addressed.
Genopolitics : the dormant niche in political science curriculum in South African universities
(AOSIS, 2018) Hlatshwayo, Mlamuli N.; Fomunyam, Kehdinga George
South African higher education institutions have been grappling with the challenges of transformation and decolonisation as a result of the 2015–2016 student protests calling into focus issue of access (both formal and epistemological), belonging, social justice, transformation and others. One of the key sites for this struggle for transformation has been curriculum and the notion of relevance in responding to the development of social reality. Political Science as a discipline has increasingly been confronted with an ‘existential crisis’ with scholars in the field asking critical questions on whether the discipline has reached a point of irrelevance to social reality. Three key critiques of political science as a discipline are discussed in this article – firstly, the critique that political science is obsessed with what has been termed ‘methodological fetishism’ in being unable to embrace new knowledge. Secondly, that political science tends to construct universal theories and concepts that assume global homogeneity and de-emphasise the importance of context and locality in knowledge, knowledge production and its experiences. Thirdly, and the central point of this article, the social disconnection between political science as a field and its [in]ability to make a socio-economic contribution to society. This article suggests that genopolitics allows us to critically reflect on and respond to the above notions of relevance in political science by looking at the role of genes played in political behaviour and genetic dispositions to see and analyses how people, communities and societies behave in the ways that illuminate our understanding of social reality.
Lost in transition: the lives of African lifeguards
(Taylor and Francis Online, 2015-08-20) Hemson, Crispin
A study of 11 African surf lifeguards in Durban in 1997, as they were entering employment on the beachfront, revealed their aspirations for a confident and respectable masculinity. A study of the remaining 10 in 2012 instead demonstrated the extent to which their transition into employment was caught up in violence. It is argued that three key elements contributing to this have been the racist hostility that undermined the sense of possibility, the strength and nature of peer-group relationships and a masculinity focused on the display of women and possessions. Thus, some lifeguards replicated the same patterns of violence that they had hoped to leave behind in the township, while others severed connections and left. Following Walkerdine, this underlines the significance of the relationship between space and affect and the role of safety in developing imaginative possibilities. In a context of continued structural violence, spaces need to be developed within which people can reflect on their lives and the transitions they are making.
Theorising the #MustFall student movements in contemporary South African higher education : a social justice perspective
(University of Pretoria - ESI Press, 2019) Hlatshwayo, Mlamuli Nkosingphile; Kehdinga, George Fomunyam
A significant amount of literature on the student movement in South Africa is characterised by two limitations. Firstly, a significant amount of this literature is found in un‑academic and non‑peer‑reviewed sources, such as social media, online newspapers, blog posts and other platforms. Secondly, some of this literature is characterised by an absence of theory in offering us critical analysis of the emergent conditions of the student movement as a phenomenon in South African higher education (SAHE). In this article, we respond to the above gaps by contributing to the scholarly development and critical analysis of the student movement in SAHE. In order to respond to the above two gaps, we firstly provide a brief historical and contextual environment that has contributed to the emergence of the student movement phenomenon in SAHE. Secondly, we introduce Nancy Fraser’s social justice perspective, in offering us the theoretical and conceptual tools we need to look at the struggles and challenges that confront student movements, focusing in particular on the challenges that frustrate them in relating and interacting as peers on an equal footing in society. Using Fraser’s social justice framework to look at the #MustFall movements will allow us to better understand them as complex phenomena in SAHE and allow us to properly understand their emergence.
Using transformative pedagogies for the prevention of gender-based violence : Reflections from a secondary school-based intervention
(Taylor and Francis, 2015) Ngidi, Ndumiso Daluxolo; Moletsane, Relebohile
This article describes an initiative aimed at addressing gender violence, and in particular sexual violence. Implemented in 2014 in a township secondary school in Durban, the initiative involved six peer educators from the Durban University of Technology and 10 from the secondary school. In its design, the initiative has drawn from what might be called ‘transformative pedagogies’. Moreover, located more broadly within feminist pedagogies, the project focused on work that emphasises the creation of safe spaces in education for young female learners. This was aimed at enabling participants’ deep reflection on the self, addressing both structure and agency. Our analysis suggests that through its pedagogy, the initiative created a platform for both male and female students to speak about their experiences of violence and forge new ways of talking about and addressing sexual abuse. Further, the process was successful in enabling an appreciation of difference and resourcefulness among the participants. This article highlights the potential value of transformative and feminist pedagogies in addressing gender-based violence, and particularly sexual violence among learners in secondary schools.
Using transformative pedagogies for the prevention of gender-based violence: Reflections from a secondary school-based intervention
(Routledge, 2015) Ngidi, Ndumiso Daluxolo; Moletsane, Relebohile
This article describes an initiative aimed at addressing gender violence, and in particular sexual violence. Implemented in 2014 in a township secondary school in Durban, the initiative involved six peer educators from the Durban University of Technology and 10 from the secondary school. In its design, the initiative has drawn from what might be called ‘transformative pedagogies’. Moreover, located more broadly within feminist pedagogies, the project focused on work that emphasises the creation of safe spaces in education for young female learners. This was aimed at enabling participants’ deep reflection on the self, addressing both structure and agency. Our analysis suggests that through its pedagogy, the initiative created a platform for both male and female students to speak about their experiences of violence and forge new ways of talking about and addressing sexual abuse. Further, the process was successful in enabling an appreciation of difference and resourcefulness among the participants. This article highlights the potential value of transformative and feminist pedagogies in addressing gender-based violence, and particularly sexual violence among learners in secondary schools.
Violence at the end of the rainbow
(Taylor and Francis, 2013-02-26) Hemson, Crispin
South Africa presents contradictory images—that of a miracle of reconcilia- tion, the Rainbow Nation, and that of societal decay, evidenced by the police shooting of thirty-six mineworkers at Marikana in 2012. It is important to explore how these threads are connected in South African society, where structural violence is replicated under conditions of major and democratic political change. While the speciﬁc case is South African, the interactions are typical of other societies. This case illustrates, however, the nature of what Tani Adams refers to as the “chronic violence” that afﬂicts certain societies, in which multiple factors—such as racism, social inequality, environmental damage, the migrant labor system, and what Tani Adams refers to as “disjunctive democratization”—work to ensure both the continued reproduction of vio- lence and its role in enabling the enrichment of corrupt elites.
What happens in the forest? Memory, trauma, repression and resilience amongst Congolese Refugees living in Durban, South Africa
(CS SALL Publishers, 2015) Tschudin, Alain Jean-Paul Charles
A project entitled ‘Dialogics and the pursuit of solidarity’ brings together Congolese refugees and Zulu street traders and students who reside in the inner city of Durban, South Africa. The first phase was referred to as ‘Voices’ and allowed participants to share their unique life-stories with us. Our adult female Congolese participants reported having suffered experiences of violence, most extreme, before leaving the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Several of the men referred to traumatic incidents that were endured ‘in the forest’, but one of these, an elderly gentleman, referred to these as ‘unspeakable’. What happens in the forest, and why are these memories so unbearable? Is it a case of what transpires in the forest remains in the forest? Or is it that these experiences remain repressed in the mind; geographically remote from the forest, but embodied as an ever-present menace if revealed or exposed? Despite the immense trauma that has been lived by our participants, our study indicates a tremendous resilience on their part and an adaptability to life contexts that remain hostile, and at best uncertain.
Women in selected rural municipalities: Resilience and agency against vulnerabilities to climate change
(Taylor and Francis, 2014-11-03) Meyiwa, Thenjiwe; Maseti, Thandokazi; Ngubane, Sizani; Letsekha, Tebello; Rozani, Carina
The role of rural women in eradicating poverty and ending hunger has been recognised by both scholars and practitioners. There is an acknowledgement that women serve a critical role in the agricultural labour force, subsistence farming, and rural development in sub-Saharan Africa, yet their central role in food security has been largely ignored, particularly in policy (Govender, 2012). Although much of the labour of rural women is not nationally defined as economically active employment these women still spend long hours in undervalued productive and reproductive work to ensure the well-being of their households. Linked to this role is the challenge of dealing with rapidly changing climatic conditions. Women assume primary responsibility in fetching water and wood for meal preparation, and in tilling the ground. They are among the most vulnerable groups to climate change as a result of their precarious environmental livelihoods. Using data from a workshop with rural women to discuss climate change and qualitative interviews with rural women in selected rural communities in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal we explore the meaning of climate change. We report on the way climate change is understood, its effects on rural livelihoods and some responses to climate change problems experienced by the women in the communities. The women in the rural communities highlight that there are also social problems that have arisen from water scarcity. As a result of the household division of labour, rural girls confront particular challenges as they need to search further from home for water and are exposed to the risk of gender violence.