Orientated: Attending the Odyssey lectures are (from left) first-year student Siphumelele Khomo and wellness facilitator Carmelita Lee Shang.

Helping first-year UCT students adapt to academic life is the goal of the Student Development Programme, a new R500 000 initiative by Student Wellness, a unit in the Department: Student Affairs.

Taking part in the pilot programme are 65 fine arts and 40 geomatics first years, who will attend weekly lectures, facilitated by psychologist Kim Foster and social worker Carmelita Lee Shong, which will address common problems faced by students adjusting from a high school to a university environment. The lectures, titled >i>Odyssey include issues such as time and stress management, and exam preparation and anxiety.

“All these factors can potentially affect academic performance,” says programme co-ordinator, Kehiloe Ntsekhe of Student Wellness. “Our goal is to support first years in a non-academic way as they go through this transition.”

Alongside this will be mentor training and support for the mentors of the first year students involved. The Student Development Programme is also involved in giving ad hoc workshops in different faculties and plans to give training and support to faculty staff involved in student support.

Funded through the vice-chancellor’s strategic fund on transformation and basing itself on research undertaken by the Centre for Higher Education Development, the pilot programme will run throughout 2010. The programme will work closely with the working group set up by the Senate Academic Planning Committee to look into the First Year Experience for all undergraduate students at UCT.

Once complete, the programme’s effectiveness will be evaluated using various tools to examine the effectiveness of the intervention. This evaluation and a clear indication of the future sustainability of the interventions will be the determining factors in the programme’s future.

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: New programme helps first years adjust

Face off: (from left) Prof Jonathan Jansen, Prof Kader Asmal, Dr Max Price, and Sandy Shepherd.

What does it mean to lead on divided campuses?

This was the theme of the evening as vice-chancellor, Dr Max Price, shared the stage with the outspoken vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State, Professor Jonathan Jansen, on 9 March.

First at the podium was Jansen: “It’s absolutely crucial for a leader in higher education to recognise the problem of distance between black and white. Unless you recognise that, you will not understand the enormous tension, pain, aggravation and bitterness that continues to exist on campuses across this country.”

Jansen outlined the differences between co-habitation and integration, arguing that leaders can’t force students to be together in a social sense: “While our campuses are desegregated, I don’t know of a campus in South Africa that is integrated,” he noted. He added that students are alienated by a leadership that self-righteously lectures them on race relations, especially if they’re not setting a credible example as leaders themselves.

In building a sense of non-racial community, Jansen argued, leaders have to take both black and white communities into account, and learn to understand their anxieties and fears.

“Unless you can feel and deal with, as a leader, that emotional distress on each side of the equation, you will not be able to lead together a student body that overcomes the sins of their fathers.”

Price noted that transformation on different campuses, specifically at English- and Afrikaans-speaking universities, faced different challenges. Where Afrikaans universities have to overcome a huge ideological shift, their English counterparts faced a sense of smugness in the belief that this transformation had already successfully occurred in the ’70s and ‘80’s.

“Our challenge is to persuade staff and students that there’s a problem that still has to be fixed,” he said.

He argued that universities could play a key role “in creating transforming agents who graduate from us”.

“We can expose students to inequalities in the society around us; we can expose them to debates addressing that, and we can try to influence their values and commitment.”

Another key role for Price is ‘the knowledge project’: what is taught, what is excluded and what opinions are promoted in the students’ academic life. “Transformation also includes creating a curriculum and a research focus that helps students to identify with their own heritage and culture, so that they don’t always feel alien in that environment.”

Price noted the importance of institutional climate in transformation.

“This, I think, is the toughest challenge because it’s the most difficult to put your finger on. It’s in the air we breathe and the buildings we work in.” He described subtle ‘micro-environment behaviours’, such as ignoring certain people in meetings, that make people feel excluded.

“It’s the role of leadership to be tuned in to these behaviours, and to highlight them in a gentle way,” said Price.

The forum, which was organised by UCT Press, was hosted by former Minister of Education, Professor Kader Asmal.

Listen to podcast of the speeches.

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: Vice-chancellors debate leadership

New friends: Signing the dotted lines on two memoranda of understanding between UCT and Eduardo Mondlane University were Prof Armando Dimande, dean of the faculty of law at UEM; UEM rector, Prof Filipe Couto, UCT vice -chancellor, Dr Max Price; and Prof PJ Schwikkard, dean of the Faculty of Law at UCT.

The Faculty of Law is trailblazing the Afropolitan path, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), Mozambique’s oldest and largest university, at UCT on 10 March.

Actually, UCT signed two such MoUs with UEM on the day. The first – initialled by UCT vice-chancellor, Dr Max Price, and UEM rector, Professor Filipe Couto – is an overarching one, pledging the two universities to broad collaborations and staff and student exchanges.

The second one is more specific, built on a standing partnership between the universities’ faculties of law. Since first making contact at the First International Conference on Regional Integration Issues and SADC Law, held at UEM in April 2008, the faculties have been collaborating around that common theme.

As UEM has a centre dedicated exclusively to the topic, research and teaching exchanges have proved invaluable to UCT, says Professor Evance Kalula, deputy dean for internationalisation and development in UCT’s Faculty of Law, responsible for striking up such partnerships with African institutions. Such has been the strength of the UEM collaboration that UCT launched a master’s course in regional integration and SADC law in 2008, based in large part on UEM’s work.

That programme has taken off with a bang, with 24 students already signing up – a sizeable number for any LLM course, observes Kalula. In addition, an undergraduate course has also attracted a dozen or so students.

But it’s not a one-sided relationship, notes Kalula. UCT has plenty to offer UEM- as Couto noted as well – and will be offering assistance in developing young, emerging researchers there, posting its academics to teach and work in Mozambique, and helping with curriculum development.

It’s that kind of two-way that traffic bodes well for the MoUs.

“Agreements like this do not add up to anything if we haven’t started to do something concrete,” said Couto at the signing. “This is something which is just confirming what we are doing already.’

The occasion was a memorable one for Price as well, as it’s the first MoU he’s signed with an African university since taking the helm as UCT vice-chancellor in 2008.

“It’s an important development for us because we’re trying to strengthen our links with African universities, more than we’ve done in the past,” he said. The agreement with UEM would also, perhaps, spark contacts with other Lusophone countries in the Southern Hemisphere, added Price.

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: Law hooks up with collaborators from Mozambique

Kick off: Attending the UCT Surgical Society’s first lecture on 17 February were (from left) Prof Alp Numanoglu, Thadathilankal John and Prof Delawir Kahn.

The UCT Surgical Society has kicked off a series of events aimed at enhancing the development and interest in all aspects of surgery, medical research and leadership.<The UCT Surgical Society has kicked off a series of events aimed at enhancing the development and interest in all aspects of surgery, medical research and leadership.

The student-driven society launched their programme on 17 February with a lecture by Professor Alp Numanoglu from UCT’s Department of Paediatric Surgery, titled Separation of Conjoined Twins.

Future events planned for the year include a surgical forum, Making the Most of Your Medical School Career and How to Become a Surgeon, hosted by UCT’s Chair of Clinical Medicine, Professor Vanessa Burch and Head of Paediatric Neurosurgery, Professor Anthony Figaji, on 11 March, and a surgical lecture on 7 April, Life in the Trauma Unit. Other events planned for 2010 include surgical talks, forums and conferences.

Affiliated with the Department of Surgery at Groote Schuur Hospital, the UCT Surgical society was established in 2006 by a group of UCT medical students. It has since grown into one of the largest societies on campus, as well as one of the largest student surgical societies in the world with more than 730 members this year.

“Outreach is also a major programme that is intended for the year,” says society president, Thadathilankal John. “We are planning to host children from disadvantaged communities and take them on a tour of the world famous Cape Town Heart Museum at Groote Schuur Hospital. Research, as promoted by UCT, is also being tackled this year, and we already have two papers waiting to be published in internationally acclaimed journals.”

The society has recently been amalgamated into the Association of Surgeons of South Africa, a branch of the South African Medical Association.

“This is a huge achievement for the Surgical Society and UCT,” says John.

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: UCT Surgical Society reaches out

New look: It was a case of now you see it, now you don’t, as students and staff took part in this year’s CANSA Shavathon. In this picture and below, Simisani Moyo (CSC) cut and shaved Kaitlyn Crawford’s hair.

UCT students and staff braved sweltering heat as hair was snipped and sprayed and cropped and coloured at the annual CANSA Shavathon on 5 March. All for a good cause, as all funds will be donated to the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA).

But this year’s event also took a different direction with the Commerce Student Council (CSC) joining Kopano Residence – usually setting the pace – to organise it. And it was moved from the residence to the Jammie Plaza to pull more students and raise more money. And it paid off.

“Last year we raised about R2 000, and this year we increased that to R9 600,” said a jubilant Lungelo Gumede, Commerce Student Council 2010 chairman.
He said the intention was also to bridge a gap between the upper and the lower campuses in terms of student activities, and they hope to, by next year, get more residences and faculties to join.

Gumede said shaving is a symbolic act and shows that people don’t care about image, and more about what’s inside the person. He thanked participants, saying “united we showed that UCT cares about the cancer pandemic and hope that there will be a cure for it one day, and that that day is soon”.

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: Shavathon takes a new direction

On the fly: Ikey fullback Therlow Pietersen capped a sterling performance against Maties with this try, just evading the attentions of Maties’ Charl Weideman.

Here’s the nub of last night’s FNB Varsity Cup encounter in Stellenbosch – for much of the game, UCT’s Ikey Tigers made a very, very good Maties side look very, very ordinary.

And but for a few stray kicks, fumbles and errant passes, that final scoreline of 17-23 in Stellenbosch University’s favour could have looked very different. As has become custom after their clashes against their archrivals, UCT will rue what should have been.

That said, however, the home side showed just why they’ve won the trophy two years in a row, and why they’ve scored 291 points and conceded only 79 this campaign. (Their point difference of 212 dwarfs all others, with UCT coming in a distant second best with a margin of 70 points.) Lethal on the counterattack and always able to create an overlap on the wings, their two tries came from UCT mistakes well in the Maties half.

Although, for much of the second half, you wouldn’t have thought that it’s Maties sitting pretty on the top of the Varsity Cup log. Trailing 0-13 at one stage and 5-23 by early in the second half, the Tigers’ running game – which seemed to backfire in the first half – came into its own, and with tries from Mark Esterhuizen and Therlow Pietersen and more than 20 minutes left on the clock, UCT looked the team most likely to win.

But handling errors from the Tigers and tenacious tackling from Maties kept the scoreline and Maties’ undefeated run intact.

“We showed for the first time in this tournament our real pattern of play,” said coach, John Dobson, after the match. “We opened them up at will.”

A pity, then, that UCT couldn’t convert their possession into points. But, noted Dobson, he’d rather lose now than in the final his side must be confident they’ll reach. (And probably play Stellenbosch again.)

There are a few areas his side will have to do some homework on before then, however, notably around their set pieces, admitted Dobson. The Tigers’ lineout work and restart kicking let them down and cost them valuable territory against Maties.

“We need to be more clinical around those set pieces.”

But before that potential rematch, UCT will focus on their last stage game, against University of Pretoria’s Tukkies at UCT on 15 March. The Tigers will have to win the game to secure a precious home semi-final.

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: Ikeys give Maties pause for thought

In memory: Dr Lesley Bourne, wife of the late David Bourne, is flanked by Dr Reno Morar, health services adviser to the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, and Prof Leslie London, head of the School of Public Health & Family Medicine at the memorial service of her husband.

David Bourne may have passed on but his legacy will continue through a prize that UCT’s School of Public Health and Family Medicine has named in his honour.

The prize, worth R 5000, will be awarded annually to an excelling postgraduate student in the Master of Public Health programme, starting at the end of this year.

“This will help to keep David’s legacy alive and remind us of the contribution this extraordinary scientist, demographer, health advocate and general enthusiast for life made to public health in South Africa,” said Professor Leslie London, director of the school, at a memorial service held for Bourne this week.

Bourne was a chief research officer at the school, and was a leading demographer and statistician in the field of HIV prevention and its impacts in South Africa. He died suddenly in February last year.

London said Bourne’s death left a huge gap in the national capacity to understand the impact of the HIV epidemic, and the opportunities to address prevention.

“As colleagues, we felt it important to honour his legacy and to acknowledge his unstinting willingness to put science ahead of ideology in the fraught world of HIV prevention and treatment in South Africa over the past decade.”

This commitment to scientific integrity, London said, often brought Bourne into conflict with authorities who did not like to hear the evidence emerging from the data. “But David was adamant about ensuring that the science should speak for itself.”

At the memorial, attended by family, friends and colleagues, a compendium of a selection of his published works (over 130 in total) was presented to his widow, Dr Lesley Bourne. Copies were also given to the dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and the faculty library.

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: Bourne’s contribution honoured

Kopano Malebo, head student of Rochester residence at the health and safety debate.

Recent violent crime incidents around the medical campus have prompted the Health Sciences Student Council to host a safety and security campaign from 1 to 5 March.

Vera-Genevey Baloyi, the council’s student wellness officer, said the campaign’s objectives were to raise awareness about safety and security in and around campus, to equip students with self-defence skills, as well as make them aware of all the structures and procedures they need to adhere to when they have been victims of a crime.

Basically, we want every student to start making an effort to be accountable for their own safety and security, and for them to be aware of the support structures that have been made available by the university and the faculty,” Baloyi said.

She said it all started when the council was alerted that students have become the prime victims of a range of crimes committed on and off campus, specifically around the Observatory area.

“In a space of one year or less, we have had two murders, numerous muggings and a handful of hijackings around the Health Science Faculty and the surrounding areas,” she explained. “This intimates that this side of the greater UCT community is the most vulnerable for such events to occur.”

Baloyi also said it was worrying that students seem oblivious at times to the dangers around them, and are sometimes negligent about their own safety.

“Furthermore, most students lack vital information with regards to keeping themselves safe, reporting crime, holding CPS officers accountable, and who to go to within student leadership circles should they have comments or questions with regards to safety and safety procedures on campus.”

During the campaign, the council used posters, pamphlets, T-shirts, talks and debates, self-defence classes and other fun activities to achieve their set of objectives. The campaign was driven by the council in conjunction with the faculty management, the Students’ Representative Council, the South African Police Services, Campus Protections Services and the other student organisations in the faculty. The campaigns will continue throughout the year.

See also information on campus safety on the website.

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: Students taught more about safety

It’s time to get into the spirit of the soccer world cup by wearing Bafana Bafana shirts. This is the challenge to the campus community laid down by the acting dean of commerce, Professor Mike Wormald, in picture with his personal assistant Freda Williams.

“In the interests of national reconciliation I invite you to get into the spirit of The Beautiful Game,” Wormald said. “We need to get behind the national team, so please wear Bafana Bafana shirts on Fridays.”

International staff and students are invited to wear the shirt of their home countries, to reflect diversity within the university.

It’s also time to blow our own vuvuzela about UCT becoming the country’s largest hotel for the world cup, said the head of UCT’s 2010 task team, Emeritus Professor John Simpson. Staff and students should invite relatives to stay in residences during the world cup, he added.

“They will have access to the university’s extensive shuttle system which will transport them to and from the airport and world cup fixtures. As a signatory to Cape Town’s Tourism Code of Responsible Pricing, UCT will provide accommodation that offers excellent value at fair prices.” (Single rooms are going at R550 a night excluding VAT.)

Proceeds will be channeled into legacy projects including programmes that enable financially-needy students to complete their studies.

Visit www.campus2010.co.za for further information. And for more information about Campus Accommodation 2010 please contact:

• Jackie Ardinois by email or at 0861 226 787
• Celeste Gaskin by email or at +27 21 591 1260 or 0765517125.

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: If it’s Friday, wear your Bafana Bafana shirt

Mesmerising: The Soweto Gospel Choir kept the audience on their feet at the annual RAG Kirstenbosch Concert on 27 February.

It was all perfect at this year’s annual UCT RAG (Remember and Give) Kirstenbocsh Concert on 27 February. The weather was fine, the stage looked wonderful and the performers were nothing short of brilliant, leaving the audience begging for more.

The Rudimentals got the event off to a great start, pulling the crowd to move to right in front of the stage to join in the dancing. When the main course was dished in the form of the two-time Grammy-award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir, the audience burst into cheers.

Their earthy rhythms, rich harmonies, a capella numbers, alongside energetic dancing and vibrant, colourful costumes, made for an awesome mix. All was for a good cause as the Old Mutual-sponsored concert allowed RAG to raise money for SHAWCO’s outreach programmes.

The concert is the only RAG project that targets both students and families around Cape Town, given the relaxed, classy nature of the event. UCT RAG 2009/2010 Chairperson Aliyah Allie said what she loved about the event was that the vibey audience was a wonderful mix of young and old, of different income levels and colour, all dancing, singing and picnicking together – as was intended when the vision for the event was created.

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: Kirstenbosch concert a big success

Battling it out: UCT Tigers’ Alexander Macdonald tackles a UJ player.

A late Marcello Sampson try helped FNB Ikey Tigers to maintain their unbeaten record in the 2010 Varsity Cup, edging out the FNB University of Johannesburg (UJ) by 30-23 in a classic encounter in Johannesburg on 1 March.

The win will be a confidence booster for the Tigers ahead of their next game against the mighty Maties in Stellenbosch next Monday. It will also stand the UCT side in good stead in their bid for a third successive semi-final spot.

The Ikeys looked the better team in the first half, punishing poor tackling from the home side to take a 17-13 lead at half time.

UJ dominated much of the second half with only penalties keeping the Cape Town side ahead. UJ equalised in the 65th minute, but the Sampson breakaway try and Doug Mallett’s conversion gave UCT the advantage again with only seven minutes left on the clock.

The score from Sampson – the leading try-scorer in the Varsity Cup’s three-year history – handed UCT a fourth win of the season and four points on the evening.

In the Steinhof Koshuis Championship, UCT Tornadoes were on the wrong end of a 5-39 scoreline, losing to the Free State University’s Vishuis. Tornadoes beat Madibaz of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University by 38-21 in their first game.

In this picture, Matthew Rosslee (10) and Marcel Brache tackle UJ captain, Clinton de Klerk.

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: Tigers win again

Making history: Attending the Métissages/Mixing Cultures media launch was (from left) Prof Harry Garuba of the Centre for African Studies and Prof Jean-Louis Cornille of UCT’s School of Languages.

No direct English translation for the French word ‘métissages’ would fully explain the concept, but it could be described as those spaces where blending occurs.

This was the focus of a two-day Métissages/Mixing Cultures conference hosted by UCT’s Centre for African Studies and the French section of the School of Languages and Literatures from 18 to 19 February, in partnership with Alliance Française, Artscape, and Paris VII University.

The conference featured presentations by researchers from Africa, Asia, Europe, Saudi Arabia and the US, examining cross-cultural encounters from different eras, deconstructing gender and race stereotypes. South Africa’s coloured identity also came under the spotlight.

The conference also served as the platform to introduce the Mitchell’s Plain Oral History Project, a partnership between Alliance Française and Artscape, and supported by the French Embassy and the Department of Social Development.

Central to the project is the publication of a book to be launched in 2011, which will unfold the histories – and herstories – of Mitchell’s Plain and its people. The book will recognise those who contributed to the development of this community, and inspired many others. The project is also about those who have taken the baton to continue developing it into a place of hope and possibilities, and shifting the perspectives of Mitchell’s Plain as a place of poverty, violence and despair.

For more information on the project visit Alliance Française website. The book on Mitchell’s Plain will be based on nominations appointed by the community. Contact Nolan at Artscape by email, or telephone: 021 410 9800.

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: Conference explores cultural encounters

The toxic mix: Such is the scale of the problem that everyone’s going to have to chip in to sort out the shortcomings of the South African school system, said Graeme Bloch.

Graeme Bloch admits that he’s somewhat “bipolar” when it comes to the South African school system – there are some days when he’s convinced that things are moving in the right direction, but there are also others when he’s depressed by the sheer scale of the problems.

“There are so many things to do, we could start anywhere,” said Bloch, author of 2009’s The Toxic Mix: What’s wrong with South Africa’s schools and how to fix it, speaking at a meeting hosted by UCT’s Schools Development Unit on 24 February.

As he does in his book, Bloch, an education specialist with the Development Bank of South Africa (and a member of UCT Council), took his audience through some of the troubles that currently beset the education system. These include ongoing problems with outcomes-based education, the nature – and lack – of teacher support, the public’s frustration with teachers’ unions, the strained relationship between teachers and the education department (not helped by the repeated postponements of the occupation-specific dispensation for teachers), the need for an inspectorate to check on performance, and the ongoing debate around money and resources.

In addition, there are concerns around outcome (learners’ performance) and inequalities (black learners still do worse at schools than their white peers).

That said, there are grounds for some optimism, said Bloch. Yes, there are issues with the qualification, but today more black children complete matric than ever before. So, too, teachers from all walks of life are working together to improve the system. In addition, there are models that can be mimicked: the work of the Bitou 10 Foundation to support learning at 10 Plettenberg Bay schools, or the organisation in Hermanus that draws on professionals in the area to run workshops and the like for schools.

“I think we need to bear in mind that sense of progress, but also the challenges,” said Bloch.

It’s going to take a concerted effort from many – teachers, government, society – to tackle the problems, he cautioned. “Given the complexity of education… it really is going to be called on all of us to get active.”

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: Amid many troubles at schools, there’s been progress, says Bloch

Leading from front: SRC members Saif Islam, Richard McLaverty, Michell Mpike, Londeka Mkhize, Wandile Mamba, Lwando Maki, Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh and Shannon Bernhardt acted as role models when they publicly tested for HIV.

Some UCT students are still indifferent to and surprisingly ignorant of the dreadful HIV/AIDS pandemic, despite the fact that millions of South Africans are infected and affected by it, according to the Students Representative Council.
To compound the situation, the estimated 10% of students living with the virus are subjected to stigma by certain fellow students.

For these reasons, the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) has put HIV/AIDS on their priority list for the year, and on 24 February its members “led by an example” and went for voluntary counselling and testing during a Student Wellness Services drive at Jameson Hall.<Some UCT students are still indifferent to and surprisingly ignorant of the dreadful HIV/AIDS pandemic, despite the fact that millions of South Africans are infected and affected by it, according to the Students Representative Council.
To compound the situation, the estimated 10% of students living with the virus are subjected to stigma by certain fellow students.
For these reasons, the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) has put HIV/AIDS on their priority list for they year, and on 24 February its members “led by an example” an d went for voluntary counselling and testing during a Student Wellness Services’ drive at Jameson Hall.

The three-day campaign was one of the two that the Wellness Services hosts each year – in addition to the daily services available at the Sports Centre and Student Wellness Services – to promote testing, and to make it available and easily accessible to staff and students.

Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, SRC president, said that the SRC would be running a campaign on HIV/AIDS later on in the year, and the first thing was for members to get tested publicly and act as role models to students who are afraid.

Michell Mpike, an SRC member responsible for health, safety and security, said testing is important to promote responsible living. “There are a lot of people who are ignorant about HIV,” she explained. “There is also a mentality that ‘it won’t happen to me’”.

While the turn-out was “overwhelming”, the process itself can be nerve-wrecking, as one student attested “I was scared when I came to test for the first time because you never know what will happen,” she said. “But testing is a responsible thing to do in order to make informed decisions about your future.”

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: SRC members test for HIV

Budget brief: According to Emer Prof Brian Kantor (right), the recent budget speech bodes well for the country.

Bar a few swipes at the Reserve Bank and ESKOM – no one’s favourite utility right now – Emeritus Professor Brian Kantor’s review of the 2010/2011 national budget was a very upbeat one.

Speaking at a post-budget breakfast talk, hosted by the Graduate School of Business on 22 February, Kantor, emeritus professor at UCT as well an investment strategist and economist with Investec Private Securities, had plenty of praise for finance minister Pravin Gordhan and his budget speech. Coming in the wake of a severe recession, much was expected of the budget and the minister’s response was a “sensible” one, said Kantor.

“The budget had to answer a number of questions. Not all these answers are popular with all quarters, but certainly the answers are clear enough and, I would say, very encouraging in general.”

For one, the government is running a growing deficit of 7.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) as revenues are falling – tax revenue alone will be R69 billion short of last year’s budget estimate – and spending is still on the rise. No wonder, then, that there were concerns that the state would raise taxes.

But it didn’t. Instead, it has accepted that it would have to borrow more to continue its social spending, and government debt is expected to top R1 trillion over the next few years. That debt will amount to around 40% of GDP, which, while “uncomfortably high”, is manageable, said Kantor. (And much better than the Americans and Greeks, where government debts stand at about 100% of GDP.)

The state will have to take some control over its expenditures, however, particularly its spending on government employees and their benefits, added Kantor.

One authority Kantor did target – other than ESKOM, making ever greater demands on consumers’ wallets – was the Reserve Bank, particularly under former governor, Tito Mboweni. In particular, Kantor took issue with the Reserve Bank for its intransigent inflation-targeted policies, which pushed interest rates higher than they ought to have been, and kept them at those high levels way too long.

The problem, said Kantor, was that the Bank was no longer fighting inflation, but rather inflation expectations.

“And therefore, even if the economy is on its knees, when inflation expectations are alive, you fight it with high interest rates. Regardless of its impact on the economy.”

South Africa, like most other countries, needs consumption-led growth. For this to happen, interest rates will have be kept down, which is what is expected will happen in 2010 in South Africa, the US and Europe, said Kantor.

“And so, a little less pessimism about the prospects for the South African economy in 2010 are in order,” he ended. “And I think the budget certainly doesn’t provide any grounds at all for pessimism.”

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: Good prospects for the economy – Kantor

Law and language: Law faculty’s Assoc Prof Loretta Feris, an environmental specialist, is one of several UCT law academics lined up for the Woordfees (Wordfest) in Stellenbosch next week.

The Faculty of Law will present an actuality programme in Afrikaans at the 11th annual Woordfees (Wordfest) in Stellenbosch from 1 to 5 March. This will be the first law programme to be presented at this festival.

The discussion programme, Reg met Afrikaans (Law in Afrikaans), is a contribution by lawyers to the recognition of Afrikaans as a language that has a vital role in discussion and debate on law subjects.

Through their participation, several UCT lecturers will be supporting Afrikaans as an academic language and a language of law, said programme convenor, Professor Rochelle le Roux. “For us it is a privilege to present legal topics in Afrikaans. In this way we can stimulate debate among lay people on a variety of legal matters that concern the public. We also want to illustrate that law can also be an adventure.”

This venture is supported by UCT law dean, Professor PJ Schwikkard.

“South African law is the best explored and developed with an appreciation of history, language, diversity and creativity,” she said. “So it is entirely appropriate for the law faculty to be involved with the discourse, Reg met Afrikaans.”

Woordfees director, Professor Dorothea van Zyl of Stellenbosch University, one of the festival’s sponsors, welcomed the goodwill extended to the festival by a “neighbouring university”.

Topical subjects will be discussed during lunch hour each day. On 1 March UCT’s Professor Pierre de Vos will speak on constitutional matters in a presentation titled, Is die grondwetlike regstaat ‘n struikelblok op weg na transformasie? (Is the constitutional state based on the rule of law a stumbling block on the road to transformation?)

UCT speakers will also include Associate Professor Loretta Feris of the Institute for Marine and Environmental Law, who will explore the new environmental laws; Professor Jaco Barnard-Naudé on the relationship between law and literature; Meryl du Plessis, a specialist on workplace issues, will discuss stress and depression in the workplace; and Professor Elrena van der Spuy, a specialist in aspects of police matters, will discuss the role of South African women police officers in peace missions in Africa, particularly in the Sudan.

Read More on University of Cape Town / Daily News: Law faculty helps underpin Afrikaans as an academic language