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The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, grants all official languages parity of esteem and equal treatment. The Constitution also recognises injustices of the past and historical diminished use of indigenous (African) languages. It is against this backdrop that this democratic constitution calls-upon the national and provincial government to take practical and positive measures in encouraging the use and elevation of the status of African languages. In advocating for these languages, the Constitution declares that a minimum of two official languages be used by the government in executing government activities. Contrastingly, the heads of court resolutions in 2017 declared English a lingua franca in South African courts. In a diverse country such as South Africa with twelve official languages, this raises critical concerns in terms of the country’s diversity, inclusivity, and multilingualism policies. With a distinct focus on Eastern Cape legal courts, this study examines the constitutional linguistic rights on the use of English as a lingua franca in South African courts system. The study adopted a qualitative research approach embedded within the exploratory-explanatory research design. The data was obtained from secondary sources, which in this context are judicial precedents. To analyse the collected data, close-reading and thematic content analysis techniques were adopted. The findings of the study exhibit English as a language of power and access in law, this positions African languages at the periphery, limiting their development and incorporation in legalese. Also, the use of English as a lingua franca in the Eastern Cape courts contravenes the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. This study submits that legal practitioners and linguists should critically explore, language studies to bridge the knowledge gap.  Additionally, the government should create channels which allow the practical use of African languages in the court of law.                                                                                                                                             

Single motherhood is a prevalent phenomenon within low-resourced communities globally, especially within African communities. Despite the fact that discourses on single mothers have received considerable attention in social sciences, there remains a notable gap within social work literature where momentous traction is still needed. This thematic narrative literature review synthesises current evidence regarding the challenges faced by single mothers in low-resource communities across Africa. Employing a thematic approach to literature selection, the analysis found several key areas of hardship and economic instability. Further, the findings included childcare and educational barriers, health and under nutrition, limited social support and stigma for single mothers, lack of safety and protection from violence and crimes, as well as poor policy implementation and service access. These findings highlight a complex interaction among macroeconomic factors in African communities, discriminatory gender values and norms, and community service structures, which frequently intensify vulnerabilities for single mothers and their children. The recommendations made emphasises the need for policy and programme redesigns in African communities, advocating for community-based strategies that prioritise gender sensitivity and inclusivity to address the distinctive socioeconomic challenges encountered by single mothers in low-resource settings. Further, recommendations are made on establishing family-inclusive social frameworks that extend beyond marriage-based models to include strengthening of child support enforcement mechanisms and paternal responsibility legislation.  

This study examines the relationship between digital globalization and educational access in Africa. It uses publicly available secondary data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) ICT database and UNESCO education statistics. While digital transformation is widely promoted as a catalyst for inclusive human capital development, cross-country heterogeneity in Africa raises questions about whether digital expansion uniformly enhances educational access. Employing panel quantile regression for a balanced panel of African countries over the period 2005–2023, the paper investigates how ICT penetration, trade openness, and digital infrastructure affect educational participation across different points of the distribution of access indicators. The findings indicate that digital globalization exerts heterogeneous effects: countries at lower quantiles of educational access benefit more strongly from increases in internet penetration and mobile connectivity, whereas upper-quantile countries exhibit diminishing marginal returns. Institutional quality and governance metrics serve to moderate these observed relationships. The findings contribute to the existing body of research concerning the digital divide, globalization, and educational inequality, specifically by illustrating that digital transformation mitigates disparities, particularly in contexts where fundamental access limitations persist. Consequently, the policy implications emphasize the need for infrastructure expansion, regulatory adjustments, and targeted digital inclusion initiatives, all of which should be congruent with the African Union Digital Education Strategy.

This study critically examines the discretionary powers conferred on the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service (SARS) under the Value-Added Tax (VAT) Act, focusing specifically on Section 72. Using a comparative analysis with the United Kingdom’s VAT framework, the research examines how discretion is shaped by principles of fairness, certainty, simplicity, and transparency. The findings show that South Africa confers broader and less regulated powers than the UK, where discretion is narrowly administrative, formally codified, and subject to stronger transparency and judicial oversight. These differences have significant implications for legal certainty, taxpayer rights, and compliance in South Africa. The study contributes by highlighting the risks of over-broad discretion in tax administration and recommends adopting a more structured and transparent approach, including the publication of binding regulations and clearer criteria for decision-making. Such reforms would align South Africa’s VAT system more closely with constitutional standards and best international practices.

The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals have increasingly become politicised in Africa in recent years. The prevalent notion that Africa is "homophobic" conceals a significant array of political dynamics around LGBT rights across the continent. Numerous studies indicate that the politicisation of LGBT life in Africa distorts their experiences and fails to encapsulate the intricacies of African sexuality. This study aimed to investigate sexual orientation from an Afrocentric perspective. This study specifically examined how black bisexual women managed and negotiated their sexual wants and orientation. The researchers utilised an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study design, requiring document analysis and comprehensive interviews for data collection. The research indicated that planning and strategy facilitated participants in identifying ways to reveal their sexual orientation. Bisexual women must disclose their orientation despite being in a hostile environment, driven by their pursuit of pleasure and autonomy. The writers advocate for a post-colonial reevaluation and reimagining to rethink and reclaim African cultural practices and beliefs that correspond with an Afrocentric perspective on sexuality.

Financial inclusion has been enhanced by the use of mobile money in the informal sector in many countries since the turn of the millennium, mostly by increasing financial use by the previously unbanked and those working in the informal sector. The study was motivated by the fact that there is an increase in mobile money use in the informal sector, and therefore, it ought to present the major determinants of mobile money use in Harare’s informal sector by traders operating in this sector. There is a need to look at the determinants of mobile money use by informal traders, as the transactions reported in this sector are significant to the economy. Data was collected from five districts within Harare using a questionnaire that was drawn from a simple random sample among 273 informal traders. A logistics regression model was used for the study model estimation. The findings were that gender, cost, awareness and group membership significantly determine mobile money use by informal traders in the sampled districts in Harare. Results obtained confirmed a priori economic expectations concerning variables in the chosen model. The significant variables were recommended to policymakers, new players intending to offer mobile money services and existing mobile money service providers. There is a need to understand the determinants of mobile money use by informal traders in order to produce relevant policies that further enhance financial inclusion.

Employee retention remains a persistent challenge in the South African mining sector due to hazardous working conditions, complex labour relations, and heightened employee expectations. This study explores the influence of the psychological contract on employee retention in a mining organisation. A qualitative research design was adopted, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants, comprising 8 employees and 4 managers. Thematic analysis revealed five dominant themes: employee wage demands, perceptions of organisational profitability, investor pressure, strike action, and retrenchment risks. Grounded in Social Exchange Theory and Equity Theory, the findings demonstrate that unmet expectations and perceived unfair treatment undermine trust, strain labour relations, and weaken employee commitment. The study concludes that transparent communication, fair treatment, and realistic management of expectations are essential for strengthening the psychological contract and improving employee retention in mining organisations.

This research investigates how the overall mood of investors influences the profits of the major commercial banks traded on the JSE. Although behavioural factors are increasingly acknowledged in financial markets, there is very little empirical evidence that investor sentiment has any impact on the South African banking sector, despite this sector being the main driver of financial stability and economic growth. This study investigated whether investor sentiment has a significant impact on bank stock returns in both the short and long term. The research period ranged from September 2008 to March 2025 and used monthly return data. The paper implements the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to illustrate immediate and long-term relationships between sentiment, macroeconomic variables, and bank performance. The findings demonstrate that investor sentiment is one of the significant factors influencing bank stock returns, but the effect varies between different banks. Sentiment, on average, tends to have a negative effect on the majority of banks in the long run, which means that in times of extreme optimistimism  are followed by those of overvaluation and subsequent correction. However, one bank revealed a positive return-sentiment relationship which suggests that characteristics unique to a specific bank can have a moderating effect on behavioural factors. The short-run outcomes indicate that bank stock returns are very reactive to changes in sentiment and macroeconomic shocks and at the same time, diagnostic tests for model reliability support these results. The paper contributes to behavioural finance literature by delivering fresh data derived from an emerging market and providing an answer to the problem of bank-level disaggregated analysis that has been neglected. In addition to the theoretical contributions, the results can be turned into actionable insights by investors, policymakers, and portfolio managers who will be reminded of the importance of including sentiment indicators in their bank performance assessment and risk management activities in the South African financial sector.

Carbon offset programs are central to global strategies for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, yet growing evidence suggests that fraud undermines their environmental, social, and economic effectiveness. This study investigates the most common fraudulent practices in international carbon trading, focusing on overstatement of offsets, double counting, phantom projects, misclassification of emission reductions, and resale of expired or previously claimed credits. Using a qualitative desk-based literature review of peer-reviewed studies, policy reports, and investigative journalism, the research identifies how these fraud types distort carbon markets, mislead investors, and impede genuine emissions reductions. The findings reveal that fraudulent practices have systemic impacts on the triple bottom line: economic losses for investors, erosion of stakeholder trust, and failure to achieve real environmental benefits. The study underscores that structural weaknesses in project verification, registry governance, and regulatory oversight facilitate these practices. To restore market integrity, the research recommends robust verification protocols, transparent baselines, registry interoperability, and adherence to international standards such as the Core Carbon Principles. This work contributes to understanding how fraud in carbon offset programs threatens the credibility of climate finance mechanisms and highlights strategies to strengthen accountability and environmental integrity in carbon markets.

In Southern Africa, the human immunodeficiency virus constitutes a significant public health challenge, characterised by elevated rates of new infections in rural populations. Conversely, biomedical interventions have facilitated advancement. The incorporation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems into Human Immunodeficiency Virus preventive techniques is still little investigated. This systematic analysis assesses the incorporation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems into community-based HIV prevention strategies in Southern Africa. This systematic review complied with the PRISMA principles. A search was performed across various electronic databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, and CINAHL, for papers published from 01 January 2015 to 31 June 2025. A total of 51,972 studies were discovered, of which 14 matched the inclusion criteria and were evaluated. The analysis revealed that incorporating Indigenous Knowledge Systems into community-based HIV prevention programs in Southern Africa improved cultural relevance, community involvement, and trust in health initiatives. Traditional healers significantly contributed to counselling, education, and the increase of HIV testing in rural regions, leading to enhanced service accessibility and diminished stigma. Notwithstanding these advantages, several projects nevertheless lacked official policy support and organised collaborations between conventional and biological health sectors.

Off-grid solar home systems have become a central element of energy access strategies in East Africa, particularly in Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, where pay-as-you-go models have expanded rapidly. This paper examines how household adoption of solar home systems affects welfare and education outcomes, using nationally representative surveys, regional solar irradiance data, and education indicators from UNESCO. The analysis applies an instrumental-variable strategy that exploits exogenous variation in solar irradiance to address adoption endogeneity. Results show that higher irradiance significantly increases the likelihood of adopting solar home systems, which in turn reduces kerosene expenditures, improves lighting quality, and supports longer study hours for children. Welfare gains are evident through higher household savings, improved perceptions of wellbeing, and reduced energy insecurity. Education outcomes benefit through increased evening study time and reduced school absenteeism during rainy months, when grid reliability declines. These findings align with emerging evidence from East Africa that off-grid solar can strengthen inclusive energy transitions and contribute to human development when supported by favourable financing models, consumer protection, and long-term system maintenance pathways. The results offer policy guidance for regional initiatives aiming to expand sustainable, affordable, and reliable household energy access.

The Central Sahel, which includes Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, faces escalating violence driven by growing land pressure, environmental stress, and uneven institutional capacity. This study investigates how land use change influences conflict intensity by integrating geo referenced conflict data from ACLED, governance indicators from V Dem, and environmental and land use variables from PRIO GRID. Using a spatial difference in differences model applied to a 0.5 degree grid cell dataset, the analysis quantifies how cropland expansion, pasture contraction, and climate related shocks affect violent events under different levels of local governance quality. The results show that land use pressure significantly increases conflict intensity, but the magnitude of this effect depends strongly on institutional strength. Conflict levels rise by as much as 45 percent in weak governance areas following comparable land changes, while areas with stronger local institutions experience considerably lower escalation risks. Spatial spillover patterns further reveal that violence diffuses across local and national boundaries, especially along pastoral mobility routes and border zones. The study contributes new empirical evidence on the interaction between land dynamics and governance in shaping conflict and highlights the importance of strengthening local institutions, safeguarding mobility systems, and integrating land governance into regional peacebuilding strategies. The findings align with the objectives of Sustainable Development Goal 16 focused on peace, justice, and strong institutions.

This paper examines the economic relationship between the United States and South Africa from 2010 to 2020, focusing on whether these interactions are mutually beneficial.        Utilizing a Marxist political economic framework, this paper argues that AGOA has facilitated increased trade and investment. These benefits have largely favored US interests, reinforcing structural inequalities within South Africa’s economy and creating a persistent cycle of dependency. The relationship is asymmetrical and exploitative rather than mutually beneficial, characterized by the exploitation of cheap labor, limited regulation of US corporations and barriers to entry for smaller South African producers. Additionally, liberalization policies under AGOA have undermined South Africa’s domestic industries, while US strategically uses trade agreements as tools of political influence in Africa, compromising South Africa’s policy sovereignty. Through qualitative analysis and case studies, this study highlights significant challenges including geopolitical tensions and economic dependency, recommending policies that promote equitable development and address the exploitative nature of these economic ties. Ultimately, this investigation contributes to a deeper understanding of the complexities and power dynamics in international economic relations affecting developing countries within the global capitalist system.

Trust in public institutions has become a central governance concern in Southern Africa, where post-apartheid constitutional reforms were intended to strengthen accountability, protect rights, and consolidate democratic rule. South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Malawi offer contrasting trajectories of reform and institution-building, shaped by varying political settlements, judicial independence, and citizen expectations. Despite formal advances such as enhanced human-rights protections, electoral reforms, and new accountability institutions, survey evidence suggests declining public confidence in core state structures. This paper examines how constitutional reform episodes influence trust in institutions using a country-year panel from 2000–2020, drawing on Afrobarometer, V-Dem, and the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index. A difference-in-differences design identifies changes in institutional trust following reform events, while a synthetic control approach provides additional insight for early adopters. The analysis indicates that reforms improve trust only where rule-of-law institutions function credibly and where reform implementation is consistent. The results highlight the importance of judicial performance, electoral management capacity, and local governance quality. The paper concludes that future reforms must prioritise implementation and institutional coherence to restore trust across Southern Africa’s democracies.

Recurrent droughts, declining soil fertility, and environmental degradation continue to threaten food and nutrition security across the Sahel, particularly in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad. This study examines the linkage between drought events, land degradation, and household nutrition outcomes using a multi-level event–study framework. The analysis combines Demographic and Health Surveys data on child stunting and wasting with CHIRPS and ERA5 rainfall anomalies to identify drought years, complemented by FEWS NET food security classifications. Results reveal that severe rainfall deficits correspond to significant increases in child stunting and wasting rates, especially among rural households reliant on rainfed agriculture. Regression simulations show that a one–standard–deviation decline in seasonal rainfall raises the probability of moderate food insecurity by 6–9 percent, while areas with higher land degradation experience stronger effects. The findings stress the urgency of integrating drought early–warning data, soil restoration programs, and nutrition interventions to strengthen household resilience. Policy implications emphasize scaling up adaptive land management and targeted safety nets in chronically drought-prone zones.

This paper aims to explore how servant leadership practices influence the leadership of faith-based schools in South Africa. It also aims to assess how these leadership practices promote holistic development, ethical behavior, and community involvement within school settings. The study involved six purposively selected principals from faith-based schools across three provinces, all linked to the National Alliance of Independent Schools Associations, who have firsthand experience implementing servant leadership principles in their institutions. The researcher employed a qualitative case study design to explore the lived experiences of these school leaders. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, allowing participants to share detailed insights into their leadership practices, and analysed using emergent thematic coding to identify patterns and key themes directly from the narratives. The main findings of this study demonstrate that (i) servant leadership is seen as a genuine calling to serve, intertwining faith, mission, and personal values to focus on the development and well-being of students, staff, and the broader school community; (ii) it acts as a healing method, meeting emotional, spiritual, and relational needs while nurturing a supportive and caring school atmosphere; and (iii) it strikes a balance between task-oriented and people-focused responsibilities, along with (iv) encouraging collaborative decision-making, building community, and enhancing leadership skills among both staff and students. The study concludes that servant leadership in faith-based schools plays a crucial role in promoting holistic development, building a sense of community, and nurturing ethical, empathetic, and effective educational leadership. By blending spiritual values with practical management techniques, servant leaders not only boost academic performance but also enhance the overall well-being of school communities. These insights emphasise the significance of servant leadership as a foundational model for faith-based education and suggest its potential relevance in wider educational settings.

This study examines the critical success factors (CSFs) that contribute to the effectiveness of ideation programs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a focus on the Durban University of Technology’s Centre for Social Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator. Employing a quantitative methodology, data were collected from 52 participants through a structured questionnaire and analysed using SPSS. The demographic profile indicated that most participants were young entrepreneurs operating in early-stage, resource-limited businesses. Reliability testing confirmed the robustness of the measurement scale (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.831; KMO = 0.709). Results from mean score analysis and one-sample t-tests demonstrated that clearly defined program objectives, customized content, mentoring, collaboration, practical learning experiences, a supportive environment, and access to market insights were consistently highly valued. Additionally, mechanisms such as feedback processes, follow-up support, and partnerships with industry stakeholders were identified as essential for maintaining the long-term impact of ideation initiatives. The study concludes that the success of ideation programs depends on a systems-based approach that effectively integrates resources, processes, the environment, and ongoing feedback, thereby promoting innovation, competitiveness, and resilience among SMEs.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is considered a cornerstone of the South African economy, with its size-based indices serving as critical benchmarks for passive investment and portfolio construction. Although macroeconomic variables affect stock returns, the existing literature has primarily relied on linear models which yield heterogeneous results and do not allow for the dynamic and changing structure of financial markets. Consequently, this study investigates the nonlinear, regime-dependent effects of key macroeconomic variables such as inflation, money supply, short- and long-term interest rates, GDP, and the real effective exchange rate (REER) on the returns of the JSE Fledgling, Small-Cap, and Mid-Cap indices. Utilizing monthly data from 2002 to 2024, the study employs a two-state Markov Regime-Switching which allows the study to endogenously address the changes in bull and bear market regimes. The most pressing finding is that the Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) is a consistently positive driver of returns across all market conditions, while the influences of other variables, such as interest rates and GDP growth, are highly dependent on the market regime (bull or bear) and the specific index size. Finally, these findings lead us to conclude that the relationship between macroeconomic fundamentals and stock returns is not a constant phenomenon but rather is fundamentally dependent on the regime, lending strong support for the Adaptive Market Hypothesis. This insight is significant for investors and portfolio managers, underscoring the necessity of adaptive, regime-sensitive strategies for effective risk management and portfolio allocation on the JSE.

This study investigates wearable activity tracker (WAT) adoption intention among South African Generation Y university students by extending the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) to include brand name as a predictor. A cross-sectional survey of 462 Generation Y students from three South African institutions was analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling to test relationships between attitude, subjective norm, brand name, and adoption intention. Results indicate that attitude, subjective norm, and brand name significantly influence WAT adoption intention, with attitude as the strongest predictor, followed by brand name. The extended TRA model demonstrated acceptable fit, reliability, and validity, highlighting brand reputation's critical role in reducing perceived risk in emerging markets. The study is limited by its non-probability sample from three campuses in one province, suggesting future research should employ longitudinal designs, expand geographic scope, and incorporate additional constructs. Findings provide practical guidance for WAT manufacturers to prioritize building trustworthy brands and emphasizing health benefits, while marketing strategies leveraging peer influence and affordable pricing can enhance adoption among cost-conscious students. Promoting WAT adoption among youth can advance health awareness and public health goals in developing countries where proactive health monitoring technologies remain underutilized. This study offers one of the first empirical examinations of WAT adoption intention among South African Generation Y students using an extended TRA model. Unlike prior research focused on medical settings or limited samples, this study incorporates brand name as a novel construct, demonstrating its pivotal role in wearable tech adoption. This research contributes original empirical evidence from a developing market context, advancing theoretical and practical understanding of wearable technology adoption.

This research explores the technological factors that influence the adoption of mobile commerce by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Polokwane Municipality. Using a quantitative approach, data were gathered from 146 SME owners, randomly selected from a total population of 261. The study applied descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and regression techniques to examine the relationships between variables. ANOVA was used to evaluate the sub-hypotheses, while regression analysis tested the primary hypotheses. The instruments used in the study demonstrated strong internal consistency, with all Cronbach’s alpha values exceeding 0.7. Additionally, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test confirmed that the data met the assumption of normality. The results showed that perceived cost, perceived benefit, and perceived compatibility each play a significant role in influencing m-commerce adoption. These findings offer valuable insights into the internal technological considerations that impact digital uptake in SMEs. The study provides both academic value by contributing to the theoretical understanding of technology adoption, and practical guidance for enhancing m-commerce use within the SME sector, particularly in similar socio-economic environments.