​​​The article South African taxpayers will bear the brunt of National Health Insurance​ by Dr Lee-Ann Steenkamp was published in The Conversation of ​29 August 2019:

South Africa's government recently released the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill whose aim is to extend universal healthcare to all South Africans.

But the Bill has sparked a great deal of controversy. The impact on private health care, quality of service and the government's ability to manage such a complex system have been widely questioned.

One of the toughest questions being asked is: how on earth will it be funded?

The memorandum on the objects of the Bill explains that the NHI will be financed in various interrelated phases as determined in consultation with the National Treasury. Costing estimates vary from the health department's “guesstimated" R259 billion last year, to the Institute of Race Relations calculation of R450 billion.

National Treasury is currently doing the costing exercise. It has said it will release more information at a later stage.

What's known about the funding proposals can be gleaned from the Bill itself. These four proposals target the same low-hanging fruit, namely income tax.

THE FOUR SOURCES

Source 1: Existing tax revenue: This pool of general tax revenue includes funds currently directed to the provincial health departments (the so-called “provincial equitable share" and “conditional grants").

The main public health funding stream consists of around R150 billion per year, which would be tapped for the NHI. The memorandum notes that this shifting of funds would occur in one of the later phases, and would require amendments to the National Health Act of 2003. It would also be dependent on how functions are shifted from provincial to national level; for example, if central hospitals were brought to the national level.

Source 2: Scrapping medical scheme tax credits: This entails the reallocation of funding for medical scheme tax credits paid to various medical schemes towards the funding of the NHI. In other words, the current tax relief provided for by the medical tax credits would fall away. The impact on, for example, a family of four, would amount to just over R12 000 per year. This means that the tax owing to SARS would increase by about R12 000 per year for the main member of the medical scheme.

Calculation of medical scheme tax credit = (R620 + R209 + R209) x 12 months = R12 456.

Source 3: Payroll tax on employeer and employee: The memorandum envisages that the payroll tax will be “small". The Bill does not, however, quantify its “smallness" – or indeed, the magnitude.

In my view this payroll tax is in essence a tax on labour and productivity. For example, the payroll tax would inevitably result in reduced earnings or, worse, job losses.

Source 4: Surcharge on personal income tax: The Bill does not contain any information regarding this surcharge, other than that it would be charged on an individual's taxable income. This extra tax on taxable income could be viewed as a penalty (or disincentive) for increased productivity and wealth – yet another reason why some might participate in the silent tax revolt.

Despite not knowing the percentage of additional tax that might be levied, it is important to look at the number of taxpayers who will have to bear this additional tax. This metric is called the tax base.

The tax base

The country has a narrow tax base, defined as the number of individuals who were assessed for personal income tax. This is not to be confused with the number of registered individual taxpayers, which has increased by 4.9% from 2016/17 to 2017/18. The increase may be ascribed to the revised employee registration process which was introduced by the South African Revenue Service in 2010.

This process requires employers to register all individuals and issue them with a tax certificate, regardless of the amount of income earned. However, many of these taxpayers fall below the tax threshold and are thus not assessed. They are also not liable for the tax employers deduct from salaries and wages and hand over to the South African Revenue Service.

Conversely, the number of taxpayers actually assessed (or taxed) showed a sharp decline. In the 2013/14 tax year, a total of 5,991,934 individuals were assessed. This figure dropped to 4,898,565 individuals assessed in 2016/2017. The tax base therefore shrunk by about 18.2% from 2014 to 2017.

In contrast, the personal income tax burden shouldered by these individual taxpayers has increased. This can be expressed as the average personal income tax paid per assessed taxpayer. In the 2013/14 tax year, the tax burden amounted to R45 702. This burden expanded to R65 601 in 2016/2017, representing a whopping 43.5% increase from 2014 to 2017.

The overall result is that relatively fewer taxpayers have to carry an increasing burden of tax collections. Given the country's poor economic outlook, credit rating downgrades, high unemployment figures and the myriad of social grants paid to millions of dependent individuals, it is clear that the tax base is already severely strained.

The NHI will simply add to this burden.

Social solidarity

The Bill attempts to make the extra tax burden more palatable by saying that the money will be collected “in accordance with social solidarity". This is an interesting phrase used by the drafters of the Bill. “Social solidarity" is a concept that was developed by the Frenchman Émile Durkheim in the late 1800s. Its core principle is that of collective action and enabling individuals to feel that they can enhance the lives of others.

The social solidarity envisaged by the memorandum is that of income cross-subsidies between “the affluent and the impoverished". All well and good, until one considers that the payment of taxes is not a voluntary action done for the wellbeing of others. It is a legal obligation imposed by the State on its citizens. Social solidarity, therefore, implies a sense of altruism. A duty to pay income tax can hardly be said to be an act of selflessness.

Of course, what probably offends most taxpayers is not the communist undertone of social solidarity, which harks back to “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs". Rather, it is the sense of frustration with a government rife with corruption, the widespread misuse of public funds and the brazen lack of accountability. The NHI funding proposals may very well be perceived as adding insult to injury for the 4.9 million individuals paying personal income tax.

It is somewhat of a relief that (according to the memorandum) tax options will only be evaluated as part of the last stage of implementation. Hopefully, the National Treasury will do a full impact analysis and take into account the economic and fiscal environment prevailing at the time.

• Dr Lee-Ann Steenkamp is a senior lecturer in Taxation at Stellenbosch University and Head of the Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning at USB.
  
  

​​​​​Stellenbosch University's (SU) Division for Social Impact has officially unveiled its much-anticipated visual redress project.

The event to unveil several new campus symbols was attended by, among others, Law Trust Chair in Social Justice at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Law Professor Thuli Madonsela and South African actress Quanita Adams, who are two of the 11 women depicted in a bronze artwork installation outside the Neelsie. Arranged in a circle on a grass embankment next to the Rooiplein, the installation emphasises the dynamic role that women play in conversation.

Also included in this art installation, referred to as “The Circle", are Krotoa/Eva, the Khoi ancestress of many families in South Africa; anti-apartheid activists Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Fatima Meer and Lilian Ngoyi; author and poet Antjie Krog; Wimbledon wheelchair tennis player Kgothatso Montjane; artist and activist Zanele Muhili; and music artist Dope Saint Jude. The 11^th woman represents all the other women's voices who are encouraged to participate in the discourse.

Curator of “The Circle", Stephané Conradie from the Department of Visual Arts at SU, said the artwork was a collaborative effort. “The artwork was inspired by an image I saw of a group of indigenous Khoi people sitting in a circle. That image drew my attention because we used to sit here as students during the open Stellenbosch University period. We also thought it was important to foreground women in this project, women who had not had a voice in the past," said Conradie.

She said the artwork was idealistic, but they were hoping that it would become a space where people would come to talk and humble themselves and understand.

The launch took the form of a walkabout, starting outside the IA Perold building where Dr Leslie van Rooi, Senior Director: Social Impact and Transformation, welcomed guests and gave an overview of the visual redress project at SU.

“The visual redress initiative is focussed on changing the University's landscapes in an attempt to remove offensive symbols and introduce new visual symbols that point to a shared history," said Van Rooi.

According to Van Rooi, the University has made a concerted effort to create spaces for dialogue about public symbols and historical figures. “In addition to that, specific committees have been put in place to facilitate University-wide discourse about and approach to public symbols and the naming of buildings," he said.

After the welcome, Van Rooi ushered guests to the various symbols on campus including the welcoming phrases in 15 South African Languages including Braille, Sign Language and San which have been engraved on benches on the Rooiplein. Other symbols visited included the art displays at the library, the map of Die Vlakte community installed at the Arts and Social Science building and the Adam Small theatre.

Van Rooi said the launch of this project was an intentional and structured process of profound change of the University's spaces, people and programme.

Professor Nico Koopman, Vice Rector: Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel at SU, said the project was an innovative installation on the SU campus.

Speaking at the Adams Small theatre, Koopman, stated that transformation was an embedded process at the University which would be implemented in all environments.

“As an institution we are committed to dignity and healing wounds, we are committed to healing justice, to healing freedom and healing reconciliation. Please do not think SU wants to tick boxes in visual redress and transformation; it is part of our journey and part of the institution's journey," he told the audience. 

​When one evaluates our educational outcomes, it seems that South African children are at a cognitive disadvantage to their peers in both developed and developing countries. Studies show that about 80% of children in Grade R are not able to “read for meaning".

Dr Miemie du Preez, a paediatrician at Stellenbosch University's Tygerberg campus, believes that healthcare practitioners can play a leading role in the advancement of literacy and educational outcomes.

She started the Tyger Reach Out and Read (ROAR) initiative at the Tygerberg Hospital to expose babies to books and reading from a very early age.  She tells us more:

Tell us more about the Tyger ROAR initiative?

The Reach Out and Read project at our Tygerberg campus is based on a similar ROAR initiative in the United States with doctors and primary health care practitioners handing out picture books to disadvantaged children from birth and prompting parents to share books with their children.

We started this initiative at Tygerberg in 2015 and it aims to improve the interaction between parents and children as well as exposing them to printed matter. Doctors, medical students and nurses are active in handing out the books.

Who are the beneficiaries of this project?

All pregnant mothers receive a nursery rhyme book in their native language when they reach week 36 of their pregnancy. They are encouraged to start reading or singing to their unborn babies. We also give books to children visiting the outpatients' ward or who are admitted to hospital. In addition to this, we also have stocked mobile bookshelves at our waiting rooms with volunteers and medical students helping out to read the books out loud or rotate it between wards.

What is the success rate of this project thus far?

We found that parents are very keen on participating. In general, parents would like their children to read or read to their children, but they often lack the financial means to buy books. Parents are also more likely to read to their children if advised to do so by medical personnel.

Currently, we are the only hospital with a reading initiative. The books are unique as they were specifically developed for this project and have a “Script to Read" and referral to the library included as well as reading tips to make reading fun.

What motivates you to run this initiative?

I am passionate about our children and their untapped potential and believe all of us are responsible for helping them achieve their potential and dreams. It is wonderful to see the joy on their faces when they receive their books and to see the parents' enjoyment to share books. I realise daily how privileged I am to work with infants and their parents.

Anaemia occurs when you have a decreased level of hemoglobin in your red blood cells (RBCs). Hemoglobin is the protein in your RBCs that is responsible for carrying oxygen to your tissues.

Iron deficiency anaemia is the most common type of anaemia, and it occurs when your body doesn't have enough of the mineral iron. Your body needs iron to make hemoglobin. When there isn't enough iron in your blood stream, the rest of your body can't get the amount of oxygen it needs.

While the condition may be common, many people don't know they have iron deficiency anaemia. It's possible to experience the symptoms for years without ever knowing the cause!

In women of childbearing age, the most common cause of iron deficiency anaemia is a loss of iron in the blood due to heavy menstruation or pregnancy. A poor diet or certain intestinal diseases that affect how the body absorbs iron can also cause iron deficiency anaemia.

Doctors normally treat the condition with iron supplements or changes to the diet.

THE 10 MOST COMMON SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

1. Unusual Tiredness

Fatigue is one of the most common signs of iron deficiency. This is due to less oxygen reaching body tissues, depriving them of energy.

2. Paleness

Paleness in general or in specific areas such as the face, lower inner eyelid or nails may be a sign of moderate or severe iron deficiency. This is caused by lower levels of hemoglobin, which gives blood its red color.

3. Shortness of Breath

Shortness of breath is a symptom of iron deficiency, since low hemoglobin levels mean the body isn't able to transport oxygen to muscles and tissues effectively.

4. Headaches and Dizziness

Headaches and dizziness could be a sign of iron deficiency. The lack of hemoglobin means not enough oxygen reaches the brain, causing its blood vessels to swell and create pressure.

5. Heart Palpitations

In cases of iron deficiency, the heart has to work extra hard to transport oxygen around the body. This can lead to irregular or fast heartbeats and even heart murmurs, an enlarged heart or heart failure.

6. Dry and Damaged Hair and Skin

Because skin and hair receive less oxygen from the blood during iron deficiency, they can become dry and damaged. In more severe cases, this can cause hair loss.

7. Swelling and Soreness of the Tongue and Mouth

A sore, swollen or strangely smooth tongue can be a sign of iron-deficiency anaemia. Cracks on the corners of the mouth can also be a sign.

8. Restless Legs

People with iron-deficiency anaemia have a higher chance of experiencing restless leg syndrome. This is a strong urge to move the legs when at rest.

9. Brittle or Spoon-Shaped Fingernails

Brittle or spoon-shaped nails can be an indicator of more severe iron-deficiency anaemia.

10. Other Potential Signs

Other more generic signs of iron deficiency may include strange food cravings, feeling anxious, cold hands and feet and an increased risk of infections.

Some people have obvious symptoms, while others experience none at all. This often depends on the severity of the anaemia.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU THINK YOU'RE IRON DEFICIENT:

If you think you have iron-deficiency anaemia, talk to your doctor, who will likely recommend more iron-rich foods (plus vitamin C to increase your iron absorption) or possibly iron supplements. Luckily, most forms of iron deficiency can be treated fairly easily, usually through an iron-rich diet or iron supplements, if your doctor recommends them.

The Bottom Line: Iron-deficiency anaemia is the most common type of anaemia worldwide.

If you think you have symptoms of iron deficiency, be sure to visit your doctor. Self-diagnosing is not recommended.

For more information about iron-deficiency anaemia, contact us at Campus Health Services (021 808 3496) or pop over to see a nursing sister.

​Following the Western Cape, Gauteng is SU's second largest feeder province. Faculties and the Division for Student Access joined forces for an Information Evening for about 1000 provisionally accepted students and their parents at the Mosaiek Lifestyle Centre in Johannesburg. The aim for this events is to impact the registration rate for 2020, as well as strengthening and forging relationships with schools and prospective Maties.

We recognise the critical stage that these learners find themselves in and we used this opportunity to create awareness of what SU has to offer. Both parents and students got the chance to have any possible worries or questions answered by the experts.

The programme covered the following themes, Why Maties (Rector & Vice-Chancellor: Prof Wim de Villiers); On your way to SU (Deputy Director: Student Recruitment and Career Advice- Dr Gillian Arendse) and How SU prepared me (Alumni: Janine Jellars).

We are grateful for the University-wide partnerships to have made this a successful event and look forward to reap the benefits in 2020. 

​

The services of the Unit for Graduand Career Services are aimed at preparing our students to navigate the transition to employment effectively and making it a meaningful experience. Transitioning from Education to Employment can be an overwhelming experience. Graduates may feel isolated, some may start planning too late for their transition to employment, and some find it difficult to choose between continuing with further studies and entering the world of work. It is also not uncommon for graduates to have unrealistic expectations of the world of work. Taking responsibility for their own career development is an essential 21^th century life skill.

The Graduate Recruitment Programme (GRP) that is organised by the Unit for Graduand Career Services of the Centre for Student Counselling and Development is an opportunity for students to take charge of their career development. As part of the GRP, the Unit for Graduand Career Services hosted the annual Accounting, General and Engineering Career Fairs. Various companies used the opportunity to exhibit their career opportunities to SU students. The General Career Fair took place in marquee tents on the Rooiplein on Tuesday, 6 August. It had 39 companies exhibiting in 43 stands. The Accounting Career Fair also took place in the marquee tents on the Rooiplein on Wednesday, 7 August. It had 38 companies exhibiting in 50 stands. This represents the maximum number of stands allowed in the marquee tents. The Engineering Career Fair took place in Academia's Recreational Hall on Thursday, 8 August. It had 16 companies exhibiting in 18 stands. In spite of the cold and rainy weather over the three days, the career fairs were well attended by our students. Approximately 2784 students attended the General career Fair. The Accounting Career Fair was attended by 3534 students, while 858 students attended the Engineering Career Fair. The Career Fairs represent a unique network opportunity for students to engage with the employers who are present, find out what they expect from the graduates they employ and explore the opportunities on offer. This is also a great opportunity for our students to sell their skills, experience and qualifications. The Career Fairs form an integral part of our goal to create strong career communities consisting of students, employers, alumni, support staff and faculty staff. We received a lot of positive feedback from companies about the work readiness of our students and how they conducted themselves at the Career Fairs when engaging with company representatives e.g.

“Students seem to have done research before coming which is really nice. Students are polite. Well organised."

“The students seemed interested and engaging. Looking forward to appointing them."

“Overall good, we will definitely be back next year."

​The wasting of large sums of public money and a lack of consequences for bad behaviour ultimately lead to civil action such as widespread protests over government's broken promises, said Kimi Makwetu, Auditor-General (AG) of South Africa, on Thursday (29 August 2019). He delivered the annual Human Rights Lecture of the Faculty of Law at Stellenbosch University (SU). The event was hosted by the HF Oppenheimer Chair for Human Rights Law.

In his speech, Makwetu said the auditing of government and public sector entities showed that since the 2008–09 financial year, irregular expenditure had increased dramatically reaching R390 billion over the 10-year period.

“During that period, irregular expenditure increased seven-fold at local government level from R3 billion in 2008–09 to R21 billion in 2017–18, while at the national and provincial government level irregular expenditure increased 50-fold from R1 billion in 2008–09 to R51 billion in 2017–18."

He also pointed out that the portion of national and provincial government auditees with clean audits was hovering around just 30%, while this indicator was barely 15–20% for the municipalities.

Makwetu said poor audit outcomes that were indicative of accountability failures, if sustained over a number of years, would manifest in service delivery challenges, deteriorating financial health and governance failures.

“All these combined, hit the economy very hard – small businesses go bankrupt, poverty increases and employment figures nosedive. This will ultimately be evident to the outside world, as already evident in economic downgrades and lack of investment – matters that can bring a democracy, and all its related promises to its citizens, to naught."

According to Makwetu, the inaction, or inconsistent action, of our leaders, created a culture of “no consequences", often due to inadequate performance systems and processes.

“Vacancies and instability in key positions slowed down systematic and disciplined improvements and resulted in insufficient implementation and maintenance of financial and performance management systems by the administration.

“A disregard for controls (including good record keeping) and compliance with key legislation in various parts of the public sector enabled an environment in which it would be easy to commit fraud. Political infighting and interference in the administration led to weakened oversight and poor to no implementation of consequences for transgressions."

Makwetu said the AG was mandated to report on government's accountability for the use of public resources, with specific emphasis on financial management, performance management and respect for the law.

“Over time, especially given certain failures in the system of accountability, this reporting also started focusing on government's inability to effect consequences for these failures."

He added that public sector auditing was an important factor in making a difference to the lives of citizens and had a positive impact on trust in society because it focused the minds of the custodians of public resources on how well they use those resources.

“An independent, effective and credible audit office is therefore an essential component in a democratic system where accountability, transparency and integrity are indispensable parts."

Makwetu said he would like to see an improvement in the ethical behaviour of those in the public sector and a visible commitment by all public servants to contribute towards the financial health of the country and a better social reality for all South Africans.​

Main photo: Kimi Makwetu with Profs Nicola Smit, Dean of SU's Law Faculty, and Sandy Liebenberg from the HF Oppenheimer Chair for Human Rights Law, at the lecture. Photographer: Anton Jordaan​

​

The first inaugural Social Justice Summit and International Conference presented by Prof Thuli Madonsela, Law Trust Chair in Social Justice at Stellenbosch University (SU), kicked off on a hopeful note on Thursday, 29 August 2019 with various high-level speakers and members of civil society coming together to unpack the concept of social justice in South Africa.

The summit and international conference is taking place at the Hazendal Wine Estate outside Stellenbosch from 29–31 August and is themed “Leveraging the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Human Rights Agenda to advance Social Justice". The outcome of the summit will be to emerge with a declaration detailing the desired future regarding social justice efforts, a summary of current challenges, and a call for action to government, businesses, society and academia, the judicial system and the global community.

At the opening ceremony, Prof Madonsela reminded those in attendance about the importance of everyone working together to help solve social justice issues in the country.

“An injury to one is an injury to all. As long as there is injustice somewhere, there can't be sustainable peace anywhere. We are here today because, like the UN, we believe that no one should be left behind as society and the world progresses into the future. We are here to decide as part of the summit where we are in South Africa with regards to social justice. If we work together, then poverty will be nothing against us, it will be history. It will take all of us to build a society where there is a place for everyone in all areas of our lives," said Prof Madonsela.

Prof Madonsela also shared the Social Justice M-Plan (Mosa-Plan for Social Justice) with those in attendance. The Social Justice M-Plan is a social justice accelerator programme that aims to catalyse the process of ending poverty and equalising life opportunities by 2030 as envisaged in the National Development Plan (NDP) read with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The project seeks to establish, among others, a social justice think tank to help government accelerate progress towards socio-economic inclusion and related shared prosperity as part of anchoring democracy and the rule of law.

SU Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Wim de Villiers, reiterated Prof Madonsela's remarks during his speech at the opening ceremony. He stressed the importance of the M-Plan for Social Justice and said that it needed a strong coalition that sought to end poverty and drastically reduce structural inequality.

SU Rector, Prof Wim de Villiers.

“Societal challenges can't be solved in isolation. We have representatives from all of these sectors here. We must all do our part – universities, the rest of civil society, the state and also businesses. Stellenbosch University is committed to advance knowledge in service of society. We have made a commitment to be a force for good in the transformation of South Africa into a place of opportunity for all, a place of shared prosperity and a place where there's sustainable peaceful coexistence," said Prof de Villiers.

Representing the South African president, Mr Jackson Mthembu, Minister in the Presidency, delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony. He said that government was hopeful and looked forward to the outcomes of the summit.

Mr Jackson Mthembu, Minister in Presidency.

“We commend Stellenbosch University for elevating this issue around social justice in our national discourse. We need more of these engagements. This summit and conference is timely for us to have a microscopic look at the justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities and privileges within our society. As we commemorate 25 years of our democratic dispensation, it is more compelling for us to examine the way in which human rights are manifested in the everyday lives of people at every level of our society," said Mr Mthembu.

He further also employed those in attendance and the rest of the country to not only look to government alone to help solve the social injustices in South Africa. “Leaving government as the sole proprietor of the social justice project is limited. Everyone has to do his or her part. It is important to elevate the voice of the poor to plot the way forward. We look forward to seeing how this summit will help come up with more solutions to help alleviate poverty and inequality," said Mr Mthembu.

The keynote speakers and panellists for the three-day summit include Dr Pali Lehohla, former Statistician General; former President FW de Klerk; Nicky Newton King, former CEO of the JSE; Busiswe Mavuso, CEO, Business Leadership South Africa; Ben Turok, former anti-apartheid activist and MP; Justice Dunstan Mlambo, Judge President of the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa; Ashraf Garda, media host and investigative journalist; and Sello Hatang, CEO, Nelson Mandela Foundation.

• Watch the live streaming of the remainder of the summit on the Social Justice M-Plan Facebook page.
  

​​“We won't end HIV/Aids in young women and adolescent girls tomorrow but it has to be part of our vision if we are to have an AIDS-free generation and end this disease."

Speaking at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) Women's Forum event, NRF A-rated scientist and associate scientific director of the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim, said up to three times as many young women between the ages of 15 and 24 years old on the African continent are living with HIV compared to their male peers.

 “Adolescent girls and young women are sick or dying from AIDS or HIV-related complications at a rapid rate, which underscores the importance of strengthening HIV treatment and prevention for this particular group," she said.

Abdool Karim said that in 2018, there were 37,8 million people living with HIV globally. “Last year alone there were approximately 770 000 HIV-related deaths and we recorded 1,6 million new infections." She said Africa has the highest incidence of the disease with approximately 70% of all reported incidences stemming from the continent. “One in every five infections take place in South Africa daily and the biggest challenge facing us, is preventing HIV infection among adolescent girls and young women."

One of the ways in which Abdool Karim and her colleagues envisage doing so, is fast-tracking the United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS) 2020 strategy which stipulates reducing new infections to 500 000 globally by the end of next year. “But in 2018, we recorded 1,6 million new infections which means this new goal is a tall order."

According to UNAIDS, the number of new HIV infections in the overall population in sub-Saharan Africa declined by about 46% between 2000 and 2015, and by 37% in young people. Abdool Karim posited that these declines were small and slow to alter the vulnerability of adolescent girls and young women.

Abdool Karim said that the disproportionately high HIV infection rate in young women occurs for a number of reasons. “At the root of it, lies the issue of power and gender disparity but the cause of the vulnerability in young women is compounded by structural, social and biological factors."

She argued for the further development of HIV prevention strategies wherein women are in direct control: “Empowering young women in this regard is one of the cornerstones of the strategy to shatter disproportionately high infection rates," she said. Two strategies include limiting HIV risk through the use of a topical cream (microbicide) before and after sexual intercourse and the oral use of antiretroviral-containing agents by women who are not infected at all.

Abdool Karim, who was awarded the ASSAf Science-for-Society Gold Medal for outstanding achievement in scientific thinking to the benefit of society also received the Order of Mapungubwe from the South African President in 2013 for her excellent work in the field of HIV/Aids and Tuberculosis Research and Health Policy Development.

Caption: Profs Soraya Seedat, Rafique Moosa, Keymanthri Moodley and Quarraisha Abdool Karim.

The alarming explosion of cardio-metabolic diseases in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years – and the glaring lack of good research into the underlying causes and therapeutic options for these illnesses – was what sparked the idea for a specialized cardio-metabolic research centre at Stellenbosch University.

In March this year the Centre for Cardio-metabolic Research in Africa (CARMA) was established in the Division of Medical Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, and will have as its other core member, the Department of Physiological Sciences in the Faculty of Science.

​The centre, which was the brain child of Professor Faadiel Essop from the Department of Physiological Sciences will conduct cutting-edge research into cardio-metabolic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, the metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases. Essop is director while Hans Strijdom, associate professor in the Division of Medical Physiology, is deputy director of the centre which has been five years in the making. 

The centre will have a specific focus on diseases which affect people in South Africa and the rest of the continent. 

Essop and Strijdom held a meeting in July with researchers and staff of the new centre to plan the way forward. 

“The meeting included the development of core themes and the re-alignment of existing research activities that will, from now onwards, fall under the auspices of the centre," said Strijdom.

He said that lifestyle diseases have become as much of a cause for concern as infectious diseases in Africa. What is really lacking in the African context is an answer to the question of what is causing these diseases and what processes at an organ, tissue and cellular level are driving these diseases. 

“We still do not know if these processes or mechanisms are different in the African context than in other contexts, such as North America, Australia and Europe." 

Strijdom said the underlying mechanisms and therapeutic options have remained poorly researched in the local context because “we have, in my view, been relying so much on research performed outside of the African continent to guide us in treating these diseases. 

“We are still, to a large extent, neglecting the potential therapeutic agents in our own environment. We want to start highlighting the role of African medicinal plants. We might find excellent therapeutic options in our own back yard – but these options are still unexplored. We focus on exploring those avenues. Such novel therapies may not cure these diseases, but there are many possibilities on how we can at least slow the progression down."

Turning to the evolution of the centre, Strijdom said that Essop came up with the original idea about five years ago.

“Several formal and informal meetings followed, including a larger group of stakeholders, which eventually resulted in the establishment of the centre. Our main objectives are to perform excellent research and innovation in cardio-metabolic diseases relevant to Africa and South Africa, create learning and teaching opportunities for postgraduate students from South Africa and Africa in the field of cardio-metabolic diseases, and actively participate in social impact initiatives that lead to greater awareness about cardio-metabolic diseases in the general public."

Strijdom said CARMA strives to become an internationally recognised centre for research and training in the field of cardio-metabolism in Africa, utilising basic scientific and clinical research models. Plans are afoot for an official opening ceremony in early 2020, as well as high-level symposia that will showcase state-of-the-art research in this field.

The centre received the official go-ahead from Senate in March this year after almost five years of “sharing ideas, meeting with stake-holders, planning and eventually starting the process of establishing the Centre.

“The meeting in July was a 'brain-storming' session to which staff, researchers, post-doctoral fellows and students from the two core research groups (from the Department of Physiological Sciences at the Stellenbosch campus and the Division of Medical Physiology at Tygerberg campus) were invited. At this meeting, we mainly focused on how to re-align the existing research projects in the two research groups so that they can form central themes or focus areas under the umbrella of the new centre. We have decided on a number of central themes to which all existing and future research activities will be linked. We have also started putting together a Management Committee that will look after the day-to-day running of the centre. Decisions were also made on short to medium term operational matters, including quarterly meetings that will deal with research updates from members as well as management matters, establishing an annual symposium, and finally on an official opening ceremony planned for early 2020.

He said the core themes to be looked at in the research will be based on:

• ​​common cardio-metabolic diseases relevant to the African/South African context: Diabetes, obesity, HIV and drug-induced cardiotoxicity;
• the organs/tissues affected by these diseases: the heart, ​vasculature, endothelium and adipose tissue;
• underlying mechanisms: oxidative stress, inflammation, signaling pathways and mitochondrial dynamics; and
• exploration of potential interventions aimed at the prevention or treatment of the diseases/disease conditions: rooibos, medicinal plants and antioxidants.​
  

​

The process of rebuilding will start this week to deliver a better Huis ten Bosch in 2020.

This was the confidence expressed by Stellenbosch University Chief Operating Officer Prof Stan du Plessis at last week's staff assembly held on 27 August 2019. “The contractors have been appointed and we would like to proceed as rapidly as possible, though consistent with quality. Huis ten Bosch must be an improved facility when we are done. We will try to open parts of the residence progressively next year as the project nears completion. While a lot remains to be done, I have full confidence that we will deliver a better Huis ten Bosch in 2020," said Prof du Plessis.

It's been three weeks since the devastating fire ripped through SU's Huis ten Bosch women's residence. The roof above eight rooms on the third floor of the residence was destroyed due to a fire that broke out around 19:00 on Monday evening (12 August 2019).

Since the cataclysmic fire, SU management, staff, students and community members have shown immense support towards all 164 residents of Huis ten Bosch, who has since been provided with alternative accommodation.

During the staff assembly Du Plessis commended the continued support given to the students affected by the fire.

“I want to thank all those friends and family of the Huis ten Bosch students as well as members of the community who accommodated these students during those first few days. We have also received generous donations to assist students who lost their personal belongings."

The university has also provided the necessary counselling and support services for the affected students through the 24-hour crisis service of the University's Centre for Student Counselling and Development.

An assessor visited Huis ten Bosch to evaluate the damage and has since initiated the process for repairing the residence.

According to Prof du Plessis, the University has implemented a contingency committee of relevant staff and other stakeholders, including student leaders as well as SU's insurers, to deal with the fire and its aftermath. The committee met for the first time shortly after the fire was brought under control and has met four times since. A final meeting was held late last week, after which the remaining agenda will be handled in the various responsibility centres of the University.

Residents will not be able to return to their rooms for the rest of this year, and alternative accommodation has been provided for them. In the past three weeks, the University has also assisted students with, amongst other things, meals on campus, transport and access to laptops for those who lost theirs.

• Please follow the University's website and social media platforms for more news. We will communicate further details regularly as these become available.
  
  

​​In yet another “feather to her cap", Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Executive Head of the Department of Psychiatry in the FMHS, Professor Soraya Seedat, has been appointed as a 2020 Women Global Chair by the University of Bath in the United Kingdom.

Seedat was appointed along with another world-leading academic and renowned scholar on gender-based violence, Professor Jacqui True from Australia's Monash University.

Seedat, who is recognized as an expert on global mental health, has more than 20 years of clinical, epidemiological and basic neuroscience research experience as a psychiatrist under her belt. Her research interests range from gender-based violence to post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, HIV/neuroAIDS, as well as early life adversity and foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Her work has taken her to into the heart of some of South Africa's most vulnerable communities and she has collaborated to build research capacity among early-career researchers in countries on the African continent, in South-East Asia and Latin America.

Seedat, who qualified as a medical doctor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal before completing her specialist training in psychiatry at Stellenbosch University, was, in 2017, awarded the prestigious Chancellor's Award for Research at Stellenbosch University for her two decades of eminent research.

The winner of the 2013 Mail & Guardian Women in Science award has received many accolades and awards and has written more than 350 journal articles and book chapters, and has had her work cited in scientific literature around the globe.

In their announcement, on the Global Chairs of Seedat and True, the University of Bath said the appointments of the two visiting professors will “lend further support to Bath's core partnerships in Australia and South Africa and will strengthen our university's global research networks in the fields of mental health and gender".

“The Women Global Chair Scheme highlights women in academia through the funding of international visiting professorships. The two visiting professors will be able to use the Global Chair platform to enrich the celebration of women academics across all disciplines at the University of Bath."

Commenting on Seedat's appointment, Professor Sarah Halligan said: “I'm absolutely thrilled we will be welcoming Professor Soraya Seedat as a Global Chair. Soraya is an international leader in child and adolescent mental health, with expertise ranging from psychiatric genomics to intervention-based research. Her appointment will be a major opportunity to consolidate our existing links and to develop a wider range of collaborations in the global mental health field. I'm very much looking forward to hosting her in Bath."

Seedat said: “I am really honoured to be chosen as a Women Global Chair. The visiting appointment at the University of Bath will be for the period 1 September 2019 - 31 August 2020 and I will undertake two visits over this time.

“This appointment as Global Chair will allow me to further develop my relationship with Prof Sarah Halligan and her team. We have overlapping research interests in the longitudinal trajectories of youth from high adversity environments and in identifying early psychobiological signatures of persistent PTSD that may be targets for early intervention. I am very excited about engaging with other staff and students and generating new research projects and collaborations at a university level and across the G4 alliance (the GW4 Alliance is a network of four of the most research-intensive and innovative universities in the UK: Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter)".

Photo credit: Stefan Els

Ms Ellen Tise, Senior Director of the Library and Information Service, has been appointed chair of the IFLA Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) Advisory Committee for the period 2019 – 2021 at the recent IFLA World Library and Information Congress held in Athens.

IFLA is the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions and the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It serves as the global voice of the library and information profession.

FAIFE is IFLA's Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression. It is an initiative to protect and promote the basic human rights defined in Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The FAIFE Committee fosters freedom of access to information and freedom of expression in all respects, directly or indirectly, related to libraries and librarianship. FAIFE monitors the state of intellectual freedom within the library community worldwide, supports IFLA policy development and co-operation with other international human rights organisations, and responds to violations of free access to information and freedom of expression. The chair of FAIFE plays an important role in supporting the work of the IFLA Governing Board on many key ethical and policy questions.

Ms Tise served as IFLA president from 2009 – 2011 and was appointed an Honorary Fellow of IFLA in 2012, IFLA's highest award to a person who has delivered long and distinguished service to IFLA.

Ms Tise is wished much success during her term of office in this challenging role.

Sources:

FAIFE. https://www.ifla.org/about-faife. Accessed on 28 August 2019.

Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) Advisory Committee. https://www.ifla.org/faife. Accessed on 28 August 2019.

IFLA. https://www.ifla.org/about. Accessed on 28 August 2019.

​

The annual Anheuser-Busch Inbev (AB-Inbev), formally South African Breweries (SAB), intervarsity beer brewing and tasting competition were held on the weekend of 23 to 25 August in Bloemfontein. The competition was held jointly by the Central University of Technology (CUT) and the University of the Free State, with CUT being the host university. The Stellenbosch University team were made up of Food Science (Sebastian Orth and Ivan Harris), Microbiology (Ludwig Bröcker) and Polymer Science (Gestél Kuyler) students.

            This year 14 South African universities took part in the competition, each submitting four beers which were brewed according to the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) standards for each beer style. Beer style categories included, winter warmer, Indian Pale Ale (IPA), lager and a completely new style -- African premium lager. This one was included to test the initiative and creativity of all participants in the competition.

            Stellenbosch University set out to brew three of the four classes, these being; Imperial Indian Pale ale, Belgian triple and the new premium African lager. With a little luck, excellent teamwork and a lot of preemptive tasting, sipping and discussing - the beers were brewed, fermented, kegged and finally bottled. With no time to spare, the beer was sent off to Bloemfontein on an early morning flight.

            Arrival in Bloemfontein saw to be an educational experience, and a meet and greet over a few beers promptly took place. After meeting students from the competing universities, a series of lectures commenced all focusing on beer brewing principles and applications – an excellent learning experience. The evening commenced and each university introduced their team and brewing setup, some 'beer-inspired' presentations seemed to kick-off the spirit for the SU BREW CREW. This culminated in fantastic discussions with the main organiser Mr Anton Erasmus, brew master extraordinaire, and the other brewers that were involved at the event.

Stellenbosch University team members with the prizes, from left to right – Sebastian Orth, Ivan Harris, Ludwig Bröcker and Gestél Kuyler

            The next day judging started at 9 am and for the students more lectures and learning about beer and beer making were included in the program. The evening saw the start of the prize giving, with tensions running high and all participants seeking brewing greatness. Finally, Stellenbosch University won the prizes for best African premium lager and best beer at the show (also the African premium lager). Setting the benchmark for a completely new style of beer to be potentially brewed worldwide. Using South African ingredients from all over South Africa, a little luck and a combination of great minds incubating ideas over a cold pint. In the end, it was worth the effort and the taste of victory was sweet indeed

It was an honor to represent Stellenbosch University at the competition, which we previously won in 2009. It is great that we could return the trophy to where it belongs, and to win some other prizes and money destined to improve our brewery. With great thanks to the organisers, AB-Inbev, CUT and the University of the Free State.

Sebastian Orth – on behalf of the Stellenbosch University brewing team

An example of the labels made for two of our beers

Renowned and leading international think-tank, the Club of Rome (CoR), is set to hold its annual conference and global summit in Stellenbosch in November.

It is the first time that South Africa will host this prestigious group of notable scientists, economists, business people and former heads of state.

The CoR will host the summit in partnership with Stellenbosch University's Institute for Futures Research (IFR), the only such institute on the African continent.

The CoR gained recognition in 1972 with its first report The Limits to Growth, considered a classic in the sustainability movement and the first study to question the viability of continued growth in the human ecological footprint.

At the time the CoR predicted many of the global challenges we face today, but the think-tank has since moved beyond sounding the alarm nearly 50 years ago and is now asking tough questions about the appropriateness of the current paradigm and civilization patterns it has spawned.

With the summit held on African soil, it is appropriately themed Our Joint Futures – Lessons from Africa and will focus on four areas, all critical to the future of South Africa, the broader African continent, and the global community, namely: climate emergency, reclaiming and reframing economics, new models of finance and emerging new civilizations.

The global community needs to explore new ways of being human and new levels of consciousness about humanity's place in the planet with its limited resources. This requires deep thinking and mind-set change to enable better stewardship of our biosphere on behalf of future generations.

CoR co-president, Dr Mamphela Ramphele, says this summit comes at an opportune time for South Africa and the rest of the continent. “New thinking is required to solve our most complex problems. This summit will highlight the latest insights on new pathways for Africa and the global community."

But the summit will also learn from Africa, says Ramphele. “The ancient wisdom of Africa has much to offer the rest of the world. The essence of what it means to be African is to be human, in harmony with nature, and to recognize the humanity of others."

IFR Director, Dr Morné  Mostert, said the IFR as a strategic foresight unit was formed immediately following The Limits to Growth report by the CoR.

Mostert, who will present a public lecture on African Futures, said “a long-term, systemic perspective is essential for the design of meaningful and innovative solutions to complex problems. The need to anticipate both the risk and opportunity of alternative trajectories for the planet and its people will be emphasized at this meeting of leading global thinkers."

The summit will take place at the Spier Wine Estate on 6 November 2019.

• ​The above article was written by Dr Morné Mostert, Director of the Institute for Futures Research, for Eikestad News and was published on 29 August 2019​.
  
• Carousel photo by Jayden Sim on Unsplash.
  

​Her passion for environmental sustainability has recently bagged a second-year Chemical Engineering student at Stellenbosch University (SU) a massive cash prize.

Moved by a Facebook post of a sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nose, Leila Siljeur (19) felt she had to do something to help reduce plastic pollution. She decided to design her own brand of edible and environmentally friendly straws. She won R50 000 for her invention in a recent Allan Gray Orbis Foundation National Jamboree. 

Registered under the name Eat Me Straws, Siljeur's straws come in three ranges – regular, health and vegan – and don't become mushy when you put them in a wet substance. She believes this is an improvement on what has been done thus far with edible straws. “Even though companies are producing biodegradable straws, some still end up in the ocean posing a threat to marine life."

Siljeur says when she started designing the straws she played around with different binding, emulsifying and deglazing agents because she didn't want sticky straws that could affect the taste of the customer's drink. She points out that the texture of the straws is a mixture between liquorice and dry fruit.

“The straws can be coloured and flavoured as per customer specifications. We use different bases for the three ranges – gelatine for regular straws, plants for vegan straws and fruit for the health variety."

“The vegan mix berry-flavoured straws have been selling well. We also have raspberry- and chocolate-flavoured straws."

Siljeur says she and her team have been selling small batches of 10 to 20 edible straws informally to SU students since last year. “The feedback from the students who have bought the straws was positive. They love the straws."

She plans to produce more straws and sell them to businesses in Stellenbosch and other parts of the country.

“We want to sell a massive batch to different businesses. We ideally would like to roll out in fast food chains like KFC, McDonalds and health shops. We would like to sell it to these types of stores so that they can distribute them. Then it doesn't come directly out of the consumer's pocket."

Siljeur says the money she won will come in handy as they look to expand, adding that they're partnering with SU's Consulting Society and Accenture in Cape Town.

• ​Photo: Leila Siljeur enjoys a chocolate-flavoured straw. Photographer: Stefan Els

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES ONLY

Leila Siljeur

Stellenbosch University

Email: 22009388@sun.ac.za

ISSUED BY

Martin Viljoen

Manager: Media

Corporate Communication

Stellenbosch University

Tel: 021 808 4921

Email: viljoenm@sun.ac.za

​​​​​​​​Two Senate committees have recommended that Stellenbosch University (SU) formally adopts the Global Code of Conduct for Research in Resource-Poor Settings (www.globalcodeofconduct.org) at its next Senate meeting in November 2019. The Research Ethics Committee of Senate made this recommendation at its scheduled meeting last week (Friday 30 August 2019) after the Research Committee of Senate earlier adopted a similar recommendation at its meeting on 14 August 2019.  

​

The annual Anheuser-Busch Inbev (AB-Inbev), formally South African Breweries (SAB), intervarsity beer brewing and tasting competition were held on the weekend of 23 to 25 August in Bloemfontein. The competition was held jointly by the Central University of Technology (CUT) and the University of the Free State, with CUT being the host university. The Stellenbosch University team were made up of Food Science (Sebastian Orth and Ivan Harris), Microbiology (Ludwig Bröcker) and Polymer Science (Gestél Kuyler) students.

                This year 14 South African universities took part in the competition, each submitting four beers which were brewed according to the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) standards for each beer style. Beer style categories included, winter warmer, Indian Pale Ale (IPA), lager and a completely new style, African premium lager. This one was included to test the initiative and creativity of all participants in the competition.

                Stellenbosch University set out to brew three of the four classes, these being; Imperial Indian Pale ale, Belgian triple and the new premium African lager. With a little luck, excellent teamwork and a lot of preemptive tasting, sipping and discussing, the beers were brewed, fermented, kegged and finally bottled. With no time to spare, the beers were sent off to Bloemfontein on an early morning flight.

                Arrival in Bloemfontein saw to be an educational experience, and a meet and greet over a few beers promptly took place. After meeting students from the competing universities, a series of lectures commenced all focusing on beer brewing principles and applications – an excellent learning experience. The evening commenced and each university introduced their team and brewery. Some 'beer-inspired' presentations seemed to kick-off the spirit for the SU BREW CREW. This culminated in fantastic discussions with the main organiser Mr Anton Erasmus, brew master extraordinaire, and the other brewers that were present at the event.

                The next day judging started at 9 am and for the students more lectures and learning about beer and beer making were included in the program. The evening saw the start of the prize giving, with tensions running high and all participants seeking brewing greatness and fame. Finally, Stellenbosch University won the prizes for best African premium lager and best beer at the show (also the African premium lager). Setting the benchmark for a completely new style of beer to be potentially brewed worldwide. With a lot of hard work, severe brainstorming and the use of some unique South African ingredients we pulled it off. In the end, it was worth the effort and the taste of victory was sweet indeed.

It was an honor to represent Stellenbosch University at the competition, which we previously won in 2009. It was a great feeling to be able to return the trophy to where it belongs, and to win some other prizes and money destined to improve our brewery.

With great thanks to the organisers, AB-Inbev, CUT and the University of the Free State.

(Sebastian Orth – on behalf of the Stellenbosch University brewing team)

Cover photo: Stellenbosch University team members with the prizes, from left to right:

 Sebastian Orth, Ivan Harris, Ludwig Bröcker and Gestél Kuyler

​The murder rate for womxn in South Africa is five times the world average.

41% of 124,000 rape cases reported in the last three years was against children.

Join us at AFRICAN SUN MeDIA and wear black on Friday 6 September 2019 and take a stand against gender-based and child violence.

*The term womxn is an alternative term for the word women, which has been in use since 2015 to explicitly include transgender women and women of colour. It is also a rejection of the etymology of 'woman' being 'of man', but rather their own free and separate entities. It serves to shed light on the prejudice, discrimination and institutional barriers women have faced.

​

The annual Anheuser-Busch Inbev (AB-Inbev), formally South African Breweries (SAB), intervarsity beer brewing and tasting competition were held on the weekend of 23 to 25 August in Bloemfontein. The competition was held jointly by the Central University of Technology (CUT) and the University of the Free State, with CUT being the host university. The Stellenbosch University team were made up of Food Science (Sebastian Orth and Ivan Harris), Microbiology (Ludwig Bröcker) and Polymer Science (Gestél Kuyler) students.

This year 14 South African universities took part in the competition, each submitting four beers which were brewed according to the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) standards for each beer style. Beer style categories included, winter warmer, Indian Pale Ale (IPA), lager and a completely new style, African premium lager. This one was included to test the initiative and creativity of all participants in the competition.

Stellenbosch University set out to brew three of the four classes, these being; Imperial Indian Pale ale, Belgian triple and the new premium African lager. With a little luck, excellent teamwork and a lot of preemptive tasting, sipping and discussing, the beers were brewed, fermented, kegged and finally bottled. With no time to spare, the beers were sent off to Bloemfontein on an early morning flight.

Arrival in Bloemfontein saw to be an educational experience, and a meet and greet over a few beers promptly took place. After meeting students from the competing universities, a series of lectures commenced all focusing on beer brewing principles and applications – an excellent learning experience. The evening commenced and each university introduced their team and brewery. Some 'beer-inspired' presentations seemed to kick-off the spirit for the SU BREW CREW. This culminated in fantastic discussions with the main organiser Mr Anton Erasmus, brew master extraordinaire, and the other brewers that were present at the event.

The next day judging started at 9 am and for the students more lectures and learning about beer and beer making were included in the program. The evening saw the start of the prize giving, with tensions running high and all participants seeking brewing greatness and fame. Finally, Stellenbosch University won the prizes for best African premium lager and best beer at the show (also the African premium lager). Setting the benchmark for a completely new style of beer to be potentially brewed worldwide. With a lot of hard work, severe brainstorming and the use of some unique South African ingredients we pulled it off. In the end, it was worth the effort and the taste of victory was sweet indeed.

It was an honor to represent Stellenbosch University at the competition, which we previously won in 2009. It was a great feeling to be able to return the trophy to where it belongs, and to win some other prizes and money destined to improve our brewery.

With great thanks to the organisers, AB-Inbev, CUT and the University of the Free State.

(Sebastian Orth – on behalf of the Stellenbosch University brewing team)

 Cover photo: Stellenbosch University team members with the prizes, from left to right:

 Sebastian Orth, Ivan Harris, Ludwig Bröcker and Gestél Kuyler