Including Children's Views in Divorce Mediation: A Comparative Analysis and Recommendations or Kenya

It is important that the views of children be considered during the process of their parents' divorce. Parental divorce mediation informed by the needs of children is more likely to produce better outcomes. The ways in which divorce mediators in South Africa, Australia and Kenya consider views of the children of marriages in the process of dissolution are compared. The extent to which these three countries have domesticated and implemented relevant international law and policies is compared. Recommendations are provided for Kenya, where empirical research was undertaken to establish the practices and attitudes of Kenyan divorce mediators. The outcome of this empirical research indicates that – prior to mediating between their parents – most of Kenya's divorce mediators fail to elicit the views and wishes of the children who will be affected by the divorce. Proposals are put forward on how this may be rectified. In formulating these proposals, practices in South Africa and Australia are examined for the purposes of comparative analysis. The recommendations for Kenya include the formulation of appropriate laws and policies; the establishment of cost-effective mechanisms for hearing the voices of children prior to their parents' divorce mediation; and the education of the general public on the importance of considering the views and wishes of children when their parents are divorcing

AN EXAMINATION OF POLICIES REGULATING THE PARTICIPATION OF TRANSGENDER LEARNERS IN SOUTH AFRICAN HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS

South African high schools typically adopt a sex-segregated approach to sports teams and, therefore, have “boys” sports teams and “girls” sports teams. This approach is complicated by the increasing number of high school learners who identify openly as transgender. Transgender learners experience the sports policies that South African high schools choose to adopt as falling into one of three broad categories. These categories are: the restrictive approach, the partially inclusive approach and the fully inclusive approach. These approaches vary in terms of what steps they require trans learners to take in order to participate in sports teams that are consistent with their gender identity. School policies must be consistent with the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA) in order to be legally compliant. It is argued that the restrictive approach is inconsistent with PEPUDA, and, therefore, unlawful, as no legitimate purpose underlies it. As legitimate reasons exist for the implementation of partially and fully inclusive policies, it is argued that they are lawful. As both such policies are lawful, policymakers will have a choice regarding which set of policies to adopt. When making this choice, a school must consider which values it seeks to promote. On the one hand, there is the imperative to acknowledge the well-being and dignity of trans learners while, on the other hand, there are legitimate concerns about the fairness of competition. As dignity is both a right that is granted to everyone by the Constitution, and one of its founding values, it is argued that fully inclusive policies should be favoured as they result in the validation of trans learners’ dignity. Furthermore, it is argued that high school sports should serve broader educational goals, such as teaching high school learners that their trans peers deserve the chance to live their truth in full

THE INTRODUCTION OF “FREE, PRIOR AND INFORMED CONSENT” TO THE LAND REFORM LEGAL LEXICON Baleni v Minister of Mineral Resources 2019 (2) SA 453 (GP)

Although decided four years ago, Baleni v Minister of Mineral Resources (2019 (2) SA 453 (GP) (Baleni)) stands out regarding four significant features and it remains surprising that the decision has not attracted more attention in connection with the land-reform programme. The first feature was the interpretation of the Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act 31 of 1996 (IPILRA). The second feature was the emphasis on customary law in the interpretation of IPILRA. The third feature was the application of multiple international-law instruments in the interpretation of IPILRA. The fourth feature was the court’s conclusion that these international-law instruments determine that no decisions may be taken regarding the lands of indigenous peoples without the latter’s “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC). This conclusion has far-reaching implications for the South African land-reform process introduced by section 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (the Constitution)

A new high-resolution geomagnetic field model for southern Africa

Earth’s magnetic field is a dynamic, changing phenomenon. The geomagnetic field consists of contributions from several sources, of which the main field originating in Earth’s core makes up the bulk. On regional and local scales at Earth’s surface, the lithospheric field can make a substantial contribution to the overall field and therefore needs to be considered in field models. A locally derived regional core field model, named HMOREG, has been shown to give accurate predictions of the southern African region. In this study, a new regional field model called the South African Regional Core and Crust model (SARCC) is introduced. This is the first time that a local lithospheric model, estimated by employing the revised spherical cap harmonic analysis modelling method, has been combined with the core component of CHAOS-6, a global field model. It is compared here with the existing regional field model as well as with global core field models. The SARCC model shows small-scale variations that are not present in the other three models. Including a lithospheric magnetic field component likely contributed to the better performance of the SARCC model when compared to other global and local field models. The SARCC model showed a 33% reduction in error compared to surface observations obtained from field surveys and INTERMAGNET stations in the Y component, and HMOREG showed a 7% reduction in error compared to the global field models. The new model can easily be updated with global geomagnetic models that incorporate the most recent, state-of-the-art core and magnetospheric field models. Significance: Earth’s magnetic field is an integral part of many current navigational methods in use. Updates of geomagnetic field models are required to ensure the accuracy of maps, navigation, and positioning information. The SARCC regional geomagnetic field model introduced here was compared with global geomagnetic field models, and the inclusion of a lithospheric magnetic field component likely contributed to the better performance of the SARCC model. This regional model of southern Africa could easily be updated on a regular basis, and used for high-resolution information on the Earth’s magnetic field for the wider scientific community

Fusarium and fumonisin in GM maize grown by small-scale farmers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The genetic modification (GM) of maize to contain proteins that act to control insects has become a widespread agricultural practice. Although the reduction of insect damage to maize ears could potentially increase crop yield, rural small-scale farmers might be reluctant to buy expensive GM seed every season even when the lower fungal infection of the GM maize might also result in health benefits. This study was conducted over 5 years in three districts of northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to study the Fusarium verticillioides and F. proliferatum infection and fumonisin contamination levels in Bt maize, Roundup- Ready® maize, conventional commercial maize and traditional landrace maize planted by rural farmers following their traditional agricultural practices. Mean Fusarium infection rates varied between 3.0% and 38.3% with large standard deviations. Fusarium infection was not significantly different (p>0.05) between the various genotypes, possibly due to the wide variation in results and low sample numbers. Although the fumonisin results also showed wide variation, the trend of contamination was lower in Bt maize compared to conventional commercial genotypes. The mean fumonisin levels in Bt hybrids were mostly <300 μg/kg, ensuring a safe maize supply in populations consuming maize as a dietary staple. The wide variations in Fusarium and fumonisin levels within each district point to the influence of local agricultural practices, local environmental conditions, and seasonal variations. Reducing exposure to fumonisins in these communities requires both further attention to the possible influence of these factors, as well as the use of appropriate post-harvest strategies. Significance: This study was the first in South Africa to follow rural farmers planting Bt and commercial maize hybrids as well as open-pollinated landrace maize, according to their traditional agricultural practices. The results show that in some instances the Bt maize had the lowest fumonisin levels

THE PLIGHT OF SOUTH AFRICAN WHISTLE-BLOWERS: SEARCHING FOR EFFECTIVE PROTECTION

Daily reports in the media about the extent of corruption in South Africa and the plight of whistle-blowers who dare to report it demonstrates the inadequacy of protective measures in South Africa. The murder of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran saw other whistle-blowers go into hiding, fearing for their own safety, and calls for urgent measures to be implemented to ensure the physical safety of whistle-blowers. The United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) contains measures that could be implemented to protect the physical safety of whistle-blowers. Currently, the only legislation specifically protecting whistle-blowers in South Africa is the Protected Disclosures Act (PDA), which only protects against detriment in the workplace. A number of other statutes provide a measure of protection, but they are fragmented and by no means adequate. A legal comparison with the United Kingdom (UK), Ireland and the United States of America (US) may provide guidelines for reform in South Africa. The UK is currently debating the Protection for Whistleblowing Bill (Bill 27) in the House of Lords to improve protection for whistle-blowers. This Bill proposes to sever the required link to employment so that any person reporting wrongdoing will be protected if certain requirements are met. Bill 27 also establishes the Office of the Whistleblower, which has wide-ranging powers to protect whistle-blowers. The Irish Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022 was amended to broaden the definition of “worker” to include persons not previously protected and to establish an Office of the Commissioner similar to the Office of the Whistleblower in Bill 27, although with limited power. Neither the UK nor Ireland requires whistle-blowers to report in good faith; the focus is on the message instead of the messenger. Financial rewards for whistle-blowers in the US have proved to be highly successful and could be implemented in South Africa. It is recommended that physical protection of whistleblowers be prioritised, that a Whistle-Blowers’ Office with wide-ranging powers be established, that protection be extended to persons outside the employment relationship, that whistle-blowers be rewarded for reporting on wrongdoing in prescribed circumstances, that the burden of proof be reversed and that the good faith requirement for protection be dropped

Improved flood quantile estimation for South Africa

The performance of the most frequently used flood frequency probability distributions in South Africa (Log-Normal, Log Pearson3 and Generalised Extreme Value) were reviewed and all tend to perform poorly when lower exceedance probability frequency events are estimated, especially where outliers are present in the dataset. This can be attributed to the challenge when analysing very limited ‘samples’ of annual flood peak populations, which are an unknown. At present outliers are inadequately 'managed' by attempting to 'normalise' the flood peak dataset, which conceals the significance of the observed data. Thus, to adequately consider the outliers, this study was undertaken with the aim to improve the current statistical approach by developing a more stable and consistent methodology to estimate flood quantiles. The approach followed in the development of the new methodology, called IPZA, might be considered as unconventional, given that a multiple regression approach was used to accommodate the strongly skewed data, which are often associated with annual flood peak series. The main advantages of IPZA are consistency, the simplicity of application (only one set of frequency factors for every parameter, regardless of the skewness), the integrated handling of outliers and the use of conventional method of moments, thereby eliminating the need to adjust any moments. The performance of IPZA exceeded initial expectations. The results are more consistent and, by taking outliers into account, appear to be more sensible than existing probability distributions. It is recommended that IPZA should be used as a valuable addition to the existing set of decision-making tools for hydrologists/engineers performing flood frequency analyses

New data on an old pest complex: The status of Phlyctinus callosus Schönherr and Phlyctinus xerophilus Haran (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in South Africa

Phlyctinus is an endemic weevil genus of the Cape Floristic Region that comprises eight to ten species, previously classified under the monotypic P. callosus sensu lato concept. Two species of this genus, Phlyctinus callosus and P. xerophilus, are of economic concern to the deciduous fruit and grapevine industry in the Western Cape province of South Africa, causing primary damages and being of phytosanitary concern at the adult stage. The taxonomic revision conducted in 2020 raised doubts whether one of the two species was a newly emerging pest and/or what species was considered in studies before the clarification of species boundaries. Also unclear is whether these species can be controlled similarly using current control measures. The aim of this study therefore is to review the pest status of the two species over time based on museum records, field collections and historical publications, and to clarify how control measure(s) are impacted. We infer that neither species appear to be emerging pests in the region, both being of agricultural significance for at least 80 years. Phlyctinus callosus is mostly distributed along the southern coast, while P. xerophilus is distributed in inland valleys. The two species show similar biology, physiology and ecology in agro-ecosystems, and can be excluded from the host plant canopy using stem-barriers, adults being flightless. As such, it is shown that the naming of P. xerophilus as a pest is mainly a taxonomical clarification within a pre-existing species complex

Pedestrian safety: Motorists’ attitudes to the law and driving practices in South Africa

In Africa, 40% of traffic fatalities are pedestrians – the highest proportion globally. Yet little is known about driver characteristics that are associated with unsafe driving in African countries. We aimed to explore associations between driving practices that endanger pedestrian safety and motorists’ attitudes to the law (i.e. lawlessness and normlessness), controlling for sociodemographic and personality factors. We used the Response Time Method, based on Russell Fazio’s attitude paradigm, to collect information about driver behaviours, attitudes, and personality traits among a sample of 440 motorists. Male gender was associated with unsafe driving, even when controlling for the effects of personality and attitudes to the law. Unsafe driving was also associated with four dimensions of motorists’ personality, namely aggression, impulsivity, risk tolerance, and altruism, even when controlling for sociodemographic factors. Lawlessness (defined as a general disregard for the law) is also an important determinant of unsafe driving, even when controlling for sociodemographic and personality factors. These findings suggest that efforts to improve pedestrian safety in South Africa should focus on changing motorists’ attitudes to the law. Significance: This study addresses pedestrian safety in the context of South Africa. The fact that 40% of traffic fatalities are pedestrians highlights the urgent need to understand the factors contributing to unsafe driving practices. The study delves into uncharted territory by examining driver characteristics associated with unsafe driving. Through exploring associations between driving practices that endanger pedestrian safety and motorists’ attitudes to the law, this article provides valuable insights that can inform targeted interventions