The political economy of government auditing : financial governance and the rule of law in Latin America and beyond, Carlos Santiso : book review

In his book, The political economy of government auditing: financial governance and the rule of law in Latin America and beyond (Routledge 2009), Carlos Santiso addresses the elusive quest for greater accountability, openness, transparency and integrity from financial and audit institutions and their collective leadership. As the title suggests, Santiso's focus is on the management of public finances in Latin America (with special reference to Argentina, Brazil and Chile). These principles are the ingredients of good value governance, and also serve as key instruments that governments can use to fight against corruption, which leads to poor delivery of public services

Prioritisation of the tourism industry as a local economic development sector approach for rural coastal arears in South Africa: the case of the Transkei Wild CoastCommunity

The predominantly rural area of the Transkei Wild Coast has a potential for local economic growth through tourism development. The area has been struggling to develop tourism because of a lack of visionary leadership, lack of resources, and effective strategies that prioritise tourism as central to eco-nomic development. This article argues for tourism as a key sector to sustain-able economic development in the area. The Transkei Wild Coast and its local economy must be revived so that the quality of life of the people in the area can be improved in a sustainable manner. In this article, the Transkei Wild Coast is briefly described. This is followed by a discussion of Local Economic Develop-ment (LED), the local problems, and suggested strategies on how the tourism industry could be encouraged. It is concluded that LED cannot be realised if the local stakeholders are excluded from the process of tourism development

Challenges facing the transformation of the public transport system in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa: History in the making

The transformation of the public transport system is a common occurrence in cities across the globe and is widely discussed in scholarly and policy circles. However, robust discussion on the transformation of the public transport system, using the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in emerging economies like South Africa, is limited. This article assesses the challenges involved in the transformation of the public road transport system in the Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB), with special reference to the BRT system. The empirical data for the study were drawn from the fieldwork, meetings, focus group discussions, and interviews with affected stakeholders and senior managers of NMB who were involved in the implementation of the BRT. The secondary data were drawn from literature, government publications and media. The results reflect that the implementation of the BRT was not easily achieved, as diverse challenges surfaced during the implementation phase. The main challenges include: lack of intensive planning and limited effective stakeholder and affected community engagement. The article concludes that as much as the BRT has credited the public road transportation system innovation in South Africa its implementation was not easy in NMB, and will be an important history for the city

The Role of Government as a Catalyst for Reform During Periods of Economic Downturn

Reforming public sector institutions and rethinking the roles of government as agents of change by making their respective states and the environment a better place to live in, are considered to be the signifi cant actions that governments in the post-recession era must undertake. The question is: what can governments do to place their countries on a recovery and high-growth path in the post-2009 recession period? Governments should tailor-make strategies to reform their institutions not only to be effective and effi cient in resuscitating, improving and sustaining national economic development, but in accelerating sustained service delivery

Media Framing of natural disasters in KwaZulu-Natal province: impact of contingency plans

This study explores how the media frame disaster contingency plans which include preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery of the KwaZulu-Natal province before, during and in the aftermath of natural disasters. The province has been stricken by natural disasters. Although newspapers report the disasters they fail to give details of disaster contingency plans that should be available to those who are susceptible to, and the victims of disasters. Based on a content analysis of 114 online newspaper articles between 2000 and 2013 to examine how the media framed the KZN government’s disaster contingency plans. This study concludes that the highest occurrence of disasters (71%) was from 2011 onwards as compared to previous years, and most of these were associated with areas that are susceptible to floods (34%). The findings of the study highlight that the media placed an emphasis on disaster response (41%) over preparedness (24%) and mitigation (7%). The outcomes suggest that newspaper organisations need to appoint a designated reporter responsible for disaster management issues. This is relevant because this study conveys findings that have the potential to persuade government and newspaper organisations to collaborate and to ensure that their officials are multi-skilled and able to cover all phases of disaster management in their articles, in order for these to be understood at all levels of society. This study further adds to the growing body of knowledge regarding quality journalism that meets its objectives