The role of Parliament in promoting active citizenship in relation to the Grade 11 Life Orientation in the South African curriculum

The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa plays a pivotal role in promoting active citizenship to ensure the deepening of democracy. This article, as based on the study by Arendse, explored the extent to which Parliament as a key participatory institution promotes active citizenship in relation to the Grade 11 Life Orientation (LO) curriculum in South Africa. A qualitative, interpretive approach was employed. However, data were gathered through the crystallisation approach using different methods of gathering data such as document study, questionnaires and focus group interviews, which involved 461 Grade 12 LO learners who had completed the Grade 11 LO curriculum during 2012 and seven LO educators. The findings suggest that there is: (1) lack of exposure, knowledge and understanding about Parliament; (2) lack of public education programmes and initiatives about Parliament; and (3) limited information about Parliament in the LO curriculum

Disability Grant: a precarious lifeline for HIV/AIDS patients in South Africa

Background: In South Africa, HIV/AIDS remains a major public health problem. In a context of chronic unemployment and deepening poverty, social assistance through a Disability Grant (DG) is extended to adults with HIV/AIDS who are unable to work because of a mental or physical disability. Using a mixed methods approach, we consider 1) inequalities in access to the DG for patients on ART and 2) implications of DG access for on-going access to healthcare. Methods: Data were collected in exit interviews with 1200 ART patients in two rural and two urban health sub-districts in four different South African provinces. Additionally, 17 and 18 in-depth interviews were completed with patients on ART treatment and ART providers, respectively, in three of the four sites included in the quantitative phase. Results: Grant recipients were comparatively worse off than non-recipients in terms of employment (9.1 % vs. 29.9 %) and wealth (58.3 % in the poorest half vs. 45.8 %). After controlling for socioeconomic and demographic factors, site, treatment duration, adherence and concomitant TB treatment, the regression analyses showed that the employed were significantly less likely to receive the DG than the unemployed (