Factors affecting private investment in new power generating capacity in South Africa

Private Investment in electrical power generation will play a substantial role in South Africa’s massive capacity expansion programme over the next 20 years. Should this investment not materialise, South Africa’s security of electricity supply would be seriously compromised. The purpose of this research was to determine whether major factors that impact on the attractiveness of a country’s power sector to private investors are being catered for in South Africa and where the possible shortcomings are. The research was qualitative in nature and the methodology followed was to survey industry role players by way of a self-administered questionnaire. Response data were analysed using descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics (hypothesis testing) where a one tailed, one sample t-Test was used. The findings of the research are that the South African legal system and the revenue generation potential of the power sector are advantages that the country can leverage off to attract power sector investors. Major stumbling blocks to private investor participation needing immediate attention, are the lack of responsiveness of Government to private sector needs and timeframes as well as the lack of independence of the Regulatory institutions and processes from Government interference whether perceived or real.Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010.Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)unrestricte

Resignation as treasurer and executive committee member of PELCRA

A letter of resignation as treasurer and executive committee member of PELCRA from Ron Forle

Process: a holistic and sustainable food system; restaurant in Fordsburg, Johannesburg

A design project submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional) July 2021South Africa is heading towards a direction of increasing numbers of malnutrition, obesity, and non-communicable diseases. The intention of my study is to create a sustainable and holistic food system that meets a variety of needs. It aims to increase and encourage the consumption of a variety of vegetables rich in nutrition in South Africa. The project is implemented on an underutilized parking lot of the Oriental Plaza in Fordsburg, Johannesburg. Program include an agricultural research centre, agro-processing station, culinary school, and restaurants/takeaways. The project concept looks at the relationship between inside and outside and is addressed throughout the different scales and forms. It is exploring how one can bring the outside in and vice versa; making farming (which often happens outside) visible by presenting it in spaces people occupy daily, and showcasing the food production process, which is often unseen by the consumers. It is the relationship between the built and landscaped, private and public, on and above ground, and the hidden versus the exposed. Important design drivers are landscape, thresholds, and engaging with the senses. The architecture expresses the variety and natural health through the influences of urban farming initiatives, Islamic gardens, optimising rainwater collection, organic waste reuse systems, and natural building materialsCK202

The value of information in municipalities: A South African case study in the Eastern Cape

Within the South African context, there is clear legislation and policy advocacy on the importance of community participation in facilitating inclusive decision-making. Statutory frameworks require municipalities to inform citizens of their rights and encourage them to contribute to municipal initiatives. Public participation and access to information are critical elements of good governance. However, implementing the policies is not always executed as intended. This can be attributed to various reasons such as the lack of resources, institutional capacity, poor administration of government resources and redressing historical backlogs of service delivery. Research also suggests that citizens feel excluded from the decision-making processes as they lack access to information to participate constructively. Governance has become a popular concept in literature, especially where the focus is on reducing inequality, reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development in developing countries, and consequently considers the relationships between government and civil society. The intention of “good governance” is to strengthen accountability and responsiveness of policies and strategies by enabling communities to engage and have an influential voice, especially on decisions that affect their livelihood. This research aims to examine how information sharing practices between municipalities and communities affect good governance. One theme that consistently emerges in the review of the legislation and policy documents is citizenry's inclusion in the municipal decision-making process. Public participation has an influential role in good governance. However, there is a gap in the importance of information sharing and how to share this information to facilitate effective public participation. Thus, this study integrated the principles of good governance and Information Value Chain to determine how municipalities use and disseminate information to their communities and use citizen knowledge to improve good governance. The study included reviewing various policy documents and literature, semi-structured interviews with municipal staff and focus groups with community members, follow-up meetings, workshops, and observations. By combining the Theory of the Information Value Chain with the Good governance Principles Framework, data could be analysed by categorising data into themes

Endovenous laser ablation of spermatic vein for the treatment of varicocele

Introduction: Varicocele is a relatively complex pathology of the scrotum veins', known to be one of the easiest to treat. Modern treatment involves both surgical (open, laparoscopic and microsurgery) and interventional approach (either with coils and/or sclerosant injection). Our aim is to demonstrate the feasibility and the reliability of endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) of the spermatic vein for the treatment of varicocele. Materials and methods: We consecutively and prospectively treated 11 patients (age range 24â45 years old, mean 31y) with left varicocele, phlebografically classified as Bahren type I and with indication for percutaneous treatment. Clinical success was evaluated by color doppler ultrasound (CDUS) one week, one months and three months after the procedures. We also evaluated the pain feeling for 48 h after the procedure on the basis of the visual analogue score (VAS) obtained through telephonic interview. Results: Technical success was achieved in all cases. In all cases varicocele disappeared at CDUS at 1 and three months with reflux abolition. Two cases of small vein laceration were noted without sequelae, no other complication has been described. All patients reported improvements either regarding symptoms and/or spermiographic parameters. Conclusions: In our experience, EVLA of spermatic vein is a feasible and safe treatment in patients with Bahren type I varicocele. The key advantage of this technique is the adoption of a standardized protocol, which remains one of the main problems in gaining scientific evidence in case of coil or sclerosant embolisation (type and number of coils, amount of sclerosant agent etc). Keywords: Varicocele, Laser, Therapy, Treatment, Evla, Endovenous, Ablation, Minimal invasiv