Enforceable accountability: a corporate governance mirage for South African state-owned companies

This research examines the operational and financial shortcomings of South African State-Owned Companies (‘SOCs') which is shown to primarily stem from a lack of enforceable accountability. The resolution of this accountability issue begins with the identification of SOCs. An analysis is undertaken of the predominant statutes with which SOCs are required to comply: the Public Finance Management Act and the Companies Act. An examination of these statutes, together with relevant case law and secondary sources, reveals contradictory, convoluted and confusing provisions relating to the definition and categorization of various State-Owned Enterprises (‘SOEs') and SOCs. A complete overhaul of these statutory definitions and categorisations is required through the enactment of an overarching legislation to govern all aspects relating to all SOEs, under which SOCs will be subsumed, as was previously proposed by the Presidential Review Committee on State-Owned Entities in 2012. The various accountability mechanisms, which should currently be implemented by SOCs, are analysed in terms of primary and secondary sources of law. This analysis divides the mechanisms into two distinct categories: internal and external mechanisms. Internal accountability mechanisms include: the directors, the board and its committees, the role of the company secretary and internal audit and the state, as the sole shareholder of the SOC. The external accountability mechanisms include: the external audit, the role of the Auditor-General and Public Protector, the legislature, the judiciary and the public, as the ultimate stakeholder of the SOC. Notwithstanding the availability of these accountability mechanisms, SOCs still fail to actually account for their continued underperformance. Research conducted through a direct analysis and interpretation of the annual, integrated reports of South African Airways SOC Limited (‘SAA'), from 2012 to 2017, will illustrate the inability of an SOC to effectively account for its performance. It is shown that one of the significant challenges which contributes to the accountability issue facing an SOC stems from the fact that the state is its sole shareholder. Evidence from this case study, together with that garnered from the investigation of the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, will conclusively unveil the significant accountability issues experienced by many SOCs in South Africa. There is limited case law on the corporate governance and accountability of SOCs, however, an examination of secondary sources of law illustrates the growing trend for the board of an SOC to implement 3 corporate governance structures to achieve accountability. However, it is submitted that corporate governance, whilst popular, may not be the best method for achieving the accountability of SOCs. A structured framework entailing the enforceable accountability of SOCs is proposed as a solution to the accountability issue through the implementation of a reward-based system which incentivizes the board of an SOC, and the state, to achieve real and significant accountability. This system requires the establishment of an independent rating agency which will rate the accountability of an SOC. The rating of the SOC will be linked to the provision of state funding, with maximum thresholds based on specific rating levels. The board of an SOC will retain the discretion of deciding which mechanism is to be instigated to attain actual accountability, of which corporate governance is just one method. The board of an SOC, and the state, will be incentivized to achieve a high rating level in order to secure preferential state funding. This reward-based enforcement mechanism for the accountability of SOCs will require legislative reform through the enactment of overarching SOE legislation to govern all aspects relating to SOEs. In addition, legislation will be enacted to establish an independent rating agency, akin to the state institutions established under chapter nine of the Constitution. The implementation of an effective enforcement mechanism will result in the achievement of actual and significant accountability for SOCs which will ultimately improve their performance and reduce their reliance on the state's scarce resources

Māori women in Southern New Zealand’s shore-whaling world

Kate Stevens and Angela Wanhalla explore the role of Māori women in Southern New Zealand’s nineteenth-century shore-whaling world. Rarely noted in accounts of the industry, Māori women were adept at sea travel and maintained knowledge and beliefs that informed practices of the whaling communities located on Kāi Tahu tribal territory. Highlighting their role as intermediaries between humans and the marine world, Wanhalla and Stevens bring forth several historical accounts of Māori women involved in the shore-whaling industry

A hydrodynamic limit for chemotaxis in a given heterogeneous environment

In this paper, the first equation within a class of well-known chemotaxis systems is derived as a hydrodynamic limit from a stochastic interacting many particle system on the lattice. The cells are assumed to interact with attractive chemical molecules on a finite number of lattice sites, but they only directly interact among themselves on the same lattice site. The chemical environment is assumed to be stationary with a slowly varying mean, which results in a non-trivial macroscopic chemotaxis equation for the cells. Methodologically, the limiting procedure and its proofs are based on results by Koukkous (Stoch. Process. Appl. 84, 297–312, cite.​Kou99) and Kipnis and Landim (Scaling limits of interacting particle systems, cite.​KL99). Numerical simulations extend and illustrate the theoretical findings

Global phase diagrams of run-and-tumble dynamics: equidistribution, waves, and blowup

For spatially one-dimensional run-and-tumble dynamics with mass conservation we develop a coarse phase diagram, that discriminates between global decay to equidistributed constant states, existence of spatially non-trivial waves, and finite time blowup of solutions. Motivated by counter-migrating ripples of high and low population density and fruiting body formation in myxobacteria, we identify phase boundaries as particular critical tumbling dynamics that allow for switching between these spatio-temporal phases upon slight changes in mass densities or parameter values.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure

Une façon structurée de réfléchir à ses pratiques pédagogiques

Comprend des références bibliographiques

Qualitative Behavior of a Keller-Segel Model with Non-Diffusive Memory

In this paper a one-dimensional Keller-Segel model with a logarithmic chemotactic-sensitiviy and a non-diffusing chemical is classified with respect to its long time behavior. The strength of production of the non-diffusive chemical has a strong influence on the qualitative behavior of the system concerning existence of global solutions or Dirac-mass formation. Further, the initial data play a crucial role

Drier Conditions, More Wildfire, and Heightened Concerns About Forest Management in Eastern Oregon

This brief examines climate change and forest conditions in eastern Oregon. Eastern Oregon is experiencing warmer, drier conditions and increased numbers of wildfires. Surveys of the Oregon public find that forest health and wildfire threats are widely shared concerns. The more knowledgeable residents say they are about forest management, the more likely they are to say that forests are becoming less healthy. Majorities support active forest management (forest thinning, surface fuel reduction) and restoration to reduce the likelihood of high-severity wildfires that would damage forest resources and threaten local communities. The authors conclude that forests continue to be an important part of the heritage of western lands, and their management is a crucial issue of our time. Engaging private forest owners who are not actively managing their lands and developing new partnerships to support active management on public lands are essential to addressing the threats confronting the Blue Mountains and the Inland Northwest