https://openscholar.ump.ac.za/handle/20.500.12714/18 2026-04-05T00:47:22Z 2026-04-05T00:47:22Z Mbiada, Carlos Joel Tchawouo. Tebele-Mosia, Tebatso Confidence. https://openscholar.ump.ac.za/handle/20.500.12714/919 2025-03-31T10:10:18Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Following due process before deducting amounts from salary: a reflection on Ngcangula v Mhlontlo local municipality; Nqekeho v Mhlontlo local municipality (2022) 43 ILJ 2398 (ECM). Authors: Mbiada, Carlos Joel Tchawouo.; Tebele-Mosia, Tebatso Confidence. Abstract: Procedural fairness in labour disputes is an important requirement that employers must adhere to if they are to pass court scrutiny. Employers often focus only on the substantive part of labour disputes, oblivious that due process must also be followed. Such a process, which takes centre stage in this note, embraces the right to make representations and is derived from the principles of natural justice. In the absence of an opportunity to make representations, the outcome of such a process is flawed. Such deficiencies are scrutinised in this note with a view to warn and sensitise employers that any flawed process vitiates the outcome of a disciplinary hearing. The requirement that employers follow due process before making an adverse decision against employees, even if they have a prima facie case, is often undermined. South African labour law is grounded in the principles of natural justice to the extent that a wrong procedure or failure to adhere to procedural requirements vitiates any outcome or renders it unfair. This discussion examines the case of Ngcangula v Mhlontlo Local Municipality; Nqekeho vMhlontlo Local Municipality ((2022) 43 ILJ 2398 (ECM)), which illustrates the implications for employers when they fail to give employees the opportunity to be heard before deducting amounts from their salary.

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z Cele, Simphiwe Khethukuthula. Gumede, Vusi. https://openscholar.ump.ac.za/handle/20.500.12714/918 2025-03-31T10:10:02Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The role of financial technologies in financial inclusion in South Africa. Authors: Cele, Simphiwe Khethukuthula.; Gumede, Vusi. Abstract: South Africa has a history of exclusion and exploitation of the majority by the minority. The post-apartheid dispensation has involved redress and ensuring inclusion of those historically excluded. The financial services sector is critical for inclusion, at least as far as banking services are concerned. Technology has played a significant role in the transformation of the financial services sector, ensuring that the previously excluded or underserved consumers receive banking services. It is in this context that the paper examines the role of financial technologies (fintechs) in financial inclusion in South Africa, drawing from qualitative research that was carried out by interviewing 18 industry experts and 17 financial services customers. The findings confirm that fintechs enhance financial inclusion by creating access to financial services for previously excluded people and to small businesses, among other advantages brought about by and through fintechs. The paper argues that fintechs play a significant role in expanding the reach of financial services and contribute to the achievement of some sustainable development goals. Therefore, policies and initiatives aimed at broadening access to financial services should leverage through fintechs.

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z Yende, Nsizwazonke Ephraim. https://openscholar.ump.ac.za/handle/20.500.12714/915 2025-03-20T06:42:41Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The political economy of the unlawful land occupation in post-1994 Cato Manor, Durban, South Africa. Authors: Yende, Nsizwazonke Ephraim. Abstract: Socio-economic issues including the housing deficit, poverty, and unemployment have intensified unlawful land occupation in South Africa. This phenomenon is usually met with the police force deployed by municipalities to evict and demolish illegally constructed housing structures. The destruction of these structures is frequently met with resistance from the people, leading to clashes with the police that cause severe injuries and sometimes even death. Cato Manor in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality has not been spared from unlawful land occupations. This article explored the complexities associated with land occupation in post-1994 Cato Manor. It adopted a qualitative research approach and used Arnstein’s ladder of citizen participation to interpret the findings. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were adopted to recruit the 33 participants. Thematic analysis facilitated by NVivo Release 1.0 (NVivo 20) was used. The findings established multifaceted causes of unlawful land occupation in post-1994 Cato Manor. Land occupations are viewed as a form of boycott against the government’s inability to deliver housing and address past injustices emanating from spatial disparities. Such occupations resemble those which occurred in Cato Manor in the 1950s.

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z Yende, Nsizwazonke Ephraim. Mahlangu, Petunia B. Mkhwanazi, Andiswa. https://openscholar.ump.ac.za/handle/20.500.12714/914 2025-03-20T06:42:30Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The politics of ward committees in enhancing community development through democratic participation in the perspective of structuration. Authors: Yende, Nsizwazonke Ephraim.; Mahlangu, Petunia B.; Mkhwanazi, Andiswa. Abstract: The paper aims to explore the politics of ward committees in enhancing community development through participation. In post-1994 South Africa, ward committees are perceived as one of the key structures that are constitutionally required to be established to enhance community development through democratic participation. These structures are envisioned as playing a critical role in ensuring a contact between local people at the grass-roots level and their local authorities. Despite the conspicuous successes of establishing the ward committees at the municipal level, their effectiveness in executing their constitutional mandate remains an issue. This is because such structures have been ‘caught up’ in ambiguous political contestations at the local level. Hence, these structures are perceived as ‘watchdogs’ and an extension of the dominant party from the ward level to the municipality level. This negatively affects their ability to progressively realize their constitutional mandate. This paper adopts a secondary research approach to explore the politics of ward committees in enhancing community development. Gidden’s theory of structuration is employed as a theoretical lens to interpret the findings. Based on this theory, the paper highlights that ward committees are ineffective in promoting community development through democratic participation because of the environment within which they operate. Thus, the environment where these structures operate is characterized by power dynamics, and intra-and inter-political fighting, which provide a context within which they can operate. The paper concludes by recommending that the government should consider professionalizing ward committees to enhance their effectiveness in the complex environment within which they operate.

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z