MArtindale Student Association

Martindale Student Associates 2019 – 20 RESTRUCTURING ESKOM: TRANSFORMING SOUTH AFRICA’S ELECTRICITY SECTOR Tino Petros South Africa’s electricity sector is dominated by the state-owned and vertically integrated electrical utility, Eskom. Once named the Financial Times Power Company of the Year, Eskom now struggles with reliably supplying electricity to Africa’s second largest economy. It is the most serious risk to South Africa’s national budget and economy. This article discusses how South Africa’s electricity sector can be transformed to resolve Eskom’s debt crisis, fuel competition, and embrace renewable electricity generation. INCREMENTALISM IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN LEGAL SYSTEM: SOCIOECONOMIC RIGHTS AND THE JUDICIARY Aaron K. Adams The SouthAfrican Bill of Rights expressly provides citizens with the socioeconomic rights to housing, health care, and education. As a constitutional issue, the economic and administrative difficulties in delivering these rights have been addressed as a subject of the courts. Increased access is the legal prescription for socioeconomic rights achievement. This article explores case law evidence for a different way in which judicial interpretation expands these rights. I have termed this, incrementalism : the progressive realization of the right through its components. THE EFFICACY OF SOUTH AFRICA’S BROAD-BASED BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT POLICY Rachel Buonasora Twenty-five years after the end of apartheid, South Africa remains one of the world’s most unequal countries. Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment is one policy by which the government has sought to reduce inequality by promoting black involvement and ownership in the economy. This article discusses the efficacy of that policy as it relates to governance and needed improvements in education, entrepreneurship, and women’s empowerment. FOOD SECURITY IN SOUTH AFRICA IN AN ERA OF CLIMATE CHANGE Jordan Wolman Concerns regarding food and water security in South Africa are increasing at a rapid pace while the effects of climate change have a disproportionate impact on the region. At the core of the climate change conversation in South Africa is the issue of food security. This article identifies challenges and problematic trends related to the relationship between food security and climate change and then evaluates potential solutions regarding production of food. EXPROPRIATION WITHOUT COMPENSATION IN SOUTH AFRICA Jake I. Cooper Due to the slow progress of land reform in South Africa, there has been increasing political pressure for the government to expropriate land without compensation (EWC). Consequently, there currently is a draft bill in the South African parliament to amend the Constitution to explicitly legalize EWC. This article discusses how EWC came to the forefront of the South African land issue as well as the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing EWC as a mechanism for land reform. SOUTH AFRICA’S LABOR FORCE AMID TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE Ha Dao South Africa’s labor force is ill prepared for the advent of digitalization, with 35% of all jobs at risk of displacement. This article analyzes the current challenges and capacities of the South African labor force and suggests appropriate measures moving forward to mitigate the effect of technological change.