LIMPOPO IeaderIeaderDISPATCHES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPODISPATCHES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPO

LIMPOPONUMBER 15SPRING 2008

DO WOMEN AND CHILDREN COME LAST?Answers inside: from the Gender & Law Conference andan examination of South Africa’s child mortality

DO WOMEN AND CHILDREN COME LAST?Answers inside: from the Gender & Law Conference andan examination of South Africa’s child mortality

IOP updateON TRACK, SO FAR

University of Cape Town and Tswane University ofTechnology. After the initial hiccup, this important sub-contract is now going on as planned.’

The third area to be examined by consultantsinvolved in the IOP is the all-important administrativestaff review. The ratio between academic and administrative staff at the university is 1:2.5, considerably higher than the national average of1:1.75. According to Lyall-Watson: ‘The final proposals, which will result in a realignment of non-academic services, were received in October. The procedure from this point on is that the university’s executive management must approve the proposals. The proposals will then be laid beforethe university council executive committee, and thenwill be discussed by the Joint Bargaining Forum for further consultation. Only then will the proposals beconsidered by the full university council.’

By May 2009, the restructuring of academic programmes, the upgrading of management information systems and the realignment of non-academic services should be complete. At the sametime senior managers will have undergone extensivechange management and leadership training. Thefinancial plan incorporated into the IOP is set to rununtil 2010.

Lyall-Watson’s conclusion: ‘On the showing so far, I am convinced the university can look forward to arosy future.’

iIN L I M P O P O L E A D E R 1 4 , SEVEN PAGES WEREDEVOTED TO THE IOP (INSTITUTIONAL OPERATINGPLAN) WHOSE PURPOSE WAS TO ESTABLISH AT THEUNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPO SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMICAND FINANCIAL FOUNDATIONS FOR THE INSTITUTION AFTER THE TOPSY-TURVY YEARS OF ITSEXCEPTIONALLY COMPLICATED ‘MERGER’ PROCESS.Now, three months on, the obvious question is: how isthe plan getting on?

‘I can report good progress,’ replied IOP projectmanager Craig Lyall-Watson. ‘There have been a fewproblem areas, but these have been resolved. And I hasten to add that university staff have not causedthem. In fact, everyone on both campuses has reallycome to the party. Co-operation has been first class. I am very satisfied with the situation as it unfolds.’

Lyall-Watson said he was particularly pleased withthe financial aspects of the plan. ‘As at the end ofOctober, the costs incurred in running the universityremain well within the budget approved by the national Department of Education. There won’t be an overspend this year.’

The IOP has concentrated on three main areasrelating to the operation of the university.

The first relates to the academic structure of the university that currently comprises four faculties, 15 schools and 97 departments. After exhaustive on-campus discussions and a comprehensive workshopheld in August, the responsible external consultant hasnow completed his proposals, which were presentedto academic staff in November. Only after agreementhas been reached will the new configuration be madepublic.

The second focus area concerned the generallyunsatisfactory state of the management informationsystems available at the university. ‘A sub-contractorwas brought in to redesign the whole system,’ Lyall-Watson explained. ‘But we have been obliged to terminate that particular sub-contract and bring thework in-house. We have also enlisted the help of the

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EDITO

RIAL

tTHIS ISSUE OF L I M P O P O L E A D E R IS LARGELY ABOUT WOMENAND CHILDREN WHOSE POSITIONS IN OUR DEMOCRATIC SOCIETYLEAVES A HUGE AMOUNT TO BE DESIRED.

The de facto position of women in relation to the theoretic equalityafforded them by the Constitution became a focus of serious attention atthe Law Week held on the Turfloop campus of the University of Limpopoin September. L a w, G e n d e r a n d S o c i a l T r a n s f o r m a t i o n wasa timely theme. One of the most serious contributors to this debate was alegal academic from America, a woman who was born in South Africaand spent a part of her childhood on the Cape Flats. We echo AdvocateReuben Letseku, director of the Turfloop Law School which organised theevent. He said he hoped that this Law Week would ‘herald the dawn ofa new way of thinking and contribute to our quest for a just society’.

The plight of an unacceptably high percentage of South Africa’syoung children is clearly demonstrated by the examination of under-fivemortality rates that begins on page 17. ‘Our nation’s children are neglected and their fundamental right to life ignored,’ says one forthrightmedical expert who is interviewed. There were pockets of terrible neglectunder apartheid: nevertheless the trend across the last 35 years of thatpernicious system was downwards. The national average figures forunder-five mortality were 126 per 1 000 in 1960 and 67 in 1995 (at the end of apartheid).* These days, as our coverage attests, it’s around69 per 1 000. The problem is the yawning gulf between good policiesand inadequate implementation. But there’s some good news as well:most notably in the attitudes of concern and determination in the medicalprofessionals at the Medical School on the Ga-Rankuwa campus and atthe adjacent Dr George Mukhari Hospital.

Taken together, women and children constitute a major challenge forSouth African politicians and the population at large. There’s a hugeamount to be done to level the playing fields for these two important segments of our citizenry. Perhaps only through persistent public outrageon both fronts will improvements be forced through.

Then read about the latest developments regarding the university’sattempts to safeguard and strengthen the Nguni cattle breed. Some of usmay ask: why bother? Consider this fact: if the productivity of Nguni cat-tle could be increased by just one percent, it would have a significantimpact on meat production – and consequently on the economic strengthof countless rural communities.

* These figures are taken from the Unicef 1997 publication T h e S t a t e o ft h e Wo r l d ’ s C h i l d r e n

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WE’LL BE LOOKING IN PARTICULAR AT AN ANECDOTAL HISTORY OFTHE DR GEORGE MUKHARI HOSPTITAL AND ITS CLOSE RELATIONSHIPWITH THE MEDICAL SCHOOL ON THE GA-RANKUWA CAMPUS OFTHE UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPO. Were you involved either as a teacheror a student, and would you like to contribute an anecdote? If so, contact the Editor.

Note: The promised coverage of mining in Limpopo has beendeferred until 2009, as has the L i m p o p o L e a d e r reader survey.

NEXT ISSUE

L i m p o p o L e a d e r is published by the Marketing andCommunications Depar tment,Universi ty of Limpopo, PO Box X1106, Sovenga 0727, Limpopo, South Africa.HYPERLINK “http://www.ul.ac.za”www.ul.ac.za

E D I T O R : David Robbins. Tel: 011-792-9951 or 082-787-8099 ordgrwri te@iafrica.comA D V E R T I S I N G :Clare-Rose Jul ius Tel: 011-782-0333 or 072-545-2366E D I T O R I A L C O M M I T T E E :DK Mohuba (chairman)Daphney Kgwebane Norman Nyazema Elizabeth Lubinga David RobbinsGail RobbinsA R T I C L E S writ ten by Janice Hunt: Child Mor tal i ty inSouth Africa: page 17;Bui lding Livestock Breeds forLocal Condit ions, pages 25;Profile: Rathnum Naidoo, page 28P H O T O G R A P H S :Liam Lynch: pages 3 secondbottom, 21, 23, 24, 25, 31;The Bigger Picture/Panos: frontcover, pages 4, 9, 16; The BiggerPicture/Alamy: pages 19, 20, 26;PictureNet: page 3 top, 4;Janice Hunt: page 18; EstherAlm: The Alm Foundation inBulwer, back cover, pages 6,20 top; Universi ty of LimpopoMarketing Depar tment: pages 15, 28DESIGN AND LAYOUT:JAM STREET DESIGN (PRETORIA)P R I N T I N G : Colorpress (pty) LtdPRODUCTION MANAGEMENT:Gail RobbinsDGR Writ ing & Research Tel: 011-782-0333 or 082-572-1682 or dgrwri te@iafrica.com

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ISSN: 1812-5468

c o v e r p i c t u r e : This searching portrait of a woman and her child in a church sumsup the central question asked in this issue of Limpopo Leader. Dowomen and children come last? It is very obvious that both facescaptured in the photograph are waiting expectantly for SouthAfrica’s answer.

p a g e 5 : DO WOMEN AND CHILDREN COME LAST?

p a g e 7 : TURFLOOP LAW WEEK: Law, Gender and Social Transformation.Full coverage of this important event.

p a g e 8 : STRENGTHENING THE VOICES THAT SPEAK ON GENDER ISSUES

p a g e 1 0 : WHAT SHOULD WOMEN BE WRITING ABOUT?

p a g e 1 2 : OBSTACLES TO GENDER EQUALITY. A South African law professor,working in the US, identifies our ‘culture of masculinity’.

p a g e 1 5 : SUMMING UP THE GENDER CONFERENCE

p a g e 1 7 : CHILD MORTALITY IN SA. This special focus begins by noting thatwe’re ‘not even close to achieving Millennium Development Goal 4’.

p a g e 1 8 : SA’S SHAMEFUL CHILD DEATH RATES DEMAND ACTION

p a g e 2 1 : IN THE INTERESTS OF SAFER AND HEALTHIER CHILDBIRTH

p a g e 2 3 : NEW UNIT SEES INFANTS THRIVING WITH CLOSE CARE – lessonsfrom kangaroos.

p a g e 2 5 : BUILDING LIVESTOCK BREEDS FOR LOCAL CONDITIONS – a lookat the University of Limpopo’s Nguni project.

p a g e 2 8 : Profile: RATHNUM NAIDOO – a strong sense of service.

p a g e 3 0 : Profile: PROFESSOR HLENGANI SIWEYA – the needle and the cup.

p a g e 3 2 : Letters to the Editor.

IN THIS ISSUE

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‘An etching of the sinking Birckenhead’ PictureNet

The Bigger Picture/Panos

DO WOMEN AND CHILDREN COMELAST?

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IN THE BAD OLD DAYS OF FREQUENT SHIPWRECKS, ACONVENTION REGARDING THEUSE OF THE LIFEBOATS WASSTRICTLY ADHERED TO. Womenand children first!* Behind the gallantry of that cry there lay adeeper truth. It addressed itself tothe future, to the preservation ofthe generations, and even to thelong-term perpetuation of thespecies. Perhaps unconsciously,the men on those sinking shipswere acknowledging the fundamental importance ofwomen and children.

Have we in our brave newdemocratic South Africa forgottenthis primary reality? Has the crychanged to ‘women and childrenlast’? It certainly seems like it.And this edition of L i m p o p oL e a d e r is full of the evidence forsuch an assertion.

South Africa is not alone, ofcourse. Hardly a decade ago,Swedish anthropologist Karl EricKnutsson wrote that: ‘We are nowbetter equipped to understand themain reasons for the neglect ofchildren and women and othermarginalised groups in theWestern perception of develop-ment. Taking their cue from classical physics, economists anddevelopment theorists ignored orexcluded from their abstractedmodels whatever was ‘weak’ or‘soft’ and therefore of little

consequence to their reasoning.Because developmentalism isessentially a political ideology,rather than the result of any theoretical project, there were further reasons to exclude groupswhich had no significance in termsof political and economic power.Indeed, the history of the idea of‘development’ is the history not onlyof economic and political biases,but also of ethnocentric, male andage-related biases.’**

For some time now, develop-mental theorists have realised theimportance of women in thebroader scheme of things indeveloping countries; andProfessor Knutsson himself hasargued powerfully for the reappraisal of perceptions thatwould allow for the emergence of ‘the citizen child’. Children and youth, after all, comprise 40 percent of our planet’s population.

So much for the theory. In practice, matters take on asomewhat darker hue.

South Africa has the mostadvanced constitution on earth. It is filled with bold considerationsof gender equality and the highvalue of women. Now comparethis with the country’s deplorablerape and abuse statistics. Thistheme – of the yawning gulfbetween the Constitution andpractice – was of particular

concern to many delegates andspeakers contributing to theTurfloop Law Week – this yeardealing with Law, Gender andSocial Transformation and held in September. Coverage of this significant event begins on page 7.

The plight of millions of SouthAfrican children is highlighted byan examination of our worseninginfant and under-five mortalityrates. It cannot fail to be deeplydisturbing to learn that of the 190countries to sign up to the EndPoverty Millennium DevelopmentGoals in 2000 only 12 countrieshave shown an increase in under-five mortality rates since then.And South Africa is one of them.L impopo Leader begins itsinvestigation into this deplorablestate of affairs at the University ofLimpopo’s Medical School on theGa–Rankuwa campus. Coveragebegins on page 17.

Both these examinations (of theposition of children and women in South African society) force a fundamental question. In a countrythat purports to expend hugeenergy and resources on ‘devel-opment’, have too many of us atthe same time been tempted intothose old-fashioned Western perceptions of development byuttering that most short-sighted of imperatives: WOMEN AND CHILDREN LAST!

* The tradition began with the British ship Birkenhead, which sank off South Africa’s southern coast in 1852.** From Knutsson’s C h i l d r e n : N o b l e C a u s e s o r Wo r t h y C i t i z e n s . 1997

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There can be no sustainable

development when women,

who constitute half the SADC

population, have no opportunity

to unload their potential; when

development programmes are

completely gender unfriendly;

when decisions about changing

the lives of people are taken

without the participation of half

of the very lives that have to

be changed.

South Africa’s former Minister ofJustice and ConstitutionalDevelopment, Brigitte Mabandla,used this quote from ThenjiweMtintso, chairperson for theCommission on Gender Equality,when she addressed the LawWeek conference at Turfloop inSeptember.

attributed to the erstwhile minister.‘We need you to write,’Mabandla told the hundreds ofdelegates and law studentsattending the conference. ‘We need more women writingand researching women’s legalissues. We need a genderedapproach to social justice. The law by itself cannot bringabout change, but it can beenabling. Neither can theGovernment be expected to carryall the responsibility for change;civil society carries an equalresponsibility.’

Nevertheless, the Departmentof Justice has done a great deal.It has forged a partnershipbetween the University of Cape Town, the Walter SisuluUniversity in Umtata, the SouthAfrican Women LawyersAssociation, and the University of Limpopo. The object of thepartnership is to give voice towomen legal professionals by providing forums like the TurfloopLaw Week, by enhancing thelegal writing abilities of womenlawyers and academics, and byassisting in the establishment of a law and gender journal in association with a reputableSouth African publishing house.

Now turn the page for moredetails on this important partnership, and on the LawWeek itself ...

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Turfloop Law WeekWOMEN SPEAK ON GENDER ISSUES

tTURFLOOP’S ANNUAL Law Weekwas this year taken over bywomen. The title of the event –Law, Gender and SocialTransformation – explains why. Of the papers delivered, mostwere by women involved in theteaching or practice of law. Listen to some of the themes thatwere examined during the three-day event:• Law, Gender and

Transformative Development• Gender and Human Rights in

Contemporary South Africa• The Constitution and Gender

Law Reform• Violence Against Women

and Children• Equality and Parenting• Implications of Religious and

Customary Marriages

Brigitte Mabandla, the then SouthAfrican Minister of Justice andConstitutional Development, delivered the keynote address onthe first morning of the event; and the guest speaker at the Law Week gala dinner wasSandra Oxner, a retiredCanadian judge and current president of the CommonwealthJudicial Education Institute.

The Law Week conference wasfollowed by a two-day legal writing workshop for womenlawyers and academics.

The inspiration for these high-powered events must be

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May 2006 of a new association for women legal professionals. The South African Women LawyersAssociation (SAWLA) had drawn its founding member-ship from various existing legal groupings – for example, the National Association of DemocraticLawyers, the Black Lawyers Association, the Law Societyand the various associations of advocates at the Bar.

‘Undergraduate and postgraduate law studentswere also encouraged to join,’ SAWLA’s ShereenMeersingh said, ‘as were all women involved in legaland paralegal work. We wanted to cast our net aswide as possible.’

The result was an initial membership of more than500 for SAWLA.

Meersingh, SAWLA’s vice-president in charge ofcommunications, explained that the association’sobjective was to provide a dialogue and professionalnetworking forum for South African women in legalcareers, as well as to seek to promote the empower-ment of women in legal careers and women in general. ‘Our early partnership with the Department of Justice has been beneficial to both parties. We have become in effect a recruiting agent for thedepartment’s writing and research enhancement plansbecause these plans fit perfectly into SAWLA’s overallvision. From our point of view, the department is a dynamic partner, and the partnership immediatelyenhances our standing and credibility with our members. They’ll have a lot to gain from the researchand writing enhancement plan.’

As already mentioned, three universities areinvolved in the enhancement plan: the University ofCape Town, Walter Sisulu University, and theUniversity of Limpopo. This is how this trio of institu-tions will interlock:• The University of Cape Town will have overarching

responsibility for the programme. UCT will bedesigning the courses to be presented at the writingworkshops, and they’ll be overseeing the quality of

iIT’S A BOLD IDEA: STRENGTHENING WOMEN’SABILITY TO RESEARCH AND WRITE ON GENDER-RELATED LEGAL MATTERS. And it’s an extraordinarypartnership that has been established to make it happen. The three universities involved are UCT,Walter Sisulu and Limpopo. But before examining whateach of these institutions will do, we need to examinethe thinking behind the idea in the first place.

Listen to ex-Minister of Justice Brigitte Mabandla:‘The starting point, I suppose, is to acknowledge thatour Constitution is alien to South African common law.What this disjuncture needs is people who can writeabout it. Since a lot of the disjuncture relates to genderissues – the Constitution is far in advance of the common law with regard to gender-related humanrights – it is imperative that women legal professionalsdo a lot of the required writing. But women constitutea minority in the legal professions. And it’s only asmall coterie of them who write.

‘My sense,’ Mabandla continued, ‘when I firstbegan to think about this, was that the problem wasessentially systemic. There are few women writing inthe gender field, and even fewer black women. Yettheir voices will be invaluable in our struggle to builda constitutional state. If we are to build such a state,the single most important imperative is that we takeownership of our Constitution. We will have to believein its precepts. Relevant research and writing is crucially important for ownership and belief. The mostrelevant research and writing on gender issues willhave to be done by women. This much is obvious –because they are closest to the anomalies between thehigh ideals of the Constitution and the realities on theground. We need new and strong thinking on theseissues. Women will provide it. But who will support the women with the potential to write?’

So the Department of Justice began to talk to SouthAfrican women in the legal professions. Roughly coin-ciding with these developments was the formation in

Turfloop Law WeekSTRENGTHENING THE VOICES THATSPEAK ON GENDER ISSUES

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her institution’s involvement would take the form ofregular winter and summer schools, beginning in2009, as well as special seminars when demand warranted them, and an annual conference.

Nakani’s enthusiasm for this level of involvement isevident from the following comment: ‘During theapartheid times, we in Umtata were in the bush, bothphysically and intellectually. We hope that the physicalbush lasts, but we want to be intellectually global. Ourinvolvement in this legal writing programme will pullus in that direction, as it will a great many women inlegal careers.’

And a final word from SAWLA. ‘We’re going topush our members to become involved,’ saidMeersingh. ‘It is now crucially important, perhapsmore so than ever before, that women become fullyinvolved in national policy dialogues – and not onlythose that deal with gender issues.’

If you’re interested in finding out more about thelegal writing programme try contacting SAWLAthrough their website at www.sawla.org.za

the research and writing skills that are attained.They’ll also evaluate the effectiveness of the programme as it progresses.

• The University of Limpopo will be developed as theresearch centre of the programme; and no doubtthere’ll be a continuing role as a conference venuewhere the work of gender-issue researchers can bemade public.

• Walter Sisulu University (WSU) will become themain venue for the training of the research andwriting skills that the programme is committed todevelop. As early as 2005, the head of the WSULaw School wrote a business plan for the establishment of a research and writing unit. Thiswas forwarded to the Department of Justice. Delaysfollowed. But now the business plan has beenresuscitated and will form the basis of WSU’sinvolvement in the overall enhancement plan.

Pumla Nakani, acting head of the criminal and procedural law department at WSU, explained that

The Bigger Picture/Panos

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Turfloop Law WeekWHAT SHOULD WOMEN BE WRITING ABOUT?IN HER KEYNOTE ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE START OF THE LAW WEEK CONFERENCE, BRIGITTEMABANDLA (THE THEN MINISTER OF JUSTICE ANDCONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT) POINTED OUTTHAT OVER THE PAST 14 YEARS A DEMOCRATICSOUTH AFRICA HAD MANAGED TO ESTABLISH ADEQUATE ENABLING LEGISLATION FOR THEADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN’S EMANCIPATION.

‘The establishment of the Women’s Coalition in1992 was a deliberate and strategic move to organisewomen from all walks of life in order to influence the(Codesa) negotiations process ... and I am convincedthat this influenced the negotiations in the direction ofgender sensitivity. Thus, at the time of constitution-making, women’s collective voice was strong. Theresult is that today we have a constitution that unequivocally entrenches the principle of genderequality.’

But Mabandla inferred that there was a visibledivide between the theory of the Constitution and thepractical reality on the ground. Less than two yearspreviously, at the launch of SAWLA, she had referredto South Africa’s 2005 progress report to the UnitedNations showing the ‘notable progress with regard towomen’s emancipation’ since the introduction ofdemocracy. For example, women’s representation inthe national legislature had risen to over 30 percentand in the Executive to above 40 percent. However,the country could not afford to rest on its laurels.

‘The decline of stereotypical attitudes towardswomen in many sectors, including the legal profession,has been slow,’ she had said. ‘We acknowledge thatmuch still needs to be done if we are to achieve the trueemancipation of women from the adversities they haveendured, and many continue to face, because of theirgender, race and social status in a patriarchal society.

‘Almost 84 years since women were first admittedas attorneys in South Africa, women are still massivelyunder-represented in positions of influence in the legal

sector. Women lawyers still find themselves hamperedby ongoing perceptions about their ability, values andeven their social and business astuteness. There is general consensus that, while the gender gap is narrowing, structural and systemic gender inequalitypersists.’

The biggest challenge, she said, was for SAWLA to make itself relevant to the South African realitiesexperienced by women on a daily basis. One of thefactors that would determine the relevance of the association would be its ability to make a difference in the lives of ordinary people, particularly women inthe broader society.

That was why, Mabandla told delegates at the Law Week conference on the Turfloop campus inSeptember, the Department of Justice andConstitutional Development had supported the initiative to capacitate women to write critically aboutthe law and how that law relates to society.

‘The critique of state policies and the review oflaws that advance a developmental agenda are important to facilitate progress,’ she said. ‘And it islawyers with writing skills, in particular progressivewomen lawyers, who will critique the judiciary in itsinterpretation of laws intended to advance social justice and gender equality. I am thinking in particularhere about such laws as the Sexual Offences Act andthe Domestic Violence Act.’

The state was currently reviewing the criminal justice system. This would entail in-depth studies relat-ing to the way investigations are carried out, to courtprocesses, and to penalties. All these areas were of critical concern to women. ‘Surely this is an opportunityfor women lawyers to identify areas of research andtake up the challenge on behalf of women everywhere.You will agree with me that subjecting a matter to critical analysis stimulates debate. Therefore, writingabout important social justice issues can help to deepen our understanding,’ Mabandla said.

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‘The agenda for research can be extended to includework in the area of international law,’ she went on.‘South Africa has acceded to numerous international treaties – for example, the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights and the InternationalConvention on the Elimination of all forms of RacialDiscrimination (ICERD). At the moment, we do nothave a gendered approach to the evaluation of ourobligations to these and other treaties. This meansthere are considerable opportunities for research inthese fields. Women lawyers can accordingly contribute significantly to our critical thinking aboutthe inter-sectionality of race, class and gender in South Africa.’

Mabandla pointed out that the state had committedSouth Africa to the Millennium Development Goals,and she stressed that women lawyers had a crucialrole to play by critically examining the country’sefforts to advance socio-economic rights, and therights to food, clean water and a clean environment.Women and children were the main targets for deprivation when these rights were not maintainedand the Millennium Development Goals not achieved.*Huge research and writing opportunities for womenlegal professionals existed in these fields.

‘Similar opportunities exist in the region,’Mabandla pointed out. ‘The African Union is in theprocess of establishing the African Court of HumanRights, as well as the attendant commission. Thewomen lawyers of our country have an important role,working in partnership with other women lawyers’organisations in Africa, to participate in the conceptualisation of these important African institutions. There is also the possibility of womenlawyers in Africa working together to define a gendered approach to social justice.’

Mabandla concluded her keynote address by saying she hoped the Law Week conferencve wouldafford an opportunity for the women of South Africa to work not only for women’s equality but for theadvancement of South Africans as a whole.

‘In the years to come I look forward to reading andlearning from women lawyers who have taken up thechallenge of writing. I learn that there are law studentsparticipating in this conference, some of whom will bepresenting papers. To you I say: the future is yours.Keep at it: never tire. We need an engine of ideas.We need new thinking. It is important for civil societyto monitor and critique the state. Critical thinkingleads to innovative ideas that are instructive and inspirational even to those in government. And womenmust take their rightful place in this process.’

Brigitte Mabandla

* See page 17 for our article on child nutrition in relation to the Millennium Development Goals that have been set

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Turfloop Law WeekOBSTACLES TO GENDER EQUALITY

s sectors of South African societywith respect to the eradication ofracism, but this universal endorse-ment was absent with respect togender equality.’

When question time camearound, several male contributorsdefended the culture of masculinityas part of traditional culture thatrecognised a gender-based division of labour. One manpointed out that the culture ofmasculinity had a definite religiousbasis. Another talked of thepower of Contralesa (the Congressof Traditional Leaders of SA) incontemporary South Africa. ‘Weshould never forget,’ he said, ‘thatit is the male seed that determinesthe heir to the throne.’

Professor Andrews answeredcalmly, but without compromise. It was a stance that could beexpected from a top quality legalbrain that had spent its formativeyears in the dust and tensions ofthe country’s ‘liberation struggle’.

Her mother had died whenAndrews was thirteen. By a strokeof good luck, she had been givena good education by IrishCatholic nuns working in CapeTown. After school she worked as a bookkeeper in a Cape Townfactory. In September 1976, thefactory workers staged a three-day stay-away. She joined theindustrial action and was promptly fired. She had alreadybecome politically conscious a

SOUTH AFRICA’SCONSTITUTION IS BUILT ONINDIVIDUAL HUMAN RIGHTS,SAYS PROFESSOR PENELOPEANDREWS. It’s a document that is widely cited internationally,widely applauded and praised for its transformative qualities.Indeed, the Bill of Rights that theConstitution contains has beenhailed as one of the 20th century’smost impressive documents. In short, the Constitution has thepotential to transform the societythat upholds it simply because itso comprehensively embraceshuman rights for all citizens. Not least for women.

The South African Constitutionprovides protections on severalgrounds, including gender, sex,pregnancy and marital status. It goes further than that. It sets outnot only what cannot be allowedby the government and privateindividuals, but also what govern-ment must do to improve the livesof people, particularly poor people. The way in which theConstitution lays out the ground-work for affirmative action is acase in point. The protection ofindividuals against discriminationand violence, even in the home, is another.

But there are problems andobstacles at work in South Africansociety that militate against theefficient operation of these elementsof the Constitution. This was the

opinion of Professor Andrews,born in Kensington and partlyraised on South Africa’s CapeFlats and now a professor of lawat Valparaiso University in thestate of Indiana in the USA.

She told a hushed auditoriumat the Law Week conference heldon the Turfloop campus inSeptember: ‘Why is there so muchgender-based hardship, so muchrape and domestic violence? Why are the rights of everyonenot more vigorously defended,particularly against assaults onthe person? The Constitution existsto underwrite protections againstthese sex-based forms of violence,but there are other influences –cultural influence – that seemstronger. There is a considerableamount of gender inequality thatexists in South African culture.There is definitely the ‘culture ofmasculinity’ to contend with,which refuses to accept genderequality. Men want to remain incharge. But the truth is that underthe South African Constitutioneveryone should be equally incharge.

‘My belief,’ said Andrews, ‘isthat despite the formal embrace ofgender equality in the Constitution,the interlocking cultural underpin-nings of sexism and patriarchyhave never been dislodged. It istrue that at the end of apartheid,a formal vision of equality wasunequivocally endorsed across all

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few years earlier after witnessingthe police action against protestingstudents who had taken refuge inSt George’s Cathedral in the centre of Cape Town – a protestled by the then student leaderGeoff Budlender. These eventsshocked her and forced her attention to the injustices beingperpetuated in the name ofapartheid. She also saw thehuman waste and injustice in thesystem.

Andrews was married early, to a man from Durban. She nowtravelled with him to his

hometown where she got a jobat the University of Natal LegalAid Clinic. Under the tutorship ofProfessor McQuoid Mason, sheobtained a summer placement atthe Legal Resources Centre. Thereshe was introduced to some of thebest lawyers in South Africa asthey worked against the apartheid system and its manifoldsuppressions. These experiencespointed her in the direction of her ultimate career.

She took her first law degreeat the University of Natal. Shethen got a scholarship to do her

Masters at Columbia University inNew York. She lived for threeyears in New York. After qualifying,she went to Australia to lecturelaw in Melbourne, but returned toAmerica where she lectured at theCity University of New York, andfinally she moved to Valparaiso.

‘During all this time, I have fre-quently returned to South Africa,’Andrews said, ‘and of course I have written extensively onSouth African legal issues. Andtwo years ago (in 2006) I wasshort-listed for a position as judge of South Africa’s

PROFESSOR PENELOPEANDREWS, WHO VISITED THEUNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPO’STURFLOOP CAMPUS TO ATTENDTHE LAW WEEK CONFERENCE INSEPTEMBER, HAS PLEDGED SOMEPRACTICAL HELP TO THESCHOOL OF LAW. THIS WILLCOME IN THE FOLLOWINGFORMS:• Help to stock the Turfloop law

library with up-to-date publications from US publishinghouses and institutions

• Arrange for law journals to beregularly sent to the law library

• Assemble a group of Americanacademics to provide an annual intensive legal writingcourse at Turfloop

• Seek funding to allow a promising South African studentto undertake postgraduate studyin the United States.

The Penelope E Andrews HumanRights Award has been establishedat the University of KwaZulu-Natalwhich annually allows a third-yearlaw student from South Africa tospecialise in the area of poverty law.

ASSISTANCE FOR THESCHOOL OF LAW

Professor Penelope Andrews

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country was admirably equippedto do this. The Constitution insiststhat gender equality is now abasic human right. Everyone,regardless of race or gender, hada right to liberty and happiness,secure in their persons and beforethe law. The question was how toaccelerate the impact of theConstitution on the nation’s prevailing culture.

‘Think of it in this way,’ sheconcluded. ‘What will SouthAfrican culture be like in fiftyyears’ time? What seems certain isthat it will look very different fromtoday. And the role of lawyers incultural change is important. I believe that being a lawyermeans being vitally concernedwith social justice and equity.Looked at from this perspective,the Constitution becomes a vitaltool for change. But such a legalinfrastructure requires constant,vigilant and effective implementa-tion and enforcement processes.’

Constitutional Court. I wasn’tappointed, but just being short-listed was a real honour.’

We need to return our attention to the Law Week conference. How did this daughter of the Cape Flats, nowa law professor, respond to themen seeking to inject legitimacyinto the culture of masculinity?

She said she talked about thethree major components – bothpolitical and cultural – of mas-culinity in South Africa: ‘The three components I identify are: first, a masculinist culture emanatingfrom an authoritarian and militaristic apartheid state; second, the masculinist culturalremnants of a violent anti-apartheid struggle; and third,aspects of indigenous customarylaw that continue to subordinatewomen.’• Regarding the first, the TRC

report has delineated in graphic detail the depths towhich the South African military and security establish-ment went to retain whitesupremacy. Such violencebecame an integral part of whiteSouth Africa’s maintenance ofrigid racial hierarchies, and italso reinforced a militaristicmasculinity predicated on thesubordination of white womenand the suppression of blackwomen.

• The liberation movements werescrutinised as well by the TRC,and their methods also raisedquestions about male violenceand female subordination.Despite popular rhetoric, the

very nature of this clandestinemilitary struggle and theinevitable absence of trans-parency and accountabilityreinforce patterns of masculinitythat disadvantaged women disproportionately. The lionised‘comrade’ became the symbolof black political opposition,epitomising male strength andmale defiance.

• The third component of SouthAfrica’s prevailing masculinistculture was a patriarchy rootedin some indigenous and religious institutions, and inindigenous and religious practices that subordinate anddisadvantage women in a hostof areas, including the custodyof children, access to property,and rights to inheritance.*

Andrews said that the task ahead,for all South Africans, was tochange this prevailing culture ofmasculinity and patriarchy. The

Turfloop Law WeekOBSTACLES TO GENDER EQUALITY

Professor Penelope Andrews

* Andrews based her contribution to the Turfloop Law Week on a 2007 paper – ‘Democracy Stops at my Front Door’: obstaclesto Gender Equality in South Africa – published in Loyola University Chicago International Law Review, vol 5, no 1.

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Turfloop Law WeekSUMMING UP THE GENDER CONFERENCE

Mabandla’s vision was straightforward: what wasneeded was more and more women professionalsbeing equipped to research and write on women’sissues. To further this vision, a partnership was formedbetween the University of Limpopo, the University ofCape Town, Walter Sisulu University, City University ofNew York, Harvard University, and the Department ofJustice and Constitutional Development. Together, theseinstitutions would implement the need for research andwriting skills that would enable women to write authoritatively on women’s issues and concerns. The Law Week conference was the event chosen tolaunch this bold new venture, as well as to provide a platform for the work already being done in relationto gender and the law.

It is my hope that this Law Week, the second underthe auspices of the Turfloop School of Law, will heraldthe beginning of a new culture that will extend farbeyond the initial focus of law, gender and socialtransformation. This new culture should be based on a new way of looking at life and its challenges, theformation of a new and progressive intellectualismbased on more co-operation among the universities,and more interaction among the different academicdisciplines. Only if this new co-operative and interdisciplinary culture is allowed to take root will webe able convincingly to cope with the transformationdemands of the times in which we live.

A fundamental truth is that there is no single person, institution or any other social association ororganisation that can claim to hold a monopoly on anunderstanding of the complexities of the changes facing the world at the present time.

My belief is that the 2008 Law Week has made a valuable contribution in this regard. The paperswere varied and inspiring; the conversations amongthe hundreds of delegates who attended were lively.My thanks go to the organising team.

WE ARE TODAY IN THE MIDST OF A GLOBAL CRISISAS THE WORLD TRANSFORMS FROM ONE STAGEOF SOCIAL EVOLUTION TO THE NEXT. What is clearis that fundamental change is needed in all areas ofsociety, and gender relations are no exception. Sincethe change that is needed is so profoundly fundamental,social change activities must go far beyond traditionalpolitical activism. A much broader spectrum is needed,including personal growth, public education, communityorganisation, the creation of alternative institutionsand technologies, and the unpacking and confrontationof policies where this is needed.

While it is valuable and important to fight againstthe worst abuses of our current society, we in theSchool of Law have resolved that social transformationrequires that we be proactive in helping to transformsociety, especially in the ways in which we think aboutthe legislative structures underpinning society. Hencethe Law Week.

The School has realised that co-operation, dialogueand the participation of all role players is the mosteffective means of achieving social transformation intoday’s world. Having noted the necessity of thesechanges, and having examined the most pressingneeds for transformation in South African society, theSchool came up with the theme ‘Law, Gender andSocial Transformation’.

One reason for choosing this theme was the needto create dialogue between and participation bywomen legal professionals in dealing with the problems of ordinary people – in this case ordinarywomen. The erstwhile Minister of Justice andConstitutional Development, Brigitte Mabandla, sharedwith Law Week delegates her vision relating to lawand gender issues. Indeed she and her team, JoyceMaluleke and Thuli Madonsela, had long becameactivists on the difficulties faced by women in relationto the practice of the law.

B y A D V O C A T E R E U B E N L E T S E K U , d i r e c t o r o f t h e S c h o o l o f L a w a t T u r f l o o p

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‘Several regions in Latin America, north Africa, theMiddle East, Europe, and southeast Asia have hadconsistent annual rates of decline in excess of 4 percentover 35 years. Global progress on MDG4 is dominatedby slow reductions in sub-Saharan Africa, which alsohas the slowest rates of decline in fertility.’

South Africa is one of 12 countries that has shownan increase in the U5MR since the signing of theMDGs. South Africa is the most economically powerfulof the 12. Added to that is the fact that of the countries that have made progress, some of them donot have the resources and infrastructure that SouthAfrica has – countries such as Malawi, Tanzania andMozambique.

Child mortality rates say more about the general‘health’ of a country than practically any other statistic. And ours is shameful.

We thus determined that the U5MR would be ahighly relevant topic to cover in more detail – withinput from the Dr George Mukhari Hospital on itsefforts to reduce these often avoidable maternal and child deaths.

Included in this section on child mortality are interviews with Specialist Paediatrician Dr Mphele Mulaudzi, based at Kalafong Hospital near Atteridgeville, for her in-depth knowledge and understanding of child mortality, and Professor Sam Monokoane for his perspective on maternal and neonate deaths, as well as a look at the Dr George Mukhari Hospital’s new KangarooMother Care centre.

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Child mortality in South AfricaNOT EVEN CLOSE TO ACHIEVING MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL 4IN THE last issue of L i m p o p o L e a d e r , we lookedat the overall progress that Dr George MukhariHospital has made over the past two years. One ofthe sectors identified by the then hospital CEO, GaleRamafoko, as a centre of excellence was Obstetrics &Gynaecology, headed by Professor Sam Monokoane.But the information we gleaned from ProfessorMonokoane was bittersweet. While factors relating toinfant and maternal deaths are given uncompromisingfocus within the department’s area of control; the bigger picture is not encouraging. There are too manygaps in the national healthcare system between policies and successful implementation – and too manymother and baby lives lost.

This year saw the halfway mark in the 15-yearglobal End Poverty Millennium Development Goals(MDG) programme, which was signed in 2000 by190 countries – of which South Africa was one.

MDG4 is the reduction of the under-five mortalityrate (U5MR) by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015.In 1990 South Africa’s baseline U5MR was 60 deathsper 1 000 live births; which means that by 2015 wehave committed to achieving a rate of 20/1 000.

The current UN estimate of South Africa’s U5MR is69 deaths per 1 000 live births. The Saving Children2006 report compiled by Child PIP (ProblemIdentification Programme) users and the MRC Unit forMaternal and Infant Health Care Strategies sets thefigure at 59/1 000 – but that refers only to deaths inhospitals. It’s believed that there are many more childdeaths at home that are not registered. Of the deathsaudited, the main causes include lower respiratorytract infection, diarrhoea, severe infections and meningitis. More than half the children who died hadsymptomatic HIV and two-thirds were malnourished.

An article titled, ‘Can we achieve MillenniumDevelopment Goal 4?’ in T h e L a n c e t , September2007, states that the global U5MR is expected todecline by 27 percent from 1990 to 2015, substantiallyless than the global MDG4’s target of 67 percent.

2006, 9,7 million children died before their 5th birthday – with 60 percent before their first birthday.Sub-Saharan Africa is responsible for 49 percent ofthese deaths, but contributing 22 percent of the world’sbirths. In fact, one in six sub-Saharan children diesbefore the age of five. This is of course exacerbatedby the fact that 90 percent of the world’s HIV-infected children live in this area and 46 percent of thisregion’s people live in extreme poverty.

In South Africa, Child PIP data shows a horrifyingpicture of 65 percent of all children who die in hospital before their fifth birthday being malnourished.Even worse is that a third are severely malnourished.

When this is our tragic reality, we can hardly start boasting about achievements in other sectors.This truth is not just the burden of our health andsocial welfare departments, but it should pierce theconsciences of every well-fed South African, notesMulaudzi.

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Child mortality in South AfricaSHAMEFUL CHILD DEATH RATESDEMAND ACTIONIT’S WITH POIGNANT SADNESS CO-MINGLED WITH A PRAGMATIC HOPE FOR THE FUTURE THATDR MPHELE MULAUDZI, ONE OF THE LEADINGLIGHTS IN SOUTH AFRICA ON THE SUBJECT OFCHILD DEATHS, TALKS ABOUT THE CHILD MORTALITYRATES IN THIS COUNTRY.

Mulaudzi, Specialist Paediatrician at KalafongHospital and Lecturer for the University of Pretoria, has been involved in ongoing research into childdeaths, and has contributed significantly to the Child PIP (Problem Identification Programme) ‘Saving Children’ surveys that have produced valuableresearch data from various hospitals in South Africafor three years since 2004.

The Saving Children 2006 report sets the under-fivemortality rate (U5MR) at 59 deaths per 1 000 livebirths. Those figures refer only to deaths in hospitals.Mulaudzi believes there may be as many as 30 percentmore child deaths at home that are not registered.Estimates from various sources range from 59 to 99per 1 000 – but whatever the exact figure, it’s waytoo high for a country that claims to be an economicpowerhouse of the region and a ‘developing’ country.

The puzzle for Mulaudzi, and for many like-mindedpeople in South Africa, is how the survival of childrencan be so low on the country’s list of priorities. ‘Webuild great buildings, we even put policies in place –but there it seems to end. Our nation’s children areneglected and their fundamental right to life ignored,’says Mulaudzi. That’s where the Child PIP reportcomes in. The information collected in Saving Childrenis designed to be used to improve healthcare services.‘Our aim is not only to count the number of deaths orwhat caused them; it’s to improve the care of the children.’

GLOBAL CHILD DEATHSThe global picture looks like this: The estimated U5MRhas been decreasing over the past three decades,except for the southern African region that has shownan increase since the early 1990s. Worldwide in

Dr Mphele Mulaudzi

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SAVING CHILDREN The Saving Children 2006 survey concurs, ‘In the 12years since democracy in South Africa, much progresshas been made, but a key marker of a strong nation isthe survival of children from the poorest families. Isprogress enough when 73 000 children die each yearand the burden is highest among the poorest?’ Basedon 1998 data, the poorest families have a risk ofchild death of 87 per 1 000 births – four times higherthan the wealthiest families.

The setting for the Saving Children 2006 surveywas 31 hospitals from nine provinces, representing different levels of paediatric healthcare across rural,peri-urban and urban populations. In all, 2 223deaths were audited in detail. The main causes ofdeath include lower respiratory tract infection, diarrhoea, severe infections and meningitis.

There were 4 970 modifiable factors for the 2 223deaths. Modifiable factors are instances of substan-dard care and missed opportunities for interventionduring the process of caring according to a comprehensive list. This means that for each death,there were on average more than two occurrences ofsubstandard care.

In a presentation to the SA Human RightsCommission last year, Mulaudzi used entries from thehospital charts of babies who had died to emphasisethe tragedy of lack of proper care:• ‘No notes in child’s folder for three days prior to

death; last note: doing well.’ 6-week old Ayandawith unknown cause of death.

• ‘Not seen on ward at all after admission; SATSrecorded as 66 percent; no oxygen given; SATS

never rechecked.’ 13-month old Thando with AcuteRespiratory Infection. (SATS – SA Triage Scale – isthe process of sorting patients into different priorities based on their degree of illness or injury.)

• ‘Lumbar puncture considered, but not done.Diagnosis of meningitis delayed by 15 hours;antibiotic never started.’ 16-month old Sanele withmeningitis.

Mulaudzi notes that ‘access’ in the health system is notsimply about getting through a door. It’s also aboutwhat happens during each and every ‘caring process’on either side of the door.

EVERY DEATH COUNTSThe ‘Every Death Counts’ report released this year is a compilation of three South African mortality auditreports – S a v i n g M o t h e r s , S a v i n g B a b i e sand S a v i n g C h i l d r e n – that offers a review of thehealthcare provided to mothers, babies and childrenand includes information on cause of death and avoidable factors. The report draws the following conclusions regarding modifiable factors in childdeaths:• 25 percent related to family/ community action,

such as caregiver not recognising severity of illness.• 22 percent related to policy maker or managerial

action – lack of senior doctors and nurses andinsufficient paediatric beds.

• 53 percent related to healthcare provider action,such as Integrated Management of ChildhoodIllnesses (IMCI) system not used in clinics, and poor assessment and management in hospitals.

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upgrading; providing childcare grants alone in house-holds with no other income is not enough. Job creationshould also be a priority. We’re now half way throughour allocated 15 years for reaching the MDGs. Thedocument we signed stated that we would ‘spare noeffort to free our fellow men, women and childrenfrom the abject and dehumanising conditions ofextreme poverty.’ It’s time we did just that.

HIV AND CHILD DEATHSHIV – as has been noted – is a massive factor in childdeaths. The Lancet (April 2008) states that ‘75 percentof the children dying who were severely malnourishedhad clinical criteria that were compatible with stage IIIor IV HIV/Aids. This means that for most of theseseverely malnourished children, HIV infection hasresulted in a vicious cycle of infection and under nutrition. It also means that improved HIV preventionand management should reduce the prevalence of malnutrition and the risk of death.’

Mulaudzi elaborates: ‘We have the resources andthe policies to reduce the effect of HIV on our childmortality rate, but we are still finding that interventionsat our healthcare facilities are often inadequate. Forinstance, the percentage of children not tested for HIVin 2006 was 34 percent. Lack of testing is a majorobstacle to accessing holistic HIV care. We’ve alsoseen ongoing serious shortcomings in the PMTCT(Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission) programme;only one in two mothers who were eligible for PMTCTprophylaxis – nevirapine – actually received it. Andalthough 49 percent of the deaths in the Saving Childrenreport were eligible for ART, they didn’t receive it.’

Had these policies and interventions been properlyimplemented, many children’s lives would no doubthave been saved.

GOING FORWARDBut the situation cannot be seen as complete gloomand doom. There is hope. There is comprehensiveinformation to indicate where the gaps are in knowledge on the part of mothers and caregivers andpointing to implementation of interventions that areavailable in this country.

‘The death of children due to HIV can be significantly reduced through proper implementation of measures and policies that are currently available.These include preventing HIV infection of babiesthrough the prevention of infection of young and pregnant women and through PMTCT medication during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It’s also vital toidentify infected children as early as possible, and totreat with ART.’

It’s significant too that a malnourished child has anapproximate five times greater risk of dying than awel-nourished child. Our social welfare policies need

Child mortality in South AfricaSHAMEFUL CHILD DEATH RATES DEMAND ACTION

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High-risk pregnancies include women with hyper-tension, which affects about 10% of women. His unitalso sees a large number of cardio patients – most ofwhom have had valve replacement. Patients with badpregnancy histories are also sent to DGMH, as arepatients with severe infections of the womb post delivery, labour-related problems such as ruptureduteruses and big babies.

Monokoane, who has served on the nationalMaternal Deaths Committee for 10 years, lists the mostcommon causes of maternal death:• Eclampsia, which generally results from healthcare

workers’ slow response to the warning signs.Eclampsia follows pre-eclampsia, which manifestswith dangerously high blood pressure, swelling,protein in the urine, and sometimes convulsions. If allowed to progress, this syndrome leads toeclampsia and if not managed in time, it leads todeath.

• Post partum haemorrhaging, which Monokoane

Child mortality in South AfricaIN THE INTERESTS OF SAFER ANDHEALTHIER CHILDBIRTH

i‘I WAS TAUGHT HOW TO DO A CAESAREAN SECTIONBY A MIDWIFE NUN IN A MISSION HOSPITALWHEN I WAS A FIFTH-YEAR MEDICAL STUDENT.I love what the missionary hospitals taught us in quality patient care and absolute commitment.’Professor Sam Monokoane, head of Obstetrics andGynaecology in the Medical School and DGMH, isrenowned among staff and students alike for beingultra strict. He maintains that his obsession with exceptionally high standards throughout his department started with the standards that weredrummed into him every holiday as a medical studentwhen he spent time at one or other missionary hospital.

‘But it’s really simple,’ he barks. ‘All I want fromjunior doctors is for them to understand this truth. Godcreated pregnancy to be nine months – nothing more.At the end of nine months we must reward the motherwith a live healthy baby. And we must ensure that thebaby has a healthy mother.’

That he runs a tight ship is not disputed from oneend of the hospital to the furthest end of the universitycampus, nor is the fact that it is a centre of excellence.Past CEO of DGMH, Gale Ramafoko, commendedMonokoane as one of a handful of top achievers inhis estimation. In patient audits too, this departmenthas done well and achieved acceptable levels ofpatient satisfaction. Monokoane himself commends thededicated staff within the department.

Monokoane has been at DGMH and the MedicalSchool since 2001 in his present capacity. Before thathe was head of department and principle specialist inobstetrics and gynaecology (O&G) at EdendaleHospital near Pietermaritzburg.

His responsibilities with DGMH include providing acomprehensive O&G service, which includes attendingto highly specialised and high-risk cases in a largecatchment area that stretches from as far north asMusina near the South African border and includes anumber of hospitals throughout North West province.

Professor Sam Monokoane

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says he can’t believe is still so prevalent today –‘women should not be dying from bleeding in thisday and age’. He says patients are dying frombleeding during or after caesarean sections ‘evenwith experienced people in attendance’.

• Pregnancy related sepsis is also a primary cause ofdeath. Most commonly, the final cause of death isseptic shock or multi-organ failure. Contributorycauses of death include respiratory failure, immunesystem failure, and cardiac failure. It’s probablethat patients would have had more than one finalor contributory cause of death. Monokoane addsthat HIV is often prevalent among women who diefrom pregnancy-related sepsis.

He says that a significant percentage of women whocontract pregnancy-related sepsis have had ‘back-street’ or unsafe abortions, presumably because of thelong waiting periods at the legal abortion clinics.• Anaesthetic deaths occur unexpectedly during or

shortly following anaesthesia and can generally bedirectly attributed to anaesthesia. Monokoane saysthat a troubling fact is that lack of management ofthe complications of anaesthesia results in toomany deaths.

• Ectopic pregnancies are causing a surprising number of deaths, he says. A worrying trend is thatdelays in operating are occurring too often. Anectopic pregnancy is one in which the fertilisedegg is implanted outside the womb – generally inthe fallopian tubes – and left untreated, it can befatal due to intra-abdominal haemorrhaging.

These deaths are invariably avoidable, he states. Toooften the healthcare is not adequate; there is poor orno response to developing conditions that need urgenttreatment, or the response is inappropriate.

An enormous challenge too, for not onlyMonokoane’s unit but for O&G departments through-out South Africa is PMTCT of HIV/Aids. DGMH has a30 percent rate of HIV-positive mothers giving birth,which is in keeping with Gauteng’s rate. According tothe S A M e d i c a l J o u r n a l , March 2007, an estimated 144 000 new HIV infections occurred inGauteng in 2005, which translates to about 400 newinfections every day. And PMTCT is being complicated

even further by related diseases such as TB and meningitis.He also wants to see a lot more research and

attention given to the unacceptably high prevalence of death during delivery. The most common cause isunexplained. The second most common cause ispreterm deliveries, with babies weighing less than 1 000g. But most alarming is the third most commoncause, which is interpartum asphyxia – suffocationduring delivery. ‘Care during this stage is crucial andtoo often we find that foetal stress has not been detected, the foetus has not been monitored, or thefoetus is monitored but the medical person delays inrescuing the baby.’

Modifiable factors in stillbirths and neonatal deaths identified in the ‘Every Death Counts’ reportshow that:• 38 percent relate to family/community action, such

as delay in seeking care during labour.• 19 percent relate to policy maker or managerial

action, such as personnel not available or not sufficiently trained.

• 35 percent relate to healthcare provider action,such as poor response to maternal hypertension.

This brings Monokoane to his passion for effectiveteaching. His involvement in the university’s teachingand training programme includes MBChB degreeundergraduates and postgraduates as well as midwives and advanced midwifery courses.

He maintains that his teaching is centred on threemain factors. ‘1. Be disciplined – know how torespond and know your limits. 2. Have a positive attitude to a good work ethic – stay on duty and don’tdisappear! 3. Make sure that the patients alwayscome first. If students get those right they’re well ontheir way to being responsible, accountable and competent professionals – and to achieving our ultimate aim of reducing tragedies in pregnancy andchildbirth.’

Every Monday, morbidity and mortality meetingsare held where the previous week’s tragedies are comprehensively analysed and assessed. Monokoanesays, ‘We ask where we went wrong, what lessonswere learned, and what can we do to improve the situation so it doesn’t happen again.’

Ever.

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Child mortality in South AfricaNEW UNIT SEES INFANTS THRIVINGWITH CLOSE CARE

kKANGAROOS KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOINGWHEN THEIR ‘BABIES’ ARE NEWLY BORN. They keepthem in their pouches close to their bodies day andnight. That’s the wonderfully simple idea behind thegrowing phenomenon in premature baby care inGauteng hospitals – called Kangaroo Mother Care(KMC). This concept adds a spark of hope andencouragement to the tragic topic of child and maternal deaths that we’ve been reviewing.

The KMC is the latest unit to open in DGMH, andthe results are ‘hugely encouraging’, according toSister Lilly Masote, who is in charge of the unit. Over20 percent of babies born in Gauteng are premature– and the death rate among these infants has alwaysbeen higher than in full-term babies.

The KMC ward has 25 beds for mothers and theirpreterm babies – usually between 900g and 1.8kg.The mothers must come in as well, as their care oftheir babies is vitally important to the level of progressthese babies experience. Babies born with severe complications such as respiratory diseases are stillsent to neonatal ICU.

KMC started in Colombia in the 70s when overcrowded hospitals and limited funds meant thathealthcare workers had to find an alternative to incubators. The concept consists of a cotton slingcalled a kangaroo tie that creates a ‘pouch’ for anewborn baby wearing only a nappy to be held skin-to-skin between the mother’s breasts. While she didn’thave exact figures, Masote is confident that babies inKMC gain weight more rapidly than those kept inincubators, which means they are discharged quicker.The babies are taken out only for feeding, weighing,nappy-changing or when the mother needs to bath.

She adds that the temperature between a woman’sbreasts is always just right – breasts are thermo-neutral. Incubators, on the other hand, have to be constantly adjusted to the right temperature. KMC unitbabies are also largely protected against infections

Sister Lilly Masote

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Child mortality in South AfricaNEW UNIT SEES INFANTS THRIVING WITH CLOSE CARE

mothers on health issues such as good nutrition andpersonal hygiene while they’re in the unit.

The unit is a ‘dream come true’ for Florah Kuypers,Deputy Director of Nursing at DGMH. ‘This initiative is saving babies’ lives and is making a real differenceto the teenage mums who come to the hospital. Thetime that the young mothers spend in skin-on-skin proximity to their babies, along with ongoing education and encouragement from the nursing staff in the KMC unit is giving these girls a real opportunityto see themselves as – and to practice being – responsible mothers.’

because they have contact with immunity-building bacteria on their mothers’ skin.

Another reason that Masote is delighted with theKMC unit is the way the mothers bond with theirbabies. Many – possibly up to 75 percent – of themothers are teenagers, and many are terrified of hurting their tiny babies. The kangaroo tie and theconstant physical contact with their babies give them a greater degree of confidence in their ability to lookafter their babies.

Masote’s empathy for the young mothers is palpable as she explains how the ward staff membersmake the most of the opportunity to educate the young

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BUILDING LIVESTOCK BREEDS FORLOCAL CONDITIONS

w‘WHEN YOUR INNER BULL CALLS. LISTEN.’ That’s thepayoff line for a Seat Ibiza advertisement currentlyflighting on television where the charging bull – aNguni of course – metaphorically catapults the metro-sexual man out of his sushi and yoga lifestyle and intothe driver’s seat of the Seat Ibiza.

Such is the growing reputation of the noble andtough Nguni breed in South Africa. In fact, it has beensaid that when looking for a good quality Nguni bull,it must show attitude that is reflected in the way thehead is held, in its wide forehead, alert ears, and aclassic ‘you owe me money’ look!

Nguni cattle have been an integral and rich part of southern African history for hundreds of years –and references to them abound in local oral historyand poetry. In her book, T h e A b u n d a n t H e r d s : A C e l e b r a t i o n o f t h e N g u n i C a t t l e o f t h eZ u l u P e o p l e , author Marguerite Poland refers to apoetic and complex naming practice that associatesthe distinctive colours and patterns of a hide with natu-ral phenomena such as birds, animals and plants.

But such poetic naming practices are possibly notoften on the mind of Professor Jones Ng’ambi, head of the Animal Production Department in the School ofAgriculture and Environmental Sciences at theUniversity of Limpopo – even though Nguni cattle dominate much of his working day.

In L i m p o p o L e a d e r 9 , S p r i n g 2 0 0 6 , weintroduced his department’s work in trying to maximisethe assets of the Nguni breed, and optimise the productivity of the cattle, as well as indigenous goatsand chickens. Here we look at the progress made inthis department, as well as the financial support it has been granted by the Directorate of the ‘VlaamseInteruniversitaire Raad’ (VLIR) through the University ofAntwerp in Belgium.

The Nguni project at the university to improve thebloodline and productivity of the breed, funded by the Industrial Development Corporation, is growing

successfully. Ng’ambi says it entails purchasing livestock from auctions; assessing them at the universityfarm for about a month; and then distributing them tovillages throughout the Limpopo Province. At this stagea total of about 250 cattle have been placed in about20 communities throughout the Limpopo Province.

‘The Nguni Cattle Breeders Society of South Africahelps us with the selection of animals, which meanswe have managed to maintain a high standard amongthe stock purchased. When the cattle are placed in villages, we have changed the system from collectiveownership to individual to encourage greater buy-in

Professor Jones Ng’ambi

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the communities survive? For instance, is there adrought-tolerant crop that can feed the animals?’ The department will be striving to find the answers to these and many other questions over the course ofthe next five years.

Other work in the animal department also focuseson two primary goals – to build economic viabilitywithin rural communities, totally in keeping with theuniversity’s motto of ‘finding solutions for Africa’, andtraining students. ‘We’ve been training many studentsat Masters level and the many projects we areinvolved with – involving cattle, goats and chickens –have been very helpful at that level. In fact, many ofour students are being offered good jobs even beforethey finish their degrees.’

Another validation of the department’s overall success in achieving its goals is the fact that two ofthe professors from the Animal Production Department– Ng’ambi and Professor David Norris (an animalbreeder) – have been rated by the NRF and are eachbeing allocated R40 000 to use on projects of theirown choice.

Ng’ambi’s passion and interest in cattle – andespecially indigenous cattle – was instilled in him at a very early age, on his family’s cattle farm in thenorth-eastern region of Chipata in Zambia. His fatherbecame a cattle farmer after working for some yearson a farm in Zimbabwe. By the time Ng’ambi finishedsecondary school, the farm was a successful ventureand was able to support the family. Though his fatherdied at that stage, Ng’ambi’s mother and his youngestbrother took over the farm and still run it today. Thecattle are used for milk, meat, and for sale as lobolacattle.

Ng’ambi visits his family and the farm every two or three months, and he and his brother exchangeideas and knowledge on improving the health andproductivity of cattle.

to the project. For instance, if we identify a person tobe the recipient of the next calf born in the villageherd, he or she will be more likely to get involved inensuring that the animals get the best possible feedingand management.’

The Limpopo IDC Nguni Cattle Development Trusthas also recently employed a livestock manager tomonitor the cattle in the villages and keep all therecords. By the end of next year the department willbe in a position to appoint a student to look at therecords and thoroughly evaluate the project.

Furthermore, Ng’ambi says his department is alsoin discussion with the National Research Foundation(NRF) to launch a project to gene map the Nguni,which would add tremendous value to the ongoingdevelopment of the breed. Ng’ambi believes that if theproductivity of Nguni cattle could be increased by justone percent, it would have a significant impact onmeat production – and consequently on the economicstrength of the rural communities.

To boost this idea a joint project is under way withthe University of Pretoria, the Agricultural ResearchCouncil and an Australian company to look into thequality and taste of Nguni meat. Ng’ambi’s personalbelief is that Nguni meat ‘tastes better’ than other cattle breed meat and that it has the potential to be a big branded seller during the 2010 soccer season –and beyond.

A portion of the grant from the Flemish universityhas been allocated to the School of Agricultural andEnvironmental Sciences specifically to look at theeffects of climate change in relation to factors relevantto livestock production. This project will involve live-stock and plant production, water management, aswell as student development. It’s scheduled to start in2009 and run for five years, after which the resultswill be reviewed. He elaborates, ‘Essentially, what weare planning in the livestock department is to deter-mine what we expect to happen and what we can doto slow down the effects of climate change. We needto make sure that the effects are not devastating to ourlivestock production and hence to our communities.Droughts will diminish available food for the livestockand increase the likelihood of diseases. With thesepossible outcomes, what can we do to make sure that

BUILDING LIVESTOCK BREEDS FOR LOCAL CONDITIONS

P A G E 2 8

Profile: RATHNUM NAIDOOSTUDENTS – THE NEW REGISTRAR’S

t

school had ever had. He managed the Department ofHumanities and was given a meritaward for outstanding teachingability and organisational skills.He then spent eight months as a candidate attorney with JAYazbek & Co in East London,before the lure of educationcalled him back to the fold. He lectured at the College ofEducation in Mdantsane for threeyears when he was appointedRegistrar (Administration andFinance) of the college.

This was followed by a two-year stint as Faculty Manager:

THE STUDENTS ARE OURCLIENTS AND IT’S OUR MANDATE AS ADMINISTRATORSTO DELIVER THE SAME QUALITYCUSTOMER SERVICE TO THEMACROSS BOTH CAMPUSES.That’s the type of bold and clear-thinking statement that thenew UL Registrar, Rathnum (betterknown as Dickie) Naidoo is making after 100 days in office.

Naidoo started at UL on 1 August 2008 and he hit theground running. In just threemonths he has settled in and iswell into the process of developingand implementing new systems.‘I’ve had extensive experience inadministration and teaching inhigher education institutions. I didn’t need a long period toacquaint myself with the systems; I just needed to thoroughly under-stand the culture of this institutionand fit into it.’

Naidoo’s qualifications includea Diploma in Education from theUniversity of Durban Westville in1975; a Diploma in SpecialisedEducation – Library Science –from Unisa in 1977; a BA withmajors in Economics and Historyin 1981, also from Unisa; and aB.Ed. from Rhodes University in1991. He also studied privatelaw at the University of Fort Hare,and is currently working towardshis MBA.

His work experience has takenhim from one end of South Africa

to the other. Born in Durban,Naidoo started teaching atTongaat Secondary School in1976 – which he describes as‘baptism by fire’ because of thestudent unrest that year, the difficult subject he was teaching –economics, and the fact that hewas all of 21 years old. But theexperience no doubt added moresteel to his spine.

He then lectured at theSpringfield College of Educationin Durban, before moving to EastLondon Secondary School, wherehe made history by being theyoungest head of department the

Rathnum Naidoo

P A G E 2 9

NUMBER ONE CLIENTS‘Every student admission mustcomply with minimum require-ments – and we must have themechanisms to ensure that thistakes place. Likewise, proceduresmust be in place to guarantee thatevery graduate has achieved theminimum standards prescribed bythe university. We must ensurethat none slip through cracks inadministrative procedures. Thiswould compromise our integritymost severely.’

Naidoo is also fine-tuning thegraduation ceremony, which hebelieves can be made even moreprofessional and reflective of thenobility and status of the university.

Another important area that hehas focused on is staff training.‘Our institution is undergoingtransformation. People need tounderstand what the changes are,why they are necessary, and howto cope with them. Otherwise theprocess is just painful for them –and they won’t be in a position to provide the great service to our clients that is so vital to oursuccess.’

Looking to the not too distantfuture, Naidoo says he believesthat UL should be the university ofchoice for youngsters consideringhigher education. ‘We must bemaking offers to the brightest students in the schools of Limpopoand beyond, and our reputationmust be such that they are honoured to accept our offer.’

Commerce, at the University ofCape Town, responsible for themanagement of academic andadministrative matters within thefaculty and the Graduate BusinessSchool.

He moved to Gauteng in 2003to take up a post as the SeniorDeputy Registrar (Academic) atTshwane University of Technologyfor five years where he wasresponsible for merging twodepartments under one headship.It was time to move again – thistime to UL.

Naidoo’s extensive experiencehas more than prepared him forthe varying tasks he is tackling atthe UL campuses. He’s quick tocommend the stalwart efforts thathave been made at the university,despite not having had a fully-fledged registrar for many years.He also points out that his job hasbeen made easier by the enablingenvironment provided by the Vice-Chancellor.

Naidoo’s approach to all histasks is fundamentally positive.‘No matter what the situation,there is always something positivewe can find and work with. Thisis more likely to result in a posi-tive outcome than focusing on thenegative would.’

With this attitude – and hisability to work well with people –Naidoo is tackling a myriad ofresponsibilities with the dynamicenergy and enthusiasm that he is

known for. But he will not, he cautions, be making changes forthe sake of it. Only systems andprocesses that can become moreefficient and effective throughchange will be targeted.

His first task, says Naidoo, isto develop a new structure for theuniversity that will be appropriatefor the IOP that is being imple-mented across the university campuses. He describes his proposed structure: ‘It’s flat. It’slean and it’s designed to be efficient and add value. It takesfinancial constraints into account,while not forgetting its purpose,which is to address needs – thefirst of which is to provide goodcustomer service to our students.’

The new structure advocatesthe appointment of a deputy registrar on each campus toensure that the service providedby the university is optimal.Naidoo says he’s had broadacceptance of the structure at thisstage. ‘As administrators, we willbe judged on what we leavebehind. We must leave a strongstructure that will serve the needsof this university equitably acrossboth campuses for many years tocome.’

Naidoo has also looked at thesystems of admissions and gradu-ation, and is putting policies inplace that will ensure that theabsolute integrity of the universityis not compromised in any way.

P A G E 3 0

Profile: PROFESSOR HLENGANI SIWEYATHE NEEDLE AND THE CUP*

hHE’S DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOLOF COMPUTATIONAL ANDMATHEMATICAL SCIENCES ATTHE UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPO.He’s committed to adding seriousvalue to the University ofLimpopo’s quest to become a centre of excellence. It was fitting,therefore, that in November2007, on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the SouthAfrican Mathematics Society(SAMS), Professor HlenganiSiweya was elected its presidentfor a two-year term. ‘I view this asa very high honour,’ he says.

It’s interesting to learn that thistalented mathematician – he hasspecialised in Topology – is amember of the royal family in theNdengeza clan in the former‘homeland’ of Gazankulu. Indeed,that’s where he was born andwent to school, emerging from the Giyani High School with distinctions in Mathematics andGeography in 1977.

By making use of an AngloAmerican Chairman’s Fund scholarship, he was able to enrolat the then University of the Northto study for a BSc (Paed) teachingdegree. Those years following theSoweto uprising were turbulentones on most university campuses,not least on Turfloop; neverthelessSiweya managed to maintain hisacademic promise, graduatingwith distinctions in Mathematics

and a subject called ‘Method ofMathematics’.

After two months of high-school teaching, he went back to do his BSc Honours, thanks toa bursary from BP South Africa.He completed this in ‘just’ oneyear with a distinction inDynamical Systems. He continuedto teach until 1985, when hejoined the staff in theMathematics Department atTurfloop. His academic careerforged rapidly ahead. In the early1990s, he spent a year at theUniversity of Sussex in Brighton(England), doing a Mastersdegree in ‘Point-free Topology’.By 1993 he had a secondMasters from Unisa, this time in‘Categorical Topology’. HisDoctoral degree followed in 1999 through the University ofDurban-Westville. His thesis dealtwith ‘Spreads in locales and uniform locales in Point-freeTopology’.

Asked what had attracted himto numbers, he replied. ‘It wasn’tthe numbers so much as the reasoning that went into the solving of the problems that thenumbers posed. You know the sortof thing that one begins with. Ifone child gets a certain percentageof a sum of money, and anotherchild a certain percentage of thebalance, what is left of the original amount? I found I could

explain the reasoning... some-times better than the teachers. I was given the responsibility of explaining the problem to theother pupils. I loved that role.

‘My childhood ambition,’ herecalls, ‘had been to become a Health Inspector. But very soon,because of my aptitude, I changedto mathematics teaching. Teachingis a passion for me. I still teach atfirst-year level. I also superviseMasters and Doctoral students. I always say there are two reasons for studying maths. The first is for the power of its applications. But the second goesmuch deeper: it’s for its beauty.’

As well as being the presidentof SAMS, Siweya serves on anumber of other important bodies.He’s the Vice-President (represent-ing the southern African region)of the African MathematicalUnion. He serves on the AdvisoryBoard of the African Institute ofMathematical Sciences. He’s amember, appointed by the SouthAfrican Minister of Science andTechnology, of the Council forNatural Scientific Professions, aswell as the chairperson of thisCouncil’s Professional AdvisoryCommittee on MathematicalScience. And earlier this year hewas asked to serve in the DeputyMinister of Education’s MinisterialReference Team for Mathematics,Science and Technology.

* These objects have distinct similarities for topologists like Professor Siweya. If you’re not certain what topology is, read on.

P A G E 3 1

What of the future? Siweya isforthright. ‘There are serious challenges for South Africa,’ heasserts. ‘The shortage of qualifiedpersonnel, from mathematics andscience teachers right through toresearchers and practitioners, willneed seriously to be addressed. I have already embarked on aprogramme of staff developmenthere at the School. Of our overforty lecturers, only two now havequalifications of less than Masterslevel. I definitely see my job hereas creating the space and oppor-tunities for others to excel.’

There have been two resultsemanating from this new focus onstaff enrichment and excellence.The first has been an increasingrespect for Turfloop staff and students. The second has been anincreased flow of funding fromoutside the university.

‘For myself,’ he says, ‘I stillfind time to do my own research –in the field of spreads and Point-free Topology.’ Siweya smilesslightly at the next question. ‘Letme try to explain. Topology is thestudy of geometrical shapes andtheir similarities. Think of a needleand a cup. There are similarities:they both have one hole. But theone is circular and the other linear. So you can see, Topologyis the study of geometrical properties...’

Professor Hlengani Siweya

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THE ORDER OF MAPUNGUBWE

THE UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPO IS HONOURED TO HAVE IN ITS MIDST ASCIENTIST, A RESEARCHER, A PERSON OF IMPECCABLE CREDENTIALS,AN OUTSTANDING CITIZEN OF OUR REPUBLIC. That person is ProfessorPhuti Ngoepe, head of the Materials Modelling Centre.

28 October 2008 was a day of celebration. It was the day on which theOrder of Mapungubwe (silver), the highest State order that a citizen of this ora foreign country may receive, was bestowed on Professor Ngoepe.

The symbolism that resides in the Order is pertinent to ProfessorNgoepe. The famous golden rhinoceros symbolises resourcefulness, whichshould be considered together with the Mapungubwe Hill in the back-ground that is an acknowledgement of the difficult natural environment fromwhich the excellence of Mapungubwe emanated. The four corners of theglobe found in the Order symbolise the outstanding accomplishments of ourpeople. Other symbols such as the furnace, the gold melting pot and thesceptre all suggest excellence, creativity and advancement.

It is thus no ordinary achievement to be nominated for and then to beawarded this singularly magnificent recognition of extraordinary ability anddedication. Professor Ngoepe, our colleague, our comrade, we salute you!

P r o f e s s o r N M M o k g a l o n g Vice-Chancellor and Principal

L i m p o p o L e a d e r has twice written about Professor Ngoepe. The firstwas a profile entitled ‘Combining High Science with Social Commitment’ in issue number 2 in the summer of 2004. The second was in the autumn of 2007, when Professor Ngoepe was awarded a research chair by theNational Research Foundation. The article in issue number 11 was headed‘World-Class Materials Modelling for Africa’ – Editor.

P A G E 3 2

Professor Phuti Ngoepe

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