Improving governance in the African context
The raft of recent changes at WSG will benefit the students
The Wits School of Governance (WSG) is a place where we focus on building capacity for governance. The school seeks ways of getting to grips with the problems that beset governance in South Africa whether at local, provincial, national, or continental levels. The WSG is the leading regional institution in the arena of governance, policy and development management for the public sector.
The research vision at WSG is to become the first port of call for master’s, doctoral and professional researchers interested in learning about how Africa works in the broad arena of governance, and in particular, how to navigate the politics of delivering development in Africa’s highly unequal and impoverished contexts. The primary purpose is to produce knowledge about how African public and development institutions are governed and managed; how they relate to non-state actors; and how to understand governance as the space where contending pressures are regulated and produce social goods.
Recently, the WSG benefitted from a series of new appointments in the academic and administrative cadre. Some of these include former Joburg City Manager, Trevor Fowler, as a Visiting Adjunct Professor. Dr Erin McCandless joins the School from the New School in New York, with a wealth of knowledge on peacebuilding, development and resilience. Professor Robert Van Niekerk has been appointed as the chair in public governance at the School and is highly respected for his contributions to social policy. There are several other exceptional people joining the School to offer their expertise in various aspects of governance. “The influx of new-comers is very healthy for the school. There have also been shifts and changes: convenorships have almost all changed hands, course packs are being updated, and academics are venturing into teaching new areas as well as working on designing new programme areas that better match a school of governance. New people bring new visions to degrees, content, and pedagogy, and our students will benefit from these changes,” says head of school, Professor David Everatt.
New staff and new ideas were needed to match the growing need to grapple with the complexities of governance on its own terms, and specifically within a context of a decolonised curriculum.
“With the #FeesMustFall movement legitimately calling for significant changes to what we teach, and how we teach, the school began various processes: some staff focus on decolonising the curriculum, and we will be compiling a library of over 200 key works on governance by African scholars; others are working on curriculum reengineering to allow students a more elective-based opportunity to steer their own intellectual path through our degrees; and others are working on both online and blended learning programmes so that we can reach further (geographically), ideally at lower cost, and allow students to access modules in their own time and place,” adds Everatt.
The school has become even more active in hosting events and opening its doors to the public as well as exposing guests to rigorous Q&A with their audiences. In 2017, the events included the India-Africa Knowledge Exchange Visit on Public-Private Partnerships in Health. The WSG and the Gauteng Provincial Disaster Management Centre held an inaugural provincial lecture titled Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction. The school continues to host the OR Tambo Debate Series, attracting highprofile speakers including Thuli Madonsela, Trevor Manuel, Mac Maharaj, Pravin Gordhan and Lindiwe Mabuza, and Luli Callinicos. A host of other stakeholders continue to reach out to the WSG to partner on events covering a range of issues, from economic transformation in South Africa to climate change.