QUESTION 1 [25 MARKS]

In 2016 the Human Rights Commission stated that South African schools must adopt reasonable measures to avoid painful psychological and traumatic impacts on minor learners. After various cases of allegations of differential treatment regarding language and hairstyles at schools, it was recommended that schools abolish their hairstyle policies to allow for natural hairstyles and the use of head scarves for religious and cultural reasons.

Briefly describe what such a proposed new policy could entail and then use Dunn’s (1994) criteria to evaluate whether this policy could be successful. Use examples to justify your argument and clearly state whether you believe the policy can be successful. You may research some articles and press releases to assist you in your answer.

QUESTION 2 [50 MARKS]

In July 2022, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment published new proposed regulations pertaining to hydraulic fracturing for public consultation. These proposed regulations come four years after the Supreme Court of Appeal set aside the regulations for petroleum exploration and production – that were intended to set standards for the use of hydraulic fracturing technology – on the basis that they were managing environmental impacts and only the relevant minister was empowered to make regulations on environmental matters.

The regulations identify prohibited activities and prohibit geographic areas for the use of hydraulic fracturing technology. The department also states that an environmental authorisation is required for each phase of the process, including seismic survey without hydraulic fracturing, hydraulic fracturing and the production phase. This allows for information to be generated to support each phase of the process and will facilitate the consideration of the cumulative impacts of the operation.

General and specific requirements are set for ongoing environmental monitoring of hydraulic fracturing and production operations. At the same time, the effect is given to coordination between decision-making authorities in relation to monitoring, environmental assessments, timeframes for the consideration of applications, conditions of approval and the decision-making process.

Sources:

• Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. 2022, National Environmental Management Act: Regulations: Exploration and production of onshore oil and gas requiring hydraulic fracturing: Comments invited.

• Petroleum Africa. 2022, South Africa releases proposed regulations pertaining to hydraulic fracturing.

Identify and describe the various policy environments involved in these proposed hydraulic fracturing regulations. You should cover both the general and the specific environments referred to in your course.

Identify two (2) Batho Pele principles that you believe the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, provincial government and local municipalities should practice ensuring that sufficient and effective service delivery occurs should hydraulic fracturing go ahead. Briefly motivate each selected principle as it applies to the case study. (10)

QUESTION 3 [15 MARKS]

The national e-government strategy and roadmap aims to guide the digital transformation of public service in South Africa into an inclusive digital society where all citizens can benefit from the opportunities offered by digital technologies to improve their quality of life. This document defines a renewed approach and programme of action that is aimed at radically
improving the electronic government (e-government) situation in South Africa.

There have been several e-government initiatives in the country at the national, provincial and district levels. Some of them have been highly successful and are suitable for replication. Some provinces, including Gauteng and the Western Cape, have advanced to a state where they have developed provincial e-government strategies and established independent e-Government departments. Most government departments have embraced the use of ICTs for e-Government to promote service delivery and to make the government more efficient and effective in improving civil administrative services.

Identify and explain five (5) key challenges the South African government faces in ensuring the sufficient rollout of e-government. Ensure that you explain each of these challenges in the context of the South African public sector.

QUESTION 4 [10 MARKS]

In February 2022 the parliamentary monitoring group reviewed the status of the National Waste Management Strategy in South Africa which was approved by the cabinet in 2020. This strategy is based on three (3) pillars, namely:

• The promotion of waste minimisation;
• Raising awareness of efficient and effective waste services ; and
• Compliance monitoring and enforcement.

Identify a waste management initiative, programme, or policy that you are familiar with and provide a brief description of the initiative, programme or policy and explain how it aims to realise any of these three (3) pillars.

Answers to Above Questions on Public Policy Management

Answer 1: The differential treatment with respect to language and hair styles needs to be addressed in an appropriate way and this requires an appropriate policy to be followed by the South Africa schools. There can be many factors that could be included in the policy in order to deal with the such an issue of differential treatment such as a policy explaining the hairstyle approach by students, consideration of religious and cultural expression, proper training and development with respect to discrimination within students, and the policy can also include a grievance mechanism process that could deal with such issue of differentiation within students. The policy can be evaluated using the Dunn’s (1994) criteria for evaluating programs such as …

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