RIGHT TO HEALTH

“The right to health is fundamental to the physical and mental well-being of all individuals and is a necessary condition for the exercise of other human rights including the pursuit of an adequate standard of living.” extract from the introduction of chapter 4, Right to Health Care by the South African HRC. Section 27 of the Bill of Rights of the South African constitution further on states that everyone has a right to access health care.
 Today, the world commemorates the 2017 World AIDS Day under the theme, RIGHT TO HEALTH, I have the right to know my status and prevention is my responsibility. It is disturbing to know that even today, there are still people who cannot differentiate between HIV and AIDS. HIV is NOT AIDS. HIV is the virus that weakens a person's ability to fight infections and cancer. People with HIV are said to have AIDS when they develop certain infections or cancers or when their CD4 count is less than 800. Once HIV has entered the body, it replicates. A virus cannot make a copy of itself on its own; it needs to invade a healthy cell in your body to survive. HIV targets and invades CD4 cells. CD4 cells help the body’s immune system and protect it against germs and viruses that make us sick. AIDS is the more advanced stage of HIV infection. When the immune system CD4 cells drop to a very low level, a person's ability to fight infection is lost. Without HIV treatment, full-blown AIDS starts to develop. During this last phase of the disease, the virus severely damages the immune system to a point where the body can no longer fight a number of viral, fungal, bacterial and parasitic infections that invade Having HIV does not always mean that you have AIDS. It can take many years for people with the virus to develop AIDS.
 Even though the number of HIV infected patients in South Africa has decreased, the country remains as one of the countries with the most prevalent HIV infected patients, with over 7 million of the population being infected. Reality is that the young people of today are the first generation that has never known a world without HIV and AIDS as they remain at the centre of this epidemic and they have the power, through their leadership, to definitively change the course of the AIDS epidemic.

SASCO CPT MEMORANDUM OF DEMANDS

 MEMORANDUM OF DEMANDS

Today, 22 September 2017, SASCO embarked on a peaceful march as a way of audibly stating our frustration in the current unfolding’s in the institution and handing this memorandum over to you. We will also be having a human chain stand up and protect our campus march on 26 September 2017.

On Campus Shutdown

Over the past couple of weeks, we have witnessed our campus come to a standstill due to an unlawful protest that took place post the news that the VC had suspended 4 students for the disruption of a council meeting. This unlawful protest even went further by being joined by staff members (gardeners, securities and cleaners) who were protesting for an income dispute. This protest left our residences open to all sorts of dangerous elements which has left students vulnerable and unsafe in a place that’s meant to be their safe zone. A home away from home.

During this period, we witnessed classes coming to a standstill because of a group of students who used fire extinguishers to remove other students from exam venues and classes; we witnessed students being forced to be part and parcel of the protest by being woken up with fire extinguishers and water cannons by the protesting students. We witnessed various buildings within three CPUT campuses being set alight. All of this happened under the supervision of private securities, residence parents and the management, which warrants a questioning the purpose of hiring private securities on campus when such destructions can still take place under their supervision on campus.

This led to SASCO starting a #SaveOurInstitution campaign. In as much as we don’t endorse students’ victimisation by the management, neither do we endorse the barbaric and hooliganism acts that has been portrayed by these few protesting students. This campaign is about getting the institution to conclude its 2017 academic year in 2017. It is calling for peace and stability on campus.  It is with this campaign whereby we call upon the management to demilitarise our campuses. It is with this campaign that we call on the management to ensure that all students are safe and sound in their respective residences. As SASCO, we are yet to see a more tangible solution being taken by the management to ease the current situation on our campus.

On Workers Struggles

We fully support workers in their struggles and this has been proven by our consecutive support in all important decision-making committees. In as much as SASCO supports workers in their struggles, we cannot lead workers struggles. Workers need to advance their struggle with their unions and carry on with their wage struggle further and not student political structures. Unions need to lead this struggle and negotiate for a better decent wage for all their members in all the relevant decision-making meetings.

It’s about time that the management withdraws from its tendency of allowing students to lead workers issues yet workers have unions that they are subscribed to. Workers know the correct channels to follow when facing such tribulations and they should follow it. Had the correct channels been followed from the onset, we would not be where we are today.

The institution has unions registered within it and its their duty to sit down with the workers and all relevant departments to resolve this issue that workers are facing. It is these unions that are more equipped to be negotiating for wage increase and any worker related issue.

On Residences

The institution needs to ensure that all residence parents do their job effectively. They need to take charge of the situation and account to all things that are reported to them in their capacity as residence parents.

As SASCO, we call upon the management to save this academic year by ensuring that there is peace and stability on campus, re open all study facilities from faculty buildings, libraries to IT centres.

On gender struggles

We furthermore call upon the management to ensure that serious actions must be taken against all women abusers on campus. This call comes after the month of August whereby there was a national call to put an end to all gender based violence cases in the country and we would like to echo that call to the CPUT management. A larger number of female students are assaulted by male students on a weekly basis and these female students have lost faith in the judiciary office and run to our offices for assistance as the only thing the judicial office will try to instil is peace and not push for an end to gender based violence. CPUT is one of the only University with no rape stats and this needs to come to an end and the university must stop hiding the truth.

On Finances

As SASCO we say NO FINANCIAL EXCLUSIONS. Students are not paying their fees because they want to or would like to see a reload of Fees Must Fall, instead students don’t pay their fees because they cannot afford to do so. The management needs to stop operating the institution with a primary objective of getting funding into the institution like its some business. This is an academic institution and the management should be operating it as such.

Nothing is more heart aching than seeing a student being deprived from a basic human right which is education because of their financial status. Already Fees Must Fall is looming on the ground and the constant emails we have been receiving ensuring us that if our fees are not paid up we will be blocked upon registration in the 2018 academic year, is not assisting this current situation at all, instead it is like paraffin that is poured onto a fire.

The institution needs to find a better channel of ensuring fees are paid without excluding students. The institution needs to do away with the financial exclusion policy. It has become a norm and tradition at CPUT that constantly every second semester there needs to be a protest of some sort that seeks to voice out student’s frustrations with regards to financial exclusions. The management is not there when students are crying tears during the registration because of being financially excluded. The management is not there when students resort to jobs such as Call Centre Associates and Prostitution because students are trying to make quick cash to repay their fees so they can conclude their respective qualifications.

The institutions policy of handing students over to debt collectors is neither an option as this deprives many people the right to education more especially the black child. Your policies state that if someone is handed over to debt collectors they need to repay their debt in full before coming back into the institution. Of course, the fees increase for those handed over as it now includes the interest of the debt collector of which this makes the burden even harder for the poor.

We also strongly feel that the Financial Aid office needs to have a better communication strategy in place to communicate with the general student of CPUT. This is said because it is evident that their current communication medium is failing. SASCO proposes that every second month, there should be a meeting between two reps from each structure and the Financial Aid office to update students on new developments within the office and new opportunities for students such as bursaries and scholarships. With this in place, more students will be reached in record time.

SASCO advocates for academic excellence and there is no way students can be able to excel academically when the institution is on constant shutdown mode.

We don’t want a delay in our academic year. We don’t want further destructions of property. We don’t want further cases of assault and threats. We don’t want a further compromise of student’s safety. We call upon the management to act now before this matter escalates even further and results in the death of a student or staff member due to all this unrest happening. It’s time the management pays attention to the cry of the majority.

With the aforementioned we therefore Demand the following;

1.     No to Financial exclusion as per the standing Council Resolutions.

2.     Building of New Residences to meet the needs shortages of all deserving students.

3.     Extension of Library and Shuttle Hours to meet students’ academic needs.

4.     Conducive studying and Sporting facilities.

5.     Sensitivity and extension of assessment dates and submissions.

6.      Extension of Academic Applications from 30 September to 30 October.

7.     Extension of NSFAS applications to 30 October.

8.     Students and Worker safety commitment.

9.     Safe and Healthy studying environment in our residences.

Given commitment to these demands, we guarantee safe and stable learning and teaching environment with new culture of engagement in resolving all necessary disputes. We give 78hours for implementer response.

Yours in Education

SASCO CAPE TOWN BRANCH

2017 SASCO WESTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL GENERAL CONGRESS

The 2017 South African Students Congress (SASCO) Western Cape Provincial General Congress (PGC) was initially meant to take place on Friday, 01 September 2017. However, due to the Braai program Bellville hosted and furthermore a 3-hour long PEC meeting that took place during that mist of the evening the PGC did not sit on that day and as a result it officially sat on Saturday, 02 September 2017 at 16:00 at Stellenbosch University.

National Organiser of SASCO, Cde Lwado Majiza, was deployed by the NEC to officiate the PGC. We can’t also shy away from the fact that SASCO is a political structure and thus operates as one even though it is meant to champion the interest of students yet we have witnessed it turning into a political power climbing organisation where comrades would prefer to see their own branch fail at the expense of them climbing up the political leader. The PGC was filled by politics that seek to entertain certain individuals’ interests and not necessary the whole.

Initially, the CPT branch was the only branch that was present that was not welcomed into the PGC venue on the basis that there was a dispute towards the AGM that sat in CPUT Cape Town campus on 05 August 2017. It was thus resolved by the NEC deployee, Cde Majiza, with consultation of the SG Cde Makata that CPT should be allowed into the venue only as observers.

Cde Majiza stated that SASCO exists because there are issues in our respective universities that needs to be fixed. The gathering (PGC) took place during the anniversary of a historic time whereby the country remembers the formation of the South African South Congress (SASCO), on September 1st – 6th, 1991.

He went on to further state that various debates on Presidential Reports have been hosted. The President of SASCO Cde Moloja has released a statement informing the public that he has received the report and will release an official statement in due time with regards to the Presidential Report on Free Higher Education and the stance of the organisation.

The PEC meeting that sat on Friday, 01 September 2017, evening with the NEC deployee Cde Majiza adopted the credentials and resolved that all delegates would partake in the PGC. With that, it seemed clear that credentials had been adopted as per the communique given to the delegates. However, on Saturday it was discovered that Cde Mgxekeni had sent an email to the SG. The email was sent on 17 August 2017 and stated that he was complaining about the legitimacy of the AGM because he never sent an email to membership and PEC informing them about the AGM and the rest of his BEC was unaware of it.

When Cde Mgxekeni was called, he stated that he was not disputing anything however he was stating that he has been inactive for months and thus could send that email stating that an AGM will be sitting because he no affairs with the matters of the branch. The email was read by the presiding officer Cde Majozi. The presiding officer also stated that Cde Matiwane is indeed allowed to give a political input in meetings of SASCO be it AGM or BGM with or without the permission of the PEC as he is the political head.

The CPT Branch was discussed intensively and it was quite clear from the what was said that not all members of the branch who were pro the idea of saving the branch.
What was failed to be answered by the presiding officer is whether if it is only the inactive secretary who has powers to inform the PEC of an email he has called. In all the PGC resolved that the SASCO CPT BEC should be dissolved and an AGM should be conveyed soon. Mowbray campus was later on also dissolved as well.

It was also discussed that there are bogus deployees within the PGC. Some students from other institutions represented other institutions yet those respective institutions did not seat any BGM or AGM to deploy people from their specific branches.  There was also a CPUT student who was an accepted delegate of College of Cape Town Crawford campus. Despite all these irregularities the PGC sat and recognised them as true delegates.

There were 60 expected delegates in the PGC which consisted of 50 branch delegates and 10 PEC members. The actual delegates that were present at the PGC where 32 branch delegates which excludes the SASCO CPT delegates. PEC members were 10 in total and thus that brought the number of actual delegates to 42. From all of this 20 branches where expected in total and from those 20 branches only 15 branches were present.

The delegates of the PGC as mandated by the branch, at the AGM was:
• Luchulumanco Nanto
• Nomzamo Madalane
• Anele Gebenga
• Sithathi Doda
• Anele Gladile
• Salma Suileman
• Asthandile Madushela

The PGC distorted for close to an hour after the presiding officer refused to listen to the CPT branch after he announced that the Mowbray branch alongside the CPT is not recognised.
A political lecture was later on given by Cde Matiwane and thereafter close to an hour and the Organisational Report which was given by Cde Joja commenced both reports where adopted without any rejection.

A motion of no confidence was later on passed on the PEC and the PEC is now under administration.
The PGC concluded at 01:10 this morning.

SASCO CAPE TOWN STATEMENT ON THE STATE OF CPUT Vol 2

Lest we forget the saying “a bird does not destroy its own nest.”

In Volume 1 we covered quite a number of issues ranging from the absence of the LSRC to the unruly behaviour of the LSRC Chairperson to the behavior of CPUT management alongside its staff members.

In volume two we will stick to the burning issue which is the campus shutdown for two days (Friday, 25 August and Monday, 28 August 2017). In the past week we witnessed our campus come to a standstill as a result of a protest organised by PASMA and EFFSC collectively, which they later went on to deny. This protest was rooted in enforcing an exception to the institutions residence policy which states that any student with an intention to be admitted to any CPUT residence should not be residing within a 60 kilometer radius from the institution and that they need to pass at least 65% of their modules.

Initially, on Friday, we witnessed the Admin Building being closed down as a result of the protest which was later extended to the closing of classes with the enforcement of fire extinguishers.

As SASCO, we condemn the violent acts that the two parties showed during the protest. We can never applaud the act that was portrayed by some leaders. Many students were taken out of classes and exam venues with the use of fire extinguishers. This could have led to serious health complications for many students and that we cannot shy away from. Today we also noticed the acts of trying to shut down the campus which led to turning the campus into a war zone where a lot of students were at harm’s way as private securities were shooting their guns and stunt grenades on defense of the stones thrown by these students.

As SASCO we placed students at EWR, Cape Suits and NMJ in the past 3 weeks and we did this without disrupting any academic or admin activity. This is something we believe the two parties could have also executed without having the campus on a standstill. It is worth mentioning that all the students we placed at these residences were placed by force and not mutual agreement with the management. The management was forced to accept the situation as it could not just remove those students without having alternative accommodation measures in place.

We informed the management that we are placing students because there were vacant spaces and we are placing students in those spaces. This is something we believe the two parties could have been done instead of violent strikes. Above our differences in policies and beliefs, the placement should be done for the general students of CPUT.

As stated previously in our Volume 1 statement, as SASCO we do not endorse any victimisation of students by the institution. We have witnessed on numerous occasions, students being victimised by the institution for standing their ground and advocating for the liberation of all students, more especially the total liberation of African students. The system has acted in a way that seeks to silence student leaders and ensures that they are hesitant to fully execute their duties as student leaders and thus operate on a “yes mam, no mam” basis.

As SASCO we are still pro saving our institution from all that has been happening however, we would like to correct the rumor that has been going around saying that it's the #SaveOurInstitution campaign that led to the suspension of the Cape Town LSRC Chairperson and the three other students. We have never called upon the suspension of any student in our campaign. We believe that there are many ways to discipline someone (as stated in the rule book) other than suspension. Secondly, if students are to closely look at the suspension letter of the suspended students, no member from SASCO laid a complaint against the LSRC Chairperson nor did any member stand as a witness to the charge. The case was laid by the Acting VC and all witnesses are Executive Management members and not someone from SASCO.

We also note the victimization of our members by PASMA members that claim that SASCO is the brains behind the suspensions. As SASCO we do not take it lightly that some of our members are being harassed and falsely accused for wrongs that they had nothing to do with. We have also had numerous SRC deployees and members in the past suspended for one reason or another and collectively we have been able to fight those suspensions without causing disruptions in the institution. We fought for the proper procedures to be followed by the institution.

Will continue to call upon saving our institution from corruption. Saving it from no transparency. Saving it from lack of accountability. Saving it from lack of administration. Saving it from the lack of university academic programs. Saving it from populism.

As SASCO we seek to champion the interests of students and not just SASCO members. We seek to ensure access and success in this institution.

Issued by:

Luchulumanco Nanto
Branch Secretary
062 685 4615

Nomzamo Madalane
Branch Chairperson
076 565 5284

SASCO CAPE TOWN STATEMENT ON THE STATE OF CPUT Vol 1

We as the South African Students Congress (SASCO) Cape Town branch wish to communicate our stance on the recent happenings on our campus and institution.

As SASCO we do not endorse any victimisation of students by the institution. We have witnessed on numerous occasions, students being victimised by the institution for standing their ground and advocating for the liberation of all students, more especially the total liberation of African students. The system has acted in a way that seeks to silence student leaders and ensures that they are hesitant to fully execute their duties as student leaders and thus operate on a “yes mam, no mam” basis.

As SASCO we are not convinced that the actions taken against the LSRC Chairperson fall squarely into the category of victimisation. The LSRC Chairperson, who has recently held the institution at ransom because of an appearance he had to make at a Disciplinary Hearing, has behaved in a manner that is reminiscent of the lacklustre attitude of the LSRC throughout the year. Substituting their misplaced understanding of radicalism with anarchy, perpetual instability and rascalism. We feel that student leaders cannot be held to a different set of standards and processes as the students they claim to lead. Student leaders must not use mass support as a proxy to shy away from accountability, to open this door is to open the door of anarchy and hypocrisy. We do not promote the behaviour that was portrayed by the LSRC Chairperson during the registration period which eventually led to the 3 charges that were presented against him. The LSRC Chairperson could have handled this matter differently, had he been responsible and of sound mind, could have engaged in the process and got by in from students without disrupting them from their core business at university. There is a need to develop the leadership skills of the SRC. We are more than willing to facilitate a capacity building workshop for the SRC. We also aware that all these events done by pasma is because they are supporting the current LSRC Chairperson to be the next president of CPUT. This means that should by any chance pasma win CSRC, student governance in CPUT will be sent to the recycling box.

Pasma has failed to discipline their deployees and hold them accountable for their actions. Never in the history of CPUT has student governance degenerated the way it has this year. In 2017 we witnessed SRC members becoming rogue miscreant marshals in uniforms. Ask any PASMA SRC deployee (from CSRC to LSRC) about their work or something that they should have basic knowledge of- DOLOLO- they know nothing about their duties.

This year the Business Faculty (which is the biggest faculty at CPUT) went down the drain because of the work of pasma. From physical SRC fights in the office of the Dean, to the low admission of first years, to the low appeals accepted at this year. We dare you to ask the LSRC Business Faculty Rep about anything related to her SRC duties, DOLOLO. There was not even a Faculty Council formulated this year. How are student problems meant to be resolved when there is such negligence from LSRC? This is one example out of many. If anyone wants an example of failure and delinquency they only need to look at this year’s SRC

This year, there was no transparency in the finances of this institution because the LSRC Treasure was AWOL. He was absent and nowhere to be found because he was busy fulfilling his in-service duties and thus could not concentrate on his SRC duties. SASCO had to intervene in NSFAS issues and financial assistance for students. The very same R8 million that the SASCO Deployed 2016 SRC fundraised for in 2016 that PASMA disputed last year and said there is no such amount yet this year we are seeing the fruits of it as many students are benefiting from that scholarship. We dare the SRC to call an SRC AGM where they can account to students on that they have done and achieved this year.

This year we even witnessed a dead but living president. The President has been an absent president, absent in capacity, absent in delivery, absent in articulation and absent in performance. The CSRC president has failed on numerous occasions to represent students on all accounts. The only issues that the president represented were in his limited contribution to tender committee and lining his pockets from bribes of service providers. We have a corrupt president, corrupt in thinking, corrupt in work ethic and corrupt in actions. The CSRC president has failed to even address students on issues that matter the most and pasma has fully supported this behaviour even though they are well aware that it is not building student governance in CPUT. It has also been reported that at tremendously important meetings such as council which is the biggest descion making body of the institution the president instead of advocating for us students, he would rather stare at the roof or play candy crush and eat food that is available.
We are also aware that the LSRC Chairperson of the Bellville campus, which is also a pasma deployee, was sent back to his beloved country which he is a citizen of because of presenting fraudulent papers. This event occurred after he returned to South Africa from a weeklong vacation in Namibia. A vacation paid for by the institution. He was sent back to his home country at the Cape Town International Airport on Friday, 08 August 2017. This also put the two other innocent female student lives at risk as they were also associated with him and thus could not gain easy access into the country because of being allied with an illegal immigrant.

As SASCO, it has been brought to our attention that the Dean of Students, booked transport for students from Bellville to Cape Town campus yesterday to come and assist with the shutting down of this campus. We find this to be disturbing as these actions mean that the Dean is in total support of the activities that transpired on Monday, 14 August 2017, and would rather prefer a standstill in academic activities that are main objective of the running of this institution.

We have also witnessed without a sound the new found love relationship between the residence supervisor and pasma. This new relationship has permitted pasma members to changes residences at the middle of the year yet countless students where rejected because there was “no space available”. Many students who truly need residences where forced to squat this year and some sleep at Student Centre yet there rooms available for political friends. Whatever pasma has against him is truly strong enough for him to operate as the oppositions pleases.

We also question the authenticity of the DVC of Academics whom has allowed academics at CPUT to degenerate to the state it has. He has kept quiet on all issues that require him to be vocal and take a stance and in some instances an unpopular stance. We furthermore question the legitimacy and confidence of the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor who has failed to act within the scope of his duties. He has failed to lead this integrity as matter of fact he has acted with fear. Firstly with closing down the institution prematurely when workers were protesting and the recent campus shutdown was a cream on top of it. This has risked academic activities and these decisions where taken without the consent of the SRC again proving the disregard that the management has towards student leadership. The VC needs to act fearlessly and take our institution to greater heights, however if he continues operating in this manner, we might as well table a motion of no confidence in the VC.

The CPT LSRC LHC Officer (res and transport) has dismally failed CPUT students. Students came running to SASCO from the beginning of the year because they could not get assisted from the dramatic officer who thinks life is a drama scene from some low budget Lokshin Bioscope. He has failed to assist students on numerous accounts and is only good at showing his face at events that seeks to give praise to the LSRC for their unknown good work.

We have also noticed with great disappointment for humanity the attempts of pasma to drag the name of our CSRC deployee for a case that was resolved 2 months ago by the judicial office. They were trying to use this as a SRC campaigning strategy that they were hoping would work in their favor. Rape should never ever be used as something to laugh about and campaign over.

Students of CPUT are sick and tired of the constant strikes that have been happening on our institution. Students want to learn and graduate and leave CPUT. Students refuse to be citizens and ancestors of this institution. Silindiwe emakhaya nezatifiketi zethu. There are numerous unfruitful and useless strikes, this trend needs to stop. As academics, we know how to follow protocol and strikes are seen as the last resort.

As SASCO we are pro saving our institution from all these illiterate people who claim to be leaders. That’s why we say #SaveOurInstitution. Save it from corruption. Save it from no transparency. Save it from lack of accountability. Save it from lack of administration. Save it from the lack of university academic programs. Save it from hooligans. Save it from uncoordinated strikes. Save it from populism.

As SASCO we seek to champion the interests of students and seek to ensure access and success in this institution, by fighting for more and better accommodation, more computer labs, more and better-equipped library, lower costs of education etc. We seek to achieve these through mobilizing the broadest sections of students and rallying them behind the call for FREE HIGHER EDUCATION in our lifetime. 

Issued by:

Luchulumanco Nanto

Branch Secretary 

062 685 4615

Nomzamo Madalane

Branch Chairperson

076 565 5284

GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS RESEARCH IN AFRICA

Currently, Africa contains more sovereign nations than any other continent, with 54 countries compared to Asia’s 47. Africa’s tumultuous political history has resulted in extreme disparities between the wealth and stability of its countries. For example, populous and industrialized South Africa has a gross domestic product more than 530 times that of the Comoros. Despite its cultural and economic diversity, Africa contains only four different types of government: presidential and parliamentary republics, semi-presidential republics and monarchies.

1. Presidential Republics

The most widespread form of government in Africa is the presidential republic. In a presidential republic, an elected official, the president, operates independently of the legislature as the executive authority. In Africa, presidential republics vary in regards to the level of power entrusted to the electorate. Some countries, such as Nigeria, operate as true constitutional republics, with transparent elections and leaders beholden to the people. Others, such as Angola, function as virtual autocracies, with presidents who maintain power through force or coercion. Presidents on the continent have sometimes been installed by military coup or civil war rather than elections. Twenty-six African nations, including Zambia, Sudan, Kenya, Chad, Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe, have presidential republic governments.

2. Parliamentary Republics

Seven African nations possess parliamentary republic governments. Parliamentary republics differ from presidential republics in that executive authority resides in a cabinet of ministers, rather than the president. These ministers come from the elected legislature, which provides popular oversight to the cabinet’s power. Some African nations, such as South Africa, maintain parliamentary systems first established under the colonial rule of Great Britain. Other African parliamentary republics include Ethiopia, Somalia, Botswana and Mauritius. Libya instituted a provisional parliamentary government in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi.

3. Semi-presidential Republics

A semi-presidential government combines elements of presidential and parliamentary systems. Semi-presidential governments have popularly elected presidents that serve as heads of state, and also cabinets beholden to the legislature. A widespread form of government in Africa, semi-presidential systems exist in 17 countries. In Egypt, a semi-presidential government developed in the aftermath of Hosni Mubarak’s downfall and represented an attempt to curb the power of the presidential position. Algeria, Madagascar, Niger, Mali, Rwanda, Tunisia, Djibouti, Uganda and Equatorial Guinea all function as semi-presidential republics.

4. Traditional Monarchies

Monarchies, once widespread throughout Africa, now exist in only three countries. Lesotho, a landlocked sovereign nation entirely surrounded by South Africa, functions as a constitutional monarchy, with the king as the head of state and a prime minister as head of government. Another constitutional monarchy, Morocco, also has a hereditary king who shares power with an elected parliament. Swaziland, a small country in southern Africa, became a nation under the mid-19th century rule of King Mswati II. The king of Swaziland, the last absolute monarch in Africa, oversees all aspects of his country’s economy and military, and appoints a prime minister and cabinet to serve as advisors.

This is an interesting table that I found from Wiki. It sums up the entire African Continent and the different types of governments that exist in our continent.

State	Government	Head of state	Head of government
Algeria	parliamentary unitary republic	President of the Republic	Prime Minister
Angola	presidential unitary republic	President of Angola
Benin	presidential unitary republic	President of Benin
Botswana	presidential unitary republic	President of Botswana
Burkina Faso	presidential unitary republic	President of Burkina Faso	Prime Minister of Burkina Faso
Burundi	presidential unitary republic	President of Burundi
Cameroon	presidential unitary republic	President of Cameroon
Cape Verde	parliamentary unitary republic	President of Cape Verde	Prime Minister of Cape Verde
Central African Republic	presidential unitary republic	President of the Central African Republic	Prime Minister of the Central African Republic
Chad	presidential unitary republic	President of Chad	Prime Minister of Chad
Comoros	presidential federal republic	President of Comoros
Democratic Republic of the Congo	semi-presidential unitary republic	President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo	Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo	presidential unitary republic	President of the Republic of the Congo
Ivory Coast	presidential unitary republic	President of Ivory Coast	Prime Minister of Ivory Coast
Djibouti	semi-presidential unitary republic	President of Djibouti	Prime Minister of Djibouti
Egypt	semi-presidential unitary republic	President of Egypt	Prime Minister of Egypt
Equatorial Guinea	presidential unitary republic	President of Equatorial Guinea	Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea	presidential unitary republic	President of Eritrea
Ethiopia	semi-presidential federal republic	President of Ethiopia	Prime Minister of Ethiopia
Gabon	semi-presidential unitary republic	President of Gabon	Prime Minister of Gabon
Gambia	presidential unitary republic	President of the Gambia
Ghana	presidential unitary republic	President of Ghana
Guinea	presidential unitary republic	President of Guinea	Prime Minister of Guinea
Guinea-Bissau	semi-presidential unitary republic	President of Guinea-Bissau	Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau
Kenya	presidential unitary republic	President of Kenya
Lesotho	parliamentary unitary constitutional monarchy	King of Lesotho	Prime Minister of Lesotho
Liberia	presidential unitary republic	President of Liberia
Libya	parliamentary republic	President of the Council of Deputies	Prime Minister of Libya
Madagascar	semi-presidential devolved republic	President of Madagascar	Prime Minister of Madagascar
Malawi	presidential unitary republic	President of Malawi
Mali	presidential unitary republic	President of Mali	Prime Minister of Mali
Mauritania	presidential republic	President of Mauritania	Prime Minister of Mauritania
Mauritius	semi-presidential unitary republic	President of Mauritius	Prime Minister of Mauritius
Morocco	parliamentary unitary constitutional monarchy	King of Morocco	Prime Minister of Morocco
Mozambique	presidential unitary republic	President of Mozambique	Prime Minister of Mozambique
Namibia	presidential unitary republic	President of Namibia	Prime Minister of Namibia
Niger	semi-presidential unitary republic	President of Niger	Prime Minister of Niger
Nigeria	presidential unitary federation	President of Nigeria
Rwanda	presidential unitary republic	President of Rwanda	Prime Minister of Rwanda
São Tomé and Príncipe	semi-presidential unitary republic	President of São Tomé and Príncipe	Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe
Senegal	presidential unitary republic	President of Senegal	Prime Minister of Senegal
Seychelles	presidential unitary republic	President of Seychelles
Sierra Leone	presidential unitary republic	President of Sierra Leone
Somalia	semi-presidential federal republic	President of Somalia	Prime Minister of Somalia
South Africa	semi-presidential unitary republic	President of South Africa
South Sudan	presidential federal republic	President of South Sudan
Sudan	presidential federal republic	President of Sudan
Swaziland	unitary absolute monarchy	King of Swaziland
Tanzania	presidential federacy republic	President of Tanzania	Prime Minister of Tanzania
Togo	presidential unitary republic	President of Togo	Prime Minister of Togo
Tunisia	presidential unitary republic	President of Tunisia	Prime Minister of Tunisia
Uganda	presidential unitary republic	President of Uganda	Prime Minister of Uganda
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	semi-presidential unitary republic	President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	Prime Minister of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Zambia	presidential unitary republic	President of Zambia
Zimbabwe	presidential unitary republic	President of Zimbabwe

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS OF THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT

PRESIDENTIAL REPUBLICS

Supporters generally claim four basic advantages for presidential systems:

• Direct elections — in a presidential system, the president is often elected directly by the people. This makes the president's power more legitimate than that of a leader appointed indirectly. However, this is not a necessary feature of a presidential system. Some presidential states have an indirectly elected head of state.
• Separation of powers — a presidential system establishes the presidency and the legislature as two parallel structures. This allows each structure to monitor and check the other, preventing abuses of power.
• Speed and decisiveness — A president with strong powers can usually enact changes quickly. However, the separation of powers can also slow the system down.
• Stability — a president, by virtue of a fixed term, may provide more stability than a prime minister, who can be dismissed at any time.

Critics generally claim three basic disadvantages for presidential systems:

• Tendency towards authoritarianism — some political scientists say presidentialism raises the stakes of elections, exacerbates their polarization and can lead to authoritarianism (Linz).
• Political gridlock — the separation of powers of a presidential system establishes the presidency and the legislature as two parallel structures. Critics argue that this can create an undesirable and long-term political gridlock whenever the president and the legislative majority are from different parties, which is common because the electorate usually expects more rapid results from new policies than are possible (Linz, Mainwaring and Shugart). In addition, this reduces accountability by allowing the president and the legislature to shift blame to each other.
• Impediments to leadership change — presidential systems often make it difficult to remove a president from office early, for example after taking actions that become unpopular.

PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM

• Boasted about advantages includes but not limited to the fact that it’s faster and easier to pass legislation. The executive branch is dependent upon the direct or indirect support of the legislative branch and often includes members of the legislature. Thus, this would amount to the executive (as the majority party or coalition of parties in the legislature) possessing more votes in order to pass legislation.

• In a parliamentary system, with a collegial executive, power is more divided. It can also be argued that power is more evenly spread out in the power structure of parliamentarianism. The prime minister seldom tends to have as high importance as a ruling president, and there tends to be a higher focus on voting for a party and its political ideas than voting for an actual person.

• Parliamentarianism has been praised for producing serious debates, for allowing the change in power without an election, and for allowing elections at any time

Disadvantages include:

• Can lead to instability. Unlike a President, the prime minister is elected by the majority party, and can be removed at any time if the majority party loses confidence in that person as leader. Additionally, prime ministers may lose their positions solely because they lose their seats in parliament, even though they may still be popular nationally.

• that there is no truly independent body to oppose and veto legislation passed by the parliament, and therefore no substantial check on legislative power

• Critics of parliamentary systems point out that people with significant popular support in the community are prevented from becoming prime minister if they cannot get elected to parliament since there is no option to “run for prime minister” like one can run for president under a presidential system.

SEMI-PRESIDENTIAL REPUBLICS

Advantages:

• It relies on a chain of mutual dependence. Using the French Constitution of 1958 as an example, one of the presidential powers is that they can appoint the prime minister whose role as the head of government is to oversee the everyday running of state affairs, such as "governmental, administrative, and information services." This means that as the head of state, the president, needs the cooperation of the prime minister, and the prime minister needs the cooperation of the president in order for France to achieve an efficient government

• The president and legislature have a fixed term in government which prevents the creation of an autocratic executive.

Disvantages:

• According to the UK Essays published on March 23 2015, one of the disadvantages is the contested nature of semi - presidentialism which makes the classification of a semi - presidentialist states more difficult and therefore comparison more complicated. For example Iceland is arguably not a semi - presidential state because the president has more of a ceremonial role. Similarly Russia may also not be classified as a semi - presidential state because the Russian president has too much executive power.

• There is the potential for gridlock.

TRADITIONAL MONARCHIES

Connect US - The Global Blog, lists the advantages of Traditional Monarchies, as

• There is continuity. The monarch has no limited terms, so being the head of state is a lifetime position. This is advantageous because it allows the country to develop strong ties with other nations, unlike in other governments where the leader is replaced every four years or so.

• The preservation of history, culture, and tradition. Aside from a political role, the monarch provides a sense of history, culture, and tradition to the people and can act as a visible symbol of unity.

• There is a balance of power.The king or queen in a constitutional monarchy serve as a symbolic and non-political head of state, while the political power and decision-making lies on the parliament. This is a good thing because it can prevent monarchs from becoming power hungry. It also encourages a more cohesive form of government as the Prime Minister and advisers are there to guide the monarch in making governing choices. The monarch still has three political rights, which are the right to be consulted, the right to be advised, and the right to warn. And the parliament isn’t necessarily free to just do whatever they want because the monarch can hold formal powers. These can include dissolving the parliament or giving Royal Assent to the legislation.

The Blog goes on to lists the disadvantages as:

• It makes progression more difficult. Since the monarchical system is deeply engraved in the tradition and customs of a country, it can be more challenging to create internal political changes. Whatever changes will be suggested must be carefully considered in deference to the royal family.

• The monarch cannot be removed. Because it is a lifelong position, the king or queen cannot be removed no matter how unworthy or poor they are in performing their duties. Also, since the monarchy is passed on by blood rather than by votes or appointment, there can be instances when a child who is still unfit to rule will be put on the throne. This has already happened several times in history.

• It promotes class privilege. Not everyone can be born into a royal family, so there are only a limited few who can become ruling monarchs of a country. This can further push the idea that success can be achieved based only on your social class instead of your hard work and determination. Another issue is that the maintenance of the lifestyle and the security provided for the royal family is an unnecessary expense for taxpayers.

SOLUTIONS TO THE CHALLENGES GOVERNMENTS ARE FACING IN THE REGION

My solution is ONE for all the forms of government, POWER TO THE PEOPLE! Africa needs to TOTALLY divorce colonisation legacies from its policies to its governance systems.

Each and every single African citizen in its African country needs to have a say in what is going on in his/her country. Every head of state or head of government needs to be held accountable for their administration alongside their cabinet.

We need to do away with Monarchies in Africa. We need a change of power constantly. Africa needs to do away with dictators who rule autocratically and wants the power for themselves and not the total liberation of its citizens more especially those still suffering from colonisation after effects, which are the natives.

Those wishing to contest elections and serve as the Head of State need to have constant report backs to those that voted them in. They need to come back to those who waited in long lines hoping to see a better future for their respective states. They need to remove all the red tapes and be accessible to the public that voted them in.

Leaders must LISTEN to the people. It’s useless to lead people yet you not listen to that. Grenada, can be used as an example of this, whereby the people used democracy in the way that suited them and gave it a new meaning.