SARChi Chair
SUSTAINABLE LOCAL(RURAL) LIVELIHOODS
Episode 10 – Nicky McLeod on 2020 and the Power of Inclusive and Collaborative Response to Disasters
Nicky has been in the field of environmental resource management in rural areas for about 28 years. She has worked on several projects and initiatives around soil conservation, sanitation, water
Latest Podcasts
Episode 9: Thabathani Tshaka – Surviving COVID-19 and Future Disasters as a Small Business
Thabathani and Phindile Tshaka are young entrepreneurs in Mount Fletcher, Eastern Cape. Together, they own a small enterprise that offers tourism services, fashion design, events hosting, organic gardening and catering services, with a lot of visions for the future of their business. In this episode, Thabathani shares his experience with lockdown, with lessons on how to survive such shocks in future.
Episode 8: Prof. BC. Mubangizi – Creating an Enabling and Functional Environment for the Rural Nurse and Midwife
In this episode we share a Prof. Betty C. Mubangizi’s public lecture for the international year of the nurse and midwife event organized by Mangosuthu University of Technology. Prof Mubangizi holds the SARChI in Sustainable Local (Rural) Livelihoods. In the lecture, we encounter her in-depth understanding of rurality, and hear her wisdom on creating the right environment for nurses and midwives in rural areas.
Episode 7: Ms Dan’sile Cindi – Co-creating Livelihoods with Communities through Catchments
Ms Dan’sile Cindi is the Deputy Director of the Biodiversity Mainstreaming Directorate at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). She coordinates a network of partnerships on ecological infrastructure. Dan’sile currently leads the Living Catchments project convening communities of practice, and guiding mainstreaming work on biodiversity and ecological infrastructure.
Episode 6: Ms Joyce Loza – Managing Veld and Community Fires
Ms Joyce Loza is a Conservation Specialist for the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation and Development Programme (MDTP) – a partnership initiative between Lesotho and South Africa. One of Ms Loza’s areas of focus is in the planning and implementation of community fire management activities to reduce the negative impact of veld fires on the ecological infrastructure of the conservation area.
Episode 5: Mr George Kasumba
Mr George Kasumba draws on is wealth of experience to answer questions about livelihoods in Uganda, sometimes offering a comparative perspective based on his work in other African countries. Mr Kasumba is a Development Economist with over 30 years of experience with the Ugandan government and organizations such as the the UNDP, WFP, UNCDF, DANIDA and World Bank. He is a PhD candidate at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Episode 04. Clr Mkhuseli Qumba
This episode is my recorded conversation with Clr Mkhuseli Qumba who is a councilor at Mbizana Local Municipality. He speaks about several issues of interest including the limitations of government Covid-19 strategies, particularly on how these are insensitive to rural dynamics. He also shares how rural economies in Mbizana are surviving and being challenged by Covid-19
Episode 3: Mr Luvuyo Mahlaka
My guest today is the municipal manager of Mbizana local municipality, in the Eastern Cape, Mr Luvuyo Mahlaka. He enlightens us on the responsibilities of a municipal manager. He explains how the municipality ensures a balance between government priorities and the needs of local communities, and local networks that have remained active to support livelihoods in rural communities during the covid-19 pandemic
Episode 2: Mayor Momelezi Mbedla
In this episode, I share my telephone conversation with Counselor Momelezi Mbedla, the Mayor of Matatiele Local municipality in the Eastern Cape. Amongst other things, the mayor highlights some of the challenges they face in communicating relevant information and government regulations on the Covid-19 pandemic to rural communities.
Episode 1: Conversation with Prof. BC Mubangizi
Professor Betty Mubangizi is a full professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She is the Chair holder of the DST-NRF SARChI on Sustainable Local (Rural) Livelihoods. She is a highly established academic in public governance and sustainable livelihoods. In our first episode, Mubangizi shares herself, the Chair, and local governance in the context of Covid-19. She also shares the lessons learned from seminars she hosted in April/May 2020.
