Vusi Gumede Research & Publications is an intellectual platform to engage critical issues.
SELECTED RECENT BOOKS
The African Continental Free Trade Area & the United African States by Prof Vusi Gumede
Prof Vusi Gumede's keynote address reflects on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement that recently entered into force. The Keynote Address deals with the AfCFTA in the context of the African Economic Community (AEC) envisaged in the 1991 Abuja Treaty, which was earlier touched on in the 1980 Lagos Plan of Action for the Economic Development of Africa (1980-2000).
Professor Vusi Gumede views the AfCFTA and the AEC as potential steps towards the United African States – he makes a case for the political federation of African countries into a single African nation as he revisits the Casablanca, the Monrovia, and the Brazzaville blocs/groups as well as examining continental integration efforts since the political independence of the majority of African countries in the mid-to-late 1950s and during the 1960s.
The Keynote Address distills from the work that Professor Gumede is involved with regarding the AfCFTA, pan-African developmental integration and his activism regarding the United African States. Professor Gumede highlights critical issues pertaining to the AfCFTA and proposes how can the AfCFTA be better implemented, including options for dealing with the Regional Economic Communities, the Customs Unions, the Monetary Communities and the Tripartite Free Trade Area.
The Keynote Address examines many other issues pertaining to the political economy of Africa’s development, including Professor Gumede’s disengagement hypothesis which takes forward Professor Samir Amin’s delinking agenda.
SOUTH AFRICA : STATE & DEVELOPMENT
Author: VUSI GUMEDE
BOOK DESCRIPTION
The book deals with the institutional architecture and development outcomes in South Africa. It examines the various reforms pursued since 1994 and analyses organisation and capacity of the government as well as assesses socio-economic development, guided by the developmental state framework in a comparative context.
The book concludes that the reogarnisation of the government and efforts at capacitating public servants have not addressed the correct challenges as shown by deteriorating development outcomes amidst various efforts to improve socio-economic development. It is in this context that the book argues that South Africa, or the government in particular, is not facing capacity constraints. Therefore, further reorganisation and reforms should ensure that correct problems are addressed. Various proposals are made in the book, based on lessons from countries such as Malaysia, Brazil, Singapore, Mauritius and Bostwana.
The book is comprised of 7 chapters, with a total number of 177 pages. It is co-published by the South African Association of Public Administration and Management (SAAPAM) with the University of South Africa (UNISA) Press. The Foreword is written by Dr Cassius Lubisi who is the former Director-General in the Presidency, currently the Chairperson of the Human Sciences Research Council Board.
Link for buying the book: JOPA Portal (wemasoft.co.za)
Description
For POWERSuit Sifiso Skenjana speaks to Prof Vusi Gumede
Academic and Researcher about his journey and industry expertise.
Episode 6 - Vusi Gumede
In the 6th episode with Vusi Gumede, a professor at the University of South Africa, an author and a former adviser to the Thabo Mbeki presidency; we broadly explore how the South African educational landscape is evolving against the backdrop of COVID-19.
Prof. Vusi Gumede in brief
Prof Vusi Gumede holds a PhD in Economics (2003), MCom in Economics (1999) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Policy (2009), among his higher qualifications. For eleven years, he held various senior government positions before joining academia.
He has worked for various South African universities and has been affiliated to numerous institutions as a Board Member/Advisor/Director/Fellow/Associate/Reviewer
/Facilitator/Panel Member/Trustee/Honorary Professor. He has supervised over twenty Masters and Doctoral students, published fifteen books, over forty journal articles and book chapters as well as written many working papers and research reports. He has undertaken research projects for institutions both in and outside South Africa. He is currently the Dean for the Faculty of Economics, Development and Business Sciences at the University of Mpumalanga in South Africa.
Prof Gumede has held fellowships in Botswana, Brazil, United States, Britain & South Africa, including as Distinguished Africanist Scholar with the Institute for African Development at Cornell University and Yale World Fellow at Yale University. He has delivered over fifty conference papers, including as keynote speaker. He has written over one hundred opinion articles and blogs. Among his current positions, he is a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council in South Africa, Board member of Southern African Institute for Policy & Research in Zambia, Vice-President of the South African Association of Political Studies, Chairperson of the Pan-African Federalist Movement’s External Affairs Commission, member of the African Union High Level Panel on Democracy and Governance, Editorial Advisor of African Peer Review Mechanism Occasional Paper Series, member of the National Research Foundation Social Sciences and Humanities Standing Review Panel, Honorary Professor at the University of Cape Town, Editor-in-Chief for Africanus (Journal of Development Studies) & Africa Insight as well as a member of Editorial Boards of six other journals.
After the Societal Impact of Social Sciences, Humanities & Arts Conference in Cape Town, I attempted the Cape Town Marathon. All was going relatively well until cramps happened around 30KMs. We try again next time. At least we are guaranteed entry into Two Oceans Ultra-Marathon pic.twitter.com/I445c0bfOq
— Prof Vusi Gumede (@ProfVusiGumede) October 21, 2024
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RECENT ARTICLE
NEED FOR AN APPROPRIATE ECONOMIC POLICY FOR SOUTH AFRICA
Business Day Article
18 June 2024
The dust is settling. SA has a new parliament.
Though many did not expect the results of the 2024 elections to create the kind of a government we have ended up with, we should be hopeful that the executive, in the different spheres and no matter which political parties it eventually includes, can get the economy back on track.
RECENT REFLECTIONS
REASON, SEASON AND IMPACT
3 January 2025
There is a phrase that is commonly used saying that people come into other people’s lives for a reason or a season. The phrase is said to come from a poem by Jean Dominique Martin: People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. In the poem, Jean Dominique Martin goes on to say, “when you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.”
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YOUR SUBMISSIONS
Reorganising the State is a fundamental requirement for any coalition government
David Mohale & Vusi Gumede
9 June 2024
The likelihood that the ANC was going to perform more poorly than it had in previous elections was very high. What was not anticipated by many was the extent of the decline of the party’s share of total votes.
