Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI)

Webinar | Municipal Financial Transparency » PARI | Public Affairs Research Institute Know where your money goes: Tracking municipal spending.

If you were not able to make it to COMPACT's webinar on municipal financial transparency this past week you can catch the recording here!

pari.org.za/webinar-muni...

Discussants Thatshisiwe Ndlovu (NEST, Wits) and Thabang Sefalafala (Wits) reflected on the layers within Umswenko, highlighting the silences, hierarchies and histories it carries that influence Umswenkofontein till today.

Gauteng City-Region Observatory
SWOP - The Society, Work & Politics Institute

In the last JHB Urban Crisis Seminar of the year, Mpho Thato Morare (University of the Witwatersrand) examined The ‘Forefathers’ of Braamfontein and Fashioning Black Masculinity, tracing how Umswenko shape ideals of cool Black masculinity and negotiates identity, dignity and community.

Powering the Future: Young People and the Just Transition | Natural Resource Governance Institute As the world accelerates towards a low-carbon future, young people stand at the frontlines of both disruption and innovation. How can we ensure they are not left behind, but instead lead the…

Murial Kwena, a PARI researcher in the Land Governance programme, is speaking at this Natural Resource Governance Institute webinar on how youth from oil-producing regions and beyond can shape equitable, inclusive and future-ready economies.

📅 Register Here: resourcegovernance.org/events/power...

The 'Forefathers' of Braamfontein and Fashioning Black Masculinity by Mpho Thato Morare (Wits) with discussants Thatshisiwe Ndlovu (Narrative Enquiry for Social Transformation (NEST) and Thabang Sefalafala (Wits, Sociology department)

Joburg Urban Crisis Seminar on 16 October, 1–3pm - pari.org.za/pari-urban-c...

Register to join in person: forms.gle/4iewADQWnHwf...
or to attend online: rebrand.ly/5q8qbxz

Gauteng City-Region Observatory SWOP - The Society, Work & Politics Institute

Webinar | Municipal Financial Transparency - PARI | Public Affairs Research Institute

Know Where Your Money Goes! Register now for this webinar on 15 October about municipal financial transparency.

📅 Register: pari.org.za/webinar-muni...

At the last public consultation of the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel, Dr Mbete raised her concerns about the need to reflect on this group of voters’ failure to vote.”

www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/...

Dr Sithembile Mbete, was cited in the following article: ”In her paper Making Sense of the 2024 Elections, found that only about half of the registered 18- to 19-year-old young people turned up to vote.

He highlighted Compact’s work in strengthening trust and collaboration between local government and communities — reminding us that technology needs include society in its creation and implementation.

PARI’s Compact Programme Lead, Girish Daya, joined a panel discussion on Bridging the Gap Between Government and Citizens Through Technology hosted by Civic Tech Innovation Network.

Panel:
Richard Gevers - Head of the Digital Services Unit, @South African Presidency
Kureish Isaacs - Senior official, City of Johannesburg
Girish Daya - Compact Programme Lead, PARI
Tshepo Thlaku - Founder & CEO, Pulego Technologies
Moipone Kgatle - Moderator

This two-hour dialogue will bring together civil society organisations, community-based organisations, and technologists to explore how civic tech, gov tech, and digital public infrastructure can strengthen trust, participation, and service delivery between government and citizens in South Africa.

Panel Discussion | Bridging the Gap Between Government and Citizens Through Technology

08 October 2025, 2pm – 4pm
📅 Register: bit.ly/civictechpan...

Speakers:
Sithembile Mbete - Executive Director (PARI)
Mandla Gilimani - Director: Local Government Budget Analysis (National Treasury)
Sello Mashaba - Director: Local Government Budget Analysis (National Treasury)

Webinar | Municipal Financial Transparency » PARI | Public Affairs Research Institute Subscribe to PARI’s newsletter for information about our latest work, events and publications.

Webinar | Municipal financial transparency

15 October 2025, 2pm – 4pm
📅Register: pari.org.za/webinar-muni...
Know where your money goes: Tracking municipal spending. A COMPACT webinar.

The city has seen a revolving door of mayors, with four taking office since Mpho Phalatse’s ousting in 2023.

DA to announce mayoral candidate The DA will announce its prospective mayoral candidates for the city of Johannesburg this morning. The city has seen a revolving door of mayors, with four taking office since Mpho Phalatse's ousting…

PARI’s Dr Sarah Meny-Gibert looks at the kind of leadership needed for the efficient running of a city. She spoke to Newzroom Afrika on 20 September, just ahead of the DA announcing its mayoral candidate.

www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...

In today's monthly internal research seminar, Mahlatse Rampedi and Ntokozo Ndhlovu presented a first cut of their moving short documentary on the water crisis.

Sithembile Mbete: More Explosive inforamation released at Madlanga Commission DOWNLOAD

Sithembile Mbete: More Explosive information released at Madlanga Commission

radioislam.org.za/a/thembile-m...

However, she argues that SA’s high levels of youth unemployment mean many will be unable to “achieve the traditional markers of adulthood associated with electoral participation.”

Liam Jacobs is our weapon in Cape Town – PA The PA says that the selection of Jacobs as its mayoral candidate for Cape Town was a strategic decision.

The Executive Director of the PARI, Dr Sithembile Mbete, echoes the IEC’s generational theory of voter participation. This suggests that people become increasingly interested in elections as they age, as a probable cause for a lack of youth participation.

newsday.co.za/south-africa...

stabilising the administration and finances of government to enable the local state to turn its attention towards the range of developmental challenges facing our cities. It also underscores the need to do this in a way that reaffirms commitment to local democracy and pro-poor service delivery.

for municipalities, the aspirations of the White Paper – that of developmental, democratic, redistributive, cooperative government – should be reaffirmed. PARI’s submission are primarily related to addressing the underlying causes of decline. It is primarily focused on the immediate task of

from the South African Constitution and the struggle for a democratic and socially just society. Although the experience of democratic local government over the last 25 years has necessitated a review of some of the assumptions about how the system should function, such as the funding models

It is important that the public, including civil society, academics, and other stakeholders, engage with this review process. In our submission, we argue that the vision for local government outlined in the White Paper of 1998 remains relevant and appropriate, a vision which draws its inspiration

The 1998 White Paper has largely provided the policy vision and foundations for the local government system in South Africa over the last 25 years.

Submission | White Paper on Local Government Review Process » PARI | Public Affairs Research Institute The Department of Cooperative Government (DCOG) is currently reviewing the 1998 Local Government White Paper, and has recently called for comment on a short review document it published this year.…

The Department of Cooperative Government (DCOG) is currently reviewing the 1998 Local Government White Paper, and has recently called for comment on a short review document it published this year.

pari.org.za/submission-w...

OR Tambo remembered as a radical democracy builder Dignitaries at the 5th OR Tambo Memorial Lecture

Notable panellists shared insights on the lecture and Tambo’s legacy. Dr Sithembile Mbete, Executive Director at the PARI, asserted that Tambo had a strong moral stance and welcomed criticism; thus, he did not possess an inferiority complex.

www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corpor...

Sithembile Mbete is PARI’s Executive Director.