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Developing a regulatory framework for e-hailing services in South Africa
(North-West University, 2026) Dzawoma, I; Kilian, C. G; Gresse, E
Public transport has long reflected South Africa's social and economic inequalities. What started as an instrument of colonial control and apartheid segregation has developed into a complex regulatory environment struggling to keep pace with twenty-first-century innovations. This study examines how South Africa's transport law, often burdened by exclusion and informality, can adapt to the rise of e-hailing. This digital phenomenon has transformed both mobility and regulation. The e-hailing crisis, often visible as violent clashes and institutional paralysis, is not an isolated incident but the latest sign of longstanding governance failures in public transport. Chapter 1 sets the stage by presenting the research context, highlighting the 2024 National Land Transport Amendment Act and the 2025 Regulations as pivotal moments that finally legitimised e-hailing as a lawful form of public transport. This milestone comes after a decade of chaos, characterised by conflicts between metered taxi groups and e-hailing drivers, weak enforcement, and legal uncertainty. Thereafter, Chapter 2 traces the development of transport regulation from 1809 through to the post-apartheid era, showing how successive regimes each perpetuated a fragmented and unequal system. Chapter 3 explores how platform technologies have disrupted this legacy, revealing the "pacing problem" between rapid technological breakthroughs and sluggish legislative responses. It highlights, among other things, three linked issues in the e-hailing sector: distorted competition, insecure labour conditions, and increasing transport inequality. Chapters 4 to 6 serve as the analytical and prescriptive core of the thesis. Chapter 4 provides a doctrinal assessment of the National Land Transport Act, its 2024 Amendment, the 2025 Regulations, and the Economic Regulation of Transport Act. While these instruments introduce long-overdue legal clarity, they remain limited by narrow licensing provisions, inconsistent enforcement, and silence on key labour and pricing questions. Chapter 5 employs a functional comparative method, analysing regulatory models from Kenya, Tanzania, and India; jurisdictions that share similar developmental and institutional constraints. Their experiences with commission caps, fare corridors, and driver protection mechanisms offer valuable lessons for balancing innovation with accountability. Chapter 6 synthesises these insights into a proposed hybrid framework, combining competition oversight, minimum labour protections, and transport-justice measures to establish a stable, enforceable, and context sensitive regime. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that effective e-hailing regulation in South Africa requires more than legislative recognition: it demands an integrated approach that treats transport not merely as an economic service but as a governed public good. By drawing together historical, doctrinal, and comparative analyses, the thesis develops a realistic and actionable pathway for reform; one that aligns technological innovation with fair competition, safer working conditions, and equitable access to mobility.
The prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace
(North-West University, 2025) Ngomane, T. D; Kanamugire, J. C
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a pervasive and serious problem that affects both men and women, though it disproportionately impacts women. It violates fundamental rights to dignity, equality and personal security, leading to negative consequences for victims, the workplace and the society. The Constitution of South Africa and the Employment Equity Act provide a legal framework to prohibit and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, and to protect and provide remedies for victims. However, there are gaps and challenges in the legal framework and its implementation, such as the lack of a clear and consistent definition of sexual harassment, the inadequacy of the existing remedies and sanctions, and the barriers to access justice and support services. This research study aims to critically analyse the law on sexual harassment in the workplace, to ascertain whether robust measures exist for the victim to curb sexual harassment in the workplace or whether the victim must pursue the matter through the court system, and also to provide measures to curb sexual harassment in the workplace in South Africa. The main research question is: Are the existing laws sufficient to effectively prevent and address sexual harassment in the workplace? The research findings and recommendations will contribute to the development and reform of the law and policy on sexual harassment in the workplace in South Africa and to the promotion of gender equality and human dignity in the workplace.
Revisiting the “workplace“ definition: challenges in the era of hybrid and remote work
(North-West University, 2026) Mamphwe, A. R
The workplace definition has always been confined to a site where employees' presence is a must so that employers can have control over them. The definition was based on spatial fixed site comprised of bricks and mortar. This spatial focussed definition has been upset by the existence of the digitalization of the working space. The occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic forced many employers to embark on a remote and hybrid working arrangements. It has also changed the notion of how and where work is to be done. It is therefore vital that the workplace definition must embrace the existence of remote and hybrid work. This research aims at re-examining the concept "workplace" considering the use of remote and hybrid work as well as the implications thereof on employees' health, safety and injury on duty benefits in a labour law perspective. It also highlights the need to make provisions for these work models in the labour law legislative framework. The method of study is the Qualitative approach where primary and secondary legal sources are exposed to content analytic review. There is a need for statutory reform in South Africa to regulate the occupational health and safety and compensation for injuries and diseases of employees working in remote and hybrid arrangement. This study contributes to labour law by presenting the existing gaps, pinpointing the need to include the new patterns of work which are remote and hybrid work in labour legislation framework.
Development of photocatalytic ceramic membrane for the removal of pharmaceuticals from water
(North-West University (South Africa), 2025) Sawunyama, Lawrence; Onwudiwe, Damian. C; Oyewo, Opeyemi. A; Bopape, Ntsitlola Felicity
The use of advanced hybrid wastewater treatment techniques in the elimination of emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals has recently attracted significant interest as a viable technique for industrial scale wastewater treatment. Advanced hybrid wastewater treatment techniques are based on the integration of different advanced wastewater treatment techniques such as membrane technology, advanced oxidation processes and bioremediation. Each approach addresses different aspects of contaminants removal, resulting in a robust system that enhances efficiency by minimizing the drawbacks of individual technique and enhancing their advantages. The aim of this study was to prepare a hybrid wastewater treatment technique involving photocatalysis and ceramic membrane technology and evaluate their efficiency in the removal of tetracycline as a model wastewater pollutant by utilising both photocatalysis and filtration processes. The main technical barriers hindering the application of photocatalysis at industrial scale are: (1) limited utilization of solar spectrum by most photocatalysts; (2) high electron and hole recombination rate, which lowers quantum efficiency and photocatalytic activity; (3) poor adsorption towards non-polar organic pollutants; (4) challenging recovery of the used nanoparticles from the uniform suspension; and (5) low thermal stability. Therefore, this work focused on the fabrication of surface defective heterojunction nanocomposites from TiO2 and ZnO in order to enhance the photocatalytic activity through improved light absorption capabilities and charge separation process. High energy requirements for sintering, high cost of starting materials, and limited effectiveness in pollutant mineralization are identified as significant drawbacks in the industrial application of ceramic membrane technology. Therefore, this study focussed on fabrication of affordable and sustainable ceramic membranes from coal fly ash, an industrial solid waste product, and natural sand, a commonly available and inexpensive natural material. Firstly, surface defective TiO2-ZnO heterojunction nanocomposite were synthesized using the conventional sol-gel approach, coupled with aluminium foil-assisted NaBH4 reduction. Titanium tetra-isopropoxide and zinc acetate were used as precursors at different molar ratios while isopropyl alcohol and water were used as solvents. Subsequently, ceramic membranes were fabricated by the uniaxial compaction of the starting material (coal fly ash, natural sand, dextrin (pore former) and carboxymethyl cellulose (binder)) using a manual hydraulic pressing machine. The coal fly ash and natural sand were mixed in different proportions and the fabricated ceramic membranes were sintered at different temperatures of 800, 100, and 1200 ℃. Finally, the novel TiO2-ZnO functionalized coal fly ash-based ceramic membrane was fabricated utilizing co-pressing and co-sintering processes. The photoactive layer was formed by placing the grounded mixture of pre weighed photocatalyst (TiO2-ZnO) and pre-weighed ceramic membrane precursor material on the mold's base, and the supporting layer was formed by adding pre-weighed ceramic membrane precursor material to the mold. The structure, morphology, surface properties, and optical characteristics of the synthesized materials were studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis absorption spectra, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The viii properties of the optimized membranes were further studied to ascertain their mechanical strength, chemical stability, porosity, water absorption, water permeability, and shrinkage behaviour. The XRD analysis confirmed the successful formation of black BTiO2-ZnO heterostructure, while SEM revealed the structural morphology as pseudo-spherical with slight agglomeration. BTiO2-ZnO was found to be more efficient than BTiO2 and BZnO for the removal of tetracycline with degradation efficiencies of 63, 58, and 56 % respectively. The effects of process parameters such as the amount of photocatalyst, pollutant's concentration, and the initial solution pH on photocatalytic degradation study were systematically explored. The results confirm that the formation of the heterostructure from BTiO2 and BZnO could offer a facile route to improving the catalytic degradation of tetracycline. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of the starting materials (coal fly ash and natural sand) confirmed the presence of SiO2 and Al2O3, two key inorganic materials required for the fabrication of ceramic membranes. ICP OES analysis revealed that coal fly ash contains heavy metals, including arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg). The levels of arsenic and chromium exceeded the WHO limits. Therefore, the heavy metals present in the raw coal fly ash were successfully leached out using acetic acid prior to the fabrication process. The membrane fabricated with 20 wt% sand content and at 1000 °C sintering temperature had pore size of 0.64 µm and 34.7% porosity, exhibited good mechanical strength (7.71 MPa), and exceptional chemical stability. The membrane also showed a remarkable water permeability of 32.23 L/m2 /h. The ceramic membrane functionalized with 0.5 g of TiO2 -ZnO and sintered at 850 °C exhibited good thermal, chemical stability, and porosity required for ultrafiltration applications. The optimum photocatalytic efficiency of the functionalized photocatalytic substrate achieved within 100 min under the visible light was estimated at 77% and removal efficiency by filtration was estimated at 57%. Moreover, the functionalized membrane was found to be stable with 73% photocatalytic degradation efficiency after 5 consecutive cycles of reusability test, with negligible loss of efficiency. In the filtration studies, tetracycline was simply adsorbed and filtered without degradation complicating desorption from surface-active areas. The scale-up of photocatalytic ceramic membranes and their utilization in real industrial applications will confirm their robustness when used in a hybrid photocatalysis and filtration reactor system that optimize its synergistic photocatalytic, adsorption, and filtration properties. In general, the use of advanced hybrid wastewater treatment techniques, specifically through the use of photocatalytic ceramic membranes fabricated from cost-effective starting materials, presents a promising and sustainable alternative for the removal of pharmaceuticals from water.
Project risk culture in a South African state-owned entity
(North-West University (South Africa), 2020) Nemukula, Fhulufhedzani Irene
The concept of risk culture came to the fore after the 2007/08 financial crisis, when it was identified as a leading contributor to instability in the financial industry. The available literature on risk culture tends to focus on the financial sector, with few risk-culture-specific articles published on non???financial institutions such as public organisations; and none could be found on project risk culture in South African state-owned entities (SOEs). The objective of this study was to explore the perceptions of project team members of aspects related to project risk management in a South African SOE, using a risk culture indicator (RCI) model to structure the research. The research question for this study was therefore: "How do project team members perceive project risk culture in this SOE?" Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with a sample of 15 participants whose roles require project implementation decision-making in the organisation. The results of the study indicated that project team members rely on experience and information from a panel of experts and consultants in order to include project risks when making project-related decisions. Interviewees suggested that the entity's project risk management process should be improved to ensure that the risk-related information documented, as a result of the internal risk management process, is relevant and of quality to assist with project decision-making. Four indicators - risk-based incentives, communication, challenge and risk accountability - did not feature in the participants' responses, and attention to these indicators may also assist with improving the entity's project risk culture. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of the perceived project risk culture within the organisation and exemplifies a novel research approach for other researchers interested in conducting project risk culture studies.