This paper discusses the utilisation of social movement trade unionism by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in seeking to influence the government to pursue policies that improve the lives of workers in South Africa. Social movement unionism involves trade union movement struggles characterised by shop-floor participatory processes, broader socio-political struggles and trade union alliances with community and political organisations. This perspective transcends economistic trade union struggles that are limited to the workplace. As a social movement union, COSATU played a critical role in contributing to social change by demanding the abolition of apartheid; rolling back of neoliberal economic policies in post-apartheid South Africa and, today, continues to be a key player in representing workers. However, COSATU social movement influence in the post-apartheid era has been affected by its adoption of alliance politics, utilisation of formal structures of incorporation such as the National Economic Development and Labour Council, intra-union conflicts and the reduction of its historical militant approach, among other challenges.

Purpose A strategic plan is a document used to communicate an organisation’s goals and the actions needed to achieve those goals. Strategic planning in public organisations promotes timely decisions, enhances the management of limited resources in a more rational manner, improves service delivery and induces greater satisfaction of customers. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to critically examine the strategic planning challenges facing the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS), and how these impact organisational performance; second, to identify strategies that can be implemented to enhance strategic planning and performance management in the DTPS. Design/methodology/approach This paper used a qualitative case study design with the aid of document analysis to provide insight into the research questions. Findings The paper concludes that public institutions such as the DTPS face a plethora of challenges that militate against successful strategic planning and implementation. A major challenge is resistance to change arising from a desire to maintain the status quo. This paper argues that it is important to promote strategic planning, and aligning organisational objectives with performance in public institutions. Research limitations/implications This study is based on documentary research and therefore its findings may lack current findings that would have emerged from direct interviews. Practical implications This research contributes towards efforts being made to make strategic planning and implementation effective and credible in public institutions especially in sub Saharan Africa. Originality/value In many South African public institutions, strategic planning is viewed as the work of top management, a misconception which compromises service delivery. In addition, strategic planning has been implemented as a direct attempt to inhibit poor budgetary planning and corruption in procurement systems, and in order to effectively manage public resources. There is a need for the department to conduct regular skills development programmes, uproot top-level bureaucracy, and increase innovation, monitoring and evaluation of organisational activities.

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) adoption in South Africa in higher education institutions (HEIs) has yet to be consistent. Despite the extensive literature on the possible contributions of technology to learners’ development, there is a lack of knowledge on barriers to the higher education sector's adoption of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) to support teaching and learning. The most highly ranked universities in South Africa have somewhat embraced the 4IR, representing only a fraction of the 26 public universities in the country. The study identified factors hindering the adoption and diffusion of 4IR technologies in South Africa’s HEIs. To address this knowledge gap, we relied on the diffusion of innovation theory as a guide. Using a qualitative approach, we collected data using documentary reviews and analyses of authoritative sources to conceptualise and contextualise 4IR. The findings revealed that 4IR adoption is not only about perceptions but is also influenced by material obstacles like conflicting global views on the 4IR, complexity in conceptualising 4IR, and the digital skills gap in HEIs, among other factors. To address these obstacles and realise the value of 4IR in HEIs, institutions must understand the educational scope associated with 4IR. This can be achieved by conducting more empirical research on the implications of 4IR on the education sector. To address the digital skills gap, institutions must design detailed skills plans to respond to their respective institutions' technological needs, redesign their pedagogical approaches by extending current practices to 4IR, and implement change management.

In South Africa, government departments are under legislative obligations to adopt a systematic and organised approach to the management of records. This is because sound records management is fundamental for good governance and effective and efficient administration of government units. This article analyses records management trends at Statistics South Africa (StatsSA). Qualitative desktop research was used with key legislative and policy sources, StatsSA documents and international literature. The study revealed that numerous challenges existed in the organisation’s records management. These challenges include: creation of the record retention and disposal authority granted by the Archivist; stakeholder relations and engagement; compliance with the National Archives and Records Services of South Africa (NARSSA) Act No. 43 of 1996 as the primary legislation for records and archives management in South Africa; and digitalization and transformation. The article recommends that the resource centre be digitalized by adopting the Millennium and Sierra Integrated Library Systems software for records management, skills development archiving and enhanced stakeholder relations. An effective and efficient records and archives management system promotes good governance, accountability, and transparency.

Background: Southern African countries adopted diverse responses to the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, which manifested itself as both a health and economic disaster.Aim: Using a case study approach of two South African countries, namely Botswana and South Africa, the article assessed their response measures to the COVID-19 pandemic.Setting: Southern African countries applied ‘domesticated’ forms of responses thus, there has been no one-size-fits-all approach to managing the pandemic.Methods: The study adopted a qualitative approach. Two case studies namely Botswana and South Africa were used. Documentary evidence was drawn from these case studies.Results: To ensure that Southern African countries and indeed the world in general navigate the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed operational planning guidelines that had sought to balance the demands of responding effectively to COVID-19 and the need to serve economies from collapse. However, an analysis of the programmes of responses in South African countries such as Botswana showed the ‘domestication’ of the guidelines. Nevertheless, the guidelines, although having met with criticism in some cases had significantly contributed to the effective management of COVID-19 health and economic effects.Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic required the state and its institutions to exercise effective leadership and unified action. In South African countries such as Botswana and South Africa, this pandemic showed the importance of governments in shaping the effectiveness of national responses, strategies and approaches in tackling the crisis.