ABSTRACT
This article analyses how emergency regulations protected persons living in urban poverty, particularly unlawful occupiers, from eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. It is set against the socio-economic and environmental effects of unlawful occupiers being forced onto the streets through evictions. It examines the judicial interpretation and application of the COVID-19 regulations on the prohibition of the eviction of unlawful occupiers, together with remedies for compensation for demolished dwellings. Ultimately, the article shows that the regulatory and judicial responses to the pandemic were pro-poor and sought to protect human dignity, the right to life, and the right to an environment that is not detrimental to human health and well-being. The responses safeguarded access to housing at a time when many vulnerable people could have been rendered homeless by eviction and the demolition of their dwellings.
ABSTRACT
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT : Namibia's State of Emergency was announced on 27 March 2020. Institutional attempts to introduce blended learning and formal online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic prior to the students leaving campus came too late. We subsequently did not have the luxury of time to plan and prepare formal online material. Emergency remote teaching (ERT) was started whilst our students were on recess with many stuck at home in rural off-grid settings. They were subsequently faced with erratic internet connectivity and limited data. This limitation necessitated a small file size alternative that addressed the educational needs of our students whilst permitting constructive alignment with the intended learning objectives. Furthermore, it was also found that students prefer communication through WhatsApp. Here the authors report on a novel and content-specific approach to ERT through to-the-point anatomy video tutorials that are data friendly - i.e., Goldilocks Anatomy