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The nature and value of teaching and learning Mandarin Chinese as a school subject in South Africa: a case study of language and literacy ideologies in a public secondary school in South Africa
No full textIn 2014 Mandarin Chinese was officially introduced as a second addi9onal language in South Africa's school curriculum. With China's growing status and influence in the world, South Africa's current posi9oning within the BRICS and South Africa's strong rela9onship with China has raised the importance of research into the landscape of the teaching and learning of Mandarin Chinese as a school subject in South Africa. This case study was conducted in 2021 in South Africa in a public secondary school in which Mandarin Chinese is taught as a school subject within the Confucius Ins9tute project framework. Through linguis9c ethnographic and biographical approaches, this study explores Chinese teachers' and South African students' language and literacy ideologies with respect to Mandarin Chinese and its script. With the “bipar9te nature of ideologies as ‘ontologies plus values'” (Hall & Cunningham, 2020, p. 4) as the main theore9cal principle informing this study, language and literacy ideologies with respect to Mandarin Chinese and its script are explored in rela9on to both “ontologies” and “values” with the aim of showing the deeply intertwined rela9onship between conceptualisa9ons of Mandarin Chinese and of its script and the value aTribu9on to them. The data analysis shows that, despite a 9mid desire shown by a few students for a social approach to language, the teaching and learning of Mandarin Chinese is mainly informed by a conceptualisa9on of Mandarin Chinese as a highly standardised and abstract system which can be packaged and commodified as a well-defined and structured object. As regards the teaching and learning of the Chinese script, some tensions arise. On one hand, the teaching and learning of the Chinese wriTen language seems to be informed by a market-driven skills-based approach, which either over-relies on pinyin (i.e., phone9c system for transcribing Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet) at the expense of the teaching and learning of Chinese characters or conceptualises Chinese characters as arbitrary symbols simply reproducing the spoken language. On the other hand, the teachers also aTempt to convey an approach to Chinese literacy which emphasises the role of Chinese characters within Chinese language and culture, their grapho-seman9c features and their dis9nc9ve rela9onship with spoken language. However, this second approach is not appropriated by the students, who mainly learn Chinese characters as phone9c/arbitrary symbols, thereby poin9ng to a conceptualisa9on of literacy as a decontextualised skill. I argue that both the teaching and learning of Mandarin Chinese as an abstract system of vocabulary and grammar structures and the teaching and learning of the Chinese script as a decontextualised system of phone9c/arbitrary symbols speak of a conceptualisa9on of language and literacy as being exclusively denota9onal, whereby the socio-cultural embeddedness of Mandarin Chinese and of its script are overlooked. Hence, Mandarin Chinese and its script are thought of as “an arbitrary and fungible system of representa9on” (Course, 2018, p. 12), which can be accessed and learnt in the same way as other (alphabe9c) languages. Hence, if languages and their scripts, by virtue of their exclusively denota9onal nature, are conceived as fungible systems of denota9ve communica9on characterised by an ontological equivalence, it follows that they can be easily compared, hierarchised and exchanged according to their instrumental value, namely their high or low likelihood of enabling speakers (and readers/writers) to communicate widely and access opportuni9es. As data shows, Mandarin Chinese is seen, similarly to English, as a highly valuable communica9on tool on a global level, and, thus, as a valuable commodity which can be exchanged for opportuni9es in terms of travelling, acquiring knowledge and accessing well-paid jobs. On the contrary, Afrikaans and African languages, due to their characterisa9on as languages localised into a narrow, economically stagnant and parochial reality, are seen as less valuable because they do not seem to open future opportuni9es for the students. I conclude that a conceptualisa9on of languages and of their scripts in mere denota9onal terms (i.e., languages and scripts as instruments to communicate denota9ve meanings deprived of any socio-cultural connota9on and/or human value) suggests, on one hand, that languages and their scripts are ontologically equivalent (i.e., Mandarin Chinese and its script can be accessed and acquired as any other language); however, on the other hand, the exclusively denota9onal nature of languages and scripts easily allows an aTribu9on of instrumental value to languages and their scripts, which, paradoxically, makes them highly non-equivalent (i.e., Mandarin Chinese and English as more valuable than Afrikaans and African languages within South Africa's linguis9c market). In sum, by embracing the recent ‘ontological turn' in language studies, the explora9on of the intricate rela9onship between ontologies of language (in its spoken and wriTen form) and value aTachment to it might help uncover “highly commodified” (Badwan, 2021, p. 46) understandings of language and literacy in the field of (foreign) language educa9on and invite to think about new and different ways forward. Par9cularly relevant in this project, reflec9ons on the conceptualisa9ons of the nature of literacy informing the teaching and learning of the Chinese script might spark novel thoughts with respect to the teaching of wriTen language in general, especially in terms of its “material culture” (Dickinson, 2017, p. 265), its rela9onship with spoken language and the importance of wri9ng in itself or, in Snoddon's (2022) words, “wri9ng as being” (p. 722)
Digitalization in the construction industry and its impacts on productivity: an empirical investigation of the South African construction industry
Full text linkThis study investigates the role of digitalization in the construction sector and its impacts on productivity, with a specific focus on the South African construction industry. Employing a quantitative research approach, data was collected using survey research design through close-ended questionnaires. A non-probability sampling method with both quota and convenience sampling techniques was used to select a sample of 200 participants to examine the relationships among digitization, digitalization concepts, digital transformation, and organizational productivity. Data was collected with a 17-item Digital Transformation Scale (DTS) adapted from Pettersson, Siljebo, Wolming, and Ferry (2024) consisting of three dimensions of digitalization (6 items), digitization (5 items) and digital transformation (6 items) and a 12-item Organizational Effectiveness Inventory (OEI) adapted from Szumal (2001) with three dimensions of organization level quality (6 items), departmental level quality (3 items) and external adaptability (3 items) was used to tap perceptions of organizational performance. The analysis incorporated reliability tests, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression modeling to identify significant trends and impacts. Hypothesis testing yielded essential insights into the relationships among the constructs. The size of an organization significantly affects perceptions of digitalization and productivity within the South African construction sector. ANOVA results indicate that larger organizations exhibit significantly elevated levels of composite digitalization and organizational performance. Marked disparities are apparent in areas such as departmental performance, overall performance, and adaptability, with smaller firms lagging due to limitations in resources and capabilities. The ANOVA results indicated that organizations with a higher number of years in business have significantly higher levels of composite digitalization. Digitalization was found to have a positive significant effect on organizational productivity, results also show digitization to have a positive significant effect on organizational productivity and digital transformation tools exhibited no significant impact. Composite digitalization showed a strong and significant positive effect on productivity highlighting the importance of an integrated and comprehensive approach to digitalization. The significance of this based on the need to the fill the critical knowledge gap in the academia regarding the impact of digitalization on productivity in the South African construction industry. Its findings inform the strategic decisions, drive innovation, and the approaches for efficient and competitive construction sector in South Africa
Machine learning approach to slice admission control in 5G wireless network
Full text linkThe advent of fifth-generation (5G) wireless communication has introduced a paradigm shift in how cellular networks operate and how network resources are allocated. As data networks become increasingly dynamic and complex, resource allocation can not be uniformly applied to all network users; rather, it should be implemented through a user-centric construction of virtual functions , commonly known as network slices. However, network slicing can be complemented by a slice admission control (SAC) process that permits only those slice requests that satisfy quality-of-service (QoS) requirements. Furthermore, automated and intelligent networking approaches can be employed to enhance SAC and optimize key objectives such as revenue, fairness, scheduling efficiency, and network resilience. This thesis investigates SAC in a resource-constrained, inter-domain 5G network, with a focus on improving the utility, fairness, scheduling, and network resilience of infrastructure providers (InPs). Firstly, this thesis develops an inter-domain resource allocation framework that elucidates the inherent non-linearity of its formulation. The resulting formulation is presented as a mixed-integer non-linear programming (MINLP) problem and is proven to be NP-hard. In this context, the study conducts a comprehensive analytical comparison of various feasible solution approaches to address this problem, including branch and bound (BnB), successive convex approximation (SCA), the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM), heuristic methods, genetic algorithms (GA), and machine learning (ML) techniques. Secondly, this thesis introduces a multi-server, multi-queue resource scheduling framework aimed at accurately predicting costs and resource availability over a 24-hour period. By leveraging virtualized inter-domain resource blocks, the transient probabilities of queues are derived. The investigation finds that the predictions of the deep Q-learning (DQL) agent generally fall within an acceptable average variation of 6%. Thirdly, this study investigates the impact of integrating slice admission control (SAC) with an auction-based game, which is double-ended bidding mechanism that allow both network resource buyers and sellers to place preference so that resources can only be allocated to the most deserving bidder, this aim to maximize overall utility and enhance fairness. The thesis introduces inter-domain resource models for n-class zoned 5G slices. By increasing the probability of admission during periods of resource availability, the findings demonstrate that the reinforcement learning agent improves long-term utility and fairness by 68.2%. Finally, this thesis proposes a novel sequential twin-actor critic (STAC) method that optimizes a two-stage action process—namely, slice admission control (SAC) and resilience maintenance—by adjusting network resource blocks (RBs) to maximize overall utility. Additionally, the probability of slice acceptance is evaluated and compared with that of similar schemes. Given the anticipated density of up to one million devices per square kilometer, this study provides supplementary insights into SAC in an anomalous multi-node environment by analyzing data from admitted slice requests to detect any irregular patterns. The results demonstrate that the adopted reinforcement learning (RL) scheme outperforms the compared approaches
Do global legal frameworks hold social media platforms accountable for hosting content that incites violence?
Full text linkThe digital era has witnessed an unprecedented expansion in social media platforms' use, influence, and societal impact.1 Sixty percent of the global population uses social media, with the daily exchange of messages reaching into the billions.2 As of 2023, Facebook boasts 2.98 billion monthly active users,3 YouTube exceeds 2.68 billion users,4 and X (formerly Twitter) had 450 million users.5 These platforms offer users unrestricted capacity for expressing views and communication, often with minimal (though not constant) oversight while facilitating the concealment of user identities.6 While this technological advancement has opened new avenues for global connectivity and communication, it has also given rise to an alarming increase in the spread of hate speech.7 In the last twenty years, these online platforms have evolved into environments where hateful narratives and stereotypes flourish unchecked, primarily aimed at marginalized groups, leading to increased communal violence, ethnic cleansing, and even genocide.8 Major platforms such as Facebook, X, and YouTube have been criticized for failing to remove harmful content promptly and effectively and for mistakenly removing content that does not breach their policies.9 This research endeavours to comprehensively investigate the accountability of social media platforms in addressing and mitigating the impact of hate speech that fuels acts of violence within the public sphere. Legal, ethical, and technological perspectives will be considered to examine the responsibilities borne by social media platforms in moderating user-generated content. A detailed analysis of existing legal frameworks, both national and international, governing hate speech and its consequences will be conducted to evaluate whether social media platforms are held accountable for content that incites violence. A comparative analysis of diverse social media platforms will be integral to this research, considering variations in policies, enforcement mechanisms, and responsiveness to instances of hate speech inciting violence. Case studies will be examined to illustrate specific incidents, shedding light on the challenges faced by social media platforms and the repercussions of inadequately addressing hate speech. This research aims to determine the legal responsibilities and accountability of social media platforms for hosting content that incites violence and examines whether the current measures are sufficient in addressing this critical issue
Impact analysis of motor faults on the DC Bus in electric vehicle drivetrains
Full text linkThis study investigated the analysis of electric vehicle drivetrains in the presence of a motor fault within a powertrain. The investigation was conducted utilizing a test rig that facilitated the controlled implementation of known faults in induction motors connected to an electric vehicle powertrain configuration, thus enabling the application of various control methodologies. The induction motors employed in this study comprised a healthy baseline motor without faults, a motor with known inter-turn short faults of two distinct severities, and a motor with a known broken rotor bar fault. The motors were connected to a grid source to establish a baseline for comparison. In each scenario, the faults were analysed using motor current signature analysis (MCSA), Park's Vector Approach (PVA), Extended Park's Vector Approach (EVPA), and DC bus current analysis. The objective of this study was to analyse the effects of various faults and their manifestation on the DC bus of powertrains, specifically under transient speed conditions. The analysis of the results presented in this study indicates that the DC bus analysis demonstrates the presence of a fault in the case of an inter-turn fault in the motor in a significantly more consistent manner. This method, along with the EPVA, proved to be the most effective approach for identifying the presence of a fault within the powertrain across multiple control methodologies and motor load levels. It has been demonstrated that an inter-turn fault introduces additional harmonics at twice the fundamental frequency of the system on the DC bus current. This harmonic can serve as a fault indicator and may produce additional stress on the DC bus of the system for the intern-turn fault. The selected EVPA and DC bus analysis methods proved less conclusive when applied to a broken rotor bar fault; however, these techniques were utilized with a focus on specific harmonics based on the literature that emphasized the imbalance introduced through an inter-turn fault. These two techniques help illuminate the propagation throughout the powertrain as they are applied to different currents throughout the powertrain, with the EVPA being applied to the motor line current. The most significant finding was that the DC bus analysis indicated the presence of a fault through a substantial increase in the harmonic at twice the fundamental frequency of the DC bus current irrespective of the complexity of the control method employed. Although more sophisticated algorithms can address errors within a system, they are unable to conceal the presence of errors in the DC bus fully, particularly in the case of short inter-turn faults. Consequently, further research should be directed towards this methodology, as it may prove valuable in identifying a broader range of faults and providing essential information for mitigating the impact of these faults on the DC bus of electric vehicle powertrains
An explorative descriptive study of social and religious barriers affecting access of young black women to sexual and reproductive healthcare in Cape Town
No full textThis explorative descriptive study used a qualitative inquiry method to explore the social and religious barriers impacting young Black women's access to sexual and reproductive healthcare in Cape Town. Previous research studies have been conducted on barriers limiting access of women to sexual and reproductive healthcare. These studies are important as women have the right to be in control of their own healthcare decisions. However, limited attention has been given to the manner in which social and religious barriers impact young Black women's access to sexual and reproductive healthcare. Fifteen participants who follows Christian norms and values were purposively sampled, and in-depth interviews were conducted to gather qualitative data. The data was thematically analysed and the process revealed various barriers affecting the access to sexual and reproductive healthcare of young Black women. The findings emphasise that access is impacted by obstacles such as a lack of communication in families, community judgment, religious doctrine, and poor attitudes from healthcare providers. The findings further highlight that schools, digital platforms and peer groups are significant channels where sexual and reproductive healthcare information can be accessed. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations include developing family communication programmes to facilitate familial discussions about female healthcare. Interventions within church settings that encourage balancing religious principles with young women's healthcare needs could also assist to address the challenges voiced by participants. Overall, this study highlights the need to protect the rights and dignity of women to access sexual and reproductive healthcare services
A critical assessment of how local municipalities implement local economic development: case studies of Bergrivier and Cape Agulhas local municipalities
No full textLocal Economic Development (LED) has been instrumental in the restructuring and transformation of local government in South Africa's new democratic dispensation. LED facilitates the process through which municipalities could achieve the ‘developmental' role they acquired to tackle socio-economic issues such as unemployment, inequality, and poverty. Despite its prominence in various legislative and policy frameworks, municipalities in small towns and semi-rural areas face several challenges in implementing LED initiatives. This study presents a comparative analysis of LED implementation between Bergrivier Local Municipality and Cape Agulhas Local Municipality located in the Western Cape province. The study evaluated internal and external factors influencing the design and implementation of LED strategies. The comparison focused on institutional arrangements, intergovernmental relations, access to resources, and community engagement. Additionally, the research critically assessed the institutional capacity, political commitment and stakeholder involvement which shapes the roll out of LED strategies. Although both municipalities operated in accordance with the prevailing legislative frameworks governing LED, they differed noticeably in their governance structure, collaborative governance, and stakeholder engagement. As a result, the implementation modalities for LED varied, and were shaped by municipality's socio-economic circumstances, operational structure, and resource availability. Therefore, LM 1 has an LED unit with limited capacity, and primarily focus on coordination with national and provincial frameworks. The unit face obstacles with institutional and systemic barriers, resulting in a delicate cross-governmental collaboration, and ineffective participatory approach. This is further aggravated by growing unemployment rate and limited proficiency. On the other hand, LM 2 have a more targeted approach. The municipality benefits from its integrated LED and Tourism unit and pursues local initiatives such as SMME support and mentorship. Also, the municipality showed a more collaborative approach, integrating with the district municipality. Besides, the LM2 recently restructured its governance structure and anticipates improved approaches effectively implement LED strategies and create jobs. The study findings revealed that the intuitional capacity, stakeholder engagement and distribution of resources, plays a pivotal role in shaping the effectiveness of LED. The study suggests that both municipalities should refine their LED strategies with well-defined objectives, realistic financial plans, and sustainable LED principles. Each municipality has the potential to strengthen their institutional capacity, improve stakeholder engagement, and implement strong financial and monitoring frameworks, to ensure effective LED implementation
A critical analysis of how paragraph 5 of the tenth schedule interacts with section 20 of the income tax act
No full textThe oil and gas industry has the potential to contribute to the country's economic growth, job creation and energy security. Until 2006, the OP26 lease regime governed the taxation of South Africa's upstream oil and gas mining rights. As the expiration of this regime approached, which coincided with the transition from the Minerals Act to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, the National Treasury and the Minister of Finance proposed a Money Bill. Parliament's General Assembly supported the enactment of the Tenth Schedule to the Income Tax Act, which aimed to renew and standardise the tax treatment of oil and gas rights based on previous agreements that were only known to the parties involved. The purpose of the Tenth Schedule is to incentivise foreign direct investment by offering favourable deviations from the general tax code, whilst providing investors with certainty and transparency. These deviations sought to recognise the unique risks faced by oil and gas companies and the varied geographical probabilities in the country. In 2019 and 2020, the National Treasury announced plans to revise the oil and gas tax regime and the corporate income tax regime. The objective of this revision for oil and gas companies was to assess whether the current tax regime remained appropriate. Whilst for corporate taxpayers, the goal was to align the regime more closely with international standards. This review involved reducing the corporate income tax rate to encourage investment and revising tax incentives to ensure uniformity across all sectors. Ultimately, National Treasury concluded that the oil and gas tax regime would not change; however, the decrease in the corporate income tax rate introduced limitations on the assessed tax losses of companies and amended interest deduction rules concerning debts owed to entities not subject to tax. Using the theoretical approach of legal interpretive research, which is doctrinal, this minor dissertation analyses the application of the tax loss limitation by oil and gas companies, focusing on how paragraph 5 of the Tenth Schedule interacts with section 20 of the Income Tax Act. In examining the relationship between the assessed loss rules in the Tenth Schedule and the broader body of the Act, the minor dissertation details the taxation of the oil and gas industry, discusses the applicable provisions along with their interpretative challenges, and considers whether the limitation on assessed loss, which is applied to other companies (except for those engaged in mining operations), should also pertain to oil and gas companies, especially in light of the Tenth Schedule's intended purpose
The development of a mathematical model for the bioextraction of the critical raw material magnesium from mine waste using acidithiobacillus caldus
No full textThis investigation aimed to develop a model to describe the bioleaching of magnesium mine wastes, ultimately maximising magnesium extraction while minimising reliance on synthetic acid. In the absence of experimental data on the dissolution profiles of the waste, kinetic models were developed to describe the leaching of individual minerals: periclase, calcite, and goethite. These leaching kinetics, combined with the extracted microbial growth kinetics for Acidithiobacillus (At.) caldus, formed the basis of the bioleaching model. Both batch and continuous flow reactor systems were investigated for their suitability and performance in magnesium recovery. The system was optimised using a pH control system and a two-stage flowsheet design. Chemical leaching kinetics were determined by fitting the models to experimental data from the liter-ature. The extracted reaction orders were 0.3, 3 and 1 for periclase, goethite and calcite, respectively. This indicated that iron dissolution was most sensitive to pH, while magnesium dissolution was the least. The relative magnitude of the activation energies suggested that calcium would dissolve most readily, followed by magnesium, and then iron under the same reaction conditions (EaCa = 32 kJ/mol, EaM g = 67.8 kJ/mol, average EaF e = 90.2 kJ/mol). Investigation into two goethite samples of differing crystal morphologies demonstrated negligible impact on dissolution rate, with only a 0.01 kJ/mol variation per 1 dm2/g difference in surface area. To investigate the production rate of the biogenic acid lixiviant, At. caldus, a chemoautotrophic microor-ganism that oxidises elemental sulfur, was used to facilitate the production of sulfuric acid. Both the Monod and Michaelis-Menten equations were investigated to describe the growth kinetics, assuming 55% availability of initial elemental sulfur due to limited surface area availability for microbial attachment. The Monod expression yielded a maximum specific growth rate (μmax) of 0.275 h−1 and a saturation coefficient (Ks) of 1.5 mol/L, resulting in a maximum sulfate production rate (rp,max) of 0.0009 mol/Lh. However, the model incorporating the Michaelis-Menten equation provided more accurate pH predic-tions throughout the experimental duration, making it more reliable for predicting the acid production rate. Consequently, a Michaelis constant (Km) of 2.25 mol/L, maximum utilisation rate (Vmax) of 0.008 mol/Lh, and maximum sulfate production rate (rp,max) of 0.0004 mol/Lh were incorporated in the subsequent investigations. The extracted chemical leaching and microbial kinetics were combined to describe the bioleaching system in which the acid produced by the oxidation of elemental sulfur by At. caldus leached magnesium, calcium, and iron from the magnesium mine waste. Development of the batch system showed that calcium dissolved rapidly, consuming most of the initial acid. Magnesium followed, reacting with the remaining acid and the biogenic acid as it was produced, indicating that the rate of biooxidation was the rate-limiting step. Negligible iron dissolution was observed. Systematic optimisation of the initial pH and solids loading resulted in optimised conditions of pHi = 1 and 0.75% solids loading (m/v). These conditions achieved 98.5% extraction of magnesium, complete extraction of calcium, and a processing throughput of 0.005 gM g−waste/h over a 60 day period. Two configurations were developed for the continuous flow system: one without acid addition and the other introducing acid in the reactor feed. The former resulted in similar dissolution profiles to the batch system, with complete extraction of calcium at pHi ≤ 2. However, magnesium extraction remained ∼35.6% across pHi 1-3 due to the limited rate of acid production. The optimised system achieved 100% calcium extraction with 82.3% of the magnesium going into solution at an equivalent throughput to the batch system (0.005 gM g−waste/h). Operating at 0.5% solids loading (m/v), pHi = 2 and τ = 41.7 days. The inclusion of acid in the reactor feed (pHin = pHi) significantly increased the extraction of magnesium from 35.6% to 80% at pHi = 1. The optimised case (pHi = pHin = 1, 1 0.5% solids loading, τ = 14.6 days) achieved complete extraction of both magnesium and calcium at a throughput of 0.014 gM g−waste/h. However, the addition of acid did not align with the project's aim of decreasing the demand for synthetic acid. With this in mind, the CSTR system was further optimised by investigating the high-impacting param-eters: pH and mean residence time. Implementation of a two-stage system allowed for the independent optimisation of the microbial oxidation stock (Vs), and mineral (V1) reactors. Using the previously de-termined mineral reactor conditions (0.5% solids loading, τ1 = 14.6 days, pHi = 1), complete extraction of magnesium was achieved at a stock reactor mean residence time (τs) ≥ 10.4 days, establishing an optimal threshold at Vs : 1.4V1. This set-up achieved the same performance as the CSTR with acid in the feed while eliminating the need for synthetic acid. pH control was achieved using a PI controller for the rate of acid addition, for which ITAE tuning parameters were optimised for both disturbance (Kc = 40.7 mol−1.L, τI = 12 h) and set-point changes (Kc = 20 mol−1.L, τI = 326 h). The control system improved the system response times from 14 days to 11.5 and 9 days in the case of a set-point change and disturbance, respectively, while maintaining stable operation. The predictive model developed provided a fundamental understanding of the bioleaching mechanisms. However, the extraction of the CRM, magnesium, was limited by the rate of biooxidation in the CSTR system (with no additional acid) and the batch system. The single-stage CSTR with acid in the reactor feed achieved complete extraction of magnesium, processing 0.014 gM g−waste/h. Implementing a two-stage process achieved the same degree of extraction as the single-stage system while eliminating the need for synthetic acid. pH control decreased the system's natural response time to both set-point changes and disturbances. While this model combined individual chemical leaching and microbial growth kinetics, it is recommended that this model be validated against experimental data for the dissolution of complex waste. This would allow for the validation of selective extraction at different pH levels and confirm whether the effects of surface area are negligible for waste samples
Supply-side determinants of cataract surgery output in South Africa
Full text linkBackground Globally, cataracts represent the leading cause of blindness1. Although South Africa meets the Vision 2020: Right to Sight target of ophthalmologists per million population2, it has not met the target of performing 2,000 cataract surgeries per million population to address avoidable cataract blindness3-5. Aim: To explore the supply-side determinants of cataract surgery output by examining provider characteristics and perceived barriers, enablers, and strategies to increase surgical volume. Methods: A cross-sectional study, using an emailed online questionnaire, was performed using convenience sampling on 399 medically trained members of the Ophthalmology Society of South Africa (OSSA) between May and June 2024. Results: The study's response rate was 19.7% (79/399). In 2023, nearly half of the surgeons performed fewer than 200 cataract surgeries, while only 15% performed 500 or more. Factors associated with performing ≥201 cataract surgeries were: male gender, experience, working in the private sector, performing phacoemulsification cataract surgery and spending less time on non-surgical responsibilities.(p <0.05). The most frequently reported barriers to increasing surgical output were non-surgical responsibilities (28%), limited theatre time (25%), patient access issues (24%), and inconsistent consumable supplies (22%), especially in the public sector. Having adequate theatre staff (56%), dedicated eye theatres (49%), equipment (43%), and motivated staff (41%) were the main enablers identified. Participants recommended strategies such as increasing theatre utilisation (24%), ensuring a stable supply of consumables (24%) and improving staff motivation (19%) to increase cataract surgery in South Africa. Conclusions: Cataract surgery output in South Africa is inadequate. Addressing reported provider barriers, promoting enablers and implementation strategies identified will likely improve surgeon utilisation and increase cataract surgery output rates in the country. Contribution: Provider's cataract surgery output and views of barriers, enablers and implementation strategies to improve cataract surgery output in South Africa