Browsing by Author "Siddle, Andrew McCalman"

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    Decentralisation in South African local government : a critical evaluation
    (2011) Siddle, Andrew McCalman; Koelble, Thomas
    The South African local government model is considered to be decentralised in character, incorporating various constitutional, policy and statutory instruments to enable local government to achieve its constitutionally mandated developmental objectives. Yet local government is widely viewed as being in a state of crisis. Many municipalities are seen as dysfunctional and incapable of performing their duties. The hypothesis underlying this study is that the effective application of the principles of decentralisation, to the extent that they have been incorporated in the constitutional, policy and regulatory framework of local government in South Africa, is endangered by a lack of commitment to the concept of decentralisation by central government and by the failure by municipalities to implement at local level those rules, systems, mechanisms, powers and functions which are intended to reflect the principles of decentralisation; and that the achievement of the constitutional objectives of local government is thereby in turn endangered.
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    Share repurchases in South Africa : reasons and returns
    (2006) Siddle, Andrew McCalman; Chivaka, Richard
    Share repurchases have long been permitted in the United States of America, but it is only relatively recently that they have become a frequently-used means of returning funds to shareholders in that country. In other countries, it was also only relatively recently that share repurchases were even permitted, and in South Africa, repurchases have been permitted only since 1999, when the Companies Act was amended to allow for them. Repurchases in South Africa are fairly closely regulated, not only by statute, but also, in the case of listed shares, by regulations contained in the Listing Requirements of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. In essence, the regulations, read with the legislation, allow for three types of repurchase, namely, a specific repurchase incorporating a pro-rata offer; a specific purchase incorporating a specific offer, and a general repurchase. Specific repurchases have more demanding requirements than general repurchases as far analysis in the context of the "signalling hypothesis," and for that reason, the focus of this study is on specific repurchases. Studies in the USA and elsewhere have shown that repurchases may be carried out for any of a number of reasons. Most studies in the USA have also shown that repurchases are associated with significant positive abnormal returns on the share prices; the increase in prices is usually attributed to the signalling hypothesis, which holds that managers use repurchases as a means of signalling to the market that they believe that the shares are underpriced. The objectives of the present study are twofold: - To identify the reasons for South African companies carrying out repurchases; and - To determine whether such repurchases create shareholder value.