MANAGEMENT AND COMMERCE UFH-based accredited journal contributes to renewal of local government Professor Ogochukwu Nzewi hanks to the leadership of Editor- in-Chief, Professor Ogochukwu Nzewi of the Department of T Public Administration at the University of Fort Hare and other members of the editorial board, the Journal of Local Government Research and Innovation (JOLGRI), published in collaboration with AOSIS on an open access platform and accredited by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), is making a mark in the academic arena by providing a forum for multidisciplinary research on local government in South Africa. The journal was established in January 2020 just as the world was about to be rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic. State President Cyril Ramaphosa had announced a three-week lockdown th on the 26 March 2020 and this was followed by the introduction of a package of measures including the recruitment, training and deployment of 28 000 health care workers and an economic stimulus package of more than R500 billion, about 10% of South Professor Ogochukwu Nzewi Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The stimulus package was aimed at assisting the poor, businesses and, importantly, municipalities as they moved to address the challenges posed by the pandemic. 53 | University of Fort Hare