Interorganizational relations and effectiveness in housing policy administration: The institutional development of the housing delivery system in Cameroon

The general issue dealt with in this study is that of institutional weaknesses in less developed countries (LDCs). The focus was specifically on the housing policy field. The problem was treated as a function of insufficient interaction amongst institutional actors in this field. Thus, a positive relationship between interorganizational relations (IOR) and organizational effectiveness (OE) in the housing field was posited as a central hypothesis. Primary data generated through two standardized multiple choice questionnaires administered respectively to (29) heads of housing policy organizations (HPOs) and (113 of) their clients in four urban areas in Cameroon, the empirical referent of the study, were used. The former elicited information on IOR and the latter, on OE. The inability of extant models to deal with the concept of OE as employed in the study was noted. A more appropriate model incorporating client satisfaction, an inherent but largely ignored indicator of the concept, was developed and employed. The following questions were addressed: 1) what types of institutions participate in the residential development process in Cameroon? 2) what is the interorganizational structure of the housing delivery system in the country? 3) how and to what extent do organizations within the system interact with one another in fostering the country's housing policy objectives? and 4) what is the nature of the link between IOR and OE? Uncovering answers to these questions necessitated additional data from other sources such as key housing policymakers in the country, government documents, and published and unpublished works. It also entailed the use of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to social scientific enquiry. The former was used mainly to surface answers to the first three questions and the latter, to deal with the fourth. The statistical models used included, contingency tabulations, simple and multiple regression using a stepwise inclusion pattern. A test of the central hypothesis was conducted initially using the contingency tabulation model. A further test using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedure and F-statistic was carried out. Results of both tests supported the hypothesis. Based on these results, theory and intuition, a causal relationship between IOR and OE was inferred. It was thus concluded that, at least in the context of the study, the effectiveness of institutions such as HPOs operating in the development policy field depends to some significant degree on the extent to which they interact with one another. An important policy implication of this finding is that planners and other change agents interested in strengthening institutional capacity in LDCs must entertain IOR as a viable alternative and seek to encourage, rather than ignore or be passive about it as has customarily been the case

Combating Forced Labour and Human Trafficking in Africa: The Role of Endogenous and Exogenous Forces

It is widely believed that indigenous culture and tradition are at the root of the human trafficking and forced labour problem in Africa. Adherents to this viewpoint also claim that endogenous as opposed to exogenous forces impede efforts to eradicate the problem. This study employed a loglinear regression model to test the tenability of this claim. It hypothesized an inverse association between indigenous culture/tradition and efforts to combat human trafficking. The hypothesis was rejected. It is shown that anti-trafficking initiatives are less successful where indigenous tradition is dominated, or has been usurped, by imported cultural practices. Key words: Africa’s triple heritage, Child labour, forced labour, human trafficking

Healthy cities and sustainable innovation

In this chapter, the conceptualization of healthy city including its characteristics and societal benefits are discussed. To build and sustain healthy cities, a well-established approach found in literature is reviewed. Furthermore, more recent literature has been calling for more effective city-level systems to deal with constant and fast-changing city health conditions as city-immigration is hitting global record high and thus the challenge is ever more difficult. A particularly debated area is the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on health of cities of host countries. Recent emerging trend identifiable in recent literature is the seeking and promotion of building technologically-smart and resource-sustainable cities. The chapter concludes by highlighting some important future considerations for public policy bodies

“The Right-To-The-City Question” and Indigenous Urban Populations in Capital Cities in Cameroon

This paper explores the implications of state land tenure modernization and urbanization-promotion initiatives for human rights in Cameroon. The aim is to promote understanding of the implications of these initiatives for the right-to-the-city of indigenous urban residents. It is argued that the implications are more severe in politico-administrative headquarters than elsewhere in the country. Three different cities have served, at some point, as national politico-administrative headquarters in Cameroon, the study’s empirical referent. The designation of any city as a politico-administrative headquarters invariably creates a land scarcity problem in that city. The problem is aggravated for the city’s indigenous population by colonial and post-colonial planning policies. For this reason, the policies are said to be in violation of basic human rights as stipulated by the UN Declaration of Universal Human Rights as well as the African Charter

Electricity Supply, and Access to Water and Improved Sanitation as Determinants of Gender-Based Inequality in Educational Attainment in Africa

The central hypothesis of this study is that gender-based inequality in education in Africa depends to a significant degree on electricity supply, and access to water and improved sanitation. Gender-based educational inequality is operationalized in terms of the proportion of females to males within any given group of educated people. Three groups, people with basic literacy skills, people with primary education, and people with a secondary education, are considered. Logarithmically-transformed multiple regression analyses, with R2 values ranging from .26 to .55, confirmed the central hypothesis in all but one instance. The instance concerns the hypothesized positive link between access to improved sanitation and females with a secondary education. An analysis of the data revealed this relationship as negative. This paradoxical revelation is explained as follows. Recent positive trends in African economies have occasioned improvements in sanitation that are unmatched by a corresponding increase in female secondary education. The confirmed positive link between access to basic services and female education is easy to explain. The availability of basic services facilitates execution of domestic chores hence, free up time for girls and women to pursue educational opportunities. The article’s significance resides in its empirical validation of the following widely-held but hardly interrogated view. The progress of women in Africa is significantly retarded by the fact that they are overburdened by domestic chores

Africa’s Triple Heritage, Land Commodification and Women’s Access to Land: Lessons from Cameroon, Kenya and Sierra Leone

Women have less access to land than men in Africa. Previous analyses have typically identified African indigenous culture as the problem’s exclusive source. With Cameroon, Kenya and Sierra Leone as empirical referents, an alternative explanation is advanced. Here, the problem is characterized as a product of Africa’s triple heritage, comprising three main cultures, viz., African indigenous tradition, European/Christianity and Arabia/Islam. The following is noted as a major impediment to women’s access to, and control of, land: the supplanting of previously collective land tenure systems based on family or clan membership by ‘ability-to-pay’ as the principal determinant of access to land

The Toponymic Inscription Problematic in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: From Colonial to Postcolonial Times

We examine a variety of problems relating to toponymic inscription processes in urban sub-Saharan Africa. The objective is to promote understanding of: the origins, evolution, nature, extent and social implications of these problems in an era of globalization; the vocabularies of built space; and the navigation techniques of inhabitants of supposedly nondescript built space in this region. We employed primary data based on in situ experiences and secondary data from published and unpublished documents. We found that the region’s toponymic inscription problem, its built space, and urban vocabularies are deeply embedded in its European colonial legacy. Furthermore, we found that urban residents in this region have devised functional means to navigate their seemingly nondescript space. These revelations promise to fill some historiographic gaps in the literature on toponymic inscription in Africa in particular and urban history and planning in general