Book Review - Tearing Us Apart: Inequalities in Southern Africa

Jauch, H. & Muchena, D. 2011. Eds. Tearing Us Apart: Inequalities in Southern Africa. Johannesburg: Open Society for Southern Arica. 360 pages. ISBN: 99916-64-04-1. Price: Not indicated

Financing children’s programmes post-the economic downturn in Botswana

This paper sought to investigate financing challenges that local government councils in Botswana were likely to face as a result of budget and expenditure cuts in 2012 and beyond, in the light of the economic downturn. Using the case study design, the paper gathered data from officers involved with Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programme at the Kanye Administrative Authority and Moshupa Sub-District, Southern Botswana. In addition, interviews were conducted with officers of the National AIDS Coordinating Council (NACA) and the Director of the OVC programme. The major findings included evidence of (i) a decreasing but increasingly expensive caseload of orphans; (ii) widespread abuse of the OVC programme; and (iii) decreasing budgetary support for social programmes. The budgetary cuts must be understood in the context of post-global economic downturn-induced expenditure cuts experienced in various other sectors of the country’s economy. Although expenditure cuts have been a feature of public finance in Botswana since mid-2008 in the wake of the global recession, the subject has not received sufficient attention in the literature. Therefore, this study sought, in a modest way, to fill the glaring gap in this regard.Keywords: Children’s programmes, economic downturn, expenditure cuts; Botswana, OVC

Financing Development Through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Botswana

Largely due to chronic fiscal stress since the recent global economic crisis, there are calls for alternative ways of financing economic development. Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) have been identified as such alternatives. There is an increasing awareness that the private sector is not a competitor but a strategic partner in the drive for economic development. Therefore, governments are leveraging on the benefits of PPPs. Using the case study of Botswana, which is experiencing revenue challenges as diamonds have not been selling well since 2008, this theoretical paper explores the possibility of using more PPPs to finance economic development. Grounded in interpretivist research methodology, using the survey research strategy and using secondary data sources in the form of a desk survey, it concluded that there is a case for the increased use PPPs to finance economic development. It further concluded that while there is demonstrated appetite for PPPs, to date, only a few projects have been procured through PPPs. Hence, moving forward, and given the deteriorating revenue situation, there is a need to use more PPPs to deliver economic development. Finally, the paper argues that there is a need to reform the current PPP legal-institutional architecture and bench-mark and peer-learn from best PPP practices in Africa such as South Africa and Nigeria and beyond

Monitoring and Evaluating Government Performance in Botswana

In an era characterised by fiscal stress in the post-global recession era, clichés such as ‘bang for the buck’ are commonplace. Governments are under increasing pressure to spend limited public resources in efficient and  effective ways. Efficient and  effective governments are a necessary, though not sufficient, condition for economic development. Hence, governments have adopted performance-improving interventions such as New Public Management. Botswana jumped into the bandwagon of public sector reforms in the 1990s through interventions such as Performance-based Management Systems. The focus was almost entirely on performance enhancement to the neglect of performance measurement through a result-based Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework. However, in 2009, the government decided to mainstream M&E into the development planning regime. Since the M&E tool is still in draft form, Botswana is very favourably circumstanced to learn from others. Meanwhile essentials to do are: attitudinal change, shared vision on M&E, stakeholder management and demand and use of M&E information by policy-makers such as Members of Parliament

Rooibos tea extracts inhibit osteoclast formation and activity through the attenuation of NF-κB activity in RAW264.7 murine macrophages

Rooibos tea is a naturally sweet and aromatic tea that is native to the Western Cape province of South Africa. Rooibos is usually fermented to produce the traditional reddish brown colour and has been found to have numerous health benefits. These include beneficial effects on osteoblasts; however, its effects on osteoclast formation and activity are unknown. Osteoclasts are large, multinucleated cells responsible for bone resorption. Binding of RANKL to its receptor on osteoclast precursors triggers the NF-κB signalling pathway leading to the formation of osteoclasts. Certain bone destructive diseases, such as osteoporosis, are characterised by overactive osteoclasts. The inhibition of osteoclasts may offer a potential mode to prevent these diseases. The polyphenol contents of both fermented and unfermented tea extracts were similar although the radical scavenging activity of fermented rooibos tea was lower. Both tea extracts were not cytotoxic and inhibited osteoclast formation. Fermented rooibos tea extract caused a greater reduction in osteoclast resorption and the associated gene expression when compared with unfermented rooibos tea. Both tea extracts were shown to attenuate NF-κB activity. Fermented rooibos was found to have a more potent inhibitory effect on osteoclasts than unfermented rooibos extract and therefore may have a beneficial effect on bone health.The University of Pretoria's Strategic Institutional Research Theme for Food, Nutrition and Wellbeing and the University of Pretoria's School of Medicine Research Committee (RESCOM).http://pubs.rsc.org/en/journals/journalissues/fo#!recentarticles&adv2019-05-02hj2018AnatomyHuman NutritionPhysiolog