Same-sex unions and guardianship of children

This note considers three issues concerning children and same-sex partnerships that have come before the Constitutional Court in recent cases,namely, adoption, the status of children born as a result of artificial insemination, and guardianship.In Du Toit & another v Minister of Welfare and Population Development & others (Lesbian and Gay Equality Project as Amicus Curiae) 2003 (2) SA 198 (CC) the applicants, partners in a long-standing lesbian relationship, had initially brought an application before the High Court to determine their claim jointly to adopt two children.The High Court challenge impugned the validity of ss 17(a),17(c),and 20(1) of the Child Care Act 74 of 1983,and s 1(2) of the Guardianship Act 192 of 1993, in so far as they provided for the joint adoption and guardianship of children by married couples only. (Because of these legislative restrictions, the second applicant alone had become the adoptive parent.) The court held that the provisions in question violated the applicants’ rights to equality and dignity, and did not give paramount importance to the best interests of the child, as required by s 28(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996. To remedy these defects, the court ordered that certain words should be read into the provisions to allow for the joint adoption and guardianship of children by same-sex life partners (see Du Toit & another v Minister of Welfare and Development & others 2001 (12) BCLR 1225 (T))

Sources of Machine-Tool Industry Leadership in the 1990s: Overlooked Intrafirm Factors

Through the use of extensive field research and an original international questionnaire, the main sources of the leapfrogging development of the Japanese machine-tool industry in the past 19 years were investigated. Past studies have emphasized the strategic R&D alliance with superlative computerized numerical control (CNC) makers, the extensive use of outsourcing from excellent precision parts' suppliers, and the extraordinary development of automakers. This paper critically considered these factors and verified their inadequacy in explaining the further development of this industry in the 1990s. Hence, attention was paid to the significant roles of 'intrafirm factors' such as: (a) the simultaneous and cross-functional information sharing system at an early stage of new product development processes; (b) the positive and early participation of frontline skilled workers in assembly or machining shops; and (c) the existence of highly skilled assemblymen or machinists. The significant roles of these intrafirm factors were robustly validated by the statistical analysis of the questionnaire survey as well as by the results of our field research. The results showed striking similarities between the Japanese and the German machine-tool makers and notable dissimilarities between the two and the US makers

URBAN HOUSEHOLD DEMAND FOR MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS IN NIGERIA: AN ALMOST IDEAL DEMAND SYSTEM ANALYSIS

This study is based on micro level data on urban household food consumption and expenditure collected between 1999 and 2000 in three Nigerian cities. The LA/AIDS model, which allows the inclusion of demographic variables, was applied to a subset of the data on meat and meat products namely beef, mutton/goat, chicken, fish, eggs, and milk. Results indicate that urban demand for meat products will continue to increase as incomes improve, suggesting potential market opportunities especially for poultry. Intra-household demand patterns clearly indicate the importance of beef for children but contrary to expectations, there is a reduced demand for milk as the number of infants in urban households increase. The observed high income elasticity of demand for poultry products may have a positive impact on the derived demand for maize, a primary product in poultry feed. Encouraging poultry production will help restore the battered agricultural sector of Nigeria, increase farmer income, reduce unemployment, and conserve foreign exchange earnings.Urban households, Meat demand, Demand analysis, Nigeria, Demand and Price Analysis,

Editorial: Determining the Content of Indigenous Law with Special Reference to Recording of the Law - Continental Views

This special edition comprises a selection of contributions delivered at a conference hosted by the Chair in Customary Law, Indigenous Values and Human Rights at the University of Cape Town in collaboration with its research partner, the Research Chair on Legal Diversity and Indigenous Peoples at the University of Ottawa, on "The Recording of Customary Law in South Africa, Canada and New Caledonia" in May 2018

Economic analysis of determinants of grain storage practices and implications on storage losses and household food security in Makoni and Shamva Districts in Zimbabwe.

Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Economics. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2017.Despite notable advances in grain storage practices, many smallholder farmers in southern Africa still rely on traditional practices for storing staple crops such as maize. Traditional storage practices do not offer adequate protection of grain against pests such as the Larger Grain Borer (LGB) hence significant post-harvest losses (PHL) are recorded in storage. More so, little attention has been given to the study of the economics of PHL and storage technology, particularly in the smallholder farming areas where issues of food security and poverty are concentrated. This study meant to compare the economic viability of traditional and improved storage technologies, examine the factors that influence smallholder farmers‟ choice of storage technologies, analyse determinants of willingness to pay for a metal silo, and determine the effects of storage technologies on household hunger gap and market participation in Zimbabwe. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 417 households chosen using the multi-stage sampling method in Makoni and Shamva Districts. Various econometric methods such as cost-benefit analysis, multinomial logit, logit, ordered probit and truncated regression models were used to analyse the data. Storing maize grain using hermetic technologies was found to be most profitable when compared to untreated and ACTELLIC dust (pirimiphos-methyl) treated polypropylene bags. The benefit-cost (B/C) ratios were also greater for hermetic technologies. Comparing the two hermetic technologies, the super grain bags were found to be more profitable than the metal silo. Nevertheless, both technologies were superior to the smallholder farmers‟ storage technology of treated bags. Sensitivity analysis results, on the other hand, revealed that both hermetic storage technologies are sensitive to reduction in investment period. This is a result of the high investment costs that are associated with the technologies. The results, however, indicated that super grain bags are more suitable for smallholder farmers who are resource limited and cannot invest in a silo since super grain bags have a higher financial return than a metal silo. On the other hand, metal silos are the most suitable and robust storage technology for smallholder farmers who have long-term storage investment plans. It should, however, be noted that to create and keep gas-tight conditions in metal silos or super grain bags is a demanding and expensive task that requires pronounced scientific and technical skills. Dissemination of the technology should thus encompass farmer and artisan training package on proper handling and management of the hermetic technologies to reap maximum benefits from the inert atmospheres created. Provision of credit may be required to allow farmers to meet the high initial investment costs. Household head‟s age, education years, marital status, total grain stored, the value of non-food crops, business and wages income, and access to extension services were found to have a diverse influence on the choice of grain storage technologies. Older households had higher chances of using the insecticide storage technology indicating that farming experience influences the choice of grain storage technologies. Therefore, the government and development agents should target older household heads for promotion and dissemination of storage technologies. Marital status also increased the chance of using the insecticide storage technology suggesting that married household heads are less risk-averse. Therefore, government and storage technology development agents should target married households for dissemination, without marginalizing unmarried household heads. Furthermore, the total grain stored influenced smallholder farmers to use the insecticide storage technology versus the no insecticide technology. Thus, policies that promote agricultural production will enhance the use of improved storage technologies among smallholder farmers. Hence, the government should support agricultural production activities of smallholder farmers. Thus, policies that promote agricultural production will enhance the use of improved storage technologies among smallholder farmers. Hence, the government should support agricultural production activities of smallholder farmers. Households with a higher value of non-food crops showed higher chances of using the insecticide storage technology relative to the no insecticide technology. Hence, development agents and the government should develop programs that support the production of non-food crops in smallholder areas without side-lining maize production. Results showed that better-educated smallholder farmers had higher chances of using the insecticide storage technology. The government should develop adult learning programs in the areas to increase access of farmers to education. However, smallholder farmers with income from business and wage activities showed less likelihood to use the insecticide storage technology. This implies that such smallholder farmers have fewer chances of storing grain hence are more likely not to choose the insecticide storage technology. Although access to extension had a negative influence on the choice of storage technology, it is important that government develops specific extension training programs on storage technology particularly the use of insecticide storage so as to equip farmers with proper storage skills and information. In terms of farmers‟ willingness to pay for a metal silo, the results found that the household head‟s age, marital status, non-food crop quantity, equipment value, vegetable income, storage loss and informal activity participation were the key determinants of willingness to pay for a one-tonne metal silo storage technology in Zimbabwe. The results revealed that married respondents and young farmers are more ready to pay for metal silos than their counterparts. While it is recommended that development agents promoting the metal silo technology should target these households for a sustainable approach, care should be taken not to marginalize their counterparts. All the income variables except equipment value showed a positive influence on WTP for a metal silo. Increasing household‟s income will help to ease the financial constraints that often impede technology investment among smallholder farmers. Therefore, policies that encourage diversification of agriculture and also provision of credit are recommended in order to increase WTP for a metal silo. The amount of grain lost in storage had a positive influence on farmers‟ WTP for a metal silo. This suggests that current storage practices are not effective against storage losses and the metal silo can be an alternative effective storage to curb storage losses and hence improve their food security and livelihoods. The study results revealed that storage practices had significant effects on both maize marketing behaviour and hunger gap of smallholder farmers. The use of insecticide storage increased the chances of farmers becoming net sellers of maize. Using insecticide storage reduces the amount of grain that is lost in storage hence farmers are able to preserve the amount of grain available for consumption and also for sale. This implies that safe storage of maize promotes smallholder farmers‟ net maize selling behaviour thus reducing poverty and also contributing to improved food security. Investment in safe grain storage technologies is thus a fundamental key policy issue in developing countries and as such government should design storage policies that encourage dissemination and promotion of safe grain storage technologies at the household level. Household head‟s gender, marital status, quantity harvested, market location, farming systems and district location were other factors that influenced maize marketing decisions of smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. Moreover, results showed that the majority of the households experienced hunger gap. On average, households that experienced it had a hunger gap intensity of 4.7 months. This means that food insecurity is an issue of concern among smallholder farmers. Policymakers should come up with effective measures to safeguard lives of people either by boosting production or promoting safe storage of maize grain. Several household socio-economic characteristics such as age, household size, gender, marital status, location, education years, and being an A1 model or old resettlement farmer and no treatment storage significantly influence the occurrence of household hunger gap. Farmers who used no treatment on stored grain had better chances of not incurring hunger gap in the study areas. Hence, there is need to investigate the location-specific characteristics of smallholder farmers. The government may also develop programs targeted to improve post-harvest knowledge and skills of smallholder farmers. Smallholder farmers record significant storage losses which lead to the hunger gap. Protecting grain crops is thus an important step towards ensuring food security. Larger household size increased chances of experiencing hunger gap, which suggests the need to implement effective family planning methods to keep the family sizes small. Development agents should provide effective family planning education and training to farmers in the rural areas. Farmers who had larger sizes of cultivated land showed lower chances of experiencing hunger gap than their counterparts. Therefore increasing smallholder farmers‟ access to land will alleviate the problem of hunger gap and food insecurity. Households with a higher level of education had lower chances of incurring hunger gap, therefore, the government should develop adult learning programs to increase literacy levels of households in the area and hence reduce hunger gap occurrence. It was also observed that hunger gap differs by location, farming system, and storage practices. Farmers in Shamva district showed higher chances of experiencing a hunger gap than those in Makoni district, while farmers in the A1 model and old resettlement schemes had better chances of incurring no hunger gap. These farmers have better access to land, and other productive resources thus lower chances of incurring hunger gap. Hence, government supported input schemes should target areas where farmers have less access to inputs so as to improve productivity. On the other hand, the quantity of grain harvested, total grain stored, income from business and wages and land size had a negative effect on hunger gap intensity while hunger gap intensity increased if the household head was married and no insecticide storage technology was used to store maize grain. To sum up, the study, recommends that government should develop policies that encourage farmers to invest in improved storage technologies such as the hermetic metal silo, and also to provide credit to farmers to enhance adoption and dissemination of new improved storage technologies. The study further recommends that government should develop effective extension programs tailor-made to increase and improve smallholder farmers' post-harvest management knowledge and skills, respectively

Mediating the transition : The press, state and capital in a changing Zimbabwe, 1980-2004

There is consensus in media scholarship that in the best conditions, the media can play fundamental roles as institutions of the public sphere in both established and fledgling democracies. This study applies the critical political economy of the media approach to explore the manner in which the mainstream press in Zimbabwe ‘mediates’ the country’s postcolonial transition through coverage of political contests and political debate. It assumes that how the press frames these pivotal features of democracy is a significant pointer to its role in relation to the public sphere. While on the one level examining patterns of media framing of elections in the selected six newspapers over a period spanning over two decades, on the other level the study explores the relationship between the press and centres of political and economic power in the transition. This is done with a view to establishing the role and influence of these relations on media functions. What emerges from this study is that both the state and fractions of capital informed the manner in which the press ‘mediated’ Zimbabwe’s transition. The state was particularly the most influential power centre which, as its legitimacy waned after the first decade of independence, adopted authoritarian and predatory tendencies with the effect of polarising media along highly partisan forms of ‘oppositional’ and ‘patriotic’ journalism. Where nodes of critical-analytical journalism appeared, as did ‘independent nationalist’ journalism in 2000, they were nipped in the bud by unrelenting political and economic constraints. The study’s major finding is that restrictive media policies aimed at constructing Zanu PF hegemony through the press, as well as pressures from fractions of capital and sections of civil society vying for control of state, combined to seriously compromise the press’s mediation of the political contestation in the transition. It also notes the press’s institutional inability to actively assert its powers of agency against structural constraints, and explains this as a partial inheritance from lethargic Rhodesian institutions such as the Rhodesia Guild of Journalists. Overall, the thesis argues that to nurture a media system that approximates the ideal of a multi-layered and differentiated public sphere which best serves an array of citizens’ interests, Zimbabwe would need radical reforms at the levels of media policy and media practice

The impact of malaria among the poor and vulnerable : the role of livelihoods and coping strategies in rural Kenya

Includes bibliographical references.The thesis set out to explore how households cope with the costs of malaria and the implications of malaria cost burdens for household livelihoods and vulnerability. It uses a conceptual framework that takes a holistic approach to understand vulnerability and the link between malaria and livelihood change. In order to investigate these issues, the study was designed to meet five main objectives: to improve the understanding on the economic burden of malaria; to identify factors that make households vulnerable to the costs of malaria; to identify and explore coping strategies; to understand the role of health care providers in aggravating cost burdens and; to inform policy debates on how to improve access to effective malaria treatment and protect households from high illness costs

Active purchasing mechanisms of private healthcare services: experiences of public and private purchasers in Kenya

There has been growing global attention to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and countries across the world have placed achievement of UHC amongst their top policy priorities. UHC is defined as ensuring that all citizens can access relevant health services whenever they need care in a manner that ensures they are not exposed to financial hardship. Health financing systems are critical to achieving UHC- one of the building blocks of a health system, health financing is concerned with the mobilization, accumulation and allocation of funds to cover the needs of a population. The purpose of a health financing system is to make funding available, set the right incentives to health care providers and to ensure all individuals have access to effective public and personal health services. A health financing system has three inter related functions; revenue collection, pooling and purchasing which all need to work together for achievement of UHC. Purchasing is defined as the allocation of pooled funds to providers in exchange for medical services. Purchasing can be passive (whereby purchasers simply pay bills presented by providers) or strategic (whereby purchasers continuously apply evidenced based decisions and processes when allocating funds to providers to maximize value). Many countries aiming to achieve UHC have prioritized shifting from passive to strategic purchasing as part of their health financing system reforms. Literature shows evidence that implementation of strategic purchasing can contribute to achieving UHC by: aligning funding and incentives with promised health services to promote access; linking transfer of funds to providers to performance with the goal of promoting quality in service delivery; and enhancing equity in resource distribution. Implementation of strategic purchasing mechanisms is however not a straight forward process as providers can use various sources of power such as: monopoly and bargaining capacity; some provider payment mechanisms such as fee-for-service; and information asymmetry to resist the adoption of strategic purchasing mechanisms. Providers are likely to resist implementations of those mechanisms that they perceive will shift too much of the risk of providing care to them or will erode their economic gains. Purchasers also have sources of power they can use to influence implementation such as: institutional regulatory authority; monopsony and bargaining authority; and some provider payment mechanisms such as capitation. Power in this study is defined as a relation between two parties whereby party A is said to have power over party B to the extent that A can get B to do something that B would not have otherwise done. Kenya has in the past decade formulated and implemented various policies towards achieving UHC, including reforming some of its purchasing functions. An example is the introduction of capitation (a provider payment mechanism) for private providers, by the public purchaser National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). Private purchasers have, as part of strategic purchasing, intervened in clinical decision-making processes amongst private providers as a way of managing costs and improving quality. Existing literature shows public and private purchasers in Kenya are faced with multiple challenges when implementing strategic purchasing mechanisms such as lack of technical expertise, poor planning and resistance from some providers. This study explored the implementation of strategic purchasing mechanisms by NHIF and private purchasers amongst private providers in Kenya to understand the role of various sources of power in influencing implementation outcomes (acceptability and adoption) in order to contribute to work on how to implement strategic purchasing. Private providers in Kenya play a significant role in provision of care and over 40% of facilities in Kenya are privately owned. We employed a multiple case study design. The first case focused on implementation of capitation by the public purchaser NHIF. The second case focused on the implementation of select strategic purchasing mechanisms by private purchasers including intervening in clinical decision-making processes, use of preauthorization and use of specialists for second opinions amongst others. In total eight interviews were completed and eighteen documents(including newspapers articles, documents from websites, and provider-purchaser contracts) were included as data sources. Each case was analysed individually using thematic analysis, after which a cross case analysis was completed. Our findings show that in the first case of the NHIF purchaser, NHIF used its regulatory authority to gazette and hence dictate the capitation rate to providers. NHIF also used its monopsony to convince providers that there would be significant economic gains from the capitation model as NHIF had a huge number of beneficiaries. However, some of the large providers used their monopoly and bargaining capacity to walk away from the scheme as they still commanded significant market share even without the NHIF capitation business as they felt the proposed capitation rate was too low. In the second case, private purchasers used contracts as a source of power to give them some authority to control prices of services and ensure providers adhered to strategic purchasing mechanisms such as use of preauthorization processes. Some private providers on the other hand used various sources of power to resist implementation such as information asymmetry to by-pass some of the documentation requirements set by the private purchasers. Some providers also used monopoly and fee-for service payment mechanisms to dictate prices of services to purchasers. Some private providers did however willingly adopt some of the strategic purchasing mechanisms namely: preauthorization processes and use of step-down facilities as they felt these minimized the risk of unpaid claims. Across the two cases, NHIF seemed to have had relatively more power over providers compared to private purchasers. For example, NHIF gazetted the capitation rates and did not revise them despite strong opposition from some of the large private providers, whilst private purchasers complained that some of the large private providers always had their way by dictating prices of their services to the private purchasers. Whilst there have been a growing number of recent studies touching on strategic purchasing in Kenya, few of them have focused on the role of power and/or implementation of strategic purchasing in Kenya. This study focused on how various sources of power for providers and purchasers can affect implementation of strategic purchasing in order to provide insight into the implementation of strategic purchasing mechanisms. The study found that private providers can use their various sources of power to resist adoption of strategic purchasing mechanisms they do not deem acceptable; some mechanism are however deemed acceptable and are willingly adopted. The study also highlights that purchasers can use their sources of power to influence adoption of strategic purchasing amongst providers. The study hopes to provide insight to policy makers and purchasers on the need to consider the role of power when implementing strategic purchasing mechanisms and to plan accordingly. One general lesson on implementation includes the importance of early communication and dialogue when implementing strategic purchasing mechanisms