Impediments to Effective Councilor Oversight at Nkayi Rural District Council in Zimbabwe

The paper seeks to examine and unpack the factors that are militating against councilor oversight at Nkayi Rural District Council. Councilor oversight is a crucial function for promoting and enhancing transparency, accountability, effectiveness and efficiency in Zimbabwean local authorities. Despite the existence of councilor oversight, local authorities in Zimbabwe continue to face operational, regulatory and oversight challenges. To establish the factors militating against effective councilor oversight at Nkayi, the respondents were purposively selected and the research used both primary and secondary data. The study established that low academic qualifications among councilors, councilors terms of office, political affiliation and partisanship and limited timeframes as the key impediments to effective councilor oversight at Nkayi Rural District Council

African Cities in the Post-COVID-19 World: Interrogating the “Forgotten Priorities” of the Pandemic in the Informal Sector in Bulawayo Metropolis

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has reached every corner of the world despite being essentially an urban crisis. The combined effect of weaker urban systems, a plethora of perennial urban problems, and the sprouting informality have exacerbated the scourge of coronavirus impact in most African cities. The introduction of restrictive measures to restrain the spread of the virus had brought about dramatic changes herein referred to as the new world order emanating from the assertion that with coronavirus impact, cities will never be the same again. Very little has been studied and documented about this mantra. This paper interrogates the revival of the “old order” within the informal sector (street trading) by evaluating the changes in implementing the COVID-19 control measures during the peak and off-peak periods. The study adopted a case study research design. A mixed methods approach was applied to gather qualitative and quantitative data through interviews with traders and critical informants in Bulawayo. Triangulated quasilongitudinal survey data, desktop review data, and geospatial data were analysed using content analysis to create themes on the changes that have been experienced. The results reveal that for the majority of city residents, most of whom are struggling to survive economically, livelihoods and survival strategies are a matter of priority compared to concerns about coronavirus dangers. Consequently, the short-term and reactive measures to curb the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic do not feed into the long-term, transformative, structural changes in city systems in most African cities. Urban studies scholars need to explore the pro-poor urban resilience strategies in tandem with the cityscapes that are bedevilled with fierce urban contestations without worsening the residents' socio-economic status. Comparative studies assessing the relationship between the “old order” and the “new order” in the Global North and South contexts are critical

Servicing the Needs of Inflating Population at Growth Points in Zimbabwe? Spatio-Temporal and Economic Considerations

While growth points in Zimbabwe were created to become economically viable spatial entities, over time they have not so much grown as intended. Amid the urbanization thrust in the country, these places have grown and continue to grow demographically. Little studies, if any, in Zimbabwe, have been done to establish the possible future outcomes of this urbanization of small settlements. This present paper examines the implications of the multiplier effect at growth points in the country. The main question is: What is the likely future of the growth centres in the country and what new infrastructural and related assets need to be in place if chaotic urbanization is to characterize these places. By case studies we attempt to make a rapid assessment of the situation, basing on historical trends and developments with the aim of proposing future policy and practical alternatives

Universal jurisdiction in respect of international crimes : theory and practice in Africa

Doctor Legum - LLDThe crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity are customary international law crimes. The African continent has experienced quite a number of cases involving these crimes, and the continent's ability and willingness to prosecute offenders’ remains in doubt. As a result, in the past decade or so, non-African states have sought to institute proceedings against African leaders accused of perpetrating international customary law crimes. These attempts have taken two distinct formats, the first being the use of Universal Jurisdiction {UJ), and the second being the attempts by the International Criminal Court {ICC) to indict and prosecute African leaders. The African Union {AU) has vehemently opposed both these attempts on the grounds that they are inspired by neo-colonial thinking that is aimed at stifling peace and reconciliation efforts on the continent.Proponents of UJ argue that this principle is fundamental to international justice and the global fight to end impunity for international crimes. UJ allows a state to exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed outside its territory and for which the normal jurisdictional links of nationality and passive personality do not exist. Although the concept of UJ has been part of international law for quite some time, its relevance today has been questioned by national courts and international judicial bodies. Its recent usage by both Belgian and French courts, as well as by international tribunals, such as the ICC, has attracted sharp criticism from many African states. Given that African states constitute the biggest block of signatory states to the Rome Statute, their voice cannot be ignored. Their principal concern is that the ICC is unfairly targeting African leaders for prosecution. The negative sentiment is also evidenced by some African leaders' deliberate refusal to comply with ICC requests or to cooperate in cases where warrants of arrest have been issued against African leaders, such as in the case of the Sudanese President, Omar Al Bashir, and the present prosecution of the Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto. Given the aversion shown by African states to ICC prosecution of state leaders, and attempts by some non-African states to resort to UJ in order to try African leaders, the question is whether African states themselves have a solution to the problem of impunity on the continent? The answer might lie, partly, in the age old concept of UJ, where individual African states might be able to exercise jurisdiction over the international crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. It might also lie in the ability and willingness of African states to strengthen the Continent’s own, regional institutions by setting up an African international criminal tribunal, or strengthening an existing one to deal with these issues. It therefore becomes important to assess what the African standpoint on UJ is, as against what the practical realities are. In other words, what continental or regional institutions exist to combat impunity for international crimes: what do states do in fact

Protection of the rights of persons living with disabilities under the African human rights system

The purpose of this work is to examine the nature or form of disability rights, and whether the African regional human rights system adequately protects them. In other words, the study tries to understand whether the current appalling status of people living with disabilities can be blamed on normative paucity of the African human rights system. The author will therefore comb the African human rights instruments to determine this, and based on the findings, will assess the propriety or otherwise of adopting a disability specific instrument for the continent and recommend accordingly.Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2007.A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Christine Dowuona-Hammond Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon Accra.http://www.chr.up.ac.za/Centre for Human RightsLL

The integration of negative affect, pain and cognitive control in the cingulate cortex

It has been argued that emotion, pain, and cognitive control are functionally segregated in distinct subdivisions of the cingulate cortex. But recent observations encourage a fundamentally different view. Imaging studies indicate that negative affect, pain, and cognitive control activate an overlapping region of dorsal cingulate, the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC). Anatomical studies reveal that aMCC constitutes a hub where information about reinforcers can be linked to motor centers responsible for expressing affect and executing goal-directed behavior. Computational modeling and other kinds of evidence suggest that this intimacy reflects control processes that are common to all three domains. These observations compel a reconsideration of dorsal cingulate’s contribution to negative affect and pain