Some insights into statutory lawmaking in Botswana

This paper examines the law-making process in Botswana, one of Africa’s best examples of vibrant parliamentary democracy. Although the whole process is modelled on the British Westminster system, it has, however, been shaped and influenced by some local realities. An example of this is the existence of a House of Chiefs that has no legislative powers and plays only an advisory role in certain specified matters. After examining the pre-legislative stage, which arguably, is the most important stage in the law-making process, and the legislative stage itself, the paper highlights some of the important lessons that can be drawn. Two main points stand out. First, it is now clear that parliament as the people’s representative needs to play a more active part in the law-making process especially at the critical deliberative pre-legislative stage. Secondly, there is a need to abandon the much criticised British system of drafting statutes in highly technical, obscure and complex language that can hardly be understood either by legislators or ordinary citizens in favour of the emerging trend towards texts drafted in plain language. To be both relevant and effective, legislation must respond to human needs, aspirations and convictions in a language that they can both understand and identify with

Onchocerca ochengi male worms implanted in SCID mice and gerbil : relationship between microfilaridermia status of cows, nodular worm viability and fertility and worm survival in the rodents

Background Current treatment options for onchocerciasis are sub-optimal, prompting research and development of a safe cure (macrofilaricide). Onchocerca ochengi, a parasite of cattle, is used as a close surrogate for the human parasite O. volvulus in a murine model for pre-clinical screening of macrofilaricides. Skin from naturally infected cattle have been used in previous studies as a reliable source of parasite material. However, there is limited knowledge on how source-related factors such as the microfilaridermia status of the cattle, the nodule load and nodular worm viability may affect survival of male O. ochengi worms implanted in the rodent hosts. Such relationships were investigated in this study. Methods Dermal tissue and nodules were obtained from Gudali cattle, dissected and cultured to obtain migrating microfilariae (mf) and male worms. Emerged male worms were implanted into SCID mice and Gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) and recovery rates were determined upon 42 days post implantation. Finally, nodules were processed for histology and embryogram analyses to assess the nodular worm viability and fertility, respectively. Results Of the 69 cattle sampled, 24 (34.8%) were mf+ and 45 (65.2%) were mf–. The mean nodule loads were 180.5 ± 117.7 (mf+) and 110.6 ± 102.7 (mf-) (p = 0.0186). The mean male worm harvest from nodules were 76.8 ± 120.3 and 47.2 ± 33.4 (p = 0.2488) for mf+ and mf– cattle, respectively. The number of male worms per 100 nodules were 57/100 and 46/100 nodules for mf+ and mf– cows, respectively. Female worms from nodules of mf– cows had higher counts of both normal and abnormal embryos with higher proportions of dead nodular worms evinced by histology compared to those from mf+ cows. A total of 651 worms were implanted into mice and gerbils, out of which 129 (19.81%) were recovered. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the microfilaridermia status of the cattle (presence of mf) (OR = 4.3319; P = 0.001) is the single most important predictor of the success of male worm recovery after implantation into rodents. Conclusion Microfilaridermic cattle provide a promising source of adult O. ochengi. Male worms from this group of cattle have a better success rate of survival in a murine implant model. Nevertheless, in the programmatic point of view, amicrofilaridermic Gudali cattle would still constitute an important source of O. ochengi male worms with relatively good viability after implantation into rodents

Enhancing accountability in public–private partnerships in South Africa

South Africa, like other developing countries, has joined other nations around the world in resorting to public–private partnerships (PPPs) as an integral strategy to improve its deeply rooted socio-economic, political, fiscal and societal problems and to meet the pressure of attaining the goals of national and international developmental projects. In spite of the reasons advanced for the importance of PPPs as an alternative service-delivery option, several doubts about the efficacy of accountability and suggestions that it may undermine public control have been expressed. Given the importance of accountability, this paper seeks to determine some approaches to enhance accountability in public–private partnerships in South Africa. It identifies some of the accountability challenges and suggests ways of overcoming them

A Survey of Knowledge Management in Law Firms in Botswana

This article provides an empirical assessment of knowledge management in law firms in Botswana. It employs survey research methodology and triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection.Data were collected mainly through a questionnaire administered to the 217 lawyers in all the law firms registered with the Botswana Law Society. The response rate was 64.5% (i.e. 140 returned copies of the questionnaire). Fifteen other lawyers were interviewed. The findings reveal that lawyers in Botswana are still grappling with the concept, requirements and implications of knowledge management. It was concluded that law firms in Botswana need to become proactive about knowledge management in law practice. The study recommended that lawyers in Botswana should consider talking to others in the legal community about knowledge management issues, attend meetings and workshops on knowledge management, invest time and money in creating bulletins boards, form alliances with international professionalassociations, and get connected to electronic forums that foster collaborative thinking

Effect of flubendazole on developing stages of Loa loa in vitro and in vivo: a new approach for screening filaricidal agents

Background Loiasis, an often-neglected tropical disease, is a threat to the success of lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis elimination programmes in rainforest areas of the central and western Africa. Its control and even its elimination might be possible through the use of a safe macrofilaricide, a prophylactic drug, or perhaps a vaccine. This present study evaluated the effect of flubendazole (FLBZ) on the development of Loa loa L3 in vitro and in vivo. Methods Infective stages of L. loa were isolated and co-cultured in Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium in the presence of monkey kidney epithelial cells (LLC-MK2) feeder cells. FLBZ and its principal metabolites, reduced flubendazole (RFLBZ) and hydrolyzed flubendazole (HFLBZ), were screened in vitro at concentrations 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1 and 10 μg/ml. The viability of the parasites was assessed microscopically daily for 15 days. For in vivo study, a total of 48 CcR3 KO mice were infected subcutaneously with 200 L. loa L3 and treated with 10 mg/kg FLBZ once daily for 5 consecutive days. Twenty-four animals were used as control and received L3 and vehicle. They were dissected at 5, 10, 15 and 20 days post-treatment for worm recovery. Results The motility of L3 larvae in vitro was reduced from the second day of incubation with drugs at in vivo plasma concentration levels, with a strong correlation found between reduced motility and increased drug concentration (Spearman’s rho = -0.9, P < 0.0001). Except for HFLBZ (0.05 μg/ml and 0.01 μg/ml), all concentrations of FLBZ, HFLBZ and RFLBZ interrupted the moulting of L. loa infective larvae to L4. In vivo, regardless of the experimental group, there was a decrease in parasite recovery with time. However, at each time point this reduction was more pronounced in the group of animals treated with FLBZ compared to equivalent control. Parasites were recovered from the flubendazole-treated groups only on day 5 post-inoculation at an average rate of 2.1%, a value significantly lower (Mann-Whitney U-test, U = 28, P = 0.0156) than the average of 31.1% recovered from the control group. Conclusions This study reveals the ability of flubendazole to inhibit the development of L. loa L3 both in vitro and in vivo, and in addition validates the importance of in vitro and animal models of L. loa as tools for the development of drugs against loiasis