Factors affecting private investment in new power generating capacity in South Africa

Private Investment in electrical power generation will play a substantial role in South Africa’s massive capacity expansion programme over the next 20 years. Should this investment not materialise, South Africa’s security of electricity supply would be seriously compromised. The purpose of this research was to determine whether major factors that impact on the attractiveness of a country’s power sector to private investors are being catered for in South Africa and where the possible shortcomings are. The research was qualitative in nature and the methodology followed was to survey industry role players by way of a self-administered questionnaire. Response data were analysed using descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics (hypothesis testing) where a one tailed, one sample t-Test was used. The findings of the research are that the South African legal system and the revenue generation potential of the power sector are advantages that the country can leverage off to attract power sector investors. Major stumbling blocks to private investor participation needing immediate attention, are the lack of responsiveness of Government to private sector needs and timeframes as well as the lack of independence of the Regulatory institutions and processes from Government interference whether perceived or real.Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010.Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)unrestricte

Systematic review of the safety and efficacy of foam sclerotherapy for venous disease of the lower limbs

Background: Foam sclerotherapy is a potential treatment for lower limb venous disease. Methods: A systematic review, with no restriction on study design, to assess the safety and efficacy of foam sclerotherapy. Results: 69 studies were included. For serious adverse events including pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis, the median event rates were less than 1%. Median rate for visual disturbance was 1.4%. Median rates for some other adverse events were more common, including headache (4.2%), thrombophlebitis (4.7%), matting/skin staining/pigmentation (17.8%) and pain at the site of injection (25.6%). Median rate for complete occlusion of treated veins was 87.0% and for recurrence or development of new veins was 8.1%. Evidence from meta-analysis for complete occlusion suggests that foam sclerotherapy is associated with a lower rate compared with surgery (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.67 to 1.10) and a higher rate compared with liquid sclerotherapy (RR 1.39, 95% CI 0.91 to 2.11). However, there was substantial heterogeneity across the studies in the meta-analysis. Conclusion: Serious adverse events were rare. There is insufficient evidence to reliably compare the effectiveness of foam sclerotherapy with other minimally invasive therapies or surgery. Evidence from high quality randomised controlled trials is required.This manuscript is based on a systematic review commissioned and funded by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) through its Interventional Procedures Programme. The Health Services Research Unit is supported by a core grant from the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Executive Health Department

Resignation as treasurer and executive committee member of PELCRA

A letter of resignation as treasurer and executive committee member of PELCRA from Ron Forle

The value of information in municipalities: A South African case study in the Eastern Cape

Within the South African context, there is clear legislation and policy advocacy on the importance of community participation in facilitating inclusive decision-making. Statutory frameworks require municipalities to inform citizens of their rights and encourage them to contribute to municipal initiatives. Public participation and access to information are critical elements of good governance. However, implementing the policies is not always executed as intended. This can be attributed to various reasons such as the lack of resources, institutional capacity, poor administration of government resources and redressing historical backlogs of service delivery. Research also suggests that citizens feel excluded from the decision-making processes as they lack access to information to participate constructively. Governance has become a popular concept in literature, especially where the focus is on reducing inequality, reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development in developing countries, and consequently considers the relationships between government and civil society. The intention of “good governance” is to strengthen accountability and responsiveness of policies and strategies by enabling communities to engage and have an influential voice, especially on decisions that affect their livelihood. This research aims to examine how information sharing practices between municipalities and communities affect good governance. One theme that consistently emerges in the review of the legislation and policy documents is citizenry's inclusion in the municipal decision-making process. Public participation has an influential role in good governance. However, there is a gap in the importance of information sharing and how to share this information to facilitate effective public participation. Thus, this study integrated the principles of good governance and Information Value Chain to determine how municipalities use and disseminate information to their communities and use citizen knowledge to improve good governance. The study included reviewing various policy documents and literature, semi-structured interviews with municipal staff and focus groups with community members, follow-up meetings, workshops, and observations. By combining the Theory of the Information Value Chain with the Good governance Principles Framework, data could be analysed by categorising data into themes