Eccentric housing finance sources by the urban poor in Zimbabwe: case of Cowdray Park low-income self help housing scheme in Bulawayo

Zimbabwe has a sombre housing crisis in all its urban centres. All attempts by the government to vary housing delivery systems to ameliorate the problem have proved futile as the backlog it inherited from the colonial masters continues to soar. The situation has however been exacerbated by 2005 demolitions and evictions in the country’s major cities that destroyed homes and businesses leaving the majority of the poor and disadvantaged segments of society in deeper poverty, deprivation and destitution. The main challenge to housing the urban poor is housing finance. Public funds are meagre and private funds are not accessible to the poor due to lack of collateral security and inability to service the loans. Fascinatingly, the poor’s income comes from informal sector activities that absorbs a large percentage of the labour force and keeps the economy going while the large modern enterprises continue to reel under the economic downturn. Unfortunately the Zimbabwean informal sector has generally been perceived as a nuisance, a haven for criminals and a menace. Evidence shows that there is a strong relationship between the urban poor’s housing finance, informal sector activities and self-help housing strategies in Zimbabwe. In the pre-2005 Operation Murambatsvina era, the poor were making some construction progress as evidenced by the structures that had developed. This paper calls for active support and facilitation of the poor’s sources of income, and advocates for the involvement of other players such as the private sector and the international community in housing the poor. The Zimbabwe government’s plan to house the homeless and poor on its 250 000 stands countrywide through self-help programmes can only be successful if their sources of income are promoted and facilitated.urban poor, housing finance, informal sector, self-help, projects

The Polluter Pay Principle and the damage done: controversies for sustainable development

In search for equity at the Rio summit, it was suggested that in case of pollution or any other environmentally negative effect, the costs are inflicted on the responsible agents to pay for the rectification. The Polluter Pay Principle (PPP) has since then been touted as a useful environmental management tool that makes provisions for innovative penalties seeking to place the burden of environmental pollution control on those that abuse the environment. Despite such euphoria, the results on the ground have been appalling. In this analysis we question the practical utility of the PPP viz avis the deteriorating environmental fabric of many nations. The analysis reveals that it is cheaper for many individuals, organizations or even countries to pollute the environment and pay a fine than to install systems that require the constant monitoring of the environment. Emphasis of the PPP is misplaced as it focuses on curing damages and not on the process that brings the environmental problems to a halt. Its implementation is further constrained by the difficulty associated with placing a price tag on environment parameters. We recommend a proactive alternative to PPP that emphasize on preventative measures through environmental education. The success of such a management strategy is however not spontaneous as it needs to be rooted upon an effective system of values, institutions, attitudes, personal commitment, self confidence and active participation of all individuals in managing and detecting environmental problems that affect them.Polluter Pay Principle, pollution cost, environment and development, sustainable development

Re-thinking housing infrastructure development approaches : lessons from Zimbabwe

Globally, housing provision has always been a mammoth task for all spheres governments; whether national, provincial or local as they struggle to meet the ever soaring demand. The situation has however been grimmer in African, Asian and South American continents that lack mostly financial resources and advanced low cost technologies. The majority of the urban poor have perpetually been excluded from most land and housing projects, that religiously follow the traditional planning-servicing-building-occupation (PSBO) frameworks. Most often than not, rigidities in housing development sequences condemn and compel the urban poor to rely on the occupation-building-planning-servicing (OBPS) frameworks that give informal settlements as outcomes. This paper discusses an innovative and less costly housing development framework, the planning-occupation-building-servicing (POBS) sequence that was adopted by the Zimbabwean government in almost all the urban centres of the country in 2005, just after Operation Murambatsvina. The data were gathered through interviews with key informants and housing plots allottees. Observations and photographic surveys of the housing structures and community infrastructure services that have so far been developed incrementally were also conducted. The findings revealed that the allocating unserviced but formally planned and surveyed housing sites to the urban poor considerably improves targeting of the urban poor and makes housing more affordable. Such schemes not only contribute to housing supply by providing orderly and standard houses but also assist in eliminating or massively reducing down-raiding of aided self-help housing schemes by the middle and high income people. The paper concludes by observing the critical need for governments of developing countries to innovatively solve housing problems of the urban poor by adjusting the currently rigid housing infrastructure provision sequences and to make them affordable and flexible

Professional development of technology teachers: Does their training meet their needs?

The phenomenological study on which this article is based inquired into Grade 9 Technology teachers’ professional development through workshops on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) as well as their training needs. The workshops took place in Nelspruit in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Data were gathered from two groups of teachers who attended the workshops on two different days, but who were trained in the same way and were subsequently conveniently selected to participate in the study. Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with these teachers and the workshop facilitator was also interviewed. The training manual was scrutinised, the facilitation of the workshops was observed and a follow-up visit was done at two schools where the workshop participants taught. The findings revealed that while the teachers felt that the workshops developed them, such training did not fully meet their needs or expand their PCK repertoires. This study will inform the Mathematics, Science and Technology Academy (MSTA), which is tasked with offering in-service training to subject teachers in the province, about whether the workshops meet the needs of the attendees, thereby possibly necessitating a review ofthe training

Democratisation of Business: Zimbabwe’s Newest Business Entity

A ZLRev article on the parliamentary legislation Private Business Corporations Act (PBCA) that governs company operations.This article looks at the provisions of the Private Business Corporations Act [Chapter 24:111 of Zimbabwe (Hereinafter referred to as the PBCA). One of the criticisms of the companies legislation as it exists is that it is lengthy and too complex to understand. Its demands are too many and rigid, that it is not appropriate for the small businessman. It is important to look at the provisions of the PBCA Chapter 24:11 to establish whether the provisions available offer any added advantages to the small businessman than what was currently on offer then. It is also necessary to compare these regulations with the law governing companies, partnerships and co-operatives in order to conclude whether there was an actual need for such new regulations in the form of a new Act or whether it would have been easier and even more advantageous to incorporate these rules or regulations in the Companies Act. The PBCA creates the latest business entity in Zimbabwe.1 The intention of the Act is to provide a new form of enterprise which is most suitable for small businessman. This enterprise would enjoy liberalised regulations. It would be simpler to incorporate and at the same time enjoy the benefits of limited liability. Limited liability is a very important concept in business. It protects the investor from possible personal financial ruin if the business fails. However, it must be accepted that where there is such protection, it is essential to put in place some regulatory provisions for the protection of the other players in the field

Factors that influence a performance culture in a selected school in Johannesburg East district

A country’s competitive advantage is linked to its educational outcomes. South Africa, as a developing country wants to shift from being a resource based economy to being a knowledge based economy. To enable such a shift, schools must be able to graduate learners who are adequately prepared for the demands of institutions of higher learning. Schools, therefore, must become centres of excellence and a culture of performance must be prevalent in schools. The National Development Plan as outlined by the National Planning Commission (2011) identified education as one of the pillars from which South Africa’s economy will be driven. However, recent studies have rated South Africa’s education system as one of the worst among middle income economies and sometimes even worse than many low-income African economies. To bridge that gap, there is a need to drive schools to be centres of excellence. This study sought to identify factors that influence a performance culture in schools. In order to achieve this objective, literature was scanned and five factors that influence a performance culture were identified (organisational school climate, teacher attitude, school managerial processes, organisational school value and organisational school structure). These factors were initially identified and used by Marcoulides and Heck (1993) in a corporate organisation and later adopted for testing in a school setting by Gomez, Marcoulides and Heck (2012). A school in Johannesburg East district was sampled through convenience sampling and data was collected through a questionnaire which was administered to the principal, teachers and staff, school governing board members, parents and alumni of the school. The total sample was 120 and a total of 94 questionnaires were returned giving a response rate of 78 percent. Descriptive statistical techniques were performed to establish the mean and standard deviation of perceptions among the respondents. Inferential statistical techniques were used to measure and ascertain reliability through Cronbach’s alpha, comparisons of responses through t-testing and ANOVA, association through correlation and hypotheses were tested through multiple regression analysis. All the variables were found to be valid and reliable. Furthermore, statistical results revealed that in the sampled school, even though all the five factors had an association among each other, only organisational school culture and organisational school value had an association to the dependent variable, performance culture. Organisational school value, however, was found to be the only variable of great influence to performance culture at the sampled school. The ideologies and activities that represent the values, therefore, influence the performance culture of a school

The missing link in Hlalani Kuhle urban poor housing programme in Zimbabwe : interrogating supply and demand side instruments

Meeting the demand for adequate housing by the urban poor in cities of the developing world remains a pipe dream. This is particularly so in the Southern African region that has relied on stringent supply side instruments that prescribe stringent statutory housing standards and unaffordable development prescriptions that exclude and discourage the majority of the urban poor to participate in the formal housing market and the housing delivery processes. It has repeatedly been proven that innovations that facilitate access to suitable and properly sited land and housing financial sources and economic opportunities for the urban poor have received minimal attention from governments. This paper evaluates the Zimbabwean government’s efforts to promote the provision of housing for the urban poor in the country’s cities through Operation Live well/Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle housing programme that was adopted in 2005. The paper acknowledges efforts by the Zimbabwean government to facilitate and substantially improve access to land for housing by allocating thousands of unserviced plots, a critical supply side instrument. It however highlights the missing link in the programme; that is the lack of facilitation for financial sources or access to income generating projects to beneficiaries of the plots, an essential demand side instrument that is vital for onsite infrastructure provision and plot development

Scaling-Up Sustainable Renewable Energy Generation from Municipal Solid Waste in the African Continent: Lessons from eThekwini, South Africa

The triple processes of urbanisation, industrialisation and globalisation are positively correlated with municipal solid waste generation and energy consumption in all the world urban centres. Heavy reliance on fossil fuels in most world cities has contributed not only to new challenges of global warming and climate change, but also to astronomic increases and volatility in the prices of energy sources. Africa has not been spared from the shortages of energy and climate change concerns as it has not only very low oil reserves but also depends heavily on finite and environmental unfriendly coal resources; thus making the need for innovations and rethinking in renewable energy generation more urgent than ever. It has repeatedly been observed that the African continent is endowed with several renewable energy sources that range from solar, hydro, municipal solid waste and wind. This article discusses the experiences of converting waste to energy in eThekwini municipality, one of the metropolitan cities of South Africa and also highlights prospects of implementing the same experiences in other African countries. The study unearthed cutting-edge innovations by the Department of Cleansing and Solid Waste of eThekwini municipality that adopted modern municipal solid waste management and treatment systems. For almost a decade now, the municipality has demonstrated to the wholly of the continent and the world at large that it is possible for African cities to achieve the twin objectives of generating clean renewable energy sources that contributes to economic development at the same time reducing urban social and environmental problems associated with improper disposal of waste, a common blot on the African city-landscape. It also reveals that there exist great opportunities to improve waste management, financial investments, technological take-up and skills sets to support the continent’s green energy revolution in the African Continent

Is marriage a viable strategy of reducing HIV/AIDS infection among women in Zimbabwe?

Background: Using Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey 2005-06 data, this study examined the viability of marriage as a prescription in reducing HIV/AIDS infection among Zimbabwean women. In a population where heterosexual intercourse is the main mode of transmission and the practice of multiple concurrent partners is highly prevalent and tolerated, the study examined HIV/AIDS prevalence among women according to their marital status and coresidence status. The study argues that low HIV/AIDS prevalence among currently married women, and coresiding women relative to never married and formerly married women, and non coresiding women respectively suggest that marriage is a viable behavioral measure in reducing HIV/AIDS infections. Methods: A total of 4,491 women undertook HIV testing and were used in this study to examine HIV/AIDS prevalence according to marital status. Descriptive statistics from cross tabulations manipulated by STATA 11 were used in exploring HIV/AIDS prevalence among these women. Furthermore, various multivariate logistic regressions were carried out to isolate the effects of marital status, socioeconomic, demographic and sex risk behavior factors on HIV/AIDS infection. Results: The major finding of the study was that currently married women had lowest HIV/AIDS prevalence compared to both never married and formerly married women. Furthermore, HIV/AIDS prevalence was lower among women coresiding than those not coresiding. Conclusion: There is a strong association between marital status and HIV/AIDS status among Zimbabwean women, and marriage is a likely viable measure in reducing HIV/AIDS infections