Leadership and management in the collection of revenue in Tshwane

Wits School of Governance Master of Management (in the field of Public and Development Management) (50%)The challenge of not collecting enough revenue has its origin from the apartheid regime. Today municipalities still face the same challenges without any solution. Unemployment, poverty, inaccurate billing and illegal electricity connections all pose a challenge in the local government of South Africa. The issue is that the municipalities have been following the same pattern of doing things without solving any of the problems that affect its performance. Perhaps it’s time for change? Leadership and Management are two separate concepts but they complement each other. The research suggests that for any organization to succeed there must be equal contribution from leadership and management. Municipalities operate in a dynamic environment where demand of services is high. Municipality therefore cannot adapt the same processes and expect different results. There is a need for change and balancing leadership and management will initiate that change. The balance of leadership and management begins within the municipality, where management works hand-in-hand with leadership. The municipality is dependent on the municipal revenue it receives from taxpayers. The research reveals that the ratepayers are dissatisfied with the quality of service they receive. The municipality is not motivating the communities to continue paying. Public confidence in the municipality has declined. This calls for a need for leadership to motivate communities to continue paying. The main purpose of the study is to therefore investigate the impact of balancing leadership and management in City of Tshwane. The theoretical and empirical data was analyzed to answer the questions that this study asks. The results show that there is imbalance of leadership and management in City of Tshwane. Within the municipality management is over-managing and under-leading. This demotivates the employees at City of Tshwane and ultimately production will decrease. The research suggests that in order for production to increase and municipality to improve its performance, there needs to be leadership that goes beyond managerial position.MT 201

Farmer-Herder Conflict : Exploring the Causes and Management Approaches in the Lake Chad Region Nigeria

The 21st Century heralded an upsurge of violent conflict between farmers and herders in the two pastoral corridors of Northeast and Northwestern Nigeria. The Lake Chad region has been one of the battlefields for these conflicts in recent years. The basin’s economic potentials for both farming and herding attracted herders from other ecological zones, in Chad, Niger and Cameroun Republics to settle in the hinterlands of the Nigerian lake basin. Indeed, violence became common and widespread between newly arrived herders and their host farmers leading to several killings and destructions. The study utilized In-depth Interview, Focus Group Discussion, Non-participant observation in eliciting data from targeted respondents [farmers; herders; traditional leaders and government officials]. The study found out that, factors such as inadequate grazing reserve and stock routes; changes in land tenure system; insufficient legislation pastoralism; expansion in agricultural policies; economic factors and climate change are the long-term causes of the conflict. While crop damage; cattle raids; ethnicity and socio-cultural believes; the role of the state; political factor and herders’ aggressive behaviors have been responsible for the immediate causes of farmer-herder conflicts in the Lake Chad region. The study also found out that, there exist traditional and modern approaches through which farmer-herder conflicts are manage in the study area. The traditional approaches include social, economic, political and traditional leadership. While administrative, legislative and judicial constitute the modern approaches. In conclusion, both farmers and herders believe that the evolution of modern state has altered their community-based traditional conflict management systems that developed on the sanctity of traditional norms and values. Finally, the study articulated an alternative proposal for managing of farmer-herder conflict in a plural society like Nigeria, which emphasizes prevention strategies through good governance

Insight into the Dynamics and Menace of Cattle Rustling: A Case Study of Lake Chad Basin Area in Northern Nigeria

The violent phenomenon of contemporary cattle rustling has in recent times constitute a menace which unabatedly continued to threaten peace and development among rural communities around the Lake Chad Basin and Northern Nigeria in general. More worrisome is the trends and dynamics of extant transformation of rustling from its tradition form to violence accentuated by militarized weapons, ruthless brutality and deadly crime and criminality. With the recent involvement of “Boko Haram” armed pundits in rustling led to several losses of human lives, destruction and displacement of several rural communities, and thousands of cattle rustled. Consequently, this development is also accompanied by security threats and anxiety among the inhabitants of the Basin. However, the primary focus of this paper is to provide an insight into the root causes, trends and dynamics of contemporary rustling and its implications on peace and development. The paper conclude that rustling in its current violent form gradually becomes militarized using illegally acquired arms prejudiced by actor rustlers insatiable desire for wealth accumulation at all cost syndrome. The paper explored and utilized content analysis of the existing literatures and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with some herdsmen victims of rustling in the study area

The Effects of Strain Variation on Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection and Immunity

Introduction: The transmission of RSV in the human population is characterised by seasonal epidemics displaying cyclic alternation in dominance of the two antigenic groups A and B. The mechanisms that underlie this population-level competition between RSV A and B, and heterogeneity in transmission fitness of RSV genotypes are not clearly defined. The dynamics of neutralising antibody response following birth and primary infection as well as pro- and anti- inflammatory cytokines/chemokines following natural infection in infants, especially in relation to RSV antigenic variation, have not been well characterised. Methods: Neutralising antibodies were measured in the acute and convalescent sera of infants with RSV-associated pneumonia as well as from a birth cohort. Additionally, 10 cytokines/chemokines were measured in nasal secretions obtained from infants recruited within the household setting and from whom samples were obtained twice weekly during an RSV epidemic. Results: The proportion of RSV A infected individuals seroconverting to a contemporary group A test virus was significantly higher than the proportion seroconverting to a contemporary group B virus (p=0.0005). The proportion of RSV B infected individuals seroconverting to a contemporary group B virus was higher than the proportion seroconverting to a contemporary A virus (p=0.008). The mean duration of maternal neutralising antibodies above a putative protective threshold was 2.8 months (95%CI 2.5-3.1 months). Primary neutralising antibodies declined to pre-infection levels within 3-4 months. The levels of some cytokines/chemokines correlated with viral load but not with RSV group. Conclusion: The data suggest that population-level competition between RSV A and B is related to development of transient group-specific immunity following natural infection. Thus it might be argued that future RSV vaccines should include strains from both groups in order to maximise the indirect protective effect of a vaccination programme. No evidence was found for strain-specificity in cytokine/chemokine responses following RSV infection

Total synthesis of a virotoxin and analogs for conformational studies

This dissertation describes the first total synthesis of alloviroidin in trace amounts, along with that of three analogs containing L-proline (Pro), trans-3-hydroxyproline (3-Hyp) or cis-4-hydroxyproline (4-hyp) residue substituting for 2,3-trans-3,4-trans-dihydroxyproline in the natural product. We report herein an efficient strategy that provides a dipeptide containing a (2S,4S)-4,5-dihydroxyleucine (dihyLeu) residue, including a diastereoselective dihydroxylation. Nα-Carbobenzyloxy-(2S)-4,5-dehydroleucine was coupled with valine ethyl ester to give a dipeptide that was subjected to a Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation to introduce the diol. The relative configuration at C4 was assigned as S by X-ray crystallography after derivatization as an α-amino-γ-lactone hydrochloride salt. The preparation of the 2-(methylsulfonyl)tryptophan residue is described followed by incorporation into a tetrapeptide, Fmoc-Ala-[2-MeSO2]-Trp-diHyLeu(OTBS)-Val-OEt. An efficient synthesis of four tripeptide fragments is also described: Fmoc-D-Thr(OTBS)-D-Ser(OTBS)-Pro*-OBn, where Pro* represents Pro, 3-Hyp, 4-hyp and DHP. These tripeptides were assembled via a [2+1] coupling between Fmoc-D-Thr(OtBu)-D-Ser(OtBu)-OH and the appropriate proline benzyl ester. The acid labile side-chain protecting groups were swapped out for fluoride-labile silyl ethers. Linear heptapeptides were prepared via [3+4] fragment condensations between the series of four tripeptide acids Fmoc-D-Thr(OTBS)-D-Ser(OTBS)-Pro*-OH and the tetrapeptide amine H-Ala-[2-MeSO2-Trp]-diHyLeu(OTBS)-Val-OEt. Deprotection of the N- and C-terminii, followed by cyclization and global side chain deprotection generated our target cyclopeptides. Removal of excess TBAF reagent and salts formed as byproducts during ethyl ester and silyl ether deprotections was achieved by treatment with DOWEX 50WX8-400 H+ resin and calcium carbonate. This procedure led to reasonable yields of the three analogs but afforded only trace amounts of the natural product after HPLC purification. We examined the conformational preferences of dipeptide fragments Ac-D-Ser-Pro*-NHMe (in both free and TBS protected side chains of D-Ser and Pro* residues) using computational studies. The computational analyses confirm that the ratio of trans:cis conformers varies with the degree, regio- and stereochemistry of proline hydroxylation. These equilibrium constant about the prolyl amide bond calculated for these dipeptides are in qualitative agreement with those determined by NMR for tripeptides Fmoc-D-Thr-D-Ser-Pro*-OBn (in both free and TBS protected side chains)

Perception of quality in certified organic pineapples by farmers in Kayunga district, Central Uganda: Implications for food security

In East Africa, Uganda is one of the major producers of organic pineapples for export. These pineapples are mainly produced in central Uganda and have to meet stringent quality standards before they can be allowed on international markets. These quality standards may put considerable strain on farmers and may not be wholly representative of their quality interpretation. The aim of this paper is therefore, to determine the Ugandan organic pineapple farmers’ quality perception, the activities they carry out in order to attain that quality and challenges (production, postharvest marketing) faced on the same. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were carried out among 28 organic pineapple farmers in Kayunga district, central Uganda. Findings suggest that quality of organic pineapples is mainly perceived in terms of product attributes particularly appearance followed by food security provision. Certification plays a minor role in what farmers describe as organic quality. High production input costs (labour and coffee husks) coupled with a stagnant premium are some of the major challenges faced by farmers in attaining organic quality. The paper argues that currently there are concealed negative food security effects embroiled in these pineapple schemes. It is recommended that the National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU) works with all relevant stakeholders to have the farmer premium price raised and an official organic policy enacted

Analisis Perilaku Konsumen dalam Pengambilan Keputusan Mengkonsumsi Jenis Produk Banua Cokelat pada Industri Sa'adah Agency di Kota Palu

This study aim was to determine consumer behavior in making decision for the consumption of Banua chocolate product at Sa'adah Agency Industry in Palu City during October to December 2014. The study location and respondents were purposively determined. There were 33 respondents selected. Data used were primary and secondary information. This research used Chi Square method to analyze the data. The study results showed that the financial performance of Banua Chocolate is good based on the values of X2count > X2table. The taste quality had the value of 18.2 > 9.49, the price had that of 22.4 > 9.49, the grade had that of 27.8 > 9.49, the job status had that of 19.8 > 9.49, and the kind of chocolate had that of 6 < 9.49. The consumers of the chocolate mostly are students and only few are workers

Resource Utilisation and Curriculum Implementation in Community Colleges in Kenya

The study investigated how Catholic-sponsored community colleges in Nairobi utilise the existing physical facilities and teaching and learning resources for effective implementation of Artisan and Craft curricula. The study adopted a mixed methods research design. Proportional stratified random sampling was used to sample 172 students and 18 teachers while four directors of community colleges were purposively selected. Questionnaires were administered to students and teachers, while directors were interviewed. Teaching and learning resources, such as workshops, equipment, lecture rooms, laboratories, raw materials for practical training and reference books, were found to be adequate, although underutilised. However, sports grounds, libraries and course texts were inadequate. Resource inadequacies were often mitigated by signing equipment co-sharing agreements with peer institutions and local firms. Teachers rated highly the influence of physical facilities on curriculum implementation. Both students and teachers rated highly the influence of teaching and learning resources on curriculum implementation. The study concludes that, while some physical facilities and teaching and learning resources are adequate, their underutilisation and the inadequacy of other core facilities and resources, such as libraries and course textbooks, hinder effective teaching and learning in these community colleges