An analysis of competition law implementation in the EAC, SADC, and COMESA and the problem of overlapping membership

Competition law is an integral building block in the attainment of regional integration, with Regional Economic Communities (RECs) on the continent making specific provision for competition policy in their founding and developmental agreements. However, in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Partner and Member states have implemented competition law in varying degrees, in some cases there is a complete vacuum. In this paper I wish to analyse the development and implementation of competition law in the respective regions, by dissecting the manner in which the regions have gone about promoting competition law in the regions, I shall further analyse the domestic development of competition law in some of the Partner and Member States. Due to the voluntary nature of the RECs some Member and Partner States of SADC and the EAC are also members of COMESA, this creates a multiplicity of regional obligations as well as domestic obligations. In light thereof I will further analyse the effect of overlapping membership of RECS, and whether it creates any unintended problems, and if so, how this has been dealt with or can be dealt with

The implementation of inclusive education in primary schools in the Lejweleputswa education district / by Teboho Godfrey Lebona

Thesis (M. Ed. ) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2013The drafting and promulgation of education policies bring hope and an expectation to those whose interests, concerns and problems, are addressed by them. On the other hand, such policies bring confusion, uncertainty and stress to teachers who are expected to implement and put into practice prescripts of those policies. Response to the Education White Paper 6: Special Needs Education – Building an Inclusive Education and Training System (2001) and subsequent policies on inclusive education which followed, brought uncertainty to teachers and also led to some developing a negative attitude towards inclusive education. This study focused on the implementation of inclusive education in primary schools in the Lejweleputswa District of the Free State province. A literature review provided insight into the concept of inclusive education and moreover shed light on policy developments regarding learner diversity through the curriculum. An empirical investigation using a qualitative approach was conducted and data was gathered by means of focus group interviews with school-based support teams as well as a questionnaire completed by principals. Furthermore, the findings of the empirical investigation concurred, to a large degree, with the findings of the literature study. In general, it was brought to light that inclusive education is not implemented correctly in primary schools in the Lejweleputswa District. Based on certain findings, recommendations are made regarding the successful implementation of inclusive education in primary schools

Gender power and sexuality : Basotho High School boys' responses to risky sexual behaviour.

Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.This study explores young men understandings of, and engagement in, risky sexual behaviours. The group of young men the study focuses on is in a high school in Lesotho. They are aged between 16 and 17 years. The motivation for the study is that, despite a series of campaigns designed to increase awareness and knowledge associated with sexually transmitted diseases, especially HIV/AIDS, young boys in Lesotho continue to engage in risky sexual behaviours and practices. It is in this context that the purpose of the study was to investigate how gender power is intimately tied in with meanings young men in Lesotho attach to sexuality. The related aspect investigated in this study, furthermore, was to investigate ways in which gender power operates, and ultimately contribute into boys’ and girls’ risky sexual behaviours that make them vulnerable to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The study employs qualitative research methods to achieve these aims and, accordingly, utilises focus group and individual interviews, with six purposively selected high school boys as research instruments. The findings reveal that, while some boys engage in risky sexual practices, others express determination to practice safe sex. Thus, the study reveals that despite the fact that some boys are engaged in unsafe sexual practises and multiple sexual partners in heterosexual relationships to comply with the notion of masculinity and societal expectations of MANHOOD, others are beginning to question such attitudes. There is therefore multiple and varied perspectives on this issue among the small sample selected for this study

Continuing teacher professional development in the Environment Sector: A case study of Fundisa for Change continuing teacher professional development programme

The importance of teachers being engaged in professional development initiatives is widely acknowledged in the literature and in most cases these initiatives are largely focused on addressing teachers’ lack of subject content knowledge. The problem of teachers having inadequate environmental knowledge is common in South Africa due to the fact that much of the environmental content knowledge in the curriculum is new, and environmental education itself is a new field. This is an area of interest in South Africa as a third iteration of the post-apartheid curriculum, the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) has recently been introduced into schools and many subjects have environmental learning content. Inadequate subject content knowledge influences teachers’ abilities to choose appropriate teaching and assessment methods and this might negatively affect the process of teaching and learning. Knowledgeable teachers are needed to help learners understand the current issues affecting citizens, and in particular, environmental issues, which form the focus of this study. The main research questions addressed are: 1. What are the teachers’ experiences of the Fundisa for Change continuing teacher professional development programme in relation to environment and sustainability content knowledge? 2. How does the Fundisa for Change continuing teacher professional development programme influence teachers’ practice? 3. What practices of the Fundisa for Change teacher professional development programme are characteristic of effective continuing teacher professional development initiatives? 4. How are (if at all) the practices of teacher training, teacher learning, teaching and assessment of Biodiversity content in CAPS living practices? This work was conducted as a qualitative case study and it was carried out in the provinces of Gauteng, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga in South Africa. It included four teachers from the Eastern Cape and five from Mpumalanga. Seven teacher trainers also participated, two of which were based in Gauteng and the rest in the Eastern Cape. Data were generated through interviews and document analysis, and included analysis of teacher portfolios showing evidence of classroom practice. The study explored teachers’ experiences of an environmental education training programme called ‘Fundisa for Change’, which has been set up as a national partnership initiative to strengthen teachers’ environmental knowledge and teaching skills in order to address the above-mentioned problem. It focused on training teachers in the Life Sciences, particularly on new content knowledge on Biodiversity, and on teaching and assessment skills. It also looked into how the training influenced teaching practice. The study worked with practice theory, in particular Kemmis and Grootenboer’s (2008) theory of practice architectures, to look at the sayings, doings and relatings pertaining to the teaching of Biodiversity, and the enabling and constraining of this practice. The features and the teachers’ experiences of the Fundisa for Change professional development programme have been presented and explained. The study also used the ecologies of practices theory to describe the living nature of practices. The following are the key findings: • The Fundisa for Change programme improved the participating teachers’ Biodiversity content knowledge, teaching and assessment skills. • Practices of the Fundisa for Change teacher professional development programme characteristic of effective continuing teacher professional development initiatives are: duration; active involvement of teachers; providing teachers with subject content knowledge; promoting establishment of professional learning communities; coherence; follow-up; and assessment of teachers. • The conditions that affect the participating teachers’ teaching practice are: the use of language (both scientific and instructional); infrastructure (availability of computer laboratories, science laboratories, extra classrooms and libraries); teaching and learning support materials including laboratory apparatus; class size; and policies. • The Fundisa for Change programme encourages teachers to improvise and use the local environment in their teaching to try to tackle the problem of lack of funds and equipment. • Teaching Biodiversity practice is ‘living’ as it is characterised by the principles of living ecologies. Recommendations based on the findings are: • There is a need for more teacher training by Fundisa for Change and other organisations whose training activities are SACE approved to cater for more teachers. • A more structured plan of action from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) is needed to assist and involve more organisations and stakeholders. • Provision of infrastructure and teaching and learning resource materials to schools by the DBE needs to be accelerated as it is legally binding. • Follow-up should be formally incorporated into Fundisa for Change programme activities. • Formation of professional learning communities is very important to help new teachers as there is no formal induction programme in South Africa. • An induction policy by the DBE needs to be formulated to help establish an induction programme for newly qualified teachers. Recommendations for further research are: • Use of lesson observation for data collection to improve results. • A larger sample could be used to expand the insights gained in this study. • Fundisa for Change practices can be studied at the level of teacher professional development practices. • Other modes of teacher professional development initiatives such as Lesson Study can be tested out to overcome the challenge of teachers not wanting to be observed. • More research can be carried out on the practices of teacher training, teacher learning, student learning and assessment, as practices associated with teaching Biodiversity. The study was important in that it gave an understanding of what makes continuing teacher professional development initiatives effective. The study also looked at teaching Biodiversity through the use of contemporary forms of a practice theory which are the theory of practice architectures and the theory of the ecologies of practices. This provided understandings into how professional development programmes are experienced in practice, and showed that though the teachers were trained and positive benefits accrued, there are factors which enable or constrain their actual teaching Biodiversity practice. The study also showed that practices are interrelated in ecologies of practices. These factors need to be considered in professional development programming.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, Education, 202

Assessment of knowledge, attitudes and utilisation of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis among adults, Roma, Lesotho

As the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevalence rises, uninfected Basotho face an increased risk of exposure. This necessitates strengthening of strategies that prevent exposure, and where exposure has occurred, measures that prevent infection. One such measure is Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). Awareness and knowledge of HIV PEP is therefore of paramount importance. The purpose of this study was to assess knowledge, attitudes and utilisation of HIV PEP among adults in Roma, Lesotho. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 96 adult outpatients at St Joseph’s Hospital. Data were collected by means of structured questionnaire and analysed using SPSS version 23.0. Results were presented using charts and tables. Awareness of HIV PEP among the respondents was found to be very low and for most respondents’ knowledge of HIV PEP was either non-existent or very poor. Utilisation was also found to be very low. Attitudes towards HIV PEP were, however, found to be favourable. More studies should be conducted throughout the country to further explore Basotho’s knowledge, attitude and use of HIV PEP.Health StudiesM.A. (Nursing Science

Experiences of healthcare workers working in COVID-19 isolation wards in Lesotho: a qualitative study

© 2023 The Authors. Published by Science Publishing Group. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/article/10.11648/j.ajns.20231201.14Background: Health and wellbeing of Healthcare workers impacts the health of the nation. COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light a number of challenges faced by Healthcare workers all over the world, affecting their psychosocial, financial, spiritual and physical well-being. There has been an alarming number of healthcare workers being affected by COVID-19 across the globe, some even succumbed to death as a result of COVID-19. Some identified reasons for this tragedy have been lack of appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), insufficient knowledge about the disease, shortage of healthcare workers and the compromised welfare of the Healthcare workers. Few studies within Lesotho focused on the perceptions of healthcare workers on COVID-19 and there was none conducted on the experiences of healthcare workers working in the COVID-19 isolation wards therefore, the aim of this study is describe the experiences of Healthcare workers working in COVID-19 isolation wards in Lesotho. Material and Methods: A descriptive phenomenological research design was utilized and data was collected using unstructured interviews which were audio-recorded. The interviews were conducted amongst the nine Healthcare workers who were working in the COVID-19 isolation ward and they composed on one office assistant, two medical doctors and six registered nurses. Analysis: Colaizzi’s seven-step method of qualitative data analysis was followed in this study. Results: Findings revealed increased workload, significant amount of negative emotions in the early stages of the pandemic, positive emotions at the later stage as well as stigma and discrimination. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic placed a huge burden on the health care system. Health care workers, being in the front line, were significantly affected; they had to endure continued psychological distress because of the unique type of care required.This study was funded by the National University of Lesotho.Published onlin

Caring of Covid-19 clients by nurses and midwives in Lesotho: feedback of a pre- and post-workshop questionnaire

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in 2019 and has altered, in varying ways, the practices of health care providers, hospitals, clinics, and patients. Aim: This survey aimed to evaluate the skills of nurses and midwives regarding prevention, control, care, and management of Covid-19 in the ten districts of Lesotho. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey of workshop pre-and post-test questionnaires that were completed by 173 nurses and midwives was conducted. The questionnaire elicited information on COVID-19 general knowledge, the nursing process during patient care, and legal and ethical aspects of patient care. Results: The response rate for the pre-and post-test was 100% and 98%, respectively. All the nurses and midwives who returned the post-test questionnaire had good knowledge of COVID-19, infection prevention practice, application of the nursing process, and the ethical principles that apply in the care of COVID-19 patients. Conclusion: We conclude that workshop training provided to nurses assist in improving their knowledge for the management of patients, especially during crisis management such as the COVID-19 pandemic

A cross-sectional assessment of population demographics, HIV risks and human rights contexts among men who have sex with men in Lesotho

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evidence is increasing of high HIV risks among southern African men who have sex with men (MSM). This represents the first study of HIV risks and human rights contexts among MSM in Lesotho.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Two hundred and fifty-two men who reported ever having anal sex with another man were accrued with snowball sampling and were administered a structured quantitative instrument in October and November 2009.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the participants, 96.4% (240/249) were ethnic Basotho with a mean age of 26.3 years (range 18-56), 49.6% (124/250) were currently employed, and 95.2% (238/250) had at least a secondary-level education. Self-reported HIV prevalence was 11.6% (22/190); 54.5% (128/235) reported being tested for HIV in the last year. HIV knowledge was low; only 3.7% (8/212) of MSM knew that receptive anal intercourse was the highest risk for HIV and that a water-based lubricant was most appropriate to use with condoms.</p> <p>Bivariate associations of wearing condoms during last intercourse with men include: having easy access to condoms (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.2-8.5, p < 0.05); being older than 26 years (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.3-4.2, p < 0.01); knowing that receptive anal intercourse is higher risk than insertive anal intercourse (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.2-5.9, p < 0.05); wearing condoms with female sexual partners (OR 3.5, 95% 1.4-8.3, p < 0.01); using water-based lubricants (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.4-5.5, p < 0.01); being less likely to report having been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infecton (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.06-0.76, p < 0.05); and being more likely to have been tested for HIV in the last year (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.2-3.6, p > 0.05).</p> <p>Human rights abuses were common: 76.2% (170/223) reported at least one abuse, including rape (9.8%, 22/225), blackmail (21.3%, 47/221), fear of seeking healthcare (22.2%, 49/221), police discrimination (16.4%, 36/219), verbal or physical harassment (59.8%, 140/234), or having been beaten (18.9%, 43/228).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>MSM in Lesotho are at high risk for HIV infection and human rights abuses. Evidence-based and rights-affirming HIV prevention programmes supporting the needs of MSM should be developed and implemented.</p