The impact of HIV/AIDS on food security and household vulnerability in Swaziland

This study investigated the impact of HIV/AIDS on food security and household vulnerability in Swaziland. Personal interviews with 847 selected farming households revealed an increase in sales of crops and livestock to finance funerals and healthcare, a decrease in expenditure on agricultural inputs, and an increase in expenditure on medical bills and funerals. Most households were vulnerable to food insecurity. The affected households therefore need assistance in order to maintain food production and security, including support in the form of agricultural inputs such as fertilisers and seeds through the markets and special arrangements to allow them access to affordable inputs. Therapeutic feeding and home based care will be needed for the chronically ill in vulnerable households.impact, HIV/AIDS, food security, household vulnerability, Food Security and Poverty,

Strategic communication, enhanced sustainability and embedded communities: Assessing approaches by a platinum mine in Zimbabwe

The article assesses strategic communication approaches used by Unki mine to enhance sustainability with its embedded community from 2016 to date in Shurugwi, Zimbabwe. Strategic communication scholars have concluded that mining communities are impoverished societies. The dominant scholarship in strategic communication is European based and there is a dearth of scholarship from Africa to contribute to the debate, which prompted the researcher to study a mining company from a developing nation like Zimbabwe. The study uses constructivism philosophy and interpretivist research theory, which are subjected to a qualitative case study of the Unki mine and the Rietfontein community. Interviews, focus group discussions and documentaries were used, as well as strategic communication and stakeholder theory. The findings of the study indicate that Unki mine has implemented Social Performance Initiative (SPI) programmes at Rietfontein that address the global sustainability expectations contained in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as well as the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs). Diverse strategic communication approaches, such as bottom-up, top-down, the issues approach, the Public-Private Partnership Model and the philanthropic approach, are used to engage the community for sustainability and stakeholder relationships.

THE ROLE OF TRUST IN THE PERFORMANCE OF SUPPLY CHAINS: A DYAD ANALYSIS OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS AND PROCESSING FIRMS IN THE SUGAR INDUSTRY IN SWAZILAND

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the role of trust in the performance of the sugar industry supply chain in Swaziland. The study utilized perceptions of 124 smallholder cane growers in the sugar industry in Swaziland. Items presented in a likert type scale were used to measure cane growers' trust in the millers. Descriptive statistics involving cross tabs was used to determine the impact of trust on the performance of the cane growers, which in turn has an influence in the performance of the whole sugar chain. The results indicate that farmers who have trust in the millers perform better than those without trust, and hence they contribute to the performance of the whole chain, in terms of more and good quality sugarcane supplied to the mill and that implies more sugar to be produced and increased income to the industry as a whole. The results imply that a relationship founded on trust, mutual respect is more likely to succeed than a relationship of convenience supported by legal contingencies. Therefore, there is a need for honesty, fairness and absence of opportunistic behaviour between millers and cane growers, for the industry to improve its performanceInstitutional and Behavioral Economics,

The role of trust in the performance of supply chains: A dyad analysis of smallholder farmers and processing firms in the sugar industry in Swaziland

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of trust in the performance of the sugar industry supply chain in Swaziland. The study utilized perceptions of 124 smallholder cane growers in the sugar industry in Swaziland. Items presented in a Likert type scale were used to measure cane growersÂ’ trust in the millers. Descriptive statistics involving cross tabulation were used to determine the impact of trust on the performance of the cane growers, which in turn has an influence on the performance of the whole sugar chain. The results indicate that farmers who have trust in the millers perform better than those without trust, and hence they contribute to the performance of the whole chain, in terms of more and good quality sugarcane supplied to the mill. This implies more sugar production and increased income to the industry as a whole. The results imply that a relationship founded on trust and mutual respect is more likely to succeed than a relationship of convenience supported by legal contingencies. Therefore, there is a need for honesty, fairness and absence of opportunistic behaviour between millers and cane growers for the industry to improve its performance.Agribusiness,

The relationship between oil prices and the South African Rand/US Dollar exchange rate

RESEARCH THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF COMMERCE, LAW & MANAGEMENT IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE MASTER OF MANAGEMENT IN FINANCE & INVESTMENTS DEGREE UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND JOHANNESBURG February, 2016In this study we examine the relationship between international oil prices and the South African Rand/US Dollar exchange rate. We also determine the direction of causality between these two variables. We further ascertain the magnitude of the influence of oil prices to the exchange rate compared to other theoretically driven macroeconomic variables. A forecasting exercise is also undertaken to determine whether oil prices contain information about future Rand/Dollar exchange rate. Drawing from the works of Aliyu (2009) and Jin (2008) we use VAR based cointegration technique and vector error correction model (VECM) for the long run and short run analysis respectively. The results show that there is a unidirectional causality running from oil prices to exchange rate and not the other way round. We also find that a 1% permanent increase in oil prices results in 0.17% appreciation of the Rand against the US Dollar; a 1% permanent increase in money aggregates results in 21.3% depreciation of the Rand and a 1% increase in business cycles results in 0.29% depreciation of the Rand in the long run. A 1% increase in inflation and interest rates is found to result in a 0.09% and 0.005% depreciation on the Rand respectively. Our short run analysis indicates that 4.4% of the Rand/Dollar exchange rate disequilibrium can be corrected within a month. Oil prices are found to contain some information about the future Rand/US Dollar exchange rate when the VAR model is used for forecasting. This study has shown there is a causal relationship between oil prices and the strength of the Rand against the Dollar and, therefore, recommends diversification of the economy and more use of green energy. Strategies to reduce capital flight and trade-related capital is also recommended by this study. Key Words: Exchange rate, Oil price, forecasting, vector autoregressive (VAR) model, cointegration, vector error correction model (VECM), causalityMT201

Technical and Allocative Efficiency of Smallholder Dairy Farmers in Swaziland

The objectives of the study were to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of smallholder dairy farmers; estimate the technical and allocative efficiency of smallholder dairy farmers in Swaziland, and to identify factors affecting the technical and allocative efficiency of smallholder dairy farmers. This study used a descriptive quantitative survey to analyse data from a sample of 111 smallholder dairy farmers. Purposive and random sampling techniques were used to select the farmers. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and econometric analysis (Stochastic Production and Cost Frontier Functions). The average levels of TE and AE for the farmers were 66% and 78% respectively. The availability of water for irrigating pastures, pasture size, soil fertility of pastures, the dairy farming experience, training on dairy farming, distance to the market, farmer’s age, credit access, household size and herd size contribute to the explanation of variations in the TE and AE of the dairy farmers. The study concludes that smallholder dairy farmers were relatively technically and allocatively efficient, however, there is still a 34% and 22% potential to improve the TE and AE levels respectively. The study recommends that soil testing should be done by farmers in order to improve efficiency. There is a need for financial institutions to consider advancing credit to dairy farmers. The SDB should strengthen their technical training through the extension officers in order to encourage efficient use of input resources. Keywords: Allocative efficiency, dairy farmers, technical efficiency

Governance and Accountability of Multi-Purpose Cooperatives in the Shiselweni Region of Swaziland: Implications for Education and Training

Cooperatives are perceived as innovative institutions that are able to secure the participation of communities in economic development. The study examined the extent of good governance and accountability in multi-purpose cooperatives and the implications for member education and training in Swaziland. The objectives of the study were to: determine the status of governance; establish the level of accountability; and establish the status of cooperative member education and training in multi-purpose cooperatives in Swaziland. A descriptive research design was used where quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to collect and analyse the data. The target population was all registered and active multi-purpose cooperatives in the Shiselweni region. A multistage stratified sampling technique was used to draw a sample of 80 cooperative members, 35 committee members and 5 cooperative officers. Therefore the sample size was 120. Interviews and analysis of documents were used to collect data. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study were that, cooperatives were governed democratically and member participation was adhered to; that the level of accountability in cooperatives was average; members were consulted before any decision was taken in the cooperatives; cooperative education and training in multi-purpose cooperatives was conducted regularly by education and training committees; cooperative officers educated and trained cooperative members once a year.  The study concluded that multi-purpose cooperatives were not well governed and there was moderate accountability. The study recommends that multi-purpose cooperatives should invest in education for their members and workers on cooperative principles. The study also recommends that other studies be carried out to cover the whole of Swaziland, by including all cooperatives. Keywords: Accountability, education and training, governance, multi-purpose cooperatives

Tensile relaxation of bonded concrete overlays

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-135).Restrained shrinkage in bonded concrete overlays can cause stress build up, cracking and even debonding. Tensile relaxation is the main mechanism of stress relief in concrete overlays. This results in less possibility of cracking and debonding. The research described in this study presents an analytical method of analysis. This method is based on tests performed to assess tensile relaxation in concretes subjected to restraint. Although this study is limited in scope, it serves as an introduction to the topic and contributes a valuable bank of results obtained. In this study, commercial repair mortar (Sika® Rep LW), 0.45 and 0.65 w/c ratio custom-made mixes were investigated. Uniaxial tensile strength, tensile elastic modulus, shrinkage and tensile relaxation tests were done on dog-bone concrete mortar specimens

Perceptions of Teachers on Systemic Factors Related to Student Performance in Seventh-day Adventist Secondary Schools in Zimbabwe

Problem. The Regional officer of Matabeleland North region in Zimbabwe was concerned over the poor student pass rates in these regions. The Education Director of the Zimbabwe Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists also voiced the same concern about the poor student pass rates, especially in the West Zimbabwe Conference, which is comprised of Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, and Bulawayo regions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of teachers on student support and student factors that influence the academic performance of students attending Seventh-day Adventist secondary schools in Zimbabwe, focusing mainly on school, community, and student factors. Method. I developed an instrument that was distributed to all the teachers in the 25 Seventh-day Adventist secondary schools in Zimbabwe. Twelve schools ended up participating in the study and 164 questionnaires were returned. Descriptive statistics were used to investigate the factors perceived to be manifested in the schools. A descriptive study was also done to analyze the responses according to the different regions and to investigate the factors that were manifested and not manifested in each region. One-way analysis of variance and t tests were used to determine demographic differences in the perception of teachers concerning systemic factors that affect student performance in the Seventh-day Adventist schools. Results. The student support factors related to student academic performance perceived by the teachers to be manifested in the schools were: good curriculum, positive school climate, teacher professional development, administrative support, and teacher support factors. Teachers also perceived that the students were well disciplined and that they were well motivated to learn. They felt that there was no community support and that the transportation system was poor. Teachers perceived that the students were lacking in physiological needs. Conclusions. The teachers in the Seventh-day Adventist schools in Zimbabwe perceive that the transportation and community support are lacking in the schools. The regions with the lowest student pass rates also had the least acceptable variables for student support and student factors. This study is important for the Education Director of the Zimbabwe Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist organization and also for the Ministry of Education, which have to devise ways to improve the academic performance of all students in Zimbabwe