167 research outputs found
Improving the effectiveness of Ugandan water user committees
This article outlines issues affecting the functionality of Ugandan water user committees responsible for managing communal water and sanitation (WASH) services. Research undertaken demonstrated that their effectiveness is compromised by poor understanding of their rights and responsibilities by stakeholders within and outside the committees. Following the research, a handbook was produced that explained the rights and responsibilities in a form that is accessible to all community members. Preliminary feedback from committees that have used the handbook suggests that it has the potential to improve the functionality of the water user committees, thereby helping to improve the local management of WASH services in Uganda
The relative importance of mortgage pricing determinants in mortgage affordability in Ghana
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the mortgage affordability problem in Ghana, an issue that has been associated inter alia with high mortgage rates, which results from the high cost of capital, an unstable macroeconomy and unfavourable borrowers’ characteristics. Concurrent improvements in both the macroeconomy and borrowers’ characteristics have rendered the identification of the most problematic mortgage pricing determinant difficult, consequently making the targeting of policy interventions problematic.
Design/methodology/approach
This research sought to resolve this aforementioned difficulty by providing empirical evidence on the relative importance of mortgage pricing determinants. A data set of mortgage rates of selected Ghanaian banking financial institutions from 2003 to 2013 was examined and analysed by applying Fisher’s model of interest rates and an ex post analysis of the standard regression coefficients.
Findings
The risk premium factor emerged as the most important determinant in Ghana compared with the inflation premium and the real risk-free rate, although all are statistically significant and strongly correlated with mortgage rates.
Originality/value
This study provides an insight on the relative importance of mortgage pricing determinates and subsequent macro-economic guidance to support policy interventions which could reduce mortgage rates/enhance mortgage affordability. The paper specifically aims to engender wider debate and provide guidance to the Ghanaian Government and/or private enterprises that seek to provide affordable mortgages. Further research is proposed which could explore ways of reducing mortgage rates as a means of engendering social equality and adopt innovative international best practice that has already been tried and tested in countries such as South Africa and the USA
Low-cost housing: A cost management model for process integration and evaluation
Effective cost management is a vital requisite for successful Low-cost housing
projects (LHPs) management and delivery. Whilst several attempts have been
made to develop appropriate structured models for cost management practice,
many of these models are fragmented and do not capture a holistic representation
of the system components or their interrelationships in LHP settings. Moreover,
these models are predominantly descriptive by nature – only identifying the
components of cost management and not how they can be implemented within
LHP settings. This research adopts an explicit sequential mixed research design
to develop a bespoke LHP cost management model for process integration and
evaluation in Nigeria. This identifies the structures and interrelationships needed
to conceptualise and implement cost management practice effectively. Research
findings highlight eight important techniques. These include target costing,
approximate estimating, site meetings, Earned Value Analysis, on-site resource
control, cash flow analysis, cost reporting and cost aggregation. However, it also
needs to be acknowledged that it is important also to have: a well-developed
client brief; detailed project designs and accompanying specifications; effective
project planning and supervision; and competent teams (client and contractor) to
discharge responsibilities. The importance of early contractor involvement was
also seen as a core lever for success throughout the pre-design, design, and
construction stages of LHP. The resulting model standardises cost management
practice to provide a systematic ‘blueprint’ beneficial to project managers, cost
managers and project management teams in evaluating and managing CMS
processes more effectively in LHP settings. It is expected that the project
department in Housing agencies adopts this model as a requirement for cost
management practice in LHPs in Nigeria
Drivers of land use change and household determinants of sustainability in smallholder farming systems of Eastern Uganda
The terrain of urbanisation process and policy frameworks: A critical analysis of the Kampala experience
Kampala is urbanising in an unplanned manner, but without a clear picture
of the underlying dynamics. The city is characterised by lack of proper zoning
of economic activities and construction of physical infrastructure without regard to
subsequent spatial quality and environmental conservation. Consequently, there are
sharp differences in residential standards where expensive housing and luxury flats
co-exist with shanty towns and informal settlements, with about 60% of the city’s
population living in unplanned informal settlements and often faced with challenges
of unemployment. The unprecedented increase in the urban population in
Kampala and the prospects for further increases in the near future have economic
and social implications concerning employment, housing, education and health,
among others. Understanding the nature of the dynamics of the growth or decline
of cities like Kampala helps planners to support the processes that lead to harmonious
urban development and to deal with the negative consequences of urban
growth. This paper reflects the urbanisation dynamics explaining Kampala’s urbanisation
process with the view to analysing the implications for an alternative urban policy framework. It argues that the conditions that have allowed the situation to
exist have serious policy implications which require the need for an integrated policy
framework that can be used to effectively prevent or halt Kampala’s unplanned
urbanisation while promoting planned urbanisation. Induced by the migration and
lack of information, understanding urban dynamics is crucial to the development of
urban policies that can effectively ensure that further urban changes occur in a systematic
and satisfactory manner. The current urban process in developing countries
like Uganda is associated with poverty, environmental degradation and population
demands that outstrip service capacity
Baseline Report for the Zambezi Integrated Regional Land-use Plan, (Vol. 1)
The Zambezi Integrated Regional Land-use Plan (IRLUP) is one of five land-use plans based on the new modelling process adopted by the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement (MLR). One of the main objectives of an IRLUP is to find the land use that is most sustainable for a region, in terms of both environmental and economic sustainability. The various advantages and disadvantages of land use needs to be weighed against factors such as environmental protection and economic growth. Ultimately, the land use should bring benefits to the people living in the region. A land use bringing perceived benefits to the people of the region might not always be the best land use in terms of sustainability, thereby an equal balance needs to be found when assessing the most suitable land use for an area
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