THE impact of remittance inflows on poverty in Botswana: an ARDL approach

Abstract The growing pressure on governments to reduce poverty among other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through harnessing domestic and foreign sources has motivated studies on the relationship between poverty and different economic variables in many developing countries. This study investigates the impact of remittance on poverty in Botswana, employing time-series data from 1980 to 2017. The study employs two poverty proxies—household consumption expenditure and infant mortality rate to capture poverty in its multidimensional form and improve the robustness of the results. Using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach, the study finds that remittance inflows reduce poverty in Botswana—both in the short run and in the long run when infant mortality rate is used as a proxy. However, when poverty is measured by household consumption expenditure, remittance was found to have no impact on poverty in the short run and in the long run. The study, therefore, concludes that remittance inflows play a crucial role in reducing poverty and that Botswana can benefit immensely from the surge in remittance inflows by putting in place policies and structures that support remittance inflow

Developing a decision support system to identify strategically located land for land reform in South Africa

Land reform is identified as a key tool in fostering development in South Africa. With two decades after the advent of democracy in South Africa, the land question remains a critical issue for policy makers. A number of frameworks have been put in place by the government to identify land which is strategically located for land reform. However, many of these frameworks are not well aligned and have hampered the government’s land reform initiative in promoting inclusive development. Strategically located land is herein defined as land parcels that are well positioned for the promotion of agriculture, human settlements, rural and tourism development. Accordingly, there is a need to develop a decision tool which facilitates the identification of strategically located land for development. This study proposes the use of geographic information systems (GIS), earth observation (EO) data and multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) to develop a spatial decision support system (SDSS) to identify strategically located land for land reform. The SDDS was therefore designed using GIS, EO data and MCDM to create an index for identification of strategically located land. Expert-led workshops were carried out to ascertain criteria for identifying strategically located land and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was utilised used to weight the criteria. The study demonstrates that GIS and EO are invaluable tools in facilitating evidence-based decisions for land reform. However, there is need for capacity building on GIS and EO in government departments responsible for land reform and development planning. The study suggests that there is an urgent need to develop sector specific criteria for the identification of strategically located land for inclusive development

Modelling of natural fire occurrences : a case of South Africa

Abstract: In contemporary literature there have been growing concerns regarding preservations of natural ecosystems. Given the global growth in awareness of global warming, the need for natural fire prediction models has grown rapidly. Using South Africa as a case study, we evaluate the potential of integrating several natural fire prediction models and geographical information system (GIS) platforms. Initially, natural fire prone regions in South Africa were spatially demarcated basing on municipal historical data records. Thereafter, the natural fire prediction models were applied/tested in parallel to identify the best prediction models that give optimum results in predicting natural fires. The models were assessed for accuracy using historical data. Preliminary results reveal locations in the North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo province had the highest recorded potential for natural fires. In conclusion, the work demonstrates huge potential of prediction models in informing the likelihood of natural fire outbreaks. Lastly, the work recommends the adoption of natural fire prediction models and the subsequent formulation and use of relevant future natural fire mitigation policies and techniques to avert disasters in time

Urban sprawl and its impact on sustainable urban development: a combination of remote sensing and social media data

Urbanization is one of the most impactful human activities across the world today affecting the quality of urban life and its sustainable development. Urbanization in Africa is occurring at an unprecedented rate and it threatens the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Urban sprawl has resulted in unsustainable urban development patterns from social, environmental, and economic perspectives. This study is among the first examples of research in Africa to combine remote sensing data with social media data to determine urban sprawl from 2011 to 2017 in Morogoro urban municipality, Tanzania. Random Forest (RF) method was applied to accomplish imagery classification and location-based social media (Twitter usage) data were obtained through a Twitter Application Programming Interface (API). Morogoro urban municipality was classified into built-up, vegetation, agriculture, and water land cover classes while the classification results were validated by the generation of 480 random points. Using the Kernel function, the study measured the location of Twitter users within a 1 km buffer from the center of the city. The results indicate that, expansion of the city (built-up land use), which is primarily driven by population expansion, has negative impacts on ecosystem services because pristine grasslands and forests which provide essential ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and support for biodiversity have been replaced by built-up land cover. In addition, social media usage data suggest that there is the concentration of Twitter usage within the city center while Twitter usage declines away from the city center with significant spatial and numerical increase in Twitter usage in the study area. The outcome of the study suggests that the combination of remote sensing, social sensing, and population data were useful as a proxy/inference for interpreting urban sprawl and status of access to urban services and infrastructure in Morogoro, and Africa city where data for urban planning is often unavailable, inaccurate, or stale

The strategically located land index support system for human settlements land reform in South Africa

Creating sustainable human settlements is fundamental in fostering spatial and socio-economic integration in South Africa. Policy makers are often faced with the problem of identifying strategically located land for human settlements land reform in South Africa. To date there is no tool or standard framework that assist the government to identify land that is strategically located for land reform. This study proposes the use of geographic in- formation systems (GIS), earth observation (EO) data and multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) to develop a strategically located land index (SLLI) deployed in a web viewer to identify land that is smart for human settlements land reform. The study demonstrates that using the GIS and EO and the GIS webserver are invaluable tools in facilitating streamlined, coordinated, standardised and evidence-based decisions for human settle- ments land reform. However, there is need for capacity building in government departments responsible for land reform and development planning

THE NEXUS BETWEEN IMPORTS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN SOUTH AFRICA: A DISAGGREGATED APPROACH

In this study, the causal relationship between disaggregated imports and economic growth is investigated in South Africa. The study was motivated by the need to establish how South Africa can achieve the growth trajectory that is much needed by the country to achieve sustainable development goals. The study applied the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration and the ECM-based Granger causality test on annual time series data covering the period from 1988 to 2021. The findings confirmed a bidirectional causality between all measures of imports and economic growth, thereby confirming the significance of imports in buttressing economic growth. The findings point to the important role that imports play in achieving sustainable growth and development

Costs and cost-effectiveness of treatment setting for children with wasting, oedema and growth failure/faltering: a systematic review

This systematic review aimed to address the existing evidence gaps, and guide policy decisions on the settings within which to treat infants <12 months of age with growth faltering/failure, and infants and children aged <60 months with moderate wasting or severe wasting and/or bilateral pitting oedema. Twelve electronic databases were searched for studies published before 10 December 2021. The searches yielded 16,709 records from which 31 studies were eligible and included in the review. Three studies were judged as low quality, whilst 14 were moderate and the remaining 14 were high quality. We identified very few cost and cost-effectiveness analyses for most of the models of care with the certainty of evidence being judged at very low or low. However, there were 17 cost and 6 cost-effectiveness analyses for the initiation of treatment in outpatient settings for severe wasting and/or bilateral pitting oedema in infants and children <60 months of age. From this evidence, the costs appear lowest for initiating treatment in community settings, followed by initiating treatment in community and transferring to outpatient settings, initiating treatment in outpatients then transferring to community settings, initiating treatment in outpatient settings, and lastly initiating treatment in inpatient settings. In addition, the evidence suggested that initiation of treatment in outpatient settings is highly cost-effective when compared to doing nothing or no programme implementation scenarios, using country-specific WHO GDP per capita thresholds. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios ranged from $20 to$145 per DALY averted from a provider perspective, and $68 to$161 per DALY averted from a societal perspective. However, the certainty of the evidence was judged as moderate because of comparisons to do nothing/ no programme scenarios which potentially limits the applicability of the evidence in real-world settings. There is therefore a need for evidence that compare the different available alternatives

The strategically located land index support sys- tem for human settlements land reform in South Africa

Abstract Creating sustainable human settlements is fundamental in fostering spatial and socio-economic integration in South Africa. Policy makers are often faced with the problem of identifying strategically located land for human settlements land reform in South Africa. To date there is no tool or standard framework that assist the government to identify land that is strategically located for land reform. This study proposes the use of geographic information systems (GIS), earth observation (EO) data and multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) to develop a strategically located land index (SLLI) deployed in a web viewer to identify land that is smart for human settlements land reform. The study demonstrates that using the GIS and EO and the GIS webserver are invaluable tools in facilitating streamlined, coordinated, standardised and evidence-based decisions for human settlements land reform. However, there is need for capacity building in government departments responsible for land reform and development plannin

Spatio-temporal modelling & the new urban agenda in post-apartheid South Africa

Abstract: This paper presents the potentialities of spatio-temporal modelling in transforming South Africa’s previously marginalised townships. Using the Katlehong township in Ekurhuleni as a case study, the paper argues that the hitherto marginalised townships can benefit from a localised implementation of smart-city concepts as articulated in the Integrated Urban Development Framework. Instead of viewing townships as spaces of perpetual despair and hopelessness, the paper appreciates these areas as having the potential to benefit from new smart innovative planning approaches that form part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. So, the discussion identifies smart transportation modes such as bicycle-sharing, as well as Bus Rapid Transit Networks as critical in promoting mobility in and beyond townships, while contributing to spatial integration and transformation. Using geolocation data, the paper concludes that formerly marginalised townships such as Katlehong can and must form part of the emergent smart cities in South Africa

Knowledge, risk perception and access to healthcare services for HIV and tuberculosis among university students in Johannesburg, South Africa

CITATION; Evans, D., et al. 2018. Knowledge, risk perception and access to healthcare services for HIV and tuberculosis among university students in Johannesburg, South Africa. South African Journal of Child Health, 12(2):S19-S31, doi:10.7196/SAJCH.2018.v12i2b.1525.The original publication is available at http://www.sajch.org.za/index.php/SAJCHBackground. An increasingly diverse body of students is entering university in South Africa. HIV and tuberculosis (TB) are pressing health issues for this vulnerable population and the university campus offers an opportunity to intervene with health promotion activities. Objectives. This study describes knowledge and risk perception of TB and HIV among high school leavers entering tertiary education. Methods. A cross-sectional survey among first-year students, aged 18-25 years, registered at one of three universities chosen for the study in Johannesburg, South Africa. Informed consent was obtained prior to completing a self-administered, close-ended, structured questionnaire. Factors associated with poor knowledge or high risk perception were identified using modified Poisson regression. Results. In total, 792 students were included; 53.3% (n=438) were categorised as having poor TB knowledge and 52.1% (n=412) poor HIV knowledge, while 43.4% (n=344) were categorised as having high TB risk perception and 39.8% (n=315) high HIV risk perception. Male students were more likely to have poor knowledge of HIV and perceive themselves at risk of acquiring HIV. Low socioeconomic status was associated with a high risk perception of HIV. One in 3 participants (30.6%) stated that they had never had an HIV test. In total, 24 students (9 male, 15 female) reported that they were HIV-positive, of whom 15 (62.5%) were on antiretroviral therapy. Only 14.1% had been screened for TB in the past 6 months. Conclusion. The findings indicate a need to enhance health promotion activities among university students so as to aid preventive strategies for reducing the burden of HIV and TB infection.http://www.sajch.org.za/index.php/SAJCH/article/view/1445Publisher's versio