Measuring Performance in Public Sector Organizations: Evidence from Local Government Authorities in Tanzania

The aim of study was to assess the performance of Local government authorities in Tanzania. The study used balanced scorecard model as proposed by Kaplan and Norton (1992 to integrate financial and nonfinancial performance measures. This study modified the Kaplan and Norton (1992) balanced scorecard model by adding another performance perspective which is the social perspective. The finding of the study shows that the overall performance of Tanzanian local governments is poor with a performance level of 39.43% which is much contributed by poor financial performance rather than nonfinancial performance. Results indicate that there is a room to Tanzanian Local government authorities to improve both financial and nonfinancial performance through improvement in individual performance metrics in the future which will in turn improve overall performance. Given the advantages of balanced scorecard, it is recommended that LGAs should adopt balanced scorecard from their strategic point of view which will enable them to improve both financial and nonfinancial performance. Keywords: Local government authorities, social perspective, performance measurements, financial performance, non-financial performance, balance score car

Control of lethal browning by using ascorbic acid on shoot tip cultures of a local Musa spp. (Banana) cv. Mzuzu in Tanzania

The use of ascorbic acid during explants preparation and the effect of different concentrations of ascorbic acid in controlling lethal browning and survival of the explants in local banana cv. Mzuzu banana were investigated. The explants were taken from young suckers. The shoot tips were cultured on Murashige and Skoog’s media supplemented with 5 mg/l of benzylaminopurine (BAP) and different concentrations of ascorbic acid (0, 50, 100 and 200 mg/l). Completely randomized design was used in this study. The results indicate that the use of ascorbic acid as an antioxidant during explants preparation significantly reduced the extent of lethal browning and survival of the explants followed by 100 mg/l of ascorbic acid applied directly into the media.Keywords: Micro propagation, surface sterilization, survival of explants, tissue cultureAfrican Journal of Biotechnology, Vol 13(16), 1721-172

Determinants of Implementation of Special Group Reservation Scheme by Procuring Entities

This paper aims to assess the determinants of the implementation of special group reservation schemes by procuring entities. The study used a mixed-methods approach, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Qualitative information was gathered using techniques including interviews for the descriptive nature of the study, and quantitative data was gathered by questionnaire. Data was analyzed by both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Based on the analysis, the descriptive statistic shows that the majority of the respondents agreed with the statements that financial capacity, vendor quality index, and technical capacity play a great role in the special group reservation scheme in terms of increasing the number of contracts awarded to special groups, increasing value of contracts awarded to special groups, and increasing the percentage of special groups beneficiaries since the value of the mean scores is above the 3.63. These results imply that the capacity of special groups is one of the determinant factors influencing the implementation of special groups in public entities. Also, the capacity of the special group was found to have a positive influence on the implementation of the special group reservation scheme in public entities. About the significance of the variable, the findings show the value of the capacity of the special group in the implementation of a special group reservation scheme. The study recommends that the government should ensure sufficient allocation of financial resources, adequacy of equipment and technical competence, adequate physical facilities, high managerial capability, experience, and personnel to achieve a high level of implementation of the special group reservation scheme

Determinants of Implementation of Special Group Reservation Scheme by Procuring Entities

This paper aims to assess the determinants of the implementation of special group reservation schemes by procuring entities. The study used a mixed-methods approach, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Qualitative information was gathered using techniques including interviews for the descriptive nature of the study, and quantitative data was gathered by questionnaire. Data was analyzed by both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Based on the analysis, the descriptive statistic shows that the majority of the respondents agreed with the statements that financial capacity, vendor quality index, and technical capacity play a great role in the special group reservation scheme in terms of increasing the number of contracts awarded to special groups, increasing value of contracts awarded to special groups, and increasing the percentage of special groups beneficiaries since the value of the mean scores is above the 3.63. These results imply that the capacity of special groups is one of the determinant factors influencing the implementation of special groups in public entities. Also, the capacity of the special group was found to have a positive influence on the implementation of the special group reservation scheme in public entities. About the significance of the variable, the findings show the value of the capacity of the special group in the implementation of a special group reservation scheme. The study recommends that the government should ensure sufficient allocation of financial resources, adequacy of equipment and technical competence, adequate physical facilities, high managerial capability, experience, and personnel to achieve a high level of implementation of the special group reservation scheme

The genetic diversity of leaf vegetable jute mallow (Corchorus spp.): A review

This research article was published in the Indian Journal of Agricultural Research, volume 51 issue 5, 2017Corchorus spp. is among traditional vegetable which is very nutritious and has been in use in many households in Africa. It contains high level of carotenoids (150μg/100g), vitamin C, Iron (190μg/g), 1.3% Calcium and 25.0% protein. The leaves are used in treatment of diseases and have wide antibacterial properties. It is semidomesticated and sometimes grows as a volunteer crop. Its status in some parts of Tanzania as a wild plant renders it unappealing for consideration in crop development programs.There is limited scientific information on its diversity for use as a vegetable in crop improvement and is a potential area for research. Variations exist among different accessions based on leaf shapes and color. Diversity studies by using molecular markers, proteins and isozymes are reported by several authors. There is low variation within species and high among species. Most of released varieties have a narrow genetic base. Conservation of this species in Africa is scarcely reported

Characterization of Morphological Diversity of Jute Mallow (Corchorus spp.)

Jute mallow is a traditional leaf vegetable that is an important part of daily diet for the majority of people in rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa. Here we employed quantitative and qualitative phenotypic traits to assess the morphological diversity of 90 accessions using univariate and multivariate analyses. Field experiments were conducted for two seasons to identify accessions suitable for leaf yield. The accessions were significantly variable in all traits. Highest variability among accessions was found in harvest index, biomass yield, and weight of 1000 seeds. The traits that significantly correlated with biomass yield include plant height (r=0.448), petiole length (r=0.237), primary branches (r=0.319), and number of leaves per plant (r=0.333). Principal component analysis showed that the first five PCs with eigenvalues ≥1 explained 72.9% of the total variability in the accessions. Pods per plant, primary branches, secondary branches, and number of leaves per plant accounted for highest variability in PC1. Cluster analysis grouped the accessions into five major clusters mainly based on their origin. Thus, the collection displayed high variation in morphological traits, particularly those related to leaf yield. These accessions are therefore useful in breeding for the improvement of the crop and germplasm management

THE EFFECT OF MEDICATION ON QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS OF CHILDREN WITH SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI INFECTION IN TANZANIA

The effect of mass treatment on questionnaire results in the diagnosis of schistosomiasis mansoni was examined in 267 school children in an endemic area of Tanzania by Kato-Katz analysis of fecal specimens. The questionnaire asked for information about self-diagnosis, abdominal symptoms, blood in stools, history of wild water contact, stool examination and medication for schistosomiasis, and knowledge of the disease. A logistic regression analysis disclosed a significant association between schistosomiasis and diarrhea (p ? 0.007; odds ratio, 32.0; confidence interval, 2.5 - 403.3) and abdominal enlargement (p ? 0.003; odds ratio, 15.2; confidence interval, 2.6 - 90.1) among 61 children who had no history of medication for schistosomiasis. The sensitivity and specificity of the model were 86% and 64%, respectively. In contrast, no significant correlation was observed either for the 116 treated children, or for all the 267 children after the mass treatment. We conclude, therefore, that for children who had no history of medication for schistosomiasis, the questionnaire for abdominal manifestations provides reliable information on S. mansoni infection. However, once a child takes medication, the questionnaire becomes unreliable. This observation suggests that immunomodulation by anti-schistosomiasis drugs that kill adult worms exerts an effect on the appearance of abdominal manifestations and might explain the ambiguity of clinical symptoms in chronically infested patients, except in terminal cases. Further studies are required to develop a simple, rapid and cost-effective diagnostic method for monitoring S. mansoni infection after medication in local areas without resort to laboratory-based identification of schistosomiasis

Combinatorial activity of flavonoids with antibiotics against drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus

The use of resistance-modifying agents is a potential strategy that is used to prolong the effective life of antibiotics in the face of increasing antibiotic resistance. Since certain flavonoids are potent bacterial efflux pump inhibitors, we assessed morin, rutin, quercetin, hesperidin, and (+)-catechin for their combined activity with the antibiotics ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, erythromycin, oxacillin, and ampicillin against drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Four established methods were used to determine the combined efficacy of each combination: microdilution checkerboard assays, time-kill determinations, the Etest, and dual disc-diffusion methods. The cytotoxicity of the flavonoids was additionally evaluated in a mouse fibroblast cell line. Quercetin and its isomer morin decreased by 3- to 16-fold the minimal inhibitory concentration of ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, and erythromycin against some S. aureus strains. Rutin, hesperidin, and (+)-catechin did not promote any potentiation of antibiotics. Despite the potential cytotoxicity of these phytochemicals at a high concentration (fibroblast IC50 of 41.8 and 67.5mg/L, respectively), quercetin is commonly used as a supplement for several therapeutic purposes. All the methods, with exception of the time-kill assay, presented a high degree of congruence without any apparent strain specificity.This work was supported by Operational Program for Competitiveness Factors—COMPETE, FCT/MEC (PIDDAC), and FEDER through Projects Bioresist—PTDC/EBB-EBI/ 105085/2008; Phytodisinfectants—PTDC/DTP-SAP/1078/ 2012 (COMPETE: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-028765) and the PhD grants awarded to Ana Abreu (SFRH/BD/84393/ 2012) and Anabela Borges (SFRH/BD/63398/2009). The authors are very grateful to Professor Simon Gibbons (De- partment of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry, The School of Pharmacy, UCL School of Pharmacy, London) for providing the bacterial strains.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio