Case study - municipal solid waste management in Benoni, Ekurhuleni

This research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Science. Johannesburg, 2016 Research work and course work. Johannesburg, 2016.The unprecedented population growth, urbanisation and accelerating living standards, significant amounts of solid waste have accumulated all over the world. These changes, therefore, left most municipalities in African countries grappling to find viable solutions to their waste management problems (Özbay 2015). Indeed, studies have shown that the estimated annual growth rate of MSW is 3.2% to 4.5% for developed countries and 2% to 3% for developing countries (Özbay 2015). Notably, continuous increase in accumulation of solid wastes poses risks to not only human health but to the ecological environment (Al-Khatib, Kontogianni, Abu Nabaa, Alshami & Al-Sari 2015; Menikpura, Gheewala & Bonnet 2012). Improper waste management stems from the poor implementations of policies and regulations, to identify the most sustainable approaches to dealing with waste as to meet environmental and socio-economic aspirations, to address waste management efficiently. The objectives of this research are as follow: Locate, consolidate and organise secondary data that is relevant to understanding the specific waste management situation of Benoni, Ekurhuleni. Identify the importance of Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM). Analyse these data and determine how it can be utilised in the case of Benoni. Identify and suggest the best strategy implement an effective MSWM system, and Discuss the difficulties and challenges faced by Benoni and Ekurhuleni at large, due to ineffective and inefficient MSWM. The case study area Benoni is a mere example to highlight waste management burdens and challenges, which might be characteristic of most African towns. This research seeks to understand the solid waste collection and proper disposal in informal areas of Benoni and the environmental impacts thereof. In particular, the research assumes that there is yet to be implemented a more rigid and structured approach to waste management in the area which justifies and necessitates the need for research aimed at shedding light on how modern waste management systems can be adapted to the case of the informal settlements in this area. Proper waste management implementation will benefit both the specific community in informal parts of Benoni as well as the global practice of waste management. This study used the qualitative method to describe, explore, and discover phenomena related to MSWM in Benoni (Creswell, 2003). Qualitative research is typically interpretive, with the researcher using critical analysis for the interpretation of data collected (Shenton & Hay-Gibson, 2009). The quantitative research uses hypotheses in determining the form, quantity, and scope of data to be collected (Morse & Richards 2002). In doing so, the researcher pre-empts alternative ways through which the study questions may be addressed. On the other hand, qualitative investigations are not pre-emptive. In this study of MSWM in Benoni, the form, quantity, and scope of inquiry hinged upon the research questions, the study purpose, and goals, as well as from the data collected (Morse & Richards 2002). 3 Benoni has reached the dilemma in which adverse health and environmental impacts of ineffective waste management are felt, while the numbers of landfill sites have been decreasing with no planning in evidence for establishing new ones. Because of these, improvements to Benoni's MSWM will entail the cooperation of all tiers of Government as well as industry and the commercial sectors. The EMM will have to restructure the recycling industry with the support of waste management legislation. An option that EMM has is to contemplate upon the outsourcing of the management of sanitary landfill sites to public-private partnerships, based on study findings that these discharges are better managed in South Africa (Naidoo 2009). In the case of Benoni, albeit the EMM has sufficient resources to manage waste effectively, there were numerous gaps related to the challenges that exist within the municipality's waste management sector. For instance, household wastes are not timely collected, and no notices are given when collection dates are changed (Tembon 2012). Apart from these, Benoni has an underdeveloped recycling system perhaps largely because the EMM itself has no comprehensive municipal recycling program and recycling facilities. Somehow, this contradicts the impression being given by providers that they have access to all the necessary resources needed for them to be effective in their work. This research will discuss an approach to strengthening the capacity to solve the problems that come with MSWM, along with investigating whether modern waste management practices are be present implemented such as; waste diversion from landfills, as well as shifting from incinerators and using unlined landfill sites to more sustainable methods. Based on the combined experiences in the three cases, some recommendations may stand in Benoni Ekurhuleni. First, every member of the community should be empowered with education and skills on waste management to increase their levels of participation in waste sorting at the source of generation. Public involvement will encourage effective recycling that ultimately generates income. This will be particularly useful to Benoni's squatter communities. Benoni has to look into the possibility of providing skills to informal settlers so that they can construct well-planned houses for themselves. With assistance from the national government, the EMM can decide whether this type of housing can be subsidised. Third, it is essential that EMM involves stakeholders from the different sectors of the municipal area in the planning and implementation of waste management strategies. Group leaders from various communities as well as social groups such as church communities should be invited to participate because they are crucial links between the council and the community.LG201

Approche par l’identification des dimensions de la sous-traitance dans les TPE : une étude exploratoire

La sous-traitance est aujourd'hui un élément essentiel des politiques industrielles et commerciales. Elle se démarque comme une stratégie synonyme d’avantages concurrentiels, et sa pratique est répandue dans toutes les régions du monde. Au Cameroun toutes les entreprises se sentent concerner par la stratégie de sous-traitance. L’objectif de cet article est d’identifier les dimensions de la sous-traitance en contexte TPE. A cette fin, une étude qualitative exploratoire est menée dans cinq TPE du secteur formel de la ville de Douala. Il est question de déceler les dimensions sous-jacentes des principaux construits mobilisés dans le cadre de ce travail de recherche. A partir d’une analyse de contenu au travers du logiciel Nvivo 10, les résultats de l’étude montrent que les TPE sous-traitantes s’entourent des construits tels que les compétences, la capacité de financement (l’accès au financement) et la gestion du contrat. Malgré, les efforts déployés dans la quête des dimensions, nous pensonsque le terrain reste propice à des éventuelles propositions de nouvelles dimensions de la sous-traitance

L’ ENJEU DE LA DIGITALISATION ET L’ENTREPRENEURIAT FEMININ AU CAMEROUN : UNE ANALYSE POST COVID 19

La digitalisation est un concept polysémique. Cette dernière s’est accentuée suite à la pandémie de la Covid-19 qui a eu des effets controversés sur les entreprises dirigées par les femmes. L’instabilité de l’environnement à cette période a obligé les femmes entrepreneures à mettre en place des stratégies de résiliences pour faire face à ses mutations. C’est dans cette optique que le présent article a pour objectif d’examiner comment la digitalisation a pu aider les entrepreneures à surmonter les défis économiques liés à la pandémie. Afin d’y arriver, nous avons adopté une approche qualitative (exploratoire) et une démarche déductive. Pour cela nous avons administré un guide d’entretien auprès de 15femmes entrepreneures dans la ville de Douala et Yaoundé. Grâce à l’analyse de contenu thématique, il en ressort que la plupart des entrepreneures ont une connaissance limitée des technologies numériques et ont besoin d’une formation pour les utiliser efficacement. Cette recherche fournit les meilleures pratiques pour aider les femmes entrepreneures à utiliser efficacement les outils numériques pour développer leur entreprise. &nbsp

Invariants of Lie algebras extended over commutative algebras without unit

We establish results about the second cohomology with coefficients in the trivial module, symmetric invariant bilinear forms and derivations of a Lie algebra extended over a commutative associative algebra without unit. These results provide a simple unified approach to a number of questions treated earlier in completely separated ways: periodization of semisimple Lie algebras (Anna Larsson), derivation algebras, with prescribed semisimple part, of nilpotent Lie algebras (Benoist), and presentations of affine Kac-Moody algebras.Comment: v3: added a footnote on p.10 about a wrong derivation of the correct statemen

RURAL WOMEN’S PERCEPTIONS ON HIV AND AIDS EDUCATIONAL STRATEGIES USED IN MOHALE’S HOEK, LESOTHO

MM thesis - P&DMpeople to get informed about HIV so that they do not engage in activities that put their lives at risk. Educational materials (pamphlets, booklets and posters) are among some of the tools used to educate people on HIV and AIDS. The purpose of this research was to gather the perceptions of rural women about the educational materials that were used to educate them about the virus. In the process, the research also looked at any improvements that could be made to the existing materials and if there were any gaps in their coverage. A qualitative methodology of research was used and nine respondents were interviewed. Findings revealed that the majority of rural women have had access to the educational material and while most do not see anything wrong with the way the HIV material is being communicated, some felt that it was done in culturally insensitive ways. Culturally it is considered disrespectful for any Mosotho1 (young or old) to have sex talks or talk about HIV, and some rural Basotho are of a view that HIV is a foreign disease they feel solutions will come from where the virus emanates and therefore feel that they cannot say much about the content of the educational material. The respondents felt the education material was good and they recommended there is need to improve on the method used to communicate the material to them, particularly in the context of clinic

World Bank and Right to development : the impact of programs implements in Benin, Cameroon and Togo

La pauvreté est un phénomène qui touche tous les continents et plus particulièrement l’Afrique. Elle affecte surtout les populations des pays sous développés. Malgré la lutte de ces derniers au lendemain de la seconde guerre mondiale en faveur de l’établissement d’un nouvel ordre économique international qui assurerait leur droit au développement, force est de constater que la question de la lutte contre la pauvreté est encore d’actualité. La Banque mondiale est l’un des acteurs centraux qui accompagnent les pays africains, entre autres, à réaliser leur développement socio-économique à travers la mise en œuvre de projets et programmes de développement. Cependant, la reconnaissance du droit au développement et de ses principes par la Banque mondiale ne s’est pas opérée sans réticence au début. C’est seulement à partir des années 1990 et plus encore au début des années 2000 avec les Objectifs du Millénaire pour le Développement, que l’institution a changé sa vision du développement, élargi ses objectifs, adopté de nouvelles politiques et posé de nouvelles conditionnalités d’octroi de son financement respectueux des principes ou exigences de la Déclaration du droit au développement. Ce changement traduit l’échec des politiques appliquées par la Banque Mondiale en Afrique subsaharienne avant les années 1990. Quels étaient ces politiques ? L’évolution institutionnelle, idéologique de l’institution et ses nouvelles conditionnalités contribuent-elles à assurer un impact plus positif des projets ou programmes de développement en Afrique en général, et plus particulièrement au Bénin, au Cameroun et au Togo ? La décentralisation des compétences et attributions de l’Etat dans la plupart des pays d’Afrique subsaharienne en faveur des collectivités locales constitue-t-elle un cadre plus favorable à la réalisation du droit au développement ?The poverty is a phenomenon which touches all the continents and more particularly Africa. It affects especially the populations of countries under developed. In spite of the fight of these last ones after the second world war in favour of the establishment of a new international economic order which would ensure their right for the development, the forces is to notice that the question of the fight against the poverty is still of current events. The World Bank is one of the central actors who accompany the African countries, among others, to realize their socioeconomic development through the application of projects and programs of development. However, the recognition of the right for the development and of its principles by the World Bank did not take place without hesitation at the beginning. It is only from 1990s and more still at the beginning of 2000s with the Objectives of the Millennium for the Development, that the institution changed its vision of the development, widens its objectives, adopts new policies and poses of news conditions of granting of its respectful financing of the principles or the requirements of the Declaration of the right for the development.This change translates the failure of the policies applied by the World Bank in sub-Saharan Africa before 1990s. What were these policies? The institutional, ideological evolution of the institution and does its new conditionality contribute to ensure a more positive impact of the projects or the development programs in Africa generally, and more particularly in Benin, in Cameroon and in Togo? Does the decentralization of the skills and the attributions of the State, in most of the countries of sub-Saharan Africa in favour of local authorities, constitute a limit more favorable to the realization of the law for the development

Sustainability of health information systems: a three-country qualitative study in southern Africa.

BackgroundHealth information systems are central to strong health systems. They assist with patient and program management, quality improvement, disease surveillance, and strategic use of information. Many donors have worked to improve health information systems, particularly by supporting the introduction of electronic health information systems (EHIS), which are considered more responsive and more efficient than older, paper-based systems. As many donor-driven programs are increasing their focus on country ownership, sustainability of these investments is a key concern. This analysis explores the potential sustainability of EHIS investments in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, originally supported by the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).MethodsUsing a framework based on sustainability theories from the health systems literature, this analysis employs a qualitative case study methodology to highlight factors that may increase the likelihood that donor-supported initiatives will continue after the original support is modified or ends.ResultsFindings highlight commonalities around possible determinants of sustainability. The study found that there is great optimism about the potential for EHIS, but the perceived risks may result in hesitancy to transition completely and parallel use of paper-based systems. Full stakeholder engagement is likely to be crucial for sustainability, as well as integration with other activities within the health system and those funded by development partners. The literature suggests that a sustainable system has clearly-defined goals around which stakeholders can rally, but this has not been achieved in the systems studied. The study also found that technical resource constraints - affecting system usage, maintenance, upgrades and repairs - may limit EHIS sustainability even if these other pillars were addressed.ConclusionsThe sustainability of EHIS faces many challenges, which could be addressed through systems' technical design, stakeholder coordination, and the building of organizational capacity to maintain and enhance such systems. All of this requires time and attention, but is likely to enhance long-term outcomes

Sustainability of health information systems: a three-country qualitative study in southern Africa.

BackgroundHealth information systems are central to strong health systems. They assist with patient and program management, quality improvement, disease surveillance, and strategic use of information. Many donors have worked to improve health information systems, particularly by supporting the introduction of electronic health information systems (EHIS), which are considered more responsive and more efficient than older, paper-based systems. As many donor-driven programs are increasing their focus on country ownership, sustainability of these investments is a key concern. This analysis explores the potential sustainability of EHIS investments in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, originally supported by the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).MethodsUsing a framework based on sustainability theories from the health systems literature, this analysis employs a qualitative case study methodology to highlight factors that may increase the likelihood that donor-supported initiatives will continue after the original support is modified or ends.ResultsFindings highlight commonalities around possible determinants of sustainability. The study found that there is great optimism about the potential for EHIS, but the perceived risks may result in hesitancy to transition completely and parallel use of paper-based systems. Full stakeholder engagement is likely to be crucial for sustainability, as well as integration with other activities within the health system and those funded by development partners. The literature suggests that a sustainable system has clearly-defined goals around which stakeholders can rally, but this has not been achieved in the systems studied. The study also found that technical resource constraints - affecting system usage, maintenance, upgrades and repairs - may limit EHIS sustainability even if these other pillars were addressed.ConclusionsThe sustainability of EHIS faces many challenges, which could be addressed through systems' technical design, stakeholder coordination, and the building of organizational capacity to maintain and enhance such systems. All of this requires time and attention, but is likely to enhance long-term outcomes

Sustainability of health information systems: a three-country qualitative study in southern Africa

Abstract Background Health information systems are central to strong health systems. They assist with patient and program management, quality improvement, disease surveillance, and strategic use of information. Many donors have worked to improve health information systems, particularly by supporting the introduction of electronic health information systems (EHIS), which are considered more responsive and more efficient than older, paper-based systems. As many donor-driven programs are increasing their focus on country ownership, sustainability of these investments is a key concern. This analysis explores the potential sustainability of EHIS investments in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, originally supported by the United States President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Methods Using a framework based on sustainability theories from the health systems literature, this analysis employs a qualitative case study methodology to highlight factors that may increase the likelihood that donor-supported initiatives will continue after the original support is modified or ends. Results Findings highlight commonalities around possible determinants of sustainability. The study found that there is great optimism about the potential for EHIS, but the perceived risks may result in hesitancy to transition completely and parallel use of paper-based systems. Full stakeholder engagement is likely to be crucial for sustainability, as well as integration with other activities within the health system and those funded by development partners. The literature suggests that a sustainable system has clearly-defined goals around which stakeholders can rally, but this has not been achieved in the systems studied. The study also found that technical resource constraints \u2013 affecting system usage, maintenance, upgrades and repairs \u2013 may limit EHIS sustainability even if these other pillars were addressed. Conclusions The sustainability of EHIS faces many challenges, which could be addressed through systems\u2019 technical design, stakeholder coordination, and the building of organizational capacity to maintain and enhance such systems. All of this requires time and attention, but is likely to enhance long-term outcomes