Management of Savings and Credit Cooperatives from the Perspective of Outreach and Sustainability: Evidence from Southern Tigrai of Ethiopia

The rural economy and the urban economy in Ethiopia are largely disconnected .While urban banks have excess liquidity, which costs them money to manage, and some rural people have opportunities requiring credit to be profitable that are low risk, there is no mechanism to bring this liquidity from urban banks to rural businesses. Saving and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) can be the link that will give urban banks low risk loan opportunities in rural areas and give rural businesses access to credit at costs for lower than interest rates currently charged by moneylenders. So, this paper is concerned with management of SACCOs from the perspective of outreach and sustainability of Rural SACCOs to reach large number of members. The required data were obtained from members and SACCO documentation and analyzed using tables and percentages, financial ratios, and correlation analysis with the help of MINITAB, a statistical package. The descriptive findings show that membership and financial performance of the SACCOs under study showed an improving trend over the study period. The result of correlation analysis between independent variables and dependent variable showed that existence of strong positive correlation between financial performance (ROA) and the asset utilization. A moderate positive correlation relationship exists between operational efficiency and size of SACCOs (assets size). Conversely, there is a significant negative correlation between financial performance (ROA) and the operational efficiency with correlation coefficients. The study also came out with a range of perspectives on the factors affecting the outreach and sustainability of SACCOs under study. Lack of awareness and poor saving culture, weak organizational arrangement and governance, policy and regulatory environment, weak institutional capacity, low capital base, lack of differentiated products, inappropriate loan security requirements, and threats from other financial institutions (MFIs) were among the factors affecting the outreach and sustainability of SACCOs. Keywords: outreach, sustainability, savings and Credit Cooperatives, correlation analysis, Southern Tigrai, Ethiopi

Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the Politics of Balance

The purpose of this thesis is to show that Rousseau’s political theory is coherent as he claimed in his Social Contract, and not contradictory as some think. By making a distinction between a doctrinal or principle level and an empirical or practical level, we will try to demonstrate Rousseau’s consistency by analyzing his concepts of sovereignty, general will, representation and natural law in detail. Rousseau was strongly democrat at principle level in the sense that sovereignty always belongs to people, and flexible, even liberal, at the system of realization or empirical level in which reality is rich in detail and complexity, so the political compromise becomes necessary at this level, even when it is difficult at times. Political principles must be applied empirically into the concrete world in order to serve civil society, otherwise if they are zealously kept intact in their purity, they remain ideal and impractical, even obstacles instead of becoming beneficial to political and social organizations as Rousseau tried to do by maintaining a just balance between distinct, yet interconnected levels of analysis in his political thought

Impact of an Integrated Watershed Management Program on Food Security: The Case of Mai Zeg Zeg Watershed in Degua Tembein Worada

The government of Ethiopia and the supporting donors have been investing huge resources on the food security programs though the watershed management approaches elsewhere in the country and the study woreda in particular. However the impact of such programs was not systematically studied. Without knowing the impact of watershed management food security programs mere implementation cannot guarantee positive outcome. This study was conducted in Degua Tembein woreda ,a food insecured area of the regional state of Tigray .It attempts to assess the impact of the integrated watershed management program on food security in the Mai Zeg Zeg watershed of Degua Tembein Woreda. The watershed based program impact is assessed in terms of household income, environment and water coverage and related indicators. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed. As part of quantitative and qualitative research methods, primary data were collected by means of household survey questionnaire and focus group discussions respectively. As a tool of analysis descriptive analysis and propensity score matching were used. A total Sample of 200 respondents were randomly selected out of which 100 were program participants from Tabias of Aynimbrikekin and Michealaby (treated group ) and 100 were non participants from Adiazemera Tabia (untreated ) . The study results show that the watershed based food security program in the Mai zeg zeg watershed has shown significant impacts in terms of household income, environment and water coverage and related indicators. In figurative terms the program participants have enjoyed an average annual gain in the total household income between ETB 566.170 and ETB 340.098. With regard to production gain the households benefited with an average production gain in total production per tsimidi between 2.418 and 0.65 quintals. In terms of the number of months a household can feed his family, on average the participants have gained a benefit of feeding their families for extra months between 0.600 and 1.620. The study finding on the average livestock holding showed that program participants have not made any significant gain. The second most important issue that this study tried to assess is that the impact of the program on the environment. The study findings showed that there are two major benefits gained from the natural resources management: increased vegetable coverage and increased water discharge in down streams of the constructed SWC measures. Finally the study results on water access indicated that the project participants have much better access than the non participants. To this end 93% of the project participants have responded that they have access to clean water source. On the other hand the estimated results on average time to fetch water and average number of liters a household consumes per day showed that the non- participants need more extra time between 105.024 and 119.277 minutes. At the end the program participants have not made any significant gain on average water utilization. The results of the study showed that the Mai zeg zeg watershed management program has registered remarkable impact on the level of income, environment and water and related indicators. Therefore for the sustainability of these impacts proper policy and institutional set up of the watershed approach should be devised

Determinants of Women Empowerment in Cooperative Societies A Survey in South Eastern Zone Tigray Region of Ethiopia

Empowerment has always been fundamental to the cooperative idea where weaker section of the people get together to achieve goals that they would not be able to achieve on their own. The members themselves decide the goals and, since cooperatives are organized on the principle of one person - one vote, the cooperative form of enterprise provides women with the opportunity of participating on equal terms with men. Cooperative enterprises can take on different forms: they can be set up by a group of enterprises or by individual entrepreneurs wishing to benefit from shared services, cheaper goods, and easier access to markets or higher prices for their products(Mayoux, C.L. (2003). However, what they all have in common is that, as a group, members are able to create economies of scale and increase their influence and bargaining power. In many developing countries women work individually, often isolated, in the informal economy, operating at a low level of activity and reaping marginal income. Joining forces in small-scale cooperatives can provide them with the economic and social leverage they need(Kishor, S & Gupta, K. (2004). Various literatures also state that cooperatives are one of the means to empowerment women. There are few cooperative organizations in Ethiopia operate in the area of women empowerment using cooperatives and; Saving and Credit Cooperatives found in D/Tembien is one among them. This research has made an ideal attempt to deal with the role of cooperative in promoting women empowerment, taking member households of this particular organization in focus. Empowerment of women is crucial for their emancipation and meaningful participation in the decision making process at every level. Hence, to bring about this change women’s socially and economical empowerment is crucial. Ethiopian women are no exception from the existing deprivation of rights of decision-making and therefore, need empowerment at every level. Besides, it is believed that increasing women’s access to financial products will in itself increase household income, which will then translate into improved well-being for women and enable women to bring about wider changes in gender inequality. In economic empowerment, women’s access to savings and credit through saving and credit programs gives them a greater economic role in decision making through participation in terms of optimize their own and the households welfare. Therefore, taking this gloomy picture of women’s situation into account, this paper aims at to identify the determinants women empowerment in of cooperative society taking SACCO found in Degua- Tembien Wereda, Tigray region of Ethiopia is a acase study for this particular research. As the research was based mainly up on primary data from the sample SACCO members and documentation from Wereda the Cooperative. The next section offers a review of the basic concepts employed in the paper concerning women empowerment. The following section describes the survey and the methods applied to analyse the data collected, while the results of the analysis are illustrated in the subsequent section. The last section concludes and recommendation for further investigation and action

The Impact of Savings and Credit Cooperatives in Ofla Wereda Tigray Region of Ethiopia

The present study primarily addresses the impact of Rural Savings and Credit Cooperatives (RUSACCO) on the income and family living conditions of members. The study was undertaken in Ofla Wereda Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Ofla Wereda is selected for the study purposively because of the availability of more number of SACCOs, with documented records. The survey was conducted during the year 2010 and a total of four SACCO with 168 members were analyzed. The study has adopted random sampling procedure for the selection of the members. The data analysis employed various statistical tools like correlation and regression. The correlation analysis reveals that the independent variables years of stay in the SACCO, savings, size of loan, and number of times loan availed have significant positive correlation with post income of the respondents. Similarly, there is significant and positive correlation between years of stay in the SACCO, size of loan, and number of times loan availed and profit from economic activities, while the variable savings has significant negative correlation with the profit. The regression analysis reveals that the independent variables such as savings and number of times loan availed have significant positive relationship with the post income, while the variables education and years of stay in the SACCO have significant negative relationship with the post income, contrary to what was expected. Non members stated that no perceived benefits, lack of information and high interest on loan were perceived as problems of SACCOs.  Therefore, concerted efforts are needed to organize seminars and campaigns to create awareness about SACCO. Cooperative Extension Work is to be promoted to persuade the non-members to join SACCO. Keywords: saving, loan, cooperatives, nonmembers, post income, profit, Ofla Wereda, Tigray Region, Ethiopi

Integrated Transport System Toward Sustainable Travel Behavior for Work Commuting Travel From Bekasi to Jakarta

Due to the inadequacy of public transport and high critical level of congestion in Jakarta Metropolitan Area, implementing sustainable transport for urban future transport improvement is necessary. Critical transport situation in Jakarta Metropolitan Area has pointed the importance of implementation integrated transport system to increase people accessibility. This study is conducted to identify strategic issues in integrated transport system at operational and policy levels toward sustainable mobility, transport equity, and door to door service. According to research aim, explanatory case study is used to build an understanding the current situation. The results indicate that integrated transport system is not fully implemented yet and it found a lot of missing links and barriers in integrated transport system attributes. Moreover, transportation planning at national to local levels is not synchronous which have impacted to the implementation of integrated transport

Response of Fuel Subsidy Removal as Sustainable Transport Policy (Case Study: Workers in Jakarta Metropolitan Area)

Motorization in urban areas contributes several problems such as congestion, accidents, gas emissions, noises, and infrastructure breakage. Meanwhile, most of the developing countries cannot overcome such growth activities, as well as in Jakarta. By December 2013, Vice Governor of Jakarta proposes fuel subsidy removal policy as one of sustainable transport policy. This study is intended to understand and investigate how fuel subsidy removal policy scenarios (25%, 50%, and 100%) in Jakarta affects travelers’ behavior and analyze such policy to support sustainable transport by using qualitative research methodology. Interviews and questionnaires survey is conducted to workers in Jakarta, which includes ranking scale question for traveler response options. The result shows that half of the respondents are not affected and will only respond to fuel price increasing at IDR 31,400 for gasoline price and IDR 26,300 for ADO (Auto Diesel Oil). Moreover, there is a tendency of respondent's to the response by changing their travel mode choices into more fuel efficient private vehicle

The Relationship of Ewe Body Mass to Lamb Production

Body size was estimated by multiplying the average of the hip and chest widths by body length and chest depth in 208 ewes of three genotypes: Targhee x Targhee (TXT), Finn x Targhee (FXT), and Suffolk x Targhee (SXT), and two seasons, fall (pre-breeding) and spring (post-lambing). The estimated ewe body size did not fluctuate with season, body condition or physiological stress and proved to be a constant measure of size. Measuring linear body dimension is time consuming; and hence ewe body size can best be approximated by the chest depth in a regression equation. In the absence of linear measurements, the ewe body weight remained to be the best measure of size. In evaluating relationships, there was a tendency for ewe body size and weight to be positively (P \u3c .05) related to reproductive traits and body condition to negatively (P \u3c .05) related. The heavier ewes were more prolific in the FXT ewes and the lighter ewes in the SXT ewes, the TXT ewes being intermediate. Lamb production on per unit size or weight bases tended to be negatively (P\u3c.05) related with weight and /or size in all the three genotypes. This relationship was stronger in the SXT ewes than in the TXT ewes, which in turn was stronger than in the FXT ewes, suggesting that the heavier/larger the ewe the less she produced in relation to her weight or size