Report and policy brief from the 4th Africa Conference on Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research: Innovations in access to prevention, treatment and care in HIV/AIDS, Kisumu, Kenya, 29 April - 3 May 2007

About 520 delegates from all over Africa and 21 countries attended the conference. This report and policy brief summarises the key findings and suggested policy options that emerged from rapporteur reports of conference proceedings including the following themes: (1) Orphans and vulnerable children, (2) Treatment, (3) Prevention, (4) Gender and male involvement, (5) Male circumcision, (6) People living with HIV/AIDS, (7) Food and nutrition, (8) Socioeconomics, and (9) Politics/policy. Two (11.8%) of the 17 OVC projects from the three countries were classified as best practice interventions. Of the 83 abstracts that were accepted at the conference, only 7 (8.4%) were dealing with antiretroviral therapy (ART).There has been tremendous effort by various organisations to provide information about prevention of HIV/AIDS. Information received by adolescents has been effective in increasing their knowledge, but without positive sexual behaviour change.The conference noted the contribution of gender discrimination and violence to the HIV epidemic and the different risks that men and women face in relation to the epidemic. Social scientists need to study the deep cultural meanings attached to male circumcision among different ethnic groups to be able to guide the debate on the latest biomedical findings on the protective effect of circumcision against HIV. Palliative care and support is crucial for coping among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in order to deal with medical and psychological issues. Results from several countries have helped researchers to explore alternative ways of examining poverty in the context of HIV and AIDS. Policy frameworks which are likely to succeed in combating HIV/AIDS need to be updated to cover issues of access, testing, disclosure and stigma. In general, the conference was successful in identifying innovations in access to prevention, treatment and care in HIV/AIDS. SAHARA J Vol. 4 (2) 2007: pp. 640-65

Expatriate tax in Africa : the taxation of inbound Expatriate working in Botswana, Namibia, Nigeria and South Africa

The growth in multinational corporations looking to expand and invest in foreign countries, particularly in the emerging markets such as Africa, has grown tremendously. “Africa is already the world’s second fastest growing economy after expanding 5% a year in the past two years, well above the global average.” (World Economic Forum, 2013). This has resulted in the movement of human capital between different tax jurisdictions and an increase in expatriates all across the world. The focus of the study is to expand on the current knowledge on the taxation of inbound expatriates working within South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Nigeria, as the world has turned its focus on Africa in terms of investment and expansion, as supported by Shelley (2004:3), and to provide both employers and employees with knowledge of the different tax regimes (source-based taxation and residence-based taxation) found in some of the emerging and fastest growing markets in Africa: namely Botswana, Namibia, Nigeria and South Africa. It was found that the African tax landscape provides for a vast range of tax systems, of which, most are either residence–based or source-based. The tax systems of South Africa and Nigeria are similar in that they are residence-based. In each of these two countries, tax residents are taxed on their worldwide income, while non-residents are only taxed on income from specific sources. Therefore, residency is an essential concept in each of these tax systems. The above-mentioned countries, however, apply different methods and factors in determining the concept of residency. As a result of the difference in determining tax residency and differences in their domestic income tax legislations, the taxability of income earned abroad differs in these countries. The tax systems of Botswana and Namibia are similar in that they are source-based. In each of these countries, income is taxable when it is from a source or deemed source within these countries. Although in exceptional circumstances, some income which is not from a source within these countries may be taxable, relief is applied in terms of the domestic legislation, in order to lessen the burden of tax. Source is therefore a vital concept in each of these tax systems. The definition and application of the term source is different in both countries. However, similarities are found in that the source is primarily where the services were physically rendered. Both employers and employees should consider the basis of taxation (source basis and residence basis) that is applied by the prospective host country when making a decision regarding an assignment to a foreign country as this forms a major factor in how their income (both local and foreign) will be treated.Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2013.Taxationunrestricte

External, independent customer satisfaction survey of services offered by CIPRO

Commissioned by CIPRO, Jul

A critical investigation into the standardization of written Tswana: a study of the hisitory and present state of Tswana orthography

African LanguagesM.A. (African Studies (Linguistics)

Tax compliance and services offered by the South African Revenue Service (SARS): SARS - focus group report

Commissioned by the South African Revenue Service (SARS), Pretoria, AprilIn its quest to accomplish its mandate; fulfil its strategic goals and in its effort to achieve improved service delivery (focusing on compliance, enforcement and education), SARS commissioned the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) to conduct a study on their behalf. The study is intended to establish the perceptions, attitudes and behaviour of taxpayers in respect of tax compliance and of the services rendered by SARS with the following specific objectives: To measure and assess the public's culture, climate and level of compliance To determine attitudes and behaviour towards compliance To measure an understanding of the relationship between economic performance and tax compliance To measure understanding of the relationship between tax revenue and government social investment (such as education, health, housing, and infrastructure) To assess the accessibility and visibility of SARS The study is being conducted in two phases, viz., the first phase with a qualitative focus and the forthcoming second phase, which is a quantitative survey. This report focuses on the result of the first phase of the study, based on the Focus Group Discussions conducted across the country among six groups with different socio-economic backgrounds

A better life for all? Fifteen year review of the Free State Provincial Government

Prepared for the Free State Provincial Government, DecemberThe effectiveness of the Free State Provincial Government in realising its mandate of providing a 'better life' for the residents of the Free State must be considered in relationship to the limits of the State. What can and what cannot be realistically expected from a provincial government? There are two major observations in this regard: 1. The first concerns the Free State Provincial Government as an institution. How does it govern? How well does it govern? 2. The second concerns the ability of the Free State Provincial Government to have a positive impact on the lives of the residents in the Province. In the South African context both these issues need to be answered in the context of the transition from apartheid rule to democratic government

Report and policy brief from the 4th Africa Conference on social aspects of HIV/AIDS research: innovations in access to prevention, treatment and care in HIV/AIDS, Kisumu, Kenya, 29 April-3 May 2007

This report and policy brief summarises the key findings and suggested policy options that emerged from rapporteur reports of conference proceedings about the following themes: 1. Orphans and vulnerable children 2. Treatment 3. Prevention 4. Gender and male involvement 5. Male circumcision 6. People living with HIV/AIDS 7. Food and nutrition 8. Socio-economics 9. Politics/Policy

South African voter participation in elections: focus groups report 2008

Commissioned by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC

Quality of life, physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness in black African women: B-Healthy project

Purpose To study the associations between physical activity (PA), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in black African women from a low socioeconomic community in South Africa. Methods Black African women (n = 146) aged 35–75 years from a low socioeconomic community in South Africa participated in this study. We measured PA levels via ActiHeart® accelerometers, and CRF by measuring peak oxygen consumption (V̇O2 peak). HRQoL was assessed once with the SF-8 Health Survey (SF-8). Participants were classified into groups based on age, moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA), and V̇O2 peak. Logistic regressions were used to compare the odds of having total HRQoL component scores above reported norms across PA and fitness groups. Two multiple linear regression models were developed using physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) as response variables respectively. Results V̇O2 peak and MVPA varied considerably across the sample and declined with increasing age. Participants in higher quartiles of MVPA and CRF showed trends to higher PCS scores. For CRF these trends were statistically significant, and persisted after adjustment for age and other possible confounders (p = 0.036). PCS was significantly associated with age, relative V̇O2 peak, and income (all p < 0.05), while MCS was associated with income (p = 0.028). Conclusions CRF is the most significant predictor, together with age and income, on the PCS of the HRQoL among black African women. We recommend that when seeking improvements in HRQoL, interventions should focus on improving CRF, particularly V̇O2 peak

IEC voter participation survey report 2008

Commissioned by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Marc