Factors influencing sustainability of communally-managed waterfacilities in rural areas of Zimbabwe

Sustainability of point water facilities is a major development challenge in many rural settings ofdeveloping countries not sparing those in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. This study was done inZimbabwe to investigate the factors influencing sustainability of rural water supply systems. A total of399 water points were studied in Nyanga, Chivi and Gwanda districts. Data was collected using aquestionnaire, observation checklist and key informant interview guide. Multi-Criteria analysis was usedto assess the sustainability of water points and inferential statistical analysis such as Chi square tests andAnalysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to determine if there were significant differences on selectedvariables across districts and types of lifting devices used in the study area. The thematic approach wasused to analyze qualitative data. Results show that most water points were not functional and only 17%across the districts were found to be sustainable. A fusion of social, technical,financial, environmentaland institutional factors was found to be influencing sustainability. On technical factors the ANOVAresults show that the type of lifting devicefitted at a water point significantly influences sustainability(F¼37.4, p<0.01). Availability of spare parts at community level was found to be determining thedowntime period of different lifting devices in the studied wards. Absence of user committees was foundto be central in influencing sustainability as water points that did not have user committees were notsustainable and most of them were not functional during the time of the survey

Traditional authorities in African cities: setting the scene

This special issue on the role of traditional authorities in African cities highlights critical debates about governance and urban development on a fast-urbanising continent. The six articles in this issue focus on the following: (1) the roles of traditional authorities as custodians of the values of society; (2) the roles of traditional leaders as moral authorities; (3) the modern chieftaincy as an invention of the colonial state; (4) the ‘unrelenting co-optation and appropriation’ of traditional governance structures by the state; and (5) the stretching of pre-colonial narratives to justify the legitimacy of traditional leadership and its control of community resources. The special issue features contributions from Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ghana, South Africa, Botswana and Eswatini, providing a rare comparison between cases from Southern and West Africa

Farming the city: The broken promise of urban agriculture

Urban population growth is extremely rapid across Africa and this book places urban food and nutrition security firmly on the development and policy agenda. It shows that current efforts to address food poverty in Africa that focus entirely on small-scale farmers, to the exclusion of broader socio-economic and infrastructural approaches, are misplaced and will remain largely ineffective in ameliorating food and nutrition insecurity for the majority of Africans. Using original data from the African Food Security Urban Network’s (AFSUN) extensive database it is demonstrated that the primary food security challenge for urban households is access to food. Already linked into global food systems and value chains, Africa’s supply of food is not necessarily in jeopardy. Rather, the widespread poverty and informal urban fabric that characterizes Africa’s emerging cities impinge directly on households’ capacity to access food that is readily available

Food for the urban poor: safety nets and food-based social protection in Manzini, Swaziland

This paper aims to contribute to the urban food security debate by exploring the role of informal safety nets and formal food-based social protection in addressing food insecurity challenges facing low-income urban households in Manzini. The empirical data used in this paper came from two surveys: the first involved 500 households and was undertaken in three low-income areas of Manzini. The second involved a series of in-depth interviews with senior staff at supermarkets and spaza shops. The results reveal that food security challenges are considerable in the low-income areas of Manzini and that, at the same time, various forms of community and intra-household food sharing are an important food source for a minority of poor households in the city. In this regard, the national government needs to consider strengthening food-based social safety net programmes that assist poor and vulnerable groups.International Bibliography of Social Science