Reforming the Companies Act dispute resolution framework: a case for the establishment of a companies tribunal for Zambia

Companies play a very important role in the economy of any country. A country's economic growth and development depend largely on whether or not its regulatory environment is conducive for enterprises to thrive. In recognition of the important role companies and businesses generally play in an economy, several developing countries have, in recent years, been carrying out reforms intended to enhance the ease of doing business in their respective countries. Zambia has been no exception. Some of the issues that are widely accepted as having an influence on the ease of doing business include the cost and length of dispute resolution for businesses. Therefore, it is unsurprising that some reforms aimed at, among other things, expediting and lowering the cost of commercial dispute resolution have taken place in Zambia. For example, the commercial list of the High Court was established in 1999with a view to expediting the resolution of commercial disputes. However, the cost of commercial dispute resolution remains of concern. The dissertation explores the Zambian Companies Act dispute resolution framework in a bid to consider its standing vis-à-vis enhancing Zambia's competitiveness in so far as the ease of doing business is concerned. It posits that the Companies Act resolution framework does not help Zambia's quest to enhance the ease of doing business on the dispute resolution front because it is predominantly anchored on recourse to court. A comparative study of current trends in company law dispute resolution is undertaken, which reveals a shift from reliance on the courts as the predominant dispute resolution forum to tribunal based dispute resolution. The dissertation ultimately recommends the establishment of a Companies Tribunal for Zambia as a measure that would contribute to lowering the cost of commercial dispute resolution - at least in the context of the Companies Act - and enhancing the ease of doing business in Zambia

The perception of clean cookstove technologies in rural Swaziland

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2015.Over 60% of the Swazi population resides in rural areas and rely on woodfuel for their daily cooking needs. Cooking with woodfuel on open fires is inefficient and unhealthy, leading to millions of deaths of women and children each year while also contributing to environmental degradation. This has necessitated the implementation of Government’s clean cookstoves programme in Swaziland. This study focused on household stove users in six chiefdoms in the Lower Usuthu Sustainable Land Management (LUSLM) Project area in Siphofaneni Swaziland. A survey conducted through the dissemination of a questionnaire was used to investigate how rural perceptions impact on the adoption of clean cookstove technologies as an alternative household energy technology contributing towards sustainable development in rural Swaziland. Results from this study indicate that although cooking on an open fire was the least desired cooking technology, only 2% of households in the project area own clean cookstoves and less than half of the households had knowledge of cookstoves. The study further revealed that over 80% of the households in the survey area would prefer using a clean cookstoves to reduce the labour intensive task of collecting firewood as well as reducing exposure to smoke. The households found to have some knowledge of the benefits of clean cookstoves indicated the willingness to pay for a clean cookstove; however, a third of the respondents indicated a preference of obtaining a free clean cookstove. The price and availability of the clean cookstove in rural areas were two main barriers to increased uptake of the stoves, coupled with the need to purchase new pots. Despite the general lack of awareness of these technologies, challenges such as danger of the stoves to children and stove durability were also cited. The results indicate the need for the ongoing clean cookstove programme being implemented by the Government of Swaziland to improve on its strategy, to focus on incorporation of perceptions of rural stove users in development of appropriate cookstove designs, distribution models, and the design and implementation of a cookstove quality control programme

Evaluasi Penyusunan Laporan Penyelenggaraan Pemerintahan Daerah Di Bagian Tata Pemerintahan Sekretariat Daerah Kota Palembang

.This research was carried out in the Governance Section of the Regional Secretariat of Palembang City, this aims to determine the Evaluation of the Preparation of Regional Government Implementation Reports for Palembang City, South Sumatra Province. For the population and sample, the researchers took several officials and staff in the Governance Department as well as 3 (three) departments, namely the Trade Department, the Employment Service, and the Palembang City Education Service, totaling 8 respondents. The theory used to evaluate the CIPP evaluation model is by Daniel L. Stufflebeam. This research uses a descriptive method with a qualitative approach. The data used in this research are primary data and secondary data, data taken by distributing questionnaires to all 8 respondents by means of interviews. Qualitative data will be described using words or sentences separated according to categories to obtain conclusions. The research results show that in context evaluation, the preparation of the Palembang City LPPD is mandated by Law Number 23 of 2014 and is technically still regulated in PP Number 13 2019 regarding LPPD to the Government. Physical support in preparing the LPPD is contained in the guidelines for preparing the LPPD issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and includes technical guidance, facilitation and consultation activities

Generalized entropically damped artificial compressibility for weakly compressible SPH

This paper presents a formulation of a general form of an equation for pressure using thermodynamic principles. The motivation for this is in large part due to the need for a pressure equation for smoothed particle hydrodynamics, SPH, that takes into account the role of entropy. This is necessary because the use of physical and artificial viscosity leads to an increase in entropy. While such an increase in entropy in liquids may be negligibly small, standard SPH formulations treat a liquid as a weakly compressible gas. Consequently, for fluid–fluid and fluid–structure impact flows, the resulting increase in entropy is not negligible anymore. The proposed pressure equation contains diffusion terms whose main role is to smooth out unphysically large numerical oscillations in the pressure field related to the shock during an impact event. One consequence of adopting this numerical scheme, however, is that there are new (free) parameters that must be set. Nevertheless, effort has been made to obtain their plausible estimators from physical principles. The proposed model is also applicable outside the domain of SPH.journal articl

Estimating average inpatient and outpatient costs and childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea treatment costs in an urban health centre in Zambia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Millions of children die every year in developing countries, from preventable diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhoea, owing to low levels of investment in child health. Investment efforts are hampered by a general lack of adequate information that is necessary for priority setting in this sector. This paper measures the health system costs of providing inpatient and outpatient services, and also the costs associated with treating pneumonia and diarrhoea in under-five children at a health centre in Zambia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Annual economic and financial cost data were collected in 2005-2006. Data were summarized in a Microsoft excel spreadsheet to obtain total department costs and average disease treatment costs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The total annual cost of operating the health centre was US$1,731,661 of which US$1 284 306 and US$447,355 were patient care and overhead departments costs, respectively. The average cost of providing out-patient services was US$3 per visit, while the cost of in-patient treatment was US$18 per bed day. The cost of providing dental services was highest at US$20 per visit, and the cost of VCT services was lowest, with US$1 per visit. The cost per out-patient visit for under-five pneumonia was US$48, while the cost per bed day was US$215. The cost per outpatient visit attributed to under-five diarrhoea was US$26, and the cost per bed day was US$78.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In the face of insufficient data, a cost analysis exercise is a difficult but feasible undertaking. The study findings are useful and applicable in similar settings, and can be used in cost effectiveness analyses of health interventions.</p

Rationale of Establishing Public Accounts Committees: A Critical Review of Literature

According to the UK Parliament, “The Public Accounts Committee examines the value for money of Government projects, programmes, and service delivery. Drawing on the work of the National Audit Office the Committee holds government officials to account for the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of public spending.” Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide the background information on the creating of Public Accounts Committees (Parliament). The paper further attempts to cover issues relating to external audit and legislative scrutiny. The paradigm for the Public Accounts Committees is also covered in this article. In this article, a critical review of literature has been used as a methodology. The key literature reviewed is from Google Scholar and EbscoHost, Researchgate, and other scholarly databases. Further, websites for some Parliaments and associations for parliaments across the globe have been an invaluable source of information on this subject. From the literature that has been reviewed it can be concluded that both Public Accounts Committees (PACs) and Auditors General can help to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) or international capital investment to a country by providing assurances on the integrity of public sector finances, especially if challenges faced in building their capacity and performing their functions can be overcome. Keywords: Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Auditor General’s Office, Legislative Scrutiny DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/12-6-03 Publication date:August 31st 202

An Analysis of the Causes of Financial Irregularities in State-Owned Institutions in Zambia

The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of the frequency of being cited for financial irregularities. This cross-sectional study employed a self-administered standard structured questionnaire. One hundred and eight respondents comprising directors and deputy directors, heads of accounting, budget and audit units. The findings are that sixty-four (59.3%) of the participants indicated that there institutions were cited frequently for financial irregularities as compared to n = 44 (40.7%) being cited always. There was, however, no statistically significant association between type of institution and the frequency of being cited for financial irregularities (Pearson Chi-Square obs = 0.917; df = 2        and p = 0.632). The Parliamentary Accounts Committee and the Institutional Audit Risk Committees did not perform oversight functions as the composite scores were below the thresholds. The causes of financial irregularities in State Owned Institutions and ministries show two of the predictor variables (a) Audit and Risk Committee and (b) The Parliamentary Accounts Committee have an effect on the institutions being cited for financial irregularities. However, the findings point to the fact that ongoing budget performance monitoring during the fiscal year (of a living and executed budget) in the public sector in these institutions should be done. It is concluded that the findings point to the fact that negative reports by the Auditor General are due to The Parliamentary Accounts Committee and the Board’s Audit and Risk Committee inability to undertake oversight functions. The findings may contribute to the further study of causes of financial irregularities in state owned institutions in Zambia and serve as a reference for policy makers and institutional managers in mitigating financial irregularities and reduce the frequency of being cited for financial irregularities. Keywords: Oversight, Financial Irregularities, State Owned Institutions, Zambia DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/123-01 Publication date:August 31st 202

Parliamentary Oversight: A Critical Review of Literature

The main of this paper is to define what is meant by ‘legislative’ or parliamentary oversight. The other objective is to assess the role of the Legislature in the Budget Ex Post. The Objectives, tools, and mechanisms of parliamentary oversight shall be discussed. The review of the literature was used as a methodology in this paper. The review found that there are various definitions of parliamentary oversight The Portal for Parliamentary Development was a great source of literature that was reviewed and analyzed in this study. It was reviewed that different scholars define parliamentary oversight differently. Not all definitions capture all the key roles of parliamentary oversight. paper reviews several scholarly articles that provides various definitions of parliamentary oversight. Furthermore, it is revealed that government reporting and legislative scrutiny of public accounts is more common in parliamentary and semi-presidential systems than in presidential systems; even so, 84 percent of legislatures in presidential systems analyze financial reports from the government. From the literature reviewed, it has been concluded that the robust monitoring of the executive by the parliament is an indicator of good governance. Besides the parliament’s legislative function, it is through oversight that the parliament can ensure a balance of power and assert its role as the defender of the people’s interests. Keywords: Parliamentary Oversight; Legislative Oversight; Public Accounts Committee DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/12-6-01 Publication date:August 31st 202