Civil Society Space in Africa

If there is an event or a series of events that demonstrate the need to protect democracy and reclaim the space for civil society; it is none other than the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East. These have reaffirmed the crucial point in democratic and transitional studies; that is; that economic development without political and social progress is not sustainable. By all standards and indices, North Africa was always rated highly in terms of economic performance, yet simmering underneath was a revolution as a result of the closure of the public sphere. So when in 2011, popular uprisings spread like bushfire in that region, many in academia, media, civil society and governments were caught unprepared. Change came from unexpected circles, challenging assumed doctrines and theories associated with the functionality of organised formations

The Legislative Environment for Civil Society In Africa A Synthesis Report

This paper is therefore a discussion of the legislative environment under which civil society, in particular organized formations, operate in Africa. It is based on twelve African countries (Angola, DRC, Ethiopia, Liberia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe). In all these countries we studied civil/state relations, existing NGO laws and NGO policies, including other laws that have an impact on NGOs, national constitutions, processes and the general political economy of the third sector. The merging findings point to some interesting conclusions. More studies are underway in Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Swaziland. The findings from these will be integrated into the current paper. This paper is therefore work in progress -- nevertheless the countries studied already are significant to begin a discourse on state/civil society relations, public spaces, and the general legislative environment for citizens and their formations. One of the emerging findings is that the political context determined the emergence of these legal instruments

Are cash budgets a cure for excess fiscal deficits (and at what cost)?

This paper investigates the effect of recent reforms of budgetary institutions in Uganda and Zambia. We argue that cash budgeting has brought clear benefits in terms of improved expenditure control with regard to line ministries. However, contrary to what is often suggested, adoption of a cash budget has not provided a means for top politicians in either country to “tie their hands” with respect to intervention in fiscal policy decisions. In Uganda improved fiscal policy outcomes have, in fact, been achieved as a result of (and not in spite of) discretionary interventions by top politicians. In Zambia, a strict rule imposing a balanced budget on a monthly basis both ineffective as a commitment device and costly in terms of increased volatility of expenditures.

Symmetry Properties of Autonomous Integrating Factors

We study the symmetry properties of autonomous integrating factors from an algebraic point of view. The symmetries are delineated for the resulting integrals treated as equations and symmetries of the integrals treated as functions or configurational invariants. The succession of terms (pattern) is noted. The general pattern for the solution symmetries for equations in the simplest form of maximal order is given and the properties of the associated integrals resulting from this analysis are given.Comment: Published in SIGMA (Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications) at http://www.emis.de/journals/SIGMA

1998 fisheries statistics, Lake Kariba - Zimbabwe shore

The report contains data, statistics and information for both the pelagic and inshore fisheries of Lake Kariba for the year 1998. Time series data and notes for the 2 fisheries are included. The pelagic fishery exploits kapenta, the freshwater sardine Limnothrissa miodon, and is carried out all year round using light for attracting the fish. Two types of fishing vessel designs are in use (the pontoon-catamarans and the displacement monohulls) and the type of gear used is the lift net. The inshore fishery distinguishes the fishery that uses gillnets and exploits the indigenous Zambezi River fish species. This fishery is restricted to the lakeshore and uses 3 types of boats - the dugout canoe, fibreglass and metal boats

Livelihoods, Land and Political Economy: Reflections on Sam Moyo’s Research Methodology

This article focuses on the methodological lessons from Sam Moyo’s scholarship. Sam’s research is characterised by a combination of detailed empirical investigation, deep knowledge of the technical and practical aspects of agricultural production and farming livelihoods, and bigpicture political economy analysis and theory. Sam’s method is an insightful contemporary application of the method originally set out in Marx’s Grundrisse. Many contemporary explorations of agrarian political economy fail to sustain the important tension and dialectical debate, between diverse empirical realities and their ‘multiple determinations and relations’ and wider theorisation of the ‘concrete’ features of emergent processes of change. The implications of Sam’s methodological approach for the analysis of Zimbabwe’s land reform are discussed, especially in relation to the land occupations and the politics of agrarian reform since 2000

An evaluation of the “new history" phenomenon

An evaluation of the "New History" approach to the teaching of history as a subject on the educational curriculum.The purpose of this article was to evaluate the “New History” approach. This paper explores the argument that the new “New History" phenomenon was an attempt to rejuvenate an interest in History. The “New History”phenomenon was launched because of the fear that History was in danger as it faced possible extinction from the curriculum. Basically, the proponents of the phenomenon believed that History was in the intensive care unit and had lost popularity among stakeholders. Some of the comments given by scholars like Haydn, Arthur and Hunt (1997:25) were that History was, "... a desiccated and stultifying subject of dubious relevance and little clear purpose”. The study was purely qualitative. Curriculum document analysis, classroom observations, and in- depth interviews were used as data collection methods. The study revealed that the possibility of negative attitudes towards History by pupils is primarily due to the teacher centred methods used. It is recommended that the progressive teaching methods such as document study, research projects, role playing, field work, debates, interviews and discussions, which are pupil centred, should be used to stimulate pupils ’ interest in the subject