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An investigation into factors influencing procurement performance in Zambian councils : a case study of Luanshya municipal council.
Get PDFThesis of Master of Business Administration.The main aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing procurement performance within Luanshya Municipal Council, located in the Copperbelt region of Zambia. To achieve this aim, the research had several objectives, including analysing the relationship between procurement planning and performance, assessing the impacts of political interference on procurement outcomes, and examining the tendering process's effects on overall procurement performance. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews to gather comprehensive data. The sample size consisted of 41 respondents, comprising staff members from various departments within the municipal council. Participants were selected based on their involvement in procurement-related activities and their willingness to participate in the study. Findings from the research highlight significant correlations between factors such as the tendering process, information technology utilization, and political interference with procurement performance. Additionally, the study identifies areas for improvement and offers recommendations aimed at
enhancing procurement practices at Luanshya Municipal Council, including strengthening procurement planning processes, mitigating political influences, and leveraging technology for better procurement outcomes. Overall, the study contributes valuable insights to the understanding of
procurement dynamics in Zambian municipal councils and provides actionable recommendations for improving procurement performance in the public sector
An evaluation of catch up programme at Mazabuka primary school, Mazabuka district, Zambia.
Get PDFThesis of Master of Education in Applied Linguistics.This study evaluated the efficacy of the Catch-Up remedial teaching programme in improving learners’ reading performance in Chitonga at Mazabuka primary school in Mazabuka district, Zambia. The research’s objectives were to; assess the teachers’ understanding of the Catch-Up programme, describe the teachers and learners’ experiences regarding remedial teaching/learning, evaluate the efficacy of Catch-Up remedial teaching in improving learners’
reading performance, and establish the challenges teachers were facing in implementing remedial teaching at Mazabuka primary school.
This research was a single case study. Qualitative methods of data collection were used. The study engaged 29 participants who were purposively selected. Moreover, Mazabuka primary school was purposively selected because it is one of the schools that implements the Catch-Up remedial teaching programme in Zambia. The data collected through focus group discussions, interviews, and lesson observation was categorised and emerging themes were analysed by the
researcher.
The findings revealed that the number of learners who advanced to story level, the highest level in literacy remediation of the Catch-Up programme at Mazabuka primary school increased from 129 (baseline) to 199 (endline). It was also revealed that most of the teachers with appropriate training in Catch-Up had a general understanding of what remedial teaching was all about.
Furthermore, most of the teachers and learners emphasised that remedial lessons were intellectually enriching experiences to them. Additionally, it was revealed that remedial teachers faced certain challenges in implementing remedial teaching. Some of the challenges mentioned included lack of trained human resource and timetabling of remedial lessons. The study among others recommends the training for both in-service and student teachers in
remedial teaching. The study also recommends the motivation and counselling of learners on the significance of remedial lessons. These recommendations can help mitigate some of the challenges faced in implementing Catch-Up such as; lack of trained human resource, and
negative attitude towards the programme
Methods used in training microcredit borrowers by microfinance companies: a case of valueland financial solutions and investments in Lusaka district.
Get PDFThesis of Masters of Education in Adult EducationMicrocredit Institutions aim at providing financial services in limited amounts to low-income persons and small informal businesses in order to empower the citizenry and contribute to poverty alleviation. These institutions also provide training to microcredit borrowers. However, despite the training availed, there is a high dropout rate of borrowers from the same institutions. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore methods of training used in imparting knowledge and skills to microcredit borrowers of Valueland Financial Solutions and Investments in Lusaka district. The objectives of the study were to explore the appropriateness of the methods of teaching used in training, and to examine the factors that influence the methods of teaching used. This research used a qualitative research approach and a case study design. Interview guides, (one for trainers and the other for trainees), document review and an observation checklist were used to collect data. The population comprised 5 trainers and 100 trainees. The total sample was 105. Interviews were held with all the 5 trainers. In the 5 classes comprising 20 trainees each, 5 trainees were purposely selected from each of the classes and interviewed. All the 5 classes were observed using an observation checklist. The data collected was analysed by identification of emerging themes. The findings of the study showed that the trainers used lecture, discussion and demonstration methods to train the microcredit borrowers. Of all the three methods of teaching lecture method
was dominant. However, despite lecture method being used with the assistance of power point, it was perceived to have less influence on the learning process of trainees. All the interviewed trainees stated that lecture method failed to provide them with an understanding of what was being taught most of the time. It was established that the microcredit borrowers preferred discussion and demonstration methods of teaching. These methods of teaching were perceived
to have more positive influence on the learning process of trainees than the lecture method, as seen by learners taking centre stage in their learning. The study findings also revealed that the main determinant of the choice of method of teaching was the time to be saved when that particular method of teaching was used, so that other engagements could be fulfilled like debt collection and field monitoring. The study recommended that Valueland Financial Solutions and Investments should facilitate training of its current trainers in teaching methods suited for adults and must deliberately include adult education teaching methods as one of the requirement those wishing to be trainers must possess. It should also have distinct days in a week for training only, and days
for monitoring, debt collection and recruitment to allow ample time for training. This would ensure trainers use methods that promote exploration, creation, reflection, collaboration, connecting and sharing in order to enable trainees make meaning of the various information presented to them and hence avoid dropouts. Apart from loan management, Valueland Financial Solutions and Investment should include numeracy and book-keeping on its training
programme. This would enable borrowers manage their businesses properly and help to wean them off successfull
Awareness of child protection among children in selected schools in Munali constituency Lusaka.
Get PDFMaster of Arts Degree in Development StudiesThis study aimed at assessing children’s level of awareness on child protection in Munali Constituency. The objectives that guided the study were: to examine the knowledge children in Munali Constituency have on child protection; to explore sources of knowledge on child protection among children in Munali Constituency and to establish the [in]adequacy of knowledge on child protection among children in Munali Constituency.
This study was anchored by positivism and interpretivism, a mixed methods approach was used to help the research findings be meaningfully explained. The sample size for the total population was 328 using probability sampling. 34 (30 pupils and 4 key informants) participants were selected using non-probability sampling from Kalingalinga, Chakunkula and Chamba Valley Primary School’s. Data was collected using questionnaires, a focus group discussion guide and interview guides.
The main findings of this study was that the levels of awareness of child protection among children in the selected schools in Munali Constituency was low. Children had little knowledge on child protection and had no idea how to protect themselves from abuse. Children who heard about child protection mentioned that they heard about it from school which was the highest source of knowledge mentioned at 31.1%. Majority of the children admitted that they were only hearing about it and what it encompasses the day of the data collection. 82.32% mentioned that they needed to learn more on child protection because the knowledge they had on child protection was inadequate.
The study concluded that the lack of proper in-depth information on child protection as well as safe spaces to report cases of abuse are the major explanations for the low levels of awareness in Munali Constituency. The study suggested that children need undergo extensive education of children’s rights in protecting themselves and improving awareness. There is also need to provide proper and safe channels for children to be able to report any abuse without fear.
Keywords: Child Protection, Children, Abus
Effectiveness of the Lusaka stock exchange alternative- marketing in capital finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Zambia.
Get PDFThesis of Master of Business Administration - Financ
The relationship between training and performance of academic members of staff in institutions of higher learning: a case of National Institute of Public Administration.
Get PDFThesisHigher Education Authority (HEA) is mandated to coordinate the development of higher education in Zambia and promote quality assurance in the sector. It is a requirement under this Act that institutions of higher learning such as NIPA must have well qualified and experienced academic members of staff to teach, research and engage in community service (Republic of Zambia, 2013). In an attempt to comply with the requirements of Higher Education Act, NIPA started to encourage its academic members of staff to upgrade their qualifications in line with the HEA requirements. The general objective of this research is to examine the relationship between training and employee performance of academic members in institutions of higher learning, a case of National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA). The research adopted a mixed methods approach, involving both qualitative and quantitative methods. A sample of 106 was engaged, comprising six key informants and 100 students pursuing diploma programmes. Interview guides and questionnaires were used to collect data. Narrative analysis was used to analyse qualitative data while SPSS was used to analyse quantitative data.
First, the findings suggest that there is a positive relationship between training and the ability of lecturers to communicate the content of the subject well, provide students with opportunities to ask questions, make the subject interesting, treat students with respect and allocate marks fairly. However, the evidence also shows that there is a negative relationship between training and teaching such as lecturers missing lectures during scheduled sessions, not being available to attend to students during office hours, not encouraging students to work hard and not having the best interactions with students.
Second, the findings show that there is a positive relationship between training and the ability of supervisors of students’ research papers to give guidance on topic phrasing, guide students on literature review, guide students on writing of research methodology, guide students on developing research instruments, give guidance on data analysis and knowledge of the supervisor regarding the issues being researched on by students. The research recommends that in order to improve the training and performance of academic members of staff, NIPA should invest more in the training of academic members of staff in order to enhance their ability to teach and supervise students’ research papers
Development of a prediction model for tax assessments using data mining and machine learning tools.
Get PDFThesis of Masters of Science in Computer ScienceA nation's economic development still depends heavily on its tax system. The tax administrations in Zambia much like many other countries face many difficulties in the tax collection process, with inadequate compliance being the main one. Therefore, in order to fix the issues and improve total collection, it is critical to be able to identify revenue leakages as much as feasible. In this study, we examined Zambia's tax audit and assessment procedure, which looks for income leaks brought on by fraudulent activity, understated assets, and declaration errors. It is crucial to carefully distinguish cases that are likely to result in smaller, insignificant revenue collection from those that yield significant revenue in comparison with the limited resources used to perform audits and assessments because of the large volumes of audit cases generated by audit selection methods, some of which yield very little collections after the audits. In order to identify the audit and evaluation choices that are most likely to result in a noticeably large revenue collection from these leakages, we created a machine-learning model employing supervised learning. Using the Random Forest technique, we created a prediction model that yielded a 91% ROC curve evaluation. The experiments' outcomes demonstrated that the prediction model created was able to accurately distinguish high value assessment cases for audit from the rest of the cases. This prediction model will help focus the auditing resources in areas that will yield the most revenue and ultimately assist the revenue authority in efficiently raising the nation's tax collections.
Keywords: Compliance, Audit, Assessment, Machine Learning, Ta
Unearthing elements associated with electoral violence in Kanyama constituency of Lusaka district, Zambia.
No full textArticleThis study explored elements associated with electoral violence in Kanyama Constituency of Lusaka District, Zambia. The study rids on case study design which was employed on a targeted population that comprised 28 participants. The data were generated through interviews and document review. The main findings of this research were that electoral violence was associated with low socio-economic status, hunger for power, political immaturity and cadreism, selectivity in the application of the law by the law enforcement agencies, low education background and ethnicity. Further, the study found that high population density coupled with bad road network was difficult to police during election period. Therefore, this study concludes that electoral violence impacts the electoral process negatively as electorates are subjected to exercise their political rights under hostile conditions. Thus, among others, it is recommended that the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development should speed up the process of creation and enhancing of youth skills training centers so as to help them acquire necessary surviving skills in lower income Constituencies as youths were cited to be perpetrators of violence due to them being exposed to poverty and high levels of unemployment
Lending rates and demand for credit by borrowers from the agricultural and manufacturing sectors in Zambia.
Get PDFDegree of Master of Arts in EconomicsCredit markets play an important role in facilitating economic growth and development of countries. Zambia’s Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP) for 2017-2021 identified the agriculture and manufacturing sectors as essential to facilitate the attainment of Zambia’s development agenda by 2030. The overall objective of this study was to examine the impact of lending rates on loan demand from different key economic sectors in Zambia, with a focus on the manufacturing and agriculture sectors. The study utilised quarterly time series data from the Bank of Zambia (BOZ) for 2012 to 2021. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, the study found a negative and significant relationship between credit demanded by the agricultural sector. Furthermore, the study found no significant relationship between lending rates and the credit demand by the manufacturing sector. Based on the findings, the study recommends policy reforms that would increase domestic credit to the private sector which would stir up investment in the manufacturing sector, which remains low, as well as promote more investment in the agriculture sector. The study further recommends that BOZ ensures stability of the lending rate in the financial sector which would make investment in these two key sectors predictable.
Keywords: Agriculture sector, Manufacturing sector, Autoregressive distributed lag, lending rates, Credit demand
Increasing early infant male circumcision uptake in Zambia: like father like son.
No full textArticleVoluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) is an effective strategy for HIV prevention in areas with high prevalence of, and risk for, HIV. More than 361,000 male neonates are born each year in Zambia, many of whom could be eligible for Early-Infant Medical Circumcision (EIMC). Building on successful implementation strategies utilized in our Spear & Shield program, this pilot study, “Like Father, Like Son” (LFLS), evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of offering combined EIMC and VMMC services and couple-level behavioral interventions. A total of N = 702 pregnant women and their male partners (n = 351 couples) were recruited and enrolled. Couples were assessed twice pre-birth, 2 weeks post birth, and 6 months post birth. Expectant mothers were an average of 15.05 weeks pregnant (SD = 8.83). Thirty-nine pregnancies did not result in a live birth (11%), 14 couples withdrew from the study or were lost to follow-up prior to delivery (4%), and 148 babies were born female (42%), leaving 150 couples with a male infant in the analytic sample (43%). The LFLS study achieved significantly higher EIMC rates (35%) in comparison with previously observed EIMC study rates in Zambia (11%), and significantly higher than hypothetical comparison rates up to 30%. Relative to baseline rates, odds of VMMC among couples’ older sons increased by 31% at post-intervention and by 90% at two-weeks following birth. Overall, this pilot study found the LFLS intervention to be feasible, acceptable, and effective in doubling the rate of EIMC in comparison with a previous longitudinal study in Zambia. Future research should consider a family-centric approach to promotion of male circumcision for infants and adolescents. LFLS may be effective in promoting father-son “bonding” by MC status; a bond that may be a bridge to increase both EIMC and VMMC uptake in newborns and couples’ older sons and is a novel leverage point for promotion of this HIV prevention strategy