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The Policy Dilemmas of Pesticides Management and Disposal in Tanzania
Full text linkThe purpose of this paper is to systematically evaluate and analyze pesticides management and disposal in Tanzania employing a theoretical approach that emanates from current research on public policy implementation. This case demonstrates that the national and international context of public policy-making and inter-governmental agency cooperation and coordination are essential to understanding the current environmental situation in the country. Given the paucity of published, African case studies used in the theory-building process, this study also attempts to contribute to strengthening the empirical legitimacy and theoretical soundness of the comparative method of social scientific inquiry by including African realities in scholarly debates
Public Policy Making at the State Level in Nigeria: A Review of Contemporary Developments
Full text linkThis paper examines public policy making at the second tier level of government, namely the state, in Nigeria. It adopts a comparative approach by looking at the state of policy making under the current democratic government and the immediate past military regimes. Questionnaires were administered to some bureaucrats for this study. It found that personality of the individual leader and his perception of governance was a crucial variable in explaining the nature and pattern of public policy at the state level in the country. These factors were relevant regardless of the nature of government.
In addition, while the paper recognizes the differences in ambience of policy making under the military and democratic regimes, it argues, on the strength of empirical evidence, that the extent to which all relevant actors can meaningfully participate in the policy making process in a democratic era is a factor of the extent to which democratic and constitutional values are upheld. When these values are subverted, then policy making in a democratic setting becomes as vulnerable as policy making in a military era. In the Nigerian case, at the state level of policy-making, certain factors have tended to impede these values
Constitution Making Under Governments of National Unity: The Zimbabwean Case 2009-2013
Full text linkConstitutions are the bedrock of democratic governance in the contemporary world and any state claiming democratic credentials needs to base its claims on a good constitution and positive constitutionalism. In the period from 2009 to 2013, Zimbabwe was ruled by a negotiated Government of National Unity (GNU). The government, a result of inconclusive presidential elections in 2008 was tasked with writing a new constitution to take the country out of the crisis that it has undergone since the turn of the century. The GNU duly set upon this task and wrote the constitution which was passed by parliament in May 2013. Against this background, this paper seeks to analyze the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (COP AC) driven constitutional making process. Using a qualitative methodology based on participant observation and document analysis, the paper shows that the process was fraught with irregularities and ushered in a negotiated constitution in place of the initially touted people driven constitution. Thus, the paper intends to reveal the pitfalls of a negotiated constitution making process. The paper concludes that in a transitional period, people driven constitution making is at the least too ambitious and at the worst totally unfeasible
Schools, Those Uncertain Tools of Social Change: The Case of Morocco’s Female Graduates
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The Impact of Trade Liberalisation on Agricultural Productivity in South Africa: An Empirical Study
Full text linkThis study attempts to examine the empirical relationship between trade and total factor productivity (TFP) in the agricultural sector using both cross-sectional (across nine agricultural commodities) and time-series analysis. The ordinary least square (OLS) results from the cross-sectional analysis confirm that export shares and capital formation were found to be positive and significant, whereas import shares and real exchange rate were found to be related negatively. However, the net effect of export and import shares had a positive effect. This implies that trade liberalisation causes productivity gains. Moreover, the time-series analysis goes in the same direction as the cross-sectional results, showing that there is a robust relationship among TFP, degree of openness, and capital formation. Whereas debt was found to be inversely related, this implies that agricultural industries/farmers lack debt management skills
Beyond the ‘Berlin Conference/OAU Framework’: A Pan-African Analysis of Africa’s Security Crisis
Full text linkThe analysis of the security, civil-military relations, and governance crises in Africa generally takes for granted the post-colonial arrangement and uses the nation-state as the unit of analysis. Invariably, the prescriptions never go beyond the confines of what could be dubbed the Berlin Confcrence/OAU framework. The daunting security challenges Africa faces as the 21st century gets under way necessitate bold, off the beaten path analysis and solution that move beyond this framework and the restrictions of the antiquated principles and notions on which it is predicated: the sacrosanct national sovereignty and the national army as its symbol. In light of recent developments on the continent, a diagnosis and formula inspired by (too long overlooked) Pan-African principles and ideals can prove a valuable response to Africa\u27s security and stability woes. The insignificance of Africa\u27s national armies in the new world order\u27s strategic configuration, their glaring inadequacy to meet the (redefined) security needs of African peoples, as well as the potential benefits to be derived from a genuine Pan-African approach to security and political stability issues are unmistakable. Indeed such a democratic, supranational, regional solution is an indispensable first step toward the Pan-African economic integration called for insistently
CPA - New Sudan, Old Sudan or Two Sudan? A Review of the Implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
Full text linkOn 9 January 2005 the Sudan People\u27s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Government of Sudan (GoS) signed a peace agreement called the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended the conflict in southern Sudan that had been going on since 1983 and had resulted in at least 54 000 battle-related deaths. In total it is estimated that two million people have died during the war as a result of violence, famine and disease. The CPA was the final outcome of the so-called Machakos peace process which began in July 2002. Overall the implementation of this agreement is lacking in momentum. Some encouraging signs can be seen: a ceasefire that has held with just one major exception; the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to the South; an extensive redeployment of troops, the creation of a Government of National Unity (GoNU) and the instalment of the head of SPLM as First Vice President (FVP). However, other parts of the agreement have not been implemented: there is still no consensus on the contentious region of Abyei; several stipulated commissions have not yet been launched, and other commissions are not working properly. Another negative aspect is that despite wide redeployment of troops the first major deadline in the CPA was missed when the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) had not left the South by 9 July 2007 as stipulated in the agreement. The overall impression of the implementation process is negative and the foremost reason for this is the GoS\u27s lack of will and SPLM\u27s lack of capacity to properly implement the CPA
The Influence of Christianity and Islam on Educational Attainment in Africa: Using Literacy Rates as an Indicator
Full text linkThis is a quantitative research study using current data from the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Member States through its Institute for Statistics (UIS) annual data collection for the 57 countries in Africa. This study shows that a religious factor, i.e., Christianity and Islam, has a significant effect on the levels of educational attainment within each specific country in Africa. This study illustrates the need to consider the impact religion has on educational attainment in Africa