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Marange diamonds autopsy: investigating the Anjin deal between Chinese capital and the political military elite of Zimbabwe, plus the distribution of rents
Get PDFThe study investigates the nature of deals between Chinese capital and the political-military elite in Zimbabwe, specifically exploring whether these interactions produce developmental outcomes or if they lean towards predatory practices. Using a case study of the Marange diamond fields, the Analytic Narratives and Process Tracing research methodology is applied to track the Anjin Limited deal in Marange from its inception till date. What is the nature of the deal involving Chinese diamond mining capital and the political-military elite in Zimbabwe, and how are the rents distributed? This paper argues that the Anjin deal is a high barrier arrangement that limits rents from flowing to local communities and national development. Access to this deal is only available to those with political connections and the political-military elite of Zimbabwe. The evidence supporting this argument is derived from the conspicuous absence of standard tender processes in the selection of Anjin. Further, it can be observed that due diligence processes are circumvented in favour of political connections and relationship with Zimbabwe's securocrats. Anjin's corporate strategy is seen to be extraction driven due to predatory engagement with political leadership. Consequently, the deal can be characterised as collusive and rent seeking, contributing very little to transformation, and the realisation of Zimbabwe's Vision 2030
An assessment of the utilisation of stokvels or rotating savings and credit associations to influence healthy eating in South Africa
Get PDFBackground In South Africa, the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is rising alarmingly, closely linked to dietary habits shaped by socioeconomic conditions. Stokvels, traditional community-based savings groups, emerge as potential catalysts for nutritional intervention, particularly among urban populations facing the dual challenges of undernutrition and obesity. This extensive study delves into the roles of stokvels in improving food security, promoting health, and empowering women within the urban landscapes of sub-Saharan Africa. Methods The research utilized a mixed-method approach to investigate the role of stokvels in urban sub-Saharan Africa comprehensively. Firstly, a systematic literature review was conducted, meticulously analyzing 28 studies that delved into the socio-economic impacts of ROSCAs and ASCAs, providing a foundational understanding of the role of stokvels in the region. This was complemented by stakeholder mapping, where indepth interviews with 21 key stakeholders were conducted to identify the macro-level influencers on stokvel operations. These influencers included government policies, economic conditions, cultural norms, and technological advancements, offering a nuanced view of the external factors impacting stokvel functionality. Further, the research employed a realist evaluation, involving 60 participants, including 20 stokvel leaders and 40 general members. This qualitative approach facilitated an understanding of the contextual factors influencing decision-making within stokvels, particularly concerning food purchasing and consumption patterns. Lastly, the study incorporated a discrete choice experiment (DCE), engaging 200 stokvel members. This quantitative method assessed the factors impacting members' preferences for healthy foods, analyzing their choices against various attributes related to food procurement and consumption. Results The study's results presented a multi-dimensional understanding of stokvels' influence. The systematic literature review highlighted stokvels as catalysts for disciplined savings and financial literacy, indirectly contributing to improved nutritional choices and food security. The stakeholder mapping revealed that stokvel operations are significantly influenced by external factors such as government policies, economic conditions, cultural norms, and technological advancements, which shape their efficacy in achieving financial and health-related goals. The realist evaluation provided deep insights into how grocery stokvels shape food purchasing decisions. It was found that these stokvels often employ bulk buying strategies, which ensure food security and affordability for their members. This approach reflects the stokvels' emphasis on strategic, collective decisionmaking that prioritizes the welfare of all members. Lastly, the discrete choice experiment highlighted members' preferences regarding healthy food options. The study revealed a preference for cost-effective shopping options like "two-for-one" offers. It also underscored the significant role of household decision-makers in influencing food choices, showing a complex interplay between socio-economic status, cultural norms, and individual preferences in dietary habits. This aspect of the study offered valuable insights into the behavioural economics of food choice within the context of stokvels. Conclusion The comprehensive analysis concludes that stokvels are vital components of the urban food systems in sub-Saharan Africa. They significantly impact women's health and economic empowerment by influencing healthier eating habits and facilitating community engagement in health promotion. However, the effectiveness of stokvels is subject to various challenges, including economic constraints and the need for supportive infrastructural and policy frameworks. Recommendations To enhance the positive impact of stokvels, it is recommended that government policies should provide more robust support and integration of these groups into the formal economic framework. Health promotion strategies need to incorporate stokvels as platforms for disseminating nutritional education and influencing food choices. Future research should extend to other African nations, exploring the varied impacts of stokvels in different cultural and economic contexts to develop comprehensive, culturally sensitive, and region-specific health and nutritional interventions
Isitya esihle (asidleli)
Get PDFThis fine art project looks at my life story through exploring memories of growing up in Grabouw, a rural apple farming community outside of Cape Town. This community is marginalized due to socio-economic circumstances as a legacy of apartheid. I argue that autobiography has mostly been associated with written text, but the memoir and story of someone's life can also be told visually using visual imagery. I take the stance that autobiography is a tool in which my story - and that of my parents and community โ connect and do this by drawing on objects and materials that are specific to my memories of growing up in the area. I unpack my life story through the family photo album. I elaborate on the absence of family photographs and how this has enabled me to find imaginative ways of retelling my past. I expand on how the community has mostly been represented, through journalistic reports, often presenting people in vulnerable and tragic positions. I state that my desire is for the community not to be presented in such ways, as it further perpetuates negative stereotypes about workers, and takes away their agency. I write about my mother who was a farm worker, her friend, and some of our neighbours who still live in the area and retell parts of their stories in imaginative and performative ways in the photographic studio, mining memories of my childhood. I describe some aspects of the artwork, such as photographs, installation, video, and books, elaborating on the narrative and themes behind them and their significance to me and the people involved in the project. I use the blue workers overalls prominently throughout the project, which are worn on the farm and are a marker of a person's social class. The overall aim of this project is to represent the community in a way that dignifies them. I am using art as an expressive tool to talk about pertinent issues. I aim, through this artwork, to bring awareness about the lived experiences of the Grabouw community, to shift mindsets about how the farming community and marginalized people are seen in broader society. This document is presented from a story-telling perspective and often incorporates everyday isiXhosa words to connect the project to a personal experience
Ethnic and political dynamics of poverty, employment, and wages in Kenya
Get PDFThe association of ethno-political bias and economic development outcomes remains central to policy considerations in most African countries, especially in the sub-Saharan region. Perceptions and realities of ethnic and political favoritism in wellbeing have been a major cause of ethnic conflicts, erosion of civic participation, and the undermining of an inclusive national identity and other aspects of social cohesion in Kenya. In turn, this has more broadly affected her socio-political and economic stability adversely. Although it is widely accepted that observed economic wellbeing differentials can be attributed to a myriad of factors spanning geographical climate, economic factors, socio-cultural, and colonial historical impacts, it has been argued equally that the observed disparities in Kenya might have been shaped by the continued entrenchment of discriminatory policies by the successive post-independence regimes. The general perception is that political leaders, particularly those in the executive arm of the government, have tended to manipulate resource distribution in favor of their ethnic groups and/or counties, and this has been enabled by the spatial concentration of the ethnic groups across spatial units in a nonrandom manner. These claims of ethnic and political favoritism, however, largely only abound as anecdotes as prior work in this field remains inadequate. A few pieces of evidence contend that there exists a consistent systematic bias in favor of ethnic groups and Presidents' regions. This thesis corroborates this anecdotal evidence by means of empirical investigation. The thesis seeks to identify the underpinnings of the relationship between ethnopolitics and resource distribution in Kenya. We do this by mapping ethnically based resource allocation over time in Kenya, from the 1990s through to the present, in three interrelated but independent papers: (1) Characterize the trends and patterns of multidimensional poverty levels; (2) Examine the relationship between coethnicity with the President and poverty levels and establish whether governance reforms in the post-2010 period has reduced the ethnic bias in resource distribution, and (3) Investigate the role played by ethnicity and the political regime in power at the time of entry into the labour market on present-day employment and earnings. Essentially, the thesis seeks to identify empirically the political underpinnings of poverty levels and the labor market over time. We introduce the thesis in chapter one, proving the background and motivation for the thesis. In chapter two, we derive reasonably comparable datasets from interrelated independent large surveys; three rounds of 10% samples of the Kenya Population and Housing Censuses (1999, 2009 and 2019) and the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Surveys (KIHBS) 2016, and construct some of the key variables. This chapter pays special attention to the imputation of ethnic identity when explicit individual-level measures are absent. The ethnicity variable is not explicitly in some of the datasets. This discussion lays out the primary independent variable, ethnicity, in the later analyses. Chapter three discusses the elements and construction of the primary outcomes of interest โ a multidimensional poverty measure. The chapter provides some descriptive and visual evidence of a positive correlation between Kikuyu ethnic identity and poverty measures as well as simple correlations between poverty measures and county-type. We construct the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) (from three domains: education, dwelling conditions, and access to key basic amenities-tap water, electricity, clean cooking fuel) and characterize its distributional patterns between 1999-2019. From the pseudo panel dataset of counties constructed, we can observe poverty experience over time and examine the extent to which poverty is sustained in specific regions. The following findings emerge from this chapter: poverty experience in Kenya is persistent rather than static, for most counties. We find a high degree of persistence of poverty status of counties: 82% of counties that were the least poor in 1999 have remained the least poor in 2019; 56% of those that were moderately poor in 1999 are still moderately poor in 2019, while 66% have remained trapped in poverty, being the poorest between 1999 and 2019. While counties in the Mount Kenya region have simultaneously exhibited the lowest poverty levels and best improvement in poverty reduction, counties in the Western have remained moderately poor or moved to the bottom of the poverty distribution. Notably, counties in Northern Kenya have remained โtrappedโ in poverty at the tail end of the distribution as the poorest over the 25-year period. Although poverty has declined gradually over time (the poverty rate dropped from 48.5% in 1999 to 42.5% in 2019), the cross-country disparities in poverty outcomes have persisted, exacerbating the inequality situation that already exists. Our results also reveal contemporaneous clustering of poor counties with specific ethnic groups. Counties that have the highest share of President's coethnics are the least poor and have the greatest reduction in poverty levels over time. Counties, where the Kikuyu tribe are the majority (Central Kenya and lower Eastern Kenya), have consistently simultaneously exhibited the lowest poverty levels and the most significant reduction in poverty over time. On the contrary, the inhabitants of Western Kenya (the Luo and the Luhya tribes) have remained moderately poor and the Northern Frontier Districts have stayed โtrappedโ in poverty (mostly the Kenyan Somali). The key contribution of this chapter is its consideration of the dynamic poverty phenomenon, as opposed to the transient nature where poverty is experienced only at a specific point in time. Chapter four attempts to deepen the institutional/governance mechanism discussed in chapter one, locating the source of these inequalities in politics using regression-based analysis. The main objective of this chapter is to investigate the drivers of poverty at the household level and county level, and the effect of a change of governance structure on the distribution of poverty across counties, and whether this transition has effectively redressed the ethnic-identity-based resource allocation problem that has bedeviled the country for a long time. We profile trends and patterns of material well-being in Kenya and decompose the county poverty gaps. We find suggestive evidence that coethnicity with the president matters for household poverty outcomes. Our estimation results show that the key drivers of household poverty are the ethnicity status of the household head, the level of education, engagement in gainful employment, location of the household, gender of the household head and the number of household members. The estimations reveal that being coethnic with the incumbent President is contemporaneously associated with a lower likelihood of being poor, and much more, staying coethnic major counties confers additional benefits to the coethnic households. More importantly, the result points to the fact that even though ethnic inequalities may exist at the individual level, they could be overridden by regional redistribution. The spatial dimension of poverty imbalances seems stronger than the ethnic dimension. A household is able to gain more welfare if they moved to other regions where presumably more resources are being channelled. The implication of this finding could be that removing barriers to movement of people, or rather, strengthening social cohesion amongst communities could help reduce the ethnic inequalities, thereby improving the overall welfare. Decomposition of the poverty gap reveals that the significant differences in poverty levels between coethnic majority counties and non-coethnic majority counties that cannot be solely attributed to differences in county characteristics which hints at potential โdiscriminationโ or โfavoritismโ that benefits president's coethnics and regions where they are a majority. A significant portion of the poverty differences therefore remains unexplained. Further analyses suggest that despite the implementation of devolution, the importance of patronage networks continues to be witnessed, implying that character of ethnic patronage politics persists. We find no doubt that president's regions disproportionately benefit from public goods and services. The Kikuyu dominant counties more especially on average have substantially lower poverty levels, higher access to employment opportunities, better road networks, high school quality, adequate health infrastructure, proper water distribution and connection to electricity (resources which are largely publicly provided) although the reasons for such disproportionate allocations remain unclear. Although we are unable to estimate whether local politicians also influence the distribution of these resources, nor whether the outcomes would be different in politically contested areas, our evidence largely suggests that institutional reforms, through devolution in this case, has not effectively reduced practice of ethnic favoritism in the distribution of public goods. Instead, the patterns are more likely to be consistent with clientelist public investment behaviors motivated by national presidential election outcomes. The final empirical chapter of the thesis, chapter five, extends these bias-related concerns to a new arena โ the general labor market โ examining differences in labor market outcomes as a function of coethnicity before and after the new dispensation in 2010. We estimate the coethnic effects, and the regime of entry effects in the labour market outcomes-wages and employment; whether sharing the same ethnicity as the President today, or indeed, sharing ethnicity with the incumbent President when one was first eligible to enter the labor force, matters for contemporaneous employment and earnings. Due to the richness of data, most of the analyses in this chapter are primarily based on KIHBS 2015 data. However, evidence from the other datasets is also presented. We utilize the quasi-experimental technique; the regression discontinuity and probability score matching in these analyses. Our results reveal evidence of coethnic biases in different sectors and types of employment across both earnings and employment in the general labour market. Overall, we find that when Kalenjins are in power in 1999, they have higher chances of getting wage employment relative to non-Kalenjins. The same pattern is observed for the Kikuyu in 2009, and 2019, when they control the presidency. This finding suggests that coethnic biases continue to matter in the labour market, even in the post devolution, even though the magnitude has dampened. The coethnicity status at the regime of first entry into the labour market plays a significant role in today's employment and earnings. Sharing the same ethnicity with the ruling elite at the time one enters the labour market is associated with significantly higher employment probabilities today. While the coethnic effects especially for access to paid job seem manifest at the time of entry into the labour market, these effects dampen for the coethnics who have stayed longer in the job market. The recent coethnic cohorts seem to have higher employment probabilities than the earlier regime entrants. Hence, the biggest coethnic differentials are therefore pronounced at the time of entry but do not persist for long. This chapter also finds that the coethnic effects of employment are prevalent both in the private sector and the public sector. Different from earlier studies that do not find pronounced ethnic biases in employment in the Kenyan public sector, our findings reveal the existence of such biases across all regimes of entry. Our findings are consistent with the evidence from the administrative datasets derived from the audit of parastatals in Kenya, that find oversubscription of certain ethnic groups. We find results indicative of this evidence using the household survey dataset. Chapter Six of the thesis provides a summary of the thesis findings, policy implications and document areas for further research, highlighting the main findings and suggested policy implications and recommendations from the thesis. In conclusion this thesis has elucidated the pronounced tendencies of ethnic imbalances and their relationships with the political processes, to support policy formulation in redressing the longstanding challenges of poverty, equity, and inclusivity in Kenya. The findings from this thesis vitally contribute to the ongoing attempts to undo the legacy of ethnopolitical favoritism, not just in Kenya, but in sub-Saharan Africa more broadly, where these issues are widespread. We find that coethnicity with the President comes out as an important element in the conduct of social and political affairs in Kenya, with direct implications on poverty and the labour market. We also find persistence of poverty experience within counties. Most counties have remained in the same state over the study period. Particularly, counties dominated by the President's coethnics have remained relatively richer than other counties, besides having the greatest poverty reduction, while others have remained trapped in poverty. Our findings also reveal that transition to devolved system of governance from the central government structure has not significantly altered the resource distribution based on ethnopolitics, but the coethnic wage gap has reduced significantly in the post-2010 constitutional dispensation. Although it might be too early to comment on the effectiveness of devolution since Kenya is only at its initial stages, our evidence suggests that devolution has not reduced the ethnic favoritism in regional development. The persistence of ethnic favoritism in the post devolution era shows that the new constitutional dispensation and other legislations in pursuit of equitable access to resources and opportunities have not been effective in addressing the long-term challenges of county inequalities. Political exclusion and inequitable and unequal distribution of resources and opportunities have been longstanding issues in Kenya. This study, however, has been subject to limitations including data and the scope of coverage. A lot of potential further research in this area remain to be desired. With availability of data, over a long period of time, more accurate empirical investigations can be conducted to guide policy formulation on poverty reduction and narrowing the inequality. While we have attempted to control for all the possible empirical factors given our data-time trend, extent of urbanization, being Presidents coethnics, the proportion of the population with post-secondary schooling, and the proportion of the population with paid work, the empirical data may not convincingly rule out many other potential explanations. Some of these unobserved factors in our data may include better equipped bureaucracies, stronger representation in the national assembly, more effective county executives, among other factors, which we have not controlled for. Although we have convincingly provided evidence of persistence of ethnic imbalances beyond the governance reform period, future studies may consider adding additional empirical material that could support the assertions in this thesis. To exhaustively attribute the differences to political favoritism would require additional analysis using granular data with information on the conduct of bureaucrats-economic planners, resource allocation and electoral outcomes for instance. Another potential area of consideration could be whether political and ethnic favoritism in resource distribution play out differently in politically contested areas from the areas regarded as strongholds. Due to data limitation, we have estimated only the overall extent of favoritism, but not investigated the potential sources of these biases. However, assessing accountability channels by comparing different contexts (resources or index of resources in general) can confound other differences, posing an empirical challenge-especially when these projects are implemented in different phases. There is need to go beyond the canonical existence of political favoritism, and investigate further, the mechanisms through which the favoritism is implemented. Moreover, our study has only relied on the on- and off-election cycles (between political regimes). It might be useful to evaluate political favoritism using data that allows us to study how public goods provision tracks political developments at a high frequency. Investments in public projects for instance may accelerate in the weeks immediately before voting, and slow down significantly in the post-election period. Rather than assuming that coethnics continue to benefit from public goods provision throughout the Presidency of the incumbent leaders, mapping out the temporal process of ethnic and political favoritism gives more granular information which does not conceal within-period biases. This would contribute to understanding the timing of fiscal spending around the election cycle. Finally, one of the key limitations in this thesis is data limitation, especially with regards the ethnicity variable, which we inferred by from proxies. This might have an impact on the robustness of our result. Key policy implications arise from this thesis. First, there is need for significant tracking and scrutiny of government spending behaviour to curb the persistent ethnic and political biases. There is need for increased media coverage of distribution of public investments. This has an effect of increased accountability. Evidence shows that public investments which were hard to track and hidden from the public eye, especially within the implementation phasesโexhibit significant favoritism, while stages which are disclosed publicly and receive widespread media coverage. Therefore, increasingly active independent media scrutiny as well as increasingly robust democratic institutions, expanding constraints on executive power, and donor oversight may partly curb favoritism. Rigorous democratic institutions and a free and transparent press can empower citizens to hold their elected officials accountable. International donor agencies should increasingly place strict conditions on the use of their funds to restrain corruption as strict donor conditionality on donor-funded projects. Evidence shows that oversight by international aid donors may help restrain favoritism in stages when the project is under the donor's scrutiny
Associations between objective physical activity and metabolic syndrome in African-origin adults from five countries
No full textMetabolic syndrome affects approximately 25% of adults worldwide. Physical inactivity has been identified as a key modifiable risk factor for metabolic syndrome, but studies are conflicting when using different methods to measure physical activity (PA), including both objective measures versus self-report. Furthermore, there is a lack of studies exploring these relationships in African-origin populations, who present with a higher prevalence compared to other race/ethic groups. The aim of this study was to explore the association between objectively-measured PA and metabolic syndrome in 5 African-origin populations spanning the epidemiologic transition. 2500 adults from Ghana, South Africa, Jamaica, Seychelles and the United States were recruited between 2010-2011 in the Modeling the Epidemiologic Transition Study (METS). Data collection, included clinical and laboratory measures, anthropometrics, and 7-days of accelerometer-measured moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), observed in mean minutes per day. Study procedures were identical in the 5 sites. Metabolic syndrome was defined as having any three of the following five risk factors: large waist circumference, elevated triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high blood pressure and elevated fasting glucose. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its constituent risk factors was stratified by sex and site. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the association between MVPA and metabolic syndrome in the pooled cohort, adjusting for lifestyle factors (alcohol use, smoking status and sleep duration), age, sex, BMI and body fat percentage. Of 1167 male participants (median age 35, IQR: 30-40 years) and 1339 female participants (median age 35, IQR: 29-40), males had a lower BMI (23.6 kg/m2 , IQR: 20.9-27.5) compared to females (26 kg/m2 , IQR: 22-31). Across all sites, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 17% (n=431), and higher among females (n=287, 11%) compared to males (n=144, 6%). After adjusting for covariates, MVPA was not associated with metabolic syndrome (aOR 1.00, 0.99-1.00), nor meeting the PA guidelines of โฅ30 mins/day (aOR = 0.76, 0.57- 1.01). Our results suggest that other environmental lifestyle factors may play a more significant role in the development of metabolic syndrome in this population of African-origin adults. Future research should focus on understanding the relationship between other environmental lifestyle factors, including sleep, and dietary intake, and metabolic syndrom
Risk management and financial performance: empirical evidence from the Nigerian banking industry
Get PDFThe banking industry is an important sector of any economy because banks are primarily tasked with the intermediation role of channeling funds from the deficit unit to the surplus unit through deposit mobilization and the creation of risk assets (Loans and Advances). This intermediation process is fraught with inherent risks, including credit, operational, liquidity, and solvency risks. In ensuring that banks function efficiently, they are obligated to manage these risks to ensure the creation of value for shareholders and other stakeholders. Risk management is critical to the Nigerian banking industry's system architecture. This dissertation sought to examine the relationship between risk management practices, proxied by its various components, including solvency risk (CAR), liquidity risk (LDR), credit risk (NPL), operational risk, and profitability. The study employed a sample of 12 banks, representing 97.0% of the banking industry's total assets over 11 years, from 2012 to 2022. The random and fixed effect panel technique was employed in estimating the static panel model to examine the impact of risk management on the performance of banks. The regression analysis results indicate a strong adverse effect of credit and operational risks on return on assets, suggesting that higher returns on assets are associated with lower loan loss provisions and operational losses. This indicates the importance of asset quality and risk management practices in banks' delivery of quality financial performance. On the contrary, capital ratio and liquidity risks positively affect returns on assets and equity. The study revealed a negative coefficient for banks' ages and profitability, indicating that older banks tend to have lower profitability, primarily due to Nigeria's rapidly evolving banking landscape, creating discriminating advantages for the new-generation banks. However, ownership type does not exhibit statistically significant coefficients with banks' profitability, suggesting that their direct impact on bank profitability may be limited in the context of the variables considered in the analysis Based on the findings, banks are encouraged to design data-driven policies on the capital adequacy ratios with the twin objectives of meeting the regulatory hurdle of 15% and pursuing loan book expansion. This will support the growth of the overall economy when credits are channeled to the productive sectors of the economy; moreover, expanded loan books will create interest income that ultimately enhances the profitability of banks. The study also demonstrated that banks are susceptible to time decay. Older banks underperform newer banks; therefore, banks must undertake frequent periodic analyses of their processes, strategies, and supporting infrastructure to adapt to the changing environment and landscape. Based on the findings, banks are encouraged to design data-driven policies on the capital adequacy ratios with the twin objectives of meeting the regulatory hurdle of 15% and pursuing loan book expansion. This will support the growth of the overall economy when credits are channeled to the productive sectors of the economy; moreover, expanded loan books will create interest income that ultimately enhances the profitability of banks. The study also demonstrated that banks are susceptible to time decay. Older banks underperform newer banks; therefore, banks must undertake frequent periodic analyses of their processes, strategies, and supporting infrastructure to adapt to the changing environment and landscape
The role and impact of CCTV operators in contributing to efficient crime prevention: A case study of surveillance operators within the City of Cape Town
Get PDFIt is widely recognised that technology has become a critical tool in the business of crime control and prevention. The main purposes of closed-circuit television (CCTV are the detection and deterrence of crime in pursuit of public safety and security. Highways, shopping centres, workplaces, and public transportation systems are all frequent sites for CCTV surveillance. However, studies have consistently fallen short in examining the role and responsibilities of CCTV operators in attempts to detect and deter crime via surveillance systems. Any assertions concerning the overall effectiveness of CCTV cameras, especially when doing proactive realtime monitoring, depend on how the cameras are operated, controlled, and monitored by human agents. This minor dissertation explores the views and experiences of CCTV operators regarding their role and functions in contributing to crime detection and prevention. The research explored the routine responsibilities of operators, how they perceive their role in the quest for community safety and the challenges related to their work environment. Utilising a qualitative research approach, face-to-face interviews were held with a sample of 15 CCTV operators from the City of Cape Town CCTV Control Centres. Thematic analysis guided data analysis. The findings revealed that most CCVT operators understood their role as monitoring and detecting unlawful actions and, in doing so, enhancing community safety. Such actions are performed through live recordings, proactive monitoring, and reacting to identified safety threats. Several occupational challenges impacting their everyday work were identified. These included technical and social challenges related to the work of CCTV operators, as well as poor relations with the South African Police Service. By way of conclusion, some recommendations are offered to improve the working environment of CCTV operators and address cognitive challenges
The legality and feasibility of the use of compulsory licensing under the trips agreement to facilitate the transfer of environmentally sound technologies under the UNFCCC regime
Get PDFThe primary objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is to attain stability in the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Considerable potential lies in mitigation technologies to lower the emission of these gases. Additionally, there is a crucial requirement for adaptation technologies to avert the risks posed by ongoing human disruption of the climate system. However, the transfer of environmentally sound technologies between countries, part of the broader concept known as technology transfer, faces challenges related to intellectual property rights. Developing nations argue that intellectual property rights hinder technology transfer, while developed nations consider them crucial for innovation and facilitation thereof. As a consequence of the disagreement on this topic, intellectual property rights were left out of the wording of the Paris Agreement and the scope and obligations of technology transfer under the climate regime remain open to varying interpretations. Resolving this issue requires reaching a consensus among stakeholders and finding a balance between international environmental law and intellectual property rights. One potential solution that is explored in this dissertation is the use of compulsory licensing under the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Agreement. This dissertation examines the existing legal framework governing the transfer of environmentally sound technologies relevant in the climate change context, analyses the interplay between international environmental law and intellectual property law, explores the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Agreement and assesses the legal viability and practical feasibility of compulsory licensing for climate purposes. Through this research, a better understanding of technology transfer in the international climate change regime is sought, and an interdisciplinary perspective on trade law and environmental law is provided
A life cycle-based investigation into the potential of a circular and low-carbon plastics economy in South Africa
Get PDFPlastics are multi-functional materials that, while associated with numerous applications, are becoming strongly linked with the drawbacks of a primarily fossil fuel-based linear economy model. This results in the release of greenhouse gas emissions, low material recovery rates, and the environmental impacts associated with disposal and leakage. The circular economy approach is viewed as an alternative model that aims to improve environmental and economic performance, in the case of plastic systems by replacing conventional feedstock, reducing plastic litter, and creating value from waste through reuse and recovery. However, a transition from a linear to a circular model for the plastics sector remains poorly understood. Studies are generally restricted to the analysis of waste management systems with limited information available on the connection between material circularity and environmental impacts. Although several global studies have sought to explore this link using life cycle assessment methods, they do not consider national scale factors, such as the effect of a country's waste management landscape and its energy mix. This research study investigates potential future versions of a low-carbon and circular plastics economy in South Africa. The scenarios evaluated are based on local voluntary and regulatory objectives and include increased mechanical recycling, the shift from single-use consumption to reuse, and decarbonisation of the sector by integrating renewable energy into the electricity mix as well as replacement of the fossil fuel feedstock for monomer production. Furthermore, the combination of scenarios is modelled to demonstrate the potential benefit of implementing these strategies in concert. The industrial ecology tools Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) are utilised to determine the degree of circularity and assess the impacts of these strategies along the plastics life cycle. The results are presented in terms of circularity and environmental indicators including but not limited to recycling rates, quantity of leakage, Global Warming Potential (GWP), and ecosystem quality. The results for the reference year (2018) demonstrate that South Africa had a per capita plastic consumption of 36 kg/capita/year, with a plastic sector input recycling rate of 40.3%, employment opportunities totalling 77 348, and a carbon footprint equivalent to 3.9% of the country's total annual emissions. Based on current practices and with no policy interventions or measures, the short-term forecast indicates that plastic production will increase by a rate of 1.7% annually between 2018 and 2025 (Baseline scenario). This will lead to a projected increase in plastic use of 1 kg/capita and a subsequent rise in leakage of 11%. Furthermore, it is expected that the degree of environmental impact will increase between 10 and 18% with a further increase of 21% in the subsequent decade. In terms of normalised results, significant impacts across all scenarios were identified as human toxicity and ecotoxicity, fossil resource scarcity, and freshwater eutrophication. Additionally, the contribution analysis revealed that the major quantifiable environmental impacts are associated with upstream processes such as monomer and polymer production and product manufacturing with a combined share of 55- 85% of the total impacts at the endpoint level (Areas of Protection). This is primarily due to coal-based pathways for feedstock and energy production. Although all the mitigation strategies, particularly elevating recycled rates, and decarbonisation of the system, display a benefit relative to the Baseline scenario, the findings demonstrate that the greatest gain amongst materiality, circularity, and environmental indicators can be achieved under the Combination scenario in 2025 with an 11.2% increase in recycled content, 1 kg/capita reduction in leakage, and an average decrease of 16% in midpoint impacts. This benefit is further extended to an additional 40.1% increase in recycled content and a 55% average improvement in environmental effects in 2035 under the medium-term forecast with levels projected to decline below historical findings for 2018. A comparison of results with global targets shows the potential of combining scenarios beyond short-term local ambitions. Notwithstanding these significant benefits in circularity and environmental impacts, leakage to the environment would still be prevalent with an estimated 256 kt of plastic debris in 2035. Despite the identification of significant potential improvements from a material and environmental perspective through the combined application of the three modelled strategies, it is concluded that these would not transform the South African plastics sector to the extent that it could be classified as fully or even largely circular nor low-carbon in the short- to medium-term. Recommendations on the material aspects include designing for recyclability, investigating the potential for chemical recycling to complement mechanical recycling, and promoting reuse business models. From an emissions perspective, the transition to renewable energy needs to be accelerated, and the introduction of lower-carbon routes for the local polymer production process should be investigated. The findings also illustrate the need for increased coordination between upstream strategies centred around design and material innovation together with downstream processes focusing on end-of-life recycling and recovery to improve the environmental profile of the South African plastics syste
King Code's CSI Compliance and ESG Performance: Evidence from the JSE in South Africa
Get PDFThis research investigates the relationship between corporate social investment (CSI) compliance under the King Code IV and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance among companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in South Africa. As an emerging economy with a history of socio-economic disparities, South Africa's business landscape has been transformed through governance codes such as the King Code. This study employs a comprehensive data set comprising CSI values and ESG performance scores to analyse the extent to which companies aligning with King Code guidelines demonstrate enhanced ESG outcomes. The MSCI ESG Leaders Index South Africa constituents between 2016 and 2021 are used for this analysis. The descriptive statistics highlight substantial differences between financial and non-financial companies in terms of their ESG score (ESGSCORE), average corporate Social Investment (CSI), return on assets (ROA), and firm size (FSIZE). Financial firms exhibit lower ESGSCORE variability, higher average CSI and ROA, and slightly lower FSIZE variability, indicating potential variations in ESG performance, corporate sustainability practices, and financial performance. Correlation analysis shows connections between ESGSCORE and CSI, ROA, and FSIZE. The regression findings show an inverse relationship between ESG and CSI and a negative and significant impact of profitability on ESG performance among non-financial firms, with no significant effect observed for financial firms. Additionally, FSIZE has a positive and statistically significant impact on ESGSCORE for financial and non-financial firms. This study's findings hold implications for corporate governance and sustainability practices in South Africa, shedding light on the effectiveness of the King Code IV in fostering socially responsible business behaviour. By examining the correlation between CSI compliance and ESG performance, the research contributes valuable insights to stakeholders, policymakers, and investors who seek to understand the interplay between governance frameworks and sustainable business practices in the South African context. Thus, this research aims to inform discussions on the role of regulatory frameworks in promoting corporate responsibility and driving positive environmental, social, and governance outcomes in emerging market economies like South Africa