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10th Zimbabwe International Research Symposium Book of Papers Presented
No full textThe 10th Symposium of the Research Council of Zimbabwe represents a unique mile stone in the history of research in Independent Zimbabwe. It represents a decade of collated national research output, ten research-years of sustained intellectual achievement, and a decade of notable research enterprise. The Research Council of Zimbabwe has established Zimbabwe as a significant player in the International Research arena through these biannual symposia. A research culture is born!
The theme of the 10th Symposium, “Research for Empowerment and Socio-economic Transformation” resonates very well with the National focus on implementing the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-economic Transformation (ZimAsset), which is an economic plan based on the four foundations of Food Security, Social Services and Poverty Eradication, Infrastructure and Utilities and Value addition and Beneficiation. These honourable and lofty ideals are a prelude to national economic growth. History, experience and evidence-based facts have shown that economic growth is always accompanied by research output and technological advancement. It is gratifying that the Research Council of Zimbabwe, through the biannual symposia, has pulled its weight towards the goal of national economic growth.
It would be interesting and informative to know how much of the past ten-year-research output has gone on to be implemented. Going by the high quality and applicability of some of the current symposium research papers I am sure there is a lot of application of research results out there.
Some of the highlights of the papers presented at the 10th Symposium include the fundamental realization that female participation in the economy is an important factor for economic growth; reduction of mortality rate in broiler chicken by reducing ammonia gas production in chicken houses through incorporating wood charcoal in chicken feed; doubling the shelf life of biodiesel (from jatropha) by using such antioxidants as pyrogalic acid; in security, the use of geoinformation science (GIS), to assess, predict, and prevent threats like infectious disease in the country; the right to health as a constitutional provision is not being implemented and there is a need to enhance soft skills (finance, banking) to small scale farmers to enhance empowerment. These are all brilliant research findings which can be implemented with ease
An investigation into the transfer of case remittance from sender regions into rural Zimbabwe: the case of Dandanda ward in Lupane West district.
No full textWhile the volume of remittances to developing countries has been growing significantly over the years remittances have not received much attention in the migrants’ countries of origin. As a result, the development potential of remittances has not been fully utilized. However, some countries have realized the development potential of remittances and have developed strategies to encourage the flow and investments of remittances. Several studies on international migration from Zimbabwe to South Africa have been carried out but in these studies the role of research and policy issue. The Home Link facility established by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in May 2004 excludes undocumented migrants who are unlikely to use formal channels to send their remittances back home. Evidence from interviews and observations in Dandanda ward indicate that a wide network of international migrant remitters are amelioratin
The limnological status of the Gwebi river, Zimbabwe
No full textThe study aimed at assessing the limnological status of Gwebi River. Sampling was carried
out from March to August 2015 on eight sites along Gwebi River. Five classes of land use/
land cover namely; woodland, grassland, built up water and bare land were considered. Total
phosphorus, reactive phosphorus, total nitrogen, nitrate, ammonia, chemical oxygen demand,
biological oxygen demand, pH, total dissolved solids, conductivity, salinity, dissolved
oxygen, temperature and discharge were the measured variables. Macroinvertebrates were
sampled according to the SASS5 protocol. River sediments were analysed for lead, cadmium
and copper. Leaf litter decomposition was analysed from leaf packs and mass transportation
of total nitrogen, BOD and total phosphorus were used to assess self purification of the river.
There was an increase in the proportion of the area under woodland from 12.73 % to 22.39 %
and on built up area from 1.46 % to 5.55% in the Gwebi River catchment area between 1998
and 2015. The physicochemical variables were significantly different among the sites
(ANOVA, p<0.05). Site 1 (Pomona) had the highest salinity (0.2mgl-1), conductivity (798
μScm-1) and total dissolved solids (495mgl-1) compared to the other sites. Highest sediment
lead (51.9mgl-1) and copper (35.8mgl-1) were also detected at Site 1. Site 5 (New
Marlborough) and 6 (Old Mazowe) downstream of Marlborough sewage works had the
highest concentrations of ammonia, total nitrogen and biological oxygen demand compared
with the other sites. The South African Scoring System Version 5 (SASS5), Shannon-Wiener
and Simpson’s diversity Indices were used to analyse the macroinvertebrate assemblages of
Gwebi River. Sites 1 to 6 were classified as having fair water quality; Site 7 (AFDIS) and 8
(Nyabira) had good water quality basing on the average score per taxon (ASPT). Site 5 (New
Marlborough) had the lowest Shannon-Wiener diversity (1.15) and Site 7 (AFDIS) had the highest diversity (2.16). Leaf litter decomposition was significantly different (ANOVA,
p<0.05) across months. Decomposition was highest in May with an average weight loss of
5.79g per site compared to an average of 2.65g per site in June. Site 3 had the highest leaf
mass loss due to the high numbers of shredders identified from the leaf packs. Site 5 had the
lowest leaf mass loss from the leaf packs with an average weight loss of 2.5 g per month.
Purification capacity of Gwebi River was analysed using the mass transport of total nitrogen,
total phosphorus and biological oxygen demand. Stream purification was significantly
different among the sites (ANOVA, p<0.05). Purification was most efficient between Sites 6
(Old Mazowe) and 7 (AFDIS). The influx of pollutants and sewage effluents exceeded the
purification capacity at some sites. Sewage effluent from Marlborough as well as pollutants
from farmland in the river catchment area had a negative effect on water quality of Gwebi
River
An assessment of the efficiency of fiscalised electronic devices in improving revenue collection in selected companies in Harare: The case of the fiscal electronic tax registers
No full textThe study assessed the efficiency of Fiscalised Electronic Devices in improving revenue collection in selected companies in Harare using the case of the Fiscal Electronic Tax Registers. The study specifically seeks to determine whether efficient Fiscal Electronic Tax Registers increase the revenue base due to tax compliance. The basis of the study lies on the need to raise awareness on the efficiency and importance of the ETRs in improving tax revenue and tax compliance. The research combines desk and field research. Field research entailed questionnaires and interviews with key informants. Desk research entailed review of concepts, theories and experiences related to the topic. The salient findings of this research are that, efficient Fiscal Electronic Tax Registers increase the revenue base due to tax compliance. While there has been a remarkable improvement in the tax collection system, there is not much improvement on the Value Added Tax (VAT) collections since the adoption of FEDs. FETRs have only improved tax compliance in the companies that are using them. The factors that negatively affect tax compliance are resistant to change, reluctance by tax payers to embrace fiscalisation, lack of knowledge, increased administration costs and lack of capacity as well as the influx of informal traders who do not offer receipts. Fiscalisation improves internal accountability, management and control of business by recording and storing all sales without manipulation. This is evidenced by accurate caption of data and shorter audit periods by the tax collectors among others. Notwithstanding this, fiscalisation has its own challenges such as few suppliers of the devices, unrealistic deadlines, and higher penalties and also the system was not user-friendly and compatible with other devices. This is evidenced by the slow uptake of the devices due to lack of capacity and failure to get tax clearances because they had not fiscalised. Against this backdrop, the study recommends that ZIMRA carry out an impact assessment on the fiscalisation project to determine the extent of it success through monitoring and evaluation. There is need to educate the nation on the use of FETRs and the need to comply, even in rural remote areas. The government should revise the turn-over downwards to accommodate more tax payers. There is need to develop systems that are compatible and can be integrated with the computers in business premises. The informal sector should also be brought into the tax net to increase competition. The government should come up with a more user-friendly system that is easy to use linked to the internet for faster and easy access by ZIMRA
Outcomes of early post traumatic seizures in head injury patients at Parirenyatwa hospital
No full textPrimary Objective; To compare the outcome of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients who develop early post traumatic seizures with the outcome of patients with post traumatic seizures who do not develop early post traumatic seizures.
Secondary Objectives; To estimate the incidence and risk factors of early post traumatic seizures in traumatic brain injured patients at Parirenyatwa Hospital.
Study factors; Early post traumatic seizures were the main study factor. Other various clinical and radiological factors were also considered.
Study outcomes; The Glasgow outcome score was used to assess outcome. Patients with a GOS of 1,2 or 3 were considered to have a poor outcome whereas patients with GOS of 4 or 5 were considered to have a good outcome.
Subjects; 252 consecutive patients, regardless of age who were admitted at Parirenyatwa Hospital for traumatic brain injury from 01/10/2014 to 15/05/2015.
Methods; A prospective observational study. A data sheet was created which listed all study and outcome factors.
Statistics; Contingency tables and Chi-square statistics were used to compare the outcomes. Both univariate and multivariate analysis was carried out.
Results; 252 patients have been recruited so far. 200 were males and 63 females. 31 patients developed early post traumatic seizures during the course of the study, giving an incidence of 12.3%. 35 patients died giving a case fatality rate of 13.8%. 52 patients (20.6%) had poor outcome. Of the patients who fitted, 64.5% had bad outcome compared to 14.5% of those who did not fit. The association between fits and poor outcome was found to be statistically significant. The relative risk of poor outcome on univariate analysis in patients with early post traumatic seizures was 10.7 (CI 4.7-24.5) with a p-value of 0.000. Factors which were statistically significantly associated with poor outcome on univariate analysis were; fits, low Glasgow coma scale, age, male sex, anisocoria, alcohol ingestion, retained foreign body, acute epidural haematoma, intracerebral haematoma, multiple cerebral contusions and subarachnoid haematoma. Risk factors found to be associated with fits were; GCS, hemiparesis, retained foreign body, intracerebral haemorraghe, multiple contusions and subarachnoid haemorrhage.
Conclusion; The study demonstrated that early post traumatic seizures are strongly associated with poor outcome. It also showed that several risk factors may be associated with the development of seizures. Reducing the incidence of early post traumatic seizures should reduce the number of TBI patients with poor outcome. This can be done by giving seizure prophylaxis to TBI patients with risk factors for early post traumatic seizures on admission.
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Fluctuations in bush and rock hyrax (Hyracoidea: Procaviidae) abundances over a 13-year period in the Matopos, Zimbabwe
No full textA Journal Article on Fluctuations in bush and rock hyrax
(Hyracoidea: Procaviidae) abundances,Bush (Heterohyrax brucei ) and rock (Procavia capensis) hyraxes (Hyracoidea: Procaviidae)
are abundant small mammals and important prey for vertebrate carnivores in the Rhodes
Matopos National Park (RMNP), southwestern Zimbabwe. We monitored hyraxes at 20
observation stations in the 424 km 2 RMNP over a 13-year period (1993–2005). We identified
hyraxes to species, and counted and aged them. From yearly counts and age distributions,
we computed an index of relative abundance (AI – individuals/km 2 ) and estimate of produc-
tivity (proportion of the sample comprising juveniles) for each species. Time series analysis
showed that annual fluctuations in AI were marked, but not cyclic, with ranges of 0.4–113.8%
(median = 30.0%) for Heterohyrax brucei and 3.7–64.7% (median = 11.0%) for Procavia
capensis. Cross-correlation function revealed interspecific synchrony in annual fluctuation
in numbers of individuals of the two species. A positive relationship existed between AI
of H. brucei and rainfall of the previous austral summer, suggesting that annual precipitation
contributes to fluctuations in abundance of this species; synchronous fluctuation of the two
species suggests a common response to other regulating factors. Additional abiotic and
biotic processes that potentially affected populations of both species are chronicled
Measuring Technical Efficiency of Central Hospitals in Zimbabwe: Application of Data Envelopment and Stochastic Frontier Analysis using Panel Data (2009-2014)
No full textZimbabwe is lacking resources to advance the country’s health sector needs. The country is off-track the achievement of Millennium Development Goals that are health related in their totality. Central hospitals, the core of the hospital referral system, had been marred with congestion, and overburdened with patients. There had been therefore frequent calls, from the public, for the need to improve the delivery of service at public hospitals. Amidst fiscal constraints, efficient use of resources had been cited as the key, relevant and important aspect of improving the healthcare delivery system. This study was undertaken to determine the extent to which the country can improve health outcomes through efficiency improvement. Two efficiency measurement approaches were used to evaluate the efficiency levels of central hospitals in Zimbabwe using data set for the years 2009 to 2013; the two efficiency measurement approaches are the Data Envelopment Analysis and the Stochastic Frontier Analysis. On average hospitals were found to exhibit inefficiency levels of about 37-39%. The DEA calculated Malmquist indices indicated that total factor productivity improved by 2% between 2009 and 2014 largely driven by improvements in scale efficiency. The study proposed that hospital output can be improved by about 38% without increasing inputs. This will be achieved through improved hospital operating system, improved management of resources or close monitoring of human resources and adequate loss control systems
Development, safety and efficacy evaluation of actinic damage retarding nano-pharmaceutical treatments in oculocutaneous albinism
No full textIntroduction: There are at least 17 000 Persons living with albinism (PLWA) in Zimbabwe. Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is a congenital amelanistic pigmentation disorder that affects all known vertebrates and has no known cure. Melanogenesis is the body’s primary protection from actinic damage, which summarizes all the acute and chronic solar induced adverse dermatological conditions. This impairment therefore makes PLWA highly susceptible to all forms of this damage.
Problem statement: Commercial products for actinic damage in PLWA are not readily available. Chemical sunscreens used by PLWA are ineffective and do not treat symptoms of actinic damage. The possible use of promising broad spectrum physical sunscreens in albinistic treatments is hindered by their opaque and un-aesthetic nature.
Research hypothesis: A treatment based on nanometric TiO2 and ZnO incorporating the active extracts of A. excelsa, T. emetica and M. flabellifolia will be aesthetic, efficacious and safe in retarding and alleviating all forms of actinic damage in PLWA.
Research aims: To develop albinistic actinic damage treatments, using nano TiO2 and ZnO as sun-blocks and incorporating selected herbs. The dermato-pharmacokinetics, stability, efficacy, toxicity and aesthetics of the resultant formulation on albinistic skin types were also investigated in this study.
Materials and methods: Emulsion formulation was done according to FDA-CFSAN, COLIPA, and OECD mandated technical guidelines and testing methods. Formulation skin sensitivity were evaluated through Draize ocular and skin sensitivity tests as well as in-vivo patch tests guided by OECD 428/404 technical guidelines and opinion SCCNFP 0750/03. Percutaneous absorption and albinistic skin dermato-pharmacokinetics were evaluated ex-vivo using Franz diffusion tests and sequential adhesive tape stripping respectively according to OECD guidelines 428 and SCCNFP opinions as well as related work done by A O Gamer and Diembeck et al as guides. Analysis for Ti and Zn were done by ICP-AES and Flame AAS respectively. Efficacy and SPF testing was done as per FDA–CFSAN, Colipa and OECD M389/EN mandated test methods.
Principal Results: SPF 16, aesthetic and stable emulsions were formulated. Negligible irritation indices for the treatment were recorded for Draize and human patch testing. No percutaneous absorption was observed for ex-vivo diffusion tests and sequential tape stripping tests. Different skin reservoir properties were observed at different skin sites
Conclusions: The studies demonstrate, direct evidence that neither Zn nor Ti can penetrate actinic damaged skin regardless of anatomical site and that albinistic dermato-pharmacokinetics are depended on anatomical region and extent of UVR exposure. The high extraction yields and the phyto-constituents of the selected herbs show a correlation with the traditional uses of the plants in traditional medicine. All sensitivity tests showed negligible irritation potential. Based on the foregoing, it is concluded that, incorporation of nanometric TiO2, ZnO and herbs in treatments to retard actinic damage in PLWA is feasible, aesthetic, efficacious, and commercializable and does not pose any health risk.,Harare Institute of Technology.
University of Zimbabwe Research Grant.
ICF Grant from the Government of Zimbabwe
Determinants of bank liquidity in Zimbabwean commercial banks (2010-2014).
No full textZimbabwe is facing interwoven economic challenges, to the extent that financial distress amongst banks has been rampant owing to perennial liquidity constraints. The research focus was on identifying the determinants of bank liquidity for commercial banks in Zimbabwe during dollarization. The broad categories of determinants of liquidity entail the bank-specific factors and macroeconomic factors. The research adopted an explanatory research design and 16 commercial banks were used as the research subjects. Secondary data was obtained from the audited financial statements of banks, ZIMSTAT, RBZ monthly economic review reports and the monetary policy. Data collected covered the period from 2010 to 2014 and was analyzed using panel data fixed effect regression models through an econometric package, STATA 11.The study revealed a positive relationship between liquidity and bank-specific factors of size of bank and capital adequacy. The research findings also revealed that bank liquidity tends to decrease with higher loan growth, increase in non-performing loans and higher lending rate. The challenges of non-performing loans remain crucial to bank liquidity as it speeds up the deterioration of the advances book thereby increasing illiquid assets. The research recommends that banks adopt enhanced credit risk management techniques to minimize the effect of lending activity on liquidity. To promote prudent lending amongst Zimbabwean banks, the Central Bank is encouraged to enhance bank supervision and speed up the formation of a Credit Reference system. Finally, further research can take into consideration qualitative factors such as management efficiency changes in regulation or political incidences, salary and wages levels as probable determinants of liquidity in addition to the financial ratios
An evaluation of genotype × tillage system interaction in maize (Zea mays L) based on a comparison of Conservation and Conventional systems on contrasting soilsin Zimbabwe
No full textPoor rainfall, increasing temperatures, increasing population and poor soils pose threats and
concerns over survival of the human population. Conservation agriculture (CA), a potential
mitigation solution to these threats, is a sustainable agriculture system based on three principles:
minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil organic cover and diverse use of crop rotations.
However, little information is available on the performance of most maize genotypes in relation
to emergence, establishment, reproduction, senescence and grain yield under CA since they are
mainly developed under conventional practices. Hence, an experiment was set up at Harare (red
clay), Domboshava (DTC) (sandy loamy), Madziva (sandy), Hereford (red clay) and Zimuto
(sandy) where CA plots were laid adjacently to Conventional Tillage Practices (CP) plots. The
main objective of the study was to determine genotypic performance of 16 Zimbabwean
produced and grown maize genotypes and determine yield gains of combining CA and drought
tolerant maize varieties (DTs) at contrasting sites over two seasons. Results showed that CA and
CP tillage systems had a significant effect on emergence percentage, number of leaves per plant
at 6 weeks after sowing, anthesissilking interval (ASI) and grain yield (P < 0.05). Overall
emergence percentage, number of leaves per plant and grain yield were higher under CP as
compared to CA. ASI was shorter under CA as compared to CP. Medium season drought tolerant
maize varieties outperformed short season DT varieties with regards to early vigor, chlorophyll
content at grain filling stage and grain yield. The medium season DT maize varieties included
PGS 63, ZS 265 and Pannar 53. Short season varieties such as Pannar 413, ZM 309, SC 301 and
ZM 401 showed more grey leaf spot (GLS) incidences under CA as compared to CP. A
significant tillage system × genotype interaction was observed at all sites and most of the maize
genotypes had shorter ASI under CA as compared to CP. Sites showed significant effect on
emergence %, days to 50 % emergence, all the early vigor parameters, anthesis date
(AD),anthesissilking interval (ASI), leaf diseases, Area Under the Curve (AUC) and grain yield.
Hereford had the highest yield, shortest AD and high early vigor. Domboshava had the higher
grain yield, emergence and AUC gains under CA than CP as compared to other sites. Soil
moisture was higher under CA than CP at days during grain filling at DTC. Seasons had
significant effect on maize genotypes and most had higher yield in 2012-13 as compared to
2012-13. It is not all DT maize genotypes that have cumulative benefits under CA and varieties
with high susceptibility to fungi are not recommended under CA systems since conditions that
favor development of fungi are more prevalent under CA as compared to CP and these include
overwintering material (residues) and high moisture conditions. It is not all sites that have more
grain benefit under CA: From this research the sandy loamy site had more grain yield gains
under CA than CP as compared to clay and sandy sites which favored CP.,CIMMYT – Zimbabw