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- ItemA rights-based analysis of disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe and its implications for policy and practice(2013) Bongo, P. P.; Chipangura, P.; Sithole, M.; Moyo, F.This paper examines closely the institutional arrangements for disaster risk reduction from a rights-based perspective. In Zimbabwe, the disaster risk reduction framework and the ensuing practice have not yet accommodated some of the most vulnerable and excluded groups, especially the terminally ill, people with disabilities and the very poor. Top-down approaches to disaster management have largely been blamed for lack of resilience and poor preparedness on the part of sections of society that are hard hit by disasters. Often, disaster risk reduction has also been modeled along the needs and priorities of able-bodied people, whilst largely excluding those with various forms of impairments. Against this background, this paper is based on field research on people’s disaster risk experiences in four districts of Zimbabwe, with a special emphasis on the disaster risk reduction framework. It provides a critical analysis of the disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe, focusing on the various forms of disadvantages to different categories of people that the current framework has tended to generate. The paper thus examines the current disaster risk reduction framework as largely informed by the Civil Protection Act and the Disaster Risk Management Policy Draft as revised in 2011. Crucial at this stage is the need to interrogate the disaster risk reduction framework, right from formulation processes with regard to participation and stakeholders, particularly the grassroots people who bear the greatest brunt of vulnerability, shocks, stresses and trends. In conclusion, the paper stresses the potential benefits of adopting an inclusive, rights-based thrust to disaster risk reduction in Zimbabwe.
- ItemEnhancing food security through micro irrigation: Evaluating the contribution of treadle pumps to household food security in Umzingwane district of Zimbabwe(2014) Dube, T.; Maphosa, M.; Dube, Z.L.; Tomson Dube, Mandlenkosi Maphosa *, Zenzo L. Dube, Gracsious Ncube, Nevel Tshuma; Ncube, G.; Tshuma , N.Amongst a plethora of challenges facing the African continent today is the food security issue. Close to 240 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are food insecure (Bremner, 2012). A number of reasons have been advanced to explain the food insecurity situation of which inter-alia include climate change, low food and agricultural productivity and production. This article is centred on assessing the use of treadle pumps micro irrigation technologies strategy in an attempt to counter low food and agricultural productivity in Umzingwane district of Zimbabwe. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used with data being collected through questionnaires, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. A total of 100 smallholder farmers participated in the study which covered 6 Wards. Study findings reveal that the use of treadle pumps improves household food security though this inevitably comes at a cost to the natural environment. This is largely due to the way in which this form of micro-irrigation is practiced in the District. However, notwithstanding the positive contribution of treadle pumps to household food security, the use of these pumps is fraught with a number of challenges some of which include lack of backup services, spares, marketing and an unsupportive institutional environment.
- ItemAn analysis of corporate governance practices in government controlled versus private banking institutions in Zimbabwe(2015) Dube, Z.L.; Murahwe, G.R.The significance of good corporate governance practices is of paramount importance. It can be posited that the Zimbabwean banking sector crisis of the period 2003 to 2004 was largely due to poor corporate governance practices. Most of the banking institutions that faced closure in that era were of domestic origin. This crisis however did not affect the Government owned banks. This was a paradox as private banks are seen as profitable compared to Government owned banks. The paper sought to ascertain who between the government and private banks better adhered to corporate governance principles. Twenty one banks were involved in this study. A total of 39 questionnaires were sent, three per bank. Ten face to face interviews were conducted with the banks' directors and managers. The paper unearthed that corporate governance practices are observed by both private banks and government controlled banks; however private banks appear to have a slighter edge. Government owned banks do have good corporate practices in place.
- ItemDynamics of configuring and interpreting the disaster risk script: Experiences from Zimbabwe(2013) Bongo, P. P.; Chipangura, P.; Sithole, M.; Moyo, F.People in Zimbabwe have been faced with disasters in different forms and at various levels. When people experience hazard events and disasters, they perceive these phenomena through lenses that are largely shaped by their local day-to-day experiences and some external influence. As they do this, they develop their own local conception of hazards and disasters, and they tend to model their response or preparedness through this. This article argues that on the basis of this premise, each society therefore develops its own unique and localised way of interpreting the disaster, which comes in the form of a ‘script’, that needs to be deciphered, read, analysed and understood within local priorities and knowledge systems. The hazard may be the same, say, fire, but as it occurs in different communities, they configure and read the fire script differently, hence spawning different response and prevention strategies. The way people anticipate, prepare for, and respond to a particular disaster stems from their perception of it, based on their own local conceptions of reality. The article argues that effective disaster risk reduction must focus on people’s holistic understanding of the unfolding scenario, thereby feeding into disaster risk early warning systems. For effective understanding of the utility of early warning systems, the socio-cultural processes involved in the ideation of the disaster cannot be ignored. It is also critical to examine people’s past experiences with external early warning systems, and how much faith they put in them.
- ItemEconomic migration and the socio-economic impacts on the emigrant’s family: A case of Ward 8, Gweru Rural district, Zimbabwe(2018) Ndlovu, E.; Tigere, R.Gweru Rural district in the Midlands province of Zimbabwe has witnessed an increasing number of outward migrations of breadwinners, leaving behind a desperate environment for families. This study was motivated by the realisation that most of the sick left behind, the elderly and children would visit the health centres unaccompanied, risking taking prescribed drugs incorrectly, thus further compromising their health. The study sought to establish the socio-economic effects of international migration on family members left behind in ward 8 of Gweru Rural. The study adopted a qualitative case study approach. Focus group discussions, questionnaires and structured individual interviews were used to elicit for data. Non-probability sampling design was used because of small samples available. Convenience and purposive sampling techniques were particularly used. Data were manually analysed and presented both qualitatively and quantitatively. The study revealed that international migration particularly to South Africa, especially by non- professionals, was not yielding the much-expected economic gains; instead it was characterised by more negative social effects on the emigrant’s family. The study recommends that emigrants should consider migrating with their loved ones and, where it is not feasible, to put in place sound alternative caregiving arrangements. The study has provided an insight into international migration and its effects on left-behind families. However, a more comprehensive and quantitative survey remains critical to delving deeper into this migration phenomenon, particularly on how both the emigrant and left-behind spouses handle the issue of conjugal rights.