scholarly journals Causes and Solutions of Poverty in Lesotho

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-38
Author(s):  
Moeketsi Kali
Keyword(s):  
Social Protection ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Gender Disparity ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Political Empowerment ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Government ◽  
Agenda 2063 ◽  
Causes Of Poverty

Sub-Saharan Africa is a home of the world’s poorest countries. After more than half a century since independence, Lesotho remains in the list of the poor countries in Sub-Saharan Africa despite the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals, Sustainable Development Goals, and Agenda 2063. The aim of this paper is to examine the causes of poverty in the country together with the solutions taken to combat it. The paper asks the following questions: What are the main causes of poverty in Lesotho? What solutions has the government put in place to reduce it? The paper anchors on content analysis to provide answers to these questions. It argues that poverty and its ills remain pervasive in Lesotho because of the government’s poor policies and failure to create job opportunities. The paper shows that the government of Lesotho has closed gender disparity in terms of educational attainment and health and survival. It has also developed a robust social protection system to reduce poverty among the elderly population, people living with disabilities, children, and women in the country. Despite this success, the government has reversed the gains made since 2006 in terms of political empowerment and economic participation and opportunities. Notwithstanding, the SDGs and Agenda 2063 provides a room for the government to reduce poverty in the country by making good on its promises entailed in the two international instruments.

scholarly journals Charcoal and Wood Biomass Utilization in Uganda: The Socioeconomic and Environmental Dynamics and Implications

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8337
Author(s):  
Dastan Bamwesigye ◽  
Petr Kupec ◽  
Georges Chekuimo ◽  
Jindrich Pavlis ◽  
Obed Asamoah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Fuel Use ◽  
Wood Fuel ◽  
Biomass Utilization ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Government

Charcoal and firewood fuel biomass utilization is thought to be the main cause of deforestation in Uganda. Moreover, the practice of utilizing charcoal and wood fuel in Uganda is said to impact the health of many women and children in the region. The goal of this study was to comprehensively analyze charcoal and wood fuel utilization processes in Uganda and sub-Saharan Africa and the environmental and socioeconomic dynamics and implications. The study equally intended to model out some possible improvements to wood fuel use while conserving natural forests. Both qualitative and qualitative approaches were used to study the charcoal and wood fuel energy situation in Uganda. The study collected field data (sample size: 199) which was subjected to descriptive analysis. The findings show that over 90% of households in Uganda and the sub- Saharan region use firewood and charcoal wood fuel, and that this fuel use creates social and environmental hazards. Our findings are also in agreement with numerous empirical studies showing that firewood and charcoal biomass are among the major causes of deforestation in Uganda and the sub-Saharan region. Ceteris paribus, we propose the adoption of Improved Eco-Stoves (ICE), which not only enable comprehensive combustion but also lessen the quantity of firewood used by more than 60%, together with policy decisions on the government of Uganda, given peoples willingness to take on alternative energy sources such as gas and electricity.

Factors limiting the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kofi Agyekum ◽  
Emmanuel Adinyira ◽  
James Anthony Oppon
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Material ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Government

PurposeThe increased awareness of global environmental threats like climate change has created an upsurge of interest in low embodied carbon building materials for green building delivery. Though the literature advocates for the use of hemp-based building materials, there is no evidence of studies to explore its potential use in Ghana. Therefore, this study explores the potential factors that limit the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was used to solicit the views of built environment professionals operating in construction, consulting and developer firms. The questions were developed through a comparative review of the related literature and complemented with a pilot review. Data were analysed via descriptive and inferential statistics.FindingsOn the average, the majority of the respondents showed a moderate level of awareness of hemp and its related uses in the construction industry. Also, certain key factors like the perceived association of hemp with marijuana, lack of expertise in the production of hemp-related building materials, farmers not getting the needed clearance for the cultivation of hemp, lack of legislation by the government in the legalisation of hemp and the inadequate knowledge of consumers on the benefits of hemp-based building materials were identified as potential limitations to the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery.Originality/valueThe findings from this study provide insights into a less investigated area in sub-Saharan Africa and further provide new and additional information to the current state-of-the-art on the potential for the use of hemp in the building construction sector.

scholarly journals Social Protection in Sub-Saharan Africa: Will the Green Shoots Blossom?

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Angel Niño-Zarazúa ◽  
Armando Barrientos ◽  
David Hulme ◽  
Sam Hickey
Keyword(s):  
Social Protection ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals #RESISTHUDUMANAMBA: KENYAN GOVERNMENT AT A CROSSROAD

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Job Mwaura
Keyword(s):  
Identity Management ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Biometric Data ◽  
Qualitative Research Study ◽  
Online Spaces ◽  
Identity Management System ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Government

In the past few years, Kenya’s digital landscape has transformed and this has been made possible by proliferation of the usage of digital technologies, particularly - mobile phones. Due to increased access to digital technologies, faster internet speeds, increased securitization among other issues, data on individuals in online spaces has also increased. Recently, the government rolled out a National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) which is meant to capture biometric data but this has generated a huge debate online in Kenya under the hashtag #ResistHudumaNamba. This paper will therefore examine the following issues: What has contributed to the decline of trust between the government and its citizens when it comes to internet technologies? What are the actual sentiments given for and against in the introduction of Huduma Number? What are the underlying reasons for continued registration of individuals in Kenya? This research will be a qualitative research study. Data will be generated from social media sites (Twitter and Facebook), as well as blog posts and newspaper articles. A discourse analysis of the events around #ResistsHudumaNamba in these sources will be done so as to answer the research questions. This research has the potential to contribute to literature on trust in sub-Saharan Africa as well as establish trust issues between government and citizens when digital technologies are involved.

scholarly journals Factors That Matter for Financial Inclusion: Evidence from Sub-Sharan Africa - The Zimbabwe Case

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
David Mhlanga
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Multinomial Logit Model ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Hand Off ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Government

The study intended to investigate the factors that are important in influencing the financial inclusion of smallholder farming households in Sub-Saharan Africa with a specific focus on Zimbabwe. Motivated by the fact that there is an increase in the evidence of the importance of financial inclusion in fighting poverty and the fact that by merely having a bank account, financial inclusion cannot be guaranteed, the study went further to interrogate factors that influence smallholder farmers to have a transaction account, to borrow and to have insurance. Since the dependent variable of financial inclusion had more than two categories, with three unordered categories, transaction account, savings/credit account, and insurance, the multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the determinants of financial inclusion from these three categories of the dependent variable. The multinomial logit model results, with insurance as the reference category, indicated that the size of the household, transaction costs, gender and agricultural extension service were the factors influencing the demand for a household to open a transaction account. On the other hand, off-farm income and age of the household were the only two factors significantly influencing households to borrow. Therefore, it is imperative for, the government of Zimbabwe to come up with more policies that encourage farmers to participate in the formal financial market as financial inclusion can help to fight poverty and the general developments of societies.   Received: 28 April 2021 / Accepted: 31 August 2021 / Published: 5 November 2021

scholarly journals Towards Pragmatic Economic Policies: Economic Transformation and Industrialization for Revival of Zimbabwe in the New Dispensation Era

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 75-81
Author(s):  
Charles Mazhazhate ◽  
Tapiwa C Mujakachi ◽  
Shakerod Munuhwa
Keyword(s):  
Economic History ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Consumer Prices ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Government ◽  
Economic Institute

Whilst literature has many monetary and economic policies that were enacted before and after the dawn of the New Dispensation in Zimbabwe the country still faces a downward trend in terms of economic recovery. This study reviews the various policies put in place by the government and their impact on socio-economic development of Zimbabwe. A review of Zimbabwe’s economic history shows that the country dropped from being one of the best economies in Sub-Saharan Africa and now ailing and characterised by hyperinflation, agricultural challenges, corruption, very high tax regime, huge domestic and foreign debts, increase in consumer prices and being a chief net importer of most goods or services. The study was underpinned by a case study survey from Singapore’s revival with both qualitative and quantitative instruments used. The study found out that even though the land reform had an impact on economic performance, corruption, party-power politics and absence of an economic institute eroded any necessary contribution to economic transformation and industrialization in Zimbabwe. The study also revealed that the bilateral and multi-lateral agreements that were enacted in the dawn of the new dispensation have not yielded the desired economic revival transformations. The study recommended establishment of an economic institute to direct policy as well as removal of unethical practices in both public and private sectors so as to ensure financial and economic discipline.

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