Challenges in the Provision of Affordable and Decent Housing for Low Income Earners

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 13-29
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Kurebwa

This study sought to understand the challenges in the provision of affordable and decent housing for low income earners in the capital city of Zimbabwe, Harare. Various challenges relating to housing provision were identified by the research participants. These related to regulatory barriers, lack of political will and commitment, financial challenges, lack of inter-agency coordination. The study concludes that provision of low-income housing remains a big challenge in Harare, which calls for a multi-sectoral approach to address. The study relied on qualitative methodology. Research participants were drawn from Harare City Council, the private sector non-governmental organisations (NGOs), government officials, and residents.

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hudson Mutandwa ◽  
Tawanda Zinyama

The study was carried out to analyse the potential use of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in water infrastructural development in Harare City Council, Zimbabwe.  PPPs play a pivotal role in water infrastructural development if fully implemented.  Zimbabwe’s rate of uptake is low.  There are preconditions that are necessary for successful implementation of PPPs inter alia political will (commitment) legal, institutional and political frameworks.  Key informant interviews and documentary search were employed to gather data.  The study established that Zimbabwe does not have the preconditions necessary for successful implementation of PPPs and this confirms the thesis.  The main challenges include lack of legal and institutional framework, lack of political will, unconducive socio-economic environment.  Zimbabwe’s water infrastructure is ramshackle.  This is compounded by lack of fiscal space on the part of government to rehabilitate the infrastructure.  PPPs could be a viable alternative to infrastructural development with the right environmental conditions.  The study recommends that the government should quickly enact a PPP legal framework that enables the establishment of a PPP unit within the Ministry of Finance and this should be followed by an Act of Parliament which should institutionalize PPPs.  The Government should promote a conducive investment climate.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2199164
Author(s):  
Phyllis Rumbidzai Kwenda ◽  
Gareth Lagerwall ◽  
Sibel Eker ◽  
Bas Van Ruijven

Among other African cities, in terms of solid waste management (SWM), Harare has been ranked as one of the poorest. The municipality struggles to efficiently provide SWM services to its residents. Considering that SWM systems are complex, the individual behaviour of its components (waste generation, collection, and disposal) determines the overall performance of the system. This mini-review thus aims to understand the management system of the urban city’s biggest source of solid waste which is household solid waste (HSW). The systematic literature review methodology using NVIVO was used to analyse the literature. Out of a selected sample size of 500 journal articles, 26 were selected based on their relevance to the study. The uncertainty of the data provided by the Harare City Council (HCC) and of HSW generation data harvested in the literature was calculated. According to the HCC data records, Harare has an average daily waste generation per capita of on average 0.38±0.1 kg producing about 207, 635, 294±56, 027, 040 kg of HSW generated annually. With the waste collection efficiency in Harare at about 72.4%±7.5%, the city collects approximately 170, 385, 600±33 384 209 kg of HSW annually. All the collected HSW is disposed of in the city’s major MSW dumpsite called Pomona and only about 23, 498, 400±3, 988, 817 kg MSW is recovered annually with the average recovery efficiency at around 9.5%±2.8%, where most of the waste recovery is done by the waste pickers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Chaote ◽  
Nguke Mwakatundu ◽  
Sunday Dominico ◽  
Alex Mputa ◽  
Agnes Mbanza ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Having a companion of choice throughout childbirth is an important component of good quality and respectful maternity care for women and has become standard in many countries. However, there are only a few examples of birth companionship being implemented in government health systems in low-income countries. To learn if birth companionship was feasible, acceptable and led to improved quality of care in these settings, we implemented a pilot project using 9 intervention and 6 comparison sites (all government health facilities) in a rural region of Tanzania. Methods The pilot was developed and implemented in Kigoma, Tanzania between July 2016 and December 2018. Women delivering at intervention sites were given the choice of having a birth companion with them during childbirth. We evaluated the pilot with: (a) project data; (b) focus group discussions; (c) structured and semi-structured interviews; and (d) service statistics. Results More than 80% of women delivering at intervention sites had a birth companion who provided support during childbirth, including comforting women and staying by their side. Most women interviewed at intervention sites were very satisfied with having a companion during childbirth (96–99%). Most women at the intervention sites also reported that the presence of a companion improved their labor, delivery and postpartum experience (82–97%). Health providers also found companions very helpful because they assisted with their workload, alerted the provider about changes in the woman’s status, and provided emotional support to the woman. When comparing intervention and comparison sites, providers at intervention sites were significantly more likely to: respond to women who called for help (p = 0.003), interact in a friendly way (p < 0.001), greet women respectfully (p < 0.001), and try to make them more comfortable (p = 0.003). Higher proportions of women who gave birth at intervention sites reported being “very satisfied” with the care they received (p < 0.001), and that the staff were “very kind” (p < 0.001) and “very encouraging” (p < 0.001). Conclusion Birth companionship was feasible and well accepted by health providers, government officials and most importantly, women who delivered at intervention facilities. The introduction of birth companionship improved women’s experience of birth and the maternity ward environment overall.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariah P. Gesink ◽  
Robert M. Chamberlain ◽  
Julius Mwaiselage ◽  
Crispin Kahesa ◽  
Kahima Jackson ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women in Sub-Saharan countries, including Tanzania. While early detection and diagnosis are available in some parts of this large country, radiotherapy has been only available at the Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI), in the capital city of Dar es Salaam and is just starting in a few regions. Methods The objective of this study was to compare the observed incidence of cervical cancer for the two remote regions of Mwanza in western Tanzania and Mbeya in southern Tanzania, based on their patients treated at the ORCI from 2011 to 2014. Results: The number patients referred and treated at ORCI were (120 from Mwanza, and 171 from Mbeya, representing 24.6 and 32.8% of the patients histopathologically confirmed in the two sites, respectively. The results showed significant underestimation of cervical cancer in the two regions. The vast majority of patients who were histopathologically-confirmed in their local regions (73.92% from Mwanza and 65.1% from Mbeya), but did not receive the needed radiotherapy treatment at the ORCI. The estimated incidence for the two regions based on the number of patients treated at the ORCI were underestimated by 53.9% for Mwanza and 68.9% for Mbeya. Conclusions Local establishment of radiotherapy treatment facilities in remote regions in Tanzania and similar other low-income countries is essential for providing effective treatment and improving survival of diagnosed cervical cancer patients. Linkage between the records of local remote hospitals and the main cancer treatment center in the capital city can also help support the emerging the population-based cancer registry at ORCI.


Author(s):  
Mohd. Yousuf Bhat

Delhi, the capital city of India, which is the concern of this chapter, has its own significance as it is the seat of governance, learning, and the healthcare service provider. Capital cities though inhabit people from every region and tend to be overcrowded, but in Delhi, the situation is not only the nature of a capital city, but also the industrial and commercial centre of high order in the northern zone of India, which is creating a number of environmental problems, such as air and water pollution, slum development, congested housing, etc. The chapter discusses all causes of Delhi's environmental problems like atrophy of political will, mismanaged urbanisation, court interventions, etc., and finally, the chapter tries to find out possible solutions in a detailed manner keeping in view the measures taken by other countries like China to deal with such problems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Kurebwa ◽  
Eunice Magumise

This study investigated the effectiveness of Zimbabwe's cyber security frameworks in combating terrorism. Media reports and scholarly evidence have constantly shown that cybercrime has led to loss of life, money, security, damage to property. There is a lot of concern among citizens of African countries such as Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Nigeria that their governments are not equipped with effective cyber security systems to combat these cyber threats. It is on the basis of these concerns that this study was carried out with the hope of helping to close policy and knowledge gaps affecting the effectiveness of the cyber security frameworks of Zimbabwe. The study used qualitative methodology and a case study research design was utilised. The study was conducted in Harare the capital city of Zimbabwe. Key informant interviews and documentary search were used to collect data. Among the findings of the study were that cyber fraud and theft are some of the significant cyber security threats in Zimbabwe; that Zimbabwe lacks established legislation and other regulatory institutions for cyber-security. Among the recommendations are; that the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs enacts cyber security laws in Zimbabwe to combat cyber terrorism.


Author(s):  
Chetan Sharma ◽  
Y. R. Maindiratta

Seelampur, situated in the northeastern part of Delhi, the capital city of India, is characterized by low-income groups, high population density and poor civic amenities. It is a Muslim-dominated area with a high density of population and low family incomes. The average monthly family income is about 60-80 United States (U.S.) dollars, and the average family consists of eight members. Within Seelampur, the area of Zaffarabad (having approximately 90% Muslim population) stands out as a pocket of extreme urban poverty and immensely poor living conditions; open drains are clogged with sewage, power breakdowns are frequent, houses are dilapidated and people are residing in overcrowded lanes. Lack of opportunities in terms of education and employment also mark the life for people here. Formal education has become quite common, and thus, enrolment is high, but dropping out at different grades is a continuing problem. Most young women have not completed high school, as they usually drop out of the school after finishing Grade 8. Datamation Foundation initiated some work in the area, particularly with women, in 2002. At this time, UNESCO launched a pilot initiative to innovate and research social and technological strategies to put information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the hands of the poor. This seemed a good opportunity in the given context, so an ICT center was set up at Zaffarabad. The initiative seeks to deploy ICTs to address urban poverty and is designed to empower the women of Seelampur.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 210-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Sima

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and explore how different stakeholders represent communist and revolution heritage for tourism, with a case-study on Bucharest, the capital city of Romania. The research attempts to identify gaps and tensions between representation makers on communist heritage tourism. Design/methodology/approach The research employs a range of qualitative methods in order to explore communist heritage tourism representation from different perspectives: content analysis of secondary data in the form of government, industry and media destination promotional material; interviews with a range of representation producers (government, industry and media); focus groups with potential tourists; and content analysis of user generated content under the form of blogs by actual visitors to Bucharest. Findings Findings reveal that there are gaps between the “official” or government representations of communism and revolution heritage and “unofficial” or industry, media and tourists’ representations. The research confirms and builds on Light’s (2000a, b) views that communist heritage is perceived as “problematic” by government officials and that attempts have been made to reinterpret it in a different light. The process of representation is made difficult by recent trends such as the increase in popularity of communism heritage tourism in countries such as Germany or Hungary. The potential of communist and revolution heritage to generate tourism is increasingly being acknowledged. However, reconciliation with “an unwanted” past is made difficult because of the legacy of communism and the difficulties of transition, EU-integration, economic crisis or countless political and social crisis and challenges. The “official” and “unofficial” representations successfully coexist and form part of the communism and revolution heritage product. Research limitations/implications The research attempts to look at the representation of communism heritage from different angles, however, it does not exhaust the number of views and perspectives that exist on the topic. The research only records the British and Romanian perspectives on the topic. The topic is still in its infancy and more research is needed on communism heritage tourism and representation. Originality/value The research identifies and explores gaps, agreements and disagreements over the representation of communist and revolution heritage in Bucharest, Romania.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Flocks ◽  
Paul Monaghan

Environmental injustice occurs when a particular population, most often low-income people of color, is exposed disproportionately to an environmental health hazard. On the continuum of an environmentally unjust situation, there are several stages and levels at which inequities occur. A corporation makes a decision to locate a waste incinerator in a neighborhood that, because of historical socioeconomic discrimination, has become a low-income African American community in an industrial zone. Community members are stonewalled and intimidated at a public hearing about a local environmental health problem by industry and government officials who sit far away from the audience and use technical jargon to describe the issue. Native-Americans lose an important diet staple and economic activity when an industry's runoff contaminates the fish in a body of water. These examples illustrate geographical, procedural, and sociocultural inequities contributing to environmental injustices.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 3662
Author(s):  
Vineet Chaturvedi ◽  
Monika Kuffer ◽  
Divyani Kohli

A large part of the population in low-income countries (LICs) lives in fragile and conflict-affected states. Many cities in these states show high growth dynamics, but little is known about the relation of conflicts and urban growth. In Afghanistan, the Taliban regime, which lasted from 1996 to 2001, caused large scale displacement of the population. People from Afghanistan migrated to neighboring countries like Iran and Pakistan, and all developments came to a halt. After the US invasion in October 2001, all the major cities in Afghanistan experienced significant population growth, in particular, driven by the influx of internally displaced persons. Maximum pressure of this influx was felt by the capital city, Kabul. This rapid urbanization, combined with very limited capacity of local authorities to deal with this growth, led to unplanned urbanization and challenges for urban planning and management. This study analyses the patterns of growth between 2001 and 2017, and the factors influencing the growth in the city of Kabul with the help of high-resolution Earth Observation-based data (EO) and spatial logistic regression modelling. We analyze settlement patterns by extracting image features from high-resolution images (aerial photographs of 2017) and terrain features as input to a random forest classifier. The urban growth is analyzed using an available built-up map (extracted from IKONOS images for the year 2001). Results indicate that unplanned settlements have grown 4.5 times during this period, whereas planned settlements have grown only 1.25 times. The unplanned settlements expanded mostly towards the west and north west parts of the city, and the growth of planned settlements happened mainly in the central and eastern parts of the city. Population density and the locations of military bases are the most important factors that influence the growth, of both planned and unplanned settlements. The growth of unplanned settlement occurs predominantly in areas of steeper slopes on the hillside, while planned settlements are on gentle slopes and closer to the institutional areas (central and eastern parts of the city). We conclude that security and availability of infrastructure were the main drivers of growth for planned settlements, whereas unplanned growth, mainly on hillsides, was driven by the availability of land with poor infrastructure.


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