https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/111 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:00:43 GMT 2026-04-16T13:00:43Z https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/4135 Title: The role of non governmental organizations (NGOs) in rural poverty alleviation: a case study of Kezi rural district From 2008-2018 Authors: Dube, Andrew Abstract: Up to the 21st century, poverty remains to be a global threat. Millions of people around the world live in extreme poverty hardly making ends meet and suffer from chronic deprivation of basic essentials such as food, shelter, water, health care, education and other social services. According to the United Nations Development Programme (2015) 1.3 billion live in poverty. Statistics on the African context are alarming as they turn out that the highest rate of people particularly children are living in extreme poverty in the Sub-Saharan. Zimbabwe is no exception in the scope of poverty. Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZIMVAC) in 2012 indicates that approximately 4.1 million live in poverty. Poverty in the country can be indebted to unprecedented economic recession, adverse climate conditions and industrial under-performance among other factors. The lobbying of NGOs has been closely tipped towards poverty alleviation efforts in the communities. There has been a significant number of people living in misery, cannot afford daily prerequisites such as food, health services, education and safe water and sanitation. In light of the above, it is the purpose of this research to assess and explore the significant role of NGOs in poverty alleviation in Kezi rural district. The study constructively make use of three broad areas, schools, clinics and the rural community at large to examine NGO operations aimed towards poverty alleviation. The study employs qualitative research method, significantly making use of semi-structured interviews. This enabled gathering of perceptions, experiences and activities of NGOs in Kezi rural district. The role of NGOs such as the World Vision, Camfed, Orap (Zenzele), Oxfam and Higher Life no mention among other organizations enriched the study in reflecting their efforts towards poverty alleviation. Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/4135 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z Dube, Andrew https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/4111 Title: Twinning arrangements and service delivery in Zimbabwe’s local authorities: the case of Bulawayo City Council (BCC) and Ethekwini (South Africa), from 2010-2017 Authors: Chikwati, Judith Moreen Abstract: Town twinning is a global trend and is becoming more popular in Africa with Local authorities forming alliances with other municipalities within the region and abroad. Twinning arrangements originated after the Second World War as one of the diplomatic techniques to bring about peace and reconciliation amongst states. Bulawayo City Council had its first twinning arrangement in 1986 with Aberdeen City Council (Scotland). Since then, it has managed to forge alliances with Ethekwini Municipality (Durban- South Africa), Polokwane Municipality, Francistown City Council (Botswana) and the City of Siping (China). The study sought to assess the nexus between the twinning arrangements and service delivery by taking a close and critical look at various thematic concerns such as the causes of poor service delivery in Bulawayo. The researcher also proffered recommendations on how best to deal with the factors militating against effective and efficient service delivery. The author looked at decentralisation and the impact this concept would have on the development of cities in Zimbabwe. The second objective of this research was to examine the factors which led to the twinning arrangement with Ethekwini Municipality and this led to the third goal, which is the assessment of whether or not the set targets were met. The author also looked at the legislative frameworks guiding the Twinning arrangements. The study triangulated both the qualitative and quantitative methodologies in gathering data on the topic. The target population included the staff members, the elected officials, former students on attachment, Business community and the residents of Bulawayo. Questionnaires were sent to various respondents, interviews were also conducted and the researcher also made use of Council documents and files. Thus, research findings show that BCC has benefitted more from the twinning arrangements it has with other cities with the Ethekwini-BCC cooperation being the most fruitful one of them all. The researcher then recommended that the BCC formulates a twinning arrangements standing committee which will greatly decrease travelling costs by delegating the Chairperson of the committee to run errands on Council’s behalf. Other recommendation included the inclusion of the citizens of Bulawayo in TA issues and to empower the majority by focusing more on the educational sector through exchange programs. Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/4111 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z Chikwati, Judith Moreen https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/4098 Title: An assessment of corporate governance in urban local authorities : a case of city of Mutare Authors: Chiweshe, Christine Abstract: Corporate governance is blend of law, regulation and appropriate voluntary private sector practices which enables the organization to attract financial and human capital to perform efficiently. Generally corporate governance involves a set of relationship amongst the company’s management, its board of directors, its shareholders, its auditors and other stake holders. Corporate governance is the process carried out by a board of directors and its related committee on behalf of and for the benefit of the organizations shareholders and the other stake holders, to provide direction, authority and oversights to management, this is according Youssef (2007). In the narrow sense, corporate governance in local authorities is the system which provides a framework to direct and control their functions. It is primarily concerned with decision making within and at the highest levels of an organization. Good corporate governance and the guidance that comes with it provides an organization with clear accountabilities.It is clear that there is a research gap in this area of study and that further research needs to be carried out, in order to assess corporate governance in Zimbabwean urban local authorities but mainly focusing on Mutare City Council. A simple random sampling of the targeted population was employed. The researcher used questionnaires to collect the data and also made use of secondary sources and literature for comparison and improvement of analysis. The collected data was altered to identify differences and establish uniformity and then assembled to facilitate entry of the responses into the computer. Also the quantitative data was analysed using a statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) and excel spreadsheets. The quantitative findings was presented in form of tables and percentages to enable easy translation by the readers accompanied by the essential explanations and narrations. From the study it was established that corporate governance principles such as responsiveness, accountability, fairness and transparency (RAFT) contribute positively to Mutare City Council. Mutare City Council must review the current operational corporate governance principles in the organisation from time to time, and make sure that they are well known to all shareholders and stakeholders. Wed, 01 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/4098 2017-11-01T00:00:00Z Chiweshe, Christine https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/4097 Title: An assessment of the impact of food aid programs to household food security in Zimbabwe : a case of Chimanimani District Authors: Matongo, Callister Wish Abstract: This study was carried out in Chimanimani district and it seeks to understand the impact of food aid on household food security. The study sampled 40 households using convenient sampling who are the beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of food aid. Food aid program is widely debated in the world and has made many people to believe that food aid has a disincentive effect while others believe it is an essential tool for agriculture and food security development. For the past decade, food aid deliveries have featured Chimanimani district following its food deficit. This research utilized both qualitative and qualitative research designs. It made use of focus group discussions with local authorities of Chimanimani district, local traditional leaders, government field workers and villagers as well as questionnaire interviews with individuals while observations became an integral part. A two stage sampling design was chosen in order to systematically sample the wards and then randomly sample individuals from those wards. A lot of secondary information was also obtained mostly ZimVAC rural vulnerability assessments. The study found out that negative dependency on food aid occur when rigorous assessments are not done prior to implementation, it does not target the most vulnerable thereby including undeserving cases and excluding deserving cases, it is implemented at the wrong time and if the quantities given are more than the requirements. It is concluded that the food aid programs which were implemented in the area were designed properly such that it did not encourage negative dependency. However, it fell short of attaining the objective of promoting or strengthening livelihoods. In order to attain the objective of food security for the local people of Chimanimani West it is recommended that both the public and private sectors revamp and expand the irrigation developments in the region. Drought resistant crops such as millet and sorghum should be promoted. New farming technology of conservation farming is highly recommended to improve on crop yields. Finally it is recommended that food aid be combined with input support as a way of directly promoting production Thu, 01 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/4097 2017-06-01T00:00:00Z Matongo, Callister Wish