https://hdl.handle.net/10646/2961 2026-04-16T00:07:22Z https://hdl.handle.net/10646/3988 Title: Survival strategies among refugees in Africa: A comparative study of access to education among Rwandan refugees living in Zimbabwe and Congo Authors: Rwamatwara, Egide Abstract: One of the effects of forced displacement is the disruption of education for affected people. Upon their settlement in the country of asylum most refugees struggle to resume interrupted studies. As such, education constitutes one of the refugees‟ basic needs and human rights. However, enjoyment of the right to education among refugees is usually affected by the limited resources allocated to education especially in Africa due to high and constantly increasing number of refugees. It also depends largely on the host government‟s policy and willingness to grant refugees access to public educational institutions. In this regard, refugees‟ survival strategies for access to education becomes of paramount importance. The aim of this study was to investigate and to document the challenges and constraints pertaining to access to education among refugees living in Zimbabwe and Congo as well as the strategies that they adopt to overcome them. The study was informed by the fact that existing literature has abundantly highlighted the challenges and constraints to which refugees are constantly subjected for access to education, yet there remains a paucity of studies and data on the survival strategies that refugees adopt to overcome these challenges. Furthermore, existing literature lacks comparative data between countries and across types of refugees‟ settlements. This study targeted refugees staying in refugee camps, those settled in rural areas and those self-settled in urban settings. The study was inspired by Giddens‟ Structuration Theory and the Actor-Oriented Approach to highlight the agency of refugees in finding solutions to the various challenges, limitations and constraints that they encounter in exile with a particular emphasis on access to education. The study used a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies to enter the refugees‟ world and to interact with them in their natural environment. It used structured interview, in-depth interview and focus group discussion techniques to collect data and testimonies about refugees‟ challenges and survival strategies pertaining to access and enjoyment of education in exile. The field research was conducted between 2009 and 2011. It reached out to 335 respondents through the survey, 22 participants through in-depth interviews and 120 participants through focus group discussions. The findings show that refugees are active agents in finding solutions to their plight. They highlight and stress the knowledgeability; the creativity and the ingenuity of refugees with regard their survival strategies for access to education in exile. The study establishes that refugees manage to circumvent the critical barriers affecting their access to education such as lack of identification papers, age limit and certification of previous studies, mostly through networking. The study proposes some recommendations for policy and decision makers to encourage and support refugees‟ creativity and entrepreneurship through self-help projects. It also advocates for more research interest on the refugee phenomenon and to introduce a course on forced migration in the faculty of social studies of the University of Zimbabwe. 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10646/3987 Title: The effectiveness of the United Nations security council in maintaining peace and security in the Middle East: The case of Syria (2011 – 2016) Authors: Murena, Faustina Abbigirl Abstract: The general objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in resolving conflicts in the Middle East with a particular focus on the Syrian crisis. What prompted the study is the fact that since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011, no robust action has been taken by the UNSC in response to the situation, which clearly poses a threat to international peace and security. It is on this basis that the study aimed at establishing the mandate of the UNSC, the role it has played and the facilitating and inhibiting factors towards the resolution of the civil war in Syria. Data for this qualitative case study were collected through interviews and document analysis. The twelve participants for the interviews were drawn from Colonels in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), Embassies, Security Analysts and Academics from the University of Zimbabwe. Documents such as published books, journal articles and unpublished dissertations/ theses, newsletters, newspaper articles, policy briefs amongst other documents were used to illustrate the UNSC’s response to the Syrian conflict as well as the challenges faced in resolving the conflict. The study established that in response to the crisis, the UNSC inter alia, called for the implementation of the Geneva Communiqué, a six-point peace plan of the joint special envoy of the UN and the League of Arab States (LAS); it established a supervision mission in Syria (UNSMIS); it has condemned the use of chemical weapons and endorsed the removal and destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons; it has urged the international community to suppress funding of terrorist activities in Syria; it has urged all parties to the conflict to allow and facilitate humanitarian relief; and it has repeatedly stressed that the warring parties must stop all violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. The main findings in this research revealed that the UNSC has been rendered ineffective due to the meddling of external actors such as Russia and China who are pursuing their national interests at the expense of the peace and security of the Syrian people. From the respondents’ perspective, it is only when the external actors stop meddling in the Syrian crisis that a solution can be found. The study recommends that there is need for national ownership if the mediation efforts of the UNSC are to be successful. Labeling and hate speech should not be used if the UNSC wants to get cooperation from the Assad regime. There is need for an expansion of countries that wield veto power to enable a wider representation and the external actors involved in the conflict must withdraw their support from either side and leaving the warring parties to fight until a victor emerges. This might force the warring parties to go on the negotiating table 2017-05-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10646/3986 Title: An analysis of the occupational health systems in the public sector. The case of Zimbabwe Electrical Transmission and Distribution Company. Authors: Maumbe, Gerald Tinashe Abstract: The study analyses the occupational health and safety systems in ZETDC. The study sought to identify the Occupational Health System in ZETDC, the frameworks used in its implementation and to assess its effectiveness in the organisation. The study further identifies the hurdles faced in the use of the Occupational Health and Safety System and proffers recommendations to alleviate them. Literature on the study reviewed various theories which influence the adoption of Occupational Health Systems which include the Theory of Accident Proneness and Heinrich’s Domino Theory. In-depth interviews, non-participatory observation and documentary search were utilised in the study. The study identified the basics of ZETDC’s Occupational Health and Safety System as based on the need to reduce loss of work hours and increased rate of labour turnover due to the risky nature of electricity transmission and distribution. Institutional and Policy frameworks were identified to enable for the implementation of the Occupational Health and Safety System in ZETDC these included the Office of the Health Officer, Risk Management Department and the Administrative Note and the Operating and Safety Rules respectively. Various activities were noted for the promotion of Occupational Health and Safety in ZETDC which included the Safety Pledge, Culture Change, Risk Management Awards, Safety and Health Committee, Safety and Health Seminars and Workshops, Corporate Level Reports, Safety Circulars, Safety Awareness Campaigns and the Annual Commemoration of the World Safety Day. The effectiveness of ZETDC’s Occupational Health and Safety System was evaluated by trend analysis on the number of injuries and fatalities at the workplace between the years 2009 to 2016. The study concludes that though vibrant the Occupational Health and Safety System suffers shortage of health and safety personnel, constrained budgeting and financing, behavioural and negligence tendencies and foreman’s dual responsibility with trade unions. On the shortage of health and safety personnel the study recommends that there be the expansion of the health office into a department to counteract the staff shortage and to liberalise occupational health and safety budgeting. The study also recommends policy reorientation to ensure that those who are at supervisor level (foremen) once they hold executive posts in trade unions get elevated to managerial level such that they will make a choice between being in ZETDC and not in a trade union. 2017-03-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10646/3985 Title: An application of the ‘issue attention cycle’ to the transport sector: The case of public transport accidents in Zimbabwe, 2000-2014. Authors: Gweshe, Gay Tapiwa Abstract: The study presents the findings of the research on: the application of the Issue Attention Cycle to the policy agenda setting in the transport sector. The case study was on the policy problem of public transport accidents in Zimbabwe, 2000-2014. The cycle-model was developed by Anthony Downs in 1972 who observed that public attention towards problems is generally short-lived. The cycle has five stages which proceed in a logical sequence. The first stage is the pre-problem stage which is then followed by alarmed discovery and euphoric enthusiasm. The introduction of a change will lead to a realization of the cost of change resulting in the gradual decline in the public‘s interest and lastly the problem reaches the post problem stage. The study made case references to South Africa and Malaysia, bringing out the relevance of the cycle-model to the accident-related cases in these counties. The key informants used in this study were drawn from the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ), the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, the Parliament of Zimbabwe and Media houses. These key informants were purposively selected based on their specialized knowledge of the sector. Documentary search was also utilized during the data collection process. The inquiry hypothesized that government tends to intervene immediately after a peak period in the occurrence of public transport accidents. However, findings revealed that government policy intervention proceeds in a periodic and cyclical fashion. Even if the cycle was developed in a different context in developed countries, it is also relevant to the developing countries. The cycle is not limited to a specific time-frame. The cycle can have a short duration, meaning that it can at times be limited to a specific once-off accident event, for instance, the illustrated South African case and Missing Malaysian plane case studies. The model can be related to events stretching over a longer period of time. In this case study, the time frame was 2000-2014. Some of the evidence from the study confirmed that public attention is short-lived and influences the nature of government intervention process in Zimbabwe. Findings also revealed that the public and media attention cycles to the public transport accidents are generally low. The media has a crucial role to play in policy agenda setting in the Zimbabwean transport sector. However, the issue attention cycle does not explain much on the government behaviour, that is, what really happens when the government is setting the agenda. Its main focus was on the nature of public attention and how this influences the government to act in response to an increase in prominence of the problem in the public agenda. The researcher suggested a further study on applying other models that explain the government behaviour in agenda setting process. The cycle best explains the patterns of public attention in more detail more than the explanation given to the activities of the government. Findings showed that the Zimbabwean public transport sector has an adequate legal framework which regulates the transport sector. The major challenge being faced in the transport sector falls within the enforcement of these frameworks. Issues such as lack of coordination and corruption were cited to be some of the major challenges weakening the legislative frameworks. Institutionally, Zimbabwe has too many institutions which often clash in the operations hence resulting in lack of inter-organizational integration within the sector. The study highlighted some policy options that could be adopted by the stakeholders to address the issues of public transport accidents as well as the challenges overwhelming the institutional and legislative frameworks. These include the need to have a Public Transport Authority 2015-02-01T00:00:00Z