Political and Administrative Studies

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    Using the case study method to examine the implications of public sector reform for public sector unions.
    (209) Madimutsa, Clever
    Several decisions were made in the process of conducting this research. First, I had to state the research problem. The research focused on public sector reform and its implications for public sector unions in Zambia. Second, a decision was made on the research approach. The qualitative approach was adopted so as to understand the effects of public sector reforms on trade unions. Third, I selected the case study method to allow me to collect detailed information on the behavior of a particular union within the context of public sector reform. The union that was selected is the Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia. The Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia was selected because of its unique characteristics. It was the largest public sector union in Zambia when the first reform programs were implemented. It was also the only union that could be seen responding strategically to the reform of the public sector. Fourth, I had to identify the sources of data. These included documents, union leaders, and managers of public institutions. A combination of multistage, purposive, and snowball sampling methods was used to select the participants. This approach to sampling was adopted because the target population was somewhat hidden. I also faced the problem of some potential participants refusing to participate in the research. Such potential participants were replaced with those willing to participate. Through the case study method, insights were gained into the effects of public sector reforms on the Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia and how the union responded to the same reforms.
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    The role of governance networks in economic development: lessons from Zambia.
    (Association of Southern African Schools and Departments of Public Administration and Management, 2016-10-25) Madimutsa, Clever; Pretorius, Leon G
    This paper discusses the role of governance networks in economic development in Zambia. A qualitative design was used to conduct the research. Both documentary and non-documentary data were collected. Documentary data were collected from documents focusing on governance, networks and economic development. Non-documentary data were obtained from a sample of 19 key informants comprising five managers of public institutions and 14 union leaders. The findings reveal that the network model attempts to resolve problems facing the public sector by emphasising collaboration among stakeholders and allowing the government to rely on the private sector to provide public infrastructure and services. The use of this model is driven by the ideas of inclusiveness and resource pooling. This includes transferring the responsibilities of policy formulation and implementation from the state to non-state actors. However, governance networks can be captured by private sector actors and their international agents thereby promoting skewed economic development. This enables capitalists to accumulate capital while excluding poor people from accessing basic services. Therefore, governance networks need to be transformed to protect the masses against capitalist exploitation. The transformation should focus on empowering the citizens, holding the government accountable and ensuring that the benefits of economic growth are shared equitably.
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    The state of democracy in Zambia.
    (FODEP & UNZA-PAS, 2011) Chipenzi, McDonald; Kaela, Laurent C W; Madimutsa, Clever; Momba, Jotham C; Mubanga, Hope; Muleya, Nchimunya; Musamba, Charity
    Zambia became renowned for its peaceful transition from one party to multi-party democracy when in 1991 it replaced a sitting president through peaceful elections three years before the end of his term of office. This was part of a general trend in Africa which began in the late 1980s and saw many African one-party regimes replaced by multi-party democracies following political changes in Europe, including the end of the Cold War. Although formally, Zambia has been a multi-party democracy, it was virtually a one-party state for two decades from 1991 to 2011 as the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) remained in power. The MMD is a political party that was formed by an amalgamation of organizations, which included civil society organizations, student groups, trade unions, church organizations and other interest groups of the same name that championed the return to multi-party democracy.
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    Using the case study method to examine the implications of public sector reform for public sector unions.
    (SAGE Publications Ltd, 2019-01-03) Madimutsa, Clever
    Several decisions were made in the process of conducting this research. First, I had to state the research problem. The research focused on public sector reform and its implications for public sector unions in Zambia. Second, a decision was made on the research approach. The qualitative approach was adopted so as to understand the effects of public sector reforms on trade unions. Third, I selected the case study method to allow me to collect detailed information on the behavior of a particular union within the context of public sector reform. The union that was selected is the Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia. The Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia was selected because of its unique characteristics. It was the largest public sector union in Zambia when the first reform programs were implemented. It was also the only union that could be seen responding strategically to the reform of the public sector. Fourth, I had to identify the sources of data. These included documents, union leaders, and managers of public institutions. A combination of multistage, purposive, and snowball sampling methods was used to select the participants. This approach to sampling was adopted because the target population was somewhat hidden. I also faced the problem of some potential participants refusing to participate in the research. Such potential participants were replaced with those willing to participate. Through the case study method, insights were gained into the effects of public sector reforms on the Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia and how the union responded to the same reforms.
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    The efforts by the Zambia electricity supply corporation to reduce power outages and their impact in Lusaka high density areas.
    (The University of Zambia, 2021) Pambwe, Blessings Kaela
    Energy is said to be the engine of the economy globally. This is because critical social and economic services such as health, education, transport and commerce, among others cannot be efficiently and effectively provided in the absence of reliable and affordable energy services. However, in Zambia access to electricity in urban areas stands at 67.3% while in rural areas it is at 4.4% translating into 31.4% at the national level. The few who have access to electricity are also subjected to load shedding and notorious power outages. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effort by the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) to reduce power outages and their impacts in Lusaka’s High Density Areas. The research used a mixed method approach, involving both qualitative and quantitative methods. A sample of 196 was engaged, comprising 190 respondents and six key informants. A questionnaire, observation and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The data was analyzed using SPSS, Microsoft Excel and content analysis. The finding indicated that ZESCO was making a lot of effort to reduce power outages in Lusaka’s High Density Areas. The findings showed that ZESCO was building more power stations in different parts of the country. These include the Kariba North power station and the Musonda falls power station among others. The company was also undertaking system re-enforcements by putting more transformers closer to the load centers. This involves identifying an area where they can put up another transformer in order to offload the existing customers to the new transformers.This eventually leads to load balancing. The study also showed that in order to ensure that the country’s generation capacity matches the ever increasing load demand, ZESCO had engaged various stakeholders such as Maamba collieries, Ndola energy and Bangweulu solar company to produce power and sell to ZESCO under the Bulk Power Purchase Agreement. This power is then fed into the national grid for transmission to consumers.The study also demonstrated that ZESCO had made some stride to reduce dependence on hydro power sources by building a 50MW solar power plant at the Lusaka Multi Facility Economic Zone while the Japanese were putting up a 300MW solar power plant in Mpika and Copperbelt province. In terms of the impact of the efforts by ZESCO in reducing power outages in Lusaka’s high density areas, the study found that the efforts by ZESCO impacted positively on the social and economic life of the people in high density areas. Power outages which were lasting up to 16 hours had drastically reduced to less than 2 hours per day while in some areas it was almost non- existent. People were now able to use electrical equipment like radios, television, fridges and stoves.The study also demonstrated that due to the efforts by ZESCO to reduce power outages, cases of houses getting burnt due to the frequent use of candles had also reduced. In addition, reduction in power outages also contributed to reduced criminal cases such as fighting, murder, stealing and rape cases which frequently took place especially at night.The other impact of the efforts by ZESCO to reduce power outages in the two areas is that it stimulated self-employment and increased productivity of home business through higher revenues of existing businesses and the creation of new ones. Furthermore, firms could no longer incur costs of raw materials that go to waste and damage to equipment resulting from sudden power outages. In the long run the number of workers deemed redundant was reduced as firms operated at full capacity.In the education sector, reduction in power outages resulted in increased education possibilities as school going children, especially those in examination classes, were now able to study either at their homes or their nearby schools during night times while in the health sector Service delivery to the people improved as hospitals and clinics were able to continue with their operations during the night. Key words: Effort, Impact, Power Outages and High Density Areas.