The study set out to investigate the factors influencing turnover among professional staff in some selected NGOs in Malawi. Using qualitative and participatory methods, the study used the levels of complexity model to analyse the factors leading to the problem of staff turnover in the selected NGOs. The main findings were that: · Professional staff turnover was 50% within a period of 18 months across all the NGOs interviewed. · For the professional staff, the main factors contributing to staff turnover were: ineffective organisational policies, systems and procedures; poor relationships and communication; and poor organisational values and culture. · In addressing the problem, NGO leaders tend to concentrate on efforts to improve salaries and other monetary benefits; and training opportunities. In order to more comprehensively address the problem of staff turnover among the professional staff however, NGO leaders must adopt a process or an Organisation Development (OD) approach. / Public Administration and Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

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This study is a critical exploration and analysis of the experiences of 'being church‘ for women married to pastors in the Baptist Convention of Malawi (BACOMA). The study focused on the following research question: 'What does being church mean for women who are married to pastors in the BACOMA, whose distinctive mark is freedom of choice in matters of faith and ministry according to the Baptist-held principle of the priesthood of all believers? It is a qualitative empirical study of the life experiences of pastors‘ wives which used feminist narrative methods of inquiry. In order to get a full picture of the role perceptions and experiences of pastors‘ wives, the study used in depth interviews, group discussions and participant observation. A purposely selected group of twenty-nine pastors‘ wives from BACOMA-affiliated Lilongwe Baptist Association of Malawi were individually interviewed by the author. In addition, two group discussions with members of the Lilongwe Baptist Association Pastors‘ Fraternal group (LBAPF) were conducted and fifty church members that included women, men, and young people were also interviewed in order to determine the congregational perceptions of a pastor‘s wife. The purpose of my study was to determine the ideo-theological and socio-cultural factors that contribute to the construction of the identity of a pastor‘s wife in the BACOMA. By presenting a synthesis of the various perspectives on the experiences of pastors‘ wives, this study has demonstrated that a plurality of perspectives contribute to the construction of the identity of a pastors‘ wife. This causes her to be identified as a "dialogical self"¹ because of the many positions that contribute to the self understanding of her identity. These perspectives, which are embedded in patriarchal ideologies, include: doctrinal or biblical, ecclesiastical, congregational, cultural, and the "Self". I have also shown that the areas of conflict and tension between the Self and the "others" can be clues towards transformation. This is in addition to the alternatives suggested by feminist theologians in the study. Baptist ecclesiology in Malawi is challenged to take cognisance of these factors in order to build an inclusive ecclesiology that affirms the humanity of women in general and pastors‘ wives in particular. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Sustainable forest management is a key issue in Malawi. Malawi is a relatively small, resource poor, densely populated country, which in some areas is close to exceeding the energy capacity of the environment to support it. Despite the importance of forestry in Malawi, there is a severe lack of knowledge about the current state of Malawi’s forest resources. Remote sensing has the potential to provide current and historical insights into forest cover change. However, Malawi faces a number of key challenges with regards to in-country remote sensing. These include technical capacity for obtaining accurate and consistent forest area and biomass estimates, with errors at acceptable levels, as well as the necessary supporting capacity development for individuals and institutions. This thesis examines how remote sensing can be used to support sustainable forestry in Malawi, by assessing the use of both optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data for mapping forest cover, forest cover change and aboveground biomass (AGB). L-band SAR data was used to try and establish a relationship between radar backscatter and biomass, which has been achieved many times in other areas. However, no correlations between any field-based forest metric and backscatter explained enough of the variability in the datasets to be used to develop empirical relationships between the variables. There were also differences between my field measured AGB and AGB values predicted by a published backscatter-biomass relationship for African dry forests. The speckle inherent in SAR imagery, the heterogeneity of Malawi’s dominant miombo savanna, and Malawi’s variable topography are likely to have played a significant role in this. Two different MODIS products were investigated for their potential for mapping forest cover change, with regards to potential REDD+ schemes. As part of this, a published equation was used to calculate the break-even point for REDD+ schemes in Malawi, using estimates of forest area and deforestation for the United Nations Forest Resources Assessment 2010. The results of this equation show that measurement error is the most important factor in determining whether or not Malawi can make REDD+ economically viable, particularly at lower levels of deforestation. While neither of the MODIS products were able to produce a verifiable forest cover change map, they do confirm that Malawi is experiencing some level of forest loss, and help to narrow down the range of possible forest loss rates Malawi is experiencing to between 1-3% net forest loss per year. Finally, this thesis examines global trends in the engagement of developing country researchers with global academic remote sensing research, to investigate differences in in-country capacity for monitoring forests using remote sensing. The results of this found that while a significant proportion of Earth observation research (44%) has developing countries as their object of research, less than 3% of publications have authors working, or affiliated to, a developing country (excluding China, India and Brazil, which are not only countries in transition, but have well established EO capacity). These patterns appear consistent over the past 20 years, despite the increasing awareness of the importance of capacity development over this period. Despite inconclusive results from the approaches examined here, remote sensing can play a role in improving understanding about the dynamics of Malawi’s forest resources. There is a need for nationwide accurate, validated forest maps that can be repeated at least on a yearly basis, and remote sensing could produced these without the resources needed to conduct full national ground inventories each year. If remote sensing is to be useful as a forest mapping tool in Malawi, it needs to provide consistent, verifiable and updatable estimates of forest cover and biomass change. This ideally needs to be achieved using free or low cost data, and by using open source or open access software, as this will better enable incountry researchers to conduct on-going forest mapping activities.

Masrer of ArtsInternational Relations / The thesis is a contribution to the existing literature on the democratic process in Malawi with specific focus on two areas namely, the factors that led to the opening up of political space and the implementation of multiparty democracy. The thesis argues that multiparty democracy in Malawi, which transpired due to internal and external factors, had been perceived as the means of transforming the oppressive climate created by the Banda regime. However, despite three multiparty elections since the 1990s, the UDF government, which succeeded Banda, has failed to broaden the avenues for the consolidation of democracy in Malawi, leading to disillusionment among the people. Ten years of multiparty democracy have only resulted in the regression to the practices of the very regime it replaced. Currently Malawi is plagued with a lack of independent media, weak civil society, corruption among top government officials and a weak economy to mention a few. The thesis argues that this is because of the nature of the ruling class as well as the issue of ethnicity, which has resulted in the contestation of power.

A Research Report submitted to the School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Public Health. May 27, 2015 / Introduction: Studies across Sub-Sahara have established transactional sex as one of the of the keys factors contributing to young people’s risk of HIV infection. However, there are few studies that have explored the dynamics of transactional sex among young people in Malawi. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of, and risk factors associated with transactional sex among (in and out of school) young men and women of ages 18 – 23 years in urban informal settlements in Blantyre, Malawi. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data from a cross-sectional study conducted in 2013 on sexual risk-taking among young people aged 18 – 23 years in urban informal settlements in the city of Blantyre, Malawi. The analysis was restricted to sexually active young men and women (those respondents who reported ever having sexual intercourse in the primary study). Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to detect associations between socio-demographic factors (i.e. age, socio-economic status, relationship status and education, as well as behavioral factors (i.e. sexual debut, number of partners, age disparity with sexual partner, coercive sex and alcohol consumption), and transactional sex. Results: The majority (60.06%) of the study population reported involvement in transactional sex. Stratified by sex, 67.10% of young men had ever given cash or material goods in order to get sex, and 53.45% of young women had ever received cash or material goods in exchange for sex. Half (50.75%) of the transactional sex reported was in exchange for cash and consumption/lifestyle goods and from this, over half of the young women (58.67%) reported receiving consumption and lifestyle goods in exchange for sex, and slightly over a quarter (26.32%) of the young men reported giving survival needs in exchange for sex. Among men, household structure (AOR 2.07, 95% CI 1.37 – 3.13) and severe food insecurity (AOR 1.67, 95% CI 1.05 – 2.67) emerged as important socio-demographic predictors of transactional sex, and number of sexual partners (AOR 2.67, 95% CI 1.78 – 4.08) and age disparity (AOR 0.34, 95% CI 0.21 – 0.57) were shown to be the behavioral factors that influence giving cash/material goods for sex. Among young women, only age at sexual debut (AOR 2.07, 95% CI 1.37 – 3.13) and number of sexual partners (AOR 3.02, 95% CI 1.65 – 5.52), were significantly associated with receiving cash or goods in exchange for sex. Conclusions: Overall, the study findings show that transactional sex is a common practice among young men and women, and that both young and women exchange luxury or aspirational items more than survival items for sex. Among young men, household structure, food security, age at sexual debut, number of sexual partners and age differentials with sexual partner were associated with giving material goods or money for sex. Among women on the other hand, age at sexual debut and number of sexual partners were associated with receiving material goods or money in exchange with sex. These findings suggest that young people in poor urban settings engage in risky sexual behavior such as Transactional sex, and highlight the need for HIV prevention interventions to deliberately target this group. Programmers should consider designing interventions that suit the needs of the different gender groups. The study findings also highlight the importance of targeting young women with behavioral change interventions before sexual debut, and integrating transactional sex interventions with those focused on reduction of multiple sexual partnerships may have beneficial implications for transactional sex among young people in poor urban settings. Further research should explore the influence of materialist and consumeristic cultures on transactional sex among young people.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Final Submission June, 2015. / The HIV and AIDS pandemic has increased the numbers of orphans globally. The severity of the problem is greater in developing countries, especially in Sub Saharan Africa. In Malawi, as in many other developing countries, grandparents have stepped in and have embraced the role left by the deceased parents, seeing the orphans through school, providing food, clothing and shelter for them, even where the grandparents themselves have no steady source of income. Despite the heavy burden placed on grandparents as a result of HIV and AIDS, limited attention has been given by governments, scholars and researchers to documenting in detail the challenges faced by the elderly who look after orphaned children. This study examined the challenges faced by elderly people looking after children orphaned by HIV and AIDS in Malawi using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF). This framework looks at household needs and holistically categorises them in terms of social, financial, physical, natural health, and government policies. Following a qualitative approach, this study used a phenomenology approach in documenting the challenges facing the elderly in Malawi, with a special focus on the Rumphi and Zomba districts. The livelihood approach is part of rural development theories that has moved away from the conventional approaches towards development to holistic understanding of the relationship between poverty and economic development. The study also provided a case study on the role of social pensions in Lesotho. Social protection, which is part of social development, focuses on local community development with the emphasis not only on economic development, but also on improvement of health, education, environment and standard of living as critical contributors to sustainable development. This is seen as a medium that discourages dependency and promotes the participation of people in their own development. The aim was to profile social protection benefits for the elderly in Lesotho as an example so that insights could be drawn from the experience. The study used structured and semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions as tools to elicit information from grandparents, orphans, community leaders, teachers, local leaders and policy makers. The findings of the study indicate that the level of rural poverty in elderly headed households has increased due to the challenges resulting from the HIV and AIDS pandemic. The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach presented in this paper advocates that sustained development is only successful if it is based on evidence and understanding of household or community needs holistically and systematically. This study has highlighted five key elements required to understand the elderly households through the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. Firstly, the evidence from this research challenges the SLF in that it does not take into account all key factors necessary to understanding the elderly households’ needs, As a result, this study proposes other necessary enhancements to the SLF, such as the role of cultural practices as part of social capital in supporting elderly livelihoods, especially where patrilineal and matrilineal family systems exist. Secondly, evidence from this study indicates that the notion of social capital that includes dependency on community networks as key in improving the general livelihood of societies has completely diminished due to community fatigue in relation to offering care and support. The study further reveals enhancements in the forms of social capital like belonging to “secret friendships” or being a member of the village banking scheme. However these social networks have limited elderly membership because of community perceptions that elderly members may not contribute much, be it financially or otherwise, hence the elderly are excluded from social networks. Thirdly, as a result of the many challenges faced by the elderly, this research has highlighted an increase in negative coping strategies in elderly households due to limited support from government and other stakeholders. Negative coping strategies in this regard include engaging in activities like casual labour (ganyu), selling alcohol, school dropouts, selling green maize and begging. The more the elderly adopt negative coping strategies, the more vulnerable they become over time. Fourthly, the livelihoods framework has been used in this study to provide a full understanding of situation of the elderly headed households. This approach provides a new dimension to this body of knowledge as it is used for the first time on elderly households. The research presents a foundation that will require future researchers to look at elderly households holistically and systematically within their context using this research as a guideline or as a point of reference. Finally, this research suggests a possible framework that would address the needs of the elderly, with a combination of the livelihoods framework as the analysis tool and the social pensions as the response mechanism for alleviating the burden on elderly headed households. Social pensions will act as a poverty cushion to the elderly members of the society to meet their needs in raising orphaned children. This research conclusively reinforces the role of social protection for supporting the elderly livelihoods. The researcher’s contribution to theory is embedded in the premises of integration of livelihoods frameworks as an analysis tool that provides an holistic picture of understanding elderly household challenges and needs. Social protection through social pensions can be an intervention for supporting the household challenges of the elderly. The combination of these two frameworks results in an holistic and systematic analysis of elderly livelihoods and subsequent support necessary to respond to their challenges. / MT2016

This study examines the history by which the local communities became separated from their ancestral heritage at Chongoni World Heritage Site in Malawi and then uses this knowledge to improve the management and conservation of rock art sites in the area. It demonstrates how various forces of the distant and immediate past came into play and systematically disconnected the Chewa communities around Chongoni area from their ancestral rock shelters once used by scores of generations for many important functions such as rock painting, rainmaking ceremonies and boys and girls initiation rituals. It shows that the separation of these communities from their heritage happened gradually in various episodes spread over the past 150 years. The key factors that directly or indirectly led to the separation included the early conquest of the Chewa communities by the Ngoni and other groups; conflicts with early Christian missionaries; heavy handed policies of the British colonial government; social and political failures of the post-independent state; the rise of multiparty politics, governance and human freedoms and others. Using local evidence, I build a case for each of the mentioned factors and shows how this community is still in danger of not only being completely separated from their ancestral heritage but also losing the remaining strands of their unique traditions. The study concludes by making recommendations for instituting participatory approaches in the management and conservation of Chongoni World Heritage Site.