According to the World Development Report 2008, if the world is committed to reducing poverty and achieving sustainable growth, it would unleash the powers of agriculture because the majority of the world’s poor depend on agriculture for their livelihood. The financial sector can play an important role in supporting agriculture through the extension of agricultural credit. Literature shows that this can only be successfully achieved when financial institutions operate under stable macroeconomic conditions. This study explores the experience of giving agricultural credit under volatile macroeconomic conditions. It focuses on a case study of Zimbabwe, whose hyperinflationary levels reached over 3 000% in 2007 and a monthly rate of 79,6 billion percent in mid-November 2008. Findings from interviews with informants from stakeholder institutions in the agricultural sector revealed that the problem of agricultural credit in Zimbabwe was not only due to hyperinflation but also due to poor institutional capacity and dual agricultural policies. Some of these problems existed before hyperinflation. The paper argues that the future of agricultural credit in Zimbabwe is anchored on three pillars. The first is a stable macroeconomic environment. This involves bringing down hyperinflation, establishing land tenure security and other rights and improving rural infrastructure. The second is development of financial institutions and systems (building institutional capacity, building a culture of loan repayment and capitalisation through private partnership). Finally, the third is necessary political will. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

The pattern of a classical hyperinflation is an acute acceleration of inflation to levels above 1000% generally associated with printing money to finance large fiscal deficits due to wars, revolutions, and the end of empires or the establishment of new states (Coorey et al, 2007: 3). After World War I, a handful of European economies succumbed to hyperinflation. Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Russia all racked up enormous price increases, with Germany recording an astronomical 3.25 million percent in a single month in 1923 (Reinhart and Savastano, 2003: 1). Since the 1950s, hyperinflation has been confined to the developing world and the transition economies. Zimbabwe currently has the highest rate of inflation in the world with an annual rate of 7982.1% in September 2007 (RBZ Website, 1/11/07). This paper examines the impact of hyperinflation on Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Harare, Zimbabwe with aims of revealing how SMEs were affected by hyperinflation and other factors linked to the phenomenon. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

State failure in Zimbabwe has had a profound impact on the labour market. As job opportunities in the formal sector have shrunk due to the contraction of the economy, the informal sector has been showing rapid growth. The restructuring of the labour market has resulted in an informal sector that is much bigger than the formal sector, a drastic reversal of the situation that existed just after the country’s independence in 1980. This growth in the informal sector has had the effect of keeping the reported unemployment figure in Zimbabwe at below 10 per cent. While this figure has been met with disbelief and derision both within and outside Zimbabwe, it is based on the application of the international definition of employment (ILO, 2008). This study analyses the impact of state failure on a segment of the informal sector - the urban informal sector self-employed and analyses how urban selfemployment has grown and developed in a context of state failure. This study also explores how this segment of the informal economy has responded to and been impacted by the economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe. The study found that state failure has had a large impact on the urban informal sector selfemployed in a number of ways. This impact has largely been in the form of (a) opportunities in filling the gap left by the collapse of the formal sector after the imposition of price and foreign exchange controls; (b) increased competition from new, more educated, entrants who were opting out of (or could not get jobs in) the formal sector; (c) increases in the number of people employed by informal enterprises (the majority of whom were non-family members); (d) the crisis/failing state’s increasing inability to enforce zoning and tax regulations. The findings suggest that there have been a lot of new entrants into the informal sector. These new entrants seem to be younger and more educated. These new entrants seem to have made strategic decisions on location, types of products they sell and the way they run their enterprises. The urban informal sector self-employed workers are not a homogeneous group. They exhibit differences in a number of areas for example, their age, the activities they are engaged in, their level of education, and the location they operate from. Zimbabwe’s price and exchange control policies exacted a heavy toll on the private sector with many formal enterprises collapsing as a result of these controls. These controls and the collapse of many formal sector enterprises presented numerous opportunities for economic rents and arbitrage. Although most of the respondents in the sample were generally happy with informal sector work, there were some who had clearly disproportionately benefited from state failure. While the study does indicate that the urban informal sector self-employed entrepreneurs do absorb a number of unemployed people, with the informal sector thus playing a distributional safety-net role not only for the enterprise owners but also for their employees, the number of people employed per enterprise seems to be too low to substantiate the view of the informal sector being a significant employer in the economy (even a failing one). The study concludes that the context of crisis/failed state has clearly created some opportunities for a segment of the population. These findings are largely inconsistent with a view that conceptualises the informal sector as an undifferentiated employer of last resort marked by low wages and difficult working conditions. While the informal sector is playing an ameliorative role as an income-generating safety net for most self-employed workers in Harare, the comparatively well-educated respondents selling high end products in the suburbs seem to have actually benefited from the conditions of state failure. The low salaries coupled with job insecurity in the formal sector have meant that the informal sector is increasingly viewed as a more preferable employment option, particularly for entrepreneurs. The returns from this type of activity have even encouraged a number of formal sector workers to increasingly participate in the informal sector to make ends meet. In a country where a formal sector worker’s salary can barely cover the rent, let alone food and other expenses, the informal sector entrepreneurs in this study perceived themselves to be comparatively wealthy. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

Against a background of declining macro-economic conditions in Zimbabwe, significant challenges confront management in changing the financial performance of debt-ridden parastatals or public corporations. Chronic budget deficits, poor economic policies and mismanagement have ensured that these under capitalised companies post successive losses thus increasing the burden on the tax payer who must pay for their survival. The research study seeks to establish the strategies which management can implement to raise revenue and improve cash flows in preparation for privatisation. If the companies are to be competitive in a deregulated sector, the chosen strategies must offer quick and sustainable solutions. The shareholder's intention is to place these companies in a profitable position in order to gain maximum value from prospective investors. The recommended strategies are intended to improve financial performance of a telecommunications company confronted by a myriad of problems, which include: - • Critical shortages of foreign currency required to implement network development and maintenance programmes as well as payment of traffic handling obligations. • Competition from new entrants, • Government intention to privatise a company weighed down by a huge local and foreign debt. • An economy experiencing negative growth, high unemployment and chronic inflation. MBA-Strategic Financial Management • A population on the verge of starvation resulting from food shortages created by badly implemented land policy and drought conditions afflicting Zimbabwe and Southern Africa in general. The study focuses on key processes that create improvements in revenue and cash flow generation in the short to medium term. The processes are considered against a background of declining macro economic conditions and telecommunications sector deregulation. Experiences on deregulation of telecommunications sector in other countries are considered, and in Zimbabwe, the work done by BT consultants during restructuring and commercialization of the Post and Telecommunications Corporation is assessed. The study shall consider and recommend changes necessary to improve revenues and cash flows. In particular, the study shall: - • Critically review service provision for new customers, line transfers, reallocation of recovered lines, the delayed billing of connected customers and meter reading timetable for statement generation. • Consider and develop improvements in international traffic and accounting rates management in order to increase revenues, which contribute half of the company's profits. MBA-Strategic Financial Management • Assess and develop debt management strategies in order to improve cash flow and profitability. • Assess the company's cash handling procedures and recommend process improvements in order to realise the computed servings in overdraft interest or earnings arising from timely investments. • Develop a system of continuous improvement through tracking, feedback and training. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, 2003.

This study seeks to establish whether the introduction of new products between 1995 and 2003 created value for the customers and if the bank's key performance indicators such as profitability and market share improved as a result. The research also intends to identify the benefits and problems associated with development and introduction of new products in the banking sector, and whether or not the benefits are worth the effort and resources invested. Literature on segmentation, product development and customer care, from popular authors such as Kotler were applied. Subjects used were 29 Zimbabwe Banking Corporation Limited customers and 10 non-customers. The self-administered structured questionnaire, in conjunction with face-to-face interviews were used throughout the study. To ensure relevance and reliability of responses, only randomly selected companies and individuals were interviewed. Overall almost three quarters of the respondents affirmed that new products and refurbishments are effective because customer choice is increased, and that simply by introducing new products, the company shows an image of great customer focus. The introduction of new products and refurbishment of branches was also said to enhance the image of the bank. Others associated such changes with increased speed of service and better, more convenient products. Comparing the period before renovations with the one after, the new products introduced and branch refurbishments have had positive impact on the performance of ZIMBANK, as very significant improvements have been noted especially on the aspects of customer service, quality of products and increase in branch network. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

In a survey conducted in Zimbabwe in 1993, waterhyacinth was present in seven out of the eight provinces. No control measures were imposed on 35% of the infested dams and 61% of the infested rivers, while in 47% of the infested dams and 11% of the infested rivers control of waterhyacinth was being attempted with a combination of 2,4-D and mechanical control methods. The population of Neochetina eichhorniae and N. bruchi declined during the period 1993 to 1995 in the Hunyani River system. Several fungi were isolated from diseased waterhyacinth, and Fusarium moniliforme (isolate 2ex 12), F. solani (isolates 5a ex25 and 2a3), and F. pallidoroseum (isolate 3ex1) were found to be the most pathogenic. Large numbers of viable conidia were produced in shake-flask liquid fermentation with modified Richard's medium and in solid fermentation with food grains. Conidia production in straw was poor with the exception of waterhyacinth straw. Host range studies conducted in pots and in the field indicated that Commelina benghalensis was moderately susceptible to both isolates of F. solani in the field, while Setaria verticilata grown in pots was moderately susceptible to isolate 2a3. Brassica rapa and Crotalaria juncea grown in pots were moderately susceptible to F. moniliforme but they showed no infection in the field. Fifty-nine additional plant species of ecological and agricultural importance were not susceptible to the Fusarium species. When F. solani, F. pallidoroseum and Neochetina spp. were used individually in ponds, they did not control waterhyacinth. When the fungi were combined with Neochetina spp., the area covered by waterhyacinth and the volume of waterhyacinth were significantly reduced.

<p>The government of Zimbabwe started implementing its fast track resettlement programme in July 2000, the objective being to accelerate both land acquisition and land redistribution. This programme witnessed a massive movement of people from various localities into mainly large-scale commercial farms in search of agricultural land. Under this programme, people were settled under the A1 model (which involves villages and land use pattern similar to those found in communal areas) as well as the A2 model, which involves commercial farming. This study investigates, documents and analyses the opportunities and constraints currently being faced by newly resettled crop production farmers in one example of an A1 model resettlement project (Fair Ranch Estate in Masvingo Province). A questionnaire was used to gather data on livelihood sources, income, assets and also aspects of the associational life of crop production farmers. Seventy households were interviewed, and a number of key informant interviews were undertaken with both government officials and the local leadership. The greatest opportunity that A1 crop production farmers in Fair Range Estate experienced was the fact that they now have access to land that they can call their own, without having to go through the market to try to acquire such land. In terms of crop production, however, farmers in Fair Range Estate face a number of challenges and constraints: they lack adequate access to tillage and livestock / the supply of inputs is inadequate / generally negative socio economic conditions prevailing in the country have led to sharp increases in prices of all basic commodities, including inputs such as fertilisers and seeds / they lack tenure security / the amount of rainfall received in the area is generally not sufficient for crop production / and many lack crop production skills. Measures to reverse this decline must include the availability of foreign currency to buy spare parts for tractors, rebuilding of the national herd, which was greatly affected by both drought and the disturbance of commercial agriculture as a result of the controversial land reform programme. Fuel should also become more readily available, and urgent policy measures be put in place to revamp institutional frameworks in the agricultural sector to make them more farmer-oriented.</p>

<p>The purpose of the study was to investigate prospective &lsquo / A&rsquo / level mathematics teachers&rsquo / knowledge of the concept of a function. The study was a case study of six prospective Zimbabwean teachers who were majoring in mathematics with the intention of completing a programme leading to certification as secondary mathematics teachers. At the time of the study the six prospective teachers were in their final year of study. Prospective teachers&rsquo / knowledge of the concept of a function was assessed through task-based interviews and reflective interviews. These interviews, which were done over a period of three months, were structured to capture the prospective teachers&rsquo / subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge for teaching the concept of a function. The interviews were also meant to capture the prospective teachers&rsquo / underlining pedagogical reasons for their choices of the examples, representations and teaching approaches when planning to teach the concept.</p> <p>As part of the study a theoretical framework for understanding prospective teachers&rsquo / knowledge of the concept of a function was developed. The framework, which was developed, was used as an analytical tool in analyzing prospective teachers knowledge of the concept of a function. The results of the study indicated that the prospective teachers had a process conception of a function although some of them had given a set-theoretic definition of a function in which a function is perceived as a mathematical object. They also confined the notion of a function to sets of real numbers. Functions defined on other mathematical objects (for example, the differential operator and the determinant function) were not considered as functions by five of the six prospective teachers.</p>

Thesis (M.A.)--Northern Kentucky University, 2008. / Made available through ProQuest. Publication number: AAT 1450570. ProQuest document ID: 1500103101. Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-98)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Maryland, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-235).