This study looks at the ailing Zimbabwean tourism industry and efforts to reverse the negative trend in tourist arrivals. Despite this sector of the economy enjoying positive growth both globally and at a regional level, the local industry had been adversely affected by negative perceptions about the country. The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), whose mission is to professionally market Zimbabwe as a leading tourist destination, has embarked on various initiatives. Unfortunately however, the organisation has enjoyed limited success in recapturing the demand experienced in the years prior to 1999. In order to investigate other avenues to pursue, this study sought the perspectives of two major stakeholders of the local tourism industry. These were namely "buyers" comprising the international tourist, who were probed for their motivations in selecting a holiday destination. In addition, local "suppliers" to the sector who interface directly with the international traveller, were asked to give their perspective on the performance of the ZTA in fulfilling its mission. Personal interviews were conducted in the resort town of Victoria Falls. This area was chosen over other attractions in Zimbabwe because our neighbouring competitors, South Africa and Zambia have promoted the resort for their own benefit, at the expense of the local industry. Another reason is the worldwide recognition and appeal of the attraction, owing to its historical significance. The study established that the resort still enjoys immense popularity, with international visitors opting to return several times in order to gaze at the scenic wonder. However, since the falls lack a truly Zimbabwean identity or image, travel agents and tour operators have either channeled tourist to the Zambian side or flown them in via South Africa as day visitors. The resultant effect has been minimal financial benefit to Zimbabwe by way of receipts from tourist expenditure. Adopting a co-operative strategic orientation with these neighbouring countries is recommended. At a local level the study found that the local tourism industry lacked a unified approach in tackling the challenges facing sector. / Thesis (MBA)- University of Kwazulu-Natal, 2004.

The conjunctural dynamics of the Zimbabwe crisis after 2000 have produced a distinctive pattern of accumulation .Four features are noticeable in this pattern - firstly ; disorder and/or violence has become common , both as a general feature and driver of wealth accumulation and the political project accompanying it . Secondly ; the State has increasingly become more central and pervasive in driving accumulation and in the distribution of both economic and political goods . Thirdly , the crisis has awakened , reinforced and reshaped a distinctive acquisitive culture peculiar to the period in question , albeit resonating with the historical formation of Zimbabwe's ruling elite . Lastly , the current crisis has modified and reinforced a culture of 'strategic contradictions ' within ZANU-PF . This dissertation is an analysis of Zimbabwe's 'political economy of crisis ' in the post 2000 period . It examines how the Zimbabwean ruling elite and those connected to the state have benefited from the unregulated forms of accumulation attending the Zimbabwean crisis . A broad combination of a contextual analysis of the crisis and its beneficiaries and a close case-study analysis of an 'informal ' (illegal ) gold-mining site in Totororo , rural Kwekwe's 'Empress ' are a in Central Zimbabwe are employed to try to distil accumulation patterns that have resulted from the present economic and political crisis . / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

Since the colonial period, Zimbabwe has been a territory characterised by contestation. In the 2000s, Zimbabwe entered a period of severe socio-economic conditions; this period was also marred with several cases of human rights abuses and political violence. This period also saw the emergence of a new opposition party, the Movement of Democratic Change (MDC). In the mid-2000s, South Africa was vested with the task of resolving the political crisis in Zimbabwe by the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Former South African President Thabo Mbeki managed to facilitate a Global Political Agreement (GPA), which was signed on 15 September 2008. This led to an Inclusive Government (IG) being formed on 3 February 2009. The IG brought the three main opposition parties in Zimbabwe into a power-sharing government with the Zanu-PF. This dissertation explores the role played by South Africa in brokering a power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe, it also assesses whether “power-sharing” is an effective peace-building model. At the core of this dissertation is an assessment of the impact of the IG on the politics in Zimbabwe. Three themes are used to assess the politics, namely socio-economics in Zimbabwe, the rule of law in Zimbabwe and the perceived legitimacy of the government. The dissertation uses content analysis as the research method to analyse three newspapers, a South African newspaper, the Mail & Guardian and two Zimbabwean newspapers, the Sunday Mail and the Standard Newspaper. The period of analysis will be from 2005 to 2011. The dissertation offers a substantive analysis of the reporting of the three newspapers. The findings of this dissertation reveal that the socio-economic situation in Zimbabwe has improved since the implementation of the IG but is still in a dire situation. It also reveals that, despite the decrease in reports of human rights abuses and the cases of political violence, Zimbabwe is still devoid of the rule of law. It reveals that the legitimacy of the government is in Zimbabwe has slight improved since the implementation of the IG. The dissertation offers recommendations to the political crisis in Zimbabwe from the discipline of conflict transformation scholarship. / M.Soc.Sc. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.

Zimbabwe adopted the Lancaster Constitution in 1980. This constitution has been amended a record nineteen times. The critic on some of the amendments is that they have undermined the fundamental tenets of constitutionalism. Therefore, in the light of the fact that the tide of constitutionalism is sweeping throughout Africa, the dissertation critically evaluates the extent to which the Lancaster Constitution subsumes the basic tenets of constitutionalism. This evaluation is precipitated by the fact that Zimbabwe is currently grappling with drafting a new Constitution. Through this evaluation the inescapable conclusion is that the Lancaster Constitution merely provides a veneer of constitutionalism. Drawing from the constitutional experience of Anglophone African countries which include Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia; the dissertation offers some reforms which the drafters of the new constitution could include in the envisaged constitution. It is argued that it is only after a constitution embodies the identified fundamental tenets of constitutionalism that it becomes worth the paper it is written on. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

The platinum microelectrode technique for measuring oxygen flux in soils has been reviewed. Shortcomings in the existing technique and instrumentation have been discussed. The new instrumentation, electrode standardization and measurement techniques developed enable the method to be used with confidence in unsaturated soil systems. Measurements of oxygen flux index in four soil samples showed a very highly significant regression relationship between oxygen flux index and air space within the range 3 - 15% air space on each soil. There was no significant difference in the regression relation between soils. A field penetrometer, designed to measure the presence and strength of subsurface pans in field soils has been described. Measurements with the penetrometer on three depth of ploughing treatments (100, 230 and 355 mm) on tillage trials at four sites with different clay contents showed that hard layers were present on all the treatments. Except on the shallowest ploughing depth treatment on the fine-textured soil, where the pan was 225 mm below the nominal ploughing depth, the hard layers were present between a few mm and 150 mm below the nominal ploughing depth, and had strengths of between 16 and 24 bars. The theory and factors affecting measurement of soil strength with needle penetrometers have been investigated. The design and operation of a laboratory penetrometer used to measure soil strength under closely controlled laboratory conditions has been discussed. Physical factors likely to affect root growth, viz. soil texture, air space, bulk density, soil strength and available moisture, have been measured in a comprehensive range of undisturbed cores taken from the four tillage trials. High soil strength is considered as being the soil physical factor most likely to restrict root growth in these soils. Physical factors affecting soil strength have been investigated. Soil strength is shown to be highly dependent upon bulk density, matric potential and soil texture. The hard pans shown to exist in all the tillage trial soils exhibit many of the characteristics of tillage pans, but their existence cannot be attributed exclusively to the ploughing depth treatments imposed in the tillage trials. Rather, the pans have resulted from a combination of interacting factors, including the previous history of the soils, the imposed tillage treatments, crop, and climatic factors. A study of some of the data from the literature on root growth and soil strength shows that root growth is severely restricted by soil strengths of the order of 20 to 30 bars. In order to determine whether root growth was being restricted in the tillage trials, root profiles were extracted from one of the trials. These showed that the pans severely restricted root growth. Analysis of maize yield data from the tillage trials showed that on the three coarse-textured sites yield increased with increased depth of ploughing, and that there was a marked seasonal effect, ploughing depth having a relatively greater effect on maize yield in dry seasons than in wet. On the fine-textured site, however, where no pan existed near the surface in the shallow ploughed treatment, the ploughing depth effect was not significant, nor was there any marked seasonal effect of ploughing depth on maize yield. Evidence presented shows that the pans, by restricting root growth are reducing the amount of water available to the plant. This effect is greater in dry seasons, and in soils with low available water . / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1976.

This study is a biblical evaluation of avenging spirits (ngozi) among the Shona people of Zimbabwe. It investigates the Shona understanding of ngozi, the biblical teaching on the spirits that manifest as those of the dead and how the church in Zimbabwe can effectively respond to the ngozi crisis with a pastoral care that is biblically informed and in a practically effective way. The study commences with an evaluation of the biblical teaching on the communication of the living with the dead. This is followed by other related questions to the subject such as the biblical teaching on vengeance for murder and the identity of the spirits that manifest as those of the dead. The Shona traditional understanding of ngozi is examined, giving attention to its types and the way the traditional Shona and the church in Zimbabwe currently address the ngozi crisis. Additionally, the interaction between the belief in ngozi among the Shona and the biblical teaching of spirits that manifest as those of the dead is examined. The outcome of this interaction leads to a proposal on practical guidelines for helping those affected by ngozi crisis and preventing a continuation of the crisis in the present and future Shona generations. / Thesis (M.A. Theology (Pastoral Studies)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

This study is a biblical evaluation of avenging spirits (ngozi) among the Shona people of Zimbabwe. It investigates the Shona understanding of ngozi, the biblical teaching on the spirits that manifest as those of the dead and how the church in Zimbabwe can effectively respond to the ngozi crisis with a pastoral care that is biblically informed and in a practically effective way. The study commences with an evaluation of the biblical teaching on the communication of the living with the dead. This is followed by other related questions to the subject such as the biblical teaching on vengeance for murder and the identity of the spirits that manifest as those of the dead. The Shona traditional understanding of ngozi is examined, giving attention to its types and the way the traditional Shona and the church in Zimbabwe currently address the ngozi crisis. Additionally, the interaction between the belief in ngozi among the Shona and the biblical teaching of spirits that manifest as those of the dead is examined. The outcome of this interaction leads to a proposal on practical guidelines for helping those affected by ngozi crisis and preventing a continuation of the crisis in the present and future Shona generations. / Thesis (M.A. Theology (Pastoral Studies)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Miombo is dry deciduous woodland dominated by leguminous tree species, covering a significant area of Africa south of the equator, including large parts of Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This woodland type reaches its driest, most species-poor limit in Zimbabwe. Brachystegia spiciformis and Julbernardia globiflora are the two main dominants of the drier form of miombo. Miombo woodland represents a rich and diverse resource base for small-scale farmers throughout the region, the importance of which has been ignored in the past by managers and policy-makers. The development of sustainable management strategies for this resource has therefore been hampered by a lack of knowledge. For this reason, the overall objective of this research was to define the basis for sustainable management of these woodlands, firstly by developing techniques for measuring biomass and monitoring woody growth; secondly, by examining the effect of site conditions on productivity; and thirdly, by investigating biological and social aspects of the management of these woodlands. This research has found that good estimations of standing wood biomass of these two species can be derived from diameter and stem length measurements, thus providing woodland managers with a means of assessing the standing stock. The finding that B. spiciformis forms annual rings can be used in ageing the trees, projecting future yields more accurately, as well as monitoring the effects of management on growth. In the investigation of the effects of climatic and edaphic conditions on tree growth, soil depth was found to have the greatest influence, followed by mean annual rainfall and clay content. Dominant height was found to be the best morphological variable to estimate site potential, in the absence of detailed studies of soil characteristics. The experimental findings from silvicultural trials have important implications for management. Regrowth from coppice stools was vigorous even in dry years, and greatest from medium to large stools. Productivity in general was extremely variable, both of coppiced and uncoppiced trees, due to site effects. The most productive sites are also potentially the best for agriculture and are therefore unlikely to be left exclusively for woodland management. The silvicultural techniques of coppice reduction and water harvesting were not found to enhance coppice regrowth. Browsing by livestock was found to severely reduce coppice regrowth, particularly of J. globiflora, at least in the initial stages, so that protection from browsing in the first year or two after felling is recommended if maximum regrowth is desired. An assessment of the use and management of the indigenous wood resources in a resettlement area in central Zimbabwe suggests that the present harvesting of wood products is unsustainable, due largely to the lack of any woodland management policy for these areas. Local villagers feel powerless to exclude outsiders from their resource, and thus the incentives to manage it sustainably are low. Major changes in government legislation are necessary to alter this situation. In the interim, resource-sharing schemes are suggested as a method of improving the sustainability of use. Some of the results reported here have a direct application in miombo management; these are summarised at the end of this work in the form of guidelines for management. Others identify the need for further work to expand these initial findings. One of the outcomes of this research has been the reminder of how little is known of the appropriate management of this important vegetation type.

No description available.

[Abstract]The major objective of this study is to identify the effects of land tenure security on Small Scale Commercial agricultural productivity and development inZimbabwe. Using a probit model, the study draws the following conclusions:i. Under a more secure tenure system, farmers are likely to have some longterm investments, in this case in plantation crops.ii. The type of tenure system may not necessarily influence an investment in non-fixed assets like livestock.iii. Secure tenure is likely to influence investment in property improvement fixed assets such as fencing and woodlots.iv. Secure tenure is likely to positively influence an investment in permanent housing facilities but does not seem to influence an investment in associated infrastructure such as garages, workshops or shades.v. Secure tenure seems to be associated with a higher propensity to invest in improving existing farm infrastructure.vi. Freehold tenure system is associated with a higher propensity to access to credit.vii. Tenure security appears not to significantly affect medium term soil improvements. Medium-term and long-term investments on the farm do not seem to have any significant impact on the level of input use.viii. However, contrary to expectations, the results of this study indicate that tenure security may not necessarily result in higher productivity.