Faculty of Engineering and Built Enviroment School of Mining Engineering 0405669f Willis.Saungwame@bhpbilliton.com / The Republic of Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Victoria Falls, Zambezi River, Kariba Dam and Limpopo River. It is surrounded by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west, Zambia to the north and Mozambique to the east. The country is well endowed with mineral wealth and has been a reputable contributor to the region’s gold, coal, nickel and chromium production in the late 90’s, but this has negatively changed for the worse. Since 2000, Zimbabwe has been on economic recession resulting in growing global interest in the country’s economic and social environment. The lucrative mining sector has also been adversely affected by the harsh economic climate hence thwarting flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country which is needed to boost Greenfield and Brownfield competitiveness in the sector. Apart from its lucrative mining sector the country has done very little in harnessing the anticipated FDI that should ensue. Concerns about governance, the rule of law and human rights, and the continued lack of clarity about property rights have severely damaged confidence, discouraged investment, and promoted capital flight and emigration, thus contributing to the economic decline. Its competitiveness in attracting FDI has since declined because of the international perception of the country’s high political risk. The country has failed to live up to expectations with regards to mineral resource development in the region. The research established that, governance issues are at the helm of the current low performance of the economy. It therefore prescribes a complete change in government’s attitude and calls for it to develop a long overdue mineral policy document to map a strategic way forward for the country’s mineral resource development. Interestingly the country has been hailed to have one of the most liberal mineral administration laws through the Mines and Minerals Act of 1996. Its fiscal incentives to the mining sector compare favourably with the rest of the region e.g. a corporate tax of 15% for exporting mining companies and currently most gold operations are royalty exempt among others. There is a growing divergence from iv policies to actions on the ground. The rule of law is under threat and corruption has taken its toll. It is therefore important for this research to analyse the historical performance of the country in the mining sector to formulate policies and recommendations that will improve the country’s competitiveness in the sector. The policy and fiscal incentives should continuously be revisited to be in tandem with global developments. The endowment theory, strongly believed by the country’s mining ministry as illustrated by Tilton in 1992 is not conclusive in attracting FDI especially in this dynamic global economy. More and more developing countries are revising their investment policies to try and improve competitiveness of their investment environments. Zimbabwe should emulate countries like Chile currently leading the pack in attracting FDI in the mining sector. There is now fierce competition in attracting investment into a country because now, the investor has more countries to choose from. Zimbabwe should seriously focus on getting rid of all the negative aspects that have seriously affected its economic performance and quickly develop policies that auger well with regional integration and various other NEPAD, SADC and AU policies that underpin African development. The mining sector is a driver for economic development if properly supported as shown within the research.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Introduction: The appointment of special interest councillors in terms of section 4A of the Urban Councils Act has encountered much opposition from residents in many urban areas.8 The appointment has also attracted public attention, especially through the media which has highlighted the plight of urban councils most of which have failed to contend with additional unelected personnel on their payrolls. There has also been a claim that the process of appointing special interest councillors may be or that it is being abused.9 What has further exacerbated this situation is the fact that there is no legal provision to check the powers of the Minister, leaving room for the anipulation of the powers to appoint.10 Since the enactment of section 4A of the Urban Councils Act (UCA) in April 2008, numerous elected councillors and mayors belonging to the MDC have been dismissed, or summarily suspended pending dismissal to justify the appointment of special interest councillors over and above elected councillors. At the same time the Minister seeks to discredit the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) councillors as incompetent to gain political mileage for the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF).11 The rampant dismissal and suspension of MDC-T (the MDC faction led by Mr Morgan Tsvangirai) councillors and mayors and dissolving urban councils has led to allegations that the Minister seeks to weaken MDC in urban local councils and to justify the existence of special interest councillors in urban councils. By highlighting and examining the implications of these appointments on urban governance and the general functioning of urban local councils, the researcher will be able to assess the practice of appointing special interest councillors against internationally accepted norms. / South Africa

This study explores perceptions of women’s freedom of movement since the 27 May 2015 Constitutional Court ruling CCZ 15/15, outlawing arbitrary arrests of women after dusk on grounds of loitering with intent to solicit for prostitution, focusing on Zimbabwe’s Avenues community. It traces issues surrounding women’s mobility under patriarchy since colonialism which through the 1960 Vagrancy Act marked the inception of its legal regulation premising stereotypic arrests by state agents. Guided by Pragmatic and Feminist philosophy the researcher adopts a Mixed Method Strategy to gather new knowledge on the complex issue. Employing Radical Feminist Theory under Feminism it critiques government efforts and their efficacy towards ensuring gender equality in mobility. The study argues that while useful legal mechanisms and laws have been adopted to enable women’s right to mobility, ideological and physical challenges continue to hamper this realisation. Empowering the Gender Commission with binding powers, ensuring sufficient security in public areas and educating women about their rights are some recommendations proffered to address challenges faced by women in the exercise of their right to movement. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)