Thando D. Gwebu

Environmental problems among low income urban residents: an empirical analysis of old Naledi-Gaborone, Botswana

Abstract This study investigates the profile, dynamics and dimensions of environmental problems at Old Naledi, a low income urban neighbourhood in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana. It is based on documentary and field research. The field research has a participatory component involving meetings, discussions and open- ended interviews with the interested and affected persons. It also involves the administration of a structured survey questionnaire to 171 resident respondents. The main findings of the study are that residents have made great efforts in improving the availability of the housing stock. However, in the process they have failed to abide by the stipulated Development Control code and Urban Development Standards. This essentially reflects the increasing non-affordability of land and costs of construction materials to urban low income groups due to evolving state policy in the provisioning of shelter. The direct result has been a congested, overcrowded settlement. Because of this, and a rapidly increasing population, there has been underservicing and the emergence of life-threatening home and neighbourhood environmental problems.

Botswana's mining path to urbanisation and poverty alleviation

Abstract Relative to the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, Botswana has recorded exceptionally high rates and levels of urbanisation. At national independence in the 1960s, Botswana was overwhelmingly a rural country. Now, over half of the population currently lives in urban settlements. The discovery and exploitation of the countrys rich mineral resources since independence in 1966 have made a significant contribution to the development of new towns, such as Orapa, Jwaneng and Selebi Phikwe. This contribution documents the nature of diamond and copper-nickel mining activities in Botswana and their influence on the urban settlement pattern. Botswanas mining towns are run on welfare capitalist lines by foreign companies, primarily DeBeers, in which the Botswana government has a minority share. The populations of the towns and surrounding areas have grown well beyond their planned levels. The government has been acutely conscious of the limited life of the mines and of the need to make provision for employment after the end of mining. The Selebi Phikwe nickel mine was expected to cease production in 2010 and efforts have been made to create non-mining employment with some success. The dilemmas posed by depleting mineral supplies and the governments attempts to find economic employment alternatives to sustain existing urban settlements are discussed. Given Botswanas reputation for investing mining wealth in infrastructural development and public welfare for current and future generations, this analysis assesses the challenges large-scale mining poses for achievement of sustainable development, social justice and poverty alleviation.

Energy sector policies in Botswana and their implications for global climate change

Like most African countries, Botswana contributes almost insignificantly to global greenhouse emissions (GHGs). In this context, some have argued that energy policy and legislative measures to regulate emissions in Botswana should not be accorded high priority. This is a misguided view when one considers that each country, no matter how under-industrialized, contributes to the overall global emission problem. Moreover, the least developed countries will have to industrialize in order to meet the increasing economic and social needs of their growing populations. For rapidly growing economies like Botswana, whose annual energy demand is projected to increase by about 4% for the next ten years, the importance of compiling accurate inventories of sources and sinks of GHGs and formulating environmentally-friendly policies can hardly be over- emphasized. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) provides the ideal basis for the country-by-country investigations and management of global climatic change; specifically its nature, properties, directionality, characteristics and probable consequences. Botswana was a founding signatory of UNFCCC in 1992 and ratified the Convention in 1994. The country is also involved in regional cooperation efforts, within the Southern African Development Community, to enforce regulatory mechanisms to minimize GHG emissions from the energy sector. There exist certain energy-related institutions, policies, and regulations in the country which could mitigate the impact of GHG emissions on global warming. This paper, based on government and other relevant documentation, critically analyses Botswanas energy sector policies in as far as they affect climate change. It is clear that much still needs to be done about energy policies in terms of proper formulation, monitoring, co-ordination, energy pricing and the exploration of energy alternatives to mitigate potentially negative impacts on climate change.

Urban water scarcity management: civic vs. state response in Bulawayo

Abstract In most sub-Sahara African cities, rapid urbanization has placed a heavy burden on available human, financial and socioeconomic resources. The problem has been compounded by the intricate and interactive effects of rapid population growth, the inability of local authorities to handle the increasingly complex functions of metropolitan management, centralization of decision-making by Central Governments, economic structural adjustment programmes, and even unfavourable variations in weather patterns. This is a historical case study, covering the period of roughly from 1989 to 1995. It is based on secondary sources, participation by the author in water supply feasibility investigations for Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and views expressed in stakeholders’ meetings. It illustrates specifically how civic response has challenged the Central Government of Zimbabwe to review and revise its long-term water provisioning strategy for this municipal authority.

A spatio-temporal analysis of peri-urbanisation in sub-Saharan Africa: a case study from Lobatse, Botswana

This paper aims at delineating and rationalising the spatial processes that characterise peri-urbanisation in sub-Saharan Africa, using Lobatse, Botswana, as a case study. The research techniques employed included the sourcing of: archival documents; available and simulated time series data; social survey data; field observations as well as spatial data derived from aerial photographs for 1966–2006 and integrated in a geographical information systems framework. The exercise resulted in: (1) the production of temporal-spatial model maps, (2) the systematic description and explanation of the spatial growth patterns of the study area, (3) the modelling of its rationalised growth pattern, and (4) an analysis of the environmental and socioeconomic implications of this spatial growth pattern. The study further confirmed the relevance of certain underlying principles of urban morphology and morphogenesis. Among the key recommendations, we suggest that, to move towards sustainable development, the national Environmental Impact Assessment Act should guide all future development.

Intergenerational bargaining and wealth flows in the era of HIV/AIDS: emerging trends in Old Naledi-Gaborone, Botswana

ABSTRACT Based on the intergenerational wealth flows conceptual framework, this paper investigates how the AIDS pandemic threatens to disrupt the transfer of resources between generations by using a typical low income urban area in sub-Saharan Africa as a case study. It explores the everyday living conditions of orphans, their guardians, and the primary home caregivers, with the intention of gaining a deeper insight into their current and future life chances, as a result of parental morbidity and mortality due to HIV/AIDS. The research employs a qualitative methodology and relies on documentary information from secondary sources. Short- and long-term recommendations on how to mitigate the negative impacts of HIV/AIDS on wealth transfers among the affected populations are suggested based on the study findings.

Challenges of domestic solid waste management: a case study of Lobatse Botswana

Solid domestic waste management has been identified as one of the most serious urban neighborhood threats to environmental health in sub-Saharan Africa. The pertinent question to ask is whether this is a structural or behavioral problem or both. This investigation was therefore an attempt to: determine the adequacy of facilities to handle domestic waste; and to assess both qualitatively and quantitatively behavioral factors such as: knowledge; attitudes; and practices of stakeholders about challenges related to sustainable domestic solid waste management in Lobatse, a town in Botswana. Households were selected in order to represent high, medium, and low socio-economic groups in the town. Purposive sampling was used to choose key informants, consisting of personnel in charge of municipal solid waste management (MSW) in the Lobatse Town Council and Chairpersons of Village Development Committees. The severity index measure was used to capture the perception of communities on domestic waste management and the attitudes on household responsibility. Chi square was used to assess the relationship between the categorical variables. The major findings emerging from the study show a lack of conviction about the efficacy of available facilities among residents. Individuals are also non-committal about having to pay for the collection of their waste or having to be paid for participating in domestic waste management activities. Among the major recommendations is that public education campaigns should be developed to encourage sustainable domestic waste management behavior.

Intra-Rural Fertility Determinants in Zimbabwe: A Path Analysis Intra-Rural Fertility Determinants in Zimbabwe: A Path Analysis

Studies on spatial fertility differentials in sub-Sahara Africa normally treat the rural sector as a single and uniform geographical entity. This approach unfortunately tends to mask differences which may exist between components of the rural sub-sectors. This empirical study based on both quantitative analyses and participatory methodologies has stratified one rural district in southwestern Zimbabwe into communal lands and resettlement schemes in order to investigate the fertility differentials at intra-rural levels. The working hypothesis is that because the respective rural sub-areas differ in their levels of socioeconomic development the relative impacts of the determinants of fertility should reflect these differences. Data on fertility patterns and their correlates were extracted from 1542 married mothers within the ages of 15-49 in the rural district. 832 of these were from the resettlement areas and 710 were selected from communal lands. Results from a descriptive bivariate model confirmed that resettlement areas have higher fertility than the communal lands. The present study utilizes path analysis which is considered appropriate for investigating the direct and indirect causes of fertility differentials. It is shown that direct and indirect effects on fertility do not always operate uniformly between the two rural sub-sectors. On the basis of the findings conclusions and recommendations are drawn. (authors)