Abstract:

Background: A community based organization (CBO) is a group of people who come together for service delivery in their community to improve their social and economic well-being. In 2013, Kadoma City replaced permanent employees with CBOs to improve community ownership in service delivery and reduce costs. Since 2013, no evaluation had been done to assess benefits and residents were complaining about inconsistencies in service delivery by CBOs. An evaluation was done to assess the benefit of engaging CBOs compared to city council employees.

Methods: A comparative cost analysis and a descriptive cross sectional study was conducted. Interviewer administered questionnaires, financial records and CBO contracts were used for data collection. Epi Info 7 was used to calculate means and frequencies.  Microsoft-Excel 2013 was used to consolidate and analyze financial reports.

Results: Eighty-one residents, 30CBO members, 15councillors, 10 managers, five workers representatives were recruited into the study. CBOs provided a wider variety of services compared to city council employees. After an initial increase, there was a decrease in the costs for service delivery from $849,000to $590,000 per year. The benefits of engaging CBOs included reduced cost of services, improved service delivery and poverty alleviation.

Conclusions: There was net benefit from the engagement of CBOs, improved service delivery for less expenditure. On our recommendation, CBO contracts were renewed and more CBOs were engaged to cover other areas.

Keywords: Community based organizations, Kadoma, Zimbabwe

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Abstract:

The study examines the role of effective communication for enhancing organizational performance in an Afghan Non-Governmental Organization, Afghan Relief Committee (ARC). The problem that led the research is the delays in access to information and employees’ under achievement in end year performance evaluation. This research is using primary data, and survey research method is adopted for this purpose. However, some data will be collected from previous researches under literature review of this study. The focused populations are active employees of the Afghan Relief Committee which makes a total of 150 people in Kabul. The research targets 30% of total population (35 employees) through random sampling and are approached through a questionnaire for data collection.

The study found that there is direct link between effective communication and organization performance. The study has found out the most effective communication methods preferred by employees as well as concrete recommendations for effective communication in the organization.

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Abstract:

This assessment paper give emphasis to the contributions of the blue economy to national development. It stresses the point that the blue economy has great impact on a nation’s development. This actually explains why recent governments of various countries has given much attention and focus on their marine boundaries expecting to use it among others, as a mechanism of safe guarding their territorial waters with consequential hope of discovering natural minerals like oil which will help in enhancing the national resources used in developing the lives of their citizenry in terms of standard of living and the general development of the nation. This is because, the blue economy, in the life of a nation, provides great advantage in terms of the economic development of that country and a great disadvantage to the land lock nations at the back-dropped of the fact that the blue economy has long been an economic force to reckon with. It is also used by nations as the force and wall of their national defense and it has been observed that it plays major role in the international trade of the country. Looking at the blue economy in this perspective demands for proper attention from central government, traditional authorities, and the public and local governments to make sure that, this God-given treasure do not become a national curse but would be put to efficient use to produce the anticipated results, which will encourage national development. As valuable as it is, the blue economy is being muddled up in Ghana as the resource suffers from pollution as a result of scientific fishing, pollution by the public and by illegal miners and these calls for the need for better ocean governance. This study intends to achieve the following objectives; first is to determine the role and benefit of the blue economy in national development, to identify some challenges faced in the management of the blue economy of Ghana and to determine and make effective recommendations that would aid to reduce or mitigate the challenges faced by the blue economy. To achieve the objectives slated for this paper, review of secondary data from documented reports and the internet, publications, journals and articles were used. The primary data was an in-depth guided interview with key informants (fishing folk, oil and gas officers, port management and shipping officers etc.) and observation of events relating to the sea. To make the nation derive maximum dividends from the blue economy, valuable recommendations were offered.

Keywords: Blue Economy, National Development, Marine, Ocean, Ghana.

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