Journal of
African Studies and Development

  • Abbreviation: J. Afr. Stud. Dev
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2141-2189
  • DOI: 10.5897/JASD
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 238

JASD Articles

State regulation of religion in Uganda: Fears and dilemmas of born-again churches

October 2019

Since 2016 when the government of Uganda announced its intention to enact a policy about regulating religions and faith-based organizations, there have been contrasting responses from those this policy intends to regulate. The mainstream religious groups especially; the Moslem community, Anglican Church of Uganda, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Roman Catholic Church, Greek Orthodox church and generally all those that...

Author(s): Alexander Paul Isiko  

The rationale behind the Penan Kubaan Ethnic Group’s refusal to seek wage employment in the mainstream economy of Malaysia

October 2019

Penan ethnic group in Sarawak, Malaysia are assumed to be lagging in development flows since Brooks’ administration. The Kubaan Penan ethnic group resides in the remote area of the forest and their daily activities are planting vegetable and hunting for food. Many of them refuse to go out to improve their quality of life financially. It is in contradiction to the Malaysian nature which works 15 hours extra than...

Author(s): Najib Esa Mohd and Saad Zabariah  

Performance management and health service delivery in the local governments of Uganda

October 2019

Today, many African countries are faced with enormous challenges of health service delivery; one of the arguments advanced for the persistent health service delivery malaise is the inadequate management of the health sector human resource. It should therefore be noted that performance management in the health sector has been paid lukewarm attention by both health resource managers. Performance management has...

Author(s): Malowa Davis Ndanyi  

Teacher learning in the context of curriculum reform

July 2019

International studies on teacher learning communities (TLCs) emphasise that TLCs that are formed within the school context are powerful to help teachers improve their teaching practices. This paper presents a qualitative case study that analyses teacher-learning activities in a school-based professional learning community (PLC). The PLC aimed at staff developing teachers on how to connect mathematics education to...

Author(s): Sylvia Madusise  

Security implications of oil exploration on social activities in South Lokichar Basin, Turkana County, Kenya

July 2019

This study explored the security implications of oil exploration on the social activities in South Lokichar Basin, Turkana County, Kenya. It was motivated by the disagreements between the county government and national government on the exploration, extraction, production and sharing of oil benefits. Oil discovery and revenues fuel ethnic and political tension in any country, result in war and political instability....

Author(s): Cosmas Ekwom Kamais, Samson Wokabi Mwangi and Eric Kiprono Bor  

Challenges of educational digital infrastructure in Africa: A tale of hope and disillusionment

July 2019

Technology-based distance learning is becoming popular throughout the world. In Sub-Saharan Africa, advancements in communication technology more than two decades ago raised much hope since technology-based distance education was seen as a promising cost effective and cost-efficient answer to expansion of access to education. These high hopes in technology-based distance education have, however, turned into...

Author(s): Joseph Mukuni  

Theoretical and conceptual framework for gender analysis of attitudes and adaptation mechanisms to climate change for sustainable livelihoods in Uganda

June 2019

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. The prerequisite to respond to the effects of climate change is widely recognized in scholarly literature. Climate change will bring with it increased frequency of natural disasters that distresses crop farmers and livestock keepers which eventually affects the livelihoods of rural households. Uganda is one of the African countries severely hit by...

Author(s): Judith Irene Nagasha, Michael Ocaido and Elizabeth Kaase-Bwanga

Scientific investigations on paper and writing materials of Mali: A pilot study

May 2019

The investigation of physical properties and chemical composition generates data important for answering cultural-historical questions that cannot be solved by historical and philological methods alone. Due to technological developments, technical diagnostics in art and culture are in ever-greater demand in such fields of transdisciplinary research. Natural sciences play auxiliary role in the studies of manuscripts. The...

Author(s): Eva Brozowsky, Claudia Colini, Oliver Hahn, and Ira Rabin,        

Vendetta case and oath based indigenous conflict management in Jawi district, Northwest Ethiopia: A symbolic ritual perspective

May 2019

Study was conducted on the mitigation of vendetta case and oath based conflict management in Jawi district of northwest Ethiopia. The study was aimed at investigating the mitigation and reconciliation of vendetta and management of conflicts through an oath, from a symbolic ritual perspective. Primary data were collected by in-depth interviewing of informants and through informal conversation methods. Secondary sources...

Author(s): Abraham Genet

Exploring the uncharted territory of devolution in Zimbabwe

February 2019

Devolution is a new phenomenon which Zimbabwe has incorporated in its constitution through Section 264 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe of 2013. This is as a result of the urge for participatory governance to devolve power. Over the years, local government has been informed by a plethora of pieces of legislation which have not provided an enabling environment for citizen participation, giving Zimbabwe’s local...

Author(s): Jephias Mapuva and George P. Miti  

Social protection mechanisms for children living on the streets: Perspectives from Uganda

January 2019

Social protection continues to gain increased attention in Uganda’s national development discourse and beyond, because of its ability to mitigate risk and vulnerability perpetuated by poverty. Despite this impetus, less research has been undertaken to expanding social protection to children living on the streets. Yet, Uganda’s increase in urbanization has been associated with the high influx of children...

Author(s): Robert Kakuru, Archangel Byaruhanga Rukooko and Gervase Tusabe

Femininity, masculinity and family planning decision-making among married men and women in rural Ethiopia: A qualitative study

November 2018

Family planning service contributes a lot to reduction of morbidity and mortality and it does more to help couples limit the number of their children. Women’s ability to control their own fertility is strongly affected by social constructs of gender role, expectations and gender inequalities. This study aims to explore influence of femininity and masculinity on family planning decision-making among married men and...

Author(s): Dereje Geleta  

Stakeholders’ engagement at Magozi Rice Irrigation Scheme: Case study of moving from food-aid dependency to food self-sufficiency in Tanzania

October 2018

This article examines stakeholders’ engagement in attaining food security and reducing poverty in the rural areas endowed with water natural resource. The main purpose of the article is to find evidence of appropriate approaches to overcome food insecurity and poverty in areas having abundant natural resources but engulfed with food and income poverty. It reviews the principles of stakeholders’ engagement to...

Author(s): Francis Mwaijande  

The teaching Of Unhu/Ubuntu through Shona novels in Zimbabwean secondary schools: A case for Masvingo urban district

October 2018

The study investigated the extent to which secondary schools contributed towards the promotion of unhu among secondary school learners through the teaching of Shona novels. It aimed at assessing teachers and learners’ understanding of unhu and thereby establishing the extent to which they value the teaching of unhu through the Shona novel and ascertain the extent to which Shona teachers use prescribed texts to...

Author(s): Eunitah Viriri and Maradze Viriri  

Enhancing local livelihoods resilience and food security in the face of frequent flooding in Africa: A disaster management perspective

September 2018

Climate change and climate variability are causing frequent flooding in Northern Cameroon with dire consequences for food security and agrarian livelihoods. With projected increases in temperature and rainfall, there is heightened risk for livelihood assets and food security in the region. This article undertakes three tasks. First, it applies and adapts the Sustainable Livelihood conceptual framework to the Northern...

Author(s): Henry Ngenyam Bang, Lee Miles and Richard Gordon  

Return migration and development in rural communities: The case of Nzega and Magu districts, Tanzania

September 2018

This study examines the effects of both internal and cross-border re-migration on rural development in Tanzania mainland. Four rural communities drawn from Nzega and Magu districts were selected based on a high magnitude of rural-to-urban and cross-border labour migration; and distance from the district headquarters. 648 re-migrants were sampled from the four communities. The theoretical framework applied in...

Author(s): George Felix Masanja  

Re-possessing Africa, new approaches to leadership, governance and democracy: Critical implications for public policy

August 2018

Elsewhere in Africa, all you need to do is to compare the sterling nature of leadership thrown up on the continent by the decolonizing project in the last quarter of the last century with the current uninspiring miniaturists. There is no contemporary African leader who has seized the imagination of the continent, or who is showing a deep grasp of the crisis of colonial nations and underdevelopment on the continent...

Author(s): Danfulani Ahmed  

Groundwater conflicts or disputes? Experience from Mbarali District in Tanzania

July 2018

This article examines conflicts and or disputes attributed to ineffectiveness of groundwater governance. The study adopted sequential exploratory research design. A random sample of 90 water users was involved in the survey. The key informants and focus group discussions were used to collect qualitative data. Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. Frequency and percentage distribution of the responses...

Author(s): Samwel J. Kabote and Johnson L. Gudaga  

Survival strategies and livelihood diversification of Ileje Migrants in Mbozi District, Southern Tanzania

May 2018

This paper attempts to examine survival strategies and livelihood diversification of migrants in Mbozi district, southern Tanzania. A total of 551 heads of households were involved in this study. The study used both quantitative and qualitative techniques in collecting and analysing data where household questionnaire, in-depth interviews, field observations, focus group discussions and documentary review were used as...

Author(s): Christopher, A. Mulungu and Helena, E. Myeya

Groundwater users’ awareness of water institutions in Tanzania: A case study of Mbarali District, Mbeya Region

March 2018

This paper examines awareness of groundwater formal and informal institutions among water users. The paper adopted sequential exploratory research design to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The sample size was 90 groundwater users, and 50% were women. Descriptive statistics, Kruskal Wallis H Test and Mann Whitney U Test were used to analyze quantitative data while qualitative data were subjected to content...

Author(s): Johnson L. Gudaga, Samwel J. Kabote, Andrew K.P.R Tarimo, Devotha B. Mosha and Japhet J. Kashaigili  

Appraisal of the impact of the gender of household heads on housing condition in Egbeda-Iragbiji, Osun State, Nigeria

February 2018

Housing is one of the basic needs of man, unarguably the third after food and clothing. It accounts for the social, cultural and economic value of a society; hence, quality housing is desired by all individuals. However, the rural areas have long been battling with challenges associated with condition and quality of housing. It is of note that many researchers have accounted for several factors affecting housing...

Author(s): Adebisi Ilelabayo Ismail, Okeyinka Yetunde Ronke and Ayinla Abdulrasaq Kunle

Combining indigenous wisdom and academic knowledge to build sustainable future: An example from rural Africa

February 2018

The paper presents the premise that sustainable development in Africa is only possible when it involves a bottom-up approach and brings in a multitude of local endeavors. In order for this to occur, community knowledge bases must be captured and utilized. This is shown here by using the case example of a community in Northern Ghana where a new college has been set up in the midst of a rural environment. The preliminary...

Author(s): Bardy Roland, Arthur Rubens and Helen Akolgo Azupogo

Introducing the Jaarsa Biyyaa customary dispute settlement institution among the Horroo society of Ethiopia

January 2018

This study deals with an introduction to Jaarsa Biyyaa (Elders’ council) among Horroo of Oromo society in Ethiopia.  Even though numerous researches have been conducted on customary institutions of dispute settlement, there is an obvious gap of research conducted on the theme in the research area. The study addressed the Jaarsa Biyyaa customary dispute settlement institution among the Horroo society. To...

Author(s): Zerihun Abebe

Indigenous conflict management and resolution mechanisms on rangelands in pastoral areas, Ethiopia

December 2017

Conflict resolution and peace building mechanisms remain problematic for most societies in Africa including those in Ethiopia, as most of them are trying to imitate western modalities rather than using their own indigenous institutions. Indigenous conflict resolution and management are proven as less complex and time saving, and participating parties in conflict solve their own problems and handle their affairs in a...

Author(s): Mohammed Mussa, Habtamu Teka and Ahmed Aliye

Empowering traditional rulers and grassroot mobilization for rural development in Cross River State, Nigeria

October 2017

This research empirically examined the impact of empowerments of traditional rulers on rural development in Cross River State, Nigeria. In order to guide the study, two research hypotheses were formulated. A survey design was adopted for the study and questionnaire was the main research instrument used to collect data from the respondents. Five hundred and twenty government certificated traditional rulers (respondents)...

Author(s): Isokon, Brown Egbe, Obeten, Ude Bassey and Tangban, Egbe Ebagu

Socioeconomic characteristics of prisoners and food insecurity occurrence and prevalence in Malawi’s prisons

July 2017

While Malawi’s per capita cereal production may be higher than her per capita cereal consumption, Malawi is a net cereal importer and thus food insecure. The food situation is much worse in Malawi’s prisons because inmates generally eat one meal per day. The objective of this study was to determine socioeconomic characteristics of prisoners and food insecurity occurrence and prevalence in Malawi’s...

Author(s): Hastings B. Moloko, Davis H. Ng’ong’ola, Joseph Dzanja and Thabie Chilongo

Factors contributing to irregular migration: A case of Kasulu District, Tanzania

June 2017

Despite the fact that irregular migrants (IRMs) have often been facing a lot of challenges in sustaining their livelihood in Kasulu District, yet in recent years, there has been an increase of IRMs from within and outside Kasulu District in search of casual labour in the local community. The study therefore was undertaken in four villages in Kasulu, Kitanga, Kagera-Nkanda, Mvugwe and Nyachenda. Specifically, the study...

Author(s): Robby S. Magweiga and Justin K. Urassa

Discontents in Japan’s aid discourse in Africa: Land grabbing activism in Tokyo International Conference for Africa Development (TICAD) process

June 2017

Political resistance towards international development is a prevalent theme in global civil society and Non-Governmental organizations. The poor are often assumed to indubitably participate in resistance. However, the poor’s participation is both diverse and complex. To understand this complexity, this paper attempts to explain the poor’s acquiescence in incorporation into land grabbing deals. By examining...

Author(s): Kinyua Laban Kithinji

Barriers to parent-child communication on sexual and reproductive health issues in East Africa: A review of qualitative research in four countries

May 2017

The increasing rate of risky behaviours among the East African adolescents has greater burden to the adolescent, family and the society. Young women in this region are  exposed to potential sexual and reproductive health problems including sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, contraception, sexual abuse and rape, female genital mutilation, and maternal or child mortality. This is...

Author(s): Abdallah A. Kamangu, Magata R.John and Sylvester J. Nyakoki

Craft globally, blame locally: How global neo-liberal development cartographies obfuscate social injustices against the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa

May 2017

For over two decades now, Sub-Saharan Africa has been superimposed in a coercive and contradictory neo-liberal development economism agenda. According to this paradigm, markets and not states are the fundamental determinants of distributive justice and human flourishing through the promotion of economic growth that is believed to trickle down to the poor in due time. Despite the global intellectual criticism of this...

Author(s): Kizito Michael George, Rukooko Archangel Byaruhanga and Tusabe Gervase

An analysis of western diversity management theories in a Nigerian context

May 2017

Research has shown that the philosophy behind diversity studies emerged from the Global North. This also strengthens the assumption that the current diversity management theorizing is mainly Anglo-centric which gives priority to the Global North, and reflects neoliberal structuring. In view of this critique on the implementation of Western theories in the Global South, this study examines two key Western theories within...

Author(s): Loliya Agbani Akobo

Enhancing the middle class as a development resource in Africa: Insights from Northern Ghana

April 2017

One indicator of national economic progress is middle class expansion. While recent studies show an increasing sub-Saharan African middle class, there is no clear empirical appreciation of the factors driving this and how they may be sustained. This study uses data from Northern Ghana and a logistic regression model to identify the factors determining the probability of being in the middle class to provide public and...

Author(s): Vincent Amanor-Boadu, Kara Ross and Yacob Zereyesus

Media and democratic imperatives in Nigeria’s fourth republic

March 2017

The media over the years have been globally acknowledged as the watchdog of the society and their information/monitoring roles considered a sine qua non for democracy and good governance. The media, popularly referred to as the Fourth Estate of the Realm, have been identified as a key institution that plays a critical role in defining the political, economic and socio-cultural reality of given nations. The importance of...

Author(s): Abubakar Mohammed and Fadeyi, Taofiq James

Does decentralization have a role in poverty reduction? The Ethiopian experience

February 2017

This article reviews the actual impacts of decentralization on poverty reduction in Ethiopia after the inception of decentralization since 2000s. Secondary document analyses accompanied by interview with few government officials were employed. The objective of the article was to investigate the tangible impacts of decentralization on Ethiopian poverty reduction program. The goals of decentralization in Ethiopia are to...

Author(s): Alene Agegnehu and Worku Dibu

Killing Ebola: The militarization of US aid in Liberia

October 2016

In Liberia, the security-development nexus strongly emphasized the security side when Ebola became an international crisis with potential for global risk in 2014. In West Africa, 28,600 people had contracted Ebola and over 11,300 of them died. Liberia was the hardest hit with death from the disease, killing over 4,800 people. Similar to other interventions after 9/11, the US response to Ebola was intended to be a...

Author(s): Drew Alexander Calcagno

Drivers of north-south migration in the Wa West District: Economic returns or migrants’ sub-culture

August 2016

In Ghana, three regions (Upper West, Upper East and Northern) have the highest proportion of voluntary out-migrants but the percentage share of the population of these regions together has been less than 20.0% since 1970. This phenomenon is due to north-south migration which has been widely attributed to low socio-economic development and unfavourable physical characteristics in these regions. The study examines the...

Author(s): Elijah Yendaw, Francis Dakyaga, Augustine Tanle and Anthony Mwinilanaa Tampah-Naah

A survey of university students’ views on the nature and significance of nicknames to the Shona people of Zimbabwe

August 2016

Nicknames are an integral part of human experience in many cultures in the world over, and some scholars believe that they have a cultural significance to the relevant society. This study is a report of a survey of a purposively sampled group of fifty Great Zimbabwe University students’ views, gathered through a questionnaire, on nick-name usage among the Shona-speaking people of Zimbabwe. The group of respondents...

Author(s): Felix Petros Mapako

Foreign Aid Effectiveness and Development Strategies in Eritrea: A lesson for Sub-Saharan African countries

July 2016

This study analyses foreign aid effectiveness and development strategies in Eritrea. It attempts to draw a lesson for Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The study seeks to answer the following question: “what are the conditions for foreign aid effectiveness in SSA countries”? The data for this study was collected in 2015 in six months period from February to August. In this study, both primary and...

Author(s): GebreMichael Kibreab Habtom

‘Moving, fishing and building’: A building-back-home culture of Ijo migrant fishermen in Nigeria

June 2016

This study investigates the building culture of migrant fishermen of the Ijo ethnic origin in Nigeria, who undertake prolonged sojourns in other communities as part of their livelihood. The study focuses on migrant fishermen and their socio-economic role as migrant workers. The aim of this study is to investigate if Ijo migrant fishermen operate a similar migrant labour ideology based on remittance theories as other...

Author(s): Warebi Gabriel Brisibe

A review of diversity management in Nigeria: Organizational and national perspective

May 2016

This study analyses Nigeria from a socio-cultural, economic and political construct, and evaluates the concept of diversity from an organisational and national perspective to help enhance the practice of diversity management in Nigeria perspective. It focuses on multinational corporations (MNCs) and hinges on a framework developed to illustrate, as well as prompt further discussions on social related structures in...

Author(s): Loliya Agbani Akobo

Entrepreneurship and its link to corruption: Assessment with the most recent world and country-group data

February 2016

Entrepreneurship is an important intangible asset of nations. The relatively recent progress in its measurement, mainly with the Global Entrepreneurship Development Index (GEDI), suggests that previous questions related to its determinants and mainly its relationship to corruption, namely the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) needs to be re-addressed. The objective of the present paper is to assess the links between...

Author(s): Ahmed Driouchi and AlaeGamar

Financial literacy for developing countries in Africa: A review of concept, significance and research opportunities

January 2016

The objective of this review article is to show the concepts and significance of financial literacy and how it can contribute to improving socio economic wellbeing, financial sector development, poverty reduction and sustainable growth in developing countries in Africa. The review covered recent literatures on financial literacy; both theoretical and empirical. The review showed that level of financial literacy is low...

Author(s): Matewos Kebede Refera, Navkiranjit Kaur Dhaliwal and Jasmindeep Kaur 

Fixed and mobile telephones in West African Economic Monetary Union countries: complementary or substitute services?

November 2015

The observation of the joint evolution of fixed and mobile phones penetration in West African Economic Monetary Union countries suggests that the demand of the two services does not develop at the same rate with increasing difference in favor of the mobile phone. This article is dedicated to relationship between fixed and mobile phone services. It tests empirically the existence of relations of complementarity and...

Author(s): Augustin Foster Chabossou

Reflections on the natural-resource development paradox in the Bakassi Area (Ndian Division) of Cameroon

September 2015

The Bakassi Area (Ndian Division) exhibits all aspects of the natural resource controversy. Blessed with a horde of natural resources which are supposed to serve as an engine of development, it would seem from an outside observation that this division is one of the most developed in Cameroon. Ironically, the presence of these natural resources has not, in any way been reflected in the much needed socio-economic take off...

Author(s): Jude Ndzifon KIMENGSI and Cornelius Mbifung LAMBI

Economic Studies in Togo show that Private investment has a ripple effect on both foreign direct investment and public investment

September 2015

In view of a macroeconomic context characterized by the revival of economic growth and the vision of having a better Togo in 2030, we have witnessed in recent years a major campaign to promote both domestic and foreign direct investment. Given the theoretical ambiguity of the relationship between these different types of investments, we offer in this paper an empirical validation of the interactions within the triptych...

Author(s): Kossi AYENAGBO

The impact of cross carpeting and multiplicity of political parties in Nigerian democratic process

August 2015

The return to democracy in 1999 has ushered unprecedented hope on democratic process in Nigeria and, thus, heralded another opportunity for the country to launch a new strategy towards democracy, after many years of lost opportunities under a prolonged period of authoritarian rule. Indeed, the emergence of multiparty system in Nigerian Fourth Republic can be seen as a major breakthrough in the democratic process. The...

Author(s): B. T.  Badejo and N. G. Obah-Akpowoghaha

Audiovisual translation as a tool for teaching English Language to French-speaking students in Cameroon

August 2015

The process by which people acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate is known as language learning. The present study aimed at assessing whether intralingual subtitling can be used to effectively improve on the learning of English language by French speaking Cameroonian students in the country. It involved exposing French speaking students...

Author(s): Ntowa Tchuingoua Rachelle Nely and Ayonghe Lum Suzanne

Technology production: A challenge for economic growth and development in Africa

August 2015

Africa has recently become the world second fastest growing region, but still, poverty has not improved accordingly. The paper makes the case that in order to further boost economic growth and promote development, African economies need to go beyond imitation and technology transfer and start producing technology. Some of the arguments are: innovation generates stronger growth gains than imitation and copying; stronger...

Author(s): Abdoulaye Seck

Reflections on Islamic marriage as panacea to the problems of HIV and AIDS

July 2015

Heterosexual intercourse is epidemiologically the leading factor in the spread of HIV/AIDS. Although the heterogeneous Muslims condemn condom use as leading to zina, the Muslim majority regions of North Africa and the Middle East have the lowest HIV prevalence in the world. Through the desk-top approach the paper evaluated Islamic marriage as a possible panacea to the problems of HIV/AIDS. The correlation between...

Author(s): Dube Edmore

Sino-Africa economic and Chinese foreign direct investment in Africa on bilateral trade relations

July 2015

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of Sino-Africa economic and Chinese FDI on Africa trade relations. China’s phenomenal economic growth rate has made the country rise to world leadership status, causing many analysts to ponder over its regional and international intentions and goals. Its investment is paying off now mainly in oil and other raw materials imports and manufactured goods. We used...

Author(s): Kossi AYENAGBO

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