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Despite changing Performance Management System (PMS) to Performance Management and Development (PMD) in 2018, public schools face difficulties in effectively implementing PMD in Botswana. This study, using a mixed methods approach, investigated the capacity of school managers to implement PMD. Quantitative analysis assessed capacity and workload, while qualitative insights explored managers’ perspectives on PMD.  From the study, poor PMD implementation is associated with capacity issues, moral laxity and organizational indifference. The study recommends building capacities at all levels of PMD and embracing PMD as a performance reform.

Decentralized approaches to solid waste management (SWM) have gained global attention because of their provision for the effective participation of local communities. This study investigates community participation in decentralized solid waste management policy-making processes, drawing insights from Ghana. Using mixed methods, the study reveals that community participation only takes place at the policy implementation stage and takes the form of planning and managing community-led solid waste management initiatives such as occasional community clean-up exercise during festivals and public holidays, which are usually organized on a frequent basis. Regarding the factors that promote the solid waste management policy-making process, it was realized that “including the community in the solid waste management policy-making process” was the most important factor for the community to participate in the solid waste management policy-making process. Based on these findings, the top-down approach in solid waste management policy should be reversed to bottom-up approaches.

Children resulting from father adultery frequently inhabit intricate social, emotional, and spiritual dimensions within their homes. This study employs a pastoral-theological and counselling approach to analyse the well-being of children conceived during father extramarital relationships. It examines the diverse issues these children encounter, including as identity development, familial acceptance, moral and spiritual guidance, and emotional stability. The study aims to comprehend how the church and religious communities may assist these children and their families by utilising theological ideas, pastoral care frameworks, and pertinent counselling theories. Literature review methods to gain in-depth insights into lived experiences. The results underscore the necessity for empathetic pastoral and counselling interventions, ethical familial practices, and spiritual support to alleviate the psychosocial problems linked to paternal infidelity. This study integrates theological contemplation with practical pastoral care and counselling interventions, contributing to scholarly discourse and faith-based approaches to family issues, while emphasising the overall emotional, moral, and spiritual well-being of affected children. The study advocates for knowledgeable pastoral approaches that foster healing, resilience, and spiritual development among intricate family dynamics..

The research focus was on the link between Personal Financial Management (PFM) and employees' productivity in Botswana’s public sector because this particular aspect remains largely unattended despite being an important gap within African public sector management studies. The research was conducted at the Department of Social Protection and entailed applying a quantitative research paradigm with structured research interviews (n=73). Analysis shows that there was statistical significance with PFM only marginally expanding employees' productivity at 19.3% variance significance level. It was established that marital status and age were not significant factors or interests influencing PFM while education was established as an important predictor variable using multiple regression analysis. It was established that poor PFM practice translates to employees' stress caused by financial problems manifesting at workplaces indicated by employees' lack of focus and related absenteeism. The study proposes specific programs for employees' financial well-being at workplaces.

As African countries continue to improve their healthcare quality, a study of this nature that sought to examine satisfaction with healthcare services from the perspective of healthcare users cannot be overemphasized, as the findings serve as a benchmark to guide policy decisions in the healthcare sector. This study assessed perception of satisfaction on the quality of decentralised healthcare service delivery from a positivist research orientation. A total of 408 users of healthcare services from 10 districts of Lesotho were selected to respond to a set of questionnaires and a researcher-administered survey developed from the six World Health Organisation–defined dimensions of quality healthcare: safety, equity, acceptability, accessibility, efficiency, and effectiveness. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysing the data obtained. The findings of the study revealed mixed feelings among users of healthcare services in Lesotho. For example, healthcare users were generally satisfied with how receptive service providers were to innovative service delivery, honesty, and the overall competence of healthcare service providers. However, significant deficits were observed in treatment safety, record-keeping, equitable geographic service distribution, and timely access. Particularly worrying were concerns about drug administration, rural service equity, and duplication of health procedures. There were no significant differences in the respondents’ satisfaction regarding healthcare services despite variations in their sexual orientation and age distribution. The study highlights the systemic inequalities and inefficiencies that counter the desired objectives of decentralised healthcare and the critical need for participatory health governance, digital health systems, improved communication strategies, health infrastructure investments and adaptive governance frameworks to bridge the disconnect between the lived experiences of healthcare users and decentralised health policy frameworks. The results offer evidence-based insights for healthcare administrators, donors, health communicators and policymakers seeking to enhance equity and quality in healthcare in resource-constrained African settings.

This study investigates the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve operational performance in Zimbabwean road haulage enterprises, with a focus on driver training as a moderator. As the logistics industry faces new difficulties, AI technologies have great promise for increasing efficiency and decision making. However, the usefulness of these technologies is determined by the skill levels of the drivers using them. This study demonstrated how extensive driver training improves the capacity to comprehend AI-generated insights, resulting in better route management, lower operating costs, and increased safety. This study examines how AI affects key performance variables such as cost savings, productivity, customer happiness, and environmental sustainability, using real data from road haulage companies. Key findings demonstrate how AI is transforming decision-making, improving operational effectiveness, and optimizing routes. The research highlights several noteworthy obstacles in addition to their obvious advantages, such as budgetary limitations, difficulty in obtaining pertinent data, and the need for more regionalized AI solutions. The findings, which are based on case studies and performance data from diverse enterprises, indicate that (i) organizations that invest in both AI and driver training benefit from a synergistic impact, resulting in higher operational outcomes, (ii) there is need to combine technical improvements with human experience to achieve maximum performance in Zimbabwe's competitive road-haulage market and finally (iii) this study offers helpful recommendations for successfully integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into haulage processes, along with insights into best practices and alternative approaches to overcome current obstacles. This study emphasizes the importance of context-specific solutions in emerging regions, enhancing the expanding corpus of knowledge on AI applications, particularly in logistics.

Social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube continue to provide higher education lecturers with the opportunity to share personal and academic resources. They use these platforms to communicate with colleagues and students for educational purposes. This study was motivated by the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has made online learning a priority for higher education institutions, and lecturers in South Africa have had to rethink the adoption of social media platforms as learning tools. Although social media platforms were used before the COVID-19 pandemic, on a small scale, this study investigated the readiness and challenges of lecturers in adopting social media platforms as a teaching and learning tool during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. This study collected qualitative data from individual lecturers using a purposeful sampling technique. The findings of the study indicate that lecturers are ready to adopt social media as a teaching and learning tool during the covid 19 pandemic. WhatsApp is the most used social media platform for teaching and learning. This study also identified some benefits and challenges in adopting social media platforms for teaching and learning in higher education institutions (HEIs), however, in practicality these challenges should be explored and addressed before rolling out social media usage in HEI’s. Based on the findings, the study provides recommendations on the use of social media platforms in teaching and learning in HEI’s during pandemics, as well as future research on social media use to assist in teaching and learning in HEI’s.