...Botswana: A Diamond in the Rough Botswana, a country in the south of the African continent, has a surprising success story. This is because this country is located in a continent which has a history of colonization, poverty, and diseases. Botswana created an increase in its' GDP from 25% of the world's gem-quality diamonds, which was operated by a joint venture between the Bostwanan government and De Beers, the South African mining giant, which essentially controlled the world diamond market. If an individual would examine the case of Botswana's story, he/she will agree that this is a success story. Botswana's economic growth has outplaced even the “Asian Tigers”. This group consists of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, which are the best in economic growth in such a short period of time. This is something big. By one estimate, it has the fourth highest GDP in Africa, giving it a standard of living which countries such as Mexico or Turkey has right now. One of the biggest reasons that Botswana has experienced a success story was that they were not in the eyes of the big european colonization in the beginning of the 19th century. Many African countries were being colonized at that time, losing their resources and cultures. Botswana was not united back then, there were members of related African tribes which migrated to the area in the middle of the 18th century. Another reason for this success story is that Botswana did not get affected by the Dutch...
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...LEASING CASE EXPLORING LEASING MARKET OPPORTUNITIES IN BOTSWANA by TOOCHUKWU AGWUNCHA ( copyright Fortvivit Resources Limited 2008) This case has been inspired and motivated by further developments in the Leasing industry in Botswana, but does not describe the actual situations in the country. Botswana, lies directly above South Africa and has one of the highest Gross Domestic Product per Capita in Africa (at USD 6140 - 2006). Its proximity to Africa’s economic powerhouse gives it the investment confidence of corporate organisations in South Africa. Its 2006 population is 1.75 million (growing at just over 1.5% p.a.) with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about USD10.75 billion, a booming solid mineral industry (especially Diamond mining) and a focused government whose liberal policies have encouraged Foreign Direct Investments (FDI’s) mostly sourced from and generated through the influence of the strong and resilient South African economy. Three years ago, Botswana started operating a leasing law in the country. The regulator in the industry is the Leasing Commission of Botswana (LECOBOT), which is empowered to supervise the Leasing operations in the country. Some of its terms of reference and charge of responsibility include but are not limited to the following: 1. Promote the business of equipment leasing through its regulation of the market and according to the provisions of the leasing law. 2. Enable and encourage leasing companies to practice the business...
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...ECONOMICS IN BOTSWANA AND SOUTHERN AFRICA (ECO 463) | HIGH HIV/AIDS PREVALENCE RATE IS ADVERSELY AFFECTING PROSPECTS OF ECONOMIC GROWTHIN BOTSWANA.DISCUSS | TEAM LEADER: GABRIEL CHITULA 201101850CONTACT NUMBER:+267 71 430 952EMAIL ADDRESS:GABRIEL.C.JUNIOR@GMAILCOMOTHER GROUP MEMBERSTSHEGOFATSO L DIBUILE201200993NICOLA B MAKATI201105383 | | | | 11/16/2015 | TABLE OF CONTENT Table of content ………………………………………………………….. 1 Abstract…………………………………………………………………… 2 Introduction……………………………………………………………….. 3 Impacts of HIV on households……………………………………………. 4 Impact of HIV on Firms and Business………………………….. 6 Impact of HIV at Macroeconomic Level………………………… 7 Conclusion……………………………………………………… 10 Reference ……………………………………………………… 11 ABSTRACT This paper provides an overview of how the high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate adversely affects the economic growth of Botswana. HIV/AIDS is a growing problem in Botswana as the country has the second highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in the world. There are different sectors in the economy which can be affected by HIV/AIDS namely; the household, the firm and the macro economy. This paper will look at the various components affecting these sectors and explain what impact they have on Botswana s economy. INTRODUCTION In light of recent studies, that establish a direct correlation between health and development, it brings about the question of how much the epidemic of HIV and AIDS- which has been haunting the nation for...
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...1. SOUTH AFRICA: NATIONALISATION AND THE MINING SECTOR As of late, the political atmosphere has been clouded with varying judgements on the great issue of whether South African mines should be nationalised or not. The camp in favour of nationalisation, Former President of ANC Youth League, Julius Malema echoes the words of the Freedom Charter in that “The National Wealth of our country… the mineral wealth beneath the soil, the banks and the monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole”. The camp not in favour sees this vision in a different light. Nonetheless, this essay investigates the feasibility of nationalising the country’s mining sector from both a theoretical and empirical stand point. 2. WHERE IT’S ALL STARTED Nationalisation of mines has been called for in order to give back to the country as the government will have direct control over the sector. This, they believe, will present more employment opportunities, better working conditions for miners, a more efficient distribution of income and overall improvement in service delivery. Julius Malema (the main instigator behind the call for nationalisation), proposes that the state take a controlling share of 60% in all private mines, all which will be managed by a state owned mining firm (LeadershipOnline, n.d). According to Malema, nationalisation will achieve the following: ➢ Increase the State’s budget for social development objectives; ➢ Be a basis from which the...
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...indigenous people” (Hitchcock 2002). The Khoe and San are still not officially recognized and statistics does not show their presence in South Africa. The Khoisan are made up of five main groupings, namely San, Griqua, Nama, Koranna and the Cape Khoi. However there is no precise number of Khoisan people that currently live in South Africa (Hitchcock 2002). The Khoisan are not constitutionally recognized as Indigenous communities. “The current legal institutions continue to classify them as “Coloureds” just like the apartheid regime did” (Barnard 1992). The San people also called Bushmen, or Basarwa all considered pejorative to some degree are members of various indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples of Southern Africa, whose territory spans Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa (Barnard 1992). There is a significant linguistic difference between them. The definition for indigenous people is a broad one and is defined differently according to people and organizations, but generally “indigenous people are those that have historically belonged to a particular region or country, before its colonization or transformation into a nation state, and may have different often unique cultural, linguistic, traditional, and other characteristics to those of the dominant culture of that region or state” (Barnard 1992). Ancestral land...
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...Activity 3.2: The case of organ removal without permission (case 2.17) considered from a Kantian perspective The trauma experienced by families who became aware that the organs of their dead children had been removed without their knowledge, let alone permission, raises a number of ethical issues. The following discussion ignores that a number of doctors acted deviously and deceitfully in falsifying records to keep their actions concealed from public gaze. Instead, the focus is upon the development of ethically-based rules of practice to govern the use of human organs. In this context, it is difficult, if not impossible, to construct a Kantian-based justification of the doctors’ actions. Employing the concept of universalisability, categorical imperatives such as, ‘doctors should always allow their professional interests to override patients’ (or relatives’) interests’, or ‘doctors should always deceive patients’ are clearly flawed at both an ethical and practical level. With respect to the former, such commands run counter to one of the formulations of the categorical imperative, i.e. the need to treat fellow human, beings as ends not means. In terms of the practical implications of such an imperative, if patients, or their relatives, knew that doctors could never be trusted the relationship between doctor and patient would become fraught and would be likely to seriously undermine medical treatments and research. This would clearly be against the interests of...
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...REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA Public Administration Country Profile Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) United Nations July 2004 All papers, statistics and materials contained in the Country Profiles express entirely the opinion of the mentioned authors. They should not, unless otherwise mentioned, be attributed to the Secretariat of the United Nations. The designations employed and the presentation of material on maps in the Country Profiles do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Table of Contents Table of Contents........................................................................................... 1 Botswana...................................................................................................... 2 1. General Information ................................................................................... 3 1.1 People.................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Economy .............................................................................................. 3 1.3 Public Spending ..................................................................................... 4 1.4 Public Sector Employment...
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...ECONOMICS IN BOTSWANA AND SOUTHERN AFRICA (ECO 463) | HIGH HIV/AIDS PREVALENCE RATE IS ADVERSELY AFFECTING PROSPECTS OF ECONOMIC GROWTHIN BOTSWANA.DISCUSS | TEAM LEADER: GABRIEL CHITULA 201101850CONTACT NUMBER:+267 71 430 952EMAIL ADDRESS:GABRIEL.C.JUNIOR@GMAILCOMOTHER GROUP MEMBERSTSHEGOFATSO L DIBUILE201200993NICOLA B MAKATI201105383 | | | | 11/16/2015 | TABLE OF CONTENT Table of content ………………………………………………………….. 1 Abstract…………………………………………………………………… 2 Introduction……………………………………………………………….. 3 Impacts of HIV on households……………………………………………. 4 Impact of HIV on Firms and Business………………………….. 6 Impact of HIV at Macroeconomic Level………………………… 7 Conclusion……………………………………………………… 10 Reference ……………………………………………………… 11 ABSTRACT This paper provides an overview of how the high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate adversely affects the economic growth of Botswana. HIV/AIDS is a growing problem in Botswana as the country has the second highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in the world. There are different sectors in the economy which can be affected by HIV/AIDS namely; the household, the firm and the macro economy. This paper will look at the various components affecting these sectors and explain what impact they have on Botswana s economy. INTRODUCTION In light of recent studies, that establish a direct correlation between health and development, it brings about the question of how much the epidemic of HIV and AIDS- which has been haunting the nation for...
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...Zambia, my country of birth where I spent a significant part of my childhood, got its name from the Zambezi River, the largest river flowing into the Indian Ocean. It is a landlocked country located between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zimbabwe (Holmes & Wong, 2009, p. 7). Zambia’s population has been steadily increasing from 7.8 Million in 1990 (City Population Zambia, 2007) to 12.9 million in 2009 (US Department of State, 2009). At the forefront of Zambia’s economy is its ability to mine for great natural resources such as emeralds, aquamarines, amethyst and tourmalines (Dickovick, 2008, p. 320). It also produces 6% of the world’s copper, making it the fourth largest producing copper nation (Holmes & Wong, 2009, p. 44). Lusaka, the city I grew up in and the capital city of Zambia is one of the fastest growing cities in central Africa. Lusaka has changed dramatically from the time I left in 1990 to the time I visited it a few years ago. The changes in society, economic infrastructure and human condition have been dramatic. Zambia has changed so much over a span of 19 years. All the activities that I remember doing with my family and friends, such as safaris and picnics at the Kafue River, on the weekends and holidays have been closed. The zoo which used to be filled with amazing wildlife, which I frequently visited, does not exist anymore. All the animals which once resided there died or escaped because they were not fed properly or looked after...
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...The San (“Bushmen”) People Luis M. Cruz ANT 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Megan Douglass April 1, 2013 The Photograph Below is of the San ("Bushmen") People, they reside in the Kalahari Desert of Southwest Africa and are known as one of the best hunting and gathering communities in the modern world, (Marshall, J, 2011). [pic] Source: by John Marshall copyright 2011 Documentary Educational Resources The San people are a foraging tribe, they are traditionally a band society made up of families and relatives. Foraging bands such as the San survive by going where there is an abundance of food and water. They practice a gender based division of labor just like many other foraging bands, for the most part the women care for the children and search for suitable for eating vegetation, while the men hunt for the meat and provide other skills such as making tools like blowpipes, darts, and digging sticks. The San's people are hard workers and do what is needed to support the social order, but the San people are also a relaxed people who enjoy each other’s company and heavily rely on each other for the bands continued existence. Social ties are considered very important in this band society because no one person can simply be thinking of their own benefit over the groups. The San meals are an example of the communities methods, every bit of their food is gathered together for...
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...30 November 2012 Environmental Issues in Botswana Botswana is an incredibly venerable in terms of this countries environmental problems. This country has been faced with major challenges to its environment in recent years due to climate change, population growth, increased resource consumption and overstocking making the ecosystems more vulnerable. This has caused Botswana to be susceptible to major environmental issues. I will discuss some of the major environment issues this country is currently facing today such desertification, water scarcity, and biodiversity. One major concern Botswana is facing is desertification problems that predominantly stem from the severe times of drought in the country. Due to the drought, 75% of the country’s human and animal populations are dependent on groundwater. Groundwater use has eased the effects of drought, but has left a toll on the land. Groundwater is retrieved through drilling deep boreholes, which leads to the erosion of the land. Surface water is very scarce in Botswana and less than 5% of the agriculture in the country is sustainable by rainfall. Due to this 95% of the country raises cattle and livestock as a means for an income. Therefore, it is not a surprise to see that 71% of the country’s land is used for communal grazing, which has been a major cause for the desertification of the country. Since raising livestock has proven to be profitable for the people of Botswana, the land is continuing to be exploited. The...
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...discuss the Conversation opened. 1 read message. Skip to content Using Gmail with screen readers A faster way to get your GmailYes, get Chrome nowNo thanks × Kedumetse Google+ Profile Icon Search Gmail COMPOSE Labels Inbox (10,291) Starred Important Sent Mail Drafts (9) Circles Personal Receipts Travel Unwanted More CollapseHangouts ...
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...Botswana Botswana is one of Africa’s most exclusive safari destinations. The Okavango Delta and Chobe National parks are filled with wildlife and not the easy to get to, so you’re never dealing with crowds. Botswana is a well off (thanks to diamonds), politically stable and the people enjoy a relatively high standard of living. The main attractions of Botswana are stated in the following: ~The Okavango Delta River cuts through the center of the Kalahari Desert, creating a unique ecosystem that gives life to a huge variety of birds and mammals. The Okavango is a unique safari destination because you can view much of the wildlife from a traditional canoe, a mokoro. ~The Chobe National Park lies in Botswana’s Okavango Delta and covers four distinct ecosystems. The Savuti marsh in particular, offers some of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Africa year round. Chobe boasts around 120,000 elephants so if you visit you’re unlikely to miss them. ------------------------------------------------- ~The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is full of Salt pans, Kalahari sand dunes, and, plenty of wildlife during the rainy season makes this a wonderful park to visit, but it’s not easy to get to. Location: Botswana is in Southern Africa, just north of South Africa. It borders Namibia to the west and Zimbabwe to the northeast. Area: Botswana covers an area of 600,370 sq. km., making it slightly smaller than Texas and slightly larger than France. Capital:...
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...Eating Christmas in the Kalahari Latisha Willoughby Ivy Tech Community College “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” is a story about of how Richard Borshay Lee explores the culture of the !Kung Bushmen natives in the Kalahari Desert. During his journey, his purpose was to find out how hunting and gathering helped the economy of the Bushmen. In order to do this he had to make sure not to supply them with any food, share his own food, or to interfere with any of the gather activities they were doing. Since he was not going to help with food he could supply tobacco and medical supplies. Even though, this helped some it was not enough to hide the difference in wealth between him and the Tswana tribe. He experiences a cultural misinterpretation which causes him grief and concern that almost caused him to end his lengthy three year study. The Bushmen’s idea of a Christmas story was that it is to “praise the birth of the white man god-chief”. It was only believed that the slaughtering an ox for their village and the surrounding neighbors was a good enough celebration for Christmas. This would be a good will gesture for the Bushmen. Their December activities include congregation at the cattle post for a trade, marriage brokering, and a number of days trance dance and feasting, which local Tswana headman hosts. This would be an example of mechanical solidarity because everyone within this group are all on one accord. This was a yearly tradition and something they are had a level...
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...How Different Groups within Society Experience Poverty in Different Ways Botswana is a nation that has experience high rates of economic growth since 1966 when it gained independence. It’s a middle income country with a GDP $5,360, although over 45% of people who live there are below the absolute poverty line. This particular type of poverty is seen in rural areas and female headed households where there is significant differences income. Due to this, and many other reasons there are big differences in equality throughout Botswana, giving a large Gini coefficient of 0.54. Other reasons include developing wealth in Botswana, especially through the diamond trade. The country struggles to include the poor, remote communities into the mainstream economy. One example of this is that the poorest 20% of the population get 4% of the national income, whereas the richest get 60%. Botswana has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS prevalence in the world with 350,000 people affected and 39% of 15-49 year olds infected. HIV/AIDS rates are so extremely high due to the migration to South Africa for work and internal migration between rural and urban areas. Life expectancy rates have fallen from over 60 years in 1996 to just 35 in 2007. Many people are dying young and so the size of the work force is declining. It also means the number of widows and orphans is increasing. There are 69,000 AIDS orphans in Botswana. There are many government benefits and food rations to support orphans although...
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