Community participation in climate change policy formulation and implementation in Lesotho

Thesis (Ph.D.(Public Administration and Management))--University of the Free State, 2023: Climate change is prioritised as one of the 2030 sustainable development goals of the United Nations (UN) due to its global impact. If not addressed through climate governance and the adoption of appropriate policies, climate change may drive more than 100 million people into poverty by 2030. The success of climate governance and the implementation of climate change policies do not only depend on institutions such as the UN and its signatories, governments and activists, but have equally become the responsibilities of communities. However, the state of community participation in climate change policy formulation and implementation seems to be a challenge in Africa. A case in this regard, which is also the focus of this study, is Lesotho, which is affected by climate change, yet community participation in climate governance, particularly in policy formulation and implementation, does not seem effective. In Lesotho, it is evident that the threat of climate change is exacerbated by poor agricultural practices, deforestation and wildfires. In light of this, the current study explored community participation in climate change policy by presenting a contextual participatory strategy towards such participation in future policy formulation and implementation processes. : Although Lesotho’s National Climate Change Policy supports community participation in climate change policies, community participation in climate governance seems to be lacking in the country. The extent to which the country will achieve adaptation to climate change mainly depends on the level of community participation in climate governance. This necessitates a contextual strategy in which communities are part of policy governance in climate change of which the current research aims to fill this gap. , : The qualitative research approach was adopted in this study. A case study design was applied to explore community participation in climate change policies by presenting a contextual participatory strategy towards such participation in future policy formulation and implementation processes. This design was executed in three stages (conceptual - Stage 1, theoretical - Stage 2 and empirical - Stage 3). Through qualitative methods of data collection (documents, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews), multiple sources of data were used to address the research problem. : The contribution of this study can be captured in respect of the discipline of Public Administration (PA), Lesotho’s policy agenda and community participation in climate change policy. Pertaining to PA, this study aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice through empirical data that analyse the relationship of community participation, participation theories and the practical application of the New Public Governance components through public administration and climate governance. In addition, the study adds to the ongoing debate and stimulates the discourse in respect of new contemporary participation methodologies that could enhance community participation in climate change policy formulation and implementation. Regarding Lesotho’s policy agenda, data were generated that could influence the policy agenda regarding community participation in future climate change policy formulation and implementation. This study contributes to a paradigm shift for increased legitimacy, acceptance and ownership of climate change policies, through community participation in future climate policy processes. This contextual research introduced novel insights regarding the use of indigenous knowledge systems in climate change policy formulation and implementation to facilitate community participation in climate governance. Concerning community participation in climate governance, this study contributed to the research agenda for future studies regarding community participation in climate change policy formulation and implementation, which is fundamental to the success of climate governance

An exploratory study of the effectiveness of the Namibia Public Workers Union (NAPWU) as a collective bargaining unit for workers in the civil service: A case study of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC)

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Public AdministrationWorkers, individually, are too weak and not capable of having their demands met at their workplaces hence the need for a union to take advantage of the power that comes with unity and collectivism. This being the case, one recognizes as many would, the need of an effective collective bargaining unit. Namibia Public Workers Union (NAPWU) is one of the largest trade unions which recruits its members from the, public service and parastatals. Its effectiveness in representing its members is of major importance in order to avoid labor unrest which may lead to poor service delivery to the public. Therefore this paper explores the effectiveness of NAPWU as a collective bargaining unit for its members who are employed at Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). A mixed methods approach is used in the study where interviews and questionnaires are employed to obtain data from the respondents. Respondents were grouped as follows; employees at NBC who are members of NAPWU, NBC management and a shop steward. From these groups was then the data drawn. The major findings reveal that the majority of NAPWU members believe that their union has little or no influence at all when it comes to the working conditions of its members. They feel not secured, as management could act as the deem right and encounters no resistance from the union and the widely held opinion by NAPWU members at NBC was that there is poor accountability of the union to its members to the extent that some members felt that their union was conniving with the management against them. Though the above mentioned problems exist, NAPWU through its shop stewards assisted its members in the area of legal aid by supporting them in cases of conflicts among employees, or other individual problems faced with their immediate supervisors. The outcome of the research indicates that NAPWU should adopt “Servicing”, as well as “Organizing” models of union representation and to let these two complement each other. This will prevent a “them” and “us” relationship between the union and its members, which currently is prevailing there and affecting the collectivism approac

Account of the Hamburg Redemption Institute,

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