National Economic Empowerment Research Articles

Rules of the Game and Efficacy of Public Microcredit Schemes: Evidence from Selected Borrowers in Malawi

This paper contributes to the scholarly debates that question the efficacy of microcredit schemes in development programming. Dominant political economy debates posit that microcredit schemes have failed to achieve the envisaged financial inclusion and small-scale enterprise development outcomes because the nature of the intervention itself is an imposition by neoliberal promoters on global south economies. It is also argued that local political elites use microcredit programmes as a tool for advancing patronage. Motivated by this foregoing school of thought, we contend in this paper that informal credit management rules that dominate the administration of these schemes, at the expense of clearly spelt-out formal rules made known in the public domain, also contribute to this mission drift. Thus, our aim was to assess how prevailing microcredit-lending rules contribute to non-achievement of development outcomes. Guided by Douglas North’s conceptualisation of rules of the game as our analytical framework, we employed Q methodology to generate key themes that emerged from primary qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews with purposively recruited microcredit clients of the National Economic Empowerment Fund, a public microcredit scheme in Malawi. Findings revealed that microcredit schemes were dominated by informal rules regarding turnaround time, credit appraisal processes, political interference, and misplaced borrower perceptions about the objectives of microcredit schemes. These rules were misaligned to what was promised to potential microcredit borrowers as reflected in the public microcredit’s credit management procedures. We concluded that unless the apparent pervasion of these substitutive informal rules that distort outcomes is curtailed, public microcredit schemes risk becoming an irrelevant strategy for driving small-scale enterprise development agenda in countries like Malawi.

Education, human capital development and endogeneous growth in selected African countries

The study examined the effect of education and human capital development on endogenous growth drawing evidence from selected African Countries within the period of 1980-2020. Survey research design was used and secondary data was sourced from world bank statistical bulletin based on tertiary education enrolment rate (TEER) vocational education enrolment rate (VEER), labour force participation rate (LFPR) and endogenous growth (EG). Descriptive analysis using panel covariance, cross-sectional dependence (CD) test, panel unit root tests as well as panel co-integration test were adopted to test the secondary data extracted. It was observed that there is low positive but significant impact of tertiary education enrolment rate (TEER) and vocational education enrolment rate (VEER), on endogenous growth (EG) while the impact of labour force participation rate (LFPR) on endogenous growth (EG) was negative. The study recommends that government should increase not just the amount of expenditure on education and health sector but also the percentage of its total expenditure accorded these sectors. The ten percent benchmark proffered by the current national plan document as contained in National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) should be geared up and gravitate towards the UNESCO 26% international recommended standard. Keywords: Education, endogenous growth, human capital development, trade openness.

Effect of Gender on Access to Loans in Malawi

Access to loan is vital for households to supplement their current flow of income as they strive to meet their consumption and investment expenditure needs. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of gender on access to loans and amount of money that is borrowed. This is a quantitative research that used secondary cross section data collected from all parts of the country by the Malawi National Statistical Office (NSO) called The Fifth Integrated Household Survey (IHS 5) data. This is cross section data that was collect in the period from 2019 to 2020. Data was analysed quantitatively by using descriptive statistics and econometric models. Probit model was used to assess the effect of gender on access to credit and a multiple regression was used to determine the effect of gender on amount of money a household borrowed. This study found that Malawians borrow money mainly for consumption. On access to loans, results show that, being female increases the probability of accessing loans but reduces the amount of borrowed money. Education was found to have positive effect on both access to credit and amount of credit. To increase the amount of money that women borrow, the study recommends that public loan programs like National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) must put in place deliberate mechanisms aimed at increasing the amount of money they lend to women. On education, we recommend compulsory primary school education, Business Studies in secondary school education and Entrepreneurship module in Colleges.

Public expenditure management and development in Nigeria: an examination of National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) 2004

In recent times there has been renewed emphasis on expenditure management because fiscal stress has constrained the ability of most countries, especially the developing world to provide social and economic infrastructure for their citizens. Hence, concerted efforts have been made in most developing countries to eliminate waste, control the inexorable rise in government expenditure and free up resources to provide social and economic infrastructure. This contribution critically examines the public expenditure management reform embedded in the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) 2004 by the Obasanjo regime in Nigeria. It assesses the impact of the reform on the nation’s development. The discourse is analytical, it relies on secondary data sources and adopts the New Public Management theory as its framework of analysis. It argues that the public sector expenditure reform encapsulated in NEEDS has been counterproductive. To improve the efficacy of the reform, corruption has to be addressed and transparency enhanced in our political institutions. In addition, there is need to re-launch our development priorities in line with local needs, local conditions and level of the productive forces.

PERIZINAN USAHA MIKRO, KECIL, DAN MENENGAH (UMKM): BENTUK PEMBERDAYAAN, PERLINDUNGAN HUKUM DAN MEWUJUDKAN NEGARA KESEJAHTERAAN

The existence or presence of micro, small and medium enterprises (“UMKM”) has an economic, social, and political impact. Goods or services produced from UMKM activities have economic value and are cheap. UMKM has advantages, one of which is having a strategic role in dealing with the ups and downs of the economy in Indonesia. Licensing is needed to guarantee the business activities of UMKM actors. Licensing is very important for UMKM players considering the increasingly global business competition and currently entering the process of economic liberalization. It is clear in Government Regulation Number 7 of 2021 concerning Ease, Protection, and Empowerment of Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, that in order to increase national economic growth, empowerment and licensing of UMKM is needed. The method used in this paper is normative juridical. The legal issue that will be examined in this paper is regarding the licensing of UMKM that provide legal protection and create a welfare state. UMKM licensing as a form of legal protection has an important value and has an impact, namely the business becomes legal, is provided with legal assistance, is used for capital applications with the aim of improving the quality and quantity of products and being able to compete with products from within and outside the country, access to business assistance from the government, and empowerment or supervision from the government so as to create a welfare state.

Corporate Social Responsibility Preferences in South Africa

What leads firms in South Africa (SA) to prefer specific CSR initiatives over others? The researchers analyzed secondary data from publicly available information of 231 listed firms on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. To determine national/institutional level preferences, ten CSR activities were identified among all firms and ranked in terms of their mean score of whether each firm participated in an activity or not. To determine industry/stakeholder influence, CSR activities were regressed against the firms’ industry. The preference for two CSR activities, education and training and enterprise development, are common across industries. This demonstrates the institutional effect of SA’s national Black economic empowerment (BEE) policy, which promotes such activities. Charitable donations, infrastructure provision, employee voluntarism and efforts in arts, culture and sports prevail in certain industries. The preferences of firms in the mining and construction industries stand out relative to other industries. Managers have to carefully select CSR activities that respond to various societal pressures. We show an example of management responses to pressures arising from both the national and industry level context. The study is the first to rank CSR activities of South African firms. We also reveal the promise of institutional theory to examine the phenomenon of CSR in the South African context.

ROLE OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (NEEDS) EDUCATIONAL POLICY IN POVERTY REDUCTION IN SOKOTO STATE, NIGERIA

This study examines the impact of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) programme on poverty reduction in Sokoto State of North-western Nigeria, through the channels of the education policy. A total of 826 responses from 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs) were received through a structured questionnaire. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and the binary logit regression model. It is found that the NEEDS has had a significant impact on the education of the participating households, which could lead to poverty reduction in the study area. The results also reveal that the NEEDS educational policy is likely to empower the youth to be self-reliant and productive in order to combat poverty in Sokoto State. It is suggested that the government should plan educational policies in the context of poverty reduction, by creating a conducive atmosphere for learning. Further, those who have benefited from similar programmes can be involved in raising awareness of future programmes. In addition, the government should enact a law on children’s education so that domestic work in the household and family businesses do not interfere with children’s education.

PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA: A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Government had traditionally assumed the responsibility of providing enabling environments for private individuals to thrive in the classical economic thoughts. These environments manifest critical infrastructure. However, as the society is growing in population and technology, the functions of the government became even more complex that governments were becoming increasingly unable to monopolistically provide these infrastructure, hence the need to liberalize the sources of infrastructure for collective development. Liberalization democratized sources of infrastructural development by including the private sector players in the provisioning of infrastructure through a partnership with the government. Public Private Partnership (PPP) has been practiced successfully in various countries of the world and has been found to be a veritable tool for infrastructural development. This study examined the historical evolution as a source of infrastructural development in Nigeria drawing extensively from documented literature. Findings reveals that PPP became a popular government approach to infrastructure development from the late 1990s- a period which coincided with the transition into the fourth stint of democratic governance. Since then, National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS), National Policy of PPP, National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP), and Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) have all been developed to advance infrastructural development with cogent emphases on PPP as a core implementation approach. The study hence recommended that PPP should be emphasized more as an approach of further infrastructure plans in Nigeria.

The Millennium Development Goals, Sustainability and Urban Development in Nigeria

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are targeted at eradicating extreme hunger and poverty in the 189 member countries of the United Nations (UN). Nigeria as a member of the United Nation keyed into the implementation o/ the framework of the goals by formulating the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS), NEEDS as a policy is targeted at eradicating poverty- and bringing about sustainable development. Sustainable urbanization is a global challenge. Rapid urban expansion without effective environmental consciousness means that in virtually every urban center, a substantial proportion of the population is at risk from natural and human-induced environmental hazards. This paper examines some of the challenges of urbanization and sustainable development in Nigeria. An assessment of the nation's implementation of the United Nations Millennium development goals is done. The paper examines the goals pertaining to poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability and their application in Nigerian rural and urban centers. It was discovered that none of the identified goals or targets has been adequately addressed. Therefore, the Nigerian State is far from achieving Sustainable development. This paper concludes by recommending that sustainability, Urban Development and the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals can be achieved by a pragmatic and efficient campaign aimed at tackling poverty and environmental degradation.

The Relationship Between the Value of Naira and Nigerian Production

The study examined the relationship between the value of naira and Nigerian production. Time series data from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin (Various Issues) were adopted. Unit root test, co-integration test and error correction model were carried out. Johansen test, trace statistics and maximum eigen statistics shows that there is co-integrating equation in a test, which means that there is a long run relationship among the variables and we reject the null hypothesis at 5%. The error correction model result showed that the economy needs 46.7% mechanical adjustment every year to adjust back to equilibrium. Inflation and interest rates are negatively affects Nigerian production (RGDP). This implies that increase in inflation and interest rates will bring about decrease in Nigerian production (RGDP) which suggests that the slow pace of growth of Nigerian production was as a result of unfavourable inflation and interest rates. That is, a percentage increase in inflation and interest rates would result on average to about 0.06532 and 0.4811 decrease in Nigerian production (RGDP). Furthermore, naira value which was measured by exchange rate positively related to Nigerian production (RGDP). This implies that the value of naira appreciates which positively contributes to Nigerian production (RGDP). That is, increase in value of naira will bring proportional increase on Nigerian production (RGDP). Finally, a percentage increase in value of naira would result on average to about 0.2279 increases in Nigerian production (RGDP). The study recommended that Nigeria government should be more serious about its economic reforms like the national Economic Empowerment and development Strategy (NEEDS), Small and Medium Enterprises Equity investment Scheme (SMEEIS) and others in order to boost the GDP internally so as to reduce pressure on imported goods which will automatically reduce the demand for dollar. This would lead to favourable exchange rate for the country. Keywords: Economic Growth, Inflation Rate, Interest Rate, Exchange Rate and Naira Value

Impact of national economic empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) on rural women: A case study of Yelwa Na Farko in Mubi, Adamawa state-Nigeria

Impact of national economic empowerment and development strategy (NEEDS) on rural women: A case study of Yelwa Na Farko in Mubi, Adamawa state-Nigeria

Nigeria’s cultural policy implementation: sustaining cultural diversity through cultural resource management

Nigeria is one of the few African countries with a written cultural policy as well as government established and funded institutions charged with the implementations of this policy. This article interrogates the implementation of the tenets of the policy, given Nigeria’s cultural diversity and the growing demand for tangible, verifiable economic indices of the contributions of the culture sector to both internally generated revenue (IGR) and the gross domestic product (GDP) of the nation. It suggests the need to expand the traditional understanding of cultural resource as land, labour and capital to embrace diverse forms of ‘soft’ cultural capital as assets whose management is critical to individual, community and national economic empowerment. The paper concludes with suggestions on strategies and best practices to enhance Nigeria’s creative economy as integral evidence of continuing implementation of the cultural policy.
 Keywords: Cultural policy, Cultural resource management, Cultural diversity, Creative economy

The Impact of Knowledge Management on SMEs Performance in the city of Bandung

Micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have a large role in economic activities. SMEs are the largest provider of employment, an important player in the development of local, national and international economic activities and community empowerment. Lacking of knowledge about the latest production technology and how to run quality control on products, meaning that here knowledge has an important role for the performance of SMEs. Therefore, the core of the research study is focused on one of the factors that influence the performance of SMEs, namely knowledge management. Based on this, the main problem revealed in this study is how the impact of knowledge management on the performance of SMEs. This research was conducted on SMEs in the city of Bandung. This study consisted of two variables, namely Knowledge Management (X) and SMEs Performance (Y). Knowledge management in this study consisted of four processes (Knowledge creation, knowledge storage, knowledge transfer/sharing and knowledge utilization) while SMEs Performance used a balanced scorecard approach (financial perspective, internal perspective of business processes, customer and stakeholder perspectives, and learning and growth perspective).The method used in this study is a survey method in the form of an explanatory survey. Data collection techniques by means of questionnaires with Likert scale models, which were analyzed using simple regression. And the respondents in this study were SMEs in Bandung, which numbered 99 UKM. Based on the results of the study, it can be seen that knowledge management has a positive and significant influence on the performance of SMEs in the city of Bandung. Where Knowledge Management Capabilities (Knowledge creation, acquisition, knowledge storage, knowledge transfer / sharing, knowledge utilization) are proven to have a positive and significant influence on the performance of SMEs (financial perspective, internal perspective of business processes, customer and stakeholder perspectives, and learning and growth perspective).

Music Education as an Alternative Paradigm to Youth Empowerment: Evidence from Tertiary Institutions in South West of Nigeria

Music education has been an integral part of national economic empowerment and development strategies in industrialized and developed nations globally, due to its impact on productivity, sustainability and economic development. However, the harness of youth‘s potentials through music education has not accelerated economic development in Nigeria. The study, therefore, seeks to investigate the impact of music education on youth empowerment. Purposive sample technique was adopted to select 10 academic staff members each from the five tertiary institutions that offering music education, totaling 50 participants as a sample size for the study. A structured questionnaire designed for the study was used to collect relevant information from the study’s participants. Data analysis was performed with the aid of mean, standard deviation and linear regression. The study establishes that music education is a driving force of youth empowerment. The study also confirms that inadequate funding of education and the poor state of infrastructural facilities are the major challenges that crippled music education in Nigeria. Subsequently, the study recommends that government, non-government organizations, renowned professional musicians and private investors should invest especially in music education. This will go a long way to empower young graduates with an array of skills for sustainable development.

Influence of Journalist Knowledge about Gender Mainstreaming Ideology on the Reporting of Gender Issues

Democracy has universal appeal in its respect for popular participation, accountability, equity and equality. The adoption of gender mainstreaming in Nigeria via the National Economic Empowerment Development strategy in 2003, and recently the 7-point agenda, vision 2020, among other development programmes support democratic values in the sense that the country’s ultimate goal is to achieve national development based on gender parity. This study sought to determine the Influence of Journalist Knowledge about Gender Mainstreaming Ideology on the Reporting of Gender Issues. The research which was anchored on the critical cultural theory was necessitated by the need to find out empirically how Nigerian journalists understood gender mainstreaming issues and its implications for their reportage of the issues. The survey research method using questionnaire and semi-structured interviews was adopted in this study. Practicing journalists in Nigeria put at 10,000 made up the study population. The sample size was 500 based on Nwanna’s (2008: p. 71) expert recommendation of selecting 5% of elements or units for a population size of several thousands. Results from the study established that Nigerian journalists have significant knowledge of gender mainstreaming issues which in turn influence the reporting of the phenomenon. Also, the dominant form of reporting of gender mainstreaming issues by journalists’ influences their perception of the phenomenon. In view of these findings, the study recommended sensitization of journalists to ensure that journalists begin to appreciate their ethical responsibility towards the cause of gender mainstreaming. Again, there will be need to strengthen advocacy and also move beyond the media organizations to media associations, since they are the umbrella body that can take decisions worthy of influencing media and editorial policies which, can facilitate gender sensitive and balanced reporting.

Analysis of the confluence between Nigeria’s development strategies and its agricultural public expenditures

This paper seeks to understand the features of public spending in the agricultural sector within the context of Nigeria’s federal structure and decentralized system. Specifically, the study aims to examine the extent to which the level and composition of public spending in the agricultural sector is consistent with both national and subnational priorities. The study also analyzed the efficiency of public resource allocation to agriculture in line with stated priorities at the federal and subnational levels. It provides analysis of public expenditures at the federal and state levels, the latter drawing from three case study states: Cross River, Niger, and Ondo states. The main period covered in this study are three important policy regimes: the era of NEEDS (National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy) during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the seven-point agenda era of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and the era of Vision 20:2020 of President Goodluck Jonathan. Although considerable efforts have been made to identify development priorities and articulate policies and strategies for improved performance of the agricultural sector, no sharp connection has been made with the expenditure policy. At the federal level, the situation was beginning to improve in the aftermath of the articulation of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) and alignment of expenditures toward the attainment of targets set in various strategic components of the agenda. At the subnational level, expenditure decisions do not follow a results-based framework, and there is no analytical basis for a logical assessment of expenditure impact. The defective linkage between expenditure decisions and prioritization of projects manifests in the study states, in particular where some activities that were not budgeted for ended up being funded whereas those already budgeted for receive no funding at all. Future research should conduct political economy analysis to shed light on circumstances that lead to a disconnect, and what factors lead to a stronger relationship between the design of strategies and actual public expenditures undertaken. Key words: Agriculture, Nigeria, Public spending, Development strategy, Subnational governments

Community acceptance challenges of renewable energy transitions: A tale of two solar parks in Limpopo, South Africa

Severe problems of climate change, inequality, poverty, and unemployment have compelled the South African government to pass legislation that introduced programmes aimed at achieving energy security, promoting economic development, and realising environmental protection. The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme objective is to increase the share of renewable sources in the national energy mix, deliver jobs and economic empowerment for black communities (Africans, Coloureds, and Indians) and cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Independent power producers (IPPs) must demonstrate that their projects contribute to job creation and broad-based black economic empowerment during the bidding process. To date, studies suggest that IPPs are missing this government target. This study investigated this phenomenon through face-to-face interviews with key informants involved in the IPP process at two solar parks in Limpopo province. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse and interpret the field notes. Findings reveal that the process of involving local communities in the governance of the IPP process is highly fragmented, leaving room for powerful stakeholders to thrive over vulnerable community members. The lack of monitoring by the government IPP office enables a prominent not-for-profit organisation to abscond from its responsibility of setting up a community trust for the benefit of local residents. Also, limited skills in the local communities mean that young people are employed in low-paying construction jobs that end after project commissioning. Lack of awareness and knowledge about IPP commitments made during the bidding process are responsible for the ‘wait and see’ approach of local leaders and community members. In the short-term, awareness and capacity-building interventions for local leaders and community members are urgently required to conscientise beneficiaries. It is imperative to create a participatory governance framework that prioritises vulnerable stakeholders as a long-term solution.

Policy Reforms in Nigerian Health Sector and the Potential for Poverty Reduction

This paper studies the policy reforms in the Nigerian health sector and potentiality of the sector towards poverty reduction in the country. The study investigates the contribution of health in the process of poverty reduction by various governments in Nigeria. The study employs secondary source as a methods of data collection. The study reveals that health sector reform involves more than just improvement in health or health care. It is a process motivated by the need to address fundamental deficiencies in health care systems that affect all health care services. Health sector reform in Nigeria is based on the poor health status of the population and the poor rating of the health system itself. The study reveals that Nigerian health status was ranked 187 out of 191 countries by WHO in 2000. The infant mortality rate, the under-five mortality rate and the maternal mortality ratio are some of the indicators that are often used to compare health status of populations. Nigeria’s figures on each of the three indicators are some of the worst in the world, even by the standard of developing countries. The health sector reform was one of the social sector reforms undertaken by the Obasanjo administration, with the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS) providing the overall national development framework. The NEEDS, itself, has four major goals: wealth creation, poverty reduction, employment generation and value re-orientation. Consequently, the study look at the contribution of the health sector reform towards reduction of poverty in Nigeria.

Globalization and Industrial Development: The Nigerian Perspective

Nigeria like many other developing countries' eagerness to accelerate socio-economic development has prompted her to adopt several approaches over the years since independence. These have ranged from the import substitution scheme, the indigenisation policy, and structural adjustment programme to the national economic empowerment development strategy. Nigeria has sought to widen her economic base by engaging in increased cross-border trade and investment activities. This is with a view to spurring the process of industrialization and ultimately lowering the level of poverty in the country. This has led to the formulation of various industrial policies and processes, all geared towards integration into the world economy. Using secondary sources, this paper seeks to analyze Nigeria's journey towards industrial development especially within the context of globalization. It concludes by explaining the impact of the new economic paradigm on the country's quest to industrialize and recommends alternative path towards development and growth.

Partnership between the State and the Church: Contextualizing Nigerian Faith-Based Vehicles as Poverty Reduction Tools in the Millenium

Social scientists studying African development have found themselves in a “paradigmatic crisis” (Ake, 2003: p. 17) in recent years, especially in the face of new challenges of development arising from the millenium development goals adopted by the United Nations. They have often posed the question—How can African development benefit from the MDGS, so that the African poor can attain the goals before 2015? This crisis needs to be properly contextualized so as to understand the dilemma facing the African poor in the new millenium. For example, at the end of the day, we should be in a position to know the answers to such questions such as “who defines what is development in africa; what is under development; how do we develop ourselves; Who develops; who benefits from development and how do we measure development?” The Catholic Social Teachings have a recognized and documented role in alleviating the socio-economic and political development challenges facing the people. It was part of the thoeritical framework of this paper that the best strategy of incorporating the needs of the family is for the state to partner with the state to answer the challenges of development in Africa but also to embark upon practicable Family economic empowerment development strategy. But government in Nigeria fails to take this partnership seriously but came out with NEEDS—National economic empowerment development strategy; SEEDS—State economic empowerent development strategy; and LEEDS-Local government economic empowerment development strategy. In designing these development documents government solidly avoided the involvment of the church which is pro-people and pro-poor institution that had been committed to development concerns as part of its christian mandate. This paper, using the Catholic development chain model will seek to explain how the Church can increase the pro-people impact of its development programs, to reduce poverty in Africa. To solve this dilemma, the paper introduces a new concept of Faith-based vehicles (FBVS) as the modem that will drive this partnership in development.