Zimbabwe Open University

This study evaluates the impact of major policy reforms that deregulated Zimbabwe’s oil industry, with particular emphasis on their implications for rural development in Mudzi Rural District, Mashonaland East Province. The research examines how liberalising the importation, distribution, and retailing of oil products has reshaped market structure, pricing dynamics, competitive behaviour, investment trends, fuel accessibility, and foreign exchange utilisation. Findings indicate that deregulation has the potential to greatly improve fuel access and service provision in underserved rural areas by enhancing market efficiency, increasing competition, and diversifying fuel import sources. Consequently, the reforms have also created new investment opportunities for Zimbabweans, especially in rural markets, including roles in infrastructure development, import substitution, storage, and procurement. Emerging models such as containerised fuel stations demonstrate how deregulation can expand rural fuel availability and stimulate local enterprise development. However, the study highlights ongoing challenges—among them regulatory gaps, illicit fuel trading, and inadequate infrastructure—which undermine the full benefits of deregulation. Therefore, to address these issues, the research recommends that there be targeted support for small-scale fuel operators, strengthened regulatory oversight, enhanced community engagement, and local capacity-building initiatives. Overall, the study concludes that with strategic policy refinement, deregulation can play a pivotal role in advancing Zimbabwe’s broader objectives of energy security, inclusive rural development, and sustainable economic growth.

This study examined how engineering workmanship in road construction under Zimbabwe’s Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP) and related emergency preparedness initiatives influences economic development in rural districts. It argues that high-quality workmanship in road works is a critical driver of economic growth, improved market access, reduced transport costs, increased investment, and employment creation particularly in underserved rural areas such as Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe (UMP) Zvataida Rural District of Mashonaland East Province. The study adopts a qualitative research approach, drawing on policy documents, project reports, stakeholder interviews, and field observations to gain in-depth insights into both the technical and socio-economic dimensions of road infrastructure development. Thus, the sample was selected using a purposive sampling technique and comprised participants from Zimbabwe’s Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme in UMP Rural District including policymakers, government agencies, distribution companies, and consumers resulting in a sample size of 50 respondents. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with government officials, local contractors, community leaders, and ERRP beneficiaries, as well as through on-site evaluations of selected road projects. Thematic analysis was used to interpret qualitative data, enabling the identification of recurring patterns related to workmanship quality, contractor performance, supervision mechanisms, funding timelines, and local capacity constraints. Findings indicate that the ERRP has resulted in improved road accessibility in over 70% of the assessed project sites, contributing to reduced travel times and enhanced linkage to local markets. However, participants reported persistent challenges in workmanship quality, with approximately 60% of respondents citing inadequate supervision and weak quality assurance procedures as major constraints. Field observations also revealed inconsistencies in drainage design, gravel compaction, and edge protection across several completed segments. Furthermore, nearly half of the interviewed stakeholders, that is 48% highlighted delays in funding disbursements as a key cause of compromised technical standards and reduced contractor performance. Consequently, the study concludes by stating that although ERRP interventions have delivered measurable improvements in road conditions within UMP, their long-term economic impact is hindered by workmanship deficiencies and limited institutional oversight. Thus, strengthening contractor capacity, enforcing rigorous supervision frameworks, and improving inter-agency coordination are essential in sustaining infrastructure gains and at the same time maximising rural economic development outcomes. Therefore, the study recommends targeted training for local contractors, enhanced monitoring systems, and better-aligned funding mechanisms to ensure durable and economically transformative road construction in rural districts.

In the present era, there are numerous consumer data sources, particularly through web services and terminals such as point of sales to better understand customers. More so, it has become challenging to gather and evaluate this vast amount of data manually. This chapter highlights the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in improving relationships with customers and explores the techniques used to analyze customers’ data in order to predict their demands and reach their satisfaction. The objective of this study was to empirically test the effect of AI on customer satisfaction of selected family-owned businesses listed in Nigeria, the most populous and one of the biggest economies in Africa. This implies that AI is a significant predictor of customer satisfaction. The study suggests that companies should employ AI solutions to improve operational efficiency. Through the implementation of AI, companies can optimize their operations, decrease expenses, and enhance their ability to adapt to market fluctuations and client needs.

To move with the technologically advancing times, the Government of Zimbabwe in 2016 proposed an information and communication technology (ICT) policy for implementation in educational institutions. This policy demanded that ICTs be integrated into teaching and learning for a higher quality of education. However, a noteworthy point is that this policy is largely a theoretical document with no clear indications of how the mandate could be put into practice, especially in secondary schools located in rural areas where ICT infrastructure limitation is a real challenge. That this policy applies a blanket ICT integration ideology that fails to consider disparities in advantage between rural and urban schools creates a fundamental problem about the extent to which the policy can achieve holistic success. In this article, extracted from a doctoral study, we question the extent of the success of the ICT policy implementation in rural secondary schools in Zimbabwe, particularly with reference to English second language (ESL) teaching and learning. Drawing on findings from a multiple case study research project that utilised interviews and focus group discussions to collect qualitative data, we argue that there are salient discrepancies between the ideologies that the Zimbabwean national ICT policy panders and the realities that ESL teachers and learners face on the ground about ICT usage.

This study investigates turnover intentions and their effects on the health sector in Harare Metropolitan Province, Zimbabwe. The research explores the prevalence, underlying causes, and consequences of turnover intention among healthcare professionals working in public health facilities. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through structured questionnaires administered to a purposively selected sample of 50 health workers, including doctors, nurses, and primary healthcare providers. The findings reveal a high prevalence of turnover intention, primarily driven by factors such as insufficient medication, low salaries, poor working conditions, limited career advancement, inadequate management support, and job dissatisfaction. The study also highlights the negative impact of turnover intention on healthcare service delivery, including increased workload for remaining staff, reduced patient care quality, low staff morale, and heightened operational costs. Respondents unanimously acknowledged the economic and social disruptions caused by staff turnover, emphasizing its adverse effect on institutional knowledge and healthcare outcomes. Based on the findings, the study recommends improved compensation, better working environments, enhanced professional development opportunities, and stronger leadership as strategies to curb turnover intentions. The study concludes by calling for further research into the long-term impact of staff retention interventions and comparisons between public and private sector healthcare settings in Zimbabwe.

This study applies a first-order Markov chain modelling approach to Standardised Precipitation Index data derived from 2011 to 2021 annual rainfall data collected across the 37 wards in Mberengwa District, Zimbabwe, to assess its meteorological drought return period patterns. The study aims to estimate the meteorological drought return periods using the steady-state probabilities and calculate multiple-year drought probabilities and the expected duration of drought, providing a probabilistic understanding of drought dynamics to support effective drought risk management and climate adaptation planning in the district and other arid areas. The Standardised Precipitation Index values were classified into drought, normal and wet states based on their magnitudes. The transition probabilities were used to calculate the steady-state probabilities, which were used to estimate the return periods. The Markov Chain Property (Memoryless Property) and stationarity assumptions were validated using the autocorrelation graph and chi-square distribution, respectively. Each validation resulted positively supported the Markov chain assumptions, suggesting that the local authorities could rely on the model’s predictions for planning and resource management. The findings indicated that drought conditions occur 23% of the time with a corresponding return period of approximately 4.35 years, normal conditions occur 59% of the time with a corresponding return period of approximately 1.69 years, and wet conditions occur 18% of the time with a corresponding return period of approximately 5.56 years. The probabilities of the multi-year droughts revealed a 24.7% chance of a drought lasting approximately 2 years, diminishing to 0.37% for five consecutive years. The expected length of drought was estimated to be 1.33 years, suggesting that while droughts are a concern, they often resolve relatively quickly. This study emphasises the need for local authorities to develop comprehensive emergency preparedness plans, invest in water conservation infrastructure and foster community engagement to enhance resilience against the impacts of climate variability.

Traditional knowledge has always played a critical role in the health fraternity of most African countries. However, indigenous communities in Zimbabwe continue to lose their valuable knowledge through such factors as globalization, climate change and death or memory loss of the elders. The threats of extinction of this knowledge particularly medicinal IKS such as herbal medicine and indigenous healing have been facilitated by lack of recordings since most of it relies on oral and memory transmission, too much preference for western health systems and lack of intellectual property protection from pirates. The loss of such critical knowledge has led to continued community diseases and ultimately loss of life in some circumstances. Culture is also threatened whenever there is a loss of its essential system of knowledge. This chapter details how traditional medicine such as the use of herbs is a key player in the health of indigenous communities. It also unpacks what efforts can be made to preserve such knowledge systems.

Purpose: The study purpose was to do an evaluation of how forensic accounting affects the cost effectiveness of Zimbabwe’s public procurement system. Issues to do with how forensic accounting affects achieving of cost savings and optimisation of resource allocation in Zimbabwe’s public procurement system were dwelled on. Design/Methodology/Approach: The Institutional Theory which called for a quantitative research methodology was used in this study. Data was gathered using questionnaires which were administered to 112 respondents. The respondents were obtained from government ministries, audit firms, law enforcement agents, auditors and procurement management units. Multiple linear regression analysis was employed in conjunction with descriptive statistics. Findings: The study revealed that there was a significant positive association between procurement efficacy and investigative accounting. IIFCS was also statistically significant while PFAP emerged as the strongest predictor. Most of the respondents (87.5%) reiterated that forensic accounting boosts cost savings and resource optimisation. They agreed that it enabled exposing of unfairly priced figured, bid rigging, non- cost-effective expenditure, and collusion. Implications/Originality/Value: This paper alluded that ought to end up being institutionalised. Thus, there is need to coopt forensic accounting in the Zimbabwean public procurement system.

Taxifolin (TXL) is a minor bioactive compound from the polyphenol class that may significantly impact human metabolism when included in food products. However, its application is limited by a bitter taste and low bioavailability. We hypothesized that encapsulating TXL in whey proteins using thermomechanical mixing or spray drying could effectively mask its bitterness and enhance bioavailability. Computational simulations indicated that each molecule of β-lactoglobulin (β-Lg) and α-lactalbumin (α-La) can bind at least one TXL molecule. Consequently, experiments used an equimolar ratio of whey proteins to TXL (1:1). Thermomechanical stirring of liquid whey protein concentrate (WPC) at 80 ± 2 °C followed by lyophilisation formed protein aggregates up to 160 μm in size, incorporating large TXL crystals. Encapsulation efficiency was 63 ± 3 %, and the bitter flavour remained unmasked. In contrast, encapsulation via spray drying achieved up to 71 ± 2 % efficiency at an inlet air temperature of 150 °C. The resulting WPC microcapsules, up to 30 μm in size, did not contain large TXL crystals, and bitterness was fully masked. This aligns with the observed reduction in TXL's antioxidant activity. After disrupting WPC microcapsules with ethanol, antioxidant activity of the polyphenol was nearly fully restored. These findings suggest that when such microcapsules are ingested with food, the antioxidant activity of TXL will be expressed in the intestine following proteins breakdown. The results may support the development of novel food products containing whey proteins with encapsulated TXL.

This paper applies a semi-quantitative approach to review the diversity, environmental controls, detection methods, human health risks, and mitigation of cyanotoxins in drinking water systems (DWSs). It discusses the environmental factors controlling the occurrence of cyanotoxins, presents the merits and limitations of emerging methods of their detection (qPCR, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and electrochemical biosensors), and outlines the human exposure pathways and health outcomes with identification of high-risk groups and settings. High-risk groups include (1) communities relying on untreated drinking water from unsafe, polluted water sources and (2) low-income countries where cyanotoxins are not routinely monitored in DWSs. The fate and behavior processes are discussed, including removing cyanotoxins in DWSs based on conventional and advanced treatment processes. The available methods for cyanotoxin removal presented in this paper include (1) polymer-based adsorbents, (2) coagulation/flocculation, (3) advanced oxidation processes, (4) ultra- and nanofiltration, and (5) multi-soil layer systems. Future research should address (1) detection and fate in storage and conveyance facilities and at the point of consumption, (2) degradation pathways and toxicity of by-products or metabolites, (3) interactive health effects of cyanotoxins with legacy and emerging contaminants, (4) removal by low-cost treatment techniques (e.g., solar disinfection, boiling, bio-sand filtration, and chlorination), (5) quantitative health risk profiling of high-risk groups, and (6) epidemiological studies to link the prevalence of human health outcomes (e.g., cancer) to cyanotoxins in DWSs.