Engineering

Over the past twenty years, the Kavango Region in Namibia has experienced a ninety percent population increase, land use change from forests and grasslands into settlements and agricultural lands, which included increased irrigated commercial farming activities along the Okavango River. These human activities were expected to cause some impact on the water quality of Okavango River. Landsat TM images for years 1990 and 2011 were classified using unsupervised classification process to determine the changes in land use. Water quality parameters measured for three months at six sampling points along the river, and climatic data was obtained. Eleven percent land use change from shrub and grasslands into settlements and agricultural lands was observed. Irrigated area increased by over hundred percent
and area under forest, shrubs and grass have decreased by over  eleven percent between 1990 and 2011. Linear regression was used to analyse correlation between reach length and water nutrient concentration. A high negative correlation between nutrient load and reach length indicated that the reach was attenuating the inflow
nutrient load. Analysis of variance showed statistically significant differences in oxidized nitrogen levels between 1993 and 2012, but there were no statistically significant differences in total phosphorus and total nitrogen during the same period. The study showed that the land use changes in the Kavango Region had low impact on the water quality of the Okavango River.

Zimbabwe undertook a land reform in 2000, where some large scale commercial farms were subdivided into smaller plots and allocated to new farmers. Reservoirs owned and managed by farmer consortiums were taken over by a state enterprise, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority. A case of one such resettlement area is in the Wenimbi River basin, where 20 large scale commercial farms were subdivided and allocated to over 600 plot holders. In 2004, a new and larger reservoir, located upstream, was commissioned, mainly to supply water to riparian farmers and a near by town. The changes have brought new water management and farming practices, hence new water supply and demand characteristics, more water users, more competition, shortages and some conflicts. I am especially indebted to my supervisors, Eng. Kaseke and Dr. Chidenga for their guidance, assistance and constructive criticism. I am also grateful to Eng. Makurira , Mr. Shekede and Mr. Mhizha for assistance and advice. I also wish to thank Waternet for providing financial support and colleagues like Mr. Kalua and Ms Chipwaila for their unwavering support.

Zimbabwe undertook a land reform in 2000, where some large scale commercial farms were sub-divided into smaller plots and allocated to new farmers. Reservoirs owned and managed by farmer consortiums were taken over by a state enterprise, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority. A case of one such resettlement area is in the Wenimbi River basin, where 20 large scale commercial farms were sub-divided and allocated to over 600 plot holders. In 2004, a new and larger reservoir, located upstream, was commissioned, mainly to supply water to riparian farmers and a near by town. The changes have brought new water management and farming practices, hence new water supply and demand characteristics, more water users, more competition, shortages and some conflicts. This research sought to establish the amount of water available, productive water use levels, allocations and underlying causes of shortages and conflict in the Safari-Igava irrigated farms after a major policy changes. A spreadsheet-b...

Abstract—High quality cured tobacco is one of the most foreign currency generators in Zimbabwe. Currently curing process within the small to medium scale farmers is through curer’s experience. In order to reduce this dependency and achieve high quality the curing process requires a well-designed temperature control system. A biomass fired flue curing tobacco barn design for small-medium scale farmers in Zimbabwe with a clear objective to control temperature and humidity is the focal point of this paper. The designed barn accommodates capacity of small-medium tobacco farmers with a provision to use firewood, coal or dung in as source of energy. To reduce curer experience dependency a furnace with seized fuel trays, which are charged into the furnace as per calculated frequency for every curing stage basing on heat content and type of fuel was incorporated. The designed barn system that, have an outside control box contains a combination of heat extraction fans, cold air blowers and h...

Abstract: Public transportation plays a key role to socio-economic development of any nation. This service enhances people’s livelihood framework by facilitating mobility and accessibility to services. Moreover, there is clear global evidence that a well performing public transport is an important enabler of sustained economic prosperity. Rapid urbanization in developing countries has resulted in transport facilities and infrastructure failing to cope with demand resulting in congestion, movement delays, high travel costs, and construction of holding bays in order to decongest the city, which will contribute to an increased usage of non-renewable energy. This prompts implementation of non-comprehensive strategies such as partial deregulation of transportation systems that caused further deterioration in economic sustainability. An economically sustainable transport system advocates for mobility, resource, and operational efficiency. This research focuses on developing a bus investme...

Public transportation plays a key role to socio-economic development of any nation. This service enhances people’s livelihood framework by facilitating mobility and accessibility to services. Moreover, there is clear global evidence that a well performing public transport is an important enabler of sustained economic prosperity. Rapid urbanization in developing countries has resulted in transport facilities and infrastructure failing to cope with demand resulting in congestion, movement delays, high travel costs, and construction of holding bays in order to decongest the city, which will contribute to an increased usage of non-renewable energy. This prompts implementation of non-comprehensive strategies such as partial deregulation of transportation systems that caused further deterioration in economic sustainability. An economically sustainable transport system advocates for mobility, resource, and operational efficiency. This research focuses on developing a bus investment concept...

In the past decade, the concept of "smart cities" has gained popularity as a way to address and manage challenges and complexities in urban areas. Different smart city frameworks have been proposed and the term "framework" has been defined, examined and proposed in various ways, with each interpretation taking a distinct approach. From a different angle, some frameworks highlight how the smart city concept is implemented, while others concentrate on assessing the initiatives' level of success. An additional collection of frameworks concentrated on the essential elements needed to make up a smart city. This research explicitly analyses frameworks concentrating on fundamental components to identify and suggest essential elements for developing an adaptable, sustainable smart city structure. Using a methodological approach that focused on the core elements of smart city structure, the research comprised of conducting a systematic literature review (SLR), and carrying out an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of existing frameworks. Based on the area of focus, the analysed frameworks were grouped into four categories: human-centric, techno-centric, integrated human-techno-centric and environmental-focus frameworks for easy SWOT analysis. The findings revealed that cyber-security issues pose threats to all frameworks and there are technological dependency vulnerabilities. This shows that technology is the driver/enabler of achieving smart city status. In addition, with the help of proper governance and effective management, involving citizens is key to releasing the potential for sustainable smart forms. Hence, the authors believe that technology, good governance, environmental concerns and citizens are essential components of an adaptable, sustainable smart city framework. A framework built on these crucial components is unique because it can be customised to fit any city. Management, infrastructural development and degree of public participation depend on different city configurations.