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Studies suggest that defunctioning stomas reduce the rate of anastomotic leakage and urgent reoperations after anterior resection. Although the magnitude of benefit appears to be limited, there has been a trend in recent years towards routinely creating defunctioning stomas. However, little is known about post-operative complication rates in patients with and without a defunctioning stoma. We compared overall short-term post-operative complications after low anterior resection in patients managed with a defunctioning stoma to those managed without a stoma. A retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing elective low anterior resection of the rectum for rectal cancer. The primary outcome was overall 90-day post-operative complications. Two hundred and three patients met the inclusion criteria for low anterior resection. One hundred and forty (69%) had a primary defunctioning stoma created. 45% received neoadjuvant radiotherapy. Patients with a defunctioning stoma had significantly more complications (57.1 vs 34.9%, p = 0.003), were more likely to suffer multiple complications (17.9 vs 3.2%, p

This study examined 13 purposively selected climate change projects in eThekwini Municipality to determine their poverty reduction potentials (or the lack thereof). The study builds on the document analysis of the poverty reduction co-benefits of 104 climate change projects in the Municipality. Using a qualitative approach, interviews (15 with municipal staff and 14 with experts) and 18 focus group discussions with project beneficiaries were used with purposively selected participants for data collection. Findings of the study revealed that all the projects assessed have poverty reduction co-benefits (although this varied across projects). The study found several challenges associated with the projects including concerns about short-term contracts, dissatisfaction with salaries, and insufficient work gear that exposes workers to health risks. Those employed under the project expressed a preference for greater involvement of the municipality in the management of the projects. Considering the poverty reduction co-benefits of the climate change projects, the study recommends a move beyond a project-based approach to institutionalising climate change to provide permanent employment. There is also a need to emphasise the multiple dimensions of poverty reduction in project design beyond job creation. Furthermore, the experiences of climate change in eThekwini Municipality provide a model that can be adopted and contextualised by other local government authorities particularly in the global south.

Conservation through restoration and rehabilitation of ecological infrastructure is an important climate change adaptation strategy. The Giba Gorge Environmental Precinct project is a pilot biodiversity conservation project for ecosystem services, which in the broader scheme, enhances community resilience and ability to adapt to climate change. This study investigated biodiversity management in an urban context using the Giba Gorge Environmental Precinct Project as a case study. We focus on power interplay among the GGEP stakeholders by using the Political Ecology conceptual framework. The study adopted a qualitative paradigm comprising focus groups discussions, individual interviews and observations with purposively selected key stakeholders. Results show that the project is providing key ecological services despite ineffective management of stakeholder demands which undermines biodiversity conservation efforts.

The 2005 Cooperative Act and the subsequent amendments and other related policies and support have invigorated the cooperative sector in South Africa. In fact, if one looks at the number of cooperatives registered in South Africa, it is quite impressive. The legislative environment and the financial support that the country provides have resulted in increased number of newly registered cooperatives. There were about 4000 cooperatives in 2005 compared to the 50,000 currently registered cooperatives in South Africa. Compared to population growth and the rate of urbanisation in South Africa, this number is very high. Despite the impressive growth in the number of newly registered cooperatives, the sustainability of many of the registered cooperatives is doubtful. This chapter provides an overview of the history of the country’s cooperative sector with the goal of identifying factors that contribute to the high failure rates of cooperatives. Based on the available literature and statistics, the chapter shows that financial incentives and the creation of government support institutions are not enough to foster sustainable and successful cooperatives.

The South African cooperative sector continues to be confronted by challenges which have undermined their success despite the concerted support of the sector in the past two decades. To further the success of cooperatives, it is critical to explore the theoretical and empirical understanding of cooperatives in order to glean lessons that could be applied to the South African context. In this chapter, we argue that for cooperatives in South Africa to truly become sustainable, they must work towards the radical application of the principles and values of the cooperative movement. This entails eliminating the practice of dependence on the state and ensuring that cooperatives are linked to addressing socio-economic issues for which they are established. Additionally, there is an urgent need for increased understanding of the rationale for the establishment of cooperatives through education and training of cooperators. The chapter further argues that there is a need to allow the organic growth of cooperatives instead of the government facilitating a false growth through unsustainable financial and non-financial incentives.

Around the world, cooperatives are increasingly being recognised for their invaluable roles in socio-economic development. This recognition has translated into countries and development organisations taking proactive steps towards grounding the cooperative movement so as to maximise their socio-economic benefits. The primary objective of this chapter is to present an overview of the cooperative movement. In doing this, the chapter engages how the cooperative movement has been conceptualised. The chapter also presents the defining characteristics of the cooperative movement and how these translate into the impact they have on the society. The chapter notes that the unique characteristics of cooperatives are what make the sector important in addressing socio-economic challenges.

Cooperatives are gaining prominence for providing a post-crisis response to communal conflicts , environmental disasters, and financial upheaval. This chapter examines the roles of cooperatives in post-conflict environments in Africa. The chapter explores how cooperatives are useful in post-conflict environments and the challenges and limitations they face in fragile and post-conflict societies. The chapter looks at the relationship between cooperatives and conflict mitigation on the continent within the context of development, peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction. It will draw out practical lessons and examples from within and beyond the African continent. The chapter hopes to contribute to existing discourses on conflict prevention and how to embed this on the African continent. This chapter argues that in limiting the future occurrence of violent conflict, cooperatives bring forth the linkages between development and peacebuilding ; two very important factors in preventing future conflict and guaranteeing sustainable peace.

The Kenyan cooperative sector has undergone tremendous changes over the years. In the colonial era, the sector moved from being an exclusive white-owned state-dependent organisations to the introduction of black-owned cooperatives to raise a middle class to counter popular uprising. In the post-colonial era, the sector has moved from being state-dependent to an independent era where it now operates as a successful business entity. This chapter provides a historical overview of the Kenyan cooperative sector with the goal of establishing key success/failure indicators thereof. The aim is to identify critical lessons that can be applied in other contexts.

This chapter undertakes a review of the evolution of cooperatives in Africa . The review notes that the cooperative form of organisation in Africa has its link to pre-colonial Africa although the modern form of internationally recognised cooperative organisations were introduced by the colonial powers. The chapter also notes that although the rationale that underpins the adoption of cooperatives in Africa is similar to those recognised internationally; this has not been the case in the implementation of cooperatives on the continent. The review provides critical insights into factors that affect cooperatives and note how these can be adopted to enhance the success of cooperatives in contemporary Africa. The chapter concludes by noting that despite challenges faced by cooperatives, they could be instrumental in addressing multiple challenges including poverty, unemployment and hopelessness experienced by many across Africa.

The African continent is bedevilled by a plethora of challenges such as high level of poverty, low literacy, high maternal and infant mortality, widespread human rights abuses, as well as endemic corruption. Although there is consensus about the challenges facing the continent, there are contesting accounts of the underlying cause(s). While some academics locate the socio-political challenges of the continent in the discourse on colonialism, others have argued that poor governance, epitomised by weak institutions, corrupt government officials, and human rights abuses are to blame for the continent’s development woes. The latter approach is widely accepted as offering a nuanced account of the continent’s problems. This approach is one of the underlying ideas that necessitated the formation of the African Peer Review Mechanism. Constituted in 2003, the African Peer Review Mechanism has been hailed as a novel initiative aimed at addressing the socio-political and economic ills plaguing the continent. Through a review of pertinent literature, this chapter examines the implementation of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). I argue that despite the progress in the review process, a number of challenges have undermined the success of the APRM. The chapter concludes with some policy recommendations on how the review process can be better positioned to bring about meaningful growth and development on the continent.