https://ujmdd.mzumbe.ac.tz/index.php/ujmdd <p>‘<em>Uongozi’</em> is a Kiswahili word for Leadership. <strong>“UONGOZI” - Journal of Management Development Dynamics (UJMDD)</strong> is a multidisciplinary journal sponsored and published by Mzumbe University, Tanzania. The Journal aims at providing management trainers, consultants and practicing managers and other stakeholders with a scholarly forum for an exchange of ideas and experiences. The objective is to fill the vacuum of relevant information for managers, management experts and students in African countries and beyond.</p> <p>The Journal is published <strong><em>twice</em></strong><em> a year,</em> in <strong>June</strong> and <strong>December</strong>.</p> Mzumbe University en-US The UONGOZI Journal of Management and Development Dynamics 0856-1435 https://ujmdd.mzumbe.ac.tz/index.php/ujmdd/article/view/19 Is it possible to create an index that tracks local governance performance, as a tool for civil society, citizens and central governments to hold local government to account and improve local service delivery? For many researchers and practitioners working on improving local governance would be desirable and useful. However, creating an index is a contested and complex process. Indicators of governance and performance are approximations of the concepts they represent and can obscure nuanced understandings of the data on which they are based, and the contexts in which they operate. This article presents action research on the creation of a local governance performance index (LGPI) in Tanzania, which deployed a context-based problem-solving approach. It reflects the necessary trade-offs in index design in order to produce a tool that is locally meaningful, avoids gaming of indicators and drives the process leading to enhanced capability in local governance. Anna Mdee Alesia Ofori Andrew Mushi Patricia Tshomba Copyright (c) 2022 The UONGOZI Journal of Management and Development Dynamics 2022-12-05 2022-12-05 31 1 https://ujmdd.mzumbe.ac.tz/index.php/ujmdd/article/view/2 This article aims to assess knowledge, attitude and practices (KAPs) towards COVID-19 prevention measures in a context where the official governmental position towards COVID-19 has been changing; the implications of that official attitude to COVID -19 about community-level awareness, knowledge and practices were also determined. A cross-sectional survey was adopted and involved 200 restaurant workers from 25 restaurants conveniently selected. Field data were collected using a survey questionnaire and direct observations. A multivariate analysis was used to explain the relationships between studied variables using descriptive statistics. The study findings revealed that only 63(31.5%) of all the respondents were knowledgeable about COVID-19 and its prevention measures. It was also found that the respondents had optimistic attitudes and expected practices towards very few (4 out of 15) prevention measures. Education level was a very important factor that influenced knowledge about the disease than sex and age groups. The study also concluded that the attitude of the majority towards COVID-19 prevention is either negative or ambivalent, which in turn inhibits the implementation of the recommended COVID-19 prevention measures. This implies that COVID-19 prevention programs need to target unaware segments of Tanzanians: a more focused educational programme about COVID-19 for such groups was needed from the onset of the pandemic. As pandemics reoccur, appropriate experiences and lessons documented will contribute to more consistent responses in the future such as the issuance of objective policy statements by the country’s leadership on pandemics. Sharifa Ismail Ally Faisal H. Issa Copyright (c) 2021 The UONGOZI Journal of Management and Development Dynamics 2022-06-30 2022-06-30 31 1 https://ujmdd.mzumbe.ac.tz/index.php/ujmdd/article/view/3 This study sought to examine the effects of COVID-19 on finalist secondary school students in Tanzania. The study also sought to find out the coping mechanisms employed by students, teachers and parents in the efforts of mitigating the pandemic. A qualitative research approach which adopted a phenomenological design was utilised for data collection and analysis. A snowball sampling technique was used in selecting 36 study participants. These included 12 students, 12 teachers and 12 parents. Data were collected through interviews and non-participant observations. Trustworthiness and credibility of the findings were achieved using triangulation of data collection tools and quotations from the participants. The findings revealed that COVID-19 has multiple effects on academics. The study also revealed that coping mechanisms such as ICT and positive institutions and communities were used to minimize fear, stress, confusion and stigma. Due to the seriousness of the pandemic, and the fact that the world might have to live with it for a long period as expected, the study recommends that governments, school leaders, teachers, parents and students embrace digital teaching and learning and devise various coping mechanisms including positive institutions and communities to mitigate the multiple academic effects which may arise. Abdallah Jacob Seni Copyright (c) 2021 The UONGOZI Journal of Management and Development Dynamics 2022-09-18 2022-09-18 31 1 https://ujmdd.mzumbe.ac.tz/index.php/ujmdd/article/view/4 The COVID-19 accelerated e-learning in teaching as universities had to practice online learning to ensure continuity of teaching and learning activities while in lockdown. Most of these online learning systems require internet connectivity for their accessibility and thus pose accessibility challenges in areas with poor or no internet connectivity. Therefore, there is a need to review the system and propose technical solutions to improve its accessibility. This paper highlights accessibility challenges posed by the MU e-learning system and presents a progressive web-based application (e-learning enhancer) to address the gap. The application can cache viewed contents for accessibility in offline mode and utilise Short Message Service (SMS) to notify learners about updated content. We tested the system prototype with a small group from MU Main Campus to assess its applicability. The e-learning enhancer was found useful, and it can be used by any university that uses the Moodle platform for e-Learning services to improve system accessibility. Mzumbe University (MU) uses a customised Moodle platform to offer e-learning services to its students. Erick Mgongo Edger P. Rutatola Tupokigwe Isagah Copyright (c) 2021 The UONGOZI Journal of Management and Development Dynamics 2022-06-30 2022-06-30 31 1 https://ujmdd.mzumbe.ac.tz/index.php/ujmdd/article/view/1 This paper aims at dissecting, using a purely legalistic approach, the jurisprudence of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights (the Court) as it manifests in its decided cases. The aim is to show how the Court has dealt with the state’s consent and validity of its seizure as a prerequisite for its jurisdiction. This is important in showing how the Court has fulfilled or failed to fulfil the objective of providing justice to individuals against actions of the state as the primary objective of its establishment. The review considered those cases that are available online on the Court’s website , and those reported in the African Court Law Reports. The paper concludes that African states, as history has it, have been reluctant to submit to supranational monitoring and scrutiny of their human rights records and behaviour. This state of affairs is worsened by the unchecked freedom of states to make and withdraw declarations entitling individuals to access the Court. It is therefore recommended that the aspects in the Protocol that establishes the Court, especially those relating to the competency of the Court to receive individual complaints be reassessed so as they are couched in a manner and terms that facilitate the achievement of the primary objective for the establishment of the Court. Benjamin Jonas Copyright (c) 2021 The UONGOZI Journal of Management and Development Dynamics 2021-06-30 2021-06-30 31 1 1 36