African Journals Online
African Journal of Finance and Management

Volume 9 Number 2 January 2001

ANTI-MONOPOLY LAW AND FREE MARKET ECONOMY: POLICY AND BASIC ISSUES 
By Dr. Luitfried X. Mbunda·

ABSTRACT
The United Republic of Tanzania joined other developed and developing countries in dealing with monopoly problem by enacting the Fair Trade Practices Act of 1994. This was part of implementing the economic liberation policy of adopting a free market economy introduced in 1991 to replace State monopolies established after the Arusha Declaration of 1967.The gist of the legislation is to encourage competition in the economy by prohibiting restrictive or unfair trade practices controlling monopolies and concentrations of economic power. Although countries may have different political and economic policies as well as different policy considerations, it is generally agreed that anti-monopoly policy in most countries is aimed at promoting competition. Competition is considered to be the form of industrial organization, which is most likely to yield certain economic benefits. This is as far as policy issues are concerned. As far as basic issues on this subject are concerned, the controversies anti monopoly law have caused have arisen from differences of opinion on the desired degree of governmental interference in economic life. The emphasis of the causal link between Market structure of an industry which in turn influence the conduct of the market and thus indirectly determine some dimensions of the performance of the market has created a problem of approach in order to take action against concentration of economic power and unfair or restrictive trade practices. As a result of this, it has been suggested that the best policy for tackling this problem must take account of the following. First, that the structure of the business does not have unwarranted concentration of economic power. This is called the structural approach. Second is the performance approach that is directed against the specific conduct or practice of a firm or firms. This is intended to make sure that this conduct does not detrimental effect on the freedom of market action of other firms or do not adversely affect consumers. Finally the conduct approach examines the performance of the firm or firms to see if they have had effects on the performance of other firms or market in question. It is only when that is the case that government interference becomes necessary. It is not clear which of these approaches the government of Tanzania will adopt. At least the purpose of the Fair Trade Practices Act as stated in the preamble is "to encourage competition in the economy by prohibiting restrictive trade practices, regulating monopolies, concentration of economic power and prices, and to protect the consumer. This law protects consumers because they are the ultimate beneficiaries of promoting and maintaining fair trade practices. This by and large is the same purpose similar legislation are intended to achieve in other countries. Tanzania has therefore the opportunity to borrow a leaf from countries with long experience in tackling the monopoly problem.


FINANCING OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZE ENTERPRISES IN CAMEROON 
By Joseph T. Tahsoh

ABSTRACT:
The study was conducted to determine the problems Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMES) face in obtaining credits which could be a constraint to their creation and growth. Available data from the banking sector shows that as much as 78.7% of all commercial bank loans go to SMEs and large companies. This includes 86.2% of all medium term, 18.9% of all long term and 3.6% of all short term loans. SMEs and large companies pay back their loans better than the other classes of borrowers. Today the average loan repayment by all groups of bank clientele stands at 52.5% which is below World Bank standards. Even the SME loan repayment rate of 62.9% is still low by World Bank standards. From a survey conducted in the city of Douala in 1992, it was found out that the problem of SME financing in Cameroon today is not so much that of inadequacy of funds. Rather it is poor management of resources, the absence of collateral, and the absence of legality, which prevents many SMEs from obtaining loans from formal financing institutions. There is a lot of liquidity in informal financing houses but their lending is limited to members. The government must assist in creating and promoting a reliable environment informal banking institutions which will attract these funds from informal sources so as to make them available to a wider population of borrowers. To further improve on the financing environment of SMEs in Cameroon we may want to switch, from the so called hardware support approach to the software approach which facilitates access to money market information, research findings; which encourages linkages with large firms, within or out of the country; and finally, encourages the development of an entrepreneurial class.


A COMPARISON OF THE IMPACT OF ELECTRONIC MEETING TECHNOLOGIES IN TWO LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 
By Dr. Mgaya, R.J. and Gert-Jan de Vreede

ABSTRACT
Electronic meeting support, such as Group Support Systems (GSS), can play a crucial role in supporting groups engaged in development activities. Being an American invention, research into GSS is predominantly focused on Euro-American settings. GSS field studies in other cultural environments are scarce. The objective of our study is to explore the applicability of GSS in two particular environments: Tanzania and South Africa. Our data suggests that the use of GSS is evaluated positively in both countries, although Tanzanian groups perceived more benefits. In South Africa, top management displayed very open and non-conservative behavior towards the technology, while in Tanzania hesitance from top management can be expected to be the greatest hindrance for GSS acceptance and application. The data further indicate that GSS does not replace existing meeting customs, but rather introduces new ones that co-exist next to the traditional ones. The main difference between application of GSS in western and non-western societies is a stronger focus on the electronic discussion in Africa where anonymity is the key feature.


RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND PRIVATE SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS 
By Dr. Nathan Mnjama and Peter Sebina

ABSTRACT
This article begins by examining the role of records management in private organizations. It identifies the major reason why organizations ought to manage their records effectively and efficiently. Its major emphasis is that a sound records management programme is a pre-requisite to quality management system programme. Records it, argues is the lifeblood of the organization, and failure to manage records is not just a minor lapse in administrative work, but is a case bad management. It outlines the broad areas that must be included in a sound records management.


THE ROLE OF INTERNAL CONTROL IN THE RURAL DEVELOPMENT OF CAMEROON: THE CASE OF THE SOUTH WEST DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (SOWEDA) 
By Visemih Willium Muffee

ABSTRACT
The good performance of any Organisation depends on the internal control system established by the management. Such a system will ensure that the organisation's assets, liabilities and capital are carefully safeguarded from unauthorised use or disposition. It will also ensure that financial and other information is property maintained on a timely and reliable basis. The system will help to eliminate errors and irregularities will be quickly discovered and promptly corrected making sure that operational efficiency is maximised. It makes sure that managerial policies, organisational laws and regulations, sound accounting, judiciary principles and practices are adhered to. This paper carefully examines the role of internal control in the rural development of Cameroon using the South West Development Authority (SOWEDA) as case study. SOWEDA has been chosen because of its role in rural development (i.e. the disbursement of loans for rural development). The article explains that where internal control is weak, failure will set-in and funds earmarked for rural development may be misdirected.


WOMEN HEALTH PROBLEMS AND THE HEALTH BUDGET IN TANZANIA 
By Dr. Amos Mhina

ABSTRACT
The national budget is expected to be an instrument for the judicious allocation of public resources. It is true however that priorities are not always followed as influential groups are able to get access to more of these scarce resources than others. While the consequences of misallocation of public resources in some sectors are missed opportunities. In the health sector the consequence are often citizens dying of avoidable causes. The most vulnerable groups in this case are women and children. Our paper raise gender issues as they manifest themselves in Tanzania's national budget and the health sector. Issues of contention which have been raised concerning the budget have usually covered the weight of allocations between recurrent and development budgets as well as the disparity between the amounts allocated and the actual performance of the budget. Issues of gender hardly come to the picture. It is often taken for granted that the budget is gender neutral. Recently however there have been calls to look at the budget as it affects different groups in society. One such area which needs attention is the health budget as it affects men and women who often face different health problems.


GENDER DIFFERENCES AND THE EFFECT OF HEALTH WARNINGS AND LEGISLATION ON CIGARETTE SMOKING
 By Prof. Peter Owoko Kobonyo

ABSTRACT
The widespread existence of smoking as a form of social behaviour despite growing worldwide disapproval has placed cigarette smoking at the heart of a crowing controversy. The World Health Organization (WHO) now periodically reports on the effect of tobacco consumption on the health of smokers. In South Africa, new legal steps are being taken towards the control of tobacco smoking. This is in line with world-wide trends towards tougher tobacco legislation. Research on the topic of tobacco and smoking are numerous and represents "World-wide attempts to understand and eradicate what is Generally considered a deadly epidemic. However, the role of gender in cigarette consumption and tobacco-control is surprisingly an under-researched aspect of smoking. While few attempts have been made to study the underlying circumstances of smoking by differentiating between the genders, the possible response to tobacco-control measures by men and women seem to have not commanded much attention. The present study was a response to the need to gain a better understanding of the differences in the smoking profiles of women and men and whether these differences are reflected in the way the two sexes respond, first, to health warnings on smoking and, secondly, to legislation prohibiting advertising of tobacco products. 50 women and 50 men drawn from tertiary institutions and retail businesses participated in the study by completing a questionnaire. The results show some similarities and differences between female and mate smokers. In the light of this, it seems appropriate to suggest that more gender sensitive approaches to dealing with smoking problems might achieve better outcomes.

DEPOSIT INSURANCE AND BANK FAILURE IN KENYA: WHAT LESSONS CAN BE LEARNED BY SUPERVISORS? 
By Dr. Bwire, Albert

ABSTRACT
The approach to deposit insurance (DI) and bank runs suggests the imposition of discipline on bank stockholders and debt holders. It is possible to do this by increasing the level of capital and reliance of market value accounting besides risk adjusted insurance premiums. The discipline to debt holders can be achieved through 'haircuts' for large depositors, and reduction in deposit insurance caps. The discussion of deposit insurance forms the basis of this paper. The paper examines deposit insurance, what it can effectively achieve and where it requires supplementary regulatory mechanism. The final section extracts lessons and where Kenya should direct efforts.


GLOBALISATION AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 
By Dr. S. Ramakrishna

ABSTRACT
In this paper we find that "globalisation" has been defined in different ways by different people. Globalisation is like an LPG Syndrome comprising liberalisation, privatization and globalisation. Main criticism about globalisation comes from the fact that although it generated unprecedented opportunities and wealth, the benefits of the same are not evenly distributed. Moreover many considered globalisation as a panacea for all the ills ailing their economies. Globalisation should be considered only as process to liberalise the economy in order to integrate the same with that of the world.