Issue #4 (Volume 6 2017)

Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) function in both the micro and macro environments, and are subject to internal and external forces in most economies. The monitoring of the external and internal factors and vital strategies by SMME owners and stakeholders including government and supporting institutions is necessary to attempt a reduction in their failure rates. Literature supports this proposition in the development of SMMEs.
The aim of this study was to analyze the environmental factors that result in a low rate of success and a high failure rate of SMMEs in Maseru the capital city of Lesotho. Primary data for this study was collected through questionnaires which were distributed to a sample of 250 SMMEs owners, however, only 180 respondents completed and returned questionnaires, which were then used for data analysis. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS21). The findings revealed that there still persists inadequacy in financial assistance and the need to develop a financial strategy by the state. Government key intervention is proposed to enable growth and development in a sector that sustains job creation and poverty reduction through financial strategy. Further research on how the sector establishes support is also proposed.

This article explores strategies for monitoring and evaluation of municipal planning with the intention to improve municipal performance on service delivery and development. The apartheid government created improper town and regional planning that depicts inequalities, with less considerations of development planning and service delivery in most cities and townships. In the post-1994 era, government repelled oppressive laws and encouraged mobility of people to cities to seek better lives. This move augmented the demand for basic services in rural and urban areas. Municipalities should be encouraged to apply existing strategies to track their plans and align them with municipal performance targets. Thus, this article argues that there is paucity in the application of monitoring and evaluation of municipal plans and strategies that can mitigate risks against the key performance targets in local government. This article recommends an integrated approach towards evidence-based monitoring and evaluation.

The paper addresses an estimation of public debt-to-GDP threshold ratio in the developing economy encountered with an excessive public debt impact on macro dynamics. An active field of the study focuses on the internal public debt due to a recent tendency of external share substitution in the developing economies. Among a lot of publications dedicated to the public debt, the study object usually focuses on an array of countries using the same method to evaluate the threshold ratio. Analyzing behavior specifics concerning economy in crises and thereafter, there is a need to carry out the public debt study for the particular economy as well. The research suggests an algorithm for determining internal public debt-to-GDP threshold ratio by applying a scenario modeling tool. Taking into account a growing burden of public debt in Ukraine, the authors have elaborated an econometric macro model operated through fiscal-monetary interaction. The model was used to evaluate the internal public debt-to-GDP threshold ratio in Ukraine. The threshold ratio proves to be 40% of GDP, while the similar result for the total amount of public borrowings is about twice as high. Although the given ratio remained below the estimated threshold as of the mid-term of 2017, a space degree is small and going to collapse soon. Considering sluggish economic recovery following the last recession took place in 2014–2015, Ukraine will face the challenge of reopening the agenda of growing debt burden in a near future.

This examines the special use of art works as a store of value in Germany during the Third Reich era. Some Jews were able to buy their freedom, as the fascists closed in. Then as the Third Reich fell, some escaping fascists used art works to secure freedom outside of Germany. One of the characteristics of money is a store of value. When confidence in a currency is present, the more conventional form of money takes precedence. A respected, economic form of currency and coin has all three elements of money: medium of exchange, store of value and unit of account. This last trait is especially absent when using various art works as money, as there is no agreed upon unit of account with such different art. Furthermore, art works could not qualify as a medium of exchange, since only a very small amount of the population was involved in this way of dealing in art during the stressed times for the Third Reich.