Zimbabwe is made up of eight provinces, fifty-seven districts and as many Rural District Councils. In each district there is at least one Growth Point although some may have up to two or more. A Growth Point is a 'town or City in the making' and is usually, but not necessarily the capital of a district. Rural District Councils, which form the local administrative authority and have administrative responsibility over the land that falls within their jurisdictions, are often located at these Growth Points. These local authorities liaise and interact closely with central government, which is made up of Ministries and Departments with different functions, which somehow hinge on the administration of the land. This makes the linkages and land information flows, based on land records crucial. The legacy of the history of separate development introduced and left systems of government, which are complex and hinder a free flow of information within central government and also between central and local governments. These linkages and interrelationships are mapped and traced with a view to streamlining information flows in order to eliminate or minimize flaws . While the efforts of decentralisation towards this goal are recognized, the shortcomings have been cited and the thesis makes some recommendations based on a research undertaken with the cooperation of Gokwe Rural District Council at Gokwe Growth Point. The thesis recommends strengthening the local capacity by assisting their efforts to computerise their records and eventually develop that into a fully integrated local Land Information System that should eventually be linked to the National System. / Thesis (M.Sc.Sur.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Youth development in South Africa remains one of the greatest challenges. Due to the legacy of apartheid policies and the existing gaps in current policies, most young people still face socio-economic challenges, such as a high rate of unemployment, poverty, lack of business opportunities, lack of skills and a high rate of HIV infection, among other health-related challenges. The advent of democracy transformed the government’s response to the needs of young people. New policies and legislative documents have been formulated since 1994. As part of constant efforts to promote youth welfare, in November 2008, the government launched the National Youth Policy (NYP). The policy stands as an essential guiding tool for youth development in the country. It stresses that mainstreaming youth development requires not only transformation of municipal structures, but also a deliberate willingness of leaders, and that their existing economic policies, strategies, programmes and institutions consider youth priorities. The government established the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) to spearhead co-ordination of youth development. In the Msunduzi Municipality, NYDA is guided by the Youth Advisory Programme that translates the policy at a local level. The purpose of this research was to ascertain whether or not the NYP is being implemented in the municipality through the Youth Advisory Programme. Through a case study done at the NYDA office, the findings indicate that the programme focuses on economic empowerment. First, activities concentrate on career development, which is mainly directed at technical skills, writing and communication skills of the youth, both in and out of school. Second, activities concentrate on entrepreneurial development, which means increasing entrepreneurial culture, business managerial capacities and book-keeping, thereby contributing to sustainable human development. However, for the programme to be effective, it needs a holistic approach to development. It must thus focus on all four pillars of the NYP, namely health and wellbeing, education, economic empowerment and social cohesion. For this to happen, the NYDA needs both financial and human resources, which currently, are under-resourced. Shortage of human and financial resources will continue to hamper youth development in the branch. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

Policy implementation is a critical stage in the policymaking process. It is about putting public policy into action. It becomes more challenging to implement policies in a multi-organisational context. This research aims to uncover the different aspects of policy implementation in a multi-organisational context. The Free Basic Water Policy is analysed in particular the financial implication of providing free basic water as a basic service in municipalities. In establishing the distribution of basic services it is important that the understanding of local governance in post-apartheid South Africa is elaborated upon. Hence this study is one of local governance and the financial implications of providing free basic water to local citizens in general and to indigents in particular. The municipality chosen as a case study is Msunduzi municipality. This municipality has undergone some challenges in terms of their fiscal management. This in turn impacts their ability to deliver basic services. This study argues that policy implementation in a multi-organisational context should look into understanding the structure of an organisation and the processes therein to help explain the challenges that occur in policy implementation. The main findings of this research were that the structure of organisations depends greatly on the features of the organisational context. It is the organisational environment such as the structures in place, political life and processes that direct organisations. Coordination and cooperation proved to be vital for policy implementation in the context of Msunduzi Municipality, given that there is sharing of resources and information. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

No abstract available. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

The 2003 UNESCO report indicated that the HIV/AIDS pandemic contributes to rapid breakdowns of existing structures that traditionally took care of the development of young children. There must be strategies to provide support, care and guidance to young children, families, parents and care givers that are directly or indirectly affected by HIV/AIDS. This is classified as interventions at the local level. There must be a conducive policy environment that allows safety nets and strategic interventions to take place, to grow and be inclusive (UNESCO, 2003:18). The death of parents and other family members leave children in a vulnerable state, some of whom enter the school system and are at the mercy of others. School based HiV/AIDS policies and programmes are necessary to protect these children. A two phase research design incorporating quantitative and qualitative methods was utilized in this study. The first part of this study was quantitative (audit of HIV/AIDS policies in 23 schools) and the second was qualitative, which comprised 2 focus group interviews. Findings from the quantitative audit from phase one of the study indicated that while primary schools attempted to comply with the National Schools policy on HIV/AIDS (DoE 1999), policy formulation, policy involvement, policy implementation (action plan) and policy review have not been conducted as per policy directives. Four major themes and various sub-themes emerged from the phase two qualitative focus group interviews with participants from two primary schools. Process of policy formulation and implementation, school based HIV/AIDS action plans, support mechanisms and challenges emerged as the factors associated with the formulation and implementation of school based HIV/AIDS policies in the Umgeni North Ward. Much of the phase one data is triangulated with data from phase two, hence the triangulated methodology. This study confirmed that in some schools, a fragmented relationship between the important stakeholders exists. This leads to the needs of those infected and or affected by the epidemic being treated in a vacuum. Hence, other intervention strategies are necessary. Institutional resources (educator support teams, funding, human resource and school nurse) as well as working closely with other departments are support mechanisms that can assist schools where children are infected and affected by the epidemic. In light of this, HIV/AIDS related problems pose a dilemma for educators to handle. Educators feel insecure as a result of lack of training, lack of support, poor policy directives and a lack of support mechanisms in the school environment to deal with HIV/AIDS related problems in the school context. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

This research sets out to examine how media are utilised by the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture through the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation in collaboration with specific leisure tourists destinations to promote domestic leisure tourism in Lesotho. The research relied on the use of unstructured interviews based on interview schedule in order to elicit comment, opinion and information from respondents. The researcher also used questionnaire to establish the appropriate media that could be used by the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture through the Lesotho Tourism Development Co-operation to promote leisure tourism in the country. Through these interviews and questionniare, problems that surround media promotion of domestic leisure tourism were also identified. These problems include financial constraints and limitations that are set by the Government in choosing the type of media that has to be used by the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation to promote tourism in the country. The study discovered other weak areas in the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation’s marketing of domestic tourism. Suitable recommendations have been made as to how such flaws could be addressed in order that it could increase the numbers of domestic leisure tourists. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.

Worldwide, women entrepreneurs play a major role in the economic growth and development of any nation, yet women are still facing a multiplicity of challenges in the small business sector. Women entrepreneurs could play a more significant role in the small business sector given all the necessary support. The main objective of this study was to review the South African government initiatives that were designed to stimulate women entrepreneurship during 1995 to 2009. This topic is exploratory as well as descriptive in nature. As a result of this, qualitative and quantitative data was collected in order to address the research objectives of the study. A non probability sampling technique, known as snowballing was used to identify the research participants. The sample for the study was made up of two different groups of participants; namely women entrepreneurs and experts from the field of entrepreneurship. Data was analysed using content analysis. Although content analysis is often used for analysing qualitative data, it has a limitation in that it sometimes fails to interpret delicate and intricate texts (Denscombe, 2003:221). Because of this limitation, Kruskal Wallis and Chi square tests were used in order to complement content analysis. These two data analysis tools were adopted because of the non parametric nature of the research data. The main limitation of the study was that primary data was collected in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu Natal due to limited resources. In addition to this, the sampling technique used has a disadvantage in that the results of the research cannot be generalized to the population at large. However, the empirical results in conjunction with the literature review could assist in policy evaluation of the initiatives that could stimulate the development of women entrepreneurs in this country to a higher level. The empirical findings of the study revealed that women entrepreneurs are still experiencing a lot of barriers to entry into the small business sector such as access to finance, lack of entrepreneurial training and lack of information, just to mention a few. The results also revealed that the government support programmes are failing to address the barriers to entry that women are experiencing in the small business sector. In as much as the government is making progress in providing support programmes towards women entrepreneurship, the empirical findings also revealed that the majority of women entrepreneurs are not aware of the available support programmes that are targeting them. Lack of awareness of the available government initiatives was cited as the major reason why women are not benefiting fully from the government support programmes. Based on the research findings, it could be recommended that the government should review the current policies and programmes that are designed to assist women entrepreneurs in this country in order to evaluate the weaknesses and strengths that are inherent in the system. Future programmes should be designed based on empirical research in order to match the actual needs of women entrepreneurs in relation to the challenges that they encounter. This is crucial because women in the small business sector are a heterogeneous group with different needs and challenges. For this reason, a small business research foundation should be established with the core mandate of carrying out on-going research on the small business sector in this country. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

Black fanners' contribution and percentage share of the marketed agricultural produce (especially maize and cotton) increased dramatically following Zimbabwe's independence, especially between 1982 and 1987. Almost unanimously, observers in government and diplomatic circles spoke of this increase as 'phenomenal', attributing it to being a direct result of the government's efforts to increase agricultural production, and calling it a 'success story' and 'agrarian miracle'. This 'miracle' description was adopted by the state controlled and independent media, international donor and 'development' agencies, alike. By 1992, the levels of production achieved in the mid-1980s would not be repeated and this was blamed primarily on drought and the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) adopted by government in 1990. The direct impact of ESAP was the further reduction of government capacity and resources available to support the resettlement sector. By 2000, Zimbabwe was embroiled in a rural upheaval that threatened, reversed and undennined all the gains of the 1980s. The miracle discourse disappeared and in its place agro-pessimism took centre space. The land question rose to the fore amid a heightened outcry of landlessness, Communal Area congestion, poor access to institutional support and declining livelihoods and food security, among other things. This renewed rural crisis raised questions about what had happened to the miracle, exposed the run-down economy, and deepened undemocratic tendencies and a polarised political, economic and social space. The thesis proposed here is that the Zimbabwean government failed to take advantage and expand on the potential for an increased role of the rural sector in the cash economy. What emerged from closer scrutiny of the so-called agrarian transfonnation package for African agriculture was a poorly designed, uncoordinated and under funded quick fix to rural development that hardly moved beyond the mere transfer of land. Notwithstanding the participation of rural communities in the war of national liberation and the high profile nature of the land question during the Second Chimurenga, the post-colonial state apparatus - dominated by an urban nationalist petit bourgeoisie on the one hand, and the weak lobby of the beneficiaries of land refonn on the other - placed African agriculture into the back-seat of policy and political economic priorities. Evidence from Mayo Resettlement Scheme, the primary case study in this thesis, suggests that the argued institutional support and structural changes (basis of the miracle) were at best minimal, under-funded, crisis-averse, ad hoc and poorly coordinated, lacking the support of a concrete policy base, making the miracle at most fragile and in the final analysis unsustainable. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Despite concerted research effort over the last thirty years, social capital remains a variably, and at times, ill-defined concept. A lack of a clear causal theory has made social capital difficult to explore in an empirical setting. In addition, limited understanding of the concept’s operation has restricted its ability to provide valuable insight into policy development. The three papers that compose this thesis examine the concept, measurement, and consequences of social capital. The first provides a theoretical discussion of the conceptual origins of the term, its common criticisms, and suggests an alternative approach to its understanding. The second applies this alternative approach to an empirical model of child enrolment in post-secondary education. Finally, the third critically examines a recent federal policy research initiative related to social capital, identifying key policy development advantages to this thesis’s alternative approach. This thesis argues that antecedents to the modern social capital literature along with more recent criticisms suggest a dual approach to understanding social capital. This dual approach involves two distinct frameworks for understanding the concept – one literal and one figurative. These frameworks guide alternative approaches to empirical social capital work, demonstrated through the analysis of social capital’s impact on child post-secondary enrolment. It further identifies how the two frameworks provide more relevant information on the operation of social capital, facilitating prospective policy development. Overall, the thesis concludes that the literal and figurative approaches represent a more useful way of understanding and applying the social capital concept.

Although the evolution of a unified Europe has been unsteady, the immigration policies of member states have nonetheless become increasingly harmonized in recent years. This harmonization has not been without its controversies, however, and is characterized by two inter-linked political disputes that have shaped the progress achieved thus far. The first dispute area is the exclusion of Europe's legally-resident third country nationals (TCNs) from the privileges of intra-EU free movement, contrary to the inclusionist arguments of the European Commission and Parliament. The second dispute area is the political struggle between advocates of intergovernmental decision-making structures, which are not subject to EU law or institutional control, and the advocates of full (supranational) EU competence over policy. Two hypotheses are contrasted to examine these disputes: (1) the "Fortress Europe" hypothesis, which foresees the continuation of exclusionism and intergovernmentalism; and (2) the "spillover" hypothesis, which predicts the inclusion of TCNs through the EU's central institutions eventually winning full competence over policy. It is concluded that although exclusionism continues to hold the upper hand, recent victories for supranationalism have confirmed the optimism of the spillover hypothesis.