This Research Report that this research was motivated by the fact that despite thetremendous achievements have been realized from the successful implementation ofgovernment programmes and projects related the construction and refurbishment of medical facilities, educational, bridges and road infrastructure facilities. Trends indicate that only iota of evidence implies that the concept of risk management is fully integrated and embraced as part of a culture for ensuring the successful project implementation by the Modern South African public sector organizations. Empirical research revealed that the common types of risks that have been affecting the successful implementation of government projects and programmes include: riots, fraud, corruption, changes in demographic figures, outsourcing risks, and floods and changes in weather. Most of the participants stated that risks associated with riots do not only arise from the riots within the government departments, but also in the external environment. In terms of the internal riots, they revealed that when the employees go on strike or riots on their own or in solidarity with the other trade unions, leading to the process for the implementation of government projects and programmes being affected. Yet, in certain cases, they noted that internal riots or strikes most occur as preceded by rumours that the riots by a particular union will take place and may significantly affect the ongoing process of implementation of government programmes. Besides risks associated with the internal riots by the employees and the communities, the interview findings also indicated that the other forms of risks arise from the strikes and riots by the private enterprises.

This research aimed to firstly confirm the hypothesis that the current management of sewage sludge generated during the treatment of wastewater in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa is poor and, as such, this material poses a threat to local environmental and human health. Secondly, through a rational design approach, the current research also aimed to design and assess the suitability of a novel integrated process incorporating appropriate technologies for improved sewage sludge management. The lack of an appropriate tool for the assessment of the integrated process necessitated the development of an appropriate technology assessment (TA) methodology based on environmental, technical, social and economic criteria. A combination of informal participatory methods such as semi-structured interviews and formal research methods including questionnaires, risk assessment exercises and laboratory analyses were used. Based on the above it was estimated that 116 tons dry sludge were generated in the province per day and that the concentration of heavy metals present in the sludge was generally within the limits for reuse on agricultural land. Furthermore the sludge from all sample sewage treatment works (STWs) was found to be free of any detectable pathogens. Despite the above, a preliminary risk assessment and chemical analysis revealed that existing sludge management practices at sample STWs posed a threat to the environment, particularly to water resources and exacerbated the problems associated with the discharge of poorly treated municipal wastewater. The root causes of the poor sludge management were considered to be a lack of non-regulatory incentives and financial resources. Highly integrated ecologically engineered systems were thought to offer a solution to the dual problem of poor sludge management and municipal effluent treatment, while providing necessary economic incentives. To facilitate the design of a system appropriate to local conditions, it was necessary to first develop a rational design methodology, which incorporated a detailed TA step. The result of the design process was an Integrated Waste Beneficiation Facility (IWBF) that incorporated a number of process units comprised of appropriate technologies including composting, vermicomposting, algal ponding technology and aquaculture. A detailed TA indicated that the benefits of the proposed IWBF would, at the majority of sample sites, outweigh the potential negative impacts and it was thus recommended that investigations should continue on pilot-scale facilities. Furthermore, although the proposed TA based on four sustainability criteria categories was thought to provide a more accurate assessment of the true sustainability of a technology, the acquisition of information was problematic highlighting the need to re-think current TA methodologies and to address associated constraints allowing the tool to be used and fully comprehensive.

The primary concern of the study is to examine leadership challenges confronted by women leaders in Eastern Cape municipalities. International organisations has made a number commitments encouraging gender parity and eliminating imbalance against women in the past three decades, through international platforms. In the World Summit held in 2005, it was recommended that a Platform for Action (1995) and the resolutions of the Twenty Third special session of the General Assembly as a crucial baseline in attaining then internationally agreed development goals, as well as those contained in the Millennium Declaration. (www.ilo.org) In the above forums national decision makers worldwide were urged to apply strategies and programmes which would improve gender fairness, in leadership positions, giving women complete and comparable share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making as men. South Africa as a role player in the international space also joined the world in endorsing various programmes and strategies which seek to address gender parities and strive to eliminate women oppression especially in public sector.

The period preceding and after the enactment of ESTA marks an increase in the difficulties faced by the farm dwellers in South Africa. They are still faced with illegal evictions. Their difficulties are marked with loss of land for food farming, loss of work, income and homes. Nevertheless, the introduction of ESTA in 1997 aimed at protecting and restoring the land rights of farm dwellers working on farms. Despite its existence there are still challenges of illegal evictions. This research focuses on difficulties faced by farm workers after the enactment of ESTA and investigate the process and effects of illegal evictions. The thesis adopts a qualitative research methodology that takes the form of a case study on two farms, Killarney farm and Shellford farm, where farm workers experienced evictions. The findings confirm that the farm workers are subject to illegal evictions. The evictions are due to the conversion of agricultural farms to game farming and also due to labour disputes. Poor living conditions are evident and farm owners conduct tacit evictions by imposing restrictions and threatening the farm workers who wish to stay on the farms. This thesis concludes by presenting suggestions that may restrict or put an end to illegal evictions. ESTA needs to be amended in order to ensure the security of farm workers who live on the farms.

This study attempts to assess the level to which effective political and management leadership for contributes to sustainable services. Looking at the past performance of the municipality one can see that around the years of 2003 and 2004, the municipality achieved a financially unqualified report from the Auditor General with just two points raised. However, from that point on the municipality has been on a steady decline. The most decline was from the period 2006 - 2011. The decline in the performance of the municipality has been so rapid in the five year period mentioned above so much that the 2010/2011 Auditor General Report on the municipality ran up to eighty issues over fourteen pages. Noteworthy is the fact that the decline in service delivery and financial management confirmed by the performance decline marked by the Auditor General coincided with several changes at the senior political and management levels. For example under the period of decline, the Municipality operated without a permanent Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for a period of more than four years. Also, during the period of decline the municipality had six municipal managers all in acting capacities and about four executive mayors in the same period. Regarding the issue of leadership in the municipality, the Auditor General made the following observation.

In this project, the researcher evaluates revenue collection and allocation challenges faced by South African Municipalities in the case of NDLAMBE Local Municipality and this research project consist of five Chapters. Chapter one introduces and outlines the setting of the study and also provides the problem statement, research questions, research objectives and significance of the study. The chapter further clarifies the key concepts and terms that were used in the study, delimitation and limitations of the study. Chapter two provides a critical discussion of the concept of revenue collection and allocation, focusing on the various perspective of revenue. A source of municipal revenue and revenue collection and allocation model is explained as well as theoretical framework that guides it. Chapter three gives an account of the research design and methodology used in the study and in this study the researcher used the qualitative research approach as a data collection technique and document surveys were used because it is cheap and it saves time. The chapter also highlights the revenue collection and allocation applicable to the study and conclude by discussing the data analysis techniques that were used in the empirical study. Chapter four dealt with the data analysis of data collected presentation and discussion of the results and the researcher analyzed data using the filtering technique and content analysis. Chapter five drew conclusions and made scientific recommendations based on the research findings.The municipality is largely dependent on grants from upper spheres of government and generate less than 20 percent of current expenditures from own resources. As a whole, the revenue collection and allocation challenge of the NDLAMBE Local Municipality, given the current scenario of flows, is a reason for concern. Due to historical and political factors, local governments in South Africa differ substantially in terms of potential revenue base, but it may be that in many cases potential revenue is not exploited and that the high level of dependency on grants, high level of bad debts and lack of political will to be more self-reliant is the result of poor revenue in NDLAMBE Local Municipality.

In this project, the researcher evaluates revenue collection and allocation challenges faced by South African Municipalities in the case of NDLAMBE Local Municipality and this research project consist of five Chapters. Chapter one introduces and outlines the setting of the study and also provides the problem statement, research questions, research objectives and significance of the study. The chapter further clarifies the key concepts and terms that were used in the study, delimitation and limitations of the study. Chapter two provides a critical discussion of the concept of revenue collection and allocation, focusing on the various perspective of revenue. A source of municipal revenue and revenue collection and allocation model is explained as well as theoretical framework that guides it. Chapter three gives an account of the research design and methodology used in the study and in this study the researcher used the qualitative research approach as a data collection technique and document surveys were used because it is cheap and it saves time. The chapter also highlights the revenue collection and allocation applicable to the study and conclude by discussing the data analysis techniques that were used in the empirical study. Chapter four dealt with the data analysis of data collected presentation and discussion of the results and the researcher analyzed data using the filtering technique and content analysis. Chapter five drew conclusions and made scientific recommendations based on the research findings.The municipality is largely dependent on grants from upper spheres of government and generate less than 20 percent of current expenditures from own resources. As a whole, the revenue collection and allocation challenge of the NDLAMBE Local Municipality, given the current scenario of flows, is a reason for concern. Due to historical and political factors, local governments in South Africa differ substantially in terms of potential revenue base, but it may be that in many cases potential revenue is not exploited and that the high level of dependency on grants, high level of bad debts and lack of political will to be more self-reliant is the result of poor revenue in NDLAMBE Local Municipality.

In nursing education, experiential learning is an important part of the curriculum and accounts for almost half of the requirements for the nursing programmes. A positive relationship with and collaboration between the training institutions and clinical placement facilities are vital for student achievement. Nurse educators are also expected to involve themselves in clinical accompaniment to bridge the theory-practice gap. Student nurses placed in midwifery clinical learning environments experience difficulty in meeting their experiential learning outcomes and programme requirements. Due to the overcrowded clinical facilities, they compete for the limited learning opportunities and resources which make the integration of theory and practice difficult. Therefore, this leads to delay in the commencement of community service by some of the nursing students as they do not graduate because of not achieving midwifery clinical outcomes and programme requirements. The purpose of the study is to assess factors affecting experiential learning for midwifery students at the public college of nursing in the Eastern Cape and the main objectives of the study were to: • Identify the challenges affecting the quality of learning in the clinical learning environment. • Determine the nature of supervision for experiential learning of midwifery students. • Determine the role of a nurse educator in the experiential learning of student nurses in midwifery clinical learning environment. Methods and analysis A quantitative, descriptive survey was conducted by making use of the Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher (CLES+T) evaluation scale. The CLES+T is a reliable and valid evaluation scale for the gathering of information on the clinical learning environment and supervision of student nurses. The CLES+T evaluation scale was completed by 115 student nurses within the selected sites. The CLES+T evaluation scale is subdivided into three main sections with additional sub-sections: (1) the learning environment (2) the supervisory relationship and (3) the role of the nurse teacher (lecturer).

In this research study an investigation was launched into the monitoring and evaluation system that the government introduced to monitor and evaluate the performance information produced by the Provincial Government Departments on the implementation of their annual performance plans. The Government Departments obtain budget approval from the Legislature and submit their three-year performance plans with their budgets. The government realized that service delivery was not improving against the back drop of annually increasing the budgets. The monitoring and evaluation system was introduced to assist the Government Departments with the implementation of their annual performance plans. Monitoring and evaluation serves as a control measure and deviations can be detected from the planned outputs of the Government Departments. Corrective measures must be instituted that will have the effect that the Government Departments meet the targets set in the indicators as approved in the annual performance plans. A literature review was conducted on monitoring and evaluation regarding the ideal manner in which it should be performed. The South African Government introduced a number of discussion documents from the Presidency and National Treasury on monitoring and evaluation. Several authors raised their views on the matter and it was captured in the research study. The methodology followed was based on the Systems Theory and a questionnaire was prepared and circulated amongst Political Office Bearers and Chief Officials in the Provincial Government Departments in the Eastern Cape on the issues that was researched. Interviews were conducted with selected participants to gain clarity on specific issues related to the questionnaire. The official annual report issued by the Auditor General to the Provincial Legislature served as official document in the research study. The data collected from the questionnaire, interviews and official documentation was analyzed and graphs were drawn and deductions were made from the results. Findings and recommendations were made from the data collected and a summary was compiled of the issues raised in the research study.

It is imperative to understand the strong coupling between the carbon capture process and water use to sustainably manage rangelands. Woody encroachment is undermining rangelands grass production. Evapotranspiration (ET) highlights the links between ecosystem carbon capture process and water use. It forms the biggest flux of the hydrological cycle after precipitation yet it is not well understood. The Grassland and the Albany Thicket (AT) biomes in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, provide an interesting space to study the dynamics in rangelands biomass production and the associated water use. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to contribute towards management of rangelands by understanding the dynamics in rangeland grass production and water use. To achieve this aim, the impact of Acacia mearnsii, an invasive alien plant, on soil chemical properties and rangelands grass production was investigated. This was achieved by analysing the biophysical attributes of A. mearnsii as they related to grass production. Secondly, selected soil variables that could be used as a prognosis for landscape recovery or deterioration were evaluated. In addition, aboveground grass biomass was measured in areas cleared of A. mearnsii and regression equations were prepared to help model aboveground grass biomass in areas cleared of A. mearnsi. The thesis also explored dynamics in water vapour and energy fluxes in these two biomes using an eddy covariance system. Consequently, water vapour and energy fluxes were evaluated in order to understand landscape water use and energy partitioning in the landscape. The study also tested the application of Penman-Monteith equation based algorithms for estimating ET with micrometeorological techniques used for validation. Pursuant to this, the Penman- Monteith-Leuning (PML) and Penman-Monteith-Palmer (PMP) equations were applied. In addition, some effort was devoted to improving the estimates of ET from the PMP by incorporating a direct soil evaporation component. Finally, the influence of local changes in catchment characteristics on ET was explored through the application of a variant of the Budyko framework and investigating dynamics in the evaporative index as well as applying tests for trends and shifts on ET and rainfall data to detect changes in mean quaternary catchment rainfall and ET. Results revealed that A. mearnsii affected soil chemical properties and impaired grass production in rangelands. Hence, thinning of canopies provided an optimal solution for enhanced landscape water use to sequestrate carbon, provide shade, grazing, and also wood fuel. It was also shown that across sites, ET was water limited since differences between reference ET and actual ET were large. ET was largely sensitive to vapour pressure deficit and surface conductance than to net radiation, indicating that the canopies were strongly coupled with the boundary layer. Rangeland ET was successfully simulated and evaporation from the soil was the dominant flux, hence there is scope for reducing the so-called ‘unproductive’ water use. Further, it was shown that the PML was better able to simulate ET compared to the PMP model as revealed by different model evaluation metrics such as the root mean square error, absolute mean square error and the root mean square observations standard deviation ratio. The incorporation of a soil evaporation component in the PMP model improved estimates of ET as revealed by the root mean square error. The results also indicated that both the catchment parameter (w) and the evaporative index were important in highlighting the impacts of land cover change on ET. It was also shown that, despite changes in the local environment such as catchment characteristics, global forces also affected ET at a local scale. Overall, the study demonstrated that combining remote sensing and ground based observations was important to better understand rangeland grass production and water use dynamics.