This study seeks to evaluate economic development in the Eastern Cape Province, with a special focus on the agricultural sector. It focuses on the role that Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) play in stimulating economic development. To achieve this, the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) was considered as a case study in assessing DFI’s support to the agricultural sector in the province. The study will also look into the corporation’s adherence to the Provincial Growth and Development Plan (PGDP) and its strategic programmes. The study examines how the agricultural initiatives financed by ECDC contribute to economic development in the province. It will also assess whether those agricultural projects may impact the local communities through poverty alleviation. In order to address the research problem and to achieve the research objectives, available literature and empirical work related to the relationship between financial system development and economic development was reviewed. The research revealed that the role played by the ECDC with regard to Agricultural Projects has not been entirely effective to add value to economic development in the province, mainly caused by the lack of non – financial support by skilled people from the corporation, after limited funding was made available. From the investigation, the findings indicate that the effective mplementation of these projects require strengthened capacity, which requires more skilled officials from the corporation to assist the agricultural enterprises in managing the projects; and more funding that will assist the projects to reach sustainability.

This research project assesses the development, application and use of paper pulp as a medium for the production of three-dimensional figurative sculptures for application in the Phumani Paper Programme. The research was undertaken to assess the use of this medium with a view to finding ways of stimulating job creation, which would support community development. I chose to focus on the Hear Our Voice (HOV) programme because of its limited success in job creation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The HOV art programme is presented here as a case study, which includes its impact on the 2002 WSSD and links it to the poverty alleviation projects of Phumani Paper. The presentation of the outcomes of the WSSD demonstrate the viability of the study. The participation of all stakeholders on different levels has been incorporated into this research study. Participatory Action Research (PAR) design and methodology is applied to this research project. The research project is divided into two phases: the first, project implementation phase, and the second, research phase. The first phase discusses the involvement of participants in project implementation and the technical aspects of production. Using phase one documentation as a basis, the second phase focuses on the collection of appropriate research data and then on the analysis of this data. In the broad summary of the HOV programme, the challenges and failures of the project faced by disadvantaged communities are highlighted, along with the creative ways in which these challenges were met and, in some cases, continue to be met, by project participants. This research project considers the potential for sustained and sustainable poverty alleviation in the long term through the group participation and the creative use of waste material in order to produce and market good quality paper products. / Ms. K. Berman Dr. G. Mukuka

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / Development should not be viewed as just a project but must be understood as an overarching strategy with a thorough implementation plan and specific targets as well as review mechanisms. All different spheres of government, organs of civil society and business have a tremendous role to play in pursuit of sustainable economic growth and development. In Khayelitsha there are emerging trends of bulk infrastructure spending and community led partnership that seek to unlock the economic potential however this progress has thus far been limited to retail development with no productive industrial development. / South Africa

This research examines participatory planning processes in rural Egypt, which was deemed successful by the local people. The purpose is to identify elements that caused these projects to be perceived successful. Using the normative participatory planning theory that is usually used in the West as a theoretical context, the research examined three successful development efforts in rural Egypt. Projects' publications and planning documents were reviewed to build a context for interviews. The projects' planners were interviewed for descriptions of their initial designs for the participatory planning processes employed. An opportunistic sampling technique was used to identify local participants who were interviewed for descriptions of their experiences in the planning processes. The analysis suggests that the participatory planning processes implemented had the same stages as the normative planning process in the West. The thick description of the processes by the interviewees revealed subtle elements within the processes that governed the participants' evaluation. Bedouin interviewees viewed consensus as the only valid mode of final agreement in indigenous peoples' decision-making processes. Bedouin participants were found to consider perceptions of time, and choice of space and language used in planning sessions to be extremely important, significantly impacting their evaluation of the process in which they took part. Long sessions that took place locally and were formatted in a traditional Bedouin manner were perceived more successful. Bedouin dialect and Bedouin hospitality employed during sessions also increased the perceived success of planning sessions. Such subtle Bedouin interpretation of elements of social environment guided their perceptions of the success or failure of the planning processes. Government planning agencies and planners should integrate the indigenous peoples' traditional decision-making processes in their designs for participatory planning processes, when planning development projects. Also indigenous people should take responsibility to present their cultural methods to individuals and agencies involved in planning such development projects in their locale. This can lead to a change in the planning culture to engage in more organic, grassroots' processes. Community-based, organic-design processes will significantly increase the likelihood of achieving the full potential of a plan in the short and long term. / Ph. D.

No description available.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The fundamental purpose of this study is to establish the extent to which theory and practice relate in the context of community participation. The point of departure is to understand what participation entails and the methodologies available to the development practitioner. As illustrated by the case study, there is a meaningful relationship between theory and the practicing of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), which is the methodology of choice for the project. Although the PRA techniques were utilized in gathering data for the project, many of the key decisions were made independently of the community. This brings to light the controversy between technical expertise on the one hand and to what extent the community should be included in any decisions made at this technical level, especially since they may only end up rubber-stamping the professional's opinions anyway. The question arises whether or not the whole concept of empowerment is simply a utopian concept. This is by no means an easy question to answer. However, the case study does illustrate that participation can be harnessed to achieve a successful project. It is important to note that even in difficult circumstances where 'dependency' has taken root, there exists hope that the people can actively participate in the project. It also reinforces the urgency of the need to actively encourage social change that will inspire people towards participation. This has been viewed for too long by the local people as the domain of the educated only. It is therefore important that development agencies create awareness of participation since it cuts across all their projects. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie is om vas te stel tot watter mate teorie en praktyk met mekaar verband hou binne die konteks van gemeenskapsdeelname in die bestuur van gemeenskapsprojekte. Die vertrekpunt van die studie is die verstaan van wat deelname behels, en watter metodologieë beskikbaar is vir ontwikkelingspraktisyns. Soos deur die gevallestudie geïllustreer, is daar 'n verband tussen die teorie en die praktiese gebruik van "Participatory Rural Appraisal" (PRA), die tegniek wat deur die spesifieke projek gebruik word. Alhoewel die PRA tegniek aangewend is, word baie van die belangrike besluite onafhanklik van die gemeenskap gemaak. Dit plaas 'n fokus op die kontroversiële posisie wat bestaan tussen tegniese insette aan die een kant en die mate waartoe gemeenskappe op hierdie tegniese vlak aan besluite moet deelneem, veral aangesien hierdie tipe deelname slegs op die roetine-goedkeuring van professionele sienswyses mag uitloop. Dit vra die pertinente vraag of deelname nie slegs 'n utopiese konsep is nie. Hierdie is nie 'n maklike vraag om te antwoord nie, maar, die gevallestudieondersoek ondersteun wel die idee dat deelname ingespan kan word om positiewe resultate vir 'n projek te verseker. Dit is belangrik om daarop te let dat selfs waar 'n sindroom van afhanklikheid ontwikkel het, die hoop bestaan om gemeenskappe aktief in projekte te laat deelneem. Hierdie beklemtoon die belangrikheid daarvan om sosiale verandering aan te moedig ten einde 'n positiewe ingesteldheid teenoor deelname te inspireer. Vir te lank reeds sien plaaslike gemeenskappe hierdie as die terrein slegs van opgeleide persone. Dit is dus belangrik dat ontwikkelingsagente aandag skenk daaraan om gemeenskappe te sensiteer rakende deelname, aangesien dit die suksesvolle uitvoering van al hulle projekte raak.

D.Com. (Economics) / The South African economy has deteriorated over the past two decades which has resulted In, amongst others, a lower economic growth rate with Increased unemployment. To Increase the general standard Of living, growth and development have become of the utmost Importance. To speed up this process, South Africa needs a new approach to growth and development. The approach suggested In this study, combines the "orthodox approach", which concentrates on maximum growth, with the "basic needs approach", which concentrates on the elimination of poverty. The "combined approach" thus concentrates on (a) the dynamic sectors In the economy which are considered as growth sectors, (b) those sectors which contribute to the elimination of poverty and general soclo-economic requirements and, finally, (c) Implement a structural adjustment programme which will create a suitable climate in which sectors In (a) and (b) can flourish. The manufacturing sector is responsible for approximately 24% of the added value of the South African economy. Given the "combined approach" to development, this sector has the potential to make an even more important contribution to South Africa's economic growth and development. To optlmlse this contribution, one needs to know the potential contribution of each manufacturing sector In relationto certain aspectsof development. There is not much specific specific data available on the manufacturing sectors in South Africa. In order to analyse the various manufacturing sectors, the research partially required the compilation of the data series used In the evaluation process. The data provided by this study has never before been available to this extent in SouthAfrica. The potentia_I contribution of the sectors was evaluated according to specific aspects of development, namely: import replacement; export promotion; inward industrialisation; the effective use of resources; productivity; relative viability; job creation; and, finally, the redistribution of growth between race groups and between regions. The sectors were, according to each aspect of development, graded as leading, average and lagging sectors. Through a compilation of the various modules, the general position of the manufacturing sectors In terms of growth and development can be determined as leading, average or lagging. The grouping does, however, only serve as an indication and does not provide the final answer.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1980. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 244-248. / by Angelito Feliciano Santos. / M.C.P.

Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2011 / The South African economic system is reliant to a greater extend on the availability of resources within this economy. Agricultural business opportunities should be properly explored to contribute significantly towards LED and the S.A economy at large. The aim of this study is to determine the situation of agricultural businesses, analyse the situation and give recommendations as input to the strategy that will assist to effectively improve the performance of agricultural businesses in Aganang municipality and their contribution to economic growth of the municipality. A general census of all these agricultural businesses within Aganang municipality as registered in the municipal LED database was considered for the research. Two different questionnaires were distributed to the two categories in the population, one for the officials and the other for business owners/managers. The results indicated that agricultural businesses in Aganang municipality are not aware of agricultural business opportunities and support programmes offered by government. They therefore do not participate in such programmes, remain survivalist and thus do not contribute to the economic growth of the municipality. The study recommends that: The younger generation should be involved in the agricultural sector. An active learning and entrepreneurship skill development programme at secondary school level should be considered. More farmers should be encouraged to engage in goat and cattle farming as the climate and soil structure dictates. There should be coordination of SMME including agricultural business development activities, within the municipality.

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / The objective of the study is to evaluate the socio-economic impact of poverty alleviation and food security projects implemented by the Department of Agriculture in Limpopo Province. Data were collected from beneficiaries, stakeholders and literature. The analysis is based on the status of the projects before the intervention and the present status after the implementation of the programme. In most instances the beneficiaries and stakeholders were not part of the plenary for the programme. Observations also show that it seems interest and ability in agricultural activities was not tested before implementing the programme. Sustainability of a project depends on the involvement of all relevant key players, stakeholders and beneficiaries, from the initial stage through monitoring and evaluation stages, to closure of the project.