Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016. / The study was conducted to investigate the impact of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme on poverty alleviation in the Muyexe village of Greater Giyani Municipality in the Limpopo Province. The objective of the programme was to alleviate poverty in the village. The researcher collected data in and observed the projects which were being executed there. The methodology involved interviewing community members who are projects beneficiaries of the programme as well as the implementers of the programme. As such, the sample consisted of 33 project beneficiaries, three implementers and six participants from the food security wing of the CRDP. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to explore, describe and understand the nature of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme in poverty alleviation. The study found out that the project beneficiaries do not have skills to mobilize funds from other organisations as they depend on the budget which is specifically earmarked for the community. The same budget is also meant to sustain the infrastructure after the handing over of the programme. The study recommends the re-alignment of the timeframe for the programme to be successfully implemented and for the district departments to be the ones responsible for implementing the programme at the local level. This will also assist the government to implement projects in a longer timeframe and to have implementers who have in-depth knowledge about the area. The CRDP has also changed the livesof the community members from depending on social grants to monthly wage income and they no longer travel long distances for basic services. The food security situation of the households which were participating in the food security project has improved. The study also recommends that the CRDP must be implemented in other areas which are struggling from poverty as the CRDP has alleviated poverty in Muyexe village.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / The purpose of this study was to determine the community perceptions based on cost–benefit analysis approach to developing a tourism route. The Ehlanzeni District Municipality in the Mpumalanga Province is proposing the development of a new community-based tourism route in the Umjindi Local Municipality. The route will start from the R40 road gateway to Umjindi Local Municipality, it then stretches to Umjindi township, ending in Barberton town. The aim of a tourism route is brings together a variety of activities and attractions under a theme, and it develops opportunities of products and services. The literature review in the study is drawn from host communities’ perception on tourism development, South African and international perspective on cost–benefit analysis of tourism development. Routes are considered important because they promote local economic development. The impact of tourism development in a local society is demonstrated throughout this study. Through an analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data collected, it was found that community perceived the cost is less than what they will actually benefit from the development of the proposed tourism route. The community perceives that the costbenefit of the development of a tourism route is associated with issues of the economy, social, cultural and environment.

The thesis is focused on alternative solutions development project. The thesis defines a construction contract, the construction phase of financing. It also describes the types of developers, contractual relationships between the parties to development projects and methods of construction. In the practical part of this work is focused on solving a particular variant of a development project.

MCom (Economics) / Department of Economics / The need to realise steady economic growth, measured in this research by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), has ignited a plethora of studies about the contributors of economic growth and their optimal levels. Government expenditure is one contributor to economic growth. From a theoretical standpoint, optimal government size is depicted by an inverted U-curve known as the Armey curve which is hypothesised between the relationship of government size and economic growth. Empirical literature provides evidence that optimal government size is between 20-30 percent a share of GDP. However, little has been done to investigate the optimal level of isolated components of government spending that maximizes economic growth. One component of government spending that has gained limelight over the past decade is that of social assistance. Defined as public expenditure spent as cash and food transfers to the poor, this research uses social assistance expenditure to assess its optimal level that maximizes growth. This is important because some policymakers are concerned about the ballooning budgets directed at social assistance, and argue that the scarce resources need to be transferred to other social services sectors such as health and education. Basing on the panel-data accessed from the World Bank, this research uses the quadratic equation model to determine the optimal level of social assistance for African and Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries covering the period 2009-15. The finding is that the optimal level of social assistance spending for African and OECD countries is 3.2 percent of GDP and 29.4 percent of GDP respectively. The study also finds that both African and OECD countries operate below the optimal levels and it is suggested that they need to increase social assistance spending in order to realize positive contributions to economic growth. / NRF

MAdmin / Department of Public and Development Administration / This study focused on critical analysis of job creation strategies in the Makhado Local Municipality (MLM). Even though there are policies and strategies adopted by Local Economic Development (LED) in order to speed up the process of job creation, there are still many unemployed people with no potential job prospects in the area. There are quite a number of factors working against job creation which range from geographic and demographic dispositions, availability of industries within the area, and limited infrastructure that can help to fast track job creation. The researcher used descriptive research design for this study. The researcher followed a mixed methods approach in which quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used. The reason for using a mixed methods approach was to integrate both qualitative and quantitative research methods to enable them to complement each other, thereby adding value to the findings. The researcher used non-probability sampling and its sub-type purposive sampling to select the respondents for this study. Purposive sampling method provides a wide range of non-probability sampling techniques for the researcher to draw on. Data collection instruments which were used were interview questions and questionnaires. Statistical analysis and thematic analysis were used to analyse the data. The researcher followed the research ethics before conducting study. The following were the major findings of the study: • The study findings revealed that municipality fails to inform members of the public with regard to job creation strategies in any process of development. • The research study findings revealed that the municipalities should create positions instead of internships without getting employment after completion. • The study findings revealed that public participation encourages community members to be actively involved in the municipality projects and helps to create good relationship between communities and the municipality to improve basic service delivery. The following are the recommendations of the study: • The research study revealed that good working relationship between municipal officials and community members should be encouraged as it is vital in enhancing the provision of service in the communities. • The study recommended that the municipalities should create positions which are permanent. • The researcher recommends that openness between community structures and the municipality should be encouraged in order to bring development in the municipality. / NRF

Depuis une vingtaine d’années, les discours promotionnels en urbanisme attribuent à un nombre croissant de lieux et de processus le statut de modèles à suivre ou de bonnes pratiques. Cette thèse vise à comprendre comment les acteurs opérationnels réceptionnent et utilisent ces modèles lorsqu’ils conçoivent d’autres projets urbains. L’approche construite vise à suivre les acteurs au plus près de leurs pratiques opérationnelles. Pour ce faire, la notion de « modèle » est mise de côté le temps de l’analyse pour lui préférer celle de « référence » dont la définition prend une dimension méthodologique. Une référence est la représentation d’un objet utilisée dans une situation autre que celle dans laquelle il a été élaboré. Tout objet (idée, image, ou texte) peut devenir une référence, mais il ne le devient qu’à partir du moment où sa représentation est citée dans une autre situation. La notion de référence est étudiée dans le cadre de situations de conception, les moments au cours desquels les acteurs réfléchissent, discutent, se projettent seuls ou à plusieurs, et prennent des décisions pour la transformation des usages d’un espace. Deux méthodes sont utilisées. Une méthode par entretiens semi-directifs auprès de 30 acteurs opérationnels d’origines variées vise à comprendre la façon dont ces derniers se représentent leurs usages des références. Une méthode d’observation circonscrite de quatre situations de conception au cours desquelles les acteurs sont en train d’élaborer des plans directeurs permet de suivre les usages des références dans des projets en train d’être conçus. Les observations et entretiens réalisés en France et dans l’Oregon aux États-Unis, se complètent et se rejoignent, permettent de découvrir des constantes concernant les usages de références et de redéfinir la notion. Les références sont, au sein d’une grande diversité, urbaines, ancrées et locales. Elles sont utilisées à des fins multiples, aussi bien pour communiquer dans un groupe et y négocier sa place, que pour la forme d’un plan directeur, pour lire un contexte, et pour évaluer des propositions de transformation d’un espace. Cette approche permet d’obtenir une lecture fine de l’usage des références en situation de conception, lecture importante pour le débat actuel de la fabrique de la ville concernant les modèles urbains. En situation, il n’y a pas un modèle mais une multitude de références qui sont citées, mentionnées, analysées ; et chaque plan est le résultat d’un travail articulant le contexte et ces objets cités, des projets, des espaces existants, des formes et objets génériques, et des théories / Over the last twenty years, promotional discourse on urban development has been assigning the labels of “best practice” or “model to follow” to an increasing number of specific sites and processes. My thesis explores how these models are received and used by urban developers and other relevant actors. My approach aims at following actors as closely as possible with regard to their working practices. To do so, the notion of “model” is put aside and favored over by the notion of “reference”, whose definition is methodologically based. A reference is the representation of an object (idea, image, text) that is cited within a design situation other than the one it was initially conceived in. Any object can become a reference, but it only becomes a reference when its representation is cited in another design situation. The notion of reference is studied during multiple stages of urban design: from conception to moments during which actors think, talk and plan alone or collectively, to decision-making about the transformation of spatial uses. Two methods were used. First, I carried out semi-structured interviews with 30 actors with the aim of understanding how actors perceive their use of references. Second, I observed and analyzed four specific situations during which actors were designing urban masterplans in order to understand the use of references in the design process.Both methods were applied in France and in the USA (Oregon) and converged in their results, leading to a more precise understanding of the notion of reference. References are mainly urban, anchored within a territory and local. They have many purposes, from communicating and negotiating within a group, to making design decisions, as well as reading an urban context and evaluating design propositions. The present analysis of how references are used is particularly useful for the current debate in urban studies concerning policy and the mobility of ideas. In the design process, there is not one model but a multitude of urban objects that are cited, analyzed and described. Each masterplan is the result of a coordination between an actual context and these cited objects, projects, existing spaces, generic objects and forms, and theories

Thesis (MPAM.) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of Local Economic Development (LED) in South African municipalities. LED is meant to address socio-economic injustices inherited from the apartheid regime and provide economic emancipation for all in South Africa. It has been two decades since the inception of LED in South Africa; however, the objectives of LED are seemingly declining. The country is currently experiencing weak economic growth with high unemployment and poverty rates in its communities. The study investigated the nature and role of LED unit as well as strategies in place for implementing LED in local economies. It also investigated the challenges that LED official encounters in the implementation process of LED. The opportunities of the local economy have been identified in order to provide a platform for local economic policy reforms that can be used to recover economic bottlenecks. The study is empirical and used Polokwane Local Municipality as its study area. Both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were employed in the study in which interviews and questionnaires were used to collect primary data. The target population of the study included LED officials in Polokwane Local Municipality and individuals who benefit from LED strategies. The population was sampled randomly and purposefully based on the participants' contextual experience on the objectives of the study. The study found that LED unit in Polokwane Local Municipality is not effective in its implementation of LED. There are LED initiatives in place; however, such initiatives are not entirely effective. The study argues that the role and strategies of LED unit are sound on the paper; however, it lacks maximum impact. The study therefore, provided a number of recommendation that could enhance the effectiveness of LED. The following are some of the recommendation: the LED unit should establish LED awareness that will educate and inform community members of LED; the LED unit needs to have adequate measures to regulate informal trading that is inclusive of foreign traders; LED unit formulates LED policies and strategies in line with opportunities of LED in the municipality; sufficient skills development programmes in the LED unit; the LED unit must provide adequate infrastructure that is suitable for economic growth and should undertake available economic opportunities in each community.

The aim of this essay is to investigate how development projects, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, include communication in the project cycle and if it affects their results. The research will take place in Guatemala and will be based on a comparative study in which the program evaluations conducted by the Swedish Embassy, responsible for distributing the funding, will be used to choose two projects: one regarded as successful and the other unsuccessful. By interviewing and conducting surveys with staff members from the embassy, NGO personnel that worked with the project as well as community members affected by the projects, the aim is to get a full picture of the projects themselves as well as the different personal experiences of the projects to allow for a discussion concerning communication for development, participation and governmentally funded development work. The conclusion is that there does not seem to be a defined way in which Sida-funded projects include participatory communication in the project cycle even though it is mentioned and discussed in connection to a project. The comparison of the two local initiatives indicate that defining a method and tools which allows the Embassies to better control and structure in terms of participatory communication are likely to increase the sustainability of the projects.

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Community Work) in the Department of Social Work in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand, 2006. / This study examined aspects and strategies the communities adopt to manage the production and the distribution of agricultural commodities. The research also focused on problems experienced by small - scale farmers in the production and management of their produce. The food security of the communities relies on the good management of natural resources and production. It would appear that communities need to utilize and manage natural resources properly and appropriately if future generations have to sustain good produce for their livelihood. The study further found out that small-scale farmers live in conditions that are intolerable in terms of their access to water, market and land. The identified problems limit the access of farmers to produce good quality agricultural commodities, which could be acceptable to market retailers and wholesalers. Agriculture cannot be neglected as the backbone of community survival. Empowering communities about agricultural production management is a development strategy that is aimed at facilitating economic growth. In conclusion the researcher recommends that communities need to be provided with inputs like irrigation facilities so that their production could not be seasonal but could be able to produce throughout the year.

Thesis (M.Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022