No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

The issue of democratisation and development in Africa is among the most explored and debated field by African and non African scholars. Since the beginning of post African state in the 1960' s, scholars have outlined democracy and development as an important issue for African states. In this ongoing debate, African traditional institution has been identified as a key factor that can shape the nature and relationship between democracy and development. African traditional institution is interpreted in a way that it either compliments or obstructs the link between democratisation and development. To some, it is a dead institution that has no place in this era of African development. The role of the traditional institutions in this contemporary era has been open to doubt. This study attempts to look at the role and significance of African traditional institution at this epoch with a case study of a rural community in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. This community offered a viable case study to understanding the manner in which the communities view the traditional institution and this will give a better meaning to the role of the African traditional institution. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

The need to empower women responds to the growing recognition that, especially in developing countries, many poor women lack control over resources and the self-confidence or opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. Women use various approaches and systems in order to survive, including self-help practices and kinship networks, informal moneylenders, rotating savings and credit associations, and accessing micro-finance. In South Africa, many rural women and their families would struggle to survive without the social security grants they receive from the government. This research, conducted with five Self-help Groups (SHGs) in rural KwaZulu-Natal, assesses the effectiveness of a Self-Help Group Approach in empowering poor women in rural communities of KwaZulu-Natal, socially and economically, by determining if the elements of resources, agency and achievements were evident within the groups. The main findings from the study suggest that there seems to be a positive relationship between SHG loans and government grants accessed with one complementing the other; and there was evidence, to varying degrees, to suggest that the determinants of empowerment existed in the SHGs involved in the study as well as within the wider SHG programme in KwaZulu-Natal. The study also highlights some weaknesses within the SHG approach that were identified. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

The property relations of the amaHlubi customary marriages were studied among the women in the Maluti villages around Matatiele. These villages are situated along the border between KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape of South Africa. These relations were investigated through the use of in-depth interviews with 39 women and six government officials. Of the 39, 26 were individually interviewed and 13 women were in three focus group discussions. The respondents were asked about their experiences and perceptions regarding the current practices in the division of property between the husband and wife. An analysis of these experiences, was carried out and were translated and transcribed into English. It was evident that during marriage there is an assumption among the women that property is equally owned between husband and wife during marriage. Secondly, on the death of the man, the women are allowed to inherit property from their husbands even in the absence of marriage certificates as long as there is enough evidence that the woman is the rightful heir. In addition, it was revealed that a significant proportion of marriages are dissolved informally, without using the traditional and legal structures of dissolution. As a result of this, women do not inherit property from their dissolved marriages. This study reveals infrastructure problems that woman in the area encounter when they need to visit the Home Affairs offices since the Maluti and Matatiele offices are not able to assist them with registration of customary marriages, Resulting in significant number of customary marriages not being registered. The evidence from the study supports the argument that women had equal access to property and its use in the traditional customary marriage. Currently, women's conditions have worsened due to the weakening of traditional structures. Results indicate that positive developments in law have not yet benefited women since property relations in rural areas are mediated by traditional tenure systems and customs. The lack of monitoring the proper implementation of the laws poses another challenge. That has resulted in little being achieved in terms of the provisions of the Customary Marriages Act due to implementation problems. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

Entrepreneurship is vital to any economy, more so in those looking to develop their small business sectors. Growth of the South African small business sector is being hampered by a lack of entrepreneurs that have the necessary capacity to initiate significant levels of new venture creation. In this study the franchising concept is looked at as means of developing and nurturing such entrepreneurial capacity in those with no entrepreneurial experience. A qualitative investigation is conducted amongst a sample of first-time franchisees with no previous business ownership experience, with the intention of determining the extent of their development as entrepreneurs through the course of their franchise ownership. The results suggest that franchise ownership does result in the enhancement of entrepreneurial capacity in those with no prior experience. This enhanced capacity is also seen to be transferable to environments outside of the franchise system. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.

The journey to school for a significant number of South African learners is characterised by long travel times, unsafe modes of travel and exposure to weather and traffic related dangers. A review of the literature suggests that poor access to schools impedes both the accumulation of human capital and the right to a basic education. This research, conducted in a peri-urban municipal district near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, is an impact evaluation of an existing school transport intervention. The intervention consists of an arrangement between a school in the llembe District and several locally managed transport providers. The intervention has two parts: first, school officials have negotiated a reduced taxi fare for learners travelling to and from the school and, second, the school has arranged for the local bus company to synchronise its schedule with the start and finish of school each day. The overall objective of the intervention is to reduce the travel times and walking distances of the learners attending the school. The approach of the study is to employ an appropriate evaluation methodology to assess the intervention and to interpret the findings in a rights based context. Impact evaluation is a rigorous methodology that aims to reliably test the effectiveness of interventions, policies and programmes. The findings from the study suggest that, if "scaled up", a similar intervention could potentially improve travel times, reduce excessive walking distances, improve the safety of travel to schools and curb the rates of absenteeism in the nation's schools. The study, however, also uncovers several impediments to the implementation of such an intervention within the existing policy environment. / Thesis (M.Dev.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

South Africa is facing a backlog with regard to service delivery in rural areas. Therefore, local government reform has been one of the pertinent issues which has occupied the political landscape since the early 1990s. Key to this transitional period to democracy was a realization that different communities have diverse experiences with traditional leadership depending on their geographical location in South Africa. But to a large extent the changes that took place in traditional leadership were imposed on the local structures by the national government. Thus, most traditional leaders and their advisers found themselves implementing policies which they did not necessarily support. This study seeks to explore developmental local government in a rural context through the use of the case study of 10zini Municipality. A key issue in this study is to look at the nature of the relationship that exists between the modem and traditional structures and the impact thereof on development. This study draws from the development literature, lengthy discussions with different experts in local government in conferences, seminars, and interviews with different stakeholders such as traditional leaders, elected councillors, community members, and municipal officials regarding the relationship between traditional leaders and elected councillors in the implementation of developmental local government. The findings of this study are revealing. After ten years of democracy in South Africa, there is still no consensus among different stakeholders on the roles and functions traditional leaders should play in mainstream politics in general, and in local government service delivery in particular. The findings show that the majority of participants felt that there is a need for traditional leaders and elected councillors to work together for the implementation of developmental local government in rural local government. Officials find themselves in a dilemma in rural local government as a result of what they perceive to be the silence of most local government policies on the roles and functions of traditional leaders. Some local government officials and councillors believe that the role of traditional leaders in local government is important. In the Jozini municipality they work with traditional leaders because of the mandate from the IFP political leadership but this does not mean that tensions do not exist. There are institutional and political implications emanating from the findings as analysis shows that there is a need for a closer look at the two-tier model that currently exists in rural local government. This study revealed that tensions exist between traditional leaders and elected councillors. This study also demonstrates that a confluence of factors and tensions affect the nature of relationship and the implementation of developmental local government starting from the national government to the communities at local level. As reflected in the study, lack of cooperation at each level has detrimental effects on the overall implementation of developmental local government in the rural context. Therefore, it is clear that all stakeholders have a role to play in ensuring that there is proper implementation of local government policies in rural areas. However, the government must take a vanguard position because it has got all the powers and resources as compared to other stakeholders. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005

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

Tourism and its spin-offs have been acknowledged as possible means for development. When the main target of this development is the local community, solutions such as community based tourism projects have been implemented. This is the case analysed in this study, The Mehloding Community Tourism, a community based tourism project that is being developed in the Alfred Nzo district of the Eastern Cape province in the Republic of South Africa. Through the study of the existing literature, to establish a solid framework, and a deep analysis of the project; using the project documentation, interviews with key informants, and other information obtained in the field visits; it has been tried to reach a better understanding of the scope of the main social and economic impacts of the project, using as benchmark the original goals stated in the project documents. The results show a well initiated project with some weaknesses in the area of planning process, which are trying to be corrected at the moment. In the area of the project operations the management seems to be quite positive but there are problems in the participation and capacity of the trustees as well as a shortage of tourist. The core section of the analysis, i.e., the social and economic impacts is on the whole positive, with the social impacts appearing to be achieved in a higher degree than the economic ones. Although considering the small scale of the project and the relatively early stage of it, and despite of the general optimism of its members, the economic sustainability of the project is still uncertain. The study, with it scope and limitations, concludes that community based tourism projects, if well planned and developed, could have positive impacts over the local communities, in particular over those members directly involved, such is the case of the Mehloding Community Tourism. However it has raised some questions about the suitability of the initiative to achieve poverty alleviation in the area. It is suggested that, other than solving the major problems of economic sustainability and Trust capacity, the platform created at a human and institutional levels should be used for further developmental initiatives of the area. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

There are two policy events that are the focus of the research: the Integrated Resource Plan of 2010 (IRP2010), and its 2013 update report. The research is mainly concerned with the political influence exerted by the identified advocacy coalitions and the political context they acted within, during the period under review: June 2010 to June 2015. The research and the analysis of findings has been guided by the Advocacy Coalitions Framework (ACF) theory. In keeping with ACF methodology, the research is based on an understanding of the preceding 10 to 15 years in order to better interpret current unfolding policy events, identify the coalitions and their activities, and ultimately present key findings that are based on empirical evidence. The narrative seeks to take account of parallel unfolding dimensions which collectively portray a noteworthy tapestry: coalition beliefs and activities, and policy events within the SA electricity supply sector over time. By the final chapter, it should be clear who exerted influence, what their dominant advocacy issues were, whether such influence was evident in policy that was promulgated, and what changed along the way. Empirical findings provide answers to the following research questions: 1. From the IRP2010 to its 2013 Update report, which were the dominant coalitions seeking to influence planning? 2. What were the dominant advocacy issues raised by these coalitions? 3. What evidence could be found for how the issues of dominant advocacy coalitions were realised in electricity policy? 4. What can be concluded and what are the implications for future electricity planning? The dissertation begins with a brief introduction of what the theoretical framework ACF would consider the energy policy system i.e. the international and the national energy and electricity governance context. ACF is then applied to understand the politics of electricity planning in South Africa, two dominant advocacy coalitions active within that sub-system, and their advocated beliefs, in order to answer the first two research questions. Chapter 5 and 6 together answer research question three. In chapter 5, ACF is applied to understand process and outcomes for the IRP2010 as promulgated. Chapter 6 considers the process and outcomes related to the IRP's 2013 update report which is not recognised in policy, and describes some of the shifts that occurred within and between coalitions and within the electricity policy sub-system by June 2015. The picture that emerges is that of an electricity sector within a new democracy that has sought to move beyond its apartheid-era policy legacies and has become characterised by decision-making based on politics rather than evidence. In answering the fourth question it is concluded that recent decision-making and planning processes in South Africa's electricity sector have undergone distinct periods of open and closed consultative process. There has been a steady opening up of process particularly during the policy period up to December 2010. From 2011 onward, a closing down of process has steadily been underway, particularly in relation to the IRP2013 update report. This has occurred at the same time as broad public support for transparent decision-making that is based on evidence had grown. While the analysis focuses on issues of ideological belief, politics and process, rather than on technology and economics, two distinct and contested electricity supply investment options related to power sector reform have dominated the advocacy beliefs and actions of the two coalitions reviewed, as well as the policy choices made by government: nuclear power on the one hand, and renewable energy on the other. These supply options and some of the issues of political economy associated with them are considered in the latter parts of the dissertation. A summary of the main findings Two high-level coalitions have dominated the IRP2010 process and its 2013 update: one favouring orthodox solutions to power supply, and the other favouring transition to a reformed power sector. The coalitions are: a. The Orthodox coalition: enjoying both greater political support for and capacity to influence the achievement of conventional economic growth. Their advocacy tended to focus on past experience and retaining the power supply status quo. b. The Reform coalition: less politically influential, and enjoying less political support. Their advocacy tended toward learning from past experience and changing the status quo. Among the issues which the two coalitions differ on, the five most contested issues were: tariffs and investment, power sector reform, climate change, nuclear power, and renewable energy. The promulgated electricity plan reflects wins and losses to both coalitions. For the IRP2010, more evidence was found of policy 'wins' for the Orthodox coalition. For the 2013 update report, more evidence was found of policy 'wins' for the Reform coalition, Nevertheless, given that the 2013 update report is not recognised in policy, it is concluded that the Orthodox coalition has been more influential in its advocacy. For the IRP 2013 update report, analysis of policy wins and losses became more complex, with alliances shifting within and between the two coalitions under review. Evidence has been found of an initial steady opening up of public consultation process in the decade preceding 2010, which later closed down steadily by June 2015. The closing down of process has been most evident to those involved in electricity planning, since mid-2010.The influential role of the Presidency, on the nuclear investment decision is perceived by electricity planning stakeholders to have begun in June 2010. The clear political support for nuclear procurement has resulted in greater unified advocacy against nuclear power, and lesser advocacy against renewable energy. The continued non-recognition of the IRP2013 update report in policy has benefited both wind power investment and new nuclear power procurement. Ultimately, the delay in the promulgation of a well-regarded, technically robust updated IRP threatens confidence in electricity planning process and is perceived by senior electricity actors to be entrenching a situation where politics is currently playing a more influential role than evidence, in South Africa's electricity planning.