This study examined the current plant diversity status and the impact of drivers of change on the peat basins of the Kromme River peatland. It was conducted at six sites over sixty one years in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. I reviewed the rapid habitat and biodiversity loss of wetlands globally and discussed the distribution of wetlands and specifically peatlands in South Africa. Plant species diversity was assessed using Modified- Whittaker plots. The influence of environmental variables on floristic composition and distribution was investigated using ordination techniques (DCA and CCA). Land use dynamics were assessed by applying GIS techniques on orthorectified aerial images. Six different peat basins were subjectively classified into good, medium and poor condition peat basins. The good condition peat basin (Krugersland) was the most diverse in plant species (4.1 Shannon-Weiner’s index) (p> 0.20; F = 11.04; df = 2), with the highest mean number of plant species (32.5 ± 3.4). This was followed by the medium condition class (Kammiesbos) (26.5 ± 9.0) and poor condition class (Companjesdrift) (22.5 ± 8.9). On average, species composition was not evenly distributed across the peat basins (p> 0.21; F = 0.94; df = 2), since 77.8% of the Shannon-Weiner evenness index obtained were less than one. However, there were variations in plant species richness across six peat basins as confirmed by Oneway ANOVA test (p= 0.0008, F = 1241.6, df = 4). Key environmental variables that influenced plant species distribution and structure were erosion and grazing intensity, potassium, phosphorus, soil pH and calcium. Total species variance accounted for in the first two axes for ground cover and plant height were 40.7% and 56.4% respectively. Alien species (e.g. Acacia mearnsii and Conyza scabrida) were common in degraded peat basins, whereas good condition peat basins supported indigenous species (e.g., Cyperus denudatus, Chrysanthemoides monolifera and Digitaria eriantha). Analysis of aerial images revealed a general progressive decrease in the peatland area between 1942 and 1969 in the good (Krugersland) and poor (Companjesdrift) condition class, with a marginal increase from 1969 to 2003. Peatland area in the good and poor condition class decreased by 5.3% and 8.3% respectively between 1942 and 1969, with a marginal increase of 1.5% and 4.1% respectively from 1969 to 2003. Annual net rate of change in peatland area over the 61 year period was -0.32% (good condition class) and - 0.79% (poor condition class). Transformed lands were impacted by drivers of change such as alien invasives, agricultural activities, erosion and sediment transport. The area under alien invasives increased by 50% between 1942 and 2003, with an annual net rate of change of +0.82 (good condition class) and +1.63% (poor condition class).

This thesis examines the development of Grahamstown from its inception in 1812 to the mid-1840s, paying particular attention to the social and cultural life of the town. It traces the economic development of the town from a military outpost to a thriving commercial settlement, noting the essential factor of the town's proximity to the Cape frontier in this process. The economic interaction between diverse groups in the town mirrors the social and cultural interaction which occurred between British settlers, Khoekhoe and Africans. The result of these interactions was the creation of a new, distinctively South African urban society and culture, despite the desire of the white settlers to reproduce a “typical” English environment in their new home. The conflict between attempts to anglicise the urban environment and the realities of Grahamstown's situation on a colonial frontier was reflected in the architecture and layout of the town. Attempts to recreate an English social environment also failed. New classes arose in the town in response to the economic opportunities available on the frontier. Although some settlers prospered, many did not, and the presence of an impoverished white working class undermines settler historians' picture of settler success and affluence. The poorest people in the town, though, were the increasing numbers of Khoekhoe and Africans who migrated from the surrounding countryside, and who were unequally incorporated into the urban community as a colonial labouring class. In response to these unique circumstances, white settlers in Grahamstown developed a powerful political and propaganda machine, which helped lay the foundations of a distinct settler identity in the eastern Cape.

The global threat of climate change is one of the most crucial environmental issues facing the world in modern times. In response to this threat, international governments have drafted the Kyoto Protocol which included the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The CDM is a scheme which invited developing countries, like South Africa, to become involved in climate change mitigation projects. While South Africa has been identified as an attractive host country for CDM projects, research has revealed that it lags behind other developing countries in this regard. This study provides a theoretical background to the CDM and grounds the subject within the field of Environmental Economics. Following a literature review of factors that could influence the involvement of a municipality in CDM projects, this thesis undertook a case study of the barriers and drivers to CDM implementation within the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM). Use was made of semi-structured interviews, where a questionnaire was used to guide the researcher’s interview process. Five NMBM officers, who were likely to have been involved with CDM project implementation, were interviewed. Data collected was analyzed using a coding technique and was compared and contrasted to the literature in a process of explanation building. It was possible to elicit 14 factors that acted as CDM-barriers; seven that acted as CDM-drivers; and 10 that were required to change within the NMBM to encourage greater CDM involvement. Of the barriers, lack of awareness, poor political will and lack of funding emerged as the most inhibiting. Of the CDM-drivers, the potential financial benefits; ownership of infrastructure capable of producing carbon assets; and technology transfer emerged as the factors most likely to promote CDM involvement. With regards the factors that require change, it emerged that a positive response would result from a proactive stance by National Government on the CDM; the use of Public-Private-Partnerships to facilitate CDM projects; and improved communication and capacity building within the NMBM and the Nelson Mandela Bay business community. The main recommendation offered to the NMBM was for it to draft a Sustainable Development Policy as well as a formal sustainable development strategy to drive a coherent and consolidated approach to the Municipality’s involvement with CDM projects. Further, it was proposed that the NMBM should, lobby National Government for it to promulgate enabling legislation and a framework which would encourage CDM investment in South Africa; and engage with local business to promote the active involvement of the Nelson Mandela Bay with the implementation of CDM projects. Keywords: Global Warming, Kyoto Protocol, Clean Development Mechanism, Sustainable Development, Environmental Economics, Public Sector, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.

The historic year of 1994 marked the demise of the apartheid government and its replacement with a new era of participative democracy in South Africa. Government in the new South Africa adopted a decentralised structure underpinned by chapter three of the Constitution (1996). Consequently, there are three spheres of government, which are, national, provincial and local levels. These spheres are obliged and mandated to mutually cooperate and support each other through peaceful interactions termed intergovernmental relations (IGR) which are aimed at achieving a cooperative system of government. IGR is institutionalised through forums which cut-across all spheres of government and such structures are established by the Intergovernmental Relations framework Act (No. 13 of 2005). Sustained intergovernmental cooperation can lead to an integrated and coordinated system of government, which can, deliver services effectively while meeting the needs of the citizens and ultimately promoting sustainable socio-economic development in South Africa.The aim of this empirical study was to assess the role played by cooperativegovernment and intergovernmental relations in promoting effective delivery of services in the Amathole District Municipality (ADM). Local government is the ‘grassroots’ government and it is where the actual rendering of services is situated which was reason behind the choice of the study area by the researcher. The study adopted amixed-method research paradigm in which both the quantitative and qualitative research paradigms were triangulated to ensure that the validity and reliability of the research findings is improved. Data in the study was gathered from a representative sample of seventy (70) respondents carefully selected using non-random sampling designs, viz, judgmental and snowball sampling. The study used both primary (questionnaires and interviews) and secondary (documentary analysis) sources of data to achieve the research objectives as validly as possible. Respondents in the study comprised of municipal officials, IGR practitioners, representatives from Community Based Organisations and the residents of ADM. Data analysis was done using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) software and the mains findings of the study were that; ADM has got IGR forums in existence although some of these are dormant and dysfunctional, only three out of the seven local municipalities in ADM are cooperative in IGR, there is general lack of political will on the side of politicians in terms of support of IGR initiatives, political factionism and interferences is crippling IGR and cooperation, the legal framework for IGR needs revision and revamping, there are still communities without access to basic services in ADM, public sector planning cycles are fragmented and need synergisation and IGR is not being monitored and evaluated. The study therefore recommended that; the relevant stakeholders in IGR should be fully dedicated towards cooperation, planning cycles for public entities need to be synergised, the National Planning Commission (NPC) should take an oversight role in the entire planning process, the legislation should be enacted which has a clause for punitive action being taken against those who fail to cooperate in IGR and the national, provincial and local governments should prioritise access to basic services in communities cooperatively.

This research sought to understand the perceptions of the township dwellers who are the beneficiaries of the RDP houses in a selected township, Chris Hani block 3 in Mdantsane, East London, in the Eastern Cape. The study specifically sought to establish whether the houses delivered to the residents through the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) adequately meet the basic standards prescribed by the relevant housing policy of South Africa. During the apartheid era black South Africans were marginalised, their development was separate from that of whites and they had no say in what was provided for them, hence they were inadequately housed. On coming into power, the post-apartheid government undertook through legislation to provide sustainable, adequate housing that would address the needs of the historically disadvantaged citizens/poor people of South Africa. The main finding of this study conducted on a sample of ten RDP housing beneficiaries, through personal interviews is that, the RDP is a good programme; however, its implementation is characterised by corruption and greed. The people, whom the programme is meant to benefit, have never been involved in their own development with the results that the houses provided to them, are of a sub-standard quality. The houses do not adequately address the housing needs of the people. The housing policies are also not adequately implemented. It is the author’s hope that the recommendations made by this study, if implemented, will improve the standard of the RDP houses provided to the poor people of South Africa.

The study took a qualitative approach to the analysis of the effect of the politics-administrative interface on municipal service delivery. It was a case study of the Mnquma local municipality in the Eastern Cape Province. The researcher developed a keen interest in researching on the topic because the political infighting and clashes between politicians and administrators of the municipality have caused a public outcry for the root causes of the infighting to be effectively addressed and redressed. It is hoped that the findings and recommendations of the study will help, reshape public policy implementation, service delivery and fostering of mutual cooperative relations between politicians and administrators both at local government level and any other sphere of government in South Africa. The study, is categorized into five chronological chapters, with chapter one (introduction and background), chapter two (literature review), chapter three (research design and methodology), chapter four (data analysis, interpretation and presentation) and chapter five (conclusions and recommendations). The researcher used a sample size of 40 respondents who were selected using snowball sampling, a non-random sampling design spread accordingly over both politicians and administrators. Data collection was made possible through an open-ended questionnaire, interviews, observations and documentary analysis. Various reports and media statements were also used to augment this empirical study. The study also used an in-depth qualitative data analysis technique which was descriptive in nature and the study made numerous deductions and findings based on the collected and collated data. Findings of the study were, inter alia, too much politicization of the public sector, interference between politicians and administrators into each other’s affairs and vice versa and adverse effects of cadre deployment which are damaging service delivery. The study made numerous recommendations which included, inter alia, training and development of administrators and politicians on their respective roles and responsibilities, enforcement of the politics-administrative interface as a mutually beneficial approach to service delivery, need for proper interpretation of Acts and policy documents and the enforcing of section 139 interventions into municipalities.

The Eastern Cape Department of Education has become like a problem child in the Republic of South Africa. It is a cause for concern to both the provincial and national government. This is a department where service delivery is problematic. Schools are not built or renovated and children are taught in dilapidated structures or sometimes under trees. Hardly a week passes without the department making the headlines in the media for the wrong reasons. It is widely accepted that the department is dysfunctional and education is in a crisis. The department has emerged as the number one culprit of engaging in corrupt activities in the province. Public officials in the department have been identified as being at the helm of these corrupt activities. In the 200/10 financial year, the Auditor General issued a disclaimer to the department and highlighted a lack of direction, accountability and a total breakdown of internal control systems and supply chain management within the department. Numerous fraud risk indicators were identified during the audit and underlined by findings that are indicative of fraud and corruption within the department. This unfortunate state of affairs is contrary to the requirements of section 195(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa which provides for the democratic values and principles governing public administration including inter alia, that: A high standard of professional ethics must be promoted and maintained. Efficient, economic and effective use of resources must be promoted. Public administration must be accountable. This raises several questions about the ethical fitness of public officials in the department as the custodians of the public resources and trust. Though several reasons abound for this unfavourable state of affairs in the department, the researcher has singled out unethical conduct by public officials in the department and its impact on service delivery. The approach followed in this research was to analyse the 2009/10 Department of Education Annual Report and the 2009/10 Auditor General’s Report to the Eastern Cape Department of Education. The analysis confirmed the existence and occurrence of multiple cases of unethical conduct in the department. At the end scientific recommendations are proposed to alleviate this ill.

The study investigates whether government-sponsored community development projects in the township of Mdantsane, Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa, have achieved the intended goal of alleviating poverty among the beneficiaries. The specific outcomes of poverty alleviation are: improved income, acquisition of new skills, reduced dependence on welfare grants. Four urban farming projects were selected, namely: Buffalo City Organic Producers, Sakhisizwe Nursery, Lusindiso Farmer’s Trading Co-operative and Mbombela Co-operative. Focus group discussions and a mini survey were conducted with project beneficiaries, while relevant government officials were interviewed. Conceptual insights were drawn from community development theory. The findings showed that the broader context within which the projects occurred was characterised by a pro-poor social policy, relative availability of resources with which to translate it into action, and a measure of entrepreneurial potential amongst community members. However, while one of the projects showed some promise (in the sense that beneficiaries acquired new skills and had a generally positive attitude despite not enjoying any improved income status), all the others appeared doomed and trapped in dynamics such as: excessive government control of the management of the initiatives, ineffective project monitoring, and the mischaracterisation of the initiatives by both the government and the beneficiaries. A distorted sense of ownership and perverse community participation seemed to prevail, which in turn robbed the initiatives of their poverty alleviation potential. The study thus concluded that specific benefactor-beneficiary dynamics are crucial for the success of a given anti-poverty intervention. A robust pro-poor social policy, availability of resources with which to translate it into action, and local entrepreneurial potential do not in themselves bring about success; they must operate in a certain way and be undergirded by certain principles for them to become a powerful mechanism for alleviating poverty. It is against this background that the researcher offers some recommendations.

Teenage pregnancy is one of the major factors leading to girls dropping out of school especially in developing countries such as South Africa. To address the problem, the South African government has put forward policies which allow for the continued enrolment of learners who could fall pregnant while at school. However, there is evidence that pregnant learners drop out of school even though these policies are in place. Hence this study investigated the perceptions of the school stakeholders on the mainstreaming of pregnant learners and one of the stakeholders is the pregnant learners themselves. This study also aimed to investigate the way pregnant learners were perceived and treated in their schools and the views of the stakeholders on supporting the pregnant learners academically. It also aimed to explore leadership and management implications of the school stakeholders’ perceptions. This study revealed that some of the stakeholders were not aware of the existence of the policy that allows for the mainstreaming of pregnant learners in public schools. Those that indicated that they were aware of it reported to have a fuzzy idea of the policy. It seemed there was no shared understanding of the policy among the stakeholders; as a result the policy was not effectively implemented in the schools. This could also be the reason for the negative attitude shown by some of the school stakeholders to the policy. However, all stakeholders voiced out their opinions about this policy. With regards to the policy implementation they expressed fears that the educators may not be capacitated enough to deal with learner pregnancy and also that the pregnant learners may have a negative influence on other learners. Cultural beliefs and stereotypes seemed to play a role on how the stakeholders perceived the policy that legislated the mainstreaming of pregnant learners.

Past research on activity-based costing (ABC) success factors has predominantly focused on establishing relationships between known success factors and ABC implementation success. According to the researcher, there is a lack of exploratory studies to establish ABC implementation factors especially in a South African context. This study has explored these factors from literature and attempted to identify any other factors of importance with the use of semistructured interviews. A total number of 13 interviews were conducted with participants from manufacturing organisations in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole using some form of ABC. The findings suggested that ABC may be more beneficial at larger, more diverse organisations but that smaller organisations may also benefit from ABC if product costing accuracy could be significantly improved with ABC and if no major pressure on company resources is incurred. In addition it seems that ABC should be utilised to the fullest extent that is practical for the manufacturing organisation and that the use of supplementary cost-saving mechanisms with ABC may be beneficial. Finally it is recommended that users be fully trained at ABC and that careful consideration of an appropriate ABC software package may increase the likelihood of ABC implementation success. / Management Accounting / M. Phil. (Management Accounting)