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This study dealt with the impact of foreign direct investments on sustainable development in Africa in relation to poverty alleviation. The study aimed to show the link between these two areas and examine the impact of foreign direct investment on sustainable development, and whether such impact can lead to poverty alleviation and improve people's lives living under the poverty line.

Protected areas in Kenya constitute 7% of the total land area with over 75% of wildlife in the country being found on private or communal land. Wi th one of the highest population growth rates in the world and facing a range of developmen t issues with limited resources, one of the greatest challenges in Kenya is reconciling and sus taining economic development with biodiversity conservation and sharing the costs and benefits of conservation between individuals, state and the general community. The study was info rmed by the relevant literature and the researcher’s fieldwork which was conducted in 2008 in three categories of protected areas under different governance types and primary management o bjectives in Kenya (Lake Nakuru National Park – government managed, Kimana Community Wildlif e Sanctuary – communally managed, and Kedong Game Ranch – privately managed). The res earch examined the general issues of how local communities in Kenya have embraced differ ent biodiversity conservation strategies. A major emphasis was on identifying those factors inf luencing their attitudes towards conservation approaches and their participation in conservation management institutions. At issue was whether support for a particular conservation strat egy is primarily a function of communities’ experiences with biodiversity decline or their rela tionship with the conservation authorities. The research employed both qualitative and quantitative techniques in gathering the data. A total of 270 community respondents and 45 staff respondents were interviewed. Several demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the local peo ple that include age, gender, educational level and location, amongst others, were found to signifi cantly influence the attitudes of the local people towards the protected areas conservation act ivities. The direction of the influences (whether positive or negative) depended on the mana gement category of the particular protected area. The general findings of the study suggest tha t although local people appreciate the crucial value of biodiversity and the role of protected are as in conserving it, there is some evidence of resentment towards some management activities of th e protected area regulators. Negative attitudes were attributed to perceived problems of living next to the protected areas such as lack of involvement of the local people in the managemen t of the protected areas, restrictive access to and use of resources from the protected areas, hara ssment by the conservation enforcing agents, conflicts with wildlife and lack of compensation fo r damages and losses incurred. Widespread support for the management activities was associate d with perceived benefits to the local populations such as support for educational program mes, social amenities, employment and business opportunities. It is clear from this study that different rationales of conserving biodiversity need to address the issue of protected area management in the context of sustainable development through a combination of conservation s trategies. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

It is generally acknowledged that there is no sufficient, exhaustive and elaborate empirical examination of the quantitative impact of policies pertaining to import demand and economic growth in South Africa. In order to arrive at conclusive, sagacious and applicable policies on the economic growth potential of an economy, it is imperative to evaluate, empirically, whether envisaged economic growth rates and employment creation are feasible, given the socio-economic circumstances. The fundamental question of the constraint or rather effective constraints to high economic growth rates, measured by gross domestic product, has always desired urgent attention but has been neglected. There appears to be strong reasons to believe that the South African economy, like other middle-income developing economies, is subject to a "powerful balance of payments constraint that effectively aborts the growth process before it is able to deliver rising per capita incomes" (Industrial Strategy Project1, 1995:49 ). Furthermore, although this issue is widely recognized, there has been little systematic analysis of this important question. Many writings which, implicitly or explicitly, note the foreign exchange shortages as adversely affecting the economy's growth capacity have tended to focus and give enormous emphasis on exports and export expansion as a means to eradicate this economic dilemma. However, together with exports the demand for imports clearly determines the behavior of the trade account of the balance of payments as a whole. Consequently, this dissertation intends to consider one important aspect of the balance of payments constraint, namely, the determinants of the demand for imports in South Africa and the behavior of foreign trade. This study briefly examines the theoretical foundations of the savings and foreign exchange constraints using the 'two-gap' model. In that the main lesson is that the economy characterized by foreign exchange bottlenecks and/or lack of savings will not accomplish its perceived growth capacity. This is the background and motivation for the study of import demand elasticities as it gives impetus to the importance of both imports and exports in an economy. The dissertation derives the import demand function and employs the recent time-series techniques to modeling economic time-series. Prior to the empirical model, the study quantitatively describes the behavior of both imports, and exports, though more emphasis is placed on the former than the latter. In this section, simple quantitative techniques are utilized in order to determine the cyclical and trend behavior of import performance since the beginning of the 1970s. The study also briefly looks at the relationship between import of capital goods and investments into South Africa. Description of trade behavior involves examination of trade flows and their geographical destination by regional trading blocks. That is followed by an extensive literature survey conducted on import demand elasticities in South Africa and trade elasticities in general. This analysis gives a strong background to the time-series model of import demand estimated in this work. Time-series analysis examines the import demand at both aggregate and sectoral levels. Prior to the empirical model chapter there is an overview of time-series econometrics with regards to co-integration, error correction and non-stationary data. Import performance and import demand functions were studied in an economic policy context and the analyses were in some cases restricted by data constraints. Import behavior patterns and empirical results of the import demand models are discussed and international comparisons are drawn. 1 The Industrial Strategy Project (ISP) was authored by Joffe et al (1995). In this dissertation it is referred to as ISP (1995) although in the reference section I refer to Joffe et al (1995) as done in other publications. For instance, see Bell (1995). The same applies to the Normative Model Approach (NEM), in the text it is referred to as NEM (1993) while in the references it is reflected as Central Economic Advisory Services (1993). / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1999.

South Africa is currently undergoing a phase of transformation that has indicated a shift from institutionalised oppression in all political, social and economic spheres to a society that is ideally open, free and democratic. Many aspects of life in South Africa are therefore changing as this transformation process is proceeding. It is this transformation process that has prompted interest in the area of economic empowerment amongst those who were previously disadvantaged in the "old" South Africa. The previously disadvantaged represent a large percentage of potentially economically active members of South African society. However, because of a high unemployment rate, other alternative forms of employment need to be sought, mainly through entrepreneurial endeavours. One such alternative, which is presented in this study, is the possible role that the franchise industry may play in economically empowering people that were previously disadvantaged. The purpose of this study is to theoretically and empirically examine the potential of franchising to act as a mechanism for economic empowerment. It explores the perceptions of franchisors, franchisees and financial institutions in regards to the current state of the franchise industry in order to assess the extent to which franchising does or does not act as a mechanism for economic empowerment. Conclusions have been drawn to correlate the theory and the empirical analysis of the surveys that were undertaken. It has been found that in many ways, franchising may act as a mechanism for economic empowerment but there are factors that inhibit the role that franchising can play in promoting this form of entrepreneurship. Where these negative factors have surfaced, a methodology has been presented in order to minimise such effect. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1999.

A vibrant industrial sector that includes growing small and medium-sized enterprises is a boon to any economy. By increasing output and incomes, providing jobs for unskilled labourers, and improving prospects for efficiency and technological development, growing small firms offer both immediate and long-term benefits. These words by McCormick et aI, (1997) say it all. The theme of this study is growth, development and promotion of industry through small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). SMMEs are cherished because of their resilience to economic setbacks, their flexibility, innovative capability and above all, their labour-intensive character. Lesotho is currently faced with a major problem of joblessness (i.e. a huge number of labour force is unemployed). The formal sector, (i.e. public sector or government, private sector and parastatals) is unable to absorb these multitudes of unemployed labour. Moreover, this sector accounts for only 44 percent of employment in the country while the rest must be absorbed in the informal sector. The industrial sector is very small if not nonexistent. Henceforth it has been recognised that SMMEs' sector can make a huge· contribution to Lesotho's economy through employment and income generation. Most importantly SMMEs' sector is regarded as a stepping-stone to the industrial sector of the country. With agricultural production steadily declining and continuing mine workers retrenchments, the informal sector becomes the employment of last resort. In addition, Lesotho being an economy that is in the mist of restructuring and privatising, entrepreneurship through SMMEs offers an alternative route to employment and growth. This study is therefore concerned mainly with small-scale manufacturing enterprises. The primary aim is to discover the income and employment generation effects ofthese entities. Other aspects to be explored include value addition potential and demand effects of SMMEs. The study has discovered that SMMEs' sector forms an important employer and income source in the country. Most entrepreneurs depend on the income earned from their enterprises as the main source of income to support more than two dependants. Monthly average income generated by most enterprises ranges from 1000 to 10000 Maluti. However there are some exceptional businesses that make more than 20000 Maluti per month. These enterprises have a potential to expand and increase their value addition and since demand for their products is high, there exists better prospects for employment and income generation. Small-scale sector was responsible for about 12 to 20 percent of industry in the country before the 1990's. Currently it accounts for 66 percent of industry. The difference proves the importance of having this sector in the economy. Employment in small-scale sector makes up to 20 percent of total labour force. Small-scale manufacturing sector (SMMEs) in Lesotho compnses the following categories: (1) Sewing and Knitting (2) Metal and Leather works (3) Woodworks (4) Handicrafts and Pottery (5) Weaving and Tapestry (6) Electronics (7) Food Processing (8) Candle and Toiletries making. Most SMMEs in the manufacturing sub-sector are in the activities of sewing and knitting followed by woodworks and leather works. Concentration of activity depends on the level of entry barriersl . Sewing and knitting is headed mostly by women entrepreneurs. There are numerous problems facing SMMEs and their performance is thus retarded. The most frequently cited problem is tinance and working capital. This is followed by the market problem though most business owners pointed out that their products are highly demanded. Lack of finance, especially loan financing makes it difficult for the enterprises to expand or grow into prominent business ventures. I EntIy barriers here maily concerns the costs of starting the particular enterprise. The Government objectives towards SMMEs sector as stated in the Sixth 5-year National Development Plan are: • To provide incentives for SMMEs development and growth • To assist them in acquisition of better management and technical skills 8 To identify growth sub-sectors of SMMEs in order to secure donors and other means offinance for them • To strengthen the capacity of support institutions which assist SMMEs in acquisition ofloans and in marketing plus capacity building through management training. However, none of these plans has ever been effectively implemented. What is lacking is devising appropriate tools that will enable government to carry out its plans. The following strategies are henceforth proposed in the study: 1. To actively support skills and management training programmes, especially because the government can secure funds in the form ofgrants or soft loans. 2. To co-ordinate with support institutions so as to establish linkages between government and these institutions and with small-scale and large-scale firms. 3. To expand the share of small-scale products in the market through publicity, market and financial support. Most importantly, government must accept tenders from SMMEs or make exclusive purchases from SMMEs. 4. To enforce a policy that lists products reserved for production by small-scale sector only. 5. To improve productivity and enhance quality through establishment of ISO 9000 quality standards. 6. To Promote specialisation in production and export-oriented SMMEs 7. To transfer technology through the media, for example, T.V programs and published materials such as newsletters and magazines. 8. To increase provision of well-serviced industrial sites, appropriate for the needs of SMMEs. . / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Natal, 2000.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Development projects are increasingly becoming tools to support developing countries to overcome their systemic barriers to development. International and bilateral development agencies channel billions of dollars in such projects or programs every year in hope to boost local development, but until now after decades of efforts and social investments no concrete development in those countries status have been spotlighted as a consequence of these. Rwanda as a small land locked developing Country in the heart of Africa has been allocated amount of grants and supports for many years and have been benefiting from an overwhelming international attention after the genocide of 1994 and one can wonder if these development programmes and projects have been of significant usefulness to the recipients. In such a move, this dissertation aims at systematically evaluating project outcomes through assessment of beneficiaries’ expectations grasped through a case study namely the Decentralization and Community Development Project (DCD) in Rwanda. It is also intended to provide a clear idea of what the project has achieved so far and what beneficiaries’ expectations were not met. In order to achieve research objectives, a systematic research method have been followed. It is therefore, important to recall that evaluation approaches as supported by Khandker and al. (2009), have evolved significantly, making difficult for an evaluator to choose the model or approach which is particular for a specific context suggesting that there is no universal and unique evaluation approach. In this research they were no move from this statement. Actually it was found worthy the use of a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to capture the real outcomes of the project. In fact using qualitative methods helped to understand the key players who would have influenced the project implementation and by using quantitative methods and recording the recipients’ aspirations and the effective outcomes from the project. We hypothetically assumed that DCDP did not provide enough outcomes as expected by recipients and in order to prove that, collected data from a random sample of 96 people out of a population of 256334 and 80 answers were collected back. Several unstructured interviews were conducted with project key players comprised of the project team, the local government, and the government officials in charge of the project as well as the World Bank Country Office. Excel were used to analyse collected data so as to allow a better analysis and interpretation of the data. As stated in the main argument, assumption were made that the project did not meet the stakeholder’s expectations but some salient findings of the study proved this to be wrong. In fact, more than 80% people in the project area recognised the project outcomes significance to their lives. Furthermore, the result shows that the project had an important impact on the community. For instance, the DCD project improved considerably the life conditions of the population of the district’s population; as an example, the recipients acknowledged at 100% that the DCD project increased both the employment and the revenue in the district of HUYE. This have a huge meaning, because it is ascertaining the hypothesis that DCD project participated in improving life conditions of the population, while giving a whole meaning to the project in the eyes of all the stakeholders. The main recommendation of the study was about the usefulness on involving the recipients (beneficiaries) in all the project process, including pre-identification so that the project may tackle the real problems of the beneficiaries. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

The essence of this dissertation is to enlighten the client on those strategic options available for a financially viable energy source and is also aimed at increasing the electricity share of the energy market, which is currently approximately 25%. This dissertation focuses on the industrial sector of the economy. Energy sources available to the Industrial sector, namely coal, diesel, illuminating paraffin, heavy fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas and electricity, were selected for this specific study and compared in eight geographic areas. These inland areas include Pretoria-Witwatersrand- Vereeniging (PWV), Bloemfontein, Pietersburg and Nelspruit, and the coastal areas include Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Richards Bay. As the energy cost is not the only factor influencing the total cost of using a particular energy source, the objective for this study was also to evaluate energy sources on an effective cost basis, taking account of energy price as well as indirect costs and utilization efficiencies. The typical industrial application of steam generation was selected and the costs related to using various energy sources in this application evaluated. This study also considers critical factors likely to be taken into account by consumers when choosing an energy source, or deciding on an energy conversion, which includes Demand Side Management (DSM). DSM refers to a process by which electric utilities especially Eskom, in collaboration with consumers achieve predictable and sustainable changes in electricity demand. These changes are affected through a permanent reduction in demand levels (Energy efficiency) as well as time related reduction in demand level (Load Management) / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Kwazulu-Natal, 2005.

This thesis explores some possible approaches to better integration of archives with communities and engagement of archives with local community development initiatives. The study suggests that innovative usage of archival material can facilitate community engagement in the knowledge-based economy and support a broad range of community economic development initiatives. Archival public programming and the need for archivists to actively engage with existing and potential users is included in the discussion. Brandon, Manitoba is used as an example of a community that could benefit from the establishment of community archives.