South Africa is characterised by inequitable growth and development, a high level of poverty, increasing demands and limited resources and the challenge of integration. The need for improved standards of living and access to better infrastructure which are seen as crucial issues in addressing poverty have necessitated the introduction of programmes that aim to alleviate poverty. The South African democratic government has, since 1994, implemented various programmes in an attempt to improve the quality of lives of its citizens through policy interventions. The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is one of the many programmes offered by the National Government to provide poverty and income relief through temporary work for the unemployed to carry out socially useful activities. The study is descriptive in nature. The researcher seeks to gain insight into the effectiveness of the EPWP as poverty alleviation strategy in the Oudtshoorn Municipal area. The researcher needs to understand the impact it has made on the beneficiaries focussing on Bongolethu and Bridgton as critically distressed settlements. The researcher used, inter alia, policy documents, circular letters, accredited journal articles, newspaper reports, minutes of the Oudtshoorn Municipal Council meetings as sources of data collection. The findings reveal that there are short term poverty alleviation initiatives in Oudtshoorn. The study also revealed that the problem of poverty is still a challenge in the Oudtshoorn Municipal Area and a review of the current policies is necessary.

The current study aimed at assessing the factors contributing to sustainability of Poverty Relief Projects by the Department of Social Development. The study was conducted in the Eastern Cape within Chris Hani District at Sakhizwe Local Municipality. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Purposive sampling procedures have been seen as most suitable for this study and have been utilized to identify participants of the study. The sample consisted of thirty project members from six different projects and also included five Community Development Practitioners from the Department of Social Development. Semi- structured interviews, document review and focus group discussion were used to collect data for the study. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic methods. The study revealed factors that contribute to the sustainability of the projects. These factors include the capacity of the project members and the departmental officials to implement and monitor the projects. Management and organization of the project plays an important role in determining the sustainability. Active participation of the project members in the planning of the project is important. Stakeholder participation and sharing of expertise is another important factor in determining the sustainability of the projects. Lastly, the study shows that monitoring and evaluation of the progress is necessary to ensure that the project achieve the desired outcome. It is recommended that the Department of Social Development should consider these factors and add them in the checklist before the funding of the project is approved. It is also important to determine the duration of the project in order to be able to measure its impact in a given period of time.

As poverty alleviation projects are being established in communities in order to reduce the impact of unemployment, crime, and inequality as well as other factors propagating poverty, numerous projects fail to democratically meet the needs of the poor majority. Development initiatives brought forth by government and non-governmental organisations, which adopt a top-down approach in order to accelerate development, do not always have a positive effect on the community, especially on the poor majority, which development is meant to empower and benefit. This results in the short life span of the project and leads the community into immense poverty. Thus, the focus of this research paper was to evaluate the extent to which poverty alleviation projects such as the Seki Women’s Foundation, contribute towards the alleviation of poverty in its community, located in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth. This evaluation study focused more on aspects of development concerning community participation, empowerment through skills training and project sustainability. The objectives of the study were to investigate the values, aims and objectives of the Seki Women’s Foundation; how these values, aims and objectives were fulfilled; the challenges faced by the project towards effective community development and the determinants of the long-term sustainability of the project. The research study adopted a qualitative approach, which allowed the researcher to collect meaningful knowledge from the volunteers and stakeholders by conducting semi-structured interviews and a focus group which were guided by open-ended questions. The data was thematically analysed where important concepts were coded in order to obtain accurate information so that valid results could be reached. The main findings of the research study suggested that the contribution made by the Seki Women’s Foundation towards poverty alleviation and community development is to empower the volunteers and community through skills training in baking, gardening and sewing. The volunteers share these skills amongst community members, enabling them to be self-sufficient and implement the skills in their own surroundings. The project builds strong partnerships with the stakeholders by being accountable and transparent about the utilisation of funds through report formulation. Although the project implements some principles of community development, the full participation of volunteers in the development process remains a concern, especially in decision making. The challenges faced by the project are concerned with burglary of clothing containers, stealing of vegetation and garden tools and the community not buying the products sold by the project. The research study recommends that the volunteers reason with the community and instil trust and honesty to avoid crime. The project should instil authentic participation in all development processes and form a partnership with local shops in convincing them to sell their produce as this will allow some income to generate within the project and community.

After 17 years of democratic freedom, South Africa is faced with a variety of challenges. Such challenges include crime, which is driving South African professionals of all ethnic groups to emigrate, discourages foreign investments and hampers growth; the spread of HIV/AIDS and unemployment which is steadily increasing. The country also inherited vast inequalities in education, health and basic infrastructure such as access for safe water, sanitation and housing (Hoogeveen and Ozler 2006, p.2). According to the Education and Training Unit for Democracy and Development (ETU), South Africa has a small wealthy population and a medium sized middle income and poor populations. There is a big difference between the wealthy and the poor people and if one looks at it, it looks like we have two nations, developed and developing living side by side in one country. This report will look at the role of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in alleviating poverty in one of its critically distressed wards, the Walmer Township near the Port Elizabeth Airport. Even though welfare is national and provincial government’s role, municipalities are expected by the government to play a developmental role. The findings of this report revealed that the problem of poverty is still a challenge in the metro and a review of the current policies was advised and involving the people living in poverty in the processes.

South Africa as integral part of the global village has been affected by the global economic meltdown that affected some parts of the globe. The Government has her other three monsters to deal with which exacerbated after the meltdown, inter alia; poverty, unemployment and inequality. The heat is felt most on unemployment and poverty. The masses on the ground are the greatest victims. Missionvale just like other small areas is not immune to the scourge caused by the crisis alluded to before. The ripple effect of the crisis is felt in classroom, when manifestations emerge in different forms, leaving victims by the way side. Poverty is rife in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality as a consequence to that the title of the study on poverty alleviation came into being. South Africa as a country rich in natural and human resource experiences a high rate of unemployment and harbours the majority of people living in squalor and chronic poverty. Methodology approach to gather information for this study is through relevant literature consisting of books, legislation and interviews with knowledgeable individuals in the field. The study points out the major role the municipality in collaboration with other stakeholder, inter alia; social development, and other sister departments and NGO‟s can play towards poverty alleviation in Missionvale.

Thesis (M. Dev. (Planning and Development)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / This qualitative case study investigates the relevance of the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) as a solution to unemployment and poverty. A qualitative case study research design was used to collect and analyse the data. Data collection instruments consisted of interviews, questionnaires, observations and document analysis. Data analysis was largely in the form of thematic approach, since the study was qualitative. The choice of a qualitative design was informed by the need to engage the beneficiaries in their lived experiences during and after participating in the EPWPs. The main findings of the study were that although the EPWP improves the quality of life of the beneficiaries, however, it is not a sustainable solution to unemployment and poverty. That is because the structural constraints which confront beneficiaries at the end of the EPWP remain an obstacle to them in terms of employment opportunities and self-employment. The study therefore recommends a more integrated approach to the problem. It is recommended that the government develops a post EPWP sustainability plan which incorporates infrastructural and social development issues in all projects. Key words Poverty, EPWP, Unemployment, Work, Decent work, Productive work, Quality of Life Development and Developmental state.

Thesis (MDev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / The purview of this project is to interrogate the alleged rural-urban dichotomy effects of social grants on poverty alleviation. One major problem that sophisticates rural-urban comparative studies is that there is no universally agreed upon definition of "urban" or "rural". By virtue of their contrasting contexts, rural and urban areas are diametrically divergent in terms of their characteristics. These inherent contrasts are critical to the applicability and effects of concerted interventions due to the diversity of actors, agendas, underlying intentions and so on. On one hand, people in rural areas are characterized by socio-economic homogeneity and thus they enjoy communitarianism. On the other, urbanites generally belong to different castes, creeds, religions and cultures, thus they rarely share same social statuses, norms and values. Socio-economic narratives are thereby intrinsically distributed among rural and urban households as well as societies and so are the effects of intervention strategies such as social grants. Literature documents increased blurring of urban-rural distinctions in developed countries, but a multidimensional characterization of settlement type based on style and density of housing, predominant commercial and agricultural activities, and access to services still vividly demonstrates the rural-urban dichotomy in South Africa. The study, thereby, puts the Polokwane Local Municipality on the spotlight to argue that by virtue of contrasting contexts and divergent characteristics between rural and urban areas, social grants have dichotomous effects as strategy for poverty amelioration. The study engages on a scholarship synthesis of characteristics and contexts of the rural-urban dichotomy, roles and types of social grants and dimensions and dynamics of poverty in rural and urban areas prior to a presentation a resume of theoretical and empirical findings from the cross-sectional survey in the Municipality. Employing snowballing to sample a total of a hundred grant-receiving households, the study qualitatively and quantitatively analyses and interprets data from the two study areas. The key finding emanating from the core of the research problem was that despite arguments about modern rural areas across the globe experiencing factors traditionally associated with the urban environment and the ensuing increased blurring of urban-rural distinctions, a multidimensional characterization of settlement type based on style and density of housing, predominant commercial and agricultural activities, behaviour and access to services in South Africa still vividly demonstrates the rural-urban vi | P a g e dichotomy. In the same line of thought, the study concludes that not only are the effects of social grants dichotomous between rural and urban grantees but the effects empirically show dissimilarities at different levels of analysis, including individual, household, location and cash values of various grants.The conclusion also consolidates recommendations revolving around the augmentation of rural-urban effects of social grants so as to synchronize poverty alleviation.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of New Brunswick, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

[Truncated abstract] As a developing country, Indonesia has been struggling with complex and contentious development issues since Independence in 1945. Despite remarkable economic achievement during the New Order period (1966-1998), poverty has persisted and the benefits of development have been unequally distributed. Social welfare — the system of social security to protect the well-being of the weaker members of society has received little attention in Indonesia, both from the state and from the scholarly community. The historical neglect of social welfare in Indonesia has begun to be addressed recently, with the Social Safety Net (SSN) initiative. SSN is a social welfare program that was launched by the government of Indonesia to mitigate the deleterious impacts of the economic crisis that hit the nation in 1997. This thesis aims to assess how the SSN accommodated the needs and aspirations of poor women, particularly those who live in rural areas. The rural poor deserve attention because poverty in rural areas is widespread and often intractable, and because poverty in rural areas tends to be more invisible than in urban areas. The urban poor are more visible, because they are “in the face” of the powerful every day, and they are more likely to be able to access agencies of power than the rural poor.

The key debates after apartheid have been on the successes and shortcomings of the social and economic policies that were adopted after apartheid. The ANC government decided to approach poverty reduction by closing the inequality gap between racial groups in the country. It planned to provide services that would improve the poor people’s lives and also create employment to sustain development. To provide the necessary services, the government formulated two broad, but linked macroeconomic policies namely: the RDP and GEAR which focused on the demand and supply side respectively (Venter and Landsberg (2006). This indicated the importance with which the people’s welfare and growth were regarded by the South African government. It indicated that the government believed in pro-poor growth. The purpose of this study was to gain better and deeper understanding about poverty reduction since the 1994 political transition, from the poor people of Airport Valley (in the Nelson Mandela Metropolital Municipality), who experience poverty from the real world. The study attempted to find out from these people if there was improvement in their lives since democratisation. This qualitative and quantitative study used three methods of collecting data namely: a questionnaire, interviews and observation. The results of the study suggest that there has been lack of commitment by RDP and GEAR, as the conditions under which the people live and therefore their standard of living have not improved. The study recommends that the government should speed up the process of service delivery at Airport Valley and also include the people in decision making about the future of Airport Valley.