Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / The economic state of South Africa prior to 1994 is linked directly to the political dispensation that was operating under apartheid. Since the advent of the new democratic dispensation, the South African government has developed policies which have focused on poverty alleviation. However, given all the gains (political equality) that have been made, South Africa still remains one of the highest in the world in terms of income inequality. Income inequality is an indicator of how material resources are distributed across society. Within the context of South Africa’s income inequality is largely due to the history of colonialism and. To address this income inequality, the government initiated job creation initiatives in 1995 which was implemented by institutions such as government departments and parastatals such as the nature conservation agency under research. A qualitative methodological framework was used for this study to explore the subjective experiences of the beneficiaries involved in the Expanded Public Works Program within the nature conservation agency. For the purpose of this study purposive sampling was utilised since only specific participants from four specific reserves were selected to participate in this study. The sample for this research study comprised of 24 participants. These participants were selected from each of the 4 selected reserves. Semi-structured interviews were utilised to gain a thorough understanding of the participants’ subjective experiences. Upon completion of these interviews the information was transcribed and analysed using the interpretive phenomenological approach. Before commencement of the study, the necessary ethics approval was obtained from the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee at the University of the Western Cape. Participants’ rights such as anonymity, confidentiality, voluntary participation, and confidentiality were guaranteed throughout the research process.

Magister Commercii - MCom / Given that poverty has remained one of the biggest challenges facing South Africa, an in-depth understanding of the poverty reduction measures implemented by government is necessary. It is important to understand the efficacy of these social protection programmes as huge amounts of government spending is allocated towards it. This paper analyses the impact of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and social grants as some of the social protection measures implemented by the South African government. Literature reviewed in this paper reveals that these anti-poverty measures have contributed significantly towards the reduction of poverty levels in South Africa. The study analyses each social protection measure and uses the Income and Expenditure Survey data (2010/11) and EPWP phase 1 national data to analyse social grants and EPWP respectively. The income decomposition technique is used to analyse household income and the results of the impact of social grants on poverty are presented using the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke indices. However, only the results of the prevalence of poverty (headcount) are explained in this study. The results show that social grants have significantly reduced poverty levels in areas with high poverty rates such as the Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces, amongst the African population, in female-headed households, and in rural areas. For EPWP, an estimate of the impact on poverty is done by assessing the number of poor participants who were involved in the programme. Also, the duration of the project is determined and the results indicate that most projects were short lived and did not ensure a consistent provision of income for the participants. Furthermore, the Ordinary Least Squares regression model is used to analyse how expenditure allocation for the programme affects work opportunities produced. Such an investigation is done based on the different sectors in which projects are implemented as well as provincial distributions.

In the context of the high unemployment and poverty rates in South Africa, this research was undertaken to explore the best practices of successful international public works programmes (PWPs) around the world. The aim was to develop a strategy for poverty alleviation and job creation with respect to the infrastructure sector of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) in South Africa. The purpose of the EPWP is to make the unemployed more employable through offering beneficiaries temporary employment and training opportunities. In the literature review, the strategy for poverty alleviation and job creation was formulated in terms of the design elements and implementation aspects of PWPs. This strategy was then used to evaluate the infrastructure sector of the EPWP. The data collection took the form of interviews with key informants who are directly involved with the infrastructure sector of the EPWP. The nature of the enquiry was qualitative, with narrative and content analysis used to explore the data. The research found that, overall, the design elements and the implementation aspects of the infrastructure sector of the EPWP are not appropriate for enabling the unemployed to become more employable on a large scale. Based on the international best practices, recommendations were then put forward as improvements which would enable the infrastructure sector of the EPWP to achieve its objectives more effectively. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted