The overall aim of the study was to explore and describe the perceptions of beneficiaries of government grants for the sustainability of development projects. A qualitative method was used following an explorative and descriptive design, as the researcher seeks to understand paradigm shifts from a welfare perspective to a developmental perspective. The qualitative approach is most suitable when the aim of the researcher is to understand a phenomenon from the point of view of participants (Creswell, 1998:17) and to elicit thought processes and feelings (Straus and Corbin, 1998:11). The methods of data collection included in-depth semi-structured interviews, field notes as well as the use of focus groups. The semi-structured interviews allowed the researcher to ask specific questions in an open-ended manner when necessary. Data analysis was done according to Tesch’s eight steps for analyzing qualitative research data (Creswell, 1994: 154-155). Guba’s model was used to assess the trustworthiness of research findings for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research (Krefting, 1990: 214-222). It is envisaged that this study will provide insights into the perceptions of beneficiaries of government social development grants. Findings indicate that a great deal of skills development for sustainability of development projects is needed, and will be used for further research in the area of social development.

The research aimed at assessing the extent to which the provincial Government's development programmes are succeeding in reducing regional unemployment. The research focused on the North West Province Central District, which is the second largest of the four districts. It comprises of 5 Municipalities of Mafikeng, Ditsobotla, Setlakgobi, Tswaing and Zeerust. The objectives of the research were to determine: Assess the extent of unemployment. poverty and development status of each of the municipal areas falling within the central region. To assess the prevalence of unemployment in the study area with a specific focus on providing analysis of socio-economic development trends. To development programmes aimed at eradicating poverty in the province especially in the Central District. To evaluate the extent to which government development policies programmes and projects are succeeding in curbing the increasing of unemployment and underdevelopment in the region. From the information gathered, the following results or findings were discovered: The challenges of poverty and unemployment cannot be dealt with by the current approach from the provincial government's planning processes, which tend to focus more on smaller projects than large- scales projects. The current level of migration of people from rural to urban areas seems to be a viable option for most people caught in poverty and under-development in the rural areas. Most people have moved out of the central district to look for jobs outside the region. The majority of the funded projects are too small to make any noticeable impact on the major challenges facing the province. The majority of the proposed projects directly initiated by the provincial government have not taken off the ground. / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng campus, 2006

Over the past couple of years, the South African government has been offering varied support to households that are engaged in small-scale farming, with the objectives of improving their livelihoods, income and food security. Although the various rounds of the General Household Survey (GHS) gathered information on the type of agricultural support received by the farmers, their production, agricultural income and food security status, there is limited empirical evidence on the extent to which the agricultural support programme is yielding the intended results. Very little is also known about how the beneficiary households perceive the agricultural support programme as either relevant or otherwise. This study fills these gaps in the literature using the GHS data spanning the period 2013 to 2016 to assess how government agricultural development support influences the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in South Africa. This broad objective is divided into two specific objectives: (1) to assess the effects of government agricultural development support on agricultural income, production and food security of beneficiary small-scale farmers in South Africa; and (2) to assess the usefulness of the government agricultural development support for the beneficiary small-scale the government agricultural development support for the beneficiary small-scale farmers in South Africa. By combining descriptive analysis with Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and logistic estimation techniques to address these objectives, the results indicate that from the year 2013 to the 2016 survey years, the proportion of households who have access to agricultural development support has decreased marginally by about two percent. Access to support has remained higher among males than females; farmers who have low levels of education than those with high levels of education. Across provinces access to agricultural support is high in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, North -West and Mpumalanga, but very low in the Free State, Limpopo, Gauteng and Western Cape. The agricultural development assistance given by the South African government is effective in reducing food insecurity, as well as in improving the production and income of the beneficiary smallscale farmers. However, the results suggest that the agricultural support system is having a heterogeneous impact on beneficiary small-scale farmers, depending on their gender and geographical locations. / Agriculture and  Animal Health / M. Sc. (Agriculture)