Thesis (M.Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The implementation of community development projects in rural South Africa was expected, among other outcomes, to empower women by creating opportunities for their sustainable livelihoods. This study investigated contributions made by such development projects on women empowerment in Lulekani of Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality of Limpopo Province. The research objectives were to determine the nature of community development projects, to examine the role of the projects in empowerning women and to find out strategies required to improve the impact of the projects on women empowerment. Anchored within an interpretivist philosophical paradigm, the study employed a qualitative research approach using a case study method. The study population consisted of women who actively participate in community development projects and those who are outside the projects. Purpose sampling was applied in selecting the sample. Inclusion criteria were that participants should have been participating in the projects and/or residing in the community of Lulekani. The sample also included a few women who did not participate in the projects. This was done for comparative purposes. For data collection, unstructured face-to-face and focus group interviews were used. Data were collected about relevant issues on empowerment such as, but not limited to, skills development, income generation, accumulation of assets, social capital and human resource development. The study found that the projects were contributing to women empowerment by creating employment and generating income for them and their families. However, it was evident that much more could be done to multiply the size of incomes and improve their lives of in terms of skills development and by providing support for the long-term sustainability of the projects. The study therefore recommends that policy makers should consider developing to more holistic and appropriate strategies to improve contributions of community development projects on women empowerment. The study concludes that while community development projects have a potential to empower women, this critically depends on strengthening their capacity, particularly with respect to management and administration of those projects as well as enhancing their access to markets and other support.

Thesis (M. Sc. (Geography)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is the acidic water emanating from the mine tailing dams into the surrounding environment. AMD is regarded as a major environmental threat associated with mining. The lower Olifants River in the Kruger National Park (KNP) is considered an environmentally sensitive area, which exhibits high levels of aquatic ecosystems and supports a variety of terrestrial ecosystems within and around the KNP. The Phalaborwa mining industries have been discharging the acid mine drainage contaminated-water into the Ga-Selati River, a tributary to the Olifants River. Although the impacts in the upper Olifants River catchment have been well documented, it was the amount of AMD witnessed at KNP and the dying of fish within the lower Olifants River that raised issues of concerns. Hence, the study investigated the impact of acid mine drainage on water quality of the lower Olifants River, modelled the distribution of the dissolved heavy metals in the stream, and evaluated the applied mine wastewater management strategies at Phalaborwa mining industries. In this study, water samples were collected seasonally (winter, spring, and summer) from 2019 to 2020, and the analytical methods and procedures were optimized for the determination of selected elements in the water samples. During the study, ion chromatography (IC) was used to detect chloride (Cl), sulphate (SO4 - ), nitrate (NO3), and fluoride (F), Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was used to detect pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), sodium (Na), potassium (K), aluminium (Al) and calcium (Ca). Modelling of the distribution of dissolved heavy metals was performed using the inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation technique available in ArcGIS 10.8 software. The range of pH across four sampling sites was between 7.77 and 9.11, indicating an alkaline pH. The concentration of measured parameters elevated downstream points with some exceeding the target water quality range (TWQR) for aquatic ecosystems. The elevated concentration of SO4 - at sites 3 and 4 (downstream points) showed that the acid mine drainage is still a matter of concern at the lower Olifants River catchment. However, the GIS models showed a decreasing trend of the concentration of heavy metal towards the KNP.