Thesis (M.Sc. ( Agricultural Economics)) --University of Limpopo, 2019 / The demand for animal products is projected to increase progressively due to extensive urbanization, rapid growth of human population and income dynamics. However, the evolution of food demand is strictly linked to the change in consumer preferences. Consumers around the world are progressively becoming more concerned and aware about food standards, quality and safety issues. The purpose of this study was to determine consumers’ preference regarding safe and quality beef and WTP for graded beef in Polokwane municipality. The research surveyed 150 consumers using a structured questionnaire to collect data on consumer characteristics and responses to different bid levels for graded beef. Analytical methods were descriptive statistics, Likert scales, contingent valuation method to evaluate respondents’ mean WTP for graded beef and logit model to determine the dependence of WTP on socioeconomic factors. Results showed that consumers prefer their beef tender, with less fat and bones and labelled with price, grade/class, size or quantity of the product and lastly quality inspection or certification indicator. Over half of the respondents (53%) were aware of grading or classification systems. The results further revealed that most respondents are willing to pay an increase of 16.04 % over the current price for beef. This could be an opportunity for investments in beef label industry. Consumer characteristics including age, income, gender and household size significantly influenced WTP for graded beef in Polokwane Municipality. Marketing strategies considered by beef product investors should target young, female and wealthier consumers. Grading with respect to quality attributes would make beef sales at differentiated prices possible. This will eventually enhance sales volume and returns for all stakeholders along the value chain / National Research Fund

A county's level of development is measured by poverty, unemployment and inequality. Strategies and development plans must address these three elements. The informal sector is an important part of the economy, contributing to the social and economic development of countries. Despite its importance, the management of the informal sector has not taken central place in most countries, probably because there is still the subconscious belief that the sector will disappear if sufficient levels of growth are reached. The sector is still being viewed as temporary and transitional. Research has however shown that the sector is permanent, and that there are those who enter the sector by choice (voluntary informal employment) and those who participate in the sector involuntarily. Despite the reason for participation, the sector should be taken seriously as it continues to grow and is permanent. As a result of the permanent nature of the informal sector, debates have moved from focusing only on informal enterprises to include the workers themselves, thereby giving birth to the notion of informal economy. The most visible activity in the informal economy is street trading. Street trading is a source of livelihood for the majority of the urban poor, but if not properly managed, can be problematic. Actually, street trading is associated with various urban management problems such as crime, grime, dirtiness, and many other issues, in some instance badly affecting the ability of the formal sector to grow. Due to its direct effect on the formal economy and communities, as street traders use public space, the study focuses on the management of street vendors. The study argues that while it is true that street vendors are a contributing factor to most urban management challenges in urban areas, the main cause is lack of proper systems and processes designed to manage the sector. The study argues further that the problems associated with street vendors are a symptom of systematic problems in public institutions, especially municipalities that are mandated by the Constitution to manage street trading. It maintains that the majority of the problems associated with informal trading can be addressed by adopting relevant policies that would guide and delimit the actions and behaviours of both the public officials and the traders. Such policies should, however, not equate management to regulation as has been the case. The policies should instead be developmental in nature, thereby recognising and acknowledging that street trading is an important component of the economy. This is not an easy task. The most fundamental challenge is the conflicting objectives between the street vendors and the authorities. While the street vendors focus on their right to trade, the local authorities focus on the right to enforce safety and health regulations. It is therefore important for municipalities to adopt a balanced approach to street trading as a phenomenon. This fact is also exacerbated by local authorities' limited understanding of the size and the contribution of the informal sector generally, and street vendors in particular, to the economy. This results in the adoption of public policies, urban plans and other development plans that counter rather than support the informal economy. Another critical finding that emerged from the study is that street vendors are generally not organised, and therefore have limited bargaining power. Due to this fact, they are unable to participate in the decision-making processes of the authorities even when decisions that affect them are taken. Even in instances where there are trader's associations, it has been indicated that they are weak and unable to assert any influence. On the local authority's side, the lack of proper traders' organisational structures makes it difficult for the municipalities to engage them and jointly develop strategies that will enable the sector to grow and become sustainable. It is therefore important that the authorities play a critical advocacy role with regard to the issue of association. Although various organisations such as SEWA, StreetNet or WIEGO are present, this is at local level, and hence their effect has not been felt. Another element that has emerged is that street vendors are harassed and do not enjoy any benefits, even in areas where it is legal to engage in street trading. One contributing factor to this could be that the management of the sector is not properly institutionalised. The study argues that where proper institutional mechanisms are put in place, and roles clearly defined, the sector is better managed and supported. Singapore, for example, established a hawker's department to deal with issues of licensing, support, monitoring and personal hygiene. This approach enabled Singapore to manage the sector better. Analysis of the policies of various municipalities in South Africa indicated a shift in this regard. The municipalities analysed acknowledge the fact that management of the sector requires a multidisciplinary approach, and have attempted to clearly define the institutional model for managing the sector. The question, however, would be if the state of street vending in some of the cities continues as it is, whether the lack of effectiveness of the policies is due to lack of resources and capacity to implement such policies or whether the policies are not appropriate for the environments which exist. The conclusion arrived at indicates without any doubt that the informal economy is here to stay, and is a critical component of the economy. It is therefore important that like the formal economy that is regulated and protected, the informal economy, is managed in a way that can make it one of the levers to address poverty, unemployment and inequality. The study also concluded that the formal economy remains the backbone of the economy. As a result, the informal economy should not be regarded as a solution to the problems in the formal economy. Instead, the informal sector is complementary and supplementary to the formal economy. As a result, it is prudent to have proper polices and strategies that put the informal economy at the centre and not at the periphery of economic development. Indeed, such policies and strategies should not affect the formal economy negatively. The recommendations provided in the study indicate that when developing a policy for managing street trading, such a policy should be developed taking into account the various policy-making stages. The municipality should also conduct a thorough environmental analysis in order to determine the external and internal factors that will affect the policy in order to develop an implementable and effective policy. The study concludes that issues such as infrastructure provision, safety, organisation, proper institutional model and capacity-building are critical intervention mechanisms that can enable the municipality to manage street vending effectively. Once these issues are addressed, the municipality will be able to manage street trading effectively. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

Theses (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / The purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of senior managers on the upper limits policy for the remuneration of senior managers at Polokwane Municipality. In 2014 the Minister responsible for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in South Africa published a notice on the implementation of upper limits for the remuneration of senior managers across all municipalities in South Africa. The notice signified a new paradigm in the local government remuneration practice in the local government sphere. Local government remuneration in South Africa was characterised by lack of uniformity and negative public perceptions on the huge salaries that senior managers in local government earned. There are substantial variations in municipal salary structures and benefits, municipal managers’ salaries vary between R155 424 and R1, 3 million per year (National Treasury Local Government Budgets and Expenditure Review, 2001/02 – 2007/08). The South African media published stories articles on senior local government managers who earns more than the president of the republic. The public scrutiny on the remuneration in local government was compared to the standard of service delivery in their areas, and often there was no relationship between the remuneration of the senior managers and the performance of their municipalities. The implementation of the upper limits policy in 2014 meant that for the first time in the democratic South Africa, the remuneration of senior managers in local government was regulated. This meant a shift from a practice of senior manager’s negotiated remuneration to nationally regulated remuneration. The implementation of the Upper Limits policy had the potential of de-stabilising the local government sector in terms of senior manager’s recruitment, retention and availability of skills due to the low remuneration that the policy has introduced. v The research was conducted at Polokwane Municipality and the study sampled all senior managers of Polokwane Municipality. The researcher opted for a qualitative research approach and utilised semi-structured interview schedule to gather data. The research findings indicate that all senior managers (7) of Polokwane Municipality perceived the upper limits policy negatively and they were not in support of its implementation. The research indicated that the reasons for the negative perception was that the Upper Limits Policy was not properly introduced at Polokwane Municipality. The researcher recommends that Polokwane Municipality needs to formally introduce the Upper Limits Policy to senior managers. This needs to be done through conducting workshops on the policy.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Geographic Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The study focuses on Extension 44 in the Polokwane, an exclusively Black urban Township defined as a liveable geographical space consisting of both activity and awareness space (perpetual) space. Central to this research is its origins and existence as part of the urban racial spatial organization of Polokwane Municipality, viewed in terms of the Colonial, Apartheid and the traditional theoretical models depicting the internal structure of urban centres, including how it fits into the post-Apartheid urban planning policies, the provision of housing (types and quality), including the availability of physical and social infrastructure, how the residents perceive and evaluate these in relation to the residents’ quality of life in that area. The questions raised are (i) when and why was Extension 44 in the Polokwane municipality established? (ii) Who provides what type and quality of housing in the township? (iii) And lastly what perceptions do the residents have regarding housing and living conditions in Extension 44? Therefore, the study draws its significance as falling under both Settlement (Urban) and Behavioural geography. The former deals with origins and the nature of habitable space (settlements) while the latter is concerned, among others, with how people perceive their habitat.

Thesis (M. Sc. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / South Africa is characterised by low production which can be attributed to a lack of diversification and flexibility in agricultural production. There has been an explosive change in consumer-food relationships due to increased knowledge in the food industry. It is no longer just about supplying what you have, but about what you are selling as a producer that can meet the required need of consumers. Producers’ primary objective in the food industry is to provide the product that consumers need. Rabbit meat is recognised in rural areas, however, most rural smallholder farmers do not take initiative in rabbit production. Madiga Village is one such area where rabbit production is not practised. Farmers at Madiga Village are focusing on livestock such as cattle, goat, sheep and pork; and none of them are focusing on rabbit production. This study’s main purpose was to understand consumers perception of and willingness to pay for rabbit meat and analysing this perception and willingness in relation to their socio-economic characteristics. Moreover, since rabbit meat competes with other types of meat, it was imperative for the scope of this study to compare rabbit meat with other types of meat. As such, rabbit meat was compared with chicken, beef, pork and mutton. Information for this study on the perception of and willingness to pay was collected using a structured questionnaire that was administered through face-to-face interviews. The data that was collected was entered into a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and SPSS for analysis. This study used a sample size of 120 respondents at Madiga Village that were randomly selected. Analytical techniques used to analyse the data were Descriptive Statistics, Binomial Logit Model, Likert Scale and Chi-square Analysis. Firstly, the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents were identified and described. From the 120 households sampled and interviewd at Madiga Village, the results revealed that 57% of the respondents were males as compared to 43% of females. The majority, constituting 58% of the respondents were unemployed, whereas 28% of the respondents in this study were full-time employed with only 14% being self-employed. The household size of the respondents was found to be on an average of 5 with a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 13 members. From the Likert scale results using ten items, it was found that rabbit meat was perceived to be the easiest to cook and prepare relative to all the meat types it was compared with. Furthermore, it was perceived to be more nutritious, healthy and cheaper. However, it was found that respondents perceived it as being the difficult meat to find. Rabbit meat was also perceived as tasty compared to pork, chicken, beef and sheep (mutton) meats. To understand socio-economic characteristics affecting perception and willingness to pay, the Binomial Logit Model and Chi-square Analysis were used, respectively. The Binomial Logit results indicated that males were more likely to pay for rabbit meat if it was sold on a farm. Moreover, The results indicated that as household size increases by one, respondents would be more likely to pay for rabbit meat. Furthermore, respondents who perceived rabbit meat as better than pork and sheep meats were likely to pay for rabbit meat. Therefore, the null hypotheses were rejected as there are socio-economic characteristics and consumer perceptions that affect their willingness to pay. Rabbit farming is promising at Madiga village and farmers who would like to take an initiative in rabbit farming are encouraged to do so. The potential of this enterprise suits it to be incorporated into the livestock governmental financial budget as a new business initiatives.

The study investigated the role of churches in HIV prevention among young adults in the Polokwane Municipality of the Limpopo Province. Qualitative research method was followed. Data was obtained and tape-recorded during the in-depth face-to-face interviews. Fourteen churches are affiliated with the Limpopo South African Council of Churches, seven of which run HIV/AIDS programmes and services. They were the target of this study, which investigated how churches could give more support to people infected with HIV. Results show that churches are determined to assist in the prevention of HIV. They have already contributed to supporting those with HIV and those affected by HIV and AIDS. The findings / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

The study investigated the role of churches in HIV prevention among young adults in the Polokwane Municipality of the Limpopo Province. Qualitative research method was followed. Data was obtained and tape-recorded during the in-depth face-to-face interviews. Fourteen churches are affiliated with the Limpopo South African Council of Churches, seven of which run HIV/AIDS programmes and services. They were the target of this study, which investigated how churches could give more support to people infected with HIV. Results show that churches are determined to assist in the prevention of HIV. They have already contributed to supporting those with HIV and those affected by HIV and AIDS. The findings / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)