Thesis (M.Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2013. / The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions on the causes of poverty amongst the people at Mavambe village. The need for this study was relevant and necessary because most studies conducted on poverty were done on a general scale without taking into account the views of the rural people, such as traditional, community leaders and also local women. Consideration towards the rural areas is very minimal when it comes to fighting poverty. According to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, (1996), everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing, and the right to access health care services, including productive health care, sufficient food and water, social security. South Africa has had almost eighteen years of democracy; however most of those constitutional rights have not been adequately attained. Yet the Constitution suggests that those rights are guaranteed and that the state must take reasonable steps, to achieve the progressive realization of those rights. The study was qualitative in design. Purposive sampling was used to select the respondents in line with qualitative studies. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with respondents The lack of houses, clean drinking water, adequate sanitation, and poor roads, in rural areas are major signs of poverty in rural areas. Because of lack of jobs and resources, majority people are in abject poverty. The study evaluated the scope and extent of poverty in the Mavambe village. The study further evaluated the perceptions of local, traditional and community leaders with regard to causes of poverty in the area. The study also solicited local people‟s perceptions and descriptions of poverty. The study highlights the multidimensionality of poverty. The study made the following key findings, there is lack of agricultural land and capital, the study recommends that every household should have little piece of land to grow crops and other productive uses and that those who want to do commercial farming should be assisted with capital. Another key finding is on income and social grant, the study recommends that the elderly and mothers who are not of school going age should be given social grant not school kids. The study also revealed that poor education system is a major cause of poverty and recommends that government must provide quality education, health, housing and sanitation. The study also revealed that there is lack of entrepreneurial development and thus recommends that entrepreneurial culture be natured as a viable option to deal with 6 issues of unemployment. The study also revealed that there is no infrastructure development in the rural areas and recommends that this should be given priority to change the economic set up of these areas. The study revealed that there is lack of values, respect and moral decay and recommends that families should cultivate and teach values to their children. The study concluded by providing recommendations on how poverty could be solved. These recommendations could also be of assistance for future policy development with regard to combating poverty.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions on the causes of poverty amongst the people at Mavambe village. The need for this study was relevant and necessary because most studies conducted on poverty were done on a general scale without taking into account the views of the rural people, such as traditional, community leaders and also local women. Consideration towards the rural areas is very minimal when it comes to fighting poverty. According to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, (1996), everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing, and the right to access health care services, including productive health care, sufficient food and water, social security. South Africa has had almost eighteen years of democracy; however most of those constitutional rights have not been adequately attained. Yet the Constitution suggests that those rights are guaranteed and that the state must take reasonable steps, to achieve the progressive realization of those rights. The study was qualitative in design. Purposive sampling was used to select the respondents in line with qualitative studies. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with respondents The lack of houses, clean drinking water, adequate sanitation, and poor roads, in rural areas are major signs of poverty in rural areas. Because of lack of jobs and resources, majority people are in abject poverty. The study evaluated the scope and extent of poverty in the Mavambe village. The study further evaluated the perceptions of local, traditional and community leaders with regard to causes of poverty in the area. The study also solicited local people‟s perceptions and descriptions of poverty. The study highlights the multidimensionality of poverty. The study made the following key findings, there is lack of agricultural land and capital, the study recommends that every household should have little piece of land to grow crops and other productive uses and that those who want to do commercial farming should be assisted with capital. Another key finding is on income and social grant, the study recommends that the elderly and mothers who are not of school going age should be given social grant not school kids. The study also revealed that poor education system is a major cause of poverty and recommends that government must provide quality education, health, housing and sanitation. The study also revealed that there is lack of entrepreneurial development and thus recommends that entrepreneurial culture be natured as a viable option to deal with 6 issues of unemployment. The study also revealed that there is no infrastructure development in the rural areas and recommends that this should be given priority to change the economic set up of these areas. The study revealed that there is lack of values, respect and moral decay and recommends that families should cultivate and teach values to their children. The study concluded by providing recommendations on how poverty could be solved. These recommendations could also be of assistance for future policy development with regard to combating poverty

This thesis offers an overview of the functions served by various mobilisations of "poverty‟ and "the poor‟ across the histories of capitalism. It shows how "poverty‟ and "the poor‟ come to be shaped as governmental categories in the interests first of encouraging the acceptance of wage labour in industrial society, and then in encouraging the acceptance of a logic of individual responsibility and entrepreneurship as wage labour declines in post-industrial society. It also examines the deployment of discourses of poverty within social movements, showing the close relationship between the elaboration of governmental discourses and resistance in the contested process of the "making‟ of "the poor‟. In particular, it explores the increased mobilisation of discourses of poverty in post-apartheid South Africa, where, it is shown, "poverty‟ and "the poor‟ are shaped as governmental categories that aim to fashion particular forms of life for that population group identified and targeted as the poor, and become ways for poor people to make demands of the state in the context of the adoption of neoliberal policies, such as cost recovery, privatisation, and the flexibilisation of labour. Through a close exploration of state policy formulation and community struggles in the sphere of the delivery of basic services, this thesis presents the contested field of signification and production that emerges around the meeting of the basic needs of the poor in the City of Johannesburg and Orange Farm (a particularly disadvantaged part of the city) as a case through which to think through contemporary mobilisations of "poverty‟ and "the poor‟ in relation to processes of subjectivation and the possibilities for the production of subjectivities antagonistic to the logic of capital. Focusing on the City's most recent return to indigent management as a strategy to contain and address the needs of the poor, in the context of organised resistance on the part of poor communities, this thesis offers an experience of a process of neoliberalisation as a contested process, in which attempts to shape and deploy "the poor‟ and "poverty‟ as governmental categories come up against mobilisations of "the poor‟ in challenge of the dominant logic of commodification, the market, and "individual responsibility‟. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban, 2010.

The study was intended to assess the impact of social grants on beneficiaries with specific focus on Buffalo Municipality. The challenge of social injustice and inequality in the management and distribution of resources is challenge of any responsive government globally in providing social securities in different forms to secure the vulnerable and under privileged within the society. The South African government has introduced a comprehensive liberally inclusive social welfare scheme to address social injustice and economic inequality of excluded in the former apartheid government, which characterises the historic past of racial exclusive government of the majority black and the coloured. In other to assess the impact of grants in addressing inequality and social exclusiveness, the research was conducted using Desk Top Analytical approach and also explored ANOVA Two-ways and One-way, to test the degree of association and standard deviation to establish the contrast of effects based on spatial difference and social development of the urban, semi-urban and rural settlements which beneficiaries are living. Also, to establish whether or not the policy is achieving social cohesion, human development and transformation, which should be taken, place within the concept of social welfare. The theoretical frame work adopted is a multi-theoretical approach in dealing with the complexity around social welfare. The research is specifically looking for a theory of change in social grants administration in other to understand the impact and extent of the intervention in bringing about desired and motivated change as the scheme main priority of developmental social welfare in South Africa. Pearson correlation, Chi-square correlation and Tukey”s Post hoc Test are some of the instrument used in assessing the impact of grants on beneficiaries. The outcome of the study showed a highly significance p-value =.019, p<0.05 in spatial variance between Urban and Rural and the in between variance of .025, p<0.05 for Rural –Urban- Semi-urban (Fig.23 and Tab 8a). The study also, revealed an association between Child dependency and Sexual crime to be .009, p<0.01 (Fig 24 and Tab 6), Public violence in Rural area shows Post Hoc Test result of Mean= 2.6, SD= 2.07 for rural, Mean=1.40 SD= 1.52, for urban and a Mean=0.3, SD=0.54 for semi-urban in a descending order as it relate to social crime statistics (Fig.20). This implies that there are more frequent public violence in rural areas than that of the urban and semi-urban. The overall result shows a very strong correlation among all the variables of grants beneficiaries to be statistically relevant. This implies that the social grants intervention scheme is achieving its desired goals but in an unevenly form in term of spatial distribution and impact due to various factors that interdependent with each other.

The study was intended to assess the impact of social grants on beneficiaries with specific focus on Buffalo Municipality. The challenge of social injustice and inequality in the management and distribution of resources is challenge of any responsive government globally in providing social securities in different forms to secure the vulnerable and under privileged within the society. The South African government has introduced a comprehensive liberally inclusive social welfare scheme to address social injustice and economic inequality of excluded in the former apartheid government, which characterises the historic past of racial exclusive government of the majority black and the coloured. In other to assess the impact of grants in addressing inequality and social exclusiveness, the research was conducted using Desk Top Analytical approach and also explored ANOVA Two-ways and One-way, to test the degree of association and standard deviation to establish the contrast of effects based on spatial difference and social development of the urban, semi-urban and rural settlements which beneficiaries are living. Also, to establish whether or not the policy is achieving social cohesion, human development and transformation, which should be taken, place within the concept of social welfare. The theoretical frame work adopted is a multi-theoretical approach in dealing with the complexity around social welfare. The research is specifically looking for a theory of change in social grants administration in other to understand the impact and extent of the intervention in bringing about desired and motivated change as the scheme main priority of developmental social welfare in South Africa. Pearson correlation, Chi-square correlation and Tukey”s Post hoc Test are some of the instrument used in assessing the impact of grants on beneficiaries. The outcome of the study showed a highly significance p-value =.019, p<0.05 in spatial variance between Urban and Rural and the in between variance of .025, p<0.05 for Rural –Urban- Semi-urban (Fig.23 and Tab 8a). The study also, revealed an association between Child dependency and Sexual crime to be .009, p<0.01 (Fig 24 and Tab 6), Public violence in Rural area shows Post Hoc Test result of Mean= 2.6, SD= 2.07 for rural, Mean=1.40 SD= 1.52, for urban and a Mean=0.3, SD=0.54 for semi-urban in a descending order as it relate to social crime statistics (Fig.20). This implies that there are more frequent public violence in rural areas than that of the urban and semi-urban. The overall result shows a very strong correlation among all the variables of grants beneficiaries to be statistically relevant. This implies that the social grants intervention.

The first instance of the poor white problem being dramatically brought to the attention of white South Africa was in 1893 when Rev. Andrew Murray issued an open letter on the subject which resulted in the convening of the first of many Dutch Reformed Church conferences on the problem (Introduction, p. 1).

This study focuses on the issue of credit accessibility for the rural poor. Taking cognisance of the critical role played by innovative micro-lending mechanisms in the sphere of rural development, the study reaffirms the need to enhance access to financial services by rural communities. However, it also reveals the fact that there are numerous impediments to access to credit for the people living in parts of the Keiskammahoek District of the former Ciskei. Key among the impediments has been lack of awareness about the existence and the activities of micro-lending institutions. This has, in a large measure been blamed for many of the rural poor people's failure to approach such institutions for funding. As a result, the affected people's efforts to fully actualize themselves economically have to a certain extent been hampered. Consequently, as its core argument, this study views as crucial the need to tackle all the attendant impediments. It also suggests that as the first step, the government, NGOs as well as formal and informal lending institutions should endeavour to disseminate the requisite information on micro-financing and in enhancing the affected people's institutional capacity to effectively use credit obtained for commercially productive ventures. Without sorting out the basics first, credit extension even when easily availed may not have the desired impact. At worst, it may actually complicate the poverty situation as the people grapple with piling debts.

Aim of this study. The problem of poverty, especially in rural S.A ., formed the basis for the questions and hypotheses posed in this study. Poverty stricken communities, with the accompanying suffering, the immobilizing effect of poverty and the present climate of urgent changes in S.A., were also apparent in Wartburg (study area). The problem was to initiate development in such a way that the chances of failure and therefore the wasting of already scarce resources is minimized. The manner in which development is initiated and what are viewed as desirable elements of development should culminate into achieving self-sustaining development in the long term. It became clear therefore that a complete data base needs to be established in order to initiate such a development process. In this study the aim was to investigate the role which research plays in the process of development. Method. This study can be divided into two sections, viz an investigation into the theoretical basis for achieving a self-sustaining process of development and how research should be done within such a process. Secondly, the practical application of such a theoretical basis was tested and forms the empirical section of this study. The first section was completed by undertaking a literature study. The conditions set for the development process guided the researcher increasingly to a holistic perspective, Community Development and the state of the art of Social Work Practice. The second part of this study was done through empirical research. The questionnaire method was utilized where structured interviews were conducted by properly trained field workers who were of similar cultural background as the community involved in the survey. The data was processed by using the B.M.D.P. programme and recorded in section B of this report. From section A and B of this report conclusions were drawn regarding the development process, the role research has in this process and the task of the Social Work Profession in this regard. Findings. From the theory it seemed that the state of the art regarding social Work Practice upholds a holistic perspective and views community practice and development as an important function within this perspective. It seems that a unitary approach to Social Work is increasingly becoming a reality in the pursuit of a holistic perspective as well as by stressing the importance of community practice. The integrated approach to Social Work Practice seems to collaborate with these views. The role of research is equally important to social Work Practice as it is to Community Development and should be viewed as an integral part of the Social Work Process/Practice. The empirical section of this study is a clear example of what can be achieved by a properly planned and executed research project which forms an integral part of a development process. Together with the community valuable data were drawn from the data base. These conclusions were directly employed to identify priorities and in planning specific projects. Conclusions. This study concludes, firstly, that Social Work Practice has an obvious task in the field of community development. This profession can contribute to a large extent toward making development more human and to acknowledge the importance of both man and his environment when considering development. The study also showed that research is an integral part of a development process, especially where the aim is that of a perpetuating, self-sustaining development process. In short, it seems that the Socio-economic research meets the requirements set by the aforementioned development process, but that refining seems necessary in order to make it more effective and useful as an instrument for initiating such a process of development as discussed in the above paragraphs.

Some rural communities in South Africa suffer from the results of inequity and disempowerment. It is especially black females who are affected in this regard. A number of factors contribute to the oppression of female voices in their rural communities. In this study the voice is considered the right and freedom of speech for women to express their opinions in order to influence others. Both the national government and civil society fervently push for the placement of women and children empowerment onto the development agenda. Yet, one still notes with concern that in reality, it seems to be mostly men who fully enjoy freedom of speech, senior employment and decision making powers in South Africa. Thus, it remains evident that not enough has been done to redress gender inequities,especially in South African rural communities. Focussing on one rural community situated in the outskirts of the Eastern Cape (former Transkei), this research undertook to determine the various ways in which rural women may have their voice heard in their immediate communities, particularly pertaining to personal development issues. Community members, who were identified through a purposive sampling method, shared their perceptions on the research topic.Through the research, it has become clear that in order to overcome female silence, the communal role of women needs to be broadened beyond the scope of traditionally gendered activities such as the carrying out of house work/chores such as cooking or childrearing. Furthermore, women must be knowledgeable about their basic human rights and responsibilities; their education in this regard should be made a national priority. It has also become evident that in order to overcome female voices remaining silent, women should begin to take greater personal responsibility over their reproductive health.Practical recommendations to ddress each framed theme have been presented.

Climate change has become a major concern globally and it clearly exerts a profound influence on the lives of poor rural populations who depend on agriculture for livelihoods.Generally, agriculture is more at risk from weather, pests and diseases than is industry or trade. Furthermore, many farming units are at low levels of development with little technological input in their production systems. This makes them vulnerable to any exposure to climate and environmental variation, given that there is little capacity for the system to adjust to change. Most at risk are the rural poor with low levels of development and limited ability to adapt to and overcome the effects of climate change. Using data from a sample survey of 120 households this study attempts to assess and compare indicators of vulnerability to climate change. The comparison was made at household level between three typical villages, an inland, a river catchment and a coastal village. This idea of comparison arises from the general understanding that different variables affect different regions differently so that the impact of and vulnerability to climate change differs across regions, areas and populations. The data was obtained using a questionnaire that was administered through face-to-face interviews. Given that sensitivity and adaptive capacity of farming systems to climate change is shaped by both socioeconomic and institutional factors, a multiple regression model was used to test the relationship between indicators of vulnerability and household socioeconomic and institutional characteristics. Indicators were selected based on significant statistical relationships. This means that the statistical procedure for selecting indicators involved relating a large number of variables to vulnerability in order to identify statistically significant factors. The results showed reliability of income and reliability of water resources to be good indicators of vulnerability. Many statistically significant variables as well as respective R2 of 0.988 and 0.825 confirm the foregoing. Another indicator was the Simpson index that measures diversification of agricultural production. The results show that vulnerability to climate change was highest for the households near the river and lowest for the inland village. Moreover, the results confirmed that most blacks that are practicing agriculture receive little if any support largely because available resources are highly skewed towards certain farmers rather than others.