Thesis (Ph.D. (Administration)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / The thesis of this study is that food production systems for self-provisioning have historically constituted the backbone for survival and life-support in rural South Africa. Colonialism and apartheid capitalism bore harsh effects on the food production life support systems. However, these effects pale into insignificance compared to the present devastation of the food production systems associated with climate change. The contribution of rural South Africa towards climate change is at all scale negligible because poor people hold limited capacity to produce the deleterious gas emissions that allegedly causes global warming. However, the poor are disproportionately exposed to the adversarial effects of climate change and their food production systems have demonstrated beyond doubt that they cannot cope with stressors occasioned by climate change. Government policy and measures continue to be inadequate and inaccessible for rural households that produce for self-provisioning. The thesis further demonstrate that scientifically–based intervention measures adopted among rural poor in developing countries are viewed as alien and therefore not wholeheartedly adhered to by the users. The thesis points to this discrepancy to illustrate that the value systems among the rural population in South Africa describe changes in their food production in terms of climatic conditions that are, according to their belief systems, avoidable consequences of people’s conduct of life outside tradition, religion and so on. It engages a nascent argument relating to the failure of private and public scientifically-generated intervention measures within developing countries’ rurality, which is ironically exacerbated by the apparent inappropriateness and, often, destructiveness vi of the Green Revolution Technologies. As such interventions fail, the thesis points, they create skeletons of evidence, that appear to corroborate the traditionalist belief systems about the locus of causes of change in climatic conditions being extra-terrestrial as a consequence of people’s misconduct of life. The study investigates the effects of climate change on household food production systems in rural Makhado Local Municipality. 30 villages are used for this study in both households questionnaire survey, interview of the key informants and observation of different patterns of production process, geo-spatial features and current settlements patterns. The data analysis results reflect that different households within the municipality experiences variety of effects of climate change. Furthermore, the climatic conditions which consisted of enough reliable precipitation during food production stages have declined; rather in the post-1990 period, the area have been experiencing continuous heatwaves and drought which destroyed household’s crops and livestock. Using the normative and historical research designs the study found that the situation within villages has changed drastically because of climate change when comparing the conditions preand post-1990. The deliberate adoption of the historical design was crucial given that the thesis mission was to highlight the discrepancies in the so-called modern systems versus the traditionalist philosophies that continue to dominate the thinking and action rural populations in most developing countries. Equally, the historical design provides unquestionable possibility of applying appropriate research techniques to contextualize the research problem under investigation. Indeed, this manoeuvre has always been an important part and parcel of the research design and methodology because the thesis vii had to adopt a longitudinal research orientation through an appropriately designed data collection tool, specifically the questionnaire and interview schedule. From a philosophical perspective, the thesis demystifies the thinking that the so-called scientifically-generated interventions against climate change could resolve the attendant challenges, inclusive of food production. That is, it insinuates that appropriate research is needed for developing countries rurality in order to find intervention measures that are a product of the evolution of traditionalist value systems. Tacitly, the thesis challenges the statist and private sector habits of always parachuting the so-called scientifically generated solutions to climate change. / University of Limpopo Research Administration Department.

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Mzansi rekening, as Eerste Orde Nasionale rekening, is gesamentlik deur die “Groot 4” banke geloods, spesifiek met die oog daarop om toegang tot groter finansiële dienste te bewerkstellig in lyn met die Finansiële Dienste Handves. Hierdie navorsingsverslag ondersoek die sukses van die Mzansi rekening in terme van die verbetering van toegang tot finansiële dienste en die verwesinliking van Prahalad se visie van die Fortuin aan die onderkant van die piramide of die sogenaamde Base of the Pyramid (BoP). Die studie is gedoen deur onderhoude te voer met industrie-kenners wat nou betrokke was met die loods van die Mzansi rekening, asook deur ’n oorsig te doen van ’n verslag van die onlangse kommisie van ondersoek oor kompetisie in die bankwese in Suid Afrika. Die Mzansi rekening is inderdaad suksesvol daarin om toegang tot finansiële dienste vir alle Suid Afrikaners beskikbaar te maak, maar dit is steeds nie winsgewend vir die banke nie. Die Mzansi rekening is dus nie in lyn met Prahalad se visie van die BoP nie. Die winsgewendheid van die rekening in die toekoms hang af van die graad van aanvaarding van armes van meer doeltreffende elektroniese transaksies. Tot op datum wil dit voorkom asof Prahalad se gevoel dat die armes gevorderde tegnologie maklik aanvaar nie in die bank sektor in Suid Afrika geld nie. ’n Toenemende fokus op gebruik eerder as toegang en ’n beter belyning met Prahalad se twaalf beginsels van innovasie by die BoP mag egter wel beter wins vir die banke inhou. Selfs al sou winste nie materialiseer nie, is dit steeds voordelig vir banke wat bereid is om te eksperimenteer en te leer van die Mzansi ervaring. Die Mzansi rekening mag dalk die katalis wees vir nuwe en verbeterde produkte wat suksesvol sal wees in die BOP mark. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Mzansi account, as a First Order National Bank Account, was jointly launched by the Big 4 Banks (ABSA, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank) specifically to increase access to financial services in line with the requirements of the Financial Sector Charter (FSC). This study explores the success of the Mzansi account with regard to improving access to financial services and achieving Prahalad’s vision of a Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP). The study was conducted by interviewing industry experts who were intimately involved in the launch of the Mzansi account and reviewing the transcripts of the recent commission of enquiry into the competition of banking in South Africa. The Mzansi account has been successful in increasing financial access for all South Africans but has not proved to be profitable for the banks. The Mzansi bank account therefore does not support Prahalad’s vision that there is a fortune at the base of the pyramid. The future profitability of the account is dependent on the acceptance of the poor of more efficient electronic transacting. To date it would seem that Prahalad’s notion that the poor accept advanced technology readily does not apply within the banking sector of South Africa. An increased focus on usage as apposed to access and a better alignment to Prahalad’s twelve principles of innovation at the BoP may well bring increased profits for the banks. Even if profits don’t materialise, for those banks willing to experiment and learn from the Mzansi experience. The Mzansi account may well be a catalyst for new and/or improved products that will be successful in the BoP market.

Various studies have found that South Africa’s high unemployment rate contributes to poverty, inequality, crime and ill-health. Furthermore, South African low to middle-income households are characterised by a high debt to income ratio which contributes to low or negative savings rates. This has left many households vulnerable to financials risk and shocks. This research examined how households with low-income or no income manage to cope on a daily basis. The research adopted an auto ethnography method. During the initial phase of the fieldwork the researcher observed participants over a period of more than a year in the provinces of Limpopo and Gauteng, this was followed by in-depth interviews with households selected using purposive and snowballing sampling. The results revealed that the most common coping strategies used by participants’ to deal with financial risks and shocks are borrowing from peers (family, friends and neighbours) and high-risk lenders i.e. mashonisas and accessing social support networks. Other strategies employed included pawning and selling of assets as well as employers’ loans. It was interesting to note that unlike studies in other countries, skipping meals were not a common coping strategy, and this could mainly be ascribed to the social support networks (Ubuntu) that were found in the communities studied. Future research is recommended on the impact of family financial obligations on households’ financial well-being. / Taxation / M. Phil. (Accounting Sciences)

No abstract available / Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Systematic Theology)

Learners in disadvantaged environments are less likely to do well at school. Yet some of the most successful schools operate in such environments. The purpose of this study was to establish the relative influence of various determinants of school success in disadvantaged environments. To this end literature study was done in two phases. The first resulted in a taxonomy of success factors, which was then used to guide the second in-depth phase. Thereafter an empirical study was done, involving qualitative field work at four successful schools in disadvantaged environments. Empirically it was discovered that there is no single most important success factor because all success factors are interrelated and interdependent. The over-arching success factor discovered in this study which was involvement of all stakeholders. / Education / M.Ed.

Introduction: Land reform is one of the consistently debated, complex and contested subjects in the South African development discourse. Many impoverished communities have been dispossessed of their land during the colonial past. Indicators, measures and evidence of success in land reform are scant, anecdotal and poorly documented. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine whether land reform in South Africa can indeed yield positive development outcomes. In the absence of clear indicators to measure successful land reform, the researcher uses case study methodology to evaluate the impact of land reform on a particular community, the Barolong-Balemirui Project in the North West Province. Methodology: Generic Qualitative methods are used to collect and analyse data collected from (n=45) participants. Within this, multiple data collection approaches that include document analysis, informal discussions and unstructured interviews were utilised to gain insights into the role played by South African land reform across a range of developmental outcome areas. Findings: The study found that land reform could indeed, produce positive development among the impoverished communities in South Africa. This empirical exploration also highlights that the success of land reform programmes and projects depends on many interlinked variables which include enabling policies; the availability of support from development institutions; the private sector and the state, the commitment of the beneficiaries in utilising the land for development purposes as well as the appropriateness of the identified development objectives. The development inputs and outputs of a successful land reform project are therefore multifaceted and complex. Conclusion: This study emphasises the importance of the participation of beneficiaries in the evaluation of land reform projects to determine real and lasting developmental impact. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Within the academic fraternity poverty has traditionally been treated and analysed as a sociological concept. When poverty reaches critical proportions, its consequences may, however, spill directly into the political sphere. The author contends that poverty has become one of the major determinants of political debate in South Africa. The NP government (which changed its name to NNP in 1998), which ruled South Africa from 1948-1994 instituted apartheid, a policy, which gave priority to the interests of whites to the detriment of blacks, coloureds and Indians. This resulted in an unequal distribution of resources, and consequently also unequal social development of South Africa's different population groups. As a result poverty is concentrated in the non-whites groups, with blacks as a group being the worst affected. The aim of this assignment is to investigate the difference in attitudes between supporters of the ANC and NP towards poverty and the poor in South Africa. In this assignment the author proposes that ANC supporters have a better understanding of the nature of poverty and more experience of poverty than NP supporters. She bases her contention on the fact that the overwhelming majority of the ANC's supporters come from the previously disadvantaged groups. The finding of this study is that political party support is one of the major determinants of perceptions that South Africans hold towards the poor. ANC supporters seem optimistic about the future prospects of the poor, while NP supporters seem to be more pessimistic. It must, however, be noted that in many instances there seem to be a general trend that population groups in both parties have the same response pattern (e.g. blacks will show the highest percentage in a response to a question, followed by coloureds, Indians and then whites or vice versa). / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hoewel akademici armoede hoofsaaklik as sosiologiese konsep beskou, kan ekstreme en wydverspreide gevalle van hierdie kondisie direkte implikasies vir die dag tot dag politiek van 'n staat inhou. Die skrywer voer aan dat dit toenemed die geval binne die Suid-Afrikaanse politieke konteks is. Inderdaad het dit een van dié vernaamste dryfvere van openbare beleid geword. Apartheid was die breinkind van die NP (sedert 1998 die NNP) wat Suid-Afrika van 1948 tot 1994 regeer het. Die toepassing van dié stelsel het bygedra tot die sistematiese ontneming van die mees basiese regte van swart, bruin and Indiër Suid- Afrikaners tot voordeel van hul wit landgenote. 'n Byproduk van hierdie beleid, was die oneweredige verspreiding van hulpbronne wat oor 'n tydperk van byna vier dekades bygedra het tot 'n grootskaalse ekonomiese ontmagtiging van die bogenoemde groepe. Gevolglik is armoede vandag nog gekonsentreer binne die bruin, Indiër, maar veral, die swart bevolkingsgroepe. Die sentrale oogmerk van hierdie opdrag is om vas te stelof daar wesenlike opinieverskille tussen ANC en NP ondersteuners oor die kwessie van armoede bestaan. Die skrywer voer aan dat dit wel die geval is. Sy substansieër haar stelling deur te verwys na die feit dat ten tye van die relevante meningsopname die ANC se ondersteunerskorps hoofsaaklike uit swart Suid-Afrikaners bestaan het, terwyl dié van die NP hoofsaaklik uit wit, bruin en Indiër ondersteuners bestaan het. Haar bevindings bevestig dat party affiliase een van die primerê determinante van Suid-Afrikaners se houding teenoor armoede is. ANC ondersteuners blyk meer optimisties te wees oor die vooruitsigte van die armes as NP ondersteuners. Dit moet egter genoem word dat In vergelyking tussen die responspatrone van spesifieke bevolkingsgroepe 'n soortgelyke tendens binne die twee partye uitlig. In die meeste gevalle sal die persentasies vir of teen 'n stelling in dieselfe volgorde (swart, bruin, Indiër en wit) of omgekeer voorkom.

Thesis (D. Phil.)--University of Stellenbosch, 1936. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: no abstract available / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: geen opsomming beskikbaar nie

Thesis (MPA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The need for sustainable human settlements, particularly for the poor, is crucial in South Africa (SA). This is because of the apartheid spatial constructs that segregated the black population groups from white minority and denied them equal access to economic opportunities, housing, as well as basic and social services (Smeddle-Thompson, 2012). Many South Africans remain without basic services in the many informal settlements. Even those who have jobs and a consistent salary find it difficult to sustain a decent quality of life, as they fall outside of the subsidy bracket but at the same time are unable to afford and access the mortgage products available from commercial banks (Department of Human Settlement, 2009). Consequently, the South African government is faced with the task of developing sustainable human settlements and improving quality of household life. For this reason, many initiatives such as legislative frameworks, policies and programmes to drive housing delivery have been established since 1994 and millions of rands have been used to implement such initiatives. However, housing delivery remains a challenge. Thus, the researcher sought to investigate the viability of rural housing finance in creating sustainable human settlement in rural areas, with special focus on Moletlane Village as a case study. Like many rural areas in SA, Moletlane village is still faced with a challenge of housing delivery. This study was conducted within the interpretive qualitative paradigm. Techniques to collect data focused on questionnaires and interviews for validity purposes and to counter subjectivity. For the survey, 100 participants were purposefully selected based on their knowledge and their expertise in rural housing finance. The survey was followed by in-depth interviews with key personnel of Moletlane Village and a few ordinary community members to verify and complete some answers. The researcher used data collected to draw findings and made recommendations. The foremost findings revealed that rural housing finance plays a major role in rural development as it provides people with the opportunity of improving their houses and rescues them from living in substandard conditions. The overall sentiments from the respondents are that rural housing finance has led to an increase in the economic activity and job creation which is a solid foundation for the creation of sustainable human settlements. This study has established a link between rural housing finance and rural development. It is clear from the findings that participants believe in rural housing finance and value it. They see it as a good strategy to liberate their lives and of realising sustainable human settlement. However, they all acknowledged that institutions that provide housing finance are not doing much to assist rural households and that there is a gap in as far as rural housing finance is concerned. Almost all of them indicated their wish to see rural housing finance across the country. Moreover, they are of the opinion that a paradigm shift is required to tackle the rural housing finance shortfall. Hence, the study present to policy makers and government a set of recommendations discussed in full in chapter 6. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Volhoubare menslike nedersettings veral vir die armes, is van deurslaggewende belang in Suid-Afrika. Dit is as gevolg die ruimtelike afbakenings van apartheid dat die swart bevolkingsgroepe van die wit minderheid gesegregeer is en hulle gelyke toegang tot ekonomiese geleenthede, behuising, asook basiese en maatskaplike dienste ontneem is (Smeddle-Thompson, 2012). Die meeste huishoudings kan nie bekostig om in ordentlike huise te woon of bekostig om goedgeleë grond te besit nie. Gevolglik staar die taak van behuisingsverskaffing die regering in die gesig. Vele wetgewende raamwerke, beleide en programme om aan behuisingsverskaffing te voldoen, is sedert 1994 in die lewe geroep. Miljoene rand is gebruik om behuisingverskaffing te implementeer, tog bly behuisingsverskaffing ’n uitdaging. Hierdie navorsing ondersoek die haalbaarheid van landelike behuisingsfinansiering deur volhoubare menslike nedersettings in landelike gebiede te skep, met spesiale fokus op Moletlane Village as ’n gevalle-studie. Hierdie studie is ’n gevalle-studie wat binne die interpretatiewe kwalitatiewe paradigma uitgevoer is. Tegnieke wat gebruik is om data in te samel het op vraelyste en onderhoude gefokus vir die doel van geldigheid en om subjektiwiteit teen te werk. Vir die opname is 100 deelnemers doelbewus gekies, gebaseer op hulle kennis en sommiges vanweë hulle kundigheid in landelike behuisingsfinansiering. Die opname is gevolg deur deurdringende onderhoude met sleutelpersoneel van Moletlane Village en ’n paar gewone gemeenskapslede te voer om sommige antwoorde te kontroleer en te voltooi. Data wat ingesamel is, is gebruik vir bevindinge en om voorstelle te maak. Bevindinge het openbaar dat daar ’n groot aanvraag vir landelike behuisingsfinansiering is. Dit speel ’n belangrike rol in landelike ontwikkeling, want dit plaas landelike mense op dieselfde vlak as diegene in townships en voorstede. Dit maak dit moontlik vir landelike mense om kwaliteit behuising met spoeltoilette, lopende water, warmwatersilinders, sanitasie en ander geriewe te hê wat as vreemd vir landelike gebiede voorkom. Die algehele sentimente van die respondente is dat landelike behuisingsfinansiering tot ’n toename in ekonomiese aktiwiteit en werkverskaffing gelei het, wat as ’n vaste grondslag dien vir die skepping van volhoubare menslike nedersettings. Oor die algemeen het landelike behuising lewens verander, mense van die vernedering gespaar wat onder gesubstandaardiseerde omstandighede lewe en sodoende die waardigheid van die mense herstel. Dit word bewys dat instellings wat behuisingsfinansiering verskaf, nie veel doen om landelike huishoudings te help nie, maar indien hulle hul daartoe verbind, kan hulle die behuisingsfinansiële mark uitbrei. Deur hierdie navorsing, is ’n skakel tussen landelike behuisingsfinansiering en landelike ontwikkeling teweeggebring. As gevolg hiervan, is ’n aantal aanbevelings in hierdie studie gemaak wat breedvoerig in hoofstuk 6 bespreek word.