Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / This study took place in four villages at gaMolepo area. The villages form part of Wards three and four of the Polokwane Municipality in the Limpopo province, Republic of South Africa. The purpose of the study is to explore factors that might have an impact on the communities' anti-poverty projects. The study focuses on four projects: two agricultural projects and two non-agricultural projects. The study applies both the qualitative and quantitative methodologies to collect and collate data from the projects. The findings of the study largely confirm what other researchers have already discovered, such as: the role played by the educational level of the beneficiaries of these projects on the success of their projects. The best performing project has 70% of its members who attained secondary education, and the worst performing has only 16.7%. Projects in which the beneficiaries show the best level of dedication and commitment as measured by the rate of members’ absenteeism succeed, unlike those having the highest rate of absenteeism. The top two best performing projects keep proper accounting records and have appropriate leadership than the bottom two least performing projects (Sehlale Women’s Project and Bethel Vegetable Project). The majority of members of these projects, as in most rural areas, are women. Interestingly, the top best performing project is registered as a Close Corporation. This might suggest that an anti-poverty project, which is accountable to the taxpayer, as in a Close Corporation, is likely to be successful as the law compels it to adhere to strict business practices. The same cannot be said of the Non-Profit Organisations. One noteworthy finding is an observation that the worst performing projects (Sehlale Women’s Club and Bethel Vegetable project)comprise largely of pensioners (58% and 57% respectively), and show the highest degree of disunity. However, the researcher suggests further in-depth research on the impact of anti-poverty projects registered as Close Corporations versus Non-Profit Organisations. Furthermore, the findings that the least performing projects tend to have the majority of pensioners and are the most disunited need further research to determine whether they perform poorly because of disunity, or because the members are pensioners, or both.

M.Comm. / Each year, in an attempt to alleviate poverty, government invests large parts of the budget to provide infrastructure to poor households in South Africa. This not only necessitates an understanding of the effectiveness of government’s infrastructure delivery rate to address poverty in South Africa, but also raises important questions on how the poor can be identified. In recent years, countries have moved away from traditional broad poverty measures such as gross national income (GNI) per capita and Human Development Index (HDI). Information on poverty and other household information are more often collected through household surveys. From these surveys, monetary and non-monetary poverty measures can be used to identify the poor. By making use of a monetary poverty measure such as expenditure, per capita household expenditure can be calculated. Households are divided into quintiles based on their per capita household expenditure, and the bottom 20 and 40 per cent are usually the benchmark for households to be identified as being poor. This is analysed in terms of the poor’s access to services and other household characteristics. Qualitative regression models have gained more recognition in econometrics, especially in the social sciences field. Information collected from household surveys is often qualitative, or binary in nature. Due to the non-linear nature of binary-dependent variable models, logit and probit models were appropriate for this study. The maximum likelihood method, within the binary choice framework, was employed to determine the extent to which infrastructure delivery and other household characteristics have an impact on poverty. The results provided empirical evidence that infrastructure investment can significantly reduce the likelihood that a household will be poor, given a set of characteristics.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the Internet.

This thesis considers the extent to which tax and transfer policies in South Africa support children between 2000 and 2008. The analyses are carried out using a four-dimensional analytical framework which separates the dimensions of welfare ideology, policy aims, policy instruments and welfare outcomes. This approach is adopted in recognition of the fact that the extent to which tax and transfer policies support children is seen to vary according to the dimension of analysis. The analysis of welfare ideology, policy aims and policy instruments is undertaken by considering key legislative texts, including the Bill of Rights in the South African Constitution, budget speeches and policy documents. Welfare outcomes are analysed at the individual and household level using microsimulation modelling. A microsimulation model for South Africa, SAMOD, is developed specifically for these analyses. The findings of this thesis add conceptual and empirical understanding to the impact of tax and transfer policies on children. Children are found to be supported by policy to some extent, and have been prioritised in reforms to social assistance. However, recent reforms to tax policy have not benefited children and the analyses indicate that child poverty rates in South Africa could be lower than they are at present had the government pursued alternative policy reforms. The construction of the microsimulation model SAMOD is a valuable tool to facilitate future policy evaluation in South Africa. Further development of SAMOD is recommended to continue to progress and enhance debates on policy reforms. In addition, this thesis highlights some key areas for future research including developing further understanding of the patterns of inter and intra-household income allocation and the impact that this may have on poverty measures for different groups.

M.A. (Social Science) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This study investigates impact made by Household Contractor Project as a Poverty Alleviation initiative on participating Household Contractors in Ukhahlamba in the Eastern Cape Province. Household Contractor Project is an Expanded Public Works Project implemented by the Eastern Cape Provincial Government to achieve the following EPWP principles, namely: Poverty alleviation; Creation of employment opportunities and; Creation of opportunities for skills development. The project (meaning Household Contractor Project) is implemented in the Province's six districts, namely: Alfred Nzo, Amathole, Cacadu, Chris Hani, O.R. Tambo, and Ukhahlamba. The study aims at investigating whether Household Contractor Project in Ukhahlamba district has resulted in poverty alleviation among participating household contractors. The study uses measurable indicators like food security, education for children, health needs and basic household needs to achieve its aim.

M. Comm. / No country's economy can survive if the majority of its population remains without income, basic services, and tangible assets that will allow for a secure and sustainable livelihood. Addressing poverty and its causes is therefore a core developmental challenge facing the world economy. Throughout history, various explanations and theories have been advanced in the attempt to understand the causes and persistence of poverty. These theories have evolved into an understanding of the complex phenomenon of poverty, as it is perceived today. The importance of these theories is evident in the creation of poverty alleviation strategies and policies, thus a sound understanding of poverty and its complexities is essential. The new poverty agenda formulated by the DFID in conjunction with other international agents has developed strategic guidelines for the alleviation of poverty that have been based on past experience and theoretical literature. These guidelines include the need for economic growth, equality, security, participation, opportunities, and sustainability. South Africa has effectively incorporated these guidelines into its own poverty activities that consider the nature of South Africa's poverty situation. South Africa has a high incidence of poverty, and its society is characterised by extreme inequality. Poverty is disproportionately divided between South Africa's nine provinces, localities, race groups, genders, and age groups. Inequalities and high poverty rates are caused by political, social, economic, and environmental factors. Politically, South Africa was shaped by the apartheid regime that manifested inequality amongst race groups by oppressing and exploiting the black population in favour of the white minority. Social dimensions, such as the inadequacy of food security, lack of education and other basic needs have also contributed to impoverishment. Contributing economic factors include the poor growth of South Africa's economy since the 1980s that has inevitably lead to increases in poverty and unemployment rates. Poor and inadequate living conditions common in South Africa have resulted in environmental degradation, and this has further impoverished the population.

Thesis (LLM. (Development)) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / The purpose of the investigation is to research the contribution of Fetakgomo Local Municipality in alleviating poverty through poverty alleviation projects. Poverty and inequality have reached unacceptable proportions and the most hit are people living in rural areas and as a results the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. Eighty respondents filled in the questionnaires. Interviews were conducted with Fetakgomo Local Municipality management and other relevant stakeholders. The research findings indicate that the communities around Fetakgomo Local Municipality specifically Nkwana, Nchabeleng, Strydkraal, Apel, Mohlaletse and Mashilabele are partly benefiting from Fetakgomo Local Municipality. The findings also show that Fetakgomo Local Municipality is partly contributing positively towards poverty alleviation within the municipality. The major findings of this research study are that poverty alleviation projects are partly effective in alleviating poverty, especially among needy families. The final results from the study show that most of the rural poverty alleviation projects are not sustainable. The main reasons leading to poor performance of rural poverty alleviation projects are lack of participation of key stakeholders, lack of financial management, inefficient management and lack of planning. The study recommends that committed stakeholders, individuals and poverty alleviation projects who take part in poverty alleviation projects should be considered for funding and training rather than providing state grants only to groups of people. Resources such as transport should be provided to poverty alleviation projects in local areas to access any type of market. All the local economic development projects should install palisade, surveillance systems and electric security fences around the projects to prevent theft. The study also recommends that a stipend of R1500.00 should be paid to each project member to encourage and attract those who are interested. The research study also recommends that there must be a continuous monitoring and evaluation of poverty alleviation projects on a regular basis by government officials.

Urban and peri-urban agriculture is a strategy that can be adapted by low income households in Orange Farm to meet their food and nutritional requirements. The practice is a basis upon which poor families can enhance their incomes by producing part of their food needs, hence saving money for use on other livelihood obligations. This dissertation discusses the importance of urban and peri-urban agriculture as a method easily available to low income families residing in informal settlements to access food and incomes. Urban agriculture is examined in the context of poverty alleviation. A descriptive and quantitative assessment of the salient variables of the practice in the area is attempted in order to give an insight of the potential role the sector can play in eliminating poverty, enhancing incomes and creating employment. The study shows that participation in urban farming can impact significantly on poverty conditions and improve livelihoods. / MA (Development Studies)

This thesis examines the structure and flow of public funding between the public and private sectors in the South African health system and the consequences thereof for the achievement of equity. The conceptual framework used to undertake the analysis derives from Richard Titmuss’ core theoretical framework, the Social Division of Welfare. The application of the Social Division of Welfare applied to the South African health care context demonstrates how state resources end up benefitting the non-poor and, as a result, reproduce inequality. Those who access public institutions such as public health care are assumed to be ‘dependent’ on the state, whilst those who access private health facilities claim to be ‘independent’ of the state. However, this thesis shows that these assumptions are flawed. Access to the formal labour market, and subsequently the paying of taxes, authorises one to access state subsidies not available to those who do not. The application of the Social Division of Welfare shows that tax-paying private health care patients benefit considerably from state resources. This thesis argues that due to cost escalation in the private health sector, a consequence of the commodification of health care, these private health care ‘consumers’ as well as the private health industry in general are dependent upon state resources. This thesis analyses the role played by the profit motive present in the private health industry and the consequences for equity, quality, access and efficiency in health care provision