Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development Planning and Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Community participation is a concept adopted to ensure participation and give opportunities to communities to determine their own destination in terms of their needs. It is a means of empowering people by developing their skills and abilities to enable them to negotiate with the development delivery system and to equip them to make their own decisions in terms of their development needs and priorities. The aim of the study is to asses community participation in the development planning and service delivery system by the Omusati Regional Council. As a government institution at the grass root level, it has a task to deliver required basic services through development programmes and projects. Interviews and participatory observation, including project visits were the methods used to collect information on the implementation of community participation in the decision making processes, and project implementation by the Omusati Regional Council. The study is structured into six chapters. Chapter 1 deals with the general introduction, background to the study, the statement of the problem, the hypothesis, objective of the study, perceptions, research methodology, significance of the study and organisation of the study. Chapter 2 discusses the theory and philosophy of community participation. It conceptualizes the key terms of community participation in development planning, such as sustainable development, integrated development planning and projects, decentralised development and the building block of development integrated rural development, basic service delivery and indigenous knowledge systems. Chapter 3 highlights the policy framework on community participation in terms of international, national and regional development planning policy documents. Chapter 4 is concerned with the local context of study (Omusati Regional Council), while Chapter 5 presents the data results, interpretation and analysis. Chapter 6 reflects the conclusion and the way forward.

Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development Planning and Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Globally, transport and its associated ills are creating urban landscapes that can best be described as unhealthy, unfriendly and unsustainable. The unsustainable nature of current transportation practices are most keenly displayed in four key areas, namely: the pending oil peak; global climate change; environmental degradation and social deprivation. South Africa is no exception to these impacts, but also suffers an extra disadvantage of demonstrating very little knowledge of more sustainable transportation option in terms of its planning regime. This study endeavours to improve the state of sustainability in transportation planning by developing a user-friendly and pragmatic transportation sustainability appraisal mechanism and testing this mechanism on a real-life case. In order to develop such an appraisal mechanism, the theory of sustainable development is firstly examined to provide direction to the study, followed by an attempt to distil the most pertinent principles of sustainable transport from the literature. These principles form the objectives which the appraisal mechanism aims to measure sustainability against. Owing to the poor level of awareness regarding sustainable transport practices in South Africa, a discussion on selected benchmark sustainable transport practices is also included in the study and consequently added to the appraisal mechanism. To test its operability, the appraisal mechanism is finally applied to Cape Town’s Draft Integrated Transport Plan (ITP) 2006-2011. The study indicates that the ITP is a reasonably sustainable transport plan, with the exception of its affordability and public participation aspects. These exceptions are attributed to the ITP either not properly addressing these aspects, or due to the ITP not providing enough information on these aspects. Finally, the study found that the developed appraisal mechanism is operable in the field of transportation planning, but suggests that the mechanism be further developed and refined to improve its value and effectiveness. A transdisciplinary process involving the input of community stakeholders and specialists is identified as major area for such development / Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies

Thesis (MA (Public and Development Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Great pressure is placed on national government to initiate a way of achieving greater economic growth as well as alleviating poverty. A mandate has therefore been given to local government to play a fundamental role in achieving this. Local Economic Development (LED), a relatively new approach to development, is currently seen as a prominent strategy to tackle the problem of unemployment and poverty in South Africa and provide a bottom-up approach to economic development. It forms part of the economic and social development mandate given by national government to local authorities. However, although policies are in place, LED strategies have produced very few success stories for various reasons, such as the lack of capacity within municipalities as well as resource constraints. It is also alleged that LED is incorrectly interpreted and therefore also incorrectly implemented. Because of the presumed effects of LED in terms of economic growth and social upliftment, pressure is placed on municipalities to get appropriate strategies into place as soon as possible. A literature review is presented which covers the theory of LED by looking at the global perspectives of the concept and nature of LED, the history and concept of LED, the different LED approaches and strategies, and key actors within LED. LED is then evaluated within the context of development in order to establish a link between LED and poverty alleviation. LED is also evaluated within the South African context, specifically with regards to the policy context, the historical approach and the challenges to LED implementation in South Africa. An investigation into the background of the City of Cape Town served as the point of departure to evaluate LED implementation. The issue of regional planning for LED integration between urban and rural areas is also discussed. The challenges to economic and social improvement in the City of Cape Town are also highlighted and the current draft Strategy for Economic and Human Development in the City of Cape Town was evaluated. This was done to investigate the LED approach and specific interventions of the City of Cape Town Municipality in terms of the Comprehensive Approach Model, a model formulated in the thesis. This was done to establish whether it is likely to succeed or not, and therefore the thesis specifically explored the priorities and the fundamentals outlined by the Strategy. Thereafter its possible implementation was assessed according to the organisational structure and how it affects the operationalisation of the Strategy in terms of planning, the process itself, and the monitoring and evaluation of the process. Finally, the challenges to the Strategy were discussed and recommendations were made. From the literature review it is clear that LED should lead to much more than merely economic improvement; this insight reinforces the socio-economic role of LED development intervention strategies. What is also evident in terms of LED in developing countries is that the approach has to establish a strategy which deliberately focuses on pro-poor LED implementation. It is often the way that the process is executed that brings the social focus of LED into perspective.

Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development Planning and Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / The study evaluated co-operative governance in integrated development planning (IDP), with a focus on local economic development (LED). Literature review, survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were data gathering instruments. Co-operative governance entailed mutual understanding with inclusive decision-making between government spheres and government, business and communities. This was unsuccessful in IDP because of national government dominance, complex tools for co-operation, expert-controlled co-operative governance, finance-dominated planning, a lack of proactive municipal planning and dominance by empowered role-players. Four LED models, namely, a Western, Latin American, African and South African emerged. South Africa’s model is multi-sectoral with land management policy, investor promotion, institutional development, financial and social investment strategies and sufficient policy and legislation. However, co-operative governance in IDP (LED) is dis-functional because of assumed equality of stakeholders. The study recommends a ‘Quilted Co-operative Development Planning Model’, which has a streamlined policy framework, efficient and effective management tools and organisation that promote bottom-up planning.

Thesis (MPA (School of Public Management and Planning))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / South Africa comes from an apartheid local government system that was structured to divide citizens socially, economically, spatially, and racially to ensure that only a small minority of South Africans benefited from development. However since 1994 with the democratisation of our country, local government departments have undergone a number of transformation processes, which saw the country steadily moving away from the apartheid local government system. Representation is one of the main foundations of a non-racist, non-sexist and democratic society and achieving it is regarded as a necessary precondition to legitimise the public service to drive it towards equitable service delivery. The most prominent response to achieve a representative public service was the Employment Equity Act (No 55 of 1998), which became operational on 9 August 1999. Essentially the Act calls for a complete prohibition of unfair discrimination against all employees and requires that all designated employers undertake affirmative action measures to ensure that suitably qualified people from designated groups have equal employment opportunities. There are therefore many arguments in favour of AA and many against it, making it a formidable and complex task, especially in the South African context. However it is important to understand the reason for enactment of employment equity legislation in the workplace in terms of South Africa‟s history of discrimination and the resultant inequalities. The manner in which employment equity and affirmative action is introduced and handled in the organization can have a great influence on the perception and attitude of staff towards the topic. It therefore becomes imperative to grasp the understanding of staff on employment equity and related issues to measure if any progress was made and how to possibly improve on present practices in the organisation. Against this background this study investigated the perception and attitude of the City of Cape Town Health staff towards employment equity. The requirements of the EEA were discussed and used as the benchmark for success of implementation. The study included the review of relevant secondary sources of information but primary data was also obtained through the use of questionnaires comprising of semi structured questions to achieve this objective. The main findings from the secondary data revealed that AA is still necessary as a corrective tool, because our playing fields are far from leveled, however the reality is we have a great shortage of skills that is impacting on our global competitiveness which calls for a shift in thinking regarding the government‟s present approach. 4 In addition the research also identified as a designated employer, the City of Cape Town has fulfilled the legislative requirements, in that all its policies are consistent with the requirements of the EEA. The main findings of the primary data obtained from the questionnaires recognized that senior management of the City Health directorate is committed to EE, but falls short of an effective communication plan regarding the relevant issues of EE, there is little focus on disabled appointments and many employees indicated other criteria outside 'suitably qualified' (as defined in the EEA) plays a large role in the promotion of employees.

Thesis (MPhil (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / In the present chaos surrounding society, youth are in dire need of tools that will enable them to navigate life’s tests and help them understand their role in building a new world civilisation. It is not enough though merely to hear and profess grand ideals, action needs to accompany words. Action happens when ethics and spiritual principles are integrated at a deep level and become part of an individual’s character. The following mini thesis is a project proposal for the formation of a Drama Workshop called People’s Theatre. People’s Theatre aims to help youth become of service to humanity through the internalization of morals and through the realization of their spiritual identity and their oneness with the entire human race. The project proposal begins with an explanation of why the project is being implemented on a local level and where it fits in on a global level. The project utilises three component parts that are seen as necessary if the project is to be sustainable. There are dramatic, moral education and service component parts to the project. The dramatic component will focus particularly on the ZIPoPo method which has been chosen due to it being a powerful medium of expression as well as its focus on positive decision making and moral development. Following this, the project proposal goes into detail concerning the necessary steps needed to be taken in order to practically implement the project and make it a success. The format follows a typical project proposal format. Another factor that was decided upon in order to help make the project more sustainable was that the project would be divided into three main phases. These phases are talked about throughout the proposal. There is also an analysis about why certain activities were chosen and how to take advantage of any opportunities that may arise and lead to the further success of the project. Particular attention was paid to how to make the project truly sustainable and participatory and in this way enable it to succeed. Empowerment begins by teaching people how to walk their own path to development. The following project proposal provides a detailed plan on how to help youth to do just that.

Thesis (MComm (School of Public Management and Planning))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Knowledge management is a well-founded management approach that has been successfully applied across the corporate sector and holds the same benefits for public sector organisations. Knowledge management is a management philosophy that impacts on various components of an organisation, in particular the organisational processes and the information and communication configurations within the organisation. Knowledge management can significantly advance organisational efficiency. However, it must be ensured that different organisational processes and departments collaborate and that functional silos are eliminated. Knowledge management requires long-term commitment and dedication from all organisational members. Furthermore, there are certain knowledge management enablers in an organisation that need to be developed and that are necessary for the achievement of organisational effectiveness. These enablers are the organisational culture, the human resources, the information technology, organisational structure and the strategy and leadership. As previously mentioned, this management philosophy can be successfully applied in the public sector. Local government organisations, who are largely responsible for service delivery to the public can effectively implement knowledge management practices as a strategic tool to achieve their service delivery and operational goals. The need therefore exists for local governments to take on the role of knowledge-based organisations that prosper on the capabilities of knowledge workers. In order for local governments to deliver services, function well and operate in an environment characterised by transparency and accountability, local governments must have effectual strategies and governance policies in terms of the knowledge present within their organisations.

Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development Planning and Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / This study evaluates community participation in the Huidare Informal Settlement (HDIS) as a case study. The hypothesis is that the breach of trust between the previous community leaders of the HDIS and the current community members has an effect on community participation in issues affecting them and their community today. The research methodology employed is explained as well as the policy context for community participation both on an international level and in Namibia, is reviewed. The legislation on community participation that has been enforced by the City of Windhoek contradicts what happened in the HDIS. The possibility will be investigated as to whether these policy documents of the City of Windhoek are only another form of tokenism.

Thesis (MPhil (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / The negative impact of poverty on development and security in South Africa has been exacerbated by high food prices. However, high food prices have also had a positive effect in that it galvanised civil society into coalescing and finally playing an activist role. Looking at the development of corporate social responsibility and how it was shaped by external influences exerted on it by society, the thesis argues that high food prices might be one of those triggers that might change the implementation of corporate social responsibility from that as a business tool to one that is more developmental in its intent. This argument is one that has been proposed by developmental theorists, but has been resisted by companies for various reasons herein discussed. In the same way that corporate social responsibility is shaped by external factors, development is also determined by the macro (economic) policies and state capacity in which the company operates. State incapacity has led the citizens looking at companies increasingly to fulfil a more developmental role. In this regard there are problems attendant to the private sector assuming the responsibilities of the state and the thesis argues that the private sector should rather play a complementary role to development interventions of government. The combination of the factors highlighted above has led to increased pressure on the private sector to play a more developmental role, and there appears to be a degree of acknowledgment from the private sector. This thesis looks critically at some approaches to corporate social responsibility and uses one particular company to illustrate, not only some of the critical factors of successful engagement with development through CSR, such as leadership and context specific interventions, but also to show that development and, particularly, poverty alleviation is compatible with running a profitable organisation.

Thesis (MA (Public and Development Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Chronic food insecurity continues to be a major problem for rural poor households in Lesotho. This condition is caused by a number of factors including poverty, landlessness, and extreme land degradation, reduced remittances due to retrenchments from South African mines, closures of some of textile industries, the effects of HIV/AIDS and a significant decline in farming practices due to erratic weather patterns and conditions. All these factors have led to an increase in vulnerability levels. This is magnified by the rapid erosion of traditional coping mechanisms, a situation that has consequently left communities unable to respond to any form of disaster. The primary aim of this research was to investigate the community vulnerability to food insecurity in the Southern Lowlands and review the World Food Programme (WFP) food aid programme in the same area. The research addressed the questions such as the causes of food insecurity in the Southern Lowlands; and social protection initiatives that are being implemented by WFP to address food insecurity. The research revealed that WFP has been distributing food aid to the vulnerable households in the Southern Lowlands since 2002. These households belong to categories such as households hosting orphans and vulnerable children, chronically ill persons and physically disabled persons; female-headed households; elderly-headed households; child-headed households; and expectant and nursing mothers. In addition to these categories, WFP implemented food for work activities in which vulnerable households with able-bodied persons worked in to receive food aid. The research found evidence of chronic livelihood failure in the Southern Lowlands. This failure renders it increasingly difficult for households vulnerable to food insecurity to develop and maintain sustainable livelihoods. In particular, the research revealed that, a large proportion of households (53%) are at risk of food insecurity in the Southern Lowlands; the majority of vulnerable households did not hold any cereal stocks remaining from the immediate post harvest period; chronic illness, unemployment and erratic weather patterns are causes of food insecurity in the Southern Lowlands. As means of coping strategies, most households adopt various strategies such as switching expenditure patterns; reducing number of meals per day; kingship support; selling of livestock; and searching for casual labour opportunities. Food aid has improved the livelihoods and quality of life of the beneficiaries especially the chronically ill people. While some food for work activities such as building of toilets and water taps have been very helpful, others such as tree planting were not embraced by some of the beneficiaries and finally food aid promotes dependency among its beneficiaries and nursing mothers intentionally starve their children in order to stay in the programme. The two significant challenges in the distribution of food aid were found to be food pipeline break and the beneficiary selection criteria. The findings therefore generate the conclusion that although there seems to be an improvement in food access by households benefiting from the food aid programme, there is no evidence that those households will continue to access food in the absence of food aid. In essence, the absence of social food security foundation, executed in tandem with food aid interventionist measures, does not realistically augur well for the future. This conclusion comes from the finding that food for work activities which are more likely to generate income for the vulnerable households are not sustainable because the discussions further revealed that these activities have been imposed on the beneficiaries, without the coownership corollary that partners the communities with food aid agencies such as WFP. It is therefore recommended that development agents should not determine the developmental projects/programmes within the communities. The process should be interactive and should not be done in isolation but in mutual social learning and capacity building process as both parties (development agents and the beneficiaries) learn from each other and manage to develop a reciprocal relationship and partnership that will eventually reap sustainable outcome. It is therefore concluded that, the food aid programmes failed to offer sustainable social safety nets to the beneficiaries. The research hypothesis that there is no clear exit strategy in the implementation of the food security interventions and that there are no sustainability and continuity measures that were put into place by WFP remains valid.