In the context of the high unemployment and poverty rates in South Africa, this research was undertaken to explore the best practices of successful international public works programmes (PWPs) around the world. The aim was to develop a strategy for poverty alleviation and job creation with respect to the infrastructure sector of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) in South Africa. The purpose of the EPWP is to make the unemployed more employable through offering beneficiaries temporary employment and training opportunities. In the literature review, the strategy for poverty alleviation and job creation was formulated in terms of the design elements and implementation aspects of PWPs. This strategy was then used to evaluate the infrastructure sector of the EPWP. The data collection took the form of interviews with key informants who are directly involved with the infrastructure sector of the EPWP. The nature of the enquiry was qualitative, with narrative and content analysis used to explore the data. The research found that, overall, the design elements and the implementation aspects of the infrastructure sector of the EPWP are not appropriate for enabling the unemployed to become more employable on a large scale. Based on the international best practices, recommendations were then put forward as improvements which would enable the infrastructure sector of the EPWP to achieve its objectives more effectively. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Thesis(MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Recent changes in the Municipalities have brought transformation. Ehlanzeni district is not excluded from this process. Due to high levels of unemployment in Mpumalanga, the National Government implemented a development initiative known as the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) to alleviate poverty in various municipalities. The study is concerned with the challenges faced by the officials in Ehlanzeni local Municipalities on the Management and Implementation of EPWP. Challenges such as lack of capacity building were cited by the officials in the department as a main obstacle to the implementation of EPWP in the area of the study. To investigate the above problem, the researcher has used a qualitative and quantitative research design to achieve the intended objective of the study. Stratified random sampling was also used to collect data from the target population. The questionnaire was used to collect the quantitative data while the interviews were used to collect qualitative data. The study revealed that a lack of capacity building in the implementation of the Extended Public Works Programme was caused by insufficient resources, equipment, clarity of policy guidelines, nepotism, inadequate training programmes and managerial skills, and a lack of alternative strategy. These factors were regarded as the main problems that hinder the implementation of EPWP in the Ehlanzeni district. In conclusion, the study recommended the provision of capacity building and other related issues to enhance the implementation of EPWP at the Ehlanzeni Municipalities in Mpumalanga Province.

This thesis presents an in depth study of the expansion of settlement in Christchurch between 1850-62, the pre-Municipal Council years. It is confined spatially to the 'central city' area within the four Avenues. Four research problems are studied: (1) The laying out of Christchurch by the New Zealand Company surveyors for the Canterbury Association, in particular, the reasons for the use of a grid street pattern. It was found that many factors were involved in its use. These included the personal preferences of the surveyors and the Association committee members, the topographic nature of the site chosen and contemporary planning convention. (2) The initial selection of town sections by the colonists and the reasons behind their choices. The 'orders of choice' of the sections have been tabulated and mapped to show section preference and how the settlers perceived the economic value of particular areas of the town grid for their commercial prospects. Town section auctions, leases, sales and subdivisions as well as church land are investigated. (3) The sale of the Town Reserves surrounding the town section area is also studied; the reason for their early sale, the nature and characteristics of the sales including prices and purchasers and their occupations. It was found that the prices paid were significantly related to the spatial positions of the lots within the Reserve blocks and to the time of their sale, in response to contemporary land values. There was no significant relationship between prices and the occupations of the buyers. (4) Public works undertaken by the Association and the Provincial Government are studied and their relationship with immigration and population figures. The scale of public works carried out at particular times was found to relate both to available finance and to immigration, the source of labour. Various aspects of public works, for example, street and footpath formation and bridging and drainage work were found to be indicative of differential growth between periods of depression and prosperity.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / The economic state of South Africa prior to 1994 is linked directly to the political dispensation that was operating under apartheid. Since the advent of the new democratic dispensation, the South African government has developed policies which have focused on poverty alleviation. However, given all the gains (political equality) that have been made, South Africa still remains one of the highest in the world in terms of income inequality. Income inequality is an indicator of how material resources are distributed across society. Within the context of South Africa’s income inequality is largely due to the history of colonialism and. To address this income inequality, the government initiated job creation initiatives in 1995 which was implemented by institutions such as government departments and parastatals such as the nature conservation agency under research. A qualitative methodological framework was used for this study to explore the subjective experiences of the beneficiaries involved in the Expanded Public Works Program within the nature conservation agency. For the purpose of this study purposive sampling was utilised since only specific participants from four specific reserves were selected to participate in this study. The sample for this research study comprised of 24 participants. These participants were selected from each of the 4 selected reserves. Semi-structured interviews were utilised to gain a thorough understanding of the participants’ subjective experiences. Upon completion of these interviews the information was transcribed and analysed using the interpretive phenomenological approach. Before commencement of the study, the necessary ethics approval was obtained from the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee at the University of the Western Cape. Participants’ rights such as anonymity, confidentiality, voluntary participation, and confidentiality were guaranteed throughout the research process.

Government’s major challenge is to become more effective with limited resources. Perceptions of state employees and the level of awareness about Employee Health and Wellness Programmes is a policy issue that this study attempts to understand inasmuch as it relates to performance of institutions. The objectives of the study were to gauge the level of awareness about Employee Health and Wellness programmes together with the perceptions of employees about the programme, in line with the hypothesis that suggested a contributory link between level of awareness, perceptions about a programme and organisational performance. A mixed method approach was used, which included both qualitative and quantitative methods, to determine both perception and level of awareness as it related to the performance of institutions. The study found that wellness programmes, if well managed and employees were made aware of them, could lead to increased output by employees, thus improving performance. It further established that there is an average level of awareness about employee health and wellness programmes within Public Works. The study concludes that the perceptions of employees about a policy matter and their level of awareness of programme objectives would contribute to overall performance of that institution.

Despite its economic growth, South Africa continues to face social challenges such as inequality, unemployment and poverty. In response to these challenges, the South African government has instituted a number of intervention strategies which include the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). The aim of this research study was to explore the perceptions of stakeholders regarding the contributions made by the EPWP towards alleviating the above mentioned social challenges. Their perceptions about the challenges and opportunities to improve the programme were also explored. An exploratory-descriptive approach rooted within a qualitative paradigm was used in the study and the participants were selected using purposive-convenient sampling method. The sample consisted of fourteen participants of whom four were EPWP managers and ten EPWP beneficiaries. Data was collected through semi-structured interview schedules and analysed using the thematic content analysis. The findings of the study indicated that the Expanded Publics Works Programme (EPWP) is contributing to social development not only of the beneficiaries of the programme, but also of communities in which the EPWP projects are being implemented. The EPWP projects have enabled beneficiaries to earn a salary in the form of stipends, acquire and perfect skills such as plumbing, and to gain work experience. The stipend, though minimum, is helping them meet their basic needs while skills development improve their chances of getting better and more permanent jobs and to be self-employed. However, challenges such as failure to accommodate people living with disabilities and lack of skills training in some of the EPWP projects are curtailing the programme’s effectiveness.

Nosso trabalho parte da contraposição às imagens de pobreza e isolamento da São Paulo colonial para problematizar a cidade tomando suas atividades econômicas, a construção da cidade e seus habitantes, a partir de suas questões próprias e não apenas em comparação à prosperidade de outros contextos históricos ou de outras regiões da colônia. Nesta dissertação, mostramos que a exploração econômica e a defesa militar exercidas pelos paulistas articulavam-se na formação de uma rede de vilas, cidades, capitanias e continentes, que mobilizavam sua população e definiam seu modo de vida. Para demonstrar essa hipótese, circunscrevemos como objeto de pesquisa a cidade de São Paulo, entre os anos de 1775 e 1809, analisada por meio das obras públicas que a construíram e reconstruíram. Para discutir as questões referentes à construção do espaço e à população da cidade, utilizamos como fontes primárias principais os seguintes conjuntos documentais: atas das reuniões da Câmara, correspondências dos capitães-generais, maços de população (recenseamentos do período), mapas e os registros de obras públicas municipais contidos na documentação de receitas e despesas da Câmara - esse último grupo conta com cerca de 500 manuscritos inéditos, em que constam informações sobre os participantes e as atividades nos canteiros. A articulação desses dois temas - espaço e população - por meio da análise dos documentos à luz das questões levantadas permitiu-nos ampliar o entendimento sobre o crescimento da cidade e as relações entre seus habitantes, desfazendo as imagens de uma cidade esvaziada e de ocupação tipicamente rural. O elemento central dessa revisão são os trabalhadores de obras públicas, que se identificavam por sua atividade profissional, configurando um campo de trabalho próprio, com empreitadas frequentes. A formação desse campo só foi possível por conta das estratégias de transmissão de saberes e práticas, que ocorriam no interior das casas e no próprio canteiro. A Câmara, espaço central de decisões políticas, completava o quadro de lugares desse processo, no qual incluímos ainda escravos, agregados e mulheres, que cumpriam funções indispensáveis. Por fim, as disputas e diferenciações entre os habitantes e os espaços da cidade conduzem-nos à conclusão de que a cidade de São Paulo, no final do período colonial, não pode ser compreendida de outra forma, senão por suas características majoritariamente urbanas. / The following thesis opposes the depictions of poverty and isolation of the colonial town of São Paulo, and discusses its economic activities, urban development and population, through its particular characteristics, and not just from a comparative point of view. Our work is based on the assumption that the economic exploitation and the military defense executed by inhabitants of São Paulo shaped a territorial network, including villages, towns, counties and continents. This network organized the people and conditioned their living. In order to confirm this hypothesis we elected the town of São Paulo between the years of 1775 and 1809 as the subject of our research, to be studied through the municipal public works that built and rebuilt this town. The debates regarding the construction of the urban space and the population of such site have the following primary documental sources: The minutes of the town hall\'s reunions, the correspondence belonging to the county administrator (capitão-general), the colonial censuses, maps, and the records of public works contained among the municipal treasury official papers - there are over 500 unpublished documents, holding important data about the participants and the activities at the construction sites. The link between urban space and population through documental analysis guided by the debates regarding the two matters allowed us to broaden the understanding of urban growth and social relations amid inhabitants, leading us to dissolve those images of an empty typically rural town. The fundamental elements of this examination are the construction workmen, identified by their professional occupation, that created a distinguished work field with recurrent contracts. Only through the strategies of transfer of knowledge and experience that took place inside the houses and at construction sites could such field be formed. The municipal council, political core of the town, was another one of the places that sheltered this process, in which we must include captives, aggregated members of the household, and women, that performed essential activities. Ultimately, the disputes and differentiations between inhabitants and between regions of the town bring us to the conclusion that the late colonial São Paulo cannot be understood in any other way than through its mostly urban traces.

Nosso trabalho parte da contraposição às imagens de pobreza e isolamento da São Paulo colonial para problematizar a cidade tomando suas atividades econômicas, a construção da cidade e seus habitantes, a partir de suas questões próprias e não apenas em comparação à prosperidade de outros contextos históricos ou de outras regiões da colônia. Nesta dissertação, mostramos que a exploração econômica e a defesa militar exercidas pelos paulistas articulavam-se na formação de uma rede de vilas, cidades, capitanias e continentes, que mobilizavam sua população e definiam seu modo de vida. Para demonstrar essa hipótese, circunscrevemos como objeto de pesquisa a cidade de São Paulo, entre os anos de 1775 e 1809, analisada por meio das obras públicas que a construíram e reconstruíram. Para discutir as questões referentes à construção do espaço e à população da cidade, utilizamos como fontes primárias principais os seguintes conjuntos documentais: atas das reuniões da Câmara, correspondências dos capitães-generais, maços de população (recenseamentos do período), mapas e os registros de obras públicas municipais contidos na documentação de receitas e despesas da Câmara - esse último grupo conta com cerca de 500 manuscritos inéditos, em que constam informações sobre os participantes e as atividades nos canteiros. A articulação desses dois temas - espaço e população - por meio da análise dos documentos à luz das questões levantadas permitiu-nos ampliar o entendimento sobre o crescimento da cidade e as relações entre seus habitantes, desfazendo as imagens de uma cidade esvaziada e de ocupação tipicamente rural. O elemento central dessa revisão são os trabalhadores de obras públicas, que se identificavam por sua atividade profissional, configurando um campo de trabalho próprio, com empreitadas frequentes. A formação desse campo só foi possível por conta das estratégias de transmissão de saberes e práticas, que ocorriam no interior das casas e no próprio canteiro. A Câmara, espaço central de decisões políticas, completava o quadro de lugares desse processo, no qual incluímos ainda escravos, agregados e mulheres, que cumpriam funções indispensáveis. Por fim, as disputas e diferenciações entre os habitantes e os espaços da cidade conduzem-nos à conclusão de que a cidade de São Paulo, no final do período colonial, não pode ser compreendida de outra forma, senão por suas características majoritariamente urbanas. / The following thesis opposes the depictions of poverty and isolation of the colonial town of São Paulo, and discusses its economic activities, urban development and population, through its particular characteristics, and not just from a comparative point of view. Our work is based on the assumption that the economic exploitation and the military defense executed by inhabitants of São Paulo shaped a territorial network, including villages, towns, counties and continents. This network organized the people and conditioned their living. In order to confirm this hypothesis we elected the town of São Paulo between the years of 1775 and 1809 as the subject of our research, to be studied through the municipal public works that built and rebuilt this town. The debates regarding the construction of the urban space and the population of such site have the following primary documental sources: The minutes of the town hall\'s reunions, the correspondence belonging to the county administrator (capitão-general), the colonial censuses, maps, and the records of public works contained among the municipal treasury official papers - there are over 500 unpublished documents, holding important data about the participants and the activities at the construction sites. The link between urban space and population through documental analysis guided by the debates regarding the two matters allowed us to broaden the understanding of urban growth and social relations amid inhabitants, leading us to dissolve those images of an empty typically rural town. The fundamental elements of this examination are the construction workmen, identified by their professional occupation, that created a distinguished work field with recurrent contracts. Only through the strategies of transfer of knowledge and experience that took place inside the houses and at construction sites could such field be formed. The municipal council, political core of the town, was another one of the places that sheltered this process, in which we must include captives, aggregated members of the household, and women, that performed essential activities. Ultimately, the disputes and differentiations between inhabitants and between regions of the town bring us to the conclusion that the late colonial São Paulo cannot be understood in any other way than through its mostly urban traces.

Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / Refer to document

This dissertation analyses the origin, purposes, nature, operation and achievements of the Commonwealth's Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works (Public Works Committee - PWC), and assesses its utility to parliament. The PWC originated in 1913 as a permanent committee of parliamentarians established to examine government proposals for public works, and report on them to parliament. Its purpose is to provide detailed data on works proposals in order to allow informed voting. In the process parliament also achieves a degree of control over government - ministers and public servants. Unlike most parliamentary audit of government expenditure, the PWC scrutinises proposals before works are built. It is a joint, statutory, scrutiny committee. The proper role for parliamentary committees in general is the checking of government, through influence, criticism, scrutiny, and publicity. The PWC is assessed against this role through an analysis of its legislation and operation, and interviews with involved parliamentarians and bureaucrats. Criteria used include adequacy of evidence obtained, precision and clarity of reports, and degree of influence on government and acceptance of recommendations. In these terms the PWC has little effect in controlling policy making by the executive government - cabinet and ministers. Moreover, specific amendment of its act together with the consequential effects of nominally unrelated legislation, have reduced the scope of Committee activities to an estimated less than half of all Commonwealth public works. This trend is continuing under current policies of corporatising departmental activities and excluding the resulting statutory corporations from PWC examination. These moves prevent parliament playing its proper role in the governance of the country. However, within the ambit of its powers, the PWC generally rates highly against the above criteria, and exerts a significant degree of parliamentary control over government administration - the public service - in the implementation of public works.