Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Legislation clearly stipulates for the principle of public service delivery to all the citizens of the country. It is the task of national and provincial government departments to prioritise service delivery (RSA, 1997:10). The quality of services delivered to the public by the national and provincial departments, relies significantly on the quality, skills and capabilities of the public officials. Therefore, recruitment of public officials must not only identify and attract potential employees but ensure that all appointees possess the skills and ability to enable public service departments to achieve their strategic goals and objectives, and subsequently provide quality services to the public. Based on an investigation conducted by the Public Service Commission (PSC), it was determined that most do not comply with the recruitment and selection requirements (PSC, 2006:8). In addition to the non-compliance with policy guidelines pertaining to recruitment and selection, as provided by the PSC through the Toolkit on Recruitment and Selection of 2006, the PSC, through an investigation on various HRM practices in the public service during 2010, found that widespread non-compliance with recruitment and selection guidelines are still prevalent. It is evident that departments are struggling to effectively implement recruitment and selection processes as stipulated in legislation and outlined in the policy documents. This study aimed to address: The non-compliance with legislation and policy requirements pertaining to the implementation of recruitment and selection practices which prevent departments in the public sector from appointing the most suitable employees to deliver on their mandate. A theoretical overview pertaining to recruitment and selection was conducted in the public service. Attention was also given to recruitment and best practices, which may be applicable to the Free State DPW. Furthermore, broad HRM legislation and policy, directing the implementation of recruitment and selection practices in the public service, was reviewed. An outline of legislation and policy as well as the recruitment and selection practices particularly applicable for its implementation in the Free State DPW public service was provided. The qualitative and quantitative research approaches were utilised in this study. Personal interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire were used as data collection instruments. Interviews were held with senior managers and middle managers involved in the process and experienced in strategic planning in the Free State DPW. The questionnaire was distributed to the line managers and junior officials who work with recruitment and selection practices in the department as well as union representatives. The empirical findings of the study were applied to the public service as a whole and recommendations were made on the implementation of recruitment and selection practices in the Free State DPW and the public service at large. / Master of Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Legislation clearly stipulates for the principle of public service delivery to all the citizens of the country. It is the task of national and provincial government departments to prioritise service delivery (RSA, 1997:10). The quality of services delivered to the public by the national and provincial departments, relies significantly on the quality, skills and capabilities of the public officials. Therefore, recruitment of public officials must not only identify and attract potential employees but ensure that all appointees possess the skills and ability to enable public service departments to achieve their strategic goals and objectives, and subsequently provide quality services to the public. Based on an investigation conducted by the Public Service Commission (PSC), it was determined that most do not comply with the recruitment and selection requirements (PSC, 2006:8). In addition to the non-compliance with policy guidelines pertaining to recruitment and selection, as provided by the PSC through the Toolkit on Recruitment and Selection of 2006, the PSC, through an investigation on various HRM practices in the public service during 2010, found that widespread non-compliance with recruitment and selection guidelines are still prevalent. It is evident that departments are struggling to effectively implement recruitment and selection processes as stipulated in legislation and outlined in the policy documents. This study aimed to address: The non-compliance with legislation and policy requirements pertaining to the implementation of recruitment and selection practices which prevent departments in the public sector from appointing the most suitable employees to deliver on their mandate. A theoretical overview pertaining to recruitment and selection was conducted in the public service. Attention was also given to recruitment and best practices, which may be applicable to the Free State DPW. Furthermore, broad HRM legislation and policy, directing the implementation of recruitment and selection practices in the public service, was reviewed. An outline of legislation and policy as well as the recruitment and selection practices particularly applicable for its implementation in the Free State DPW public service was provided. The qualitative and quantitative research approaches were utilised in this study. Personal interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire were used as data collection instruments. Interviews were held with senior managers and middle managers involved in the process and experienced in strategic planning in the Free State DPW. The questionnaire was distributed to the line managers and junior officials who work with recruitment and selection practices in the department as well as union representatives. The empirical findings of the study were applied to the public service as a whole and recommendations were made on the implementation of recruitment and selection practices in the Free State DPW and the public service at large. / Master of Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

published_or_final_version / Surveying / Master / Master of Science

Both academics and the makers of public policy have for a long time been interested in the study of urban politics, but the subject needs to be integrated with the process of urban growth and development. Too frequently, the urban polity is analyzed as an arena which passively reflects or mechanically responds to more fundamental changes in the urban social structure. In this work, case studies of political reform in Philadelphia at two periods, 1800 to 1854 and 1890 to 1915, develop a number of hypotheses about how the urban polity plays an influential role in shaping the process of urban growth and change. Both case studies begin with computer-assisted analyses of changes in the socio-economic and spatial structures of urban society. Such changes are often considered to be fundamental causes of urban political reform either because they altered political elites' interests in municipal government or because they created enormous new demands on existing municipal works and services. The studies show, however, that social structural changes cannot by themselves explain the course of urban political development in the city of Philadelphia. Concentrating primarily on the formulation and implementation of municipal public works, the studies show that in both periods, the course of political reform was often shaped by two things: the 'private' or selfish interests of political actors, and the fragmented financial, administrative and party structures of the urban polity. More important, the studies show how self-interested political activities, in a polity in which authority was highly fragmented, often had consequences which were far reaching in their impact on the structure and experience of urban life. Indeed, the first case study shows how urban politics shaped the process of social group formation in the industrializing city. The second case study shows how the structure and conduct of urban politics determined social groups' political power in the city. The conclusion then demonstrates how the case studies support a number of hypotheses about the relationship between urban politics and urban society which may be applied generally to analyses of the process of urban growth and change.

The launch of the Expanded Public Works Programme has led to preferential use of labour-intensive construction methods over conventional methods in construction and maintenance of public infrastructure assets. This report evaluated five bulk water infrastructure projects in Madibeng Municipality where labour-intensive construction methods were used. The research found that factors which adversely affected construction progress included: inability to transfer experience and lessons learnt from one project to the next, skills and experience shortcomings, administrative and management realities, negative interventions from stakeholders and failure of the Municipality to set specific objectives and monitor project achievements with respect to intended objectives. Appropriate training and support from local communities were found to enhance success during construction. It was concluded that labour-intensive construction methods are feasible for bulk water provision projects and can generate productive significant employment provided certain basic requirements were in place. Ultimately the findings led to the compilation of lessons learnt from the projects.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the efficacy of EPWP employment in enhancing workers’ subsequent employability once they exit these programmes. The study also examined the conditions of EPWP employment to glean evidence about whether or not jobs offered in these programmes are distinguishable from other forms of casual employment preponderant within the South African labour market. Through the use of structured interviews complemented by individual diaries conducted with thirty-two former participants of the Modimola Integrated EPWP in the North West province this study reveals that public works employment is not distinguishable from other forms of “precarious” employment when evaluated against the general indicators of labour market security, minimum wages and benefits, working time, training, and union representation, inter alia. Contrary to the documented policy expectation that EPWP employment will enhance workers’ skills and labour market exposure and thereby improve their subsequent labour market performance, this study reveals that public works employment was not successful in enhancing participants’ access to other employment opportunities. This study found a broad unemployment level of 97% amongst former participants of the Modimola EPWP almost five years after they went through the programme’s training component. The principal reason given by all the respondents was overwhelmingly lack of employment opportunities that required a recipe of skills they had acquired during participation in this programme.

This MSc (Eng) Investigational Project Report entails the evaluation of the Sekhukhuneland Development Programme (SDP). The SDP is a joint initiative of the Donaldson Trust and the Research Centre for Employment Creation in Construction (WORK). Its objective is: to increase the use of labour-intensive methods in the rehabilitation and maintenance of rural roads and other infrastructure in order to contribute to employment generation, skills development, provision of infrastructure and poverty alleviation. In order to achieve this objective an “Association not for gain” called LITE (Labour Intensive Training and Engineering) was formed; the Donaldson Trust provided the finance, and the expertise was provided by The Research Centre (WORK) but with additional support by Employment Intensive Engineering Consultants (EIEC). As the contracting organisation evolved from nothing into the training and engineering company LITE, the number of employees rose from none to fourteen. The University of the Witwatersrand provided a number of students to the project site at Mohlaletse in Sekhukhuneland where they provided voluntary assistance as part of their studies. Many of these students were from the University of Twente in the Netherlands, and it was largely due to their commitment that the project enjoyed such healthy growth. Considering the meagre resources this growth was a remarkable achievement, and it was made possible, not only through the efforts of the students, but also through the acceptance and support of the community. This support included providing accommodation for both students and site management. With a minimum of resources local community members were trained and employed by the SDP over a prolonged period of three years. The SDP evolved into a new programme, the Mohlaletse Youth Service Programme (MYSP), funded by the Umsobomvu Youth Fund. Of the R1.700.000 donated to the SDP, R1.690.000 was used during the evaluated period. Of this sum approximately 50% was spent directly within the Mohlaletse and Monametse community. The SDP consisted out of three main phases. The organisation evolved during the first two phases from no organisation into LITE Section 21, an organisation that could deal with training and engineering based on a strong labour-intensive focus. During the Pilot Phase the programme focused on establishing contact with the community and proving that labouriii intensive construction method could work. The next phase was the Training Phase where the necessary team leaders were trained to perform a variety of construction techniques. These techniques range from drainage structure to roads and buildings. The last phase is the Construction Phase during which the construction went ahead as planned using fully trained team leaders from the local community. The total setting of the SDP was as follows: SDP Phases SDP Periods Organisation SDP Projects - Pilot Phase: Period 1999H None Period Projects Period 2000A Point-of-Fact (Pty) Ltd Period Projects - Training Phase: Period 2001A Period Projects Mohlaletse Money-Cant-Buy Section 21 Period Projects Monametse Period 2001H Period Projects Mohlaletse LITE - Section 21 Period Projects Monametse Period Project Compound - Construction Phase: Period 2002H Period Projects Mohlaletse Period Projects Monametse Period Project LITE-House and LITE-School The main reason for the success has been the substantial involvement of the local Mohlaletse community and the acceptance of the Site Management within the Community. Within the constraints of the programme definition and objectives, the SDP has been a success to its sponsors and beneficiaries. Major problems were encountered within the fields of Labour-Intensive Construction Methods and the Project Management Areas of Knowledge. These should be taken into consideration when a new Constructing-Training Programme is started in future.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Public Policy (MMPP), September 2016 / The high rate of unemployment and poverty in South Africa remains a daunting challenge, which continues to impact on the lives of millions of people who have limited education and lack skills, particularly those in the marginalised and rural communities who have no access to income generation. Gauteng Province due to in-migration is no exception to these challenges. In an effort to address these challenges the government has adopted the EPWP programme, which is a nationwide government-led initiative, with the aim of reducing unemployment by ensuring that the unskilled gain skills so that they are able to gain access to labour market and consequently earn an income (EPWP Five-year report, 2004/5-2008/9). The five-year report states that the programme set the target of achieving approximately one (1) million temporary work opportunities, for people, of whom 40% will be women, 30% youth and 2% will constitute of people with disabilities. This programme hoped to mitigate some of the social exclusion that the society is faced with and contribute to poverty alleviation, through the creation of short-and medium-term jobs for the unskilled and unemployed. Phase 1 EPWP programme has not yielded the significant results it was intended to, particularly the reduction of unemployment, which has remained high. It should be noted that this programme created a great many expectations, in so far as it relates to maximising the spread and skilling of all intended beneficiaries, needed to gain access into the mainstream economy. The five-year report (2004/5-2008/9) identifies four sectors which are critical or have potential for creating employment opportunities within the context of the EPWP. These are described as follows: ii  The infrastructure sector, which focuses on increasing labour intensity for government-funded infrastructure projects;  Environment, which relates to public environmental improvement programmes  The social sector, which relates to public social programmes such as community-based care programmes; and  The non-state sector, which provides and creates work opportunities through collaboration with non-state organisations, as well as strengthening community participation through small enterprise learnership and incubation programmes / GR2018

Thesis (Master of Construction Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019. / This study evaluates both the Contractor Development Programme (CDP) mentorship programme and the emerging contractors’ personal limitations in achieving a successful programme implementation. The objectives of the study were as follows: (i) to ascertain whether the perception of limitations of the mentorship programme differs in accordance with contractor’s profile; (ii) to ascertain whether there is any statistically significant difference between the profiles of contractors with regard to the perception on mentorship programme limitations; (iii) to ascertain whether the perception of limitations of the contractors’ personal limitations differs in accordance with contractor’s profile; (iv) to ascertain whether there is any statistically significant difference between the profiles of emerging contractors with regard to the perception on personal limitations. The study adopted a quantitative research method which was preceded by an exploratory study. The study targeted emerging contractors in the Western Cape. The exploratory study was undertaken at the initial stage of the study to gain more insight in terms of the impact of limited contracting opportunities for emerging contractors on the Western Cape CDP mentorship programme. The data was collected by means of conducting semi-structured interviews to purposely selected emerging contractors, and was subsequently transcribed and analysed using content analysis. With regard to the main study, the questionnaire survey with closed-ended questions was distributed to the population of 16 emerging contractors with CIDB grade 3 and 5. The descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the main study. The study has uncovered a number of gaps in terms of the implementation processes of CDP mentorship programme. In regard to the mentorship programme limitations: The findings have revealed the use of ineffective recruitment and selection methods, the lack of training projects for contractors to tender, the lack of MOUs between the banks and the Western Cape CDP to ease access to credit, the lack of continuity in terms of mentoring services, the failure to evaluate contractors when they enter the mentorship programme, failure to monitor contractors’ development during mentorship, the failure to evaluate contractors when they exit the mentorship programme. In regard to the emerging contractors’ personal limitations: The findings have discovered the lack of tendering skills among contractors, lack of skills in interpreting construction drawings, the lack of planning for construction projects, the lack of estimation, and the lack of negotiation skills with material and plant suppliers. The research concludes by recommending that the Department of Transport and Public Works should review the entire mentorship programme. This will be achieved by appointing a business development practitioner to re-design and re-structure the entire mentorship programme so that it can be able to attract and select suitable contractors while meeting the governments’ objective of developing and promoting of emerging contractors in the construction industry.