A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Master of Arts degree in the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. / This report is an exploratory discussion of the prospects for private sector investment in development initiatives. Based on a set of structured and unstructured interviews, a press review and a survey of the relevant literature, the report paints to a growth in the areas of commonality between the worlds of investment and development, in that there is increasing recogniticm of the need to direct resources to South Africa's poor at the same time as market forces are starting to play an enlarged role in development. The report argues however, that the social context in which investors are 'embedded' is very different from that of development practitioners, leading to a situation in which development projects are seen as risky investments. The difficulty experienced by private investors in understanding the world of development is identified by the report as the single largest obstacle to private sector investment in development. The report draws the conclusion that mediating institutions are required to structure relationships between development agents and investors. / Andrew Chakane 2018

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Public and Development Administration / The development of a range of regional and national soclo-economic and development forum has been one of the most unusual and facilitating phenomena of the recent system transformation and contemporary South Africa. in light of these experiences, the study covers the initial attempts of the Gauteng provincial government to structure citizen and community participation in the local implementation of the Reconstruction and Development Programme. (Abbreviation abstract) / Andrew Chakane 2019

The purpose of this study is to reflect on how Ezra-Nehemiah can be used as a new paradigm in a quest for an African theology of renewal, transformation and reconstruction. The particular context of crisis of this study is the (South) African situation of poverty, debt, civil wars, ethnicity, racism, xenophobia, military coups, HIV/AIDS, child and women abuse etc. The study, then, consists of four related parts. One part consists of a detailed analysis of the philosophies of Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance. The focus here is on how these two concepts can be a theoretical framework within which the entire thesis rests. The second part consists of an analysis of how Ezra-Nehemiah has been used by African scholars, in a quest for a theology of renewal, transformation and reconstruction. The focus here is on Charles Villa-Vicencio, Jesse Mugambi and Andre Karamaga. The third part consists of a critical study of the text of Ezra-Nehemiah. The focus here is on three related issues. Firstly, we identify the prevalent ideology within the text, and how this ideology is used to sideline the am haaretz. Secondly, we analyse the possible author(s) and date(s) of Ezra-Nehemiah. Thirdly, we offer a sociological analysis of the ideology(ies) of the author(s) of the text of Ezra-Nehemiah. And the fourth part consists of the relevance of the critical study of the text for the (South) African context. The focus here is on contextualizing selected aspects arising out of the analysis of the study of Ezra-Nehemiah, as a way of making such contextualisation a basis for a theology of renewal, transformation and reconstruction for the (South) African continent. The setting for this study is Old Testament biblical studies. While this study begins by analysing both the philosophies of Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance as a theoretical framework for the whole thesis, its methodology is biblical sociological analysis. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

M.Phil. / The problem giving rise to research on the role of the school in the reconstruction of society, is a practical one. The question is how could the school interact with society in the education of children and so play a leading role. The discussion above immediately poses several problems which may be summarised by means of the following questions. What are the social and educational problems confronting the community of Mamelodi? How can the school help in addressing these problems? To what extent can the school contribute towards the reconstruction of the community in Mamelodi? Having identified problems related to schooling in Mamelodi, the aims of the research will be established. The aim of the research is to determine the contribution that the schools in Mamelodi can make towards the reconstruction of the community

M.A. / The South African development context is characterized by high levels of unemployment and poverty. It is therefore imperative to address these two aspects if any advancement in regard to development is to be achieved. Several options are available to development agents and government structures alike. The pre-requisite, however, for the selection of an option is sustainability. A Public Works Programme (PWP) holds the potential of impacting on South Africa's high levels of unemployment and poverty. Although this programme needs to be implemented alongside similar economic upliftment initiatives, a PWP can contribute significantly to the improvement of the SA development situation. The nature of a PWP has changed from purely creating jobs, to including training and education as essential components of a PWP. Only by including the latter components, can a PWP be deemed sustainable and impact directly on the lives of the participants. With the transformation to a new political dispensation in April 1994, SA also embarked on formulating a holistic and comprehensive development approach and vision. The final product was the Reconstruction and Development Programme. This Programme established the broad framework in which development policy and implementation take place. The RDP consists of various development aspects, all aimed at improving the SA development context. One of these aspects is focused at the upliftment and stimulation of the economy. The PWP forms part of the overall economic strategy. From this theoretical point of departure, the National PWP was formulated. One of the main factors that contributed to the slow development and implementation of the NPWP was the absence of local government structures. Local government structures underwent similar changes to those experienced at national level. In addition to the structural and geographical changes, the responsibilities of local government increased due to decentralisation of powers and functions from national government. Now local government holds the position of "development facilitator" instead of being a mere supplier of municipal services. Local economic development within the specified area has been emphasised as an urgent matter that needs to be developed and supported by local government. The NPWP fits perfectly into this mould. This study investigates the nature of the NPWP and the role of local government in its implementation with specific reference to a Gauteng local authority, the Greater Johannesburg Transitional Metropolitan Council.

Air pollution of late has been the focus of many studies due to the detrimental health risks that it poses to individuals. University environments have several academic departments with peculiar activities that could be affecting the indoor and outdoor air quality (AQ) of these environments. University settings differ from other environments because of the variety of activities and different lines of work that go on inside buildings housing academic departments and their surroundings, which are likely to have an impact on indoor air quality (IAQ) and outdoor air quality (OAQ) in this environment. Only a few AQ studies have been done in university sites and surrounds worldwide and in these studies, IAQ was given primary importance; whereas, the outdoor environment was and is often neglected. A study comparing both IAQ and OAQ is critical to further understand the relationship between IAQ and OAQ within a university campus. The University of Limpopo (UL) in the Mankweng township of South Africa has been undergoing some refurbishments with numerous construction activities going on in addition to the academic activities of UL. These activities may be affecting the AQ in this unique environment. The main aim of this study was to determine differences between indoor and outdoor AQ in a university environment and to understand how AQ in this unique environment varies with seasons and building function. The study was carried out in three buildings housing three different academic departments in UL namely: Department of Physiology and Environmental Health (PEH), Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Biotechnology (BMBT) and the Department of Biodiversity (BIOD). Twenty indoor and 20 outdoor measuring sites were identified per departmental building from where real-time measurements of 11 AQ parameters (linear air velocity (LAV), dry-bulb temperature (Tdb), relative humidity (RH), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), ozone (O3), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), hydrogen sulphide (H2S), non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)) were taken over three consecutive days per season. Thus, a total of 60 indoor and 60 outdoor measurements were taken for each parameter in each of the three buildings of interest per season, leading to 360 measurements per season and 1440 measurement per parameter over the one-year period of study across the study area. A hot-wire anemometer was used to measure LAV, whereas the Q-Trak indoor AQ monitor was used in the measurement of Tdb, RH, CO and CO2. Aeroqual AQ monitors were employed in the measurement of O3, SO2, NO2, H2S, NMHCs and VOCs. The Wilcoxon signed ranks test was used to determine differences between indoor and outdoor environments. Significant differences were found between the indoor and outdoor environments for LAV (all three buildings), Tdb (PEH and BMBT), RH (BIOD), O3 (all three buildings), NO2 (all three buildings), CO (all three buildings), CO2 (all three buildings), NMHCs (BMBT and BIOD), and VOCs (all three buildings) (p < 0.05). Linear air velocity, O3, SO2, CO, CO2, and H2S values/concentrations across the indoor/outdoor environments were within the ASHRAE/DEA/WHO guidelines/standards, whereas Tdb, RH and NO2 values/concentrations were not. Air quality in the study area varied with building, with the best AQ across both the indoor and outdoor environments being within the BIOD building, whilst the worst AQ across both environments was encountered in the PEH building. Seasonal differences between buildings were also identified between indoor and outdoor environments among the PEH, BMBT and BIOD buildings (p < 0.008). Across the indoor environment, the winter season was found to be the season with the best AQ, since all the pollutants were found at minimum concentrations. Factors affecting AQ in the study area included thermal comfort, occupant densities, building function, laboratory emissions, renovation activities, generators, vehicular emissions, among others. The best AQ across the outdoor environment occurred during the autumn season, since all the air pollutants were present at minimal concentrations during this time. The best predictors of LAV, Tdb, CO, CO2, NO2, and NMHCs were seasons (R2 = 1.000, p < 0.01). For the parameters RH, H2S, and VOCs, the best predictor was building type (R2 = 1.000, p < 0.01). The indoor and outdoor environment were the best predictors for SO2 (R2 = 0.999, p < 0.01). Ozone had no single predictor that was found to significantly influence its concentration in this study. In relation to an air pollution index (API), generally all pollutant indices fell within the fair, good to very good range when using mean and maxima concentrations, whereas, corresponding NO2 concentrations throughout the study fell within the poor to very poor range (105.660–250.000). University management should take into consideration ventilation in laboratories, occupant densities and location of standby generators and car parks in the management of AQ on the university campus. All heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems need to be upgraded and work in tandem with natural ventilation when having high occupant densities within buildings. Future studies in this sector could incorporate larger sample sizes, be designed as a longitudinal study, and make use of questionnaires and sample more AQ parameters to get a detailed understanding of a university site and its surrounds. / Environmental Sciences / Ph. D. (Environmental Science)