Thesis (M. Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / The National government has implemented a rural development strategy, known as the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP), in various areas of the country including Muyexe village. The CRDP focused on community organization and mobilization as well as strategic investment in economic and social infrastructure. The programme adopted an approach that empowers Muyexe communities. It is built on the premise that rural areas in the country have the potential to be developed in a way that generates jobs and economic opportunities, thus providing an alternative to the urban centres, and contributing to the reduction of rural-urban migration. Muyexe has been one of the pilot areas in the country where the CRDP was implemented by the national government. The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent of the contribution of CRDP women empowerment in Muyexe. The study adopted a mixed research method (quantitative and quantitate) in order to describe and understand the impact of CRDP on women empowerment. The researcher used a questionnaire to collect data from 92 households, which were selected randomly. In addition, qualitative data was collected through one-on-one interviews, observation and literature review. Interviews were conducted with ten (10) CRDP facility managers, employees and government officials who were selected purposively. Findings indicate that the condition of women living in the village has improved as women are allowed to engage in decisions that directly affect them, and women are treated with respect and dignity. There are signs of improvement in terms of women’s empowerment, namely access to resources such as land, health care, water and electricity; involvement in the projects that are designed to benefit the community; and holding leadership positions, despite the cultural and traditional practices. However, the participants of the study perceive that women are not satisfied with their working conditions and the income they earn. Another finding of the study is that CRDP has implemented various facility services in order to benefit the local community of Muyexe, through setting up a library, recreation centre, computer centre, early childhood learning centre, post office, clinic, doing road vii construction and many more. Other projects implemented include water reservation tanks, electricity, toilets and backyard gardens. This study found that the infrastructure and service facilities that were developed through the CRDP have a major impact in the lives of women in the village. Women have more access to houses, water reservation tanks, and electricity and sanitation facilities. Moreover, the projects initiated by CRDP have benefited women and their families as well as creating employment opportunities and skills training. The CRDP has not fully achieved its purpose of empowering the community, women in particular, due to several implementation challenges including inadequate coordination, theft and vandalism, and nepotism. Thus it is crucial for the policy makers and implementers to look into the different challenges that women are facing and come up with appropriate strategies that will further empower rural women in the study area. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

A research report for the partial fulfillment of Masters degree in the school of Geography and Environmental studies, Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2007. / Unable to load abstract

Thesis (M.A. (Administration and Development)) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / Feminist studies show that gender inequality is an impediment for livelihoods diversification among rural households. Whereas women are understood to be the designers, planners and managers of livelihoods for household survival, their roles in diversification of the means of earning a living are generally undermined through a myriad of social and cultural laws, values, norms and beliefs. Despite the publicity, attempts and efforts in redressing gender inequality in a demographic South Africa, the dissertation argues that gender inequality in rural areas has remained persistent, posing an obstacle to the capacity of households to diversify their livelihoods. The study uses survey results from Sebayeng Village in order to demonstrate that the community’s perceptions of women’s roles perpetuate the status quo wherein women’s capacity to diversify livelihoods are undermined. The survey involved 200 households that were sampled through the simple random design. The respondents consisted of 56.5% females and 43.5% males. The survey results demonstrate that gender inequality remains deep in Sebayeng Village and that such inequality negatively affects the ability of households to diversify their livelihoods. Therefore, this study tends to confirm the general principle that gender inequality renders women as unexplored resources in rural development. To that extent, the study concludes that one of the tests for the success in gender transformation in South Africa is in releasing the energies of women in the sphere of livelihoods diversification.

MAdmin / Department of Public and Development Administration

Thesis (M.Sc. (Interdisciplinary Global Change Studies))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Science, School of Geography, Archaeology & Environmental Studies, 2017. / The objective of the thesis was to determine the relationship between climate variability and rural livelihoods in the Vhembe District Municipality situated in the extreme north of South Africa. These relationships ranged between food and nutritional security, land tenure, financial security, domestic politics and their impacts on human well-being in terms of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. The thesis uses a multi-discipline approach to assess the socio-economic outcomes of poor support to rural households that are struggling to attain an acceptable standard of living in the face of increasing challenges brought about by climate change. It also looked to investigate the capacity of rural households to adapt to the challenges of living in such an area. Results were obtained through questionnaires and basic interviews conducted among the residents of three selected areas in the Vhembe District of South Africa. The results demonstrate that residents of Vhembe go through daily suffering as a result of poor support and assistance in adapting to the challenges of climate change in the area and its impact on their livelihoods. The on-going academic literature suggests that integrated livelihood resilience is essential to adaptation to climate variability and that this can reduce the vulnerability of these areas. It also calls for the development and maintenance of effective local institutions supported by public private partnerships. Gaps identified in the literature suggested that more knowledge on land use change caused by seasonal variability as a result of the El Niño Southern Oscillation was needed as well as the prevalence of indigenous knowledge systems in adapting to these changes. It was found that local knowledge and effective local institutions were not as prevalent as expected in achieving livelihood adaptation. Some key findings were that 59% of households did not have access to arable land with 49% of respondents stating that they did not plant crops in the recent season due to the poor rains experienced. Furthermore, the reliance on social grants was notably high with 32% of respondents relying on these. Some residents who cannot pay to have access to electricity are forced to collect or buy firewood for everyday use. Furthermore, only 9% of respondents stated that they had access to flush toilets. These issues are shown to have environmental and other social consequences in the target communities. The thesis concludes that management of natural resources in Vhembe needs to be improved, as these are potential safety nets for the rural poor. It also suggests that there will need to be more support by government and business to set up beneficial agricultural projects to sustainably grow inclusive prosperity for rural residents of the Vhembe District. Key Words: Climate Variability, Sustainable Livelihood Framework, Adaptive Capacity / XL2018

PHDRDV / Institute for Rural Development

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2003 / Refer to document

Thesis (M.Admin. (Development)) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / Feminist studies show that gender inequality is an impediment for livelihoods diversification among rural households. Whereas women are understood to be the designers, planners and managers of livelihoods for household survival, their roles in diversification of the means of earning a living are generally undermined through a myriad of social and cultural laws, values, norms and beliefs. Despite the publicity, attempts and efforts in redressing gender inequality in a demographic South Africa, the dissertation argues that gender inequality in rural areas has remained persistent, posing an obstacle to the capacity of households to diversify their livelihoods. The study uses survey results from Sebayeng Village in order to demonstrate that the community’s perceptions of women’s roles perpetuate the status quo wherein women’s capacity to diversify livelihoods are undermined. The survey involved 200 households that were sampled through the simple random design. The respondents consisted of 56.5% females and 43.5% males. The survey results demonstrate that gender inequality remains deep in Sebayeng Village and that such inequality negatively affects the ability of households to diversify their livelihoods. Therefore, this study tends to confirm the general principle that gender inequality renders women as unexplored resources in rural development. To that extent, the study concludes that one of the tests for the success in gender transformation in South Africa is in releasing the energies of women in the sphere of livelihoods diversification.

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / The study was conducted to examine the impact of the implementation of the comprehensive rural development programme, President Zuma referred to it as the integrated rural develooment in is presidential inaugural speech in 2009. The researcher went to Muyexe village to conduct the research as well as to observe what took place. The researcher interviewed community members as well as community leadership who indicated how the community has been transformed to what it was, which they described a squalor living condition to what it is today, a community that meets the most basic needs required for sustainable livelihood. The people of Muyexe owe their changed fortunes to the government’s Comprehensive Rural Development Programme developed and coordinated by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. Sector departments and other development agencies were mobilised to work together towards a common goal to improve the lives of rural people. The intervention brought numerous changes to the community of Muyexe village. The lives of the community has been improved, through the intervention the community now have access to health care, early child hood development centre, community multi community centre, and so forth. The community spoke fondly of the reduction in crime and the killings of their cattle by wild animals; the reduction is caused by the establishment of the police station and the fencing around of the village. Despite what had been achieved by the intervention, Government should regard what happened as an initial intervention to focus on meeting people’s basic needs, especially food security. The next step should be the entrepreneurial stage and large scale infrastructure development.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017. / While there are a fair number of studies on land reform in South Africa, there are knowledge gaps on the impact of some specific forms of land redistribution on livelihoods of beneficiaries. The purpose of this study therefore was to assess the impact of the land redistribution in the case of selected farms in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. A qualitative research method was used and twelve households were interviewed. A number of indicators were used to assess impact. These included household income, job creation, empowerment and sustainability. The selection of indicators was informed by a comprehensive literature review on land redistribution, not only in South Africa but in other parts of the world as well. The findings from the study revealed that the land redistribution beneficiaries are faced with challenges such as poor infrastructure on redistributed farms, limited or lack of access to affordable inputs and lack of financial support immediately after redistribution. These and other challenges makes life for the intended beneficiaries very difficult which in the end makes land redistribution ineffective. A major factor which explains the failure of these farms appeared to be the inadequate planning of post-settlement support. Even though land was effectively transferred to the beneficiaries, the little support they have received in terms of financial, infrastructural and marketing support, for example, has limited their capacity to utilise the land productively and cost effectively. The study recommends that the government and other agencies should consider providing comprehensive support to these communities until they are able to run on their own. Substantial research should be carried out to rethink strategies on land redistribution, particularly on how to handle the issue of title deeds which currently appears problematic in the context of the farms that were studied. Finally, the training programmes for land redistribution beneficiaries should also include training current legislation on land redistribution issues in order to adequately prepare the new land owners for any unexpected challenges as has occurred in the case of the farms that were studied.