This study investigated the education and training needs for municipal employees in order to inform an education and training strategy that would address environmental management challenges in Makana local municipality in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape province. The research was conducted as a qualitative case study that made use of questionnaires, document analysis, focus group discussions and interviews as instruments for data generation. Samples of respondents were selected from Makana Municipality employees in top and middle management positions, professionals/technicians and workers, including elected councillors. The study was contextualised through establishing environmental management issues in Makana municipality; establishing organisational needs; development of a learner profile; and through a review of policies and recent trends in adult education. The study established that the Makana Municipality employees are most concerned with the following issues: sanitation; solid waste management; livestock management and fire management. These issues require primary environmental competences among all council employees (top and middle management, professionals and technicians, workers and councillors who work on part-time basis). The educational implications needed to respond to these issues also require an understanding of legislation. The study also established that technical education and training which includes planning, project management, and financial and budgeting competences are necessary amongst the management and professionals. These competences may enable them to develop capacity in environmental management. This study further established the need for social education which includes competences such as communication and social justice. These competences should be developed amongst members of the same group as they need to involve the community in management of the environment. This should enable the municipality to create job opportunities and help change negative attitudes.

The research study focused on the service delivery challenges regarding water and sanitation in the Gauteng Province. Two metropolitan municipalities including the City of Johannesburg and the City of Tshwane were investigated and used for this research study. The study used a qualitative research design and the methodology includes literature reviews and structured interviews to highlight the challenges from an international, South African, and provincial perspective, particularly in Gauteng. An interview schedule was developed and structured interviews were conducted to collect primary data from the selected participants. Although the literature review conducted indicate that the provision of water and sanitation in the Gauteng Province had improved, significant challenges remain. Areas such as informal settlements are still experiencing shortcomings as compared to the metropolitan areas. Institutional challenges such as a lack of appropriate skills still exist. Other challenges such as poor financial management and non-payment for services by the communities persist. Furthermore, the literature indicates that community protests over basic services occur more in the Gauteng Province than in other provinces. This indicates that the challenges of providing basic services such as water and sanitation are still persistent. To deal with the challenges of providing water and sanitation services, the government and agencies involved in the provision of these services implemented several measures. To alleviate the challenges, not only government help is needed, but also help from other sectors, including non-governmental organisations, agencies, and communities. The findings of this study might assist the municipalities to improve the services through its recommendations. The study is also meant to help public officials and political office bearers to understand the dynamics and challenges they are faced with when carrying out their duties. This study will be used to add to the current literature on the basic service delivery challenges in the Gauteng Province, it will also contribute to academic and government related publications for further references and broadens research on the subject. / Public Administration / M. Admin. (Public Administration)

MENVSC / Department of Ecology and Resource Management / The purpose of this study was to evaluate the strategic management of the Thohoyandou Block J landfill site. There are limited documented materials on strategic management of landfill sites in South Africa. As a result, this study sought to close this gap and expose new insights that it deemed to be of great importance in the management and operations of landfill sites. The capacity of a TBJ landfill site in terms of its efficiency in disposing waste, adherence to rules and procedures and the overall management of the site are the key areas of this study. The dominant types and sources of solid waste disposed at the TBJ landfill site, efficiency and effectiveness of operation of TBJ landfill site and operational challenges are the main areas covered in this study. The study adopted the mixed methods approach, involving both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Both primary and secondary data were acquired. Primary data were obtained through a questionnaire, an interview and field observation, using an observation checklist. Secondary data were obtained from ArcGIS Desktop Help 9.2 and documented materials from the Thulamela Local Municipality and the TBJ landfill site, the Integrated Waste Management Plan, Integrated Development Plan, TBJ landfill site’s monthly report, audit report and landfill site’s operating plan. Basically, field observation and a questionnaire completed by the waste manager, landfill operator and supervisor, were used to collect data on the operational challenges of TBJ landfill site and to obtain data on the efficiency and effectiveness at which the TBJ landfill site is operating. Waste pickers were interviewed and field observation was undertaken, to identify the dominant types and sources of waste disposed at the TBJ landfill site. A questionnaire completed by TBJ landfill operator, ArcGIS Desktop Help 9.2 for field measurement, reports of the amount of waste recorded and the municipality’s database, were utilized to elicit data regarding the determination of the capacity of TBJ landfill site. The results obtained revealed that the TBJ landfill site’s remaining capacity is 317 085 m3, which will be exhausted in the next 4 years. Plastics were found to be the dominant waste disposed at the TBJ landfill site, at 40%, followed by card-boxes, which constituted 32%. The dominant sources of solid waste generation in the TBJ landfill site were households, at 51%, followed by commercial, at 31% and industrial, at 11%. The absence of a weighbridge, to weigh loads of waste, frequent break down of equipment, lack of equipment required to operate the TBJ landfill site efficiently and the presence of fire hazards, were some of the / NRF

MSc (Microbiology) / Department of Microbiology / See the attached abstract below