Thesis (MA (Public and Development Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Great pressure is placed on national government to initiate a way of achieving greater economic growth as well as alleviating poverty. A mandate has therefore been given to local government to play a fundamental role in achieving this. Local Economic Development (LED), a relatively new approach to development, is currently seen as a prominent strategy to tackle the problem of unemployment and poverty in South Africa and provide a bottom-up approach to economic development. It forms part of the economic and social development mandate given by national government to local authorities. However, although policies are in place, LED strategies have produced very few success stories for various reasons, such as the lack of capacity within municipalities as well as resource constraints. It is also alleged that LED is incorrectly interpreted and therefore also incorrectly implemented. Because of the presumed effects of LED in terms of economic growth and social upliftment, pressure is placed on municipalities to get appropriate strategies into place as soon as possible. A literature review is presented which covers the theory of LED by looking at the global perspectives of the concept and nature of LED, the history and concept of LED, the different LED approaches and strategies, and key actors within LED. LED is then evaluated within the context of development in order to establish a link between LED and poverty alleviation. LED is also evaluated within the South African context, specifically with regards to the policy context, the historical approach and the challenges to LED implementation in South Africa. An investigation into the background of the City of Cape Town served as the point of departure to evaluate LED implementation. The issue of regional planning for LED integration between urban and rural areas is also discussed. The challenges to economic and social improvement in the City of Cape Town are also highlighted and the current draft Strategy for Economic and Human Development in the City of Cape Town was evaluated. This was done to investigate the LED approach and specific interventions of the City of Cape Town Municipality in terms of the Comprehensive Approach Model, a model formulated in the thesis. This was done to establish whether it is likely to succeed or not, and therefore the thesis specifically explored the priorities and the fundamentals outlined by the Strategy. Thereafter its possible implementation was assessed according to the organisational structure and how it affects the operationalisation of the Strategy in terms of planning, the process itself, and the monitoring and evaluation of the process. Finally, the challenges to the Strategy were discussed and recommendations were made. From the literature review it is clear that LED should lead to much more than merely economic improvement; this insight reinforces the socio-economic role of LED development intervention strategies. What is also evident in terms of LED in developing countries is that the approach has to establish a strategy which deliberately focuses on pro-poor LED implementation. It is often the way that the process is executed that brings the social focus of LED into perspective.

Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development Planning and Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / The study evaluated co-operative governance in integrated development planning (IDP), with a focus on local economic development (LED). Literature review, survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were data gathering instruments. Co-operative governance entailed mutual understanding with inclusive decision-making between government spheres and government, business and communities. This was unsuccessful in IDP because of national government dominance, complex tools for co-operation, expert-controlled co-operative governance, finance-dominated planning, a lack of proactive municipal planning and dominance by empowered role-players. Four LED models, namely, a Western, Latin American, African and South African emerged. South Africa’s model is multi-sectoral with land management policy, investor promotion, institutional development, financial and social investment strategies and sufficient policy and legislation. However, co-operative governance in IDP (LED) is dis-functional because of assumed equality of stakeholders. The study recommends a ‘Quilted Co-operative Development Planning Model’, which has a streamlined policy framework, efficient and effective management tools and organisation that promote bottom-up planning.

Thesis (MPA (School of Public Management and Planning))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / South Africa comes from an apartheid local government system that was structured to divide citizens socially, economically, spatially, and racially to ensure that only a small minority of South Africans benefited from development. However since 1994 with the democratisation of our country, local government departments have undergone a number of transformation processes, which saw the country steadily moving away from the apartheid local government system. Representation is one of the main foundations of a non-racist, non-sexist and democratic society and achieving it is regarded as a necessary precondition to legitimise the public service to drive it towards equitable service delivery. The most prominent response to achieve a representative public service was the Employment Equity Act (No 55 of 1998), which became operational on 9 August 1999. Essentially the Act calls for a complete prohibition of unfair discrimination against all employees and requires that all designated employers undertake affirmative action measures to ensure that suitably qualified people from designated groups have equal employment opportunities. There are therefore many arguments in favour of AA and many against it, making it a formidable and complex task, especially in the South African context. However it is important to understand the reason for enactment of employment equity legislation in the workplace in terms of South Africa‟s history of discrimination and the resultant inequalities. The manner in which employment equity and affirmative action is introduced and handled in the organization can have a great influence on the perception and attitude of staff towards the topic. It therefore becomes imperative to grasp the understanding of staff on employment equity and related issues to measure if any progress was made and how to possibly improve on present practices in the organisation. Against this background this study investigated the perception and attitude of the City of Cape Town Health staff towards employment equity. The requirements of the EEA were discussed and used as the benchmark for success of implementation. The study included the review of relevant secondary sources of information but primary data was also obtained through the use of questionnaires comprising of semi structured questions to achieve this objective. The main findings from the secondary data revealed that AA is still necessary as a corrective tool, because our playing fields are far from leveled, however the reality is we have a great shortage of skills that is impacting on our global competitiveness which calls for a shift in thinking regarding the government‟s present approach. 4 In addition the research also identified as a designated employer, the City of Cape Town has fulfilled the legislative requirements, in that all its policies are consistent with the requirements of the EEA. The main findings of the primary data obtained from the questionnaires recognized that senior management of the City Health directorate is committed to EE, but falls short of an effective communication plan regarding the relevant issues of EE, there is little focus on disabled appointments and many employees indicated other criteria outside 'suitably qualified' (as defined in the EEA) plays a large role in the promotion of employees.

Thesis (MPhil (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / In the present chaos surrounding society, youth are in dire need of tools that will enable them to navigate life’s tests and help them understand their role in building a new world civilisation. It is not enough though merely to hear and profess grand ideals, action needs to accompany words. Action happens when ethics and spiritual principles are integrated at a deep level and become part of an individual’s character. The following mini thesis is a project proposal for the formation of a Drama Workshop called People’s Theatre. People’s Theatre aims to help youth become of service to humanity through the internalization of morals and through the realization of their spiritual identity and their oneness with the entire human race. The project proposal begins with an explanation of why the project is being implemented on a local level and where it fits in on a global level. The project utilises three component parts that are seen as necessary if the project is to be sustainable. There are dramatic, moral education and service component parts to the project. The dramatic component will focus particularly on the ZIPoPo method which has been chosen due to it being a powerful medium of expression as well as its focus on positive decision making and moral development. Following this, the project proposal goes into detail concerning the necessary steps needed to be taken in order to practically implement the project and make it a success. The format follows a typical project proposal format. Another factor that was decided upon in order to help make the project more sustainable was that the project would be divided into three main phases. These phases are talked about throughout the proposal. There is also an analysis about why certain activities were chosen and how to take advantage of any opportunities that may arise and lead to the further success of the project. Particular attention was paid to how to make the project truly sustainable and participatory and in this way enable it to succeed. Empowerment begins by teaching people how to walk their own path to development. The following project proposal provides a detailed plan on how to help youth to do just that.

Thesis (MComm (School of Public Management and Planning))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Knowledge management is a well-founded management approach that has been successfully applied across the corporate sector and holds the same benefits for public sector organisations. Knowledge management is a management philosophy that impacts on various components of an organisation, in particular the organisational processes and the information and communication configurations within the organisation. Knowledge management can significantly advance organisational efficiency. However, it must be ensured that different organisational processes and departments collaborate and that functional silos are eliminated. Knowledge management requires long-term commitment and dedication from all organisational members. Furthermore, there are certain knowledge management enablers in an organisation that need to be developed and that are necessary for the achievement of organisational effectiveness. These enablers are the organisational culture, the human resources, the information technology, organisational structure and the strategy and leadership. As previously mentioned, this management philosophy can be successfully applied in the public sector. Local government organisations, who are largely responsible for service delivery to the public can effectively implement knowledge management practices as a strategic tool to achieve their service delivery and operational goals. The need therefore exists for local governments to take on the role of knowledge-based organisations that prosper on the capabilities of knowledge workers. In order for local governments to deliver services, function well and operate in an environment characterised by transparency and accountability, local governments must have effectual strategies and governance policies in terms of the knowledge present within their organisations.

Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development Planning and Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / This study evaluates community participation in the Huidare Informal Settlement (HDIS) as a case study. The hypothesis is that the breach of trust between the previous community leaders of the HDIS and the current community members has an effect on community participation in issues affecting them and their community today. The research methodology employed is explained as well as the policy context for community participation both on an international level and in Namibia, is reviewed. The legislation on community participation that has been enforced by the City of Windhoek contradicts what happened in the HDIS. The possibility will be investigated as to whether these policy documents of the City of Windhoek are only another form of tokenism.

Thesis (MPhil (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / The negative impact of poverty on development and security in South Africa has been exacerbated by high food prices. However, high food prices have also had a positive effect in that it galvanised civil society into coalescing and finally playing an activist role. Looking at the development of corporate social responsibility and how it was shaped by external influences exerted on it by society, the thesis argues that high food prices might be one of those triggers that might change the implementation of corporate social responsibility from that as a business tool to one that is more developmental in its intent. This argument is one that has been proposed by developmental theorists, but has been resisted by companies for various reasons herein discussed. In the same way that corporate social responsibility is shaped by external factors, development is also determined by the macro (economic) policies and state capacity in which the company operates. State incapacity has led the citizens looking at companies increasingly to fulfil a more developmental role. In this regard there are problems attendant to the private sector assuming the responsibilities of the state and the thesis argues that the private sector should rather play a complementary role to development interventions of government. The combination of the factors highlighted above has led to increased pressure on the private sector to play a more developmental role, and there appears to be a degree of acknowledgment from the private sector. This thesis looks critically at some approaches to corporate social responsibility and uses one particular company to illustrate, not only some of the critical factors of successful engagement with development through CSR, such as leadership and context specific interventions, but also to show that development and, particularly, poverty alleviation is compatible with running a profitable organisation.

Thesis (MA (Public and Development Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Chronic food insecurity continues to be a major problem for rural poor households in Lesotho. This condition is caused by a number of factors including poverty, landlessness, and extreme land degradation, reduced remittances due to retrenchments from South African mines, closures of some of textile industries, the effects of HIV/AIDS and a significant decline in farming practices due to erratic weather patterns and conditions. All these factors have led to an increase in vulnerability levels. This is magnified by the rapid erosion of traditional coping mechanisms, a situation that has consequently left communities unable to respond to any form of disaster. The primary aim of this research was to investigate the community vulnerability to food insecurity in the Southern Lowlands and review the World Food Programme (WFP) food aid programme in the same area. The research addressed the questions such as the causes of food insecurity in the Southern Lowlands; and social protection initiatives that are being implemented by WFP to address food insecurity. The research revealed that WFP has been distributing food aid to the vulnerable households in the Southern Lowlands since 2002. These households belong to categories such as households hosting orphans and vulnerable children, chronically ill persons and physically disabled persons; female-headed households; elderly-headed households; child-headed households; and expectant and nursing mothers. In addition to these categories, WFP implemented food for work activities in which vulnerable households with able-bodied persons worked in to receive food aid. The research found evidence of chronic livelihood failure in the Southern Lowlands. This failure renders it increasingly difficult for households vulnerable to food insecurity to develop and maintain sustainable livelihoods. In particular, the research revealed that, a large proportion of households (53%) are at risk of food insecurity in the Southern Lowlands; the majority of vulnerable households did not hold any cereal stocks remaining from the immediate post harvest period; chronic illness, unemployment and erratic weather patterns are causes of food insecurity in the Southern Lowlands. As means of coping strategies, most households adopt various strategies such as switching expenditure patterns; reducing number of meals per day; kingship support; selling of livestock; and searching for casual labour opportunities. Food aid has improved the livelihoods and quality of life of the beneficiaries especially the chronically ill people. While some food for work activities such as building of toilets and water taps have been very helpful, others such as tree planting were not embraced by some of the beneficiaries and finally food aid promotes dependency among its beneficiaries and nursing mothers intentionally starve their children in order to stay in the programme. The two significant challenges in the distribution of food aid were found to be food pipeline break and the beneficiary selection criteria. The findings therefore generate the conclusion that although there seems to be an improvement in food access by households benefiting from the food aid programme, there is no evidence that those households will continue to access food in the absence of food aid. In essence, the absence of social food security foundation, executed in tandem with food aid interventionist measures, does not realistically augur well for the future. This conclusion comes from the finding that food for work activities which are more likely to generate income for the vulnerable households are not sustainable because the discussions further revealed that these activities have been imposed on the beneficiaries, without the coownership corollary that partners the communities with food aid agencies such as WFP. It is therefore recommended that development agents should not determine the developmental projects/programmes within the communities. The process should be interactive and should not be done in isolation but in mutual social learning and capacity building process as both parties (development agents and the beneficiaries) learn from each other and manage to develop a reciprocal relationship and partnership that will eventually reap sustainable outcome. It is therefore concluded that, the food aid programmes failed to offer sustainable social safety nets to the beneficiaries. The research hypothesis that there is no clear exit strategy in the implementation of the food security interventions and that there are no sustainability and continuity measures that were put into place by WFP remains valid.

Thesis (MPhil (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / The word ‘ecovillage’ is evocative of a kind of human settlement that exists in complete harmony with nature and examples of such settlements are indeed in existence almost everywhere in the world, some nearly half a century in the making. The Gqunube Green Ecovillage near East London can hardly be described as one of a proliferation of such settlements in South Africa, but it is anticipated that an examination of that project will contribute to the limited academic literature on the topic of sustainable human settlement. In Chapter 1, this thesis introduces the Gqunube Green Ecovillage and, in the following six chapters, traces its origins and demonstrates how models for ‘ideal’ human settlement developed. It explains how and why an international ecovillage movement reached South Africa and how Reverend Roger Hudson responded to that movement by starting the Gqunube Green Ecovillage in South Africa. The conclusion is that Reverend Hudson has achieved his primary objective, namely the establishment of an ecovillage, but the challenges described in this thesis have been significant. One of the most significant potential stumbling blocks to the future smooth management of Gqunube Green is its own regulatory environment that dictates the relationship between the settlers and their ecovillage. The proposed sociocratic management style, combined with a strongly spiritual, eco-theological objective, is driven by a strongly worded and rule-orientated ecovillage constitution that is shown in Chapters 2 and 3 to have the potential to both alienate and unite the inhabitants of the Gqunube Green Ecovillage – depending on how it is interpreted and enforced. The external regulatory environment, both enabling and restricting development, is analysed in Chapter 4. National, provincial and local government legislation, policies and guidelines intersect to influence the progress of the Gqunube Green Ecovillage, creating opportunity for controversy between conservationists and developers. However, the debates between the various interest groups over the appropriateness of various development options for the east bank of the Gonubie Estuary were largely incidental and somewhat irrelevant to the delays in the development of the Gqunube Green Ecovillage that are described in Chapter 5. Although bureaucratic delays in the formal process of development have restrained the full rollout of the ecovillage project, the Gqunube Green Ecovillage was eventually established at the end of 2005 and the chronology leading to this milestone is described in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 of this thesis examines the timing of the Gqunube Green Ecovillage project within a changing and enabling paradigm shift, enabled by cooperative local government and efforts at the integration of legislation and policy to align with the constitutional aims of sustainable development. The concept of an ecovillage is not always acceptable to everyone as the ideal development model, especially when big business has a stake. However, it has been argued that the very fact that the establishment of an ecovillage has succeeded where big business was about to establish itself is a victory in itself for the founders of the Gqunube Green Ecovillage.

Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development Planning and Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Despite our best planning and Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) efforts we seem to be failing in our pursuit of Sustainable Development. In South Africa we find ourselves confronted with the harsh reality that after 14 years of democracy, more than a decade of compulsory EIA, and 12 years of legislated Integrated Development Planning (“IDP”), poverty remains widespread and persists alongside affluence, while inequalities are also growing. In addition South Africa’s life-supporting ecosystems continue to deteriorate at an alarming rate. Critically reflecting on what is going wrong, it is clear that there is an emergent consensus in the discourse that points towards the inadequate consideration of alternatives. A literature review of the historical development and social construction of the concept of “sustainable development”; a theoretical analysis of sustainable development, planning and EIA; as well as an analysis of the legislative and policy framework for EIA and IDP in South Africa, shows that the consideration of alternatives is the “heart” and “soul” of EIA and IDP, and therefore of the pursuit of sustainable development in South Africa. A content analysis of a sample of EIAs and IDPs undertaken and produced in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, however, indicates that alternatives are not being adequately considered during the current practice of EIA and IDP in South Africa – resulting in only slightly less unsustainable development and a perpetuation of the unsustainable and unjust “business-as-usual” development types and patterns of the past. EIA and IDP can never be, and were never supposed to be completely separate processes. EIAs must be considered within the context to be provided by the sustainable development vision, goals and objectives to be formulated in, and the desired spatial form and pattern of land use to be reflected in an area’s IDP and Spatial Development Frameworks (“SDF”). Properly informed Strategic Environmental Assessment based IDPs and SDFs, refined by Environmental Management Frameworks, should therefore provide the strategic context and decision-making framework for the consideration of need, desirability and alternatives; with the actual and potential socio-economic and ecological impacts of a specific proposal to be considered during the project-level EIA. Project-level EIAs in turn providing “feedback” to the planning processes to ensure reflexivity and continued improvement. The improved integration and convergence of IDP and EIA decision-making methodologies and practice are therefore paramount to the adequate consideration of alternatives and the pursuit of sustainable development in South Africa. While the challenges to be addressed by EIA and IDP in South Africa are complex and ‘wicked’, and the pursuit of sustainable development solutions is therefore also a complex and ongoing process, the need for fundamental alternatives that will lead to drastic and urgent change for the better are, however, just as real. The urgency and importance of the sustainable development challenge for South Africa calls for bold decisions and the search for sustainable alternatives that will deliver urgent and fundamental change for all South Africans. The practice of EIA and IDP should be driven by these realities and reflect the need for urgent and fundamental change.