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The South African consulting engineering industry faces a challenge of relevance, particularly in the wake of government infrastructure investment through the planned National Development Plan and other current infrastructure plans. This challenge is even more so for small consulting engineering businesses within the industry who experienced a decline in earnings by ten percent in the first six months of 2013 as compared to the last six months of 2012 (Consulting Engineers South Africa, 2013:38). Government, as a job creator, has a duty to ensure that the conditions that these businesses operate in are favourable to them in order for the businesses to remain sustainable. Factors that contribute to the sustainability of small consulting engineering businesses need to be identified. Amathole District Municipality (ADM) situated in the Eastern Cape Province and which is the second largest province in South Africa but the second poorest (Eastern Cape Socio Economic Council (ECSECC), 2011:15 cited in Mtshibe, 2013:1) is one of those job creators. According to the Amathole District Municipality (ADM) (2013:38), the district, which comprises of seven local municipalities, is the 3rd largest economy in the province after the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality and Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, contributing twelve percent to the provincial economy. Figures published in the Division of Revenue Bill, 2014 (RSA, 2014:236) indicate infrastructure development allocations totalling R1.34 billion budgeted to the ADM for the next three years. This translates to job opportunities for the consulting engineering industry of this region. However, the latest ADM SMME procurement data reveals that in the past five years, only a small percentage of tenders awarded were to small consulting engineering businesses with a majority going to medium to large well-established enterprises (ADM, 2014). These results pose a serious challenge for policy makers who have a duty to ensure that work opportunities do not disadvantage emerging small businesses. The main objective of this study was to gain an understanding of the antecedents that impact on the sustainability of small consulting engineering businesses within the Amathole District Municipality. This was done by identifying antecedents to sustainability of small consulting engineering businesses through a detailed literature review. This literature review identified the competitive environment, regulatory environment and policy environment (independent variables) as being antecedents to sustainability of small consulting engineering businesses (dependant variable). In testing the above research objective, the researcher used statistical analysis methods to reach a conclusion with regard to these antecedents. The positivistic research paradigm (quantitative method) was selected in testing this research objective through the use of hypothesis testing. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires distributed to 100 small consulting engineering businesses using the databases of both the Amathole District Municipality and Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA). Out of the selected sample of 100 small consulting engineering businesses, only 81 responses were received, thus representing an eighty-one percent response rate which is considered adequate. The collected data was then analysed using inferential and confirmatory statistical analysis methods. The analysis was presented in the form of graphs and tables. The results of the empirical survey identified rival competitor influence, the competitive environment and policy environment as being antecedents to sustainability of small consulting engineering businesses within the Amathole District Municipality. Based on these findings, recommendations were made to the management of the Amathole District Municipality in an endeavour to make the environment within which small consulting engineering businesses operate more favourable for the businesses to be sustainable. Suggestions for future research were also made as a way to help in addressing some of the challenges that are faced by the engineering industry.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Environmental Science). Johannesburg, 2017. / South Africa’s SDFIs have potential to play a critical role in fostering environmental compliance in the mining industry. Their role is particularly important in the small-scale and junior mining sector which is usually shunned by private finance institutions because of high environmental credit risk. Equipped with knowledge and experience of working with clients across different sectors and their potential leadership role in technology transfer, SDFIs can leverage their position in acting as trusted third party environmental regulation enforcers. Financial institutions have long been criticised for showing little interest in environmental impacts of their clients while concentrating on profit maximisation. This study sought to investigate the response by financial institutions to this criticism through evaluating the role of SDFIs in fostering environmental compliance by small-scale and junior mining companies which are generally viewed as having a poor environmental compliance record. Through the twin qualitative research methods of interviews and document analysis, the role of three state-owned development finance institutions in fostering environmental regulation compliance by small-scale mining enterprises in South Africa was evaluated. The study revealed that SDFIs explicitly and implicitly provide a wide range of products and services which help small-scale and junior miners in complying with environmental regulations. The study also found that, while SDFIs are beginning to adopt market-based mechanisms to encourage environmental compliance, they still heavily rely on command and control mechanisms as a way of mitigating environmentally related risks arising from financing mining companies. / LG2018

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Accounting: Taxation, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / The study was to explore the awareness of owners of small medium enterprises with regards to green tax incentives; to identify their attitudes towards such green tax incentives and the possible impact it will have on small medium manufacturing enterprises going green.This study used a quantitative research design, specifically a descriptive survey approach. A census sample was drawn through a list provided by the Durban Chamber of Commerce. A survey questionnaire was the primary data collection tool used. At total of 152 questionnaires were distributed and a 104 were received yielding a response rate of 68 %. The data showed that small medium enterprises were concerned about the environment, and acknowledged that their business activities have a negative impact on the environment. The study also established that small medium enterprise owners are concerned with the impact that climate change will have on their business operations. A majority of the sample considered green taxation to be an important driver that would allow businesses to become eco-friendly. Owners were found to support the utilization of green taxation incentives and were considering using green taxation as part of future business decision making, thus ensuring that meet corporate social responsibility. It was concluded that there was a need for the government to put more focus into creating awareness of global warming and climate change. There was also a need to find more innovative ways of promoting eco-consciousness and green sustainable practices and the need to draft and identify new green taxation legislature that caters for public and small medium enterprises. / M