Internet access is a prerequisite for meaningful individual and national participation in the knowledge economy and removing barriers to such access serves broader national socio-economic policy imperatives. This critical review of the literature posed the questions: What is South Africa's current telecommunications context from a Universal Access and Universal Service point of view and does a market gap and/or access gap remain despite efforts to address such gaps since 1994? If so, how do either or both the market gap and access gap appear in the South African context and what are key hurdles that need to be overcome in order to close these gaps? The review provides a plain language explanation of how broadband Internet access can benefit South Africa's economy, and describes the negligible impact of existing policy in an anti-competitive market environment. A brief overview of South Africa's telecommunications history since 1994 until 2016 helps to contextualise the sector. In the early 1990s, 2% of South Africans had access to voice telephony. A few years later Universal Service and Access regulation was overtaken by the rapid adoption of mobile phones. With more than 40% voice telephony domestic penetration the network effect of quicker communication stimulated the domestic economy. Having achieved Universal Access objectives relating to voice communications, today nations seek the compounded advantages from the network effect of broadband Internet access. South Africa's GDP is predicted to grow by 1.34% for every 10% increase in broadband penetration, through increased productivity, job creation and greater access to cheaper services. However almost two thirds of South Africans cannot afford Internet access; and neither action by the free market nor the state is effectively increasing levels of cheap, accessible Internet. Incumbent service providers dominate the South African telecommunications sector and have little incentive to accelerate Internet access and adoption to low-income households and areas outside of the major metropolitan areas. It is therefore necessary that policy facilitates: competition in the ICT product and services sector, effective spectrum management, productive Internet use by lowincome households and user demand for online content.

Introduction: Since 1994, the response to the low income housing backlog in South Africa has been met with the capital grant, targeted at households earning less than R3500 per month. Scholars and policy makers echo the same sentiments that state funded housing and facilities should be located close to economic opportunities and in close proximity to public transportation systems. However, due to the limitations of the grant, low income housing development has been typically been limited to cheap peripheral land where large scale low income housing projects can be rolled out in the form of low density housing developments. In recent years, a growing body of knowledge has found that the provision of state funded housing opportunities on the urban periphery has a significant impact on urban sustainability, particularly the financial sustainability of government. This study aims to add to the body of knowledge pertaining to how the roll out of low income housing in various locations within the same municipal area affects a household's ability to access economic and social opportunities in terms of financial and social costs to the household. Method: The study considers Hessequa Municipality as a case study, with four settlements within the municipality (Slangrivier, Kwanonkuthula, Diepkloof and Melkhoutfontein) used as sub-cases. The four settlements vary greatly in spatial location, population size, history, growth potential and functional role, thus providing a good opportunity to examine the impacts the provision of low income housing by the state within different spatial locations on the lives of households. A case study research approach is applied, using a mix of methods, namely: a review of documents, the mapping of existing facilities, and a survey of 20 households in each of four settlements. Results: The analysis found notable differences between the provision and access to services amongst the four settlements. The study found that that facility provision to low income households varies from settlement to settlement and that a household's perception about whether accessibility to facilities has improved, is relative to the services which households were previously afforded access. It was found that beneficiaries of housing located in close proximity to facilities and employment opportunities incur little or no cost in terms of travelling to facilities. Households with limited access to facilities have to be selective with regard to which member of the household can participate in activities offered in the broader settlement, as otherwise the costs of travel can be very onerous for households. The survey revealed that the opportunity to get a free house far outweighs any inconvenience associated with limited access to social and economic opportunities, with 100% of respondents indicating that they would choose a poorly located free house rather than a rented home in a better location with better access to facilities. In addition, within the context of the four settlements studied, it was found that travel expenses that would ordinarily have been incurred by households travelling to work and school has been found to be carried by employers or subsidised by government, and therefore have less of an impact on household expenditure than I had anticipated. For example, in Slangrivier 50% of the employed are collected for work by their employer and incur no costs for travelling to work. Similarly, the excessive distance travelled to schools, and its consequent burden of cost, is generally not carried by households, as the Department of Education subsidises the transportation of learners to and from school daily. It was found that the use of facilities is influenced by distance, cost, availability and, interestingly, personal preference. Although the provision of facilities across the four settlements is currently uneven, the municipality has created an expectation amongst the public that, over time, facilities will be provided in all settlements, irrespective of their location.

The development of infrastructure in our country is seen as key to eliminating poverty and reducing inequality. This is confirmed by the establishment of the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Council who will coordinate the implementation of the 18 Strategic Infrastructure Projects as part of government's programme. For this infrastructure development programme to be successful, competent engineering professionals are needed. The engineering industry is currently in crisis due mainly to the effect the current public sector procurement system has had on it. The procuring of consulting engineering services is currently done primarily by competitive tendering where price is the deciding factor in the award of tenders. Tenders are evaluated solely on the basis of price and Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment requirements (also known as preference requirements). The criteria for expertise, experience and capacity are only used as qualifying criteria after which price and preference are used for the evaluation. This process is irrespective of the scale of the project or the skills required. The processes are governed by legislation such as the Public Finance Management Act, Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act. All public sector institutions and public entities are therefore governed by this and must ensure compliance. There has however been an acknowledgement on the part of government that the current system needs to be reviewed. National Treasury published the Public Sector Supply Chain Management Review in February 2015. This frank look at the current Supply Chain Management system highlighted the shortfalls and what is required to be done to improve the system. The important acknowledgement out of this review is that construction procurement is different to normal procurement and different systems should apply. Despite the initiatives launched by government the current procurement system for consulting engineering services remains unchanged and primarily price driven. Respondents in the private and public sectors were surveyed for their views on the current state of procurement. From the research it is clear that respondents both in the private and public sectors indicate that competition based on price should be changed. Due to low fees tendered consultants no longer have the luxury of seconding senior experienced staff to projects for extended periods of time. Training, development and mentoring of graduate staff has also become less and firms have limited ability to reinvest for growth. Public sector clients' perceptions also indicate that consultants' quality of service has deteriorated. In order to arrest the current situation the study recommends that clarity be sought on the relevant sections of the constitution dealing with procurement. Once this is achieved the National Treasury and the National Department of Trade and Industry should be engaged to get the applicable legislation amended to accommodate a quality and cost based selection system and that takes into account the scale and complexity of projects. This will lead to consultants getting paid fees commensurate with the effort required to execute projects thereby allowing consultants to reinvest in their businesses that will ensure its longevity. This will contribute positively to the infrastructure development required to eliminate poverty, reduce inequality and grow the economy.

Since 2012, there has been increasing government interest in mining towns. This interest was occasioned by the Marikana shooting. This interest, led by the presidency through Inter-ministerial Committee on the Revitalisation of Distressed Mining Towns and Communities has had impact on human settlements. This dissertation provides an overview of the Mining Towns Programme and its evolution, identify some of the major pitfalls and assumptions of the programme, and propose an alternative. It also provides and reflects a sustained critique of the approach of the state in the creation of human settlements and the provision of housing in mining towns. Furthermore, the dissertation attempts to assess the efficacy of human settlements approach to mining towns. In doing this, I argue that despite the increased interest, the approach adopted has fundamental weaknesses. These weaknesses range from the fundamental departure from the original intention and focus of the programme, the over-reliance on the existing but inappropriate human settlements delivery instruments and the ignorance of and the weakened role of local government in the programme. In its reliance on the existing human settlements delivery instruments, the implementation and delivery of houses has not addressed the problems faced by mineworkers. Moreover, the state has also overlooked the deep historical challenges of mining towns, both in terms of context and practice and this has undermined the effective implementation of the programme. There are also other institutional and socioeconomic problems associated with mining towns and this has not been properly assessed. The dissertation critically evaluates the approach and the shortcomings of the Mining Towns Programme against these challenges and posits some alternatives.

This research focuses on the Johannesburg inner city, which is located in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Johannesburg inner city has had a tumultuous history, from being the most economically powerful urban centres in Sub-Saharan Africa in the early 1900s, to falling into a state of disrepair from the 1980s, the inner city is now home to more than 300 000 households. The public sector and private sector both play a critical role in the delivery of affordable accommodation opportunities in the Johannesburg inner city, but the lack of formal supply of housing for the urban poor, specifically the “poorest of the poor” is stark. It is with this knowledge that this dissertation explores the commitment, from both public and private sector, to delivering accommodation options for the poorest of the poor in the inner city. The Johannesburg inner city has seen increased involvement from the private sector in the delivery of housing since 1994. Significantly, housing delivered by the private sector is accessible to the households in the income group referred to as the gap market. The lowest income group is left to resort to the informal sector to seek shelter. The lack of adequate housing supply for this group has given rise to illegal occupation of buildings, often run by slumlords with appalling living conditions. The public sector has many plans and strategies in place with identified mechanisms to assist in increasing the delivery of accommodation for this income group. However, there is still a massive gap in the delivery. Many plans and strategies have been put in place with the intention of addressing the housing demand in the inner city. Although many of these policies and strategies, created by the government, were intended to increase the delivery of affordable rental accommodation, what is obvious is the lack of delivery. This dissertation, therefore, intends to determine why there has been no formal provision made for the lowest income group in the Johannesburg inner city and, if there are plans or mechanisms in place to rectify this, why they have not come to fruition. The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality has been criticised for not responding to the emergency accommodation cases seriously and creating realistic strategies to deal with the poorest income group or destitute. There is a lack of a programmatic approach to meet the housing demand, which is evident from the number of bad buildings in the Johannesburg inner city. Without a realistic strategy to assist this income bracket, a domino effect of failure seems to plague housing delivery in the inner city. A lack of opportunities for this income group gives rise to bad buildings, which in turn affects the livelihood of the people in the inner city, across all sectors.

The main objective of the dissertation is to build the theoretical basis of classifying infrastructure and identifying investment focus of governmental funds with the help of the classification theory of urban infrastructure, thus to attract more private investment into infrastructure construction in Shanghai.

0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

The objective of this study was to evaluate water conservation and water demand management in an industrialised City of uMhlathuze in Richards Bay. The City of uMhlathuze Local Municipality is the third-largest municipality in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) and is strategically placed to continue attracting investment as an aspirant metropolis due to the newly established Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) and the country's largest deep-water port. As an industrialised city, uMhlathuze's demand for water is already increasing and with the establishment of the IDZ, it is expected that water demand will escalate even further once the IDZ is fully operational. In line with the research question, this study has, therefore, sought to understand whether the industrialised City of uMhlathuze has developed and effectively implemented a water conservation and water demand management strategy and interventions in order to sustain water supply in anticipation of growing demand due to industrialisation and population growth. This objective was achieved by evaluating the city's current interventions and measures using a range of water conservation and water demand management solutions and guidelines. During this study, it was evident that the greatest threat facing South Africa's ambitious future economic growth, poverty alleviation and government's transformation agenda was the inefficient and unbalanced use of available and limited water resources. Thus, in order to avoid this imminent threat, the country as a whole must continuously reduce water consumption and demand from various sectors. This goal can be achieved through sustainable and improved water conservation and water demand management interventions. The study found that, in recent years, the issue of water scarcity had escalated in KZN. The province was in the grip of a drought, which was taking its toll on water supply in various municipalities around the province. The sparse rainfall in most parts of the province had caused the levels of rivers and dams to decrease to a point of crisis. Consequently, the KZN Provincial Government declared the province a disaster area in 2015. During the study, there was very little improvement as the City of uMhlathuze was still subjected to level 4 water restrictions. Evidently, the drought was intensifying the water problem in a municipality already grappling with poor and inadequate water infrastructure. A review of international and local literature was undertaken to theoretically position the objective of the research. An evaluation of the City of uMhlathuze water conservation and water demand management strategy and interventions was conducted using a questionnaire completed by city officials and part of the study included documentation review. This study investigated key elements of water conservation and demand management as well as interventions that were pertinent to achieving the desired outcome of efficient use of water. Respondents were required to answer questions focusing on several water conservation and water demand management related approaches and solutions. During the study, it was identified that there were inconsistencies in the implementation of water conservation and water demand management interventions even though the City of uMhlathuze had already taken the important step of developing a water conservation and water demand management strategy. It was recognised, however, that water conservation and water demand management remained relatively new for most municipalities. Consequently, it would take time for municipalities, together with communities, to implement effective interventions. The focus needs to be on the establishment of a combined team of staff and stakeholders, set up to finding solutions and interventions designed to maximise the most sustainable and efficient use of water. The conclusions drawn from this study and proposed recommendations indicated that wastewater reuse; pipe replacement; water pressure management; rainwater and stormwater harvesting; water sensitive urban design; leak detection and repair; joint planning and research team with the Industrial Development Zone; groundwater and aquifer recharge; stakeholder engagement, education and citizen awareness are feasible options for the City of uMhlathuze to consider in relation to water conservation and water demand management. These solutions should constitute the foundation of a revised and updated water conservation and water demand management strategy to be implemented incrementally with broad-based participation.

Cape Town is experiencing its worst drought in recorded history. Notwithstanding that the Western Cape has always been a water scarce region, it is this current drought that has brought home the area’s inherent vulnerability and highlighted the governance issues. The world wherein South Africa’s water governance was created is very different to the world we find ourselves in today. It is a world of uncertainty and unpredictability not contemplated in water governance comprised of legislation, policy, guidelines and practice. The current water governance constructs a conventional approach based upon predictability and certainty and is no longer appropriate to meet today’s new challenges. Consistent with this conventional approach, Cape Town’s municipal water supply is almost completely dependent upon surface water which makes it even more vulnerable to drought than if its supply was comprised of a variety of water supply options. With surface water sources fully exploited and storage opportunities within the urban edge limited alternative water supply options must be more seriously considered and the water governance reformed to accommodate its use. Water governance is the focus of reform because it is the framework for infrastructure planning and therefore controls the resultant system, infrastructure and management. This thesis interrogates the current water governance as the starting point before firstly discussing the proposed incremental approach towards a decentralised, hybrid system for water infrastructure and secondly, identifying specific areas where intervention is necessary for implementation.

This study was carried out in the city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in June 2018. Its main objective was to investigate how the current DART services are delivered with a view of improving urban transport in the city of Dar as Salaam. In all, 260 city residents using DART services were interviewed on their perception of the quality of services on offer. The respondents were selected using the convenience sampling method. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The study findings show that the majority of DART users are generally satisfied with services provided. About 96.9 per cent of the interviewed passengers consider continuing using DART services. Service quality attributes, which were perceived with high levels of satisfaction, include security at stations (perceived as adequate by 33.6 per cent and average by 57.8 per cent of interviewed passengers). Another is travel time (88.3 per cent of the passengers were satisfied with the travel time) and shelter (perceived as adequate by 49.6 per cent and average by 38 per cent of the passengers interviewed). The fares charged were reported as affordable by 72.7 per cent of the passengers. Breakdown of buses was reported as a rare occurrence. Critical shortfall perceived by the passengers includes discomfort on the buses due to overcrowding which is a result of too few buses in operation. To reduce congestion, passengers suggested that the number of buses offering the services should be increased. Some 56.8 per cent of the passengers indicated to have failed to arrive at their respective destinations within the planned time. To address this, passengers suggested that timetables should be provided to enable them to plan their journeys and thus arrive within the planned time. Other challenges the passengers faced while using DART services include lack of service when it rains heavily, long queues at ticket booths, and scrambling in the process of boarding the buses. The study findings have not shown a difference in the levels of satisfaction between male and female passengers. Significant difference in the levels of satisfaction has been observed among passengers aged above 45 years in relation to comfort on the buses and the arrival time. Furthermore, the study found that the public was not invited to contribute views on the project. Thus, the public should be invited to contribute their opinions when undertaking future phases of DART. In addition, the current phase of DART should be improved by considering the passengers’ opinions as established by this study.