Manufacturing has been identified by the Department of Trade and Industry as an important sector to drive economic growth in South Africa. The automotive manufacturing sector in particular has seen significant support from the DTI in the form of incentives to produce motor vehicles and components. South Africa is faced with a high unemployment rate and one of the strategies of the Government is to drive economic growth by supporting the automotive manufacturing sector. One of the spill-over targets is to increase employment creation in the industry. The automotive manufacturing sector consists of a diverse list of stakeholders representing motor vehicle manufacturers, component manufacturers, labour unions, government departments and industry associations. The Motor Industry Development Programme delivered significant progress in the number of vehicles produced in South Africa and the biggest growth was in the export of vehicles. Employment creation on the other hand did not see the same levels of growth as motor vehicle and component production. The purpose of this study was to identify and clarify what the variables are that influence employment creation and to develop a co-operation framework that would guide the automotive cluster stakeholders to work on employment creation initiatives as a collective. The survey questionnaire results representing the perception of managers showed that: - DTI Incentives schemes linked to employment creation; - Productivity, Technology and employment; - The role of competitiveness in the auto cluster; - Labour Union Collective bargaining; - Investment climate and infrastructure; - Education and skills development; does have an influence on employment creation in the automotive cluster.

In 1994 South Africa took a new direction towards democratic governance. This led to a change of government principles and approaches in leading the country. The people became the centre of the country’s development, resulting in the adoption of people-centred development and people-driven strategies. A special focus highlighted women as in the category which had endured poverty the most in South Africa. The South African government, through its various departments, has a responsibility to improve the lives of South Africans, and the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Social Development is one of the departments which has committed itself towards changing the lives of women in the community. As a strategy to implement community development, the Provincial Department of Social Development is funding women cooperative programmes. Women cooperatives are a relatively new endeavour to address poverty within the democratic South Africa. The study supports the notion and attempts to show the impact that women have on community development. The researcher began studying the trends and realized that the funds allocated and the funding process of community development programmes by Provincial Department of Social Development is not working towards empowering communities. A purposive sampling method was used to select two women cooperative programmes in the Chris Hani District Municipality to explore the role of women in community development in the current context of democracy and social welfare transformation in South Africa; to explore the impact of gender through women cooperatives on community development and to explore strategies for the empowerment of women through community development intervention. The design of the study is qualitative, exploratory and descriptive in nature. The study also adapted evaluation and gender analysis methods to verify the effectiveness of women programmes. The study recommends that women be empowered with skills, knowledge, resources and opportunities to enable them to be more effective in community development.

Dissertation (LLM )--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / Copy not signed by author. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The use of co-operative pools in the South African Agricultural sector is a common phenomenon and an accepted commercial practice. Although it has seldom been at issue, the pool relationship between producers and the cooperative undoubtedly has certain legal consequences for the respective parties. Our courts have never addressed the aforementioned legal consequences authoritatively, probably because until now no disputes have arisen which could not be settled through negotiation between the parties concerned. Recently die legal nature of the pool relationship has became more of an issue primarily because of queries issued by the South African Revenue Service regarding the treatment of co-operative pools for purposes of income tax. Although this study is not aimed at addressing the income tax issues as regards the pool relationship, determining the legal nature of the pool relationship will be decisive for determining how co-operative pools should be treated for tax purposes. In addition to tax-related consequences, the legal nature of the pool relationship will necessarily also be decisive for issues such as insolvency and breach of contract. In this study the courts' approach to the classification of new types of contracts will be examined in order arrive at an underlying principle for evaluating the contractual nature of the pool relationship. After completion of the aforementioned examination, the functional characteristics of the pool relationship will be outlined and the implications thereof in respect of the law of things determined. The next stage involves the comparison of the functional characteristics of the pool relationship with the essential features of certain types of contracts to determine whether the pool relationship may be classified as one of these types of contract. From the aforementioned investigation it seems that the pool relationship does not satisfy the essential requirements of a contract of partnership, representation, the 'undisclosed principal' situation or mandate. The manner in which new types of contracts are classified in South African law is then revisited and proposals are made as to a possible methodology for classifying contracts that, in terms of the classical approach to the classification of contracts, would have been typified as sui generis. In accordance with this proposed approach to the classification of contracts, the conclusion is reached that the pool relationship is a new contract type that amalgamates elements of a contract of partnership, mandate and locatio conductio operis. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die gebruik van koëperatiewe poele in die Suid-Afrikaanse landbou kom algemeen voor en is In aanvaarde kommersiële praktyk. Alhoewel dit al selde op die spits gedryf is, het die poelverhouding tussen die onderskeie produsente en die koëperasie ongetwyfeld regsgevolge vir die onderskeie partye. Voorgemelde regsgevolge is nog nooit deur In Suid-Afrikaanse hof aangespreek nie, waarskynlik omdat daar nog nie enige dispute was betreffende die die poelverhouding wat nie deur dialoog bygelê kon word nie. In die onlangse verlede het die regsaard van die poelverhouding egter meer relevant geword hoofsaaklik weens navrae van die Suid-Afrikaanse Inkomstediens betreffende die belastinghantering van kooperatiewe poele. Alhoewel hierdie verhandeling nie daarop gerig is om die belastinggevolge van die poelverhouding aan te spreek nie, sal die bepaling van die regsaard van die poelverhouding bepalend wees vir die hantering van die poelverhouding vir doeleindes van belasting. Afgesien van belastinggevolge sal die regsaard van die poelverhouding ook uiteraard bepalend wees betreffende kwessies soos insolvensie en kontrakbreuk. In hierdie studie sal die howe se benadering tot die klassifikasie van nuwe kontraksoorte ondersoek word ten einde In grondslag te lê waarvolgens die kontraktuele aard van die poelverhouding beoordeel kan word. Na voorgemelde ondersoek word die funksionele kenmerke van die poelverhouding uiteengesit en die sakeregtelike implikasies daarvan bepaal. Die funksionele kenmerke van die poelverhouding word daarna opgeweeg teen die wesenskenmerke van 'n aantal kontraksoorte ten einde vas te stelof die poelverhouding as sodanig geklassifiseer kan word. Uit hierdie ondersoek blyk dit dat die poelverhouding nie aan die wesenskenmerke van die vennootskapsverhouding, verteenwoordiging, die 'undisclosed principal' situasie of 'n lasgewingsverhouding voldoen nie. Die wyse waarop nuwe kontraktsoorte in die Suid-Afrikaanse reg hanteer word, word daarna weer oorweeg en voorstelle aan die hand gedoen waarop kontrakte wat, ingevolge die klassieke benadering tot die uitleg van kontrakte, as sui generis klassifiseer word, hanteer kan word. In ooreenstemming met hierdie voorgestelde metode van klassifikasie word daar dan tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat die poelverhouding 'n mengvorm tussen 'n vennootskap, 'n lasgewingooreenkoms en 'n werkaanbestedingsooreenkoms is.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of the North, 2004 / Refer to document

Incidences of cooperation in agricultural activity are widespread phenomena in low-income third world communities. Two forms of cooperative labour groupings are identified in Shixini, Transkei . These are the work party and the ploughing company. It is argued that different organisational principles operate in the different cooperative forms. Work parties are based on principles of neighbourhood whi Ie ploughing companies are organised around kinship relationships. Factors which determine the principle of organisation are social values; the wider South African economic system; ecology; reciprocity; the constitution and structure of the household; economic differentiation; and labour demand and supply. The dissertation is divided into five chapters. The first is an overview of the Shixini social, economic and political systems. This chapter discusses the influence of the wider South African politico-economic system on agricultural production; the Shixini!Transkei political context; kinship and its relation to social organisation; and the likely effects of an agricultural 'betterment' scheme on the area. The second chapter is an overview of agricultural production in Shixini. It is found that the most significant determinants of agricultural production is the structure and constitution of the household and the way in which stock is distributed in the community. The third and fourth chapters describe and analyse Xhosa work parties and ploughing companies . Argument is lead as to the reasons for the specific organisational principles operating in each case. The penultimate chapter is an analysis of sacred and secular ritual. It is argued that both ritual forms reveal cooperative principles of organisation. Secular ritual dramatises the organisation of work parties while sacred ritual dramatises kinship relationships and so, the organisation of ploughing companies. / KMBT_363

Despite the efforts by government to support and direct resources and institutions to address high levels of poverty through co-operative programmes, the Eastern Cape Province remains one of the poorest provinces in the country. Even in the relatively more prosperous Cacadu District in the western portion of the Province, the socio- economic landscape is punctuated by pockets of acute poverty. In order to support government policies to promote co-operatives as a means to address past exclusions from the agricultural sector, as well as to promote socio-economic development in one of its poorest local municipalities, the Cacadu District Municipality has been implementing a support and mentoring programme to agricultural co-operatives in the Ikwezi Local Municipality. Furthermore, Ikwezi was selected because it has the highest concentration of co-operatives in the region supported by the District Municipality and by other Sector Departments from the National and Provincial Governments. The relationships between the support that is provided by Cacadu District Municipality to co-operatives and the extent to which supported co-operatives harness these advantages to grow and sustain their enterprises, forms the cornerstone of this research. As such, the hypothesis that will be tested reads as follows: The government support provided by Cacadu District Municipality to co-operatives in its area of jurisdiction has resulted in the growth and sustainability of the co-operative enterprises. The literature review considers the significant role that co-operatives play in local economic development. It provides a historical overview of co-operatives, as well as the policy framework on co-operatives in South Africa. The role of Cacadu District Municipality with regards to co-operatives and local economic development is reviewed, as well as its co- operative support and mentorship programme. An overview of the socio-economic profile of the Ikwezi Local Municipality and the agricultural co-operatives in the area concludes the literature review. The research approach is based on a mixed method between the qualitative and quantitative research families, with a bias towards the qualitative approach. The study placed more emphasis on the data gathered from individual co-operative businesses and the personal experiences of individuals involved in the co-operative sector. This approach requires qualitative techniques such as interviews and observations. The internet was used as a source for the gathering of relevant data related to the stated research objectives. Other relevant information is gathered through documents reviewed and case studies. The study used questionnaires to interview a sample of agricultural co-operatives in Ikwezi. The collected data was analysed and presented according to a set of themes that formed the basis for the analysis. The analysis provided insights into the background and history of the selected co-operatives, the challenges that they face to survive and the support that they require from government and other potential support structures. The analysis furthermore focussed on the perception of the members of the co-operatives of the impact – whether positive or negative – of the Cacadu co-operatives support and, in particular, it’s mentorship programme. The findings revealed that there was overwhelming support from the co-operative members for the intervention and mentorship provided by the Cacadu District Municipality. It became clear that accessing agricultural land and providing funding and inputs to emerging farmers and co-operatives is not enough. There needs to be a building and nurturing of an entrepreneurial spirit and business mentality accompanied by appropriate training and capacity building interventions for the co- operatives to become successful enterprises. This study reveals that this is possible given all the resources at the disposal of the state. In conclusion, the hypothesis that the support provided by Cacadu District Municipality to co-operatives in its area of jurisdiction has resulted in the growth and sustainability of the co-operative enterprises, was found to be valid.

The study investigated the informal savings approach as an income-generating and poverty alleviation tool for women. The focus of the study is specifically in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The purpose of the study was to explore the reasons behind the involvement of women, in particular, to the use of informal savings as a tool for income generation and poverty alleviation. South Africa is characterised by inequitable growth and development, a high degree of poverty, increasing demands and limited resources. It is because of this backdrop that many women in poor communities, both rural and urban, devised brilliant plans to overcome this setback. Women, particularly African women, have for a long time been side-lined in economic decision making activities, both in their homes and elsewhere. For the purposes of this study, a mixed method research approach was employed, meaning that the study will follow both the qualitative and quantitative approaches. The respondents are a mixture of both literate and illiterate persons, and because of that, the researcher had to use both English and the home language of the respondents to explain the contents of the questionnaires and obtain the relevant information. The study identified the reasons that stokvels, which were believed to be popular in the past, and still are, because Black people in South Africa did not have access to formal financial institutions, remain popular long after the demise of apartheid. It is in the interest of the citizens of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality to archive the financial activities of its inhabitants as this valuable information will be needed by future generations. This can be done by creating a website or adding a link to the existing ones where the information is readily available for the users. For future research purposes, stokvels in various parts of the Municipality and South Africa as a whole need to be studied in order to identify and compare to the available literature the general success factors.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study is on the impact of cooperative societies on capital formation using a case study of selected cooperatives in Kwazulu Natal province of South Africa. The study is a novel empirical investigation in that focuses on impact of cooperative societies financing on members and how that may translate into significant increase in household incomes. The study assess and evaluates the roles played by cooperative societies’ financing and loans services on members’ economic condition particular their business expansion, profitability and later on improvements in household incomes. Using focus group discussion and questionnaire, the study uncovers the activities of cooperative societies located in both urban and rural communities within KZN Province. The study provides some evidence on the importance of leaving conditions after member access to cheap and affordable loans and provides some insights into the development of rural businesses, how complex they are, and how they require more input than just the financing received through cooperative loans as a final end. It also breaks new ground in informal cooperative operations, community improvement and rural finance research by providing a peculiarity between standard of living and quality of life variables in measuring and determining the economic condition of rural livelihoods and the production of circle of New Institutional Economics theory that the role of cooperatives to the members involve financial capital, physical capital and social capital which are interrelated. This serves to properly distinguish and appropriately identify the roles of cooperative societies in rural finance to increase in household income, ownership of assets and acquisition of enterprise assets. However, the study reveals that access to funds and participation in the cooperative does not lead to enterprise profitability, thus less capital accumulation while rural financial needs are more accessible from cooperatives than other sources. From its findings, this study identified and discussed potential areas for the improvement of cooperative societies that could be of benefit to any urban and rural finance providers and the cooperative members.

M.Tech. Business Administration. Business School. / he greatest challenge that the City of Tshwane is facing lies in achieving the target growth rate set by ASGISA (Accelerated Shared and Growth Initiative), the latter being a national initiative, by enabling communities to become active participants within the growing economy. One of the enablers that were identified by the Municipality was co-operatives. The successful implementation of the co-operative model within the City of Tshwane will depend on the correct guidance provided by the Municipality to the co-operatives as opposed to dictating the terms of business to the members. These findings will be based in best practice models as found world-wide. The primary objective of this dissertation is to research the legal impact of the Co-operatives Act of 2005 on the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality's Co-operative Strategy as a vehicle for local economic development.

This study investigated the impact of government support on growth, survival and performance of agricultural cooperatives in selected areas of Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The objectives of this empirical study were to examine (1) the impact of government support on growth of cooperatives, (2) assess the impact of government support on the performance of cooperatives, (3) reviewing the impact of government support on survival of cooperatives. A total sample of 157 agricultural cooperatives which consisted of poultry, maize, goat, nursery, sheep and vegetable coops was used. Stratified random sampling technique was used and a self-administered questionnaire used to gather primary data. The primary data of the study was gathered from the cooperatives managers only as they were the targeted respondents. Gathered data went through factor analysis, anova test and correlation analysis for the statistical analysis purposefully to arrive in study findings and conclusion. The findings of the study drawn from the 66% response rate concluded that government support has a statistical significant impact on growth of cooperatives. The study also indicated that government support has a significant impact on the survival of cooperatives. It is also reported that the performance of cooperatives is significantly impacted positively by government support. The findings of the study also indicated that agricultural cooperatives are not satisfied with the present government support.