The rapid and sustained development of the rural regions of South Africa continues to pose an extraordinary challenge to the development community of the country. Policy makers continue to be overwhelmed by the lack of development in the rural areas in spite of the various efforts made to develop them. A review of the publications and development plans of the study region indicates that the planners have for long been pre-occupied with taking limited perspectives of the development planning problems. Development plans have been conceived and implemented in terms of individual sectors instead of looking at their relations with other sectors and regions. This study seeks to make a contribution to the solution of the development problems of the rural areas of the former homeland regions by demonstrating how an integrated approach to the research process and to development planning could make a difference to the lives of the rural communities. This theme is illustrated with reference to the rural energy sector and its relations with the broader regional development problems, challenges and plans of the Sekhukhune district municipality of the Limpopo Province. / GEOGRAPHY / MA (GEOGRAPHY)

Energy poverty is a major obstacle to human development. Energy services supply the benefits that “trigger” wider social and economic changes and create the conditions for improving social equality and economic growth. The South African government has scaled up electricity access to its poor population to such an extent that 85% of the country’s population had access to electricity in 2017. Nevertheless, access to electricity is not the same as the ability to use it, as the poor find the price of electricity unaffordable. The government therefore embarked on a programme to provide households’ that they consider ‘indigent’ or ‘poor’ 50kWh of free energy. This is criticized by many as not being enough to sufficiently satisfy household energy needs. Even the generous supply of 100kWh electricity provided by the City of Tshwane and the City of Johannesburg municipalities is considered to be insufficient. This study investigates the impact of the 100kWh free basic electricity subsidy on the energy use of the urban poor in the township of Soshanguve in the City of Tshwane municipality. It focuses on whether the 100kWh is enough to meet these household’s’ energy needs. The finding of the study is that the 100kWh FBE is enough to meet these households’ needs for lighting, some cooking and appliance use, but not for space and water heating. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

Energy conservation, efficiency and renewable energy have become a vital part of everyday life and business. The increase in energy cost and the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions necessitates energy management and in particular energy risk management within organisations. Organisations need to manage the possible negative effect that the increased costs will have within the organisation. The present research investigated the introduction of a structured approach to energy risk management within the financial services sector of South Africa. The research followed a quantitative, non-experimental research design by using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to managers within the financial services sector. The research investigated the criteria for the implementation of a structured approach to energy risk management such as organisational requirements (culture, corporate social responsibility, management, and finance), governance, energy strategies (energy conservation, efficiency and renewable energy), risk identification, risk management and lastly communication and review. The research found that the structured approach to energy risk management should include the context within the organisation namely organisational requirements, governance and energy strategies. Thereafter the risks within the energy strategies need to be identified, analysed and evaluated, and control measures need to be implemented. It is important to monitor the various energy strategies continuously in order to identify corrections and implement preventative actions. The strategies need to be reviewed and communicated in terms of the various strategies to all stakeholders within the organisation in order to set continual improvement plans. Risk management should form part of the energy management strategies of organisations. The research showed that energy risk management plays an important role in the overall business strategy and that the vast majority of financial services organisations have already implemented some form of energy management. There are however aspects that are still lacking within management strategies that need attention. / D. Phil. (Management Studies) / Business Management