The purpose of this study was to assess perceptions of the Lichtenburg community regarding service delivery and communication by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) in The Lichtenburg municipality. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from a sample of 80 respondents. The questionnaire consisted of four sections that the respondents were to answer. The study revealed that DHA officials in Lichtenburg are trained, that they adhere to the Bathe Pele Principles, are good communicators and that they also maintain high ethical standards. Officials also have access to the necessary equipment, and have the necessary time and support to render services to the public. Although there are some shortcomings among officials - such as the absence of name tags, office cleanliness and the unfriendliness among some officials - respondents are still happy to conduct business with the DHA in Lichtenburg. Some of the shortcomings identified can be addressed within a short space of time, such as consistently wearing name tags. Addressing other shortcomings, such as the provision of human resources, will require the attention of the top ranks of government leadership, who will need to incorporate these into their planning processes. In general, the DHA in Lichtenburg is trying its best to render efficient and effective services to its clients. The study found that the public knows what is expected from the DHA when they require its services, and they are able to express these views freely. The DHA interacts with the public on a daily basis in rendering essential services such as the issuance of identification documents, passports, birth, marriage and death certificates; and its clients cannot obtain these anywhere else. Consequently, it is essential that the DHA maintains high ethical standards. It is important for the DHA to provide regular training and workshops to help its employees to keep abreast of new developments. This will help to ensure that the department maintains a high level of service delivery. The study's findings should serve as a guide to measure the performance of other DHA offices. It is recommended that regular studies of this nature be conducted to help identify any gaps in service, and to address them accordingly. / M Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Despite the relative successes of the post-apartheid South African Government, government’s failure to adequately deliver basic services has led to recent national public unrest over the problem of poor service delivery. The aim of this study was to investigate satisfaction level pertaining the service delivery in Matjhabeng Local Municipality. Municipalities are mandated by the Constitution to provide basic services to its community such as potable water supply, electricity, refuse collection roads and sanitation. The analysis is mainly on the basis of service delivery experienced in different areas such as formal and informal townships, study amongst municipal employees, as well as middle and high suburb areas within Matjhabeng LM. The realistic evidence has revealed that communities are unhappy because of, among other things, the cadre deployment to the municipality, the poor service delivery, corrupt councillors, uncommitted employees, communication between municipality and its residents and interference of politicians which have impacted negatively on service delivery. The results showed that although many respondents are unhappy with the basic services besides the municipality making an effort to provide basic services. Furthermore, it is evident from the results that while being unhappy with services more than residents who receive monthly bills are willing to pay for services rendered. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Published Article / Employees working in municipalities and especially those who have to support other municipal employees (such as human resource management personnel), are constantly working in difficult working circumstances which may have a negative effect on their levels of job satisfaction. The effect of gender and ethnicity on the job satisfaction of human resource management employees working in a municipality has not yet been demonstrated. This information could help to improve the working circumstances of employees working in the municipality. Results indicated that employees are dissatisfied about the following job satisfaction components: company policies and practices, remuneration, promotion, security, acknowledgement for good performances, status, supervisor skills, working conditions, equipment and facilities. White employees in particular are found to be less satisfied in terms of the way their bosses handled personnel matters, on variety and on independent functioning in their job context. In the light of the above-mentioned, a few recommendations were made.

This study explored the effects of the Skills Development Act 97 of 1998 on transforming municipal management training and development. The pre-1994 education and training was premised on the policy of separate development. This policy prevented the majority of the people, mainly blacks, from receiving adequate training and development. Resultantly, training and development in South Africa have assumed significance since the adoption of a constitutional democracy, especially at the local government sphere which constitutes the coalface of service delivery. Investment in human resources training and development at management level is imperative for institutions to gain strategic and operational advantage.Analysis and interpretation of data in this study were undertaken through official document analysis, interviews and structured questionnaires. The major findings of the study indicate that according to the first objective the majority of respondents are qualified as they possess higher education qualifications due to the assistance of the municipality, with nearly half currently involved in furthering their studies. As far as the second objective is concerned, the researcher found out that the majority disagree with the statement that opportunities are created to motivate employees to use the workplace as an active learning environment to acquire new skills. Further analysis and interpretation of data show that according to the third objective the majority of respondents do not undertake crucial management courses relevant to the workplace. Final data analysis and interpretation of the fourth objective reveal that the majority of respondents are not aware of the support and financial investment in education, training and development of municipal officials, due to aspects such as lack of consultation and transparency. / Public Administration / M.Tech. (Public Management)

The aim of this study was to investigate reasons for non–payment by residents for services rendered by the Vhembe District Municipality. The municipalities are responsible for delivering such services as water supply, electricity, road maintenance, refuse collection and sanitation. Multistage sampling techniques were employed. The subjects in the study were grouped into clusters and a sample was taken from each cluster. In this case the municipalities that took part in the study were selected first, followed by wards, villages and households. Households in the selected villages were selected randomly to participate in the study. The results showed that although the municipalities were making an effort to raise and send bills to the residents, the residents were not forthcoming with payments. The reasons advanced for the unwillingness to pay services by residents include ignorance, poverty and simple unwillingness to pay. / Public Administration & Management / M.P.A. (Master of Public Administration and Management)

This study was done in the rural areas of uThukela District in KwaZulu-Natal. The objectives were to determine pig production and management practices used by farmers in rearing pigs in rural areas; to establish the role of pigs in social and economic lives of the people; and to characterize and determine constrains and opportunities of pig farming in rural areas. A farming systems approach was used in conjunction with a cross-sectional survey method using a structured questionnaire in face-to-face interviews with farmers for the collection of data. The study involved 4 local rural municipalities with a population of 4205 people who owned 2555 pigs. The sample size was 533 pig farmers/respondents. The data included the demographic characteristics of pig farmers, pig production and management practices, the role of pigs in both the social and economic lives of people and the constraints and opportunities of pig farming. The data were analyzed to determine simple means and frequencies. The results showed that 20% of pigs were reared in intensive systems and 80% in extensive systems in the district. Each village owned an average of 5 pigs. There were more female respondents (60%) than males, and also female respondents owned more (65%) pigs than males. Most of respondents (99%) were Zulu speaking people and only 1% was from other cultural groups. Majority of the respondents (74%) were unemployed, 16% were pensioners and only 10% were employed. Those who were employed kept more pigs than the other groups. Over one third of the respondents had primary (34.5%) and secondary (35.3%) education; and 2.7% had college education, while 27.5% had no formal education at all. Sixty-two percent of the older respondents between the age of 46 and 65 years kept more pigs than younger farmers. The collective incomes of the communities from salaries, pensions, and sales of livestock and crops per annum were substantial. The average land size per household ranged from 0.01 ha to 56 ha. Male respondents owned more land (1.68 ha) than female respondents (0.96 ha). Similarly, employed people owned more land (2.49 ha) than pensioners (1.26 ha) and the unemployed people (1.04 ha). Respondents kept other livestock species such as cattle, sheep, goats and chickens. Ninety percent of households kept chickens in addition to cattle (53%) and goats (49.3%). They also grew crops such as maize, potatoes, vegetables (cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, beetroots and onions) and fruits (peaches, apples and grapes). They kept pigs for home consumption (63%), source of income (33%), source of manure (3%) and for other reasons (1%). More employed people (68%) sold pigs for extra income, while 91% pensioners and 81% unemployed people used pigs for home consumption. Marketing channels included pension pay points, abattoirs, butcheries and neighbourhoods. Abattoir sales accounted for 10% and the most common venues were Amblecyte (40%) and Cato Ridge (27%). Selling of pigs occurred throughout the year, with the peak in winter (May/July). Majority of farmers (59%) used their own transport to deliver pigs to the selling points or they used contractors (41%). Pigs were sold at the age of 5 to 18 months old. Farmers sold live pigs and pork to the communities. Some farmers sold live pigs only, while others sold pork only or both pork and live pigs. Religion and culture had little influence on pig farming. Most farmers (88%) had no religious or cultural influences, while 7% were influenced by religion and 1% was influenced by culture. The most preferred meat among the communities was chicken meat, followed by beef, pork, mutton and chevon. Half of the respondents had >6 years of experience in pig farming, 34.9% had 2 – 5 years of experience and 14.8% were beginners. The breeds of pigs kept in the district included indigenous breeds, Large White, Landrace, Duroc and crosses of indigenous breeds with Large White and Landrace. Farmers bought breeding stock within their communities or they selected breeding stock from their own herds. Very few farmers have ever received any type of training in pig farming. The training was provided by the KZN Provincial Government, Zakhe Agricultural College and private farms. The training took 2-3 days of workshops, 2-3 weeks of short courses or 3-6 months of hands-on training on private farms. The training improved the performance of sows within the communities. Only 41% of farmers practised controlled stock breeding, which improved the farrowing rate and litter size. About one third (32%) of farmers bred their gilts at 6 – 8 months, while 21.2% bred them at 8-12 months, and 29% bred them after 12 months. The farrowing rate of indigenous sows was one litter per annum compared with the majority of Landrace and Duroc sows that farrowed twice a year. Some farmers (28%) reported that they routinely observed farrowing, while 72% of them said they never knew when the sows farrowed until they saw sows and new litters coming back to their pens after grazing in the veld. The litter sizes varied from ≤ 7 to ≥ 10. Half of the indigenous sows farrowed ≤ 7 piglets per litter, while 41% had 8-10 piglets; compared with 49% Large White and 44% Duroc that farrowed 8-10 and ≥ 10 per litter, respectively. Majority of farmers (66.1%) did not wean their piglets at all, which was associated with low farrowing rate. However, farmers who sold weaners for income weaned their piglets between 3 weeks and 3 months. This was associated with higher farrowing rate of sows. Piglet mortality was mainly due to worm infestation (26%), loss of hair (13%), lice and mange infestation (16.4%) and diarrhoea (5.6%). Despite that only 10% of farmers consulted the local Department of Veterinary Services. Some farmers (44.2%) said that they did not know that they could make use of Veterinary services, and 28% of them said it was a waste of time. Majority of farmers (80%) used home kitchen swill and brewer’s grains to feed their pigs. Only 16% of farmers bought commercial feeds and 2% fed them on maize grains and vegetables. Commercial feeds were bought from Farm Save (48%), Afgri (19%) and Epol (7%). Some farmers (65.4%) weighed feed before feeding, while 35% did not weigh feed at all. Water was provided at feeding time, ad libitum or several times a day. Farmers disposed of carcasses by eating them, feeding to their dogs, or throwing them away. Over half of the farmers (52%) did not take carcasses for post mortem, while 26% did not know that they could send carcasses for post mortem and 20% said they could not afford the cost. The study concluded that pigs have a vital social and economic role in the lives of the rural people of KZN for income generation and household consumption. The main constraints are wide spread poverty and lack of management skills in pig production, nutrition, health,housing and management. Government intervention is necessary to help farmers to improve pig production and management as a means of poverty alleviation and household food security. / Agriculture and  Animal Health / M.Sc. (Agriculture)

M. Tech. Business Administration / The capacity to render reliable and highly efficient emergency and rescue services is crucially important for metropolitan municipalities such as the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM) to grow on a sustainable basis. Such capacity is also needed for fulfilling the routine needs and operational requirements of businesses that operate in the CTMM. To this end, the City of Tshwane needs to develop adequate capacity for rendering reliable and efficient emergency and rescue services by utilizing modern technology and highly innovative methods and strategies. The purpose of the study was to identify and quantify gaps in the quality of emergency and rescue services that were provided to residents of Erasmuskloof, Centurion and Hazelwood by the City of Tshwane. One of the key aims of the study was to estimate gap scores that could be used for the assessment of discrepancies between perceptions and expectations among the residents.

M. Tech. Business Administration / Sport tourism events in recent years have become one of the fastest-growing types of tourism attractions globally. For the aim of this study, it is important to understand spending patterns, socio-economic characteristics and activities that relate to the sport tourist to have a greater understanding of the impact of these events on the host community. The sport tourism event spectator is a consumer who, through a process of decision making, obtains certain goods and services from the sport tourism event for personal consumption. Sport tourism event leverage begins by encouraging visitor spending and by retaining visitor expenditure within the host community, which can be achieved by fostering spending during the sport tourism event and by lengthening visitor stays The purpose of this research study was to determine the spending patterns and expectations of sport tourism event spectators. This research study was exploratory to determine spectator spending patterns, demands and possible economic impacts that a sport event being hosted at Loftus Versveld will have on shareholders involved.

Activities in and connected to cities are responsible for around 70 % of the global CO2 emissions and as the urbanization to cities are likely to increase in forthcoming future, actions to handle this situation are of vital importance. Through the integration of sustainable development in cities’ urban development, this have large potential to improve social, economic and ecological aspects in the cities. Besides being the places where most of the global consumption and emissions come from, it’s in these specific places where essential effects can be reached. There’re, however, difficulties with this, due to that it requires participation and responsibility from all stakeholders in the city. Different cities have different capabilities and conditions to work with sustainable development, which is why this study examine the two cities of Linköping and Norrköping. The study is based on interviews with actors that are closely connected to the urban development in the both cities. The results shows that the cities have different historical background and city structure, causing them to work a bit differently. Furthermore, the result also indicate that the largest challenges are how to handle the transportation issue, conflicts of interests as well as cooperation between different stakeholders.

Magistro baigiamasis darbas skirtas aptarti vietos savivaldos ir biudžetinių įstaigų bendradarbiavimo teorinius ir teisinius aspektus, tiriant Anykščių r. savivaldybės ir rajone veikiančių biudžetinių įstaigų atvejį. Siekiant įgyvendinti šio darbo tikslą- ištirti praktinį teorinių ir teisinių bendradarbiavimo principų įgyvendinimą Anykščių r. savivaldybėje ir nustatyti veiksnius, turinčius įtakos bendradarbiavimo plėtrai rajone- buvo analizuojama mokslinė ir teisinė literatūra. Praktiniai bendradarbiavimo aspektai Anykščių r. atskleisti naudojant interviu metodą. Tyrimo metu apklausta 10 Anykščių r. savivaldybės darbuotojų ir 10 rajone veikiančių biudžetinių įstaigų darbuotojų. Autorė analizuoja vietos savivaldos ir bendradarbiavimo vietą viešosios politikos kontekste. Sujungdama viešojo administravimo ir naujosios viešosios vadybos principus, autorė tiria kokie veiksniai ir kokios sąlygos būtinos, norint užtikrinti sėkmingus bendradarbiavimo rezultatus. Akcentuojant tai, kad Lietuva ES nare tapo jau nuo 2007 m., darbe atskleidžiama teisniai, bendradarbiavimą vietos savivaldoje reglamentuojantys, aspektai. Analizuojami tarptautiniai, nacionaliniai ir Anykščių r. savivaldybės išleisti teisės aktai, vertinamas jų adekvatumas vienas kitam. Tyrimo metu gauti duomenys rodo, kad bendradarbiavimo praktikoje Anykščių r. ypatingai pasigendama teorinės bendradarbiavimo apibrėžties, teisinio reglamentavimo ir skatinimo sistemos vykdyti bendradarbiavimo projektus. Buvo patvirtinta... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The subject of the master's thesis is about the budgetary institutions and municipal cooperation analyzed in theoretical and legal aspects by studing the case of Anyksciai district. In order to achieve the objective of the work - to analyze theoretical and legal principles of cooperation in Anyksciai district and to identify the factors affecting the development of cooperation in the area - were analyzed the scientific and legal literature. Practical aspects of cooperation in Anyksciai district were disclosed by use interview method. The study surveyed 10 employees in Anyksciai municipal and 10 budgetary institutions employees operating in the area. The author analyzes the cooperation and local government place in the context of public policy. Combining the public administration and new public management principles, the author examines the factors and conditions which are necessary to ensure the successful results of the cooperation. The emphasis on the fact that Lithuania became an EU member since 2007, author Analyzes the international, national and Anyksciai municipalities to issue laws, evaluates the adequacy of one another. The study showed that in Anyksciai district particularly lack theoretical definition of cooperation, legal and regulatory framework to promote co-operation projects. It was confirmed the hypothesis that the legal regulation and also the incentive system would promote the initiation of cooperation projects. The results show that Anyksciai municipal... [to full text]