The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996), section 152(1)(e) encourages the involvement of communities and community organisations in local government matters. The Municipal Systems Act (Act 32 of 2000) requires the municipality to develop a culture of municipal governance that complements formal representative government with a system of participatory democracy. The communities play a vital role in the preparation, implementation and review of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP). The aim of this study was to determine the role of community participation in the IDP process of Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality. This study also assessed participation in integrated development planning in the Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality. The conclusion of the study focused on the process, procedures, legislations and guidelines on community participation in the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) of Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality. It was recommended that Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality must establish appropriate mechanisms, processes and procedures to enable the local community to participate in the affairs of the municipality. / Public Administration and Management / M.A. (Public Administration)

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / A persistent challenge facing especially post-apartheid South African rural municipalities is service delivery compliance. Under the guise of scarcity, rural municipalities repeatedly do not comply with legislation, policies and guidelines for the provision of drinking water and basic sanitation services for the poor. Yet, such challenges concern equity, justice and fairness to social policy and seriously impact the sustainability of livelihood of millions of rural households. The main objective of this study is to analyse the extent to which Lepelle Nkumpi Local Municipality has complied with or deviated from specific policies and legislation governing the provision of water and sanitation services at the Gedroogte, Ga Molapo and Magatle (in Zebediela) rural communities and the response of communities. The study was also intended to determine the extent to which water challenges affect the livelihood of the people in the communities. It highlights the refugee-like conditions that millions of South African citizens experience despite official statistics that claim that 86% of the country has access to potable water. A mixed methods design was used for this analysis. The qualitative methods that are used in the study include use of in-depth interviews, site visits, personal stories and the Municipal Integrated Development Programme (IDP). Participatory mapping of water sources; story-telling about water issues; timelines and trend lines by focus group members; transect walks and 7 key informant interviews were used to collect data. A total of 657 quantitative interviews were conducted in three communities. Service delivery compliance has been grossly ineffective and inefficient in Lepelle Nkumpi Local Municipality, especially in the Gedroogte, Ga Molapo and Magatle rural communities. The findings were that these rural communities still depend on state-owned boreholes for accessing drinking water, which are regularly broken and/or in disrepair. Sanitation service provision in the rural communities does not comply with the approved policy of providing ventilated improved pit (VIP) toilets. New settlements have increased the demand for clean water. Shortages of staff with relevant skills such as management, technicians, and administrators are one of the main reasons why there is a scarce supply of drinking water and basic sanitation services at the Gedroogte, Ga Molapo and Magatle communities. Inaccessibility to nearby treatment plants for waste disposal services (situation per community) and inaccessible disposal facilities and the use of disposal sites also affect the health conditions of community members within the Lepelle Nkumpi Local Municipality.

Thesis (M. Sc. (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Agriculture is not only the backbone, but also an important sector of the South African economy. It provides food and employment to a majority of people in the country, especially in the rural areas. Smallholder farmers play an important role in livelihood creation and the alleviation of poverty among the population of the Limpopo Province. However, despite their significant contribution, smallholder farmers’ production is still low. Climate change has bought increasing frequencies and severity of drought conditions and uncertainties in the length and quality-growing season. Drought threatens the production of maize as a staple food and without measures to counter climate change, food security will be a major problem in South Africa. This study therefore examined factors determining the adoption of drought tolerant maize among smallholder farmers in the Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires to achieve the objectives of the study. Multistage sampling was used for the study because larger clusters were subdivided into smaller and more targeted groupings for surveying. Descriptive Statistics and the Binary Probit Model were used to analyse the data. The results of the Probit Regression analysis indicated that farm size, hired labour and maize produced per hectare had positive significant influence on the probability of farmers adopting drought tolerant maize varieties. Farm size and maize produced per hectare were statistically significant at 1% and hired labour was statistically significant at 5%. Based on the sample of this study,74% of the households grew non-drought tolerant maize varieties, while 26% of the smallholder farmers grew drought tolerant maize varieties. The results indicate that 24,4% of the farmers were not affected by any constraints in terms of their adoption of drought tolerant maize varieties whilst 76,6% said they are affected by those constraints in Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality. Based on the study’s findings, it is recommended that extension officers should make it a priority to provide smallholder farmers with timely and accurate information. Extension officers should effectively disseminate information about the adoption of drought tolerant maize through a combination of different pathways.