Abstract Sulfide-poor deposits of platinum-group elements (PGE) occur in two main types: silicate-type and oxide-type. In the silicate-type mineralization PGE form discrete platinum-group minerals (PGM) that occur as inclusions in various silicate minerals. In the oxide-type mineralization PGM may have different modes of occurrence. They may be associated with silicates or they may occur as inclusions in chromite, magnetite or ilmenite, for example. In some cases they may even be associated with base metal sulfides. The approach chosen in this work is mainly a mineralogical one. PGM parageneses, their modes of occurrence and associations with other minerals were studied from different deposits. These are then compared to some well-recorded examples of PGE deposits. The case studies presented, the Duluth Complex in Minnesota, U.S.A., the Hanumalapur Complex in Karnataka, India, and the Penikat Layered Intrusion in northern Finland, are examples that illustrate the multitude of possibilities regarding PGE mineralization versus the traditional approach where any significant quantities of PGE are supposed to occur only in association with base metal sulfides. As the traditional orthomagmatic and hydrothermal models cannot explain the genesis of some sulfide-poor PGE occurrences, a new theory of PGE mineralization was developed. This “redox theory” is an attempt at explaining the association of PGE with various oxide minerals, most importantly chromite.

M.A. / The study on evaluation of income-generating projects was conducted on ten (10) income-generating projects in Mogale City in the Gauteng Province. It was conducted during July and August 2007. The study was evaluative research, and a quantitative approach was used to conduct the study. A purposive sampling type of non-probability sampling was utilized to select respondents within the projects. Five (5) respondents were selected from each project. A questionnaire was used as a data collection method and was administered by the researcher to the respondents. A total of fifty (50) questionnaires were distributed to respondents from ten (10) various projects that did sewing, vegetable gardening and brick-making. The results of the study have indicated that the projects in Mogale City are generating an income in order to address poverty. However, it is not effectively eradicated, as some projects are not generating enough money. This means that the money that respondents receive does not meet all their needs

Magister Artium - MA / Providing international loans to governments in developing countries is seen as contributing to the upliftment and development of the Third World, according to a set of pre-determined criteria. From the neo-liberal capitalist perspective, this loan provision is widely conceived as one of the answers to poverty alleviation. Despite this, many Third World countries continue to be steeped in debt through these loans and stringent conditions. On a local level, micro-finance for small business development is seen as a tool for development and alleviating poverty. Millions of Rands have been made available in South Africa for micro-finance by government and backed by international financial institutions. As with international debt, already we are seeing a similar situation at the grassroots level of the poor and low income groups being indebted through micro-loans. They are in arrears with debt repayments, are over-indebted and their personal poverty is deepening as a result. In this thesis, I explore the different aspects impinging on low-income groups that are contributing to their indebted and poor situation. I explore the neo-liberal perspective, namely the GEAR strategy, as well as the micro-finance initiative against the backdrop of international and national debt tied to the IMF and World Bank. The glaring similarities between national and personal indebtedness are then examined. The focus then shifts to a micro-level case study of a group of low-income indebted people living in the Cape Metropolitan area. A range of elements from positivist, structuralist and humanist perspectives is employed to evaluate the circumstances of this sample. Both quantitative and qualitative research tools are used to construct a socio- economic profile of the indebted person. Qualitative methodologies, such as in-depth personal interviews and focus group discussions, are used to elicit information from the sample and respondents were selected through purposive sampling methods for this reason. Qualitative methodologies are employed in order to yield a deeper and more insightful understanding of the intricate web of personal indebtedness of the case study group. Quantitative methodologies included a questionnaire survey that was administered to the case study group and a stratified random sample was used to select participants. The summary profiling indicates that it is mainly single Xhosa-speaking women who are indebted and that all respondents are grant recipients. Further findings show that not only are respondents indebted to money-lenders and/or credit stores, but also to the local “spaza shop” and to the municipality in terms of their inability to pay for services as well. Serious concerns regarding lending practices, interest rates and absence of contracts were highlighted. Most disturbing is that it appears that a pattern of indebtedness is being established between generations. I argue that current legislation is inadequate and that the proposed new Consumer Credit legislation be translated into action otherwise the pattern of indebtedness will continue to persist. Further arguments are made for access to appropriate banking facilities and the importance of personal and national savings is stressed, if debt freedom and genuine development is to take place. I advocate for a re-thinking of the GEAR strategy, for a Basic Income Grant and for the building of popular movements to lobby and demand these changes and initiatives. The rationale put forward is that indebtedness is a symptom of the larger problem of poverty and unemployment; this therefore necessitates meaningful structural changes to address these overarching problems. / South Africa

An in-depth study is conducted into ten female-headed households in the township of Rini, an underprivileged section of Grahamstown in the Eastem Cape region of South Africa. The study provides information on the way in which such households function in conditions of poverty and underemployment. The meaning of the term 'household' is clearly defined. A household consists of a group of people, who may or may not be kin-related, but who usually live under the same roof, eat together and share resources. Household members may be absent for varying periods of time, but are still considered to have rights in the household to which they belong. The female-headed household usually contains a core of adult women who are often uterine kin. Men are frequently members of these households and are usually related to the women who form the core. Their status and roles in such households are defined and intra-household relations between household members are discussed. In this study, female headship is observed to occur in conditions of poverty when an elderly woman is widowed, receives a regular income in the form of and old age pension, and when her status as the senior member of the household is acknowledged. The presence of men in female-headed households has not been widely emphasised in other studies, either of the female-headed household itself, or in research done in this area of South Africa. An attempt is therefore made to illustrate the way in which men function in these households and the varying roles they play. An attempt is also made to describe other structures and practices which support the female-headed household in a rapidly changing urban environment. These include church membership, burial society membership, the informal economy, wider kinship networks and, in the case of the men, the rite of circumcision.

The aim of this study was to determine whether a rapid release N source can be substituted with a slow release N source without having any negative effects on intake, digestibility, rumen fermentation and microbial protein synthesis, if sheep are fed a poor quality roughage. Five rumen cannulated wethers were used in the trial in a 5x5 latin square design. Cannulated wethers were assigned to different treatments after each experimental period. The treatments studied had different proportions of urea to OptigenrII, with the same inclusion level of starch and a mineral premix between treatments. The five different treatments were: 100% urea; 75% urea:25% OptigenrII; 50% urea:50% OptigenrII; 25% urea:75% OptigenrII and 100% OptigenrII. Significant differences (P<0.05) between the 25% urea:75% OptigenrII and the other treatments in terms of intake suggested that a combination of urea and OptigenrII might be the preferred supplementation due to a significantly higher dry matter intake (DMI), organic matter intake (OMI), neutral detergent fibre intake (NDF intake) and digestible organic matter intake (DOMI). The intake variables of 100% urea and 100% OptigenrII did not differ (p>0.05). No differences (P>0.05) were recorded for dry matter digestibility (DMD), organic matter digestibility (OMD) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) digestibility between treatments. However, the 100% OptigenrII treatment had a significant (P<0.05) lower apparent nitrogen digestibility, which might be the result of a slower rumen NH3-N release and higher nitrogen excretion than the other treatments. No differences were observed for pH and VFA between different treatments. The rumen NH3-N concentration of the 100% OptigenrII treatment was significantly (P<0.05) lower than the 100% urea treatment at 2 and 4 hours after infusion. The effective degradability of both DM and NDF did not differ (P>0.05) between treatments. Neither were there differences between treatments for total microbial crude nitrogen (MCN) production. Based on biological evaluation, it could be suggested that urea might be substituted with OptigenrII in supplements. From an economical point of view, urea might still be the preferred NPN source, as urea is cheaper than OptigenrII in terms of R/kg nitrogen. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / unrestricted

This study focuses on rural livelihood diversification and improvement in dry districts of Zimbabwe during the period from 2000 to 2010. It establishes and documents livelihood activities and interventions in three semi-arid districts in Zimbabwe, analyses evidence for rural livelihood diversification and improvement and related challenges, and analyses institutional and policy issues that determine rural livelihood development in the politically charged period from 2000 to 2010. Rural livelihood diversification and improvement is not a recent phenomenon. For years, rural people have diversified their livelihoods for different economic reasons. Despite several studies on rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe, no similar studies have been done to determine the types of livelihood diversification that occur in a politically charged environment and whether they improve people‟s livelihoods. The study was guided by both the sustainable livelihoods framework and the actor oriented approach. Qualitative methodology was used for the overall data collection. Firstly data was collected „from the top‟ through in-depth interviews with officials from government institutions, non-governmental organisations and community leadership structures. Secondly data was collected „from the bottom up‟ through selected participatory methods in study areas. The overall study findings show that despite having increased livelihood interventions in all semi-arid areas, the politically fraught atmosphere constrained livelihood improvement and poverty remained. Although evidence for livelihood diversification is undisputed in the study, the extent to which it contributed to livelihood improvement was limited. The extended period of political constraint reversed some of the livelihood improvement gains recorded by external interventions. As most of the support was targeted at addressing the immediate food needs of the poor in semi-arid districts, this affected the number of long-term interventions targeted at sustainable livelihood development. The study found that the changing policies and institutional arrangements constrained and limited the potential of some of the livelihood strategies adopted during the period under study and as a result most livelihood activities were limited to survival strategies. The study shows that despite a decline in agricultural production during the period under study, it remained the major livelihood activity. Agricultural activities such as cotton and maize production and livestock rearing experienced a decline, but were partially revived through external support from both the government and nongovernmental organisations. Agriculture as a livelihood activity largely benefited from external interventions that rehabilitated irrigation infrastructure and the provision of agricultural inputs during the period. However, despite the dominance of agriculture as a livelihood activity in semi-arid areas non-farm livelihood activities, both locally initiated and externally fostered, played a significant role in supporting rural livelihoods. Poaching and wild fruit harvesting provided food for immediate consumption, whilst gold and diamond panning, wood carving and the commercialisation of non-timber forest products generated cash income for rural livelihoods. Non-farm external livelihood interventions identified resulted in a number of rural livelihood development models important for future rural development. These models were developed around the commercialisation of non-timber forest products for cash income generation, rural human capital development through vocational skills training and rural small livestock asset development. Human capital resulted in the development of rural industry in the form of community based enterprises. Indirectly it also contributed to migrant labour that sent cash and goods back home. The study shows that it is evident that in a politically charged environment livelihood diversification has a range of positive effects. The re-emergence of the barter exchange economy in rural communities contributed to livelihood diversification although sustainability was limited. It is also possible for both barter exchange and the cash market to co-exist in a politically charged environment. The study also shows that traditional leadership and local authorities in study areas became more politicised and militarised and this diverted them from facilitating and supporting rural development and inhibited rural livelihood development efforts by different rural players. The study found that rural livelihoods are not static, and they adapted as best they could in the face of exogenous trends and shocks. Rural areas underwent deep transformations as a result of political dynamics, local livelihood initiatives and external livelihood support. Rural livelihoods changed as rural people devised combined livelihood strategies that went beyond farming. However, in contrast to the widely accepted argument that diversification plays an important role in poverty alleviation, this was clearly not the case in Zimbabwe‟s politically charged environment. This study contributes to the development debate with a case study on the type and extent of livelihood diversification strategies possible in a politically charged environment. Methodologically the study contributes to the possible application of a dual data collection system where data is collected from the top using different methods from those used to collect data from the bottom. This enriched the data at triangulation phase during analysis. The study also contributes to the understanding of the political economy, the type of rural livelihood development possible in politically charged environments, and to how rural people in Zimbabwe react and behave in an endeavour to survive. There was an increased role played by external interventions in livelihood diversification but the extent of their contribution to positive livelihood outcomes was constrained by the politically charged environment that prompted the interventions in the first place. The normal processes of policy development and implementation changed as the role of politicians in planning and implementation became evident and policy aims shifted from rural development to political party self-preservation.

“All religions emphasize the need to support charity, welfare and the disadvantaged. Obligatory giving is, thus, a manifestation of spirituality. This is why religious communities are capable, like no other sector of society, of mobilizing enormous resources for poverty alleviation and development initiative” (Maharaj & Chetty, 2007:82). Most African countries are faced with serious and worsening poverty (Wogaman, 1986:47), and one of greatest issues that demands our immediate attention within the church and society is poverty alleviation. Wogaman (1986:47) further argues that the increase in production has not served to bridge the great historic chasm between rich and poor. Hence, the church needs to direct its attention and its activity to poverty alleviation so that it becomes an advocate for the poor. Lawrence (2012:1) argued that we are created for fellowship with other people and also depend on God for our survival. Therefore, poverty touches all of God’s creatures and not simply those who experience it directly. Poverty prevents human beings from realizing their potential; it creates barriers of inequality between people, and bars people from experiencing the abundance of God’s creation.

Agriculture for rural communities in semi-arid areas is a risky exercise. The adverse weather conditions (high evaporative demand and low rainfall) of these regions, coupled with comparatively limited mechanization and often soil of poor chemical and physical constitution make crop production difficult and seldom sustainable. To some this problem represents a conundrum to be solved, to others an inconvenience to be avoided. Reduction of agricultural risk in these communities can be addressed in numerous ways, but should always begin with a thorough investigation of the agricultural imperatives of the community targeted, with the recommended system then tailored specifically to meet these imperatives. Agroforestry (combining trees and crops in agricultural systems temporally or spatially simultaneously) has been recommended for, and often been very successful in, many rural communities in tropical Africa and Asia. Adoption in semi-arid Africa has been less widespread, and often less successful once implemented. Nevertheless, the risk reduction possibilities that agroforestry offers through crop complementarity and yield diversification warrant further investigation into the practice in these regions. These studies sought to quantify yield advantage or disadvantage of hedgerow intercropping or alleycropping systems (combining hedgerow Leucaena leucocephala with various annual alley crops of importance to rural South African communities) compared to pure stands, and to investigate the use and distribution of, and competition for, water and light in these systems. Although alley-cropped annuals seldom outperformed pure stand annual crops, the diversification of yield, enabled by combining trees and crops, compensated for lower yields of annual crops in dry seasons or when yield losses occurred through disease. Whether or not this compensation for yield loss would be to the ultimate benefit of the target community would depend on the relative value of the different products resulting from the intercropping system. Using modifications of the renowned Land Equivalent Ratio and energy contents of products of the system, attempts were made to quantify possible benefits of intercropping in terms valid for the community targeted. Studies of water and light distribution in these systems illuminated often-severe water shortages in alley rows close to hedgerows and showed little benefit in altering row orientation for improved light distribution. Water emerged, as expected, as the primary concern to possible adopters of these systems in semi-arid zones. Crop modeling with mechanistic, biophysically sound models should be considered as an extremely important tool in combining needs of communities with environmental constraints of the area targeted. / Dissertation (MSc(Agric) : Pasture Science)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

This research compares partners required to be competitive in the low income market to the partner network of the more traditional upper income market in South Africa. The research examines the non-traditional partnerships engaged by firms which include local communities, government and NGO’s. It further looks at the broader alliances formed by firms competing in the low income market compared to the traditional market and lastly investigates institutional voids and their effect in the respective markets. The research is exploratory in nature and considers the perceptions of managers in eight companies through the use of semi-structured interviews. 14 managers were interviewed across the 6 industries selected. Insights were gained through the use of a semi structured interview guide. The research indicates that non-traditional partnerships do take place in both the low income and traditional markets but for different reasons, with the low income market focusing on these partnerships to access the consumer. It was further apparent from the interviews that those competing in the low income market tend to partner more with other firms operating in the market but in different industries, whilst the traditional market managers tend to partner more with smaller business set up to fulfil the needs of the larger firm. The research further indicates that institutional voids may present an area to develop first mover advantage by locking down successful partnerships before competitors do. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

The growth in developing markets has created a need for businesses to re-look their strategies and become players in the emerging economies. With the advancement of growth in the developing countries, new opportunities are created with innovative solutions coming from developing countries and being sold to developed countries. Besides the projected growth and opportunities in the developing countries, the majority of people living in poverty are found in these countries. They are also faced with challenges such as lack of infrastructure and lack of property rights. Firms that want to successfully serve these markets will need to develop innovative business models that will create value for the shareholders, communities and other stakeholders.The purpose of this study is to explore business models developed for the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) in different industries and to understand what makes them successful despite facing the institutional voids experienced in developing countries with the intention to provide a high-level generic business model template that can be used for firms that are targeting the BOP markets. The objective of this report, hence, was to explore the differences in business models developed by firms serving the BOP market; identify the challenges of doing business in developing countries and explore how those challenges are met; and identify the critical success factors in serving the BOP markets. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / pagibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted