M.A. / The Rural Development strategy is very important to the dominantly rural Molopo District of the North-West Province of South Africa. However, the majority of the case studies in Africa seem to suggest that the strategy is always 'top-down' (void of people's participation). The failure of this strategy to alleviate rural poverty is mostly predicated on this nature. This study examines the prevalence of people's participation in all the stages of the rural development projects, in four rural areas in the Molopo District. The study was done through literature review and testing the theory (by use of questionnaires and interviews) on people's participation in the four rural areas. The findings reveal a dire need for people's participation in the rural development projects. One may argue that though people's participation renders projects more effective and successful, the stages at which involvement can occur are varied. In the final analysis, the case studies of two most successful and two least successful projects are discussed. In conclusion, the study makes recommendations to the rural development agencies in the North-West to practise meaningful and realistic people's participation in their projects.

Rural community participation in tourism-based developments in and around protected areas has emerged as a major trend in the Developing world during the last three decades. The basic design of rural community participation in tourism-based developments involves the empowerment of rural communities to participate in such a way in the planning and management of these developments that they have a greater level of control on the effects that these developments have on them and on their environment. The motivation behind the popularity of the approach towards participatory development stems from the dissatisfaction with the centrally driven, top-down type of development that originated during the previous century and out of a desire to purposefully involve rural communities to the extent where they can effectively and sustainably develop and manage their resources. The research of this study presents an analysis of the participation of the Mbila community of the Sodwana Bay National Park in the tourism-based developments of the region. The literature in the study revealed that the principal fundamentals of rural community participation in tourism-based developments reside in the empowerment of the community to be able to involve themselves sufficiently in the tourism-based developments of their region. The focus of the research was therefore on determining the quality of the empowerment that the Mbila community enjoy and on the subsequent levels of control that this empowerment provides them with. The research results revealed however, that although the community seems to be sufficiently empowered to legally participate in the tourism-based developments of their area, they are still not involved to the degree that this participation generates meaningful changes to their overall livelihood. The reasons for these low levels of participation include aspects such as the harshness of the physical environment and the subsequent limited development opportunities in the area; the prevalence of insufficient levels of education and training; difficulties experienced in the communication between some of the institutions and the presence of certain forms of restrictive legislation. The study argues that satisfactory levels of participation can only be achieved if these difficulties are overcome to the extent where they permit community participation that achieves the enhancement of the quality of life for the Mbila community. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology / MSc / Unrestricted

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / Rural sanitation researchers, particularly in the Limpopo Province, have not offered theories in relation to the patterns of the development of rural sanitation. Several researchers have concerned themselves with the need for the solution of water supply but not sanitation services. The present study seeks to enhance the understanding of the dynamics of the patterns of the development of rural sanitation in the Capricorn District Municipality, in particular at the Eisleben Village. This research paper applied an evaluative methodology to assess the impact of VIP sanitation technology at Eisleben Village at Ramokgopa under Capricorn District Municipality in Limpopo Province in comparison to dry sanitation. Supportive cases studies on sanitation delivery in South Africa have also been cited to where both technologies have been applied to assess their impact to the health and dignity of the communities, the environmental impacts. Examples of such case studies included examples of the Mosvold Hospital Sanitation Programme, the Northern Cape Household Sanitation Programme, the eThekwini Water and Sanitation Programme and the Dry sanitation in an urban environment at Weiler’s Farm in Johannesburg. The following five major findings emerged from the study: 1. Sanitation development should be community driven in terms of information, knowledge and decision making. 2. There is need for the vision of health, hygiene and education strategy for water and sanitation. Efficient and effective hygiene education is urgently needed. 3. There is resounding evidence from previous sanitation projects done in various places in South Africa that dry or waterless sanitation has been found to be an adequate sanitation technology that best suits urban, peri-urban and rural areas. 4. There is need to replace VIP with a better technology such as dry sanitation as a matter of urgency to avoid unhygienic and unhealthy conditions due to inadequate VIP sanitation technology. vii 5. Sanitation solution and technology should comply with the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) policies of adequate sustainable water and adequate sustainable sanitation solution, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the German Helmhotz Association HFG’s “concept of integrated sustainable development”. In the main, the study suggests possible strategies and mechanisms to overcome the challenges that are identified in the research, with the idea in mind of contributing in improving sanitation, not only in the Eisleben Village, but rather to all rural communities in the Limpopo Province, South Africa.

No description available.

Rural development efforts in Third World countries often fail to meet the needs of the most disadvantaged members of society. The priviledged continue to get a disproportionate share of the fruits of development. This is so in spite of the fact that development thinking has changed from the days when the poor were expected to benefit from development through the "trickle down" effect. It is now widely recognised that development should be focused on people in their local communities (human development) and not on the economy per se. To achieve this type of development requires an appropriate strategy of development, and people's/community participation is such a strategy. People's participation in development takes place through community based organisations. The organisations faciiitate the development of the human potential of members. This study investigates the conditions under which rural community participation takes place in lesotho. The Thabana-Morena Integrated Rural Development Project is used as a case study. The first objective is to determine the appropriateness of the organisations through which community participation was promoted in the project. The second objective is to isolate the political and administrative factors which affected participation in the project. Thirdly, the study tries to identify factors at the village level which influenced participation in the project. Fourthly, the study evaluates the effectiveness of the project in experimenting with participatory approaches, given that development projects are basically mechanisms for testing the appropriateness of national policies before applying them on a wide scale. Finally, a set of principles is developed on the basis of which participatory development can be facilitated. / Development Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Development Administration)

Rural development efforts in Third World countries often fail to meet the needs of the most disadvantaged members of society. The priviledged continue to get a disproportionate share of the fruits of development. This is so in spite of the fact that development thinking has changed from the days when the poor were expected to benefit from development through the "trickle down" effect. It is now widely recognised that development should be focused on people in their local communities (human development) and not on the economy per se. To achieve this type of development requires an appropriate strategy of development, and people's/community participation is such a strategy. People's participation in development takes place through community based organisations. The organisations faciiitate the development of the human potential of members. This study investigates the conditions under which rural community participation takes place in lesotho. The Thabana-Morena Integrated Rural Development Project is used as a case study. The first objective is to determine the appropriateness of the organisations through which community participation was promoted in the project. The second objective is to isolate the political and administrative factors which affected participation in the project. Thirdly, the study tries to identify factors at the village level which influenced participation in the project. Fourthly, the study evaluates the effectiveness of the project in experimenting with participatory approaches, given that development projects are basically mechanisms for testing the appropriateness of national policies before applying them on a wide scale. Finally, a set of principles is developed on the basis of which participatory development can be facilitated. / Development Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Development Administration)

Rural women play significant roles in both food and cash crop production, however, the majority of them lack access to productive resources, including information. To enhance the process of development and to ensure that rural women participate in and benefit from rural development processes, it is important that productive resources such as land, technology and information are made accessible to them. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which rural women access gender and development information. It therefore investigated how the rural information delivery system is organised and operates in order to gain an understanding of the factors which hamper the accessibility of information to the majority of rural women. This understanding will enable rural development planners and information professionals to design and implement information services which are accessible to all members of the rural community. In conducting this study in the Tanga region of Tanzania, a sample of 773 households was drawn from an estimated 155,863 households to acquire a sample of rural women. A structured interview protocol was used to collect data from the rural women. A total of 64 human information providers out of a total of 90 targeted to be included in the study, was interviewed. Data was also collected through document reviews and informal discussion with key informants at regional and district levels as well as through personal observations during field work. The findings of the study indicate that at least 40 percent of rural women are still functionally illiterate and at least 30 percent head rural households. Tt:1e majority of them still live in poverty with limited incomes. On the other hand the information providers are predominantly male, constituting a male/female ratio of 3: 1. The information needs of rural women are practical and strategic in nature. Information providers used are mainly friends and relatives, village leaders, health extension workers and hospitals and clinics. The communications used in information exchange processes are oral in nature with face to face communication being the main channel used. Formal sources of information such as printed and audio-visual sources are rarely used. Furthermore, this study has shown that socio-economic factors impact on levels of access and use of information providers. Information made accessible to women is mainly health information, followed by community affairs which is mainly about community problems discussed at village meetings. Very few women benefit from rural training programmes and information on development projects because these are limited to specific project areas. Information delivered is therefore not adequate to satisfy rural women's needs whereas information accessed is moderately relevant as far as their health information needs are concerned. The main barriers to rural women's access to information include: workload, attitudes of information providers, customs and traditions and non availability of other sources such as printed and audio-visual sources, as well as low income and relatively low education levels of women. This study has identified several weaknesses in the rural information delivery system which need to be addressed. It is therefore recommended that in order to make information readily accessible to the majority of women, there is a need (i) to formulate gender sensitive policies and institute mechanisms for implementation, which should include the training of information providers in gender issues in services-provision; (ii) to make available adequate financial resources to support rural information seryices; (iii) to use a variety of sources of information to cater for ; the heterogenous needs of users; (iv) to have a political will not only to address gender issues but also to sensitize entire rural communities to gender issues. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

Thesis (M. Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / The National government has implemented a rural development strategy, known as the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP), in various areas of the country including Muyexe village. The CRDP focused on community organization and mobilization as well as strategic investment in economic and social infrastructure. The programme adopted an approach that empowers Muyexe communities. It is built on the premise that rural areas in the country have the potential to be developed in a way that generates jobs and economic opportunities, thus providing an alternative to the urban centres, and contributing to the reduction of rural-urban migration. Muyexe has been one of the pilot areas in the country where the CRDP was implemented by the national government. The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent of the contribution of CRDP women empowerment in Muyexe. The study adopted a mixed research method (quantitative and quantitate) in order to describe and understand the impact of CRDP on women empowerment. The researcher used a questionnaire to collect data from 92 households, which were selected randomly. In addition, qualitative data was collected through one-on-one interviews, observation and literature review. Interviews were conducted with ten (10) CRDP facility managers, employees and government officials who were selected purposively. Findings indicate that the condition of women living in the village has improved as women are allowed to engage in decisions that directly affect them, and women are treated with respect and dignity. There are signs of improvement in terms of women’s empowerment, namely access to resources such as land, health care, water and electricity; involvement in the projects that are designed to benefit the community; and holding leadership positions, despite the cultural and traditional practices. However, the participants of the study perceive that women are not satisfied with their working conditions and the income they earn. Another finding of the study is that CRDP has implemented various facility services in order to benefit the local community of Muyexe, through setting up a library, recreation centre, computer centre, early childhood learning centre, post office, clinic, doing road vii construction and many more. Other projects implemented include water reservation tanks, electricity, toilets and backyard gardens. This study found that the infrastructure and service facilities that were developed through the CRDP have a major impact in the lives of women in the village. Women have more access to houses, water reservation tanks, and electricity and sanitation facilities. Moreover, the projects initiated by CRDP have benefited women and their families as well as creating employment opportunities and skills training. The CRDP has not fully achieved its purpose of empowering the community, women in particular, due to several implementation challenges including inadequate coordination, theft and vandalism, and nepotism. Thus it is crucial for the policy makers and implementers to look into the different challenges that women are facing and come up with appropriate strategies that will further empower rural women in the study area. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning