M.Sc. / In a country such as South Africa, there is a rich diversity of cultural, social, traditional and religious practices. The issue of death takes on a similar diversity, as such responding to death through a burial practice differs to varying degrees with regard to burial containment, burial material and burial procedure. The last few decades have seen an increasing recognition of the impact of human activity on the environment and the critical need to transform our approach on how we plan, lead, manage and monitor our activities. The subject of death has always been sensitive, resulting in the impact of burial remains outside the mainstream environmental critique. A sustainable development approach need to be applied to the issue of burial, and best environmental options should be adopted with sensitivity to social, religious and cultural practices. As the need for land urban development increases, the available space for cemeteries is decreasing. Of the twenty-eight cemeteries in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, thirteen are filled up. Therefore, more space is required to bury the dead. It is also recognized that significant increases in the number of deaths due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic is causing problems for already stretched cemetery facilities throughout many parts of South Africa. Research by Fisher (2002) has shown that cemeteries have a fairly severe pollution potential, especially if situated incorrectly. Leachate produced in a cemetery is of a pathogenic nature and can pollute surface and groundwater if located too closely. In black rural areas, most cemeteries were sited by the chiefs and kings of the area, since no legislation existed to govern the cemetery sites. As a result most cemeteries were poorly sited and now possess potential health hazards for our groundwater. Groundwater is a hidden treasure for sustainable development and it plays a vital role in the community, especially in the rural areas. Groundwater is a vital resource in South Africa and sufficient measures should be taken to prevent such additional pollution. This study was undertaken to establish whether poorly sited cemeteries have an impact on groundwater quality, and how can this impact be minimized or eliminated. Therefore, the groundwater quality of Ditengteng village was analyzed chemically and microbiologically. Chemical sampling indicated that the turbidity and the colour of the water do not comply with the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) for drinking water and the concentration of iron and manganese, which are colouring the water and may cause health hazards if consumed over a long period. Microbiological sampling results indicated that even a once-off consumption of water could cause serious health hazards. The samples collected recorded poor water quality. Despite this fact the community at Ditengteng still use this water for bathing, drinking and cooking. Since piped domestic water supplies are not available, the community depend on that water for survival. This study also indicates that an incorrectly sited cemetery can lead to the contamination of groundwater due to leachate.

M. Tech. Cost and Management Accounting / Long-term financial planning in South Africa was at the time of the study not regulated by legislation. In addition, municipalities were accused of failing to plan their finances, which included failure of adherence to the long-term commitments of long-term contracts, neglecting revenue collection, and consequent over-reliance on government grants and borrowing. The aim of this study was to assess whether the adoption of the Long-term Financial Strategy by the City of Tshwane, improved the municipality's financial performance, in order to determine whether a longer term financial strategy should become a legal requirement for all municipalities in South Africa.

M. Tech. Local Government / The challenge of continued non-payment for municipal services has its origin in the liberation struggle against apartheid, where municipal rates were deliberately not paid. This was a form of protestation against the illegitimate apartheid structures of local government imposed on the local communities, especially in the black areas. Unfortunately, this "weapon" that was used to fight apartheid has now become a challenge in post-1994 local government system, with some suggesting that it has evolved into a culture of non-payment for municipal services. But, why would this culture evolve in the post-apartheid era? This question is asked because in 1994 South Africa became a democratic state, where the citizens elected government of their own and mechanisms to institutionalize community participation in the processes of governance were introduced. The issue therefore is no longer of the illegitimate local government structures imposed on the people. So, the question is, why do people still continue to not pay their municipal services? Most municipalities in South Africa are unable to sustain their constitutional mandate of providing services to their communities as their revenue capacity is declining because of non-payment for municipal services. Against this background, the question that this study asks is what are the reasons for the continued non-payment for municipal services in the City of Tshwane? Coupled to this question is yet another important question, which this study also considers: how does the City of Tshwane deal with the challenge of non-payment for municipal services? The attempt to answer this question starts with an examination of the phenomenon of non-payment for municipal services in the City of Tshwane to highlight it as a challenge for the local sphere of government in South Africa. The purpose of the study is to understand the reasons for the continued non-payment for municipal services and how the City of Tshwane deals with this challenge.

This was a study of the devolution of water and sanitation management functions from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and Rand Water Board to Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. This affects the functions and the infrastructure that goes with it. This exercise is the fulfilment of the provisions of Water Services Act that empowers municipalities to become Water Services Authorities and where capacity exists to also become Water Services Providers. It was found that though constitutionally, water and sanitation functions resort under municipalities, in the area of study, the Tshwane municipality did not directly deliver these functions. This happened due to the fact that Tshwane did not have human capacity to deal with the functions, they provided the funding as a subsidy to Rand Water Board who in turn provided financial support to Odi Retail Water that is currently responsible for water and sanitation management as a subsidiary to Rand Water Board. The following are recommendations derived from the findings: That the political activities be raised in the areas to encourage people to pay for their services and take responsibility for meter reading on their own like it is happening in Denmark. In Denmark each household reads meters for both water and electricity personally and submits the readings to the municipality for billing. As a result the municipality did not employ special meter readers and by so doing they safe on salaries. That greater resource allocation is made to cover the shortfalls that were experienced due to lack of management capacity and other resources that would enable Tshwane municipality to run the functions on their own. That capacity building and support for professionals be streamlined on the current Odi Retail Water staff for future absorption by municipality. 4. That promotion of community-based development be continued to encourage community ownership on water management functions. This could be done through the formation of community water associations. While community-based approaches are now accepted as the norm, the necessary: capacity to support them in most cases does not generally exist at the higher levels (national, district and local) and Tshwane needs to look at this. Communities currently remain uninterested in taking part in wider water management for a number of reasons, including lack of ownership or control over decisions; lack of real power to make allocation and use decisions; high transaction costs of involvement; and poorly developed frameworks by which the views of large communities can be represented at stakeholder fora. Therefore, Tshwane must make sure that community's interest is supported in all respect. If the municipality cannot handle these functions on its own, then privatisation should be considered for efficient and effective water and sanitation management and provision. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2002

This research is an examination of the practical application of intergovernmental relations (IGR) and co-operative government at the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM)’s Department of Housing and Human Settlements. By use of questionnaire and direct interviews, the research extracted responses from methodically selected employees and officials at the Department of Housing and Human Settlements in the CTMM. Literature study was combined with document analysis and a part of participant observation to gather data and information that has been examined and analysed in the study that has established the need for training and skilling for officials and employees in financial and project management. The need for the rolling back of political interference, regular review of legislation to keep abreast with the changing environment and international standards and improved institutional communication are but some of the observations and arguments that the research has established from a careful reading of data gathered. The enabling policies, laws and regulations that are in place remain largely good on paper, but still limited in their practical application. It is argued in this research that housing and human settlements are a provision that is central in the democratic and development life of the Republic of South Africa, and that the provision of sustainable human settlements enriches the livelihoods of communities in so far as other services such as education, recreation, health care, electricity, economic opportunities, safety, transport and communication are also dependent on the availability of sustainable human settlements and the amenities that comes with it. It is the recommendation of the present research that if the policies, regulations, laws and goals that govern the IGR towards the delivery of sustainable human settlements are to achieve maximum fruition, there is a need for vigorous monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that will ensure that budgets are efficiently used, that standing decisions are implemented and that partisan politics and corruption and opportunistic tendencies are eliminated as these hinder performance and delivery. / Public Administration / MPA

This research is an examination of the practical application of intergovernmental relations (IGR) and co-operative government at the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM)’s Department of Housing and Human Settlements. By use of questionnaire and direct interviews, the research extracted responses from methodically selected employees and officials at the Department of Housing and Human Settlements in the CTMM. Literature study was combined with document analysis and a part of participant observation to gather data and information that has been examined and analysed in the study that has established the need for training and skilling for officials and employees in financial and project management. The need for the rolling back of political interference, regular review of legislation to keep abreast with the changing environment and international standards and improved institutional communication are but some of the observations and arguments that the research has established from a careful reading of data gathered. The enabling policies, laws and regulations that are in place remain largely good on paper, but still limited in their practical application. It is argued in this research that housing and human settlements are a provision that is central in the democratic and development life of the Republic of South Africa, and that the provision of sustainable human settlements enriches the livelihoods of communities in so far as other services such as education, recreation, health care, electricity, economic opportunities, safety, transport and communication are also dependent on the availability of sustainable human settlements and the amenities that comes with it. It is the recommendation of the present research that if the policies, regulations, laws and goals that govern the IGR towards the delivery of sustainable human settlements are to achieve maximum fruition, there is a need for vigorous monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that will ensure that budgets are efficiently used, that standing decisions are implemented and that partisan politics and corruption and opportunistic tendencies are eliminated as these hinder performance and delivery. / Public Administration and Management / MPA

The aim of the project was to study the mineral, chemical and morphological characteristics of the fallout dust samples. The dust fallout samples were collected at five different sites following the internationally accepted standard procedure for collection and analysis, South African National Standard and American Standard for Testing Methods (ASTM) D1739-98 (2010). Passive single buckets containing ¾ of distilled water and 10.0 ml of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solution, hoisted at a height of about 2.5 m were exposed from March – June 2013 and were collected every month, taken to the laboratory for characterization. First, the samples were filtered and mass concentrations per month were gravimetrically measured. The samples were then prepared for further characterization by the MicroScan Particle Analyser (MSPA)(Microscope UOP UB 100j) which measured the mineral content and the Scanning Electron Microscope - Energy Dispersive X- ray (SEM - EDX) measured the images of different particles (size, shape) and their elemental content. The results from the MicroScan analysis showed the prevalence of sandy rounded-shaped quartz (SiO2) particles across all sites. Minerals detected within the crustal material at all sites were quartz (SiO2), haematite (Fe; Fe2O3; Al2O3), feldspar (Na, K, Mg, Ca: AI2Si2O8), garnet (SiO4), aluminium silicates (AI2Si2O8) and calcium hydroxide [Ca (OH)2]. Evidently, sites A, B and C dominated the abundance of these minerals. On the other hand, sites D and E showed fine and rounded quartz and quartzite with various trace metal oxides. Measured elements in decreasing concentrations were Si, Ca, P, Al, K, S, Fe, Cu, Ti and Mg. Both coarse particle (2.5 - 10.0 μm) and fine particle sizes ranges (< 1.0 to 2.5 μm) were detected. Large irregular shaped particles sizes were common and were linked to crustal material. The results provide good baseline information which requires further characterization of samples by different analytical techniques and validation of possible sources. The ICP-MS was used to determine the elemental composition of dust fallout and the mean concentration of the elements of concern ranged from 1.1 - 2.6 for As, 0.2 - 0.6 for Cd, 17.0 - 21.9 for Ni, 449.8 - 751.1 for Pb, 9.9 - 22.3 for V and 101.7 - 293.0 μg/m3 for Zn. The elements such as Cd exceeded the set limit 0.005 μg/m3 by OSHA (2015) and NIOSH (2007); Pb exceeded the set standard of 0.5 μg/m3 set by OSHA (2015), NIOSH (2007), WHO (2000), USEPA (2012) and DEA (2013). The rest of the elements fell within the set guidelines by various regulatory national and international bodies. The study concludes that, although, all the sampling sites recorded the dust fallout rates within the SANS 1929 (2011) and DEA (2013) average RESIDENTIAL limit of 600 mg/m2/day, the future accumulation and exceedances cannot be ruled out owing to the increasing developments in urban areas / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Science)

M. Tech. Business Administration

M. Tech. Cost and Management Accounting / This study analysed perceptions on the application of cost accounting in the budgeting process, a case of the City of Tshwane municipality. The focus was generally recognised costing techniques used. Employee perceptions were analysed to determine whether recognised costing techniques were being applied, and if so, were those costing techniques being efficiently and effectively applied. An analysis of the employee perceptions of the reliability of the currently implemented costing techniques for the preparation of budget estimates, together with the employees' perceptions of management's implementation and maintenance of the budget estimates as required by legislation governing municipal budgeting process was also carried out.

M. Tech. Public Administration. / The study investigates the management of quality of service delivery in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan municipality focusing on electricity, water provision and refuse collection. In recent years, South African consumers expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of public service delivery by means of protests. Service delivery protests have, however, not occurred to a significant extent in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan municipality though it is one of the world's largest cities. Such a state of affairs warrants research to establish how the municipality manages the quality of public service delivery.