Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Masters of Art (Community Work) in the Department of Social Work University of Zululand, South Africa, 2012. / The researcher in this study wanted to get a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding orphans in Ulundi Local Municipality. It was found that there were more paternal/maternal orphans rather than double orphans. The findings also revealed that most orphans were living with grandparents and were well taken care of as a result a majority of orphans’ school performance was not disturbed after their parents passed away. This research also revealed that most orphans were still grieving the death of their parents. The results of this study also revealed that there were no Non-Profit Organisations that offered grief counselling and built resilience in orphans. As a result of these findings the researcher recommended that the Municipalities should have a department that will employ community workers who will organise communities in order to form Non-Profit-Organisations (NPOs) that will focus on a holistic approach in meeting the needs of orphans. This means these NPOs should use programs that will meet the needs of orphans physically, emotionally and spiritually.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Communication Science in the Department of Communication Science at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2014 / This study investigates the effectiveness of communication strategies used by local government with the hope of improving service delivery. Municipalities around the country have been continuously facing challenges with regard to service delivery. According to the Centre for Policy Studies (2010) protests are common in municipalities across South Africa. For example in 2010, the Minister of Local Government announced that 38 municipalities were under investigation for fraud and corruption. The 2011 local government elections were marked by service delivery protests which turned violent and led to the destruction of property. According to Department of Provincial and Local Government (2009), angry residents blocked roads and began burning tyres and throwing stones against the lack of services in their communities. This led to clashes with the police. Dissatisfaction with service delivery is the primary cause of civil unrest. Nepotism in conjunction with bribery and corruption are key reasons for the presence of unqualified staff at most public and social service departments. This research provides a comprehensive study of how local government operates in rural areas of South Africa. This study also exposes profound observations about current service delivery initiatives by local municipalities. Further, the study demonstrates how challenges faced by local municipalities through poor, ineffective communication techniques caused it to fail to meets its intended purpose. The findings identified the need to enhance public participation and effective communication in local government. / National Research Foundation