The primary purpose of this study was to investigate and analyse the livelihood strategies of
AmaZizi, and to identify the constraints preventing the initiatives of the people of AmaZizi ---
which is adjacent to the Royal Natal National Park (RNNP) in the northern Drakensberg of
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa --- from taking an active part as entrepreneurs in the local tourism
economy and derive socioeconomic benefits from such participation. Using the sustainable
livelihoods approach, this investigation was done by examining the capital assets people
possessed that could help them become active participants as entrepreneurs in the local tourism
economy instead of being limited to wage employment. In order to answer the research
question, the following objectives were posited:
o To analyse the livelihood strategies of AmaZizi
o To contribute to the understanding of the sustainable livelihoods approach
o To determine the extent to which AmaZizi participated in the local economy
o To identify the constraints/barriers acting against local initiatives among the
people of AmaZizi
o To determine opportunities for integrating local communities into the first
economy
o To provide key information about the availability of resources which could be of
benefit to in the area
The sustainable livelihoods framework provided a tool to determine sustainability, not only of
lives, but also of the production process in the study area. This framework enabled the research
to be people-centered in that it enquired into the capital assets that could be used to escape
poverty and unemployment. The framework proved a critical tool, because it queried the assets
people possessed and the way in which they could use these assets to better themselves.
Pro-poor tourism was considered, as the local people in the study area should have been able to
benefit greatly from local tourism. This proved to be an elusive point, however, as many people
depended on state social grants and remittances. Although handicrafts had served as a safety net,this had not really alleviated poverty. Wage employment could be obtained from time to time,
but it was not sufficient; moreover, it was unsustainable as it had no long term benefits.
Consequently, the poor became even more vulnerable in the long run, as the temporary jobs
carried no pension benefits, for example.
The research argues that pro-poor tourism as a strategy against poverty is unlikely to be of any
consequence if not supported by relevant pro-poor policies. Without policies, pro-poor tourism
will merely remain a poverty alleviation strategy; a mechanism to provide a safety net against
poverty.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-11112011-110449 |
| Date | 11 November 2011 |
| Creators | Mazibuko, Sibonginkosi Godfrey |
| Contributors | Prof GE Visser, Prof LJS Botes |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-11112011-110449/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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