1,721,041 research outputs found
Food provision challenges facing Early Childhood Development Centres in two Cape Town townships
No full textMagister Philosophiae - MPhilEarly childhood has been identified as a critical period for providing nutritional intervention, with nutritional adequacy during the first 1000 days having long term implications for human development. South Africa’s policy environment accordingly aims to support the development of all children through providing services supporting care and nutrition of children so that ‘no one is left behind’. However, the reality is that for the economically marginalised who live in poverty, these services are inaccessible and the whereabouts of many children, especially those under 5, remain unknown to the state. This study looks at township childcare facility as a key intervention point for nutrition provision, documents the obstacles and challenges they face in securing food for the children in their care and describes the strategies they use to combat these challenges. Using a mixed method approach, data were gathered on all ECDs operating in two Cape Town townships – Vrygrond, a semi-formal township, and Sweet Home Farm, a deeply informal settlement – and a typology was developed which represented the differentiation between these informal businesses in terms of a continuum of connectedness and disconnectedness with the regulatory environment. The careful spatial census conducted for this study showed that 81% of ECDs in the target area were unregistered, suggesting that rates of regulatory exclusion may be much higher than the 40-50% estimated in previous studies. The study shows that these ‘structurally informal’ ECDs are situationally appropriate childcare facilities, providing a safe and affordable service that enables township residents, many of whom are single mothers, to earn a living. But, because they are structurally unable to comply with qualifying criteria, these ECDs are unable to access the Department of Social Development’s per-child subsidy, a key resource to provide children food. Crucially, the study shows that the regulations as they stand cannot differentiate in a meaningful way between ECDs that provide situationally appropriate quality of care and those that don’t, suggesting that the regulations are thus not fit for purpose. In this context, the study highlights the crucial role played by NGOs and food organisations. Even these sources of support, however, are uneven and inadequate as the nutritional security of economically marginalised children in township ECDs remains under threat. Ensuring the nutritional security of township children in their first 1000 days will therefore require thoroughgoing revision of the regulatory environment in order to ensure the appropriate regulatory incorporation and support of township ECDs
Movement of Zimbabwean immigrants into, within and out of the farm labour market in Limpopo province of South Africa
No full textMagister Philosophiae (Land and Agrarian Studies) - MPhil(LAS)This thesis presents findings from ethnographic research conducted over a period of 17 months in the Blouberg and Molemole local municipalities of Capricorn District in Limpopo province with the aim of exploring mobility patterns of Zimbabwean migrants into, within and out of the South African farm labour market, and understanding how these movements are linked to access to food and other livelihood opportunities. Limpopo serves both as a transit province for Zimbabweans who wish to proceed further south to other provinces of South Africa and a destination for irregular migrants who live and work on white-owned commercial farms. Although constrained mobility, which results from their illegality and remoteness of farms from public services, limit their access to sources of food, irregular Zimbabwean migrants in Blouberg-Molemole area perceive that moving into South African farm labour has improved their food security and livelihood statuses. The South Africa farm labour market provides opportunities to earn income, and enables them to make long term investments in their families back home above immediate individual food security needs. Horizontal and vertical social networks established among Zimbabwean migrants in the Blouberg-Molemole area do not only serve the purpose of facilitating information sharing, but are also forms of social capital on which individual members depend on for their food security and livelihood needs
Food provision challenges facing early childhood development centres in two Cape Town townships
Get PDFMagister Philosophiae (Land and Agrarian Studies) - MPhil(LAS)Early childhood has been identified as a critical period for providing nutritional intervention, with nutritional adequacy during the first 1000 days having long term implications for human development. South Africa’s policy environment accordingly aims to support the development of all children through providing services supporting care and nutrition of children so that ‘no one is left behind’. However, the reality is that for the economically marginalised who live in poverty, these services are inaccessible and the whereabouts of many children, especially those under 5, remain unknown to the state. This study looks at township childcare facility as a key intervention point for nutrition provision, documents the obstacles and challenges they face in securing food for the children in their care and describes the strategies they use to combat these challenges. Using a mixed method approach, data were gathered on all ECDs operating in two Cape Town townships – Vrygrond, a semi-formal township, and Sweet Home Farm, a deeply informal settlement – and a typology was developed which represented the differentiation between these informal businesses in terms of a continuum of connectedness and disconnectedness with the regulatory environment
Grazing rights in communal areas of a post-independent Namibia: a case study of a grazing dispute in western Kavango region
Get PDFMagister Philosophiae (Land and Agrarian Studies) - MPhil(LAS)This dissertation aims at understanding the legal implications of a grazing dispute that was reported in the western Kavango Region a few years after Namibia’s Independence in 1990. This dispute which was between Ovawambo cattle owners and herders from the Ohangwena and Oshikoto regions and the local Vakwangali community members (represented by the UKTA) was reported in 1992 (other reports suggest that it might even have originated as early as the 1960s and 1980s), when it was said that the Ovawambo cattle owners and herders with their hundreds of cattle had entered into western Kavango “illegally” in search of grazing. The Ovawambo cattle owners and herders were first charged in 2005 and were eventually evicted in 2009. This dissertation looks at how legislation was used to deal with the conflict and investigates the impacts of the court order on all parties involved. The methodology employed during this study was predominantly qualitative, mainly utilising individual interviews and focus group discussions with the participants. This study found that the Government of Namibia had delayed acting on the grazing dispute for mainly political reasons. The study also found that many herders had indeed entered western Kavango Region illegally because they could not provide any letters of consent from the Ukwangali Traditional Authority (UKTA); many herders also admitted that there were no written agreements between themselves and the UKTA. The research also found that although the eviction orders were issued to all the herders, some still remained in the area; this selective application of the law rendered the eviction order somewhat ineffective. The study found that some local or affected community members were satisfied with the consequences of the eviction order and reported positive results regarding their farming activities such as better grazing and improved yields in their crop fields. Other community members, however, were disappointed by the refusal of certain herders to vacate the area, as well as by the failure of the government to ensure that all the herders had left the area
The comprehensive rural development programme as a vehicle for enhancing stakeholder participation in rural governance: a case study of Dysselsdorp in the Western Cape Province, South Africa
No full textMagister Philosophiae (Land and Agrarian Studies) - MPhil(LAS)The thesis seeks to investigate the extent to which the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP) has succeeded in creating a platform for rural people, including marginalised groups, to be effectively involved in their development. Dysselsdorp was used as a case study in a qualitative approach in order to get an understanding of the experience, views and perceptions of stakeholders, particularly residents and government officials. Data was collected through qualitative research. In-depth interviews were held with relevant government officials, local leaders and ordinary residents and focus groups were held with residents, including local leaders. The research revealed that the involvement of residents in CRDP was limited to needs identification through information giving while needs prioritisation and decisions on implementation were done by government officials. Further, the research suggests that members of the local elite (those who had political connections and social status) captured most of the benefits (i.e. tenders and jobs). Therefore, CRDP in Dysselsdorp had failed to ensure that residents, especially the marginalised, participate fully in their own development. Instead, the status quo remains, where government officials and the elites as representatives of the people make decisions. This corresponds with mere tokenism, as illustrated in Arnstein’s Ladder of Participation Model. A number of factors contributed to the failure to ensure genuine stakeholder participation, including unrealistic expectations of job creation, the assumption of ‘collectivism’, political dynamics in the area and poor institutional design
Grazing rights in communal areas of a post-independent Namibia: a case study of a grazing dispute in western Kavango region
No full textMagister Philosophiae (Land and Agrarian Studies) - MPhil(LAS)This dissertation aims at understanding the legal implications of a grazing dispute that was reported in the western Kavango Region a few years after Namibia’s Independence in 1990. This dispute which was between Ovawambo cattle owners and herders from the Ohangwena and Oshikoto regions and the local Vakwangali community members (represented by the UKTA) was reported in 1992 (other reports suggest that it might even have originated as early as the 1960s and 1980s), when it was said that the Ovawambo cattle owners and herders with their hundreds of cattle had entered into western Kavango “illegally” in search of grazing. The Ovawambo cattle owners and herders were first charged in 2005 and were eventually evicted in 2009. This dissertation looks at how legislation was used to deal with the conflict and investigates the impacts of the court order on all parties involved. The methodology employed during this study was predominantly qualitative, mainly utilising individual interviews and focus group discussions with the participants. This study found that the Government of Namibia had delayed acting on the grazing dispute for mainly political reasons. The study also found that many herders had indeed entered western Kavango Region illegally because they could not provide any letters of consent from the Ukwangali Traditional Authority (UKTA); many herders also admitted that there were no written agreements between themselves and the UKTA. The research also found that although the eviction orders were issued to all the herders, some still remained in the area; this selective application of the law rendered the eviction order somewhat ineffective. The study found that some local or affected community members were satisfied with the consequences of the eviction order and reported positive results regarding their farming activities such as better grazing and improved yields in their crop fields. Other community members, however, were disappointed by the refusal of certain herders to vacate the area, as well as by the failure of the government to ensure that all the herders had left the area
Movement of Zimbabwean immigrants into, within and out of the farm labour market in Limpopo province South Africa
Get PDFMagister Philosophiae - MPhilThis thesis presents findings from ethnographic research conducted over a period of 17 months
in the Blouberg and Molemole local municipalities of Capricorn District in Limpopo province
with the aim of exploring mobility patterns of Zimbabwean migrants into, within and out of
the South African farm labour market, and understanding how these movements are linked to
access to food and other livelihood opportunities. Limpopo serves both as a transit province
for Zimbabweans who wish to proceed further south to other provinces of South Africa and a
destination for irregular migrants who live and work on white-owned commercial farms.
Although constrained mobility, which results from their illegality and remoteness of farms
from public services, limit their access to sources of food, irregular Zimbabwean migrants in
Blouberg-Molemole area perceive that moving into South African farm labour has improved
their food security and livelihood statuses. The South Africa farm labour market provides
opportunities to earn income, and enables them to make long term investments in their families
back home above immediate individual food security needs. Horizontal and vertical social
networks established among Zimbabwean migrants in the Blouberg-Molemole area do not only
serve the purpose of facilitating information sharing, but are also forms of social capital on
which individual members depend on for their food security and livelihood needs
The dwelling as a workspace: Urban planning and home-based entrepreneurs in Kampala city slums
Get PDFPhilosophiae Doctor - PhDThe ubiquitous urban informality that characterises the cityscape of most sub-Saharan cities, has been impacted by states’ rationalised urban planning interventions to make urban spaces, and the activities of citizens more legible and governable. This study aimed at understanding the effects of urban planning and the regulatory environment on the business operations of the home-based entrepreneurial households and the strategies employed by these households to ensure their livelihood survival. The study used Katanga slum in Kampala, Uganda as a case study. The study approaches urban planning as a dialectical process, and therefore critically discusses the production and use of space (through urban planning) at different spatial scales of the city, slum and household, while highlighting the challenges experienced by the households and how they cope with these challenges. To facilitate the understanding of these issues, the study employed an integrated theoretical framework that comprised of Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space, Scott’s concept of state legibility, Jalan & Ravallion’s concept of urban spatial poverty traps, and Clark’s border theory
Movement of Zimbabwean immigrants into, within and out of the farm labour market in Limpopo province of South Africa
Get PDFMagister Philosophiae (Land and Agrarian Studies) - MPhil(LAS)This thesis presents findings from ethnographic research conducted over a period of 17 months in the Blouberg and Molemole local municipalities of Capricorn District in Limpopo province with the aim of exploring mobility patterns of Zimbabwean migrants into, within and out of the South African farm labour market, and understanding how these movements are linked to access to food and other livelihood opportunities. Limpopo serves both as a transit province for Zimbabweans who wish to proceed further south to other provinces of South Africa and a destination for irregular migrants who live and work on white-owned commercial farms. Although constrained mobility, which results from their illegality and remoteness of farms from public services, limit their access to sources of food, irregular Zimbabwean migrants in Blouberg-Molemole area perceive that moving into South African farm labour has improved their food security and livelihood statuses. The South Africa farm labour market provides opportunities to earn income, and enables them to make long term investments in their families back home above immediate individual food security needs. Horizontal and vertical social networks established among Zimbabwean migrants in the Blouberg-Molemole area do not only serve the purpose of facilitating information sharing, but are also forms of social capital on which individual members depend on for their food security and livelihood needs
(Re)constructed communities under land restitution : a case study of the Popela land claim
Get PDFMagister Philosophiae - MPhilThis dissertation explores the notions of community identity as they relate to land restitution. Specifically, the dissertation examines how community is (re)constructed in the Popela case study by examining how the claimants (former labour tenants) have framed their experience of dispossession and their understanding of their rights in land. Oftentimes, claimant groups will articulate their shared history as it relates to the land, and within this narrative they will seek to highlight the legitimacy of their claim. In this regard, rural communities tend to submit claims for restitution on the basis of the forced dispossession of the tribe. In contrast, labour tenants’ claims for restitution are based on the dispossession of grazing and cropping rights linked to their labour as individuals. The dissertation explores how the Popela claimants have (re)constructed their community identity. It shows that their discourse is characterized by conflicting notions of community and belonging, and traces the connections between these contradictions and the concessions the claimants had to make in adopting definitions and terms that have been imposed on them. It argues that while claimants appear to have accepted the Constitutional Court’s view of the basis of their claim, a ‘hidden transcript’ of commitment to community identity still persists, carefully hidden from public view in order to be awarded restitution
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