Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA (DVS)

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Analysing urban agriculture through the prism of the water, energy, food nexus approach: A case study of Gugulethu urban food forest initiative (GUFFI), Cape Town, South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2023) Khalushi Musedzaphanda Phophi
Food systems in developed and developing countries are under pressure due to climate change, among other factors. Food shortages, price hikes, and unsustainable practices are all occurring in cities around the world, indicating a need for more diverse means of producing and receiving food within urban food systems. Urban agriculture is proposed as a practical approach to achieving more sustainable and resilient urban ecosystems through policy growth. A wide range of research has been done on urban agriculture in terms of food security and income. However, very little research has investigated the relationship between urban agriculture and the water, food, and energy (WEF) nexus. Thus, this study aims to investigate how urban agriculture can be studied in the context of the WEF nexus approach as a strategy to fill this gap in the literature. Urban agricultural practices in South Africa are now being considered as an opportunity to produce food in urban areas where it was not previously possible. Urban agriculture demands water and energy for the production and transportation of food. However, water scarcity and access to energy are major challenges in South Africa. Thus, studying how water, energy and food are linked in the process of urban agriculture provided a solution of how when there is both water and energy shortages how can urban agriculture be achieved. This study analysed urban agriculture through the WEF nexus, with focus on understanding the complex interconnections and interdependencies between these resources within urban agriculture. The study also demonstrates the importance of community-led initiatives in addressing challenges of food insecurity and environmental sustainability in urban areas or townships. Furthermore, this study addressed the following research questions: How does GUFFI’s urban agriculture initiative promotes food security, how important are WEF nexus resources such as water, energy, and food in the success of UA and how important are WEF resources in promoting urban agriculture initiatives that lead to the greening of Gugulethu. This study used a qualitative research methodology, with Gugulethu Urban Food Forest Initiative as the selected case study. Semi-structured interview, participant observation, focus group and questionnaire were the methods used to collect data. The findings of this thesis highlight the interconnected nature between WEF nexus and urban agriculture. Moreover, the case study demonstrated the importance of community involvement and empowerment in driving sustainable urban agriculture initiatives, emphasizing the role of social and environmental justice in creating resilient food system. The study provided valuable insights into the key strategies and policy recommendations necessary to scale up and replicate uccessful urban agriculture initiatives in other urban contexts, contributing to the global effort of achieving sustainable urban development.
Navigating unemployment: exploring resilience and aspiration among educated unemployed youth in Cape Town, South Africa.
(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Payi, Vusie
In South Africa, over the past decade more people have attained higher education, with the percentage of South African adults with a degree increasing from 5.1% in 2010 to 5.9% today. However, despite increasingly gaining tertiary degrees, many cannot access employment related to their qualifications, and South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. This challenge of youth unemployment continues, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, which took place right before this research was conducted. The study examined how a group of educated young men in Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa navigate unemployment, by exploring how they articulate their resilience and aspirations. As the young unemployed graduates of the study share, getting employment is considered the fundamental key to fulfilling aspirations. The study employed qualitative research design utilising non-probability sampling, in particular purposive and snowballing sampling, involving 7 male participants who had moved from elsewhere in the country and graduated from a tertiary institution in Bellville, and had been searching for a job for 3 months to 3 years after obtaining their academic qualifications.
Community perceptions on the impact of education in reducing poverty: case of Vrededorp, Gauteng.
(University of the Western Cape, 2025) Sintu, Sanda
Education is a vital instrument for poverty alleviation, but its usefulness in marginalised populations is limited by societal barriers. In South Africa's disadvantaged communities, historical legacies of apartheid and persisting socioeconomic inequities have hindered the potential of education to uplift individuals from poverty, as suggested by human capital theory. This has affected how community members perceive the relationship between education and poverty reduction. Given this background, the study aims to examine the community’s perceptions on the impact of education in reducing poverty: Case of Vrededorp, Gauteng. The study uses a mixed-methods approach, consisting of a standardised questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews to get insight into the community’s perceptions, opinions and experiences concerning education and poverty reduction. The study results suggest a contradictory narrative: while education is viewed as a road to economic mobility, its impact is hampered by inadequate school infrastructure, insufficient resources and high unemployment rates among educated people.
A sample survey: describing community development practitioners training in provincial districts in South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Mpontseng, Constance Kumeke
Community development is a multidisciplinary approach aimed at addressing socio-economic disparities and fostering transformative change in communities. The practice of community development is guided by core values and principles and requires specialised knowledge, skills, and attributes for professionalisation. In South Africa, the Department of Social Development (DSD) has implemented a standardised training programme for Community Development Practitioners (CDPs) to ensure quality in practice. However, gaps persist in training effectiveness and alignment with practical needs. This study examined the impact of the DSD CDP training programme on practice performance, focusing on its alignment with internationally and nationally recognised norms and its capacity to equip practitioners with the practical skills necessary for impactful community development. Grounded in theoretical frameworks, including the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach, the Capability Approach (CA), and the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA). This study utilised these perspectives as a conceptual lens for assessing the effectiveness of the training programme. A sample survey design was deployed, using purposeful sampling to select 125 CDPs across all nine South African provinces, capturing diverse perspectives. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics alongside a developed Data Integration Matrix (DIM) to assess the alignment of the CDP training programme with international and national community development practice standards.
Participation levels of young women in municipal civic public participation processes in Cape Town
(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Williams, Abigail Jacobs,
This study aimed to understand the challenges and barriers that young women aged 18 to 25 from three communities in the Cape Town Metro, namely, Manenberg, Mitchells Plain and Bellville between the ages of 18 to 25, encounter when engaging in local government participation processes. The study sought to closely examine the potential outcomes for both these young women and the larger community in which they live if their participation is given priority and integrated into local government processes, procedures, and interventions. This study followed a qualitative research approach that attempted to be open-ended and adaptable in order to seek and comprehend how individuals who participated in the study perceived the research topic given the communities that they reside in and their local government contexts. Two research instruments were used, i.e. in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with the participants. From the literature reviewed, it becomes clear that the implications of not ensuring the participation of young women in local government processes that require their voice is detrimental to any community, particularly given the growing youth bulge in South Africa as a whole.
Nternal migration and the impact on the Driftsands Nature Reserve due to COVID 19: a case study perspective
(University of the Western Cape, 2025) Maphike, Russel C
Unplanned informal communities with subpar living conditions are frequently formed by illegal land occupation in all cities. However, these settlements are especially troubling in cities that are rapidly urbanising in lower-income nations since urban growth rates frequently surpass rates of infrastructure development. (Capps, Bentsen, & Ramí, 2015). The effect of COVID-19 on lower-income households has also been detrimental in the Cape Metro. Due to the different lockdown levels, it was more difficult for people to get work and for those living in backyards who couldn't afford rent to be evicted legally. The backyard residents then moved to the neighbouring Driftsands Nature Reserve from their evicted residences, resulting in an illegal and unauthorised invasion of the nature reserve. In addition to causing irreparable ecological harm and ruining the environment, this action resulted in the declassification of the once-thriving environmental education reserve and the loss of its Nature Reserve designation. The objective of this study is to assess the migration of individuals who were unlawfully occupying land in the Driftsands Nature Reserve using Lee's Theory of Migration and also taking into account the impact that COVID-19 had on the migrants (Lee, 1966).
An exploration of the link between migration and food security in Zimbabwean female migrants in Cape Town, South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Kanyayi, Joseph Kudakwashe
Migration and food security are intricately connected, especially in developing countries where socioeconomic instability compels individuals to pursue livelihoods outside their national boundaries. Migration, frequently a survival strategy, is essential for food security for both migrants and their family in their nation of origin. In recent years, there has been a growing discussion on the topic of migration in relation to food security in a development context. Nevertheless, less emphasis has been directed on the nexus between migration and food security concerning women (a vulnerable group), despite their role as primary carers responsible for household food preparation and distribution in numerous families. The ongoing discourse on remittances mostly focuses on their economic contribution to the recipient nations, while neglecting their contribution to household food security and livelihoods. This study examines the relationship between migration and food security among Zimbabwean female migrants in Cape Town, South Africa, within the framework of an enduring socioeconomic crisis in Zimbabwe. The study investigates the factors driving migration among Zimbabwean women, their migration in relation to food security, the food security status of these migrant women, and the essential role of remittances in sustaining the households left behind. It adopts a mixed methods approach and is based on two major theoretical frameworks: the new economics of labour migration (NELM) and the livelihoods approach. The research findings indicate that food insecurity is a significant factor influencing migration. Majority of the women left Zimbabwe escaping hunger and economic adversity.
Human Resource Development and Training in a competitive marketplace: A case study in the South African auto assembly sector
(University of the Western Cape, 2000) Van Wyk Noel
ln this study the ongoing Human Resource Development and training practices at Daimler Chrysler's East London assembly plant in the Eastern Cape is investigated in the context of the increasingly globalized economy and intensifying international competition. Chapter one provides the background to the company and the industry. The reader is introduced to the efforts to restructure the plant as part of their efforts to adapt to the increasingly changing world market conditions. The significant role of the labour movement in the restructuring of the industry that led to the establishment of the Automobile Manufacturers Industry Education and Training Board (AMTETB) is also outlined. Chapter two contextualises the transformations in the plant against the background of the broader shifts in the sector's industrial relations. lt highlights how the company navigated its way through the adversarial industrial relations to embrace a more cooperative model based on joint consultation. The auto sector's training framework is compared to government policy represented by the national Qualifications Framework and the Skills Development Act of 1998.
Poverty alleviation: beyond the national small business strategy
(University of the Western Cape, 2001) Von Broembsen, Marlese
'Small business' is commonly conceived of as a solution to structural unemployment and poverty al alleviation, whether from a capitalist perspective or as part of the preventative, developmental aspects of 'developmental social welfare services'. The White Paper on a National Strategy for the Development and Promotion of Small Business in South Africa (March 1995) outlines the government's national Small Business (NSB) strategy. The NSB strategy explicitly states that its objectives include economic growth and economic empowem1ent, while poverty al alleviation is included by implication. In this dissertation I critique the NSB strategy from the perspective of poverty alleviation. I argue that the Department of Trade and Industry has failed to develop a coherent strategy for each of its objectives and has attempted to fulfil a number of very different objectives by means of the same policy instruments. I argue that the SB Strategy is ineffective as an economic growth strategy, primarily as a result of poor implementation, whereas its ineffectiveness as a poverty alleviation strategy is due to poor policy design. I explore developmental consequences of cash transfers and argue that no other intervention could, at this stage, have the geographical and numerical impact that a cash transfer could have. In addition, the poor's need for a reliable, secure income is an aspect of poverty that I constantly stress, and which is met by even the smallest cash transfer. I argue for the adoption of a macro poverty strategy of which enterprise development is but one component, and which is premised on an understanding of intra-household dynamics and the effects of gender stereotypical roles on poor women as entrepreneurs.
A deeper look at the advent of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and what it means for the marginalized, a social innovation perspective
(Universty of the Western Cape, 2023) Maphukatha, Sihle; Mdleleni, Lwando
The current technological paradigm shift known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), has impacted all parts of the world including the African continent. Developing countries such as South Africa are preparing for the transformative technological changes brought by 4IR. According to Schwab and other scholars 4IR is the fourth major industrial era since the 18th century in which new technologies are fused together with the physical, digital, and biological worlds affecting all disciplines, economies, and industries. South Africa recognizes the potential of adopting 4IR technologies to address issues of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. However, currently South Africa lacks the necessary resources, skills, and infrastructure to fully utilize the opportunities and mitigate the risks associated with these technologies, particularly in the marginalized society. This study seeks to determine the effect of the 4IR on the marginalized society and explore possible roles that can be played by social innovation (SI) to mitigate possible challenges and ensure inclusive participation in the implementation of the current technological revolution. SI is defined as new ideas such as products, services, and models that equally meet social needs and create new social relationships or collaborations that aim to develop society. In the context of this study, marginalized society refers to the demotion of society due to a lack of access to rights, resources, and opportunities.
Assessing the efficacy of public participation in the enhancement of public service delivery planning in Polokwane local municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Kgobe, France Khutso Lavhelani; Bayat, Mohamed Sayeed
Background: Over the past few years, there has been a shift in the responsibility of service delivery planning from a centralized (national) level of government to a more decentralized (municipal) level. Contemporary perspectives on planning suggest that the responsibility is no longer regarded as a hierarchical process, but rather as a collaborative process that involves the active participation of citizens as key stakeholders. The notion of public participation is regarded as a crucial factor in the democratization of service delivery. This is achieved by empowering consumers and communities to play a major role in the process, rather than solely representing the government. Within this framework, the involvement of the public facilitates greater agency for individuals of lower socioeconomic status, granting them the ability to actively shape their own circumstances and the determination of their developmental needs. Consequently, it is imperative for municipalities to assume a crucial role in enhancing democracy and guaranteeing that communities are engaged in determinations that have a direct bearing on them. The study argued that despite the intricate structures, obstacles, and notable administrative challenges, public participation is a crucial factor for the triumph of service delivery planning. This study delved into the concept of public participation as an essential component for effective governance and efficient service delivery within the local government domain.
Beyond money: Evaluating the impact of Student Support Practitioners on the academic success of first-generation National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) recipients atthe University of the Western Cape
(University of the Western Cape, 2023) Pritch robyn kate
This mini-thesis evaluated the impact of assigned Student Support Practitioners (SSPs) on the academic performance of first-generation National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) bursary recipients at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). The study was conducted at UWC and used a mixed methodology of qualitative semi-structured interviews and quantitative questionnaires, informed by a literature review and the theoretical perspectives of the Human Development and Capabilities Approach, Human Capital {Haq (1980), Sen (1980), Nussbaum (1988 & 2011) and Alkire and Deneulin (2009)}, Social Capital Theory and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. There were three study units: 17 UWC NSFAS-funded bursary students from different faculties who were part of the REAP Programme and had an assigned SSP; 114 UWC NSFASfunded bursary students from different faculties who were not part of REAP and without an SSP;and seven SSPs who were interviewed. The sampled students completed an online questionnaire for the quantitative part of the study. The study found that students with an assigned SSP performedbetter academically and completed their degree in the required time. The data from the student participants and SSPs revealed that mental and emotional support should accompany the financialsupport provided by the NSFAS because of the multiple household related challenges that these students have overcome to qualify for university and continue to contend with once at university.
Gentrification and the disruption of space: residents lived experiences in Bo-Kaap, Cape Town
(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Salie, Shafeeqah; Karriem, Abdulrazak
Gentrification has become a global urban phenomenon that can be compared to the colonial project. Gentrification is a process whereby capital is reinvested in urban areas and designed to produce space for more affluent people rather than current occupants. Capital investment alters the environment, making it increasingly unaffordable and ultimately resulting in the displacement of the original inhabitants. Gentrification has a pervasive cultural element; it privileges whiteness and appropriates urban space and enforces Anglo-centrism. Gentrification imposes regulation of space; this takes the form of privatisation, neo-liberal public policy, class division, and displacement. The Bo-Kaap community has existed in the area for over 250 years; it is the only historically ‘non-white’ neighbourhood in the inner-city of Cape Town having been preserved as the Malay Quarter under Apartheid’s separate development policy. The community remains fairly intact and is the only working-class inclusive community in Cape Town’s inner-city.
The national health insurance (nhi) and women: making the case for the socialisation of accessing health services a policy perspective
(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Oliver, Gabriella; Bayat, Mohamed Saheed
The National Health Insurance (NHI) bill [B 11 - 2019], which was approved for adoption by the National Assembly (NA) of South Africa’s parliament on June 12, 2023, is the subject of this study, which offers a policy viewpoint. In doing so, the policy perspective attempts to analyse the degree to which the current NHI bill recognizes access to health services for women who are refugees and asylum seekers in particular. This study pays special attention to women who are asylum seekers and refugees because they are adversely affected by poor health outcomes around the world. Women asylum seekers and refugees are one of many variables in the health system in South Africa. The NHI bill and women asylum seekers and refugees are both variables of the same health system and therefore they are interconnected and linked. The linkages and interconnectedness of these variables are non-linear. Nonetheless, given the type of care that is contemplated in the NHI bill, the question that this policy perspective answers are: to what extent does the NHI bill in its current iteration recognize access to health services for women asylum seekers and refugees? And whether the type of care offered in the legislation satisfies constitutional muster.
Negotiating urban informality: narratives of politics and mobility in an informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Ndwayi, Siyasanga; Koskimaki, Leah
Recent work on ‘urban informality’- forms of urbanisation such as the growth of settlements outside the confines of the state and its policies- have begun to emphasise the politics and everyday negotiations of those living in these marginalised spaces. In South Africa, the creation of and the politics around such informal settlements have been largely shaped by the colonial history and legacies of spatial inequalities and racial segregation. This research examined the politics of im/mobility in a particular settlement in Cape Town, called Siqalo in Mitchells Plain. Through qualitative methods including open ended interviews with community leaders and activists in Siqalo, the thesis offers insights of how a group of activists and residents negotiate everyday challenges. It shows how being viewed as “encroachers” shapes their political and social life in the city and examines how a politics of belonging mediates their access to services and better livelihoods. Overall, taking decolonisation as a lens through which to study mobility, the thesis shows how informality and mobility are linked in contemporary South Africa.
Social capital and role of stokvels in the economic lives of poor people in Khayelitsha, Cape Town
(University of the Western Cape, 2023) Kolweni, Lungile; Bayat, M.S.
The study seeks to understand the role and the impact of stokvels, especially on low-income groups living in Khayelitsha in Cape Town. The focus is on the role of social capital and the economic impact on the lives of stokvel members. The study investigates how social capital is developed and deployed by members of stokvels. The economic benefits of stokvels to members are also interrogated. The researcher used a qualitative research approach in conducting this study. Individual interviews and focus-group discussions were conducted with members of the two stokvels. To supplement these observations, documentary sources were used as techniques to collect data. These techniques were appropriate for this nature of a study as they afforded the researcher an opportunity to get information about the operations of stokvels from the viewpoint and experiences of the stokvel members. The researcher visited two stokvels to observe proceedings in their meetings. Finally, the researcher went through the source documents of each stokvel to unearth relevant information, which other forms of data collection failed to uncover. The results of data collection were analysed, noting similarities between the results and common themes. The process enabled the researcher to come up with findings from the analysis of the results. Findings showed the positive economic impact of stokvels, as members have access to capital while they enjoy low interest rates from stokvels” loans. Stokvels” gatherings are characterised by entertainment, which allows members to socialise and understand one another better than before. In that process of interaction, social capital is developed. Members support one another when celebrating or grieving; in that way, social capital is deployed among stokvel members.
A comparison between Ethiopia and Viet Nam's approaches to reducing extreme poverty
(University of the Western Cape, 2023) Durno, Darryn; May, Julian
The World Bank working paper ‘Grow, Invest, Insure’ published in 2016 outlines a three-point plan to reduce extreme poverty to three percent by 2030. Specifically highlighting the achievements of Ethiopia in Africa and Viet Nam in South-East Asia, the plan maintains a growth-first strategy to reducing extreme poverty, while emphasising the importance of investment in human capital to aid productivity and complementary social insurance. This thesis reviews the three-point plan compared with approaches to reduce extreme poverty and outcomes observed in Ethiopia and Viet Nam in the period 2000-2015. Results from a synthesis of literature and data for Ethiopia and Viet Nam shows that, while growth-first strategies can be successful in reducing poverty, context is critically important. Both countries were sufficiently comparable in their population and political contexts and followed similar agriculturally led economic growth strategies. Both countries implemented campaigns to reduce extreme poverty over similar periods, through centrally managed regimes. However, where economic growth in Viet Nam catalysed economic transformation that enabled the expedient and sustained reduction of extreme poverty by 2015, Ethiopia exhibited only early suggestions of transformation and a strong tendency for transitory poverty escapes. Both case studies also clearly demonstrated that economic growth alone does not reduce extreme poverty. Transversal policy coordination and implementation that prioritises the targeting of integrated packages of support to the extreme poor, and offers graduated escapes to poverty, are required in order to enable households to exit poverty. These packages of support are both costly and complex to deliver. Where economic growth in a single nation cannot support them, macro-economic reform and political are insufficient to deliver effectively on extreme poverty reduction. Specific effort was made to confine the period of review and to draw on sources that the World Bank researchers would have been privy to whilst drafting their plan, in order to test the validity of the claims made by the authors of the plan. Considering the wealth of information available during the development of the three-point plan, which clearly demonstrates the inconclusive nature of its recommendations, this thesis raises questions about how the authors of the three-point plan justified their approach.
Seeking a dignified life: An exploration of the aspirations and experiences of women refugees in Cape Town, South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2023) Frank, Lenishia; Koskimaki, Leah
This study documented the experiences of a group of refugee women during the COVID-19 lockdown in Cape Town, South Africa. In late 2019, the women participated in a sit-in protest with a large group of refugees in the central business district in Cape Town against the xenophobic attacks and social injustices they have experienced with South Africa. During the protest the group of refugees gathered outside in the Waldorf Arcade near Greenmarket Square. On the 26 March 2020, after the nationwide lockdown to curb the rapid spread of COVID-19, the City of Cape Town forcibly moved many of the refugee protesters and families to a camp site situated at Wingfield in Goodwood. This research documents narratives of the women’s experiences, emotional trauma, and day to day life while they were settled in the temporary Wingfield Camp.
The effect of school feeding programmes among school-going children in Khayelitsha, Cape Town
(University of the Western Cape, 2022) Sindi, Babalwa; Devereux, Stephen
School feeding programmes (SFPs) are known as a significant form of social protection that seeks to address food insecurity and educational improvement worldwide. This study seeks to evaluate the school feeding programmes in Khayelitsha, Cape Town to examine the potential effects that they have on educational improvement as well as food security among school-going children. In addition, the study determines the general effects of school feeding programmes, including challenges that the programmes encounter; it then provides recommendations on how the identified challenges can be solved. This study used the theory of change to examine the effects of school feeding programmes in Khayelitsha.
Food Security: An evaluation of food choices, household food consumption patterns and health implications: A case study of Khayelitsha in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.
(University of the Western Cape, 2023) Mabusela, Abonga Aphiwe Athabile; May, Julian
Many factors result in a shift in food consumption patterns. These include uncertain food production, unequal food distribution, changing food markets, food inflation and fast urbanization (Cockx et al., 2019). All of the above have been prevalent in the past decades and are still persistent today. These factors have not only intensified but have shown a rise in food related health issues and issues of food insecurity.

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