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Item Embargo A framework fo the application of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in improving the service quality of tertiary institutions in South Africa(2024-09-06) Patala, Najiyabanu Noormohmed; Kadyamatimba, A.; Munyoka, W.With the capability of re-shaping the global economy, 4IR necessitates countries to keep up with technological innovations that require most sectors within a country to be restructured drastically. Tertiary institutions are therefore required to transform the delivery of higher education services to the next generation with a seamless combination of skills and knowledge set. Thus, quality measures must be redefined in the context of 4IR. However, very few studies have attempted to define and measure quality from a 4IR perspective and lack frameworks addressing 4IR-based quality improvement solutions. This study investigated how 4IR can be applied within the context of tertiary institutions for improving service quality following a positivist paradigm. A quantitative research design was adopted to obtain an understanding of the 4IR stances and quantitative data was collected through questionnaires to gain an idea of the student and staff members' perceptions of 4IR service quality. The participants were sampled from the University of Venda’s population of students and staff. A quantitative method for data analysis was employed through statistical analysis using SPSS software. The findings of the study identified challenges that inhibits and benefits that could promote a 4IR-based quality of service environment. The study found that 4IR-based quality planning plays a significant role in quality of teaching and learning management. 4IR technologies were perceived to be useful as respondents had some form of awareness. Factors such as 4IR-based institutional responsiveness, empathy and assurance were significantly shown to measure service improvement. Based on the findings, a framework for implementing a 4IR service quality improvement in the teaching, learning, and research context was developed and validated. This study contributed to addressing how best tertiary institutions can implement 4IR by assessing their readiness levels. The Framework will assist tertiary institutions in gathering knowledge of the policies, strategies, and governance mechanisms required for supporting 4IR initiatives while providing guidance to understand quality 4.0 issues. It is recommended that tertiary institutions redesign their technological pedagogies to keep up with the demands of current educations needs and quality standards.Item Embargo A support framework of enhancing business performance of ruaral SMME's in the Limpopo Province, South Africa(2024-09-06) Razwiedani, Khathutshelo Collins; Chiliya, Norman; Nkondo, Livhuwani G.South Africa's aspiration for inclusive growth and development acknowledges the pivotal role of small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) given the country's pervasive unemployment and poverty rates, particularly in rural regions. Since the inception of democracy in 1994 with the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) to the present National Development Plan: Vision 2030, the focal point of South Africa's developmental endeavours has been the alleviation of poverty and inequality. This study aimed to devise a support framework to enhance the performance of SMMEs in the rural expanse of Limpopo Province, South Africa, while also fostering entrepreneurship expansion. Its primary objectives encompassed identifying the determinants affecting rural SMME performance, crafting a conceptual framework to bolster it, utilizing empirical research outcomes to formulate recommendations, and drawing conclusions to augment SMMEs' performance in Limpopo. Additionally, the study proffered actionable insights for stakeholders, including policymakers and entrepreneurs, to ensure the sustained viability of SMMEs in rural South Africa. Employing a quantitative research design aligned with the educational positivist paradigm, the study collected data from 377 entrepreneurs through questionnaires. A Convenience Sampling method was employed. Validity and reliability were ensured through exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach alpha coefficients determination. Pearson's correlation coefficient tests were employed to discern relationships among independent variables. The resultant path model addressed prevalent challenges confronting rural small businesses, proposing a roadmap for enhancing their operational performance.Item Open Access Agricultural technology's effect on entrepreneurship: a case study of the Mopani District Municipality in the Limpopo Province, South Africa(2023-10-05) Mangena, Mokgadi Lucy; Nkondo, L. G.; Nemushungwa, A.Traditionally, agriculture was considered a low-tech industry with limited technical dynamics. As modernisation engulfed human kind, changes to the agricultural sector occurred, spearheaded by economic liberalisation. Economic liberalisation helped to reduce the sector’s protection. These changes brought new entrepreneurial players into the sector, in addition to innovation and portfolio entrepreneurship. Despite these positive changes, the agricultural sector faces entrepreneurship challenges. A lot of these situational challenges are widely publicised in literature but not much has been written about agricultural entrepreneurship. This study, therefore, brings a new dimension to the entrepreneurship field of research. That is, the need for a study about the agricultural technology’s effects on entrepreneurship is long overdue. Against this backdrop, this study investigated the agricultural technology’s effects on entrepreneurship in the Mopani District Municipality. The study adopted a qualitative approach with a sample of ten participants using purposive sampling. Interpretive paradigm was used to underpin the study. Data was collected through interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. The study found that agricultural technology provides unparalleled benefits to farmers despite negative consequences associated with its use. The study recommends that farmers should familiarise themselves with the new agricultural technology’s effects on their trade before embracing it. Policy makers are encouraged to formulate appropriate policies that would help to develop the farmers’ knowledge and skills about agricultural technology.Item Open Access Analysis of Financial Literacy amongst University of Students: A Case Study of the University of Venda(2018-05-18) Mudzanani, Ronewa Victor; Gyekye, A. B.; Dafuleya, G.This study assesses the level of financial literacy and its impact on financial decision making exercised by the tertiary students in South Africa, using the University of Venda (Univen) as a case study. The study does this in three steps. First, it provides the financial literacy levels of students at Univen assessed through an evaluation score that the sampled students responded to. Second, it analyses the relationship between the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of students and their financial literacy levels. Third, it assesses the possible effects of financial literacy on financial decision making among students using correlation and regression analysis. The study uses primary data gathered by the author from the University of Venda registered students in the form of questionnaires. A stratified random sampling method was used to identify the students to form the sample of the study, which is 373. Percent slightly above 50 per cent of these students were found to be financially literate and there were more female students who were financially literate compared to male counterparts. Using the odds ratios, the study compared the financial literacy levels of all schools to the school of Management Sciences, respectively. Only students in Environmental Sciences and Law have higher literacy levels, which are statistically significant, compared to the students in the school of Management Sciences. The results also show that the age and the parent’s educational background have a statistically significant relationship with the student being financial literate. Furthermore the results indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship on good financial decision making (that is, budgeting, savings and investments) and being financial literate, compared to being financial illiterate. This result is not true when borrowing is used as a measure of financial decision making.Item Open Access An analysis of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and entrepreneurship in South Africa: opportunities and challenges(2023-05-19) Ngomana, Tshembo; Nkondo, L. G.; Nemushungwa, A. I.Africa and the rest of the world have witnessed plethora of changes in the way we do things, by the introduction of the fourth industrial revolution. This is not just true for the way people live, for the fourth industrial revolution has also impacted the manner in which businesses operate and perform. Its introduction presented changes, challenges and opportunities on the operations of small businesses; these have not been sufficiently tested in the body of knowledge. It is against this background that this study investigates the changes, challenges and opportunities brought by the 4IR on entrepreneurship with special focus on small businesses. The study was guided by the radical humanists‘ paradigm, the phenomenological design and the qualitative research method. Data was collected from 10 small business owners purposively sampled from Gauteng at the Ekurhuleni Local Municipality and Mpumalanga at Bushbuckridge Local Municipality. A structured interview guide was used to collect data through face-to-face interviews while an audio recorder and a notebook were used to capture the responses of the participants. The collected data was transcribed using Microsoft Word version 26 and analysed thematically. Results indicate the fourth industrial revolution applicable technologies, potential changes, challenges and opportunities facing small businesses and entrepreneurship. The value of this dissertation is that it is among the first studies contributing towards understanding of the changes, challenges and opportunities presented by the 4IR to small businesses and entrepreneurship in South Africa. The scope of the study was restricted to Bushbuckridge Local Municipality and Ekurhuleni Local Municipality; therefore, findings might not be generalisable to other areas in South Africa, to the rest of Africa or other developing countries/emerging economies. There is an opportunity to conduct similar study with other municipalities in other provinces in South Africa to gain different views. The researcher recommended that entrepreneurs should search for more information from relevant and reputable sources in order to avoid misinformation and misunderstandings as well as enrolling on 4IR education and skills programme and policymakers should implement necessary tech-related policies that will work towards providing adequate tech-support to small businesses.Item Open Access Application of Deep Neural Networks in Forecasting Foreign Currency Exchange rates(2022-07-15) Nemavhola, Andisani; Chibaya, Colin; Ochara, N. M.The global foreign currency exchange (Forex) market is regarded as one of the most important financial markets in the world, with daily transactions exceeding $4 trillion. In financial market research, forecasting currency rates is a crucial problem. Forex is notorious for being very volatile and difficult to forecast. In this study, we investigated the use of deep learning approaches in forex forecasting and compared the success of the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model to the performance of AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Support vector regression (SVR) when predicting forex rates of US Dollar (USD) pair with South African Rand (ZAR) using daily timeframe data obtained from the Metatrader trading platform. The LSTM outperformed the SVR and ARIMA models according to MSE data. The LSTM is typically good for predicting USDZAR speeds, although being surpassed by the ARIMA model when the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) was assessed.Item Embargo Application of ethics in the provision of municipal services in Makhado Local Municipality(2024-09-06) Matodzi, Tshifhiwa Rejoyce; Munzhedzi, P. H.; Sethu, M. J.Access to basic municipal services is a major challenge in South Africa. Section 152 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, makes provision for municipalities to deliver basic services to their local communities. Local government plays an important role in ensuring that communities are provided with basic services. Research has shown that South Africa is experiencing challenges in providing basic services. This study focused on the application of ethics in the provision of municipal services in Makhado Local Municipality. The study was conducted at Makhado Local Municipality in Limpopo Province, South Africa. This study aims to evaluate the application of ethics in the provision of municipal services at Makhado Local Municipality and suggest recommendations on how to eradicate challenges regarding basic municipal services. The researcher utilised a mixed research method in which both qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted. A sample of 284 participants consisting of traditional leaders, selected community members, municipal staff members, and ward councillors was selected using probability sampling and non-probability sampling techniques. The instruments used to collect data were questionnaires and interview schedules. The quantitative and quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis respectively. The main findings of this study indicate that the application of ethics has not significantly contributed to the improvement of municipal service delivery at Makhado Local Municipality. The main recommendations based on the findings are that decision-making on basic municipal services should be centred on ethics and that the municipality should aim to solve community issues in a sustainable manner rather than just following protocol.Item Open Access An appraisal of the efficacy of selected macrotourism policies of South Africa(2009-09-08) Zembani, Pamela Edna; Steyn, p. e.See the attached abstract belowItem Open Access An assessment of the factors driving consumer's propensity to purchase online(2021-03) Mujera, Tinashe; Kadyamatimba, A.; Zindiye, S.Despite the tremendous global development within the electronic-commerce (e-commerce) industry, marketers in emerging economies are still lagging in understanding the dynamic consumers’ online purchasing behaviour. Furthermore, the literature reporting on consumers’ online purchasing practices in an African set up remains largely inconsistent and fragmented as most previous studies are based on consumers in first world countries. To address this problem, by specifically targeting the South African market, the main aim of the study was to establish key factors driving consumers’ propensity to purchase online in order to device a model that guides online marketing strategy and future research. Guided by the quantitative research approach and a descriptive single cross-sectional design, data was collected from a sample of 350 participants drawn from Sandon City, located in the Gauteng Province using a self-administered questionnaire. With the aid of SPSS Version 26, the collected data were analysed through descriptive and multivariate statistical tests. Consumer innovativeness, perceived benefits, online shopping experience and perceived risk were found to be the major factors driving consumers’ propensity to purchase online. These factors were however found to vary according to demographic characteristics, particularly pertaining to consumers’ education and income level. Ultimately, the study findings led to the formulation of a model that can be recommended to marketers in guiding online shopping within the South African retail sector and regionally.Item Open Access An assessment of the potential for sustainable community tourism development in the villages affected by the Nandoni Dam(2014-01-10) Manavhela, Pfarelo; Spencer, J. P.; Nethengwe, T.Item Open Access An assessment of the potential of Hot Spring tourism in Limpopo Province(2017-09-18) Munzhelele, Tshilidzi Whitney; Gyekye, A. B.; Sumbana, F.Tourism is regarded as a modern day engine of growth globally. In light of this, the South African government aims to increase tourism’s contribution, both direct and indirectly to the economy. In 2012 tourism in South Africa contributed 7, 9% (R189.4 billion) to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and it is estimated to increase to R499 billion by 2020 (South Africa National Department of Tourism). The purpose of the study was to assess the sustainability of hot spring tourism in Limpopo Province with regard to their competitiveness and potential to contribute to the economy of the country. The study employed a Delphi technique which is designed as group communication process which aims to achieve a convergence of opinion on a specific real world issues. The research developed a set of appropriate indicators that determines hot spring destination competitiveness. Data was collected through two sets of questionnaires administered and addressed to experts in the Limpopo Department of Economic Development and Tourism; academic staff in the department of tourism at University of Venda and tourism managers and practitioners in the tourism hot spring sector. From the findings of the study, recommendations have been made to assist the Limpopo Department of Economic Development and Tourism in designing strategies to make hot spring destinations competitive and sustainable as a tourism activity in Limpopo province.Item Open Access An assessment of the role of real exchange rate on economic growth in South Africa (1994-2015)(2017-02) Muzekenyi, Mike; Dafuleka, G.The choice of a weak or strong currency has been at the center of the debate in most developing economies as exchange rates play a vital role in a country’s level of economic growth. This growth is critical to many developing economies. The study assessed the role of real exchange rate on economic growth in South Africa from 1994, first quarter, to 2015, fourth quarter. The study used time-series data in which Augmented Dicky Fuller and Philip Perron tests for stationarity, cointegration test, Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) approach for the long-run relationship were conducted. Impulse Response Function (IRF) and Variance Decomposition (VD) were also conducted to explain the response to shock amongst variables and how much of the forecasting error variance is explained by the exogenous shocks to other variables. VECM results showed a positive role exchange rates play on economic growth in South Africa. The study’s implication is that currency devaluation (exchange rates depreciation) can be effective in improving economic growth in the short-run. Nonetheless, a strong currency is good for economic growth in the long-run as it attracts foreign investments and a good instrument for controlling inflation. Thus, basing on the findings of the study, the floating exchange rate system adopted by South Africa in 2000 can be maintained.Item Open Access Basel III regulatory requirements and the performance efficiency and capital structure of selected listed African banks(2022-11-10) Obadire, Ayodeji Michael; Moyo. V.; Munzhelele, N. F.This study examined the impact of Basel III regulatory requirements on the financial performance, stability, efficiency, capital structure and risk-taking behaviour of selected listed African banks. The research hypotheses were formulated and tested using the Blundell and Bond system of Generalised Methods of Moment (GMM), pooled Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Random Effects (RE), and Fixed Effects (FE) estimators. The study further used a panel data of 45 listed banks from six African countries that had adopted the Basel III Accord for the period 2010 to 2019. The system GMM estimator was used to estimate the impact of the Basel III regulatory requirements on the capital structure decisions of the selected African banks. Robustness tests were performed by using the two-step Blundell and Bond system GMM procedure. The robust results showed that the selected African banks were highly leveraged with a positive relationship between the Basel III minimum capital requirement, capital adequacy ratio, capital buffer premium and the bank leverage measured by the ratio of Tier 1 capital to total exposure. Furthermore, the study revealed that the bank specific capital structure determinant such as the bank size, asset tangibility and profitability had a significant and positive impact on African banks’ observed leverage and were important determinants of the discretionary capital. The trade-off, pecking order and agency cost theories were the three underpinning capital structure theories that complimentarily explained the financing behaviours of the selected African banks. Furthermore, the study used the pooled OLS, FE and RE estimators where appropriate to fit the models testing the impact of Basel III regulatory requirements on the financial performance, stability, efficiency and risk-taking behaviour of the selected African banks. Robustness tests were performed by conducting diagnostics tests such as the F- test, Breusch and Pagan test and the Hausman specification test. These tests were conducted to select the appropriate estimator amongst the pooled OLS, FE and RE estimators. To test the banks’ financial performance, the RE and FE estimators were used to fit the ROE and ROA models respectively whilst the pooled OLS estimator was used to fit the banks stability model. Moreover, to test the banks’ efficiency, vi the pooled OLS and RE estimators were used to fit the NIMR and OETA models respectively, whilst the RE estimator was used to fit the banks’ risk-taking behaviour models. Furthermore, the study showed that the capital adequacy ratio had a significant positive effect on the financial performance of the selected African banks, whilst the liquidity requirement was positively correlated to bank stability. In addition, the capital buffer premium had a significant positive impact on both measures of bank efficiency, whilst the liquidity requirements showed a more significant impact, and was consistent across all the three measures of the risk-taking behaviour of the selected African bank. The current study contributes to the body of knowledge in eight significant ways and most importantly proposes an optimum model and mix of regulatory capital requirements that can maximise the financial performance, stability and efficiency of the selected African banks.Item Open Access Black tax and micro-entrepreneurship in Thulamela Local Municipality forms, challenges and coping strategies(2019-05-18) Mikioni, Anyway; Shambare, R.; Khohomela, N. T.Africans are, by nature, collectivist people. This is especially true for countries such as South Africa, where people live their lives as a community – they celebrate life’s achievements together and mourn life’s tragic moments together. Africans support each other as one big family, at least theoretically, however, in the recent past, effects of urbanisation and globalisation have reshaped, reorganised, and reoriented African families. The once communal and collectivist views towards life (that the community or family comes first before the individual) are fast being replaced by individualistic perspectives towards life. The nuclear family is rapidly taking centre stage. In the process, individual needs are crowding out those of the family and community. Communal needs are now being viewed as a burden. To describe this ‘new’ burden, modern society has coined a term to express its mixed emotions towards its responsibility towards the extended family; they call it “black tax”. As a form of tax, supporting one’s extended family results in greater good, at least in the long-run, however, in the short-run, high levels of indebtedness and growing personal needs make one’s obligation to the family almost seems morally wrong, insensitive, and illegal, hence, the word “black,” as in the black market – an informal underground market that is often immoral and illegal. By extension, contemporary South Africans seem to be saying that whilst looking after one’s extended family in the 21st century is immoral, insensitive, unreasonable, and expensive, we still will try our best to be play our part, whenever and wherever we can. Clearly, black tax affects the lives of individuals, particularly those being black taxed. Despite this growing phenomenon, the literature has largely ignored the effect of black tax on the life of ordinary people. The few available studies focus mostly on black tax within the middle class, employed, working population. Very little studies have looked at the effect of black tax on entrepreneurs, as they too are not immune to black tax. It was, therefore, opportune for this dissertation to address this gap within the literature. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of black tax on micro-entrepreneurs, as well as to identify coping strategies employed by the latter to balance business needs and communal expectations. A qualitative case study was conducted in which 12 entrepreneurs from the Thulamela Local Municipality area participated. Data were collected using in-depth interviews. After transcription, the interviews were analysed by means of thematic analysis using ATLAS.ti. Results indicate a high prevalence of various forms of black tax, challenges as well as well-structured coping strategies, as employed by the entrepreneurs. The value of this dissertation is that it is among the first in contributing towards understanding the impact of black tax on micro-entrepreneurship within the South African context. Several theoretical and practical implications have been suggested.Item Open Access A business intelligence systems adoption framework for the small, medium, and micro-enterprises grocery retail sector : A case of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality(2021-06-23) Muleya, Ashlyn Ennie Stubbs; Munyoka, W.; Kadyamatimba, A.Business Intelligence Systems (BIS) is regarded as a leveraging suite of tools and technologies to enhance the decision-making process of an organization by transforming data into valuable and actionable knowledge to gain a competitive advantage. While some small to medium enterprises (SMMEs) have adopted BIS technologies and are deriving benefits from them, others are confronted with a host of challenges when trying to adopt BIS. This study examined factors that are hampering the smooth adoption of BIS by SMMEs in the grocery retail sector in South Africa, focusing on the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, and proposed a suitable framework to guide such adoption. Three technology adoption models which underpinned this study are the technology acceptance model, task-technology fit model, and diffusion on innovation model. These models were integrated to develop a conceptual framework for the study. A survey research design was considered suitable for this study because it is the best method for generalizing the findings to the entire population. The study adopted a quantitative research approach, which is an approach for testing objective theories by examining the relationship among variables. In total, 300 close-ended questionnaires were distributed to SMMEs owners/managers around Pretoria. The data collected were analysed using the IBM SPSS version 27 software package. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the seven proposed hypotheses and to determine the statistical significance of each hypothesis. The final tested framework demonstrated that observability, trialability, perceived BIS ease of use, and perceived BIS usefulness were all positively correlated to BIS adoption. Furthermore, the framework also showed that BIS characteristics and task characteristics positively influence task technology fit. Recommendations are made for SMMEs to overcome barriers in adopting BIS, these are: there is a need for SMMEs management to invest in IT projects by allocating enough budget for technology purchase and implementation, sponsored IT support programs could enable SMMEs to increase their knowledge regarding the latest technologies they could adopt for their business, SME managers should be able to build a culture that is complimentary with technology and innovation and SMME managers should engage in strategic collaboration with other major business players to enhance learning experiences about BIS technologies.Item Open Access A causal relationship between financial intermediation and economic growth: A case study of South Africa(2021-11) Sithole, Mixo Sweetness; Jeke, Leward; Nyamazuzu, ZvikomboreroFinancial intermediation is responsible for channelling funds throughout the economy and acts as the main source of production in any economy. More specifically, financial intermediation acts as a link between savings and investment in the economy through the successful transfer of saving into investments. With the current persisting contradiction of literature on the role of financial intermediation on economic growth, this study, therefore, examined the causal relationship between financial intermediation and economic growth in South Africa using two methodologies, namely the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model and the Granger Causality Test. The study used annual data obtained from the World Bank statistical reports which covered periods from 1975-2018 in which forty-three observations were used in the study. To capture this relationship, GDP per capita was used to proxy economic growth. The proxies for financial intermediation include the domestic credit to the private sector by banks as a percentage of GDP (CPS by B to GDP), domestic credit provided by the financial sector as a percentage of GDP (CPS by FS to GDP) and the ratio of broad money to GDP (M2 to GDP), which represents the role of the banking sector and other financial institutions. Domestic market capitalisation of listed domestic companies as a percentage of GDP (MCLC to GDP) and the value of domestic shares traded divided by their market capitalisation (DST to MC) were used to proxy the stock market. The results of the study confirmed a positive relationship between financial intermediation and economic growth in both the short-run and in the long-run, however, this relationship proved to be unilateral and financially led. The results also showed a less significant relationship between financial intermediation and economic growth when the stock market proxies were used to test the relationship.Item Open Access Challenges faced by females occupying leadership position at selected South African Higher Education Institutions, South Africa(2021-06-23) Tshipani, Rosina Arluca; Setati, T. S.; Ngirande, H.Women are often discriminated in many environments including the workplace and home front. Women in leadership positions are not an exception. In South Africa, the problem can be traced back to the Apartheid era. Since the dawn of democracy in 1994, South African government enacted legislation and policies that redress colonial imbalances by ensuring fair treatment and participation of females in the economy and leadership positions. Despite these provisions, more than 26 years into democracy, women are still discriminated and deprived of opportunities such as leadership positions in higher education institutions. Hence, this study investigated challenges faced by female leaders in institutions of higher education in South Africa. The study employed a qualitative approach, where data was collected using interviews from 20 purposively selected respondents from two selected higher education institutions in South Africa. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Gender stereotyping, gender equity, discrimination, inadequate mentoring, training, safety, and security concerns are major challenges facing women in higher education institutions’ leadership positions. Work-life balance also posed a major challenge given gender assigned roles. It is, therefore, recommended that enhancing more mentorship programs for women in leadership will fight discrimination and increase the number of women in leadership positions.Item Open Access Challenges faced by rural-women entrepreneurs in Vhembe District: the moderation role of gender socialisation(2018-05-18) Karasi, Yvonne; Shambare, R.; Nkondo, L. G.South African economic policies (for example, the National Development Plan [NDP] and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act [BBBEE]) place high emphasis on promoting entrepreneurial activities. In particular, these policies seek to provide for interventions that minimise challenges faced by entrepreneurs. In spite of this there is a segment of entrepreneurs that continues to experience numerous challenges – women entrepreneurs. The purpose of this study was to analyse the challenges faced by rural-women entrepreneurs. Rural women entrepreneurs in particular face challenges or barriers, which can be categorised under entrepreneurial, socio-cultural, personal, and technical barriers. The notion of gender socialisation can be used as one of several explanations as to why males and females behave differently. This kind of socialisation is also thought to be at the root of gender stereotyping, including chauvinism. This kind of socialisation has been said to influence the degree to which women face entrepreneurial challenges in rural areas. To address this research problem, which focuses on social perceptions, the critical realism paradigm was used. The research methodology used was a quantitative one, with the sample size 151 participants. Snowballing was utilised to locate participants with the desired characteristics. Self-completing questionnaires adapted from previous studies were utilised to gather data. The collected data was analysed using IBM-SPSS. Various descriptive and multivariate statistical tests, including ANOVA, cluster analysis, and factor analysis were used to analyse the data. The data collected indicated that women entrepreneurs with higher levels of gender socialisation (‘strongly believe’) are affected by entrepreneurial challenges more than those with low levels of gender socialisation. The results also indicated that education plays a key role in changing women’s’ attitudes towards their gendered roles and how they are socialised from a young age through to adult status. The researcher recommended equal opportunities for both males and females with regard to access to state resources such as education and finance, and access to information about businesses.Item Open Access The challenges facing developmental local government in South Africa with specific reference to the Capricorn District Municipality in Limpopo Province(2017-06) Hungwe, Nyasha Alex; Khwashaba, M. P.; Mahole, E.i This study focused on the challenges faced by Developmental Local Government in South Africa with specific reference to the Capricorn District Municipality. Local government in South Africa has undergone significant and far-reaching changes. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 stipulates that local government is no longer expected to render basic services only, but also to serve as an agent of development. Mixed research method was used to obtain a picture on the challenges facing developmental local government. Mixed research method made use of qualitative and quantitative research methodology. Quantitative research methodology in this study was used because it enabled the researcher to test relationships, describe and examine cause and effect relations. Qualitative research methodology was used because it covers issues in great depth and detail and allows for the ability to interact with research subjects. For this study, the researcher used a non-probability sampling and its subtype purposive or judgmental sampling method to select the respondents of the study. The reason for using purposive sampling method was to produce a sample that can logically be assumed as representatives of the population.Two data analysis methods where used, that is thematic analysis and statistical analysis. Data collected through questionnaire will be analyzed using a computer program called Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 22.0. The findings of the study are: With regards to the importance of developmental local government the findings revealed that developmental local government was important in that it had ensured effective service delivery. With regards to the challenges facing developmental local government the study findings revealed that there were indeed challenges with regards to developmental local government. These challenges ranged from lack of understanding of the way local government operates, political differences amongst political parties and failure to implement local economic development policies. The study findings revealed that the municipality has no stable financial resources to be able to sustain service delivery without national government support. It was further revealed that the municipality has a shortage of relevant critical skills and quality human resources with the required technical and managerial competence to ensure quality service delivery at the local government sphere. The findings on the strategies that can be used to overcome the challenges of developmental local government revealed that communities need to be educated on the meaning and importance of developmental local government. v The recommendations of the study are: The researcher recommends that for the communities to be fully aware of the new mandate of developmental local government there is need for Capricorn District municipality to embark on community awareness program to inform people on the importance of developmental local government. Alternative service delivery methods should be pursued by the Capricorn District Municipality to reduce pressure on the available resources. Services should not be provided through traditional methods only. It is recommended that the municipality need to improve on local participatory governance. Capricorn District Municipality must secure greater participation by residents in matters of governance. Participation will assist in communities to have an understanding of the way local government operates. The researcher also recommends that municipal capacity building should be prioritized by the municipality. As a way of mitigating the challenges of critical skills shortages the researcher recommended that relevant municipal officials should attend service excellence training courses. The researcher recommends that education on the meaning of developmental local government can enhance the performance of Capricorn district municipalityItem Open Access Challenges facing Shikundu community with regard to participation in the development projects in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province(2012-12-19) Mahole, Ephraim; Khwashaba, M. P.; Marule, A. L.