3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The practice of green procurement in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng Province(2020) Namanyane, Tseke RemedThe persistent challenges posed by climate change require the formulation of strategies to protect natural resources at local levels of governance. Sustainable procurement has been identified as a tool to manage these challenges. The study aims to investigate the practice of green procurement at the level of metropolitan municipalities . A literature review was conducted to explore global trends and green procurement practices and aid in the development of a questionnaire for data collection. From the local context, green procurement is not a new concept. The five biggest departments in the City of Tshwane have been sampled to represent diversity in the target population. The study employed document analysis and questionnaire to gather data. The questionnaire was web-based and distributed through an email generated from Qualtrics to participants in the City of Tshwane. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) approach was applied to analyse data by evaluating the status of the organisation, existing resources, skills and competencies to enable the municipality to become competitive in the area of sustainable procurement. Data analysis was preceded by literature review to develop secondary data on enablers and barriers impeding the practice of green procurement. The data was grouped into enablers and barriers impending the practice of green procurement. The enablers represent strengths and opportunities while the barriers represent weaknesses and threats. The results of the study indicate that the City of Tshwane has implemented a variety of strategies, policies, initiatives and outreach programmes to promote and improve on the practice of green procurement. The applicable legislation governing municipalities does not make it mandatory to incorporate green procurement in their Supply Chain Management (SCM) policy when procuring goods and services .The weakness of the Municipal Financial Management Act 56 of 2003 (MFMA) on green procurement has implications for the compliance of private entities providing goods and services to municipalities. In addition, elements of green procurement have been incorporated into the environmental policy and other strategies, instead of creating a standalone green procurement policy. The lack of awareness, education and training was rated top challenge that prevent municipalities from executing green procurement. The study recommends that the national government consider amending MFMA to mandate municipalities to incorporate environmental requirements into their tender awarding criteria when procuring goods and services. The amendments should incorporate annual milestones, compliance monitoring and auditing. The study was limited to the City of TshwaneItem Challenges and enablers of green commercial office buildings in South Africa, Gauteng: a focus on cost related factors(2018) Lacovig, LorenzoThere seems to be a general consensus from green building literature that financial related factors are the most influential to investment decisions for stakeholders. Despite this consensus, research continues to focus on multi-disciplinary factors instead of only financial. Such studies have focused on the categorisation of factors into challengers or enablers; however the level of influence was not determined. There is a need to identify and classify the level of influence of financial related factors in terms of investment decision for green commercial buildings to aid in investment decisions. The research aimed to identify, classify and determine the nature and occurrence of cost related factors for green commercial buildings in South Africa, Gauteng throughout the life of the project. A pragmatic philosophy was adopted and mixed methods were used to gather the information and data required to meet the aim of the research. The data was analysed and each cost factor was classified and ranked. The required stakeholders were identified through the use of purposive, convenience and snowball sampling. Data was collected via interviews and questionnaires. Research findings revealed the top five factors categorised as enabling factors and which significantly influenced investment decisions on green commercial projects as: ‘lower operating costs’, ‘water use reduction’, ‘rising energy costs’, ‘higher return on investment’ and ‘increased property value’ respectively. Contrary to literature findings, marketing and environmental factors were also found to influence investment decisions. The operational stage of the project was the most cost intensive while the inception stage the most influential. The small sample data set and respondent constraints on answering the questions could affect the credibility or validity of the findings of this research. Findings conclude that investors in green commercial buildings in South Africa, Gauteng should be mindful of the top five cost factors before investing, they should be aware that the majority of cost saving opportunities lie in the operational stage of the project and should ensure the top five factors are discussed in detail during inception stage of the project. Marketing and environmental factors should be considered during inception stage of the project as they are found to influence investment decisions through tenant’s requirements. This research provides stakeholders with a deeper understanding on how the cost related factors affect green commercial projects. The findings have increased awareness and knowledge amongst professionals, clients and tenants as well as provided a solid baseline study for further research on cost related factors.Item Evaluating the procurement systems within the department of infrastructure development for better service delivery(2018) Zvomunya, MemorySouth Africa is currently faced with the challenge of reducing the huge backlog of infrastructure delivery to communities that were previously disadvantaged. Specifically, the Government needs to deliver school infrastructure to accommodate the rapidly growing student population particularly in areas that have experienced high levels of urban migration. It is generally agreed that there is need to step up the quality of planning, costing and project management, to speed up the delivery process of schools in line with the schools calendar. This research report critically assesses the characteristics and application of procurement systems currently being utilised by Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID) for the delivery of school buildings. GDID utilises three procurement systems; the traditional, the integrated and the management-oriented procurement systems, providing an opportunity to compare the performance of each system within a single organisational context. A descriptive survey was conducted for school projects with the same prototype design executed within GDID, to identify the external and internal factors that are complimentary or detrimental to the effective implementation of the different procurement systems. Data was collected and the content analysed. The literature research confirms that different procurement systems have an effect on the total project delivery time, assuming all other variables remain constant. The integrated procurement system was found to be the most suitable procurement system for schools service delivery projects, from initiation to close out, for GDID, given the tight time frameworks. However, due regard should be given to extensive communication with all stakeholders to obtain their buy-in and approvals.Item Agro - pod an ecosystem of agriculral knowledge exchange in the Groblersdal area, Limpopo(2018) Sithole, Lebogang SinahThere are many threats facing the world’s population. Population growth, global warming and especially food security are challenging the conventional methods of food production that have used for centuries. These methods continue to impact the earth negatively and its ecosystems, hence the prevalence of the devastating effects of climate change on the earth. The resulting effects, coupled with our continued use of fossil fuels to keep up with a growing population can only harm the earth even further and therefore harm our very existence. My chosen site is an abandoned location along a T-junction just outside the town of Groblersdal in Limpopo. The site is already populated with street vendors who originate from the rural area surrounding the towns in the district. These vendors sell fresh produce sourced from the surrounding commercial farms. I find myself confounded by these vendors and their lack of produce variety and always wonder how they sustain their businesses with this typology. What especially bothers me about this dynamic is that these rural communities have been farming traditional crops historically and these highly nutritious crops have managed sustained to sustain them and their ancestors for centuries. These rural communities are native to the places where the crops are grown (or have become part of the culinary culture over time) and these crops are particularly well adapted to the prevailing conditions. With all this considered my intention is to design a self-sustaining hybrid agricultural support center and training facility. This facility will utilise community participation in the building process to promote economic empowerment and the preservation of local vernacular architectural methods and techniques. The programme aims to be inclusive in order to allow for all stakeholders to gain and impart knowledge, promoting a cycle of knowledge exchange By employing sustainable architectural interventions such as rainwater and energy harvesting, passive cooling systems and the preservation and re-use of resources, the architecture can become a transformative mechanism for change in the rural context and restore the pride of the Pedi peopleItem Smarter cities: appropriating educational facilities in dense city spaces(2018) Van Rensburg, Candice JanseI aim to explore the solutions to designing spaces that not only function as quality learning environments but also as a programmatic model for achieving a low impact on the environment, affordable in construction and accessible to both low, middle and high income earning communities. It is with great interest and passion for education, spatial planning and architecture that I begin my research into understanding the spatial implications of growing populations, dense city landscapes and limited opportunities for sufficient school architecture amongst the sprawl of construction and housing in and around Johannesburg. This is an effort to redress the frameworks of school building typologies that have been previously set by the legacy of apartheid city planning. Our city, originally planned into segregated zones, still experiences vast numbers of poor socioeconomic and living conditions for the urban user. The absence of affordable housing amidst our growing economy and population has resulted in our new government being faced with great resource and capacity constraints. The biggest implication facing our youth as a result thereof, is access to quality education. Johannesburg is a city in transition and finds itself in a phase of rapid change. Take areas such as Yeoville, Berea and Hillbrow into account. These are considered Johannesburg's fastest growing and densely populated neighbourhoods. They have increasingly less land available, and more built form (commercial spaces, libraries, clinics, community centres) in efforts to facilitate and enrich the daily activities of human life. However, not all efforts are being sufficiently met or appropriated to a growing communities needs. School environments have suffered with the growth of cities. Original apartheid city planning schemes have not been improved with the growing numbers of residents. Learners are, in turn, having to deal with crowded and poor learning environments.Item The client satisfaction of green building procurement systems(2016) Rose, Matthew RonaldThe world population continues to grow resulting in continuous demand for development. The building and construction industry is the avenue by which a vast majority of human settlements are developed. With this in mind, it is an industry that can have a far reaching effect on human and ecological well-being across the globe and South Africa is no exception. This study posits the problem that the correct building procurement systems to enhance client satisfaction in Green Building practices are not being applied in South Africa and as a consequence the application and integration of Green Building is being curbed. The overall aim of the study was therefore to determine how to improve client satisfaction through the correct use of building procurement systems in order to increase Green Building implementation across South Africa. The relationship between building procurement systems, client satisfaction and Green Building implementation remained the focal point throughout the study. This relationship was broken down within the literature as well as through the analysis of a questionnaire submitted to South African Green Building professionals, including clients. This examination determined that the client is the key to whether a project is developed and how it is procured. Moreover, it established that the choice of procurement strategy is the defining factor in the successful outcome of a project and ultimately the outcome of client satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The results indicated a significant correlation of the views in practice with that in theory whereby it was determined that the most appropriate procurement systems for Green Building are collaborative systems , including Design and Manage as well as Design and Build. On the contrary the findings illustrated that the Traditional System is the least appropriate for Green Building as it is a segregated building procurement system. Furthermore, the respondents confirmed the hypothesis that incorrect building procurement systems are being applied on Green Building projects in South Africa as the Traditional System was found to be the most utilised system for Green Building across South Africa even though it is the least appropriate system. This is a noteworthy finding, as environmental progress will continually be curbed on account of low levels of client satisfaction from inadequate building procurement systems. This research gives clear solutions on which building procurement systems to use and which not to use for Green Building. By applying this knowledge client satisfaction will be enhanced and so too the Green Building environment of South Africa.Item An investigation into the outlook business travellers to South Africa have towards a green hotel(2015-05-14) Gaibee, KhatijaThis study investigated the outlook business travellers to and within South Africa have towards green hotels. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which greenness affects consumers in South Africa. This was achieved by reviewing literature related to green hotels and consumers’ attitudes towards green products and its competitiveness in the market. A questionnaire was compiled based on existing literature. Data was collected by means of an online survey and the data was tested using the chi square frequency test. The findings indicated that respondents had a positive attitude towards greening hotels but the chi-test indicated that there was agreement on the positive relationship between greening hotels and perception. Guests believed that a standard should be set for green hotels as well as that if a conventional and green hotel served the same function, the green hotel would be the preferred choice. It is important for green hotels to incorporate a premium into the hotel bill. Future research should establish a model that the hotel can adopt to include a premium in the pricing of the hotel. The potential benefits of this study will be to improve the brand and corporate image of the hotel alongside contributing to a sustainable environment.