4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions

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    An ethnographic study of outside-circularity and deconstructive creation from the waste reuse practices of the urban waste precariat
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Reyneke, Pierre
    The study consists of an ethnographic inquiry into the waste reuse practices performed by the urban waste precariat on the landfill and streets of Pretoria East, City of Tshwane. I analyse the contribution of this social grouping to the urban circular economy and environment by conceptualising of these waste reuse practices as value-production processes not rooted in capitalism, practised outside of state and formal market recognition and support. I term these forms of existing circularity “outside-circularity” and identify an alternative value-production process termed “deconstructive creation”. The deconstructive creation process produces life from capitalist ruins, an alternative form of value to capitalism. This form of value draws on new formations of kinship and exchanges in a subsidiary and care economy, and functions on principles of everyday communism. Life from the capitalist ruins finds expression in two ways. Firstly, urban life that is more than mere material sustenance is produced, and a form of social solidarity as new kinship formations develop between Zimbabwean migrants in the City of Tshwane. Secondly, urban space is produced in the form of street craft markets and garden beautification to transform the suburban aesthetic. I problematise portrayals of waste reclaimers as an undifferentiated group exclusively performing reclaiming and recycling of paper and packaging materials. For this I develop and apply the social categorisation ‘urban waste precariat’, to move beyond the term ‘reclaimer’ with its singular focus on paper and packaging recycling. The term urban waste precariat incapsulates both recycling and reuse practitioners and hereby, I portray the complexity of the urban waste economy to include waste reuse practices, a cluster of waste work excluded from the literature in South Africa, thus far. Methodologically, I identify points of transition that are seminal to the circularity of the practices seen as meshwork. These points are discard, salvage, disassembly, transformation, exchange, and use. In addition, I trace circuits of material flow, both human and nonhuman, to portray the meshwork that entangles to form waste reuse practices. Through critical ethnography and by viewing waste reuse practices through the concept of skill, I show how space is relationally produced by tracing the socio-spatial history of traditional craft making skill development. The ethnographic data illustrate how this skill is employed in waste reuse practices, from artist hubs in Zimbabwe (Mbare and Chitungwisa) to its emergence through migration in Pretoria East’s informal iii street markets and suburban gardens. The study thus argues for the potential of sustainability and circularity to emerge from such skilled waste reuse practices of deconstructive creation.
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    Exploring the effect of spatial planning in delivering access to socio-economic opportunities to address spatial inequality - The case of the Tswaing Mega Project and the Marikana-Soutpan community
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-02) Malope, Kgomotso Mirriam; Izar, Priscila
    South Africa is challenged by persistent spatial inequality inherited from previous regimes, which contributes to various socio-economic challenges and hinders the sustainable development of urban areas. Consequently, poverty tends to be more severe in previously marginalised areas where poor residents, the majority of them being black, still suffer from a lack of proximity to adequate socio-economic opportunities (Harrison & Todes, 2013). Several urban and spatial policies have been adopted and implemented, but spatial fragmentation persists. The Department of Human Settlements proposed adopting Mega Projects to develop large-scale, new housing projects integrated with infrastructure, in greenfield sites which are located in urban peripheries. Mega Projects also aim at attracting private sector investment. However, this strategy has been criticised for disregarding planning ideals of compactness and integration with existing economic centres and job opportunities, and for putting forward plans that lack details (Ballard, 2017; Turok, 2015). Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate how spatial planning and infrastructure investment could be used to promote access to socio-economic opportunities for marginalised people in spatially fragmented urban areas by focusing on the case of the Tswaing Mega-Project in the Marikana-Soutpan community in the periphery of the City of Tshwane. Unlike other Mega Projects designed on vacant land, the Tswaing Mega Project covers an already existing informal area, the Marikana-Soutpan informal settlement. Qualitative research methods informed the research, drawing from three types of primary and secondary data: (1) qualitative interviews, (2) documentation review and (3) participant observation. Research findings describe how the Tswaing Mega Project plan, launched in 2015, experienced delays and was eventually cancelled, with the adoption of the Upgrading of Informal Settlement Programme (UISP) in October 2022. Additionally, the long waiting period for government intervention and the lack of transparency from the government have proven to worsen the state of marginalisation for the Marikana-Soutpan Community. At the completion of this research project, the Marikana-Soutpan community is in for another, possibly long, waiting period as the UISP initiates. Therefore, this research speaks to the analysis that is critical of Mega Projects for offering poorly detailed project plans, lacking transparency, and lacking consideration of the complexities of human settlement development. Based on the findings, it is argued that the now-revoked Tswaing Mega Project has contributed to the further marginalisation of the Marikana-Soutpan community.
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    Employee’s perceptions of information sharing for the delivery of services in the city of Tshwane’s customer relations department
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Cooke, Henry; Pooe, Kagiso ‘TK’
    Information sharing is one of the fundamental tools that enables organisations to deliver services. Since information is such a broad topic, the information referred to in this study is limited to information that is needed to keep citizens informed regarding the delivery of services in the Customer Relations Management Department, regarded as the front office of the City of Tshwane (Tshwane, 2021b). Previous research has showed that lack of information sharing leads to inefficient and ineffective service delivery. It is for these reasons that this study aimed to explore employee’s perceptions of information sharing for the delivery of services in the City of Tshwane’s Customer Relations Department. The study was rooted in practice and social exchange theory, practical theory, and expectancy–value theory. The chosen research approach for this study was the qualitative approach. This study used semi-structured interviews and a non-probability purposive sampling method. Ten participants across the regions of the City of Tshwane took part in this study. Permission was received from the City of Tshwane to conduct the interviews and the Wits School of Governance provided the researcher with ethical clearance. The main research question, "what are employees’ perceptions of information sharing for the delivery services in the City of Tshwane’s customer relations department?” was answered. This study found that the perceptions of employees on information sharing for the delivery of services in the customer relations department in the City of Tshwane were not to the standard required by a local government organisation. Based on these findings, the researcher was able to provide recommendations to the City for Tshwane on information sharing for the delivery of services, and these findings opened up others areas for future research.