Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Local Governance
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FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNANCE THE EFFECTS OF URBANIZATION ON LOCAL AUTHORITIES: THE CASE OF GWANDA MUNICIPALITY. BY COMFORT SIBANDA R143617W DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE STUDIES AT MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY. GWERU, ZIMBABWE 2017 i APPROVAL FORM Midlands State University The undersigned strongly certify that they have read and made recommendations to the Midlands State University for acceptance of a research project entitled: The effects of urbanization on Local Authorities: the case of Gwanda Municipality. The project was submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Local Governance Studies. Supervisor’s Signature ...………………………………………Date ………/………/………… Chairperson’s Signature ………………………………………Date ………/………/………… ii RELEASE FORM Name of Student: Comfort Sibanda Registration Number: R143617W Dissertation Title: The effects of urbanization on local authorities: the case of Gwanda Municipality. Degree Title: Bachelor of Social Sciences Honours Degree in Local Governance Studies. Year of Completion: 2017 Authorisation is hereby given to Midlands State University Library to create duplicates of this dissertation to lend prints for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. The author reserves other publication rights. Neither the dissertation nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author‘s consent and written permission. Signed ………………………………………… Date …………………………………………… Contact Detail: 786 Jacaranda; Gwanda Cell Number: 0775 575 388/ 0717 101 075 Email Address: [email protected] iii DECLARATION I Comfort Sibanda (R143617W) do hereby declare that this research represents my work, and has not been written for me or published by others for any degree programme or publications. All the materials used in this study have been fully acknowledged and sited accordingly in the study as will be shown in the reference and appendices at the end of the research study. …………………………………….. ………………………………… Student`s signature Date iv DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my supportive and caring father Mr B. Sibanda, my motivating and loving mother Mrs S. Sibanda and last but not least my one and only brother Mr Courage Sibanda. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to thank my King of Kings the Almighty God, for giving me the vision, strength and courage of going an extra mile in life and being with me in every step l took to get here. I would also like to express sincere gratitude to my supervisor Mrs Rajah for the great advice and consistent guidance and patience. I would also like to thank the whole Department of Local Government for enriching us academically with priceless information and know how in this academic field. I would also like to thank the Gwanda community for assisting and treating me with special care during my research for the topic under study. I would also like to thank my friends who have been with me in good and bad times. vi LIST OF ACRONYMS CBD Central Business District MOG Municipality of Gwanda NGO Non-Governmental Organization UN United Nations UNICEF United Nations International Children Education Fund ZINWA Zimbabwe National Water Authority vii ABSTRACT Urbanization is gradually having an influence on urban centers. It can be defined as the growth of towns and cities in terms of services and infrastructure with rural to urban migration being its major characteristic. The developing world has over the years seen most of its population migrating into the so called bright towns and cities that have a potential of providing better services and an upgrade of an individual‘s standard of living compared to remote areas. The rapid rural to urban migration has greatly affected local authorities the most as they are the hosts and have to provide efficient and effective service delivery to the people at all cost. Corruption, residents not being faithful in their monthly payments, over population per density area, shortage of capital and resources, shortage of skilled minds in Council that are proactive in nature as well as dilapidated structures which are no longer efficient in handling the human daily activities have weakened the hosting local authorities day by day and its potential to meet the needs of the growing population. The research aims to bring out the effects of urbanization on local authorities covering both its merits and demerits. Some merits are that there is creation of vast job opportunities, infrastructural development, business boom, new skills drawn into the local area, availability of cheap labor and opportunities of an entrepreneurial environment. The other side of urbanization being the crawling in of illegal vendors; growth of the informal sector, informal settlements are likely to erupt as the population would later exceed the number of stands available, increase in crime rate and over population. The research also noted other scholarly work to support the study. The research findings highlighted that most people migrated due to rural poverty and the need of a better standard of living. The research went further to recommend that there should be stakeholder involvement and alignment of all tires of government and ministries for easy access of resource and knowledge sharing. Urbanization is a real threat and if not well addressed local authorities may find themselves few years down the line struggling to survive in this dynamic environment. viii LIST OF FIGURES Fig 4. 1 Overall response rate ....................................................................................................... 39 Fig 4. 2 Age of participants........................................................................................................... 40 Fig 4. 3 Gender responses ............................................................................................................. 41 Fig 4. 4 Main causes of urbanization ............................................................................................ 43 Fig 4. 5 Number of areas with services.........................................................................................45 Fig 4.6 Vegetation coverage at Hlalani Kuhle/ Garikai residential area.....................................46 ix LIST OF TABLES Table 4. 1 Questionnaire distribution rate..................................................................................... 38 Table 4. 2 Interview response rate ................................................................................................ 39 Table 4. 3 Migration pattern ......................................................................................................... 42 Table 4. 4 Hlalani Kuhle/ Garikai household analysis ................................................................. 48 x TABLE OF CONTENTS APPROVAL FORM.......................................................................................................................................i RELEASE FORM ......................................................................................................................................... ii DECLARATION ......................................................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................................ v LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS...............................................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background of the study ............................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................. 2 1.4 Objectives of the study .................................................................................................................. 3 1.5 Research questions ........................................................................................................................ 3 1.6 Justification of the study ..............................................................................................................