OCEAN
4.5. RESEARCH PROCESS
The data for the research were initially coUected in April and May 2000. The two research assistants were employed in the transcription and translation of
interviews into isiZulu. However, one of them was involved in an accident, which claimed his life. The sudden death led to loss of some information. The researcher had to conduct some interviews a second time with members of the households of the women employees of the project in December 2000.
As earlier stated, the study could not cover all the population because of time and financial constraints. Therefore data were collected by simple randomization of the population concerned. On the whole, 67 questionnaires were administered to the respective five stakeholder groups and all were retrieved because they were administered alongside with the interviews. Each interview of the women employees and the project leader took about an hour while the remaining stakeholders' interview took about 45 minutes each.
As the researcher could not communicate in isiZulu, two research assistants were employed in the interview and administration of the questionnaires. Initially, the respondents perceived us as spies as they were not familiar with the researcher and the assistants. However, this problem was overcome as the project leader informed the women employees through the contractors and led us to some of the houses.
Some of the respondents initially avoided answering some sensitive questions,·
as they were not sure what the information might be used for. Also they were not sure of their fate because they were appointed to work for the Working for Water Project by the Indunas (traditional authorities) who could exercise power to retain them or not. However, the questions were later re-visited by rephrasing them.
In addition, the word empowerment is new in development discourse and getting the right word in isizulu was a problem. However, as earlier stated, the question on the respondents' understanding of the term 'empowerment' had to be framed for a better understanding of the meaning.
With this background, the researcher attended two workshops for qualitative and quantitative research methodology. Thereafter, a training session was organized for the two research assistants in order to facilitate satisfactory interview technique and limit the bias of the study. Samples from the different five stakeholder groups earlier mentioned were interviewed and the following chapter reveals the findings obtained from the analysis of the data collected.
CHAPTER FIVE
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE, SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WOMEN EMPLOYEES OF THE WORKING FOR
WATER PROJECT
, "This Province holds great promise especially in rural' areas. Our people are suffering and this needs not to be so. We have water, soil and infrastructure, and most of all we have the
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capacity to create policies that will lead· to development in rural areas".
(Or Ben Ngubane, Kwazulu-Natal Premier. The Mercury 25 March 1998)
As presented earlier, the Democratic Government of South Africa has introduced a number of projects in order to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.
One of such is the Working for Water Project, established in September 1995 with the overall aim of increasing water yield through the clearing of invasive alien plants and in so doing employing and training people, especially women, from the disadvantaged communities. It is aimed at the transformation of the, society by improving the quality of life of the South Africans, especialJy the poorest and most marginalized section, and enhancing their upliftment and empowerment through improved employment, health and education.
South African women are not a homogenous group. Their differences include race, class and geographic location. In spite of these differences, South African
women are generally the primary care givers in the society. Their childbearing role is one of the factors that render women less successful in the labour market, and has brought on them the responsibility of being primary caregivers not only to their children but also to the sick and the elderly (President of the Republic of South Africa, 1997 cited in CGE, 1988). These responsibilities imply that women have to undertake work closely related with the home in order to strike a balance between household responsibilities and job demands.
This chapter outlines the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the women under study. In addition, it is devoted to the exploration of respondents' view on empowerment, their major economic activities before the Working for Water Project employed them and the impacts of the Project on their empowerment and development.
As earlier mentioned in chapter four (section 4.3.3), sampling involved five stakeholder groups - the project leader, the contractors, the women employees and household members of the women employees of the Working for Water Project and the community members in the study area. For an easy understanding, a coding method was used especially where more than one respondent was involved in a stakeholder group. The codes are:
WE H/HM C CM
5.1.
- Woman or Women employee
- Household member of the women employee - Contractor
- Community Member
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE WORKING FOR WATER PROJECT
Figure 1 below shows the organizational structure of the Working for Water
Project. According to this structure, the area manager is at the apex, followed by the project manager (leader) and subsequently the contractors and the labourers at the wide base. The project manager explained that the area managers at the regional level were 28, six (21%) of who were women. The area manager oversees the monitoring sites and ensures flow of information to the project leaders under his or her jurisdiction. He or she also ensures regular monthly reports on progress from the project manager.
Area Manager/Leader
/
Project Leader+ i
I
J
+
/ \
/
Contractors,I
+ \
/
Labourers/
Fig 1: Organizational Structure of the Project
The project manager is appointed by the Department of Water Affairs and assisted by a project management committee of members drawn from local stakeholder communities and organization under the chairmanship of the Area manager. Only one project manager oversees the area under study. The Project leader reports on progress with specified key performance indicators to the Programme Manager on a regular monthly basis. The key performance indicators include the number of jobs created, the area cleared, cash flow against the budget, the number of monitoring sites established and the number (man days) of training completed.
According to the Project leader, the contractors are locally appointed through the combined efforts of the indunas (local authority), the project management committee members and the project leader. The contractors supervise the sites allocated to them by the project leader, keep custody of the equipment (chemicals and tools) and report on the progress made in relation to the objectives of the project
In addition, the Project leader stated that the labourers are recruited from the local community by public participation. They are appointed by means of a contract for temporary appointment, which may be renewable after each phase of clearing depending on the recommendation of the contractor,' the induna of the area and the project manager.
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The training of the employees include machine operation, first aid, supervision and entrepreneurial skills and environmental awareness.