Effects of the Thusong service centres project : an integrated approach in addressing needs of rural communities in the North West Province

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North-West University

Mafikeng Campus Library

EFFECTS OF THE THUSONG SERVICE CENTRES PROJECT: AN

INTEGRATED APPROACH IN ADDRESSING NEEDS OF RURAL

COMMUNITIES IN THE

NORTH WEST PROVINCE

M.A. COMMUNICATION (APPLIED COMMUNICATION)

t

K J TSHITE

2011

EFFECTS IOF THE THUSONG SERVICE CENTRES PROJECT: AN

INTEGRATED APPROACH

IN ADDRESSING

NEEDS OF

RURAL

COMMUNITIES IN THE NORTH WEST PROVINCE

MI

.

A

.

COMMUNICATION (APPLIED COMMUNICJ~TION)

KJ TSHITE

EFFECTS OF THE THUSONG SERVICE CENTRES PROJECT

:

AN

INTEGRATED APPROACH

IN ADDRESSING

NEEDS OF

RURAL

COMMUNITIES IN THE NORTH WEST PROVINCE

by

KEAKANTSE JEANETTE TSHITE

B.A. COMMUNICATION

,

B

.

A

.

HONOURS (COMMUNICATION)

A d

i

ssertat

i

on subm

i

tted in partial fu

l

f

i

lment of

the requ

i

rements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS IN COMMUNICATION

(

APPLIED COMMUNICATION

)

IN THE FACULT

Y

OF HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

at the

NORTH WEST UNIVERSITY

(

MAF

I

KENG CAMPUS

)

2011

DECLARATION

I

,

Keakantse

J

ea

n

ette

Tshite declar

e

that

the dissertat

i

on for

the

De

gree

of Ma

s

t

e

r

s

in

Applied Communication at the North We

s

t

University

h

e

r

eby

s

ubmitted

,

ha

s

not previou

s

ly be

e

n

s

ubmitted

by

me

for a

d

eg

ree

at th

i

s or

any

other university,

t

hat it is my

own work

in d

esi

gn

and execut

i

on

and

that

a

ll

materia

l

contained h

e

r

e

in ha

s

been du

l

y acknowledged .

.

.

.

. .

.

.

. .

. .

.

.

F.J.41-~

.

.

....

...

.

.

....

.

...

.

KEAKANTSE JEANETTE TSHITE

P

l

ace:

.

f?J.YK~

.F;i>.

T !'19

.9~

•••

•

•••

•••••

•

•

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I

would

like to thank the

Creator of

life, the

Almighty God, for

making it

pos

s

ibl~

for me to eventually finish my

st

udi

es

.

I would

like to

thank

m

y

Supervisor

Profes

so

r Damian

Garside

together with Professor Lulama Qalinge,

the then Acting

Dean

for the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, for

the

unswerving

s

upport

and encouragement that I

go

t

from them

when days

were enormously gloomy and

very

challenging with

regard to

m

y s

tudi

es

.

Th

ey

tried their

l

eve

l b

es

t helping

me to get my footing right

when there

seeme

d

to be

no more

stre

ngth

and

direction in m

y

life due to the illn

ess

and passing on of my

b

e

loved mother.

My

full

year stu

di

es

l

agge

d dra

s

ticall

y

b

ehi

nd.

That was the most

difficult era in

my

life.

My

spec

ial regard

s

to Lefa Dikane,

Gaopalelwe

Phashe,

Malentswe and

David Tshabalala, Khuduga Sepotokele, Tebogo

Magome, Osborne Nyikana,

Busi

s

iwe

Nkos

i

and the

late Joel

Nicodemus for their pra

ye

r

s

and

unwavering

s

upport

during

my

Here

I

am

today,

through

the

grace and

love of the

Lord

God

Almighty, who

stood

by

me always as my source

of

streng

th and

courage.

F

inally, I

have made it

through to the end .

..

DEDICATION

Thi

s s

tudy

is

dedic

a

t

e

d to m

y

dear fath

e

r who

tried

e

v

e

rythin

g

in

hi

s

power

for

m

e

to be

e

ducated and b

e a

profe

s

sional a

s

l

am at

thi

s

point

in

tim

e.

Even

today in !tis old age, he is

still

the wind

beneath my

wings

,

h

e

k

e

pt on

enco

ura

g

in

g

me to

w

ork

very

hard

to

e

n

sure

that

l ultimately

fini

sh

a

nd obtain my Ma

ste

r

s

D

egre

e

in

Applied

C

ommunication.

M

y

f

a

t

h

er

tau

g

ht

me

th

a

t

;

Education

is

the

key to

Success

and

Power.

I

al

so

dedicate

thi

s s

tud

y

to both m

y

late mother K

e

bo

gile

M

a

b

e

l Moit

se

-

Ts

hit

e

a

nd m

y

·yo

un

ge

r

s

i

s

t

e

r

Pul

a

n

e

D

o

r

ee

n

Ts

hite, w

h

o

p

asse

d

away o

n th

e

1

5th

Nove

m

be

r

20

0

6 a

n

d

2

9

h

S

e

pt

embe

r 19

9

7 r

es

p

e

c

t

i

ve

l

y.

They we

re very

hum

o

r

o

u

s;

th

ey

encoura

g

ed and advi

sed me

w

ell

e

v

ery

time

I

wa

s

in

th

e

ir

co

mp

a

n

y

.

T

h

ey a

lw

a

ys w

is

h

e

d t

o

see

m

e g

r

a

du

at

in

g

all m

y

p

rog

r

a

mm

es;

th

ey

were

lookin

g

for

w

a

r

d to b

e

pr

ese

nt

a

t m

y

M

as

t

e

r

s

D

eg

r

e

e

"May the souls

of my beloved

ones

rest

in

the

everlasting

peace; I will forever

cherish,

love and remember them

ABSTRACT

Aspects such as

pov

e

rty, unemploym

e

nt, illiteracy, poor

s

ervice

d

e

livery

, are so

m

e

of

the

greatest chal

lenges experienced

by

mo

st of

the peopl

e

of South Africa.

The

main

objective for the estab

li

s

hm

e

nt

of

the Thu

song Service

Centre is

for it

to

se

rve as a

base from

which a wide

ran

ge of

information products and

relevant

se

r

vices can

be m

ade c

loser

and

h

e

nce mor

e access

ibl

e

to

the poor members of communities.

T

hu

so

ng

Service Ce

ntr

e

i

s

therefor

e,

amongst

other

s,

identified

as a p

latform for the communities in the surro

undin

g

areas to

interact

directl

y w

ith

thei

r

nati

o

nal

, provincia

l, or

lo

ca

l

govern

m

e

nt

leadership.

T

h

e

int

eract

i

on

takes place in

the form

of the

i

zimb

i

zos (un

m

ediate

d publi

c

m

eeti

n

gs), wa

rd

co

mmuni

ty

me

e

ting

s,

ma

ss

m

eet

in

gs,

and so f011h

.

Members of

comm

uni

ty

have got access to

services a

nd

information

at the T

hu

song Service Ce

ntr

e. They

d

o

that, so

as

to

e

mpower

themse

lves w

ith more in

formation on gove

rnm

e

nt

programme

s and

project

s suc

h

as; the

loc

a

l

eco

nomi

c

d

evelopment projects. By ge

ttin

g

in

volved

in

s

uch

projects, the

community end up as part of

sma

ll

,

m

e

dium

and micro

enterprises

and

other

economic

development projects that

ultimately better their quality of life.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Declaration

Acknowledgements

..

Ded

ication

Abstract

Table of contents

CHAPTER

ONE: INTRODUCTION

l.l

Introduction

1.2

Background

of

the

study

5

1.3

Statement

of

the problem

9

1.4

Research

questions

II

l.5

Purpose

of

the

s

tudy

12

1.6

Assumption of

the

study

14

1.7

Rationale

for the study

15

1.8

Significance

of

the study

16

1.9

Research

design

17

1.10

Delimitation

of

the study

18

1.

1 1

Definition

of terms

19

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.

1 Introduction

26

2.2 T

raining a_nd

capacity building

29

2.3

Reasons for setting up the ce

ntre

30

2.4 Characteristic functions of the social we

l

fare

subsystem

35

2.5

Services o

ffered through the social welfare

s

ubsystem

36

2.6

Institutions for community development

37

2.7 Co-ord

inat

ing structures of the Thusong Service

39

centres

2.7.1 National intersectoral steeri

ng committee (N

ISSC)

39

2.7.2 Provincial intersec

toral steering

committee (

PISS

C)

40

2.7.3

District intersectoral steeting co

mmittee (D

ISSC)

41

2.7.4 Local

intersectoral

steerin

g

committee (USSC)

4

1

2.7.5 Thusong serv

ice centre

management

committee

42

2.8

T

husong service centre establishment process

43

2.8.1

Bottom-up needs assessment and s

ite identifi

cation

44

2.8.2

Consultation

with service provi

ders

45

2.8.3

Development and

review proposals

wi

thin

regional

settlement context

46

2.8.4

Bu

si

ness

plan

s

47

2.8.5 Formation of

appropriate

LISSC structures and

management com

mittee

48

2

.

8.6

Inclu

sion in municipal lOPs

48

2.8.7

Detailed planning

and

de

s

ign

49

2.9

Thusong

service centre operations

49

2.9.1 Funding: Ali

g

nment

of

bud

gets

2.9.2

Promoting second-generation

st

rategy: Implanting

t

h

e estab

li

shme

nt process

2.9.3 Promot

ing the

a

doption of

approp

ri

ate

management

models: Municipal focus

2.9.4 For

ging

partnership

50

5

1

52

53

2.9.5

Information

a

nd

commun

ic

ation

technology infrastructure

support

53

CHAPTER THREE

: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.

1 Introduction

3.2 Sampl

ing

3.3

Instrumentation

3.3.1

Survey

Questionnaires

3.3.2 Ben

efits

ofThusong Service

Centre

3.3.3 Thusong Service

Centres Advanc

ing Loca

l

Government's Developmental Agenda

3.3.4 Questionnaire Format

3.3.5

Semi-Structured

I

nterview

55

55

59

60

63

63

65

66

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND

ANALYSIS

4.2.1 Demographi

c cha

r

acter

i

st

i

cs

of respondents

69

4.2.2 Findi

ngs from

semi

structured

interview

72

4.2.3 Section A

: Profi

l

e

of respond

ents

72

4

.2

.4

Section

8: The serv

ices

and information provided

75

CHAPTER FIVE

: DISCU

SS

ION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1

I

ntroduction

5.2

Discussion

5

.

3 Conclusion

5.4

Recommendations

Bibli

ography

Annexure A :

Research Questionn

aire

90

90

93

96

97

A

nnexu

re B :

List

and contact

detail

s

of

all

the Thusong

Serv

ice

Ce

n

t

r

es

in the

country as

of September

2009

Annexure C :A

monitoring and evaluation

report template that i

s

curren

tly

be

ing

used

fo

r

the

Thusong

Service

Centres

CHAPT

ER 1

1

AN

OV

E

R

V

I

EW

1.

1

I

N

TROD

UC

TIO

N

The m

a

jority o

f

bl

ac

k

people,

parti

c

u

l

a

r

ly

t

h

o

se

from

rural

communities

in

S

out

h

Africa

,

were

pre

v

i

ously sent fro

m pillar

to post if t

he

y wa

nted

t

o

access what they rightfully

d

ese

r

ve

d

,

i.e.

gove

rnm

e

n

t

infor

m

at

io

n

and

se

r

vtces

.

It

is

aga

in

s

t thi

s

back

g

round that

the

Thu

s

on

g

Service

Centr

e

(formerly

kn

own as

Multipurpose

Com

m

un

i

ty Cent

r

es

-

MPCC

's

) progra

mme of

government

was

init

i

ated

in

1999

as one

o

f

the

prim

a

r

y ve

hi

c

l

es

for

th

e

imp

l

ementa

tion of d

eve

l

op

ment

commu

nic

at

ion

a

nd information

,

a

nd for

th

e

in

teg

r

at

ion

govern

m

ent se

r

v

i

ces into p

rim

ari

l

y

rural

c

ommuniti

es.

Ac

cording

to G

ove

rn

me

nt

Communication

an

d Informati

o

n

System

(GCIS) (2009:

l

0), "t

h

e establ

i

s

hm

ent

of

th

e

Thu

song

Service

Ce

ntr

e was

done to

a

ddr

ess

h

i

s

to

r

ic

a

l,

socia

l

a

nd

eco

nomic

factors, which

limited

access to inform

ation

, services and participation by c

i

t

izens,

as they had to

trave

l

l

ong distances to access

t

h

ese services

"

.

"

Thusong

Servke Centr

es are

One-Sto

p,

Inte

g

rated

Communi

ty

Developm

ent Centres, w

i

th community

parti

cipation and

services

re

l

evant

to

people

'

s needs. They aim

to empower

t

he

poor

and disadvantaged

throu

gh access

to informati

on

, s

ervices a

nd

r

esources

from

government,

non

-g

overnment

a

l

or

g

anization

(NGO

's

)

,

parast

atal

s,

bus

i

ne

ss,

etc.

enabli

n

g them to engage

in

government pro

g

rammes fo

r

the improvement

of

th

eir

l

ives

"

(G

CIS

, 2009:

I 0).

"

Go

v

ernme

nt'

s v

tston for Thu

s

on

g

Ser

v

ice Centre

s

i

s

to

pro

v

ide e

v

ery

South

Afri

can

c

it

i

zen

with

acc

ess

to info

rm

at

i

on and

se

rv

ices w

i

thin thei

r

p

l

ace of re

s

ide

nce and in

each

loca

l

mun

icipal

it

y

by 20

14 wi

th the purpose

of

improv

in

g

th

e qu

ali

ty of

the

ir li

ves

through

integrat

e

d se

rv

ice

deli

very"

,

(GCIS, 2009: l

0)

.

Accordi

ng

to

Lesa

me (2005: 159), ·

Multipurpose Communi

ty Centre

i

s

a

centre

in a rural or urban area

(

townsh

i

p)

,

which

offers a variety

of

services.

Rural MPCC

's

tend to offer a wider range o

f

s

ervices t

han their

urban coun

terparts.

MPCC's

in

rural area

s

are the

princ

iple

deve

l

opment

r

es

ource fo

r

communitie

s"

.

"MPCC's in

rural areas serve as

adv

ice centres for the benefit of the people

around

there,

the

y

pay

visit

to

the centres seekin

g

inforn1ation on

legal

matters,

health

issues, gove

rnme

nt (loca

l, prov

incia

l

and national)

matters,

ed

ucat

ion

and

soc

ial

welfare

services, among

othe

rs. They

are

therefore

structures that provide

their

communiti

es w

ith

access

to

information and

co

mmunication

(

Lesame,

2005:

159

)".

Lesame

(2005:

1

59)

f

urther

indi

cated

t

hat,

"

Rural

MPCC'

s

used

ICT's to

empo

wer

their

service delivery long

before te

lecentres were establi

shed.

Some MPCC

's

in South Africa

are estab

lished

by the GC

JS

mainly

for

communi

ty

development

and

electronic governm

ent.

Such telecentres

include the successful Tombo te

lecentre in the Eastern Cape prov

ince".

"The

purpose of

a telecentre is

to provide

rural areas with access to

ICT's.

Although

th

ere

is

general agreement

on

t

he

need for

telecentres

in

these

a

reas,

it is

imp

ortant to provide

fu

rth

er

ev

idence.

Pe

rhaps

research

projects

conducted by

M

osom

a

(20

01

)

and

Maepa

(200

0

),

in

addition to the

IDRC

projects,

will

se

rve as concrete eviden

ce of

th

is

fact

,

as

the

projects

involved field

studies

that were recentl

y conducte

d

at

several

vill

ages

in

the Northern Province (now Limpopo Province) (Lesame,

20

05:

162

)"

.

According to Thioune (2003: 74);

"The

findings

from

these

research

projects revealed that mass

media (telev

ision

,

radio, and

newspapers) have

p

l

aye

d

a major

role in

the prov

i

sion

of information

on

ICTs

to

the

rural

popu

l

ations.

In

Senegal

,

radio

i

s

the

m

ain

source of information on

new

ICTs

(for 72.

3%

of the

populatio

n)

followed by

te

l

evision

(71.

6%)

and

newspapers

(56.

3%). These media are

used

because they are appropriate

and

provide easy access to informat

i

on".

Thioune

(2003:

74)

further

sai

d

that,

"

I

n

the

context of

inadeq

uate

techn

i

ca

l

inf

r

astructure

,

high

i

lliteracy

rates, and

relatively

low

income,

these

media

can be combined

with

ICT

s

to collect, process

,

and

di

sseminate

information to loca

l

commun

iti

es, especially

in local

la

nguages.

"

In

the curr

e

nt

context

in African

countJies, com

munity

access po

ints to

ICTs

and te

lecentres seem

to offer the most appropriate ways to

provi

de

broad acces

s

to ICTs.

Telecentre operators can

serve

as impor

tant

information

relays

to potential

use

r

s

by

f

ind

ing,

processing, and

sto

ring

useful

informat

i

on on med

i

a that can be used by

local

populati

ons to

help

ach

ieve

their development goals.

Unfortunately,

such media a

r

e

not

always available (Thioune

,

2003:

74 )".

Lesame (2005: 163), further

sa

id th

at, "a

l

though

t

he

purpose of those

st

udies was not to co

nduct a

n

eed

s a

nalysis

per

se,

we use them

here to

ful

fil

th

e a

ims

of

this

section, w

h

ich is

to

highligh

t

the reality of

I

CT

needs

in j

u

st

a few of the communities in the

study,

to

s

h

ow how desperate

the

s

ituation is.

T

hu

song

Serv

i

ce Centres have been identified as

a

primary approach for

the

implementation

of

development

communication

and information

as

t

h

ey

can

offer

a

wi

d

e

range of

se

r

v

i

ces that

comm

unities can

make use of

for

th

e

ir own

empowerment (Communication

Strategy

for

Govern

me

n

t's

Multipurpose

Community Centre

Initiative).

1.2 BA

C

KGROUN

D OF TH

E STUDY

Numerous attempts

have

been

in place

with an

obj

ective

to formulate

an

approach

a

nd

imp

l

ementation

of

governmen

t

communication

in South

Africa. Amongst

those attempts was

the

fonnation

of

a

Task Group on

Government

Communications (COMT ASK)

that

was

mandat

ed

to dea

l

In 1996,

the COMTASK came

up

with

83

recommendations

on how

government can

s

hape up its

methods

of communication with

members of

co

m

mu

n

ity.

COMTASK

recommendat

i

on

65 dea

lt

particu

l

arl

y wi

th prepa

r

ations

for

the

b

i

rth

and

deve

lopment

of the

Thusong

Serv

ice

Centre

project wit

h

the

objective

to p

r

ovid

e

peop

l

e

with government

information

and serv

ices.

Due to

COMT

ASK

recommendation 65,

government

through the

assistance

and

coord

i

nation

of

Gove

rnment

Communications (GC

I

S)

dep

artment, gave birth

to

the baby called Thuso

ng

Service Centres in 1999.

The centre was utilized

as a

prima

ry vehi

c

le

to impl

ement deve

lopment

commun

i

cation

and in

formation

, and

a

l

so

to introduce government

serv

ices into p

r

i

m

arily

rural communities.

T

h

e

establishment of a

Thuso

n

g

Serv

ice

Cent

r

e

came

about

in

order to

address

the hi

stori

ca

l, soc

ia

l

and

economic

fac

tors that

created

p

r

oblems

for the people

to

access

information

and services,

as

they

had to

travel

or

wa

lk long

distances to

access those

serv

ices.

The

lon

g

distance that peop

le h

ad

to travel in orde:

r

to acce

ss

inform

at

ion

made it difficult

for them

to partic

i

pate in the pro

gra

mm

e.

I

n co

n

t

r

ast, th

e

Thusong

Servic

e

Centre,

bein

g a

one-stop,

integr

ate

d

co

mm

u

ni

ty

development

cen

tr

e,

enco

urage

s

co

mmuni

ty part

icip

ation and offers

serv

ices

relevant to the needs of

the

people.

Th

e ce

ntr

e

i

s very

he

l

pfu

l

to

the members of

comm

uni

ty.

One of the

m

am

reasons that

led

to

th

e estab

li

s

hment

of the

Thu

s

on

g

Service Cen

t

re

s

i

s

to

prov

id

e

access

to integrated

and

cost-effect

ive

government services all

in

one bui

l

ding,

sav

in

g people

f

ro

m t

r

ave

lli

ng long

distance

going from one place to

another

in order to

access government

serv

ic

es and

in

fo

r

mation.

The main objective

for t

h

e availabi

li

ty

of the Thusong Service Centre

in

the

mid

st

of

comm

uniti

es

is to

empower

the poor and the previously

di

sa

dva

ntaged or marginalized through

access

to information

,

services an

d

r

eso

ur

ces.

The

governmen

t

of South

Afric

a

had

a

dream

an

d

a

long-term p

lan

with

the Thusong S

e

r

v

ice

Centres; that is, to provide every ci

t

izen with access

to informatio

n

and

se

rvi

ces

within

their vici

n

ities.

Thusong Service

Centres

project is

a

method of bringing

governme

nt

closer

to

the

peopl

e and empowering

them

by

allow

ing th

e

direct,

unmed

iated

interaction between

t

he

two,

i.e. (government and the people)

through

events suc

h

as the

J

zimb

izo

(mass

meetings),

ward community

meetings, an

d r

oving

EXCO

'

s.

During those meetings,

comm

uniti

es are ab

l

e to

make

gove

rn

ment

aware

of the

ir

challenges, concerns, aspirations, d

i

fficulties and

th

is

also enables

government

to

inform the

people

about

its

policies and

progr

amme of

action.

Each

of the 283

local

municipalities

shoul

d have established a

Thusong

Service Centre that is

fully

operational

and

strategicall

y po

sitioned

for

the

benefit of all

the

communities by

2014,

with an

intention

to better

or

improve quality

of

their lives

through the

integrated

service

de

livery.

The

key emphasis for the success of the programme was

through

partnerships

wit

hi

n govern

m

en

t

and

othe

r sectors.

"

Presently,

South Africa

sets

the

pace of global commitment

to reducing

the difference between

the underdeve

loped and developi

ng worlds.

Its

posit

i

ve econom1c and socia

l indicators

can

only be

susta

ined

m

partners

hips that a

re

fundamental to

the effective

implementation of

Local

Economic

Development

(Thusong Service

Centres

-

Govemc

ment

Communications-

Business Plan 2006-

20

1

4:

02)".

1.3

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Prior

to

1

994, the

majority

of

people,

more especially

blacks,

con

stituted

the

disadvantaged

category of development an

d

empowe

rment.

Amongst

other things, they

were

marginalized

from

accessi

ng governmen

t

infonnation

that they

could

use to

develop

their lives

socially

and

economically.

There were

no pamphlets, leaflets

,

newsletters

or

Z-cards

that

could

be

distributed to

inf

orm

people abo

ut what was going on

in

government, and

the opportunities that were

available to them to

improve their li

ves

on a

daily basis.

There

we

re

no centres or institutions

where

people

could

go

and

successfully

access or

acquire

information

or

government

serv

ices

that

After

1

994,

lot

s

of

improveme

nts came

into

p

lace, wh

ich benefited

a

large

number of peop

le.

Access to information,

mo

st

importantly government

info

rmat

ion,

i

s one

of

the

main i

ss

u

es

that

changed for

the better.

The

estab

li

s

hment of Thu

s

ong

Service Centres

is

one of

the pro

gress

ive

strategies

id

en

tifi

e

d

by

government

to

prov

ide more

peopl

e with

information

that they can use to

c

h

a

n

ge

their

soc

io-economic

lives

for the

better.

Government

services are also provided at the Thusong Service Ce

ntr

e

for

the

co

n

venience

of

r

elevant

people

suc

h

as the

previously

di

sadvantaged

and the poor in

the rural

areas.

In the

in

vestigation

th

at

is

going to be

conducted, the

m

a

in qu

estio

n

that

one

should

ask

i

s whether

the

Thu

song

Service

Ce

ntr

es are effectively

reaching

t

h

e objective of gove1nment,

i.e.

taking

government information

a

nd

services closer

to

t

h

e

people.

Are

the 4 (four)

out

of

11

(eleven)

Thusong Service Centres

in

the

North West

Provin

ce, V

ictor

Tong,

L

ere

tlhab

etse,

T

shid

ilamolomo

and

Tshed

imosetso

effectively providing

peop

le with

serv

ice

s an

d

information as

it

is s

uppos

e

d

to be?

Th

e st

udy

aims to discover

t

h

e effect of the Thusong Service

Cent

r

e

project

as

an

integrated approach

in

a

ddressing

the

needs

of

rural

communi

ties.

In

other words,

thi

s study

aims

·to ascertain the frequency and e

ffective

utilization of the

Thu

song Service Centres

as well as factors

that

may

affect the operation of

such

a

mechanism of

services and in

formation

in the

North West Province

.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The follo

w

ing are some

of

th

e key

questions

regarded

as

important in

determining as

to

w

hether the

four Thusong

Service Ce

ntres Proj

ect in the

North

West are actually addressing t

he needs of

the rural communities.

(i

)

Are

th

e

four

T

husong

Serv

ice Centres

in the North West

reall

y

assistin

g

in add

ressing

the

need

s of the

rural communiti

es?

(i i)

Are there visible changes and progress

registe

red by

the

establi

shme

nt of th

e

Thu

son

g Service Centres as

the

one-stop

serv

ice

and

information

centres

where

they

are ava

ilable

in the

rural

areas

of

the N

orth West?

(iii)

I

s

there

any

indi

cation of

co

mmitment b

y

all t

h

e serv

tee

pro

vi

d

e

r

s

in

the

Thu

s

olig Ser

v

i

ce Cen

tre

s to

provid

e

p

eo

ple in

the

rura

l

a

r

eas w

i

t

h

releva

nt

information

an

d

serv

i

ces?

(iv)

Is there a

n

ecess

i

ty

to

ke

ep on es

tabli

s

hing

more Thusong Service

Ce

n

tres a

r

ound the country, with

specia

l

emphas

i

s

on

the

Generation Phase

where each of t

h

e 283

l

ocal

muni

cipa

li

ties

in

Sout

h

Africa is supposed to

h

ave

at

least

one established

Thusong Service Cen

t

re

by 20

14

?

1.5 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The

purpose

of the establis

hm

ent

of

the

Thusong Service

Centres

throughout the

co

untr

y

is to provide

a

ll

the South African

c

i

t

i

ze

n

s

wit

h

access to

inform

a

tion

an

d

se

rvic

es that wi

ll

better t

h

e

quality

of their

lives

th

r

ough integrated serv

ice delivery.

The

main purpo

se of this

stu

dy i

s very crucial

as

it

i

n

vestigates the effect

of t

h

e

Thu

so

ng

Service Ce

n

tre

project

as an

integrated

approach

in

address

i

ng the needs o

f

rural commun

i

ties (with

spec

ifi

c focus on the fo

u

r

T

h

usong Service Centres

a

m

ongst the twelve that

ha

ve been estab

l

ished

in

the

N011h

West

Province,

t.e.

Leretlhabetse,

Tshedimosetso,

Tshidilamolomo and Victo

r Tong).

);>

Leret

l

habet

se Thusong

Service

Centre -

Lebotlwane Vi

ll

age

-Moretele Local Municipality

-

Bojanala District

);>

Tshedimosetso

Thusong Serv

ice Centre

-

Boikhutso Village

-Ventersdo

rp Local

Municipality

-

Dr Kenneth Kaunda D

i

strict

>

Tshidilamolomo Thu

song Service

Centre -

T

shidilamolomo

vil

lage

-

Ratlou

Local

Municipality

-

Ngaka Modi

ri

Mo

l

ema District

);>

Victor

Tong

Thu

song Se

rvice

Centre

-

Morokweng

Vi

ll

age

-Kag

isano Local Mun

icipality

-

Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District

Accordin

g

to the

COMT ASK

Report

(I

996:

Recomme

ndation 65), a

community

parti

c

ipation

process and needs anal

ys

is

indicated that people

do not only

need

inform

ation

, but

also

g

overnment

se

rvices.

Hence

GC

IS's

mandate to

provide

information services

was

extended to

mobil

is

ing government departme

nts

not

onl

y

to prov

ide

the

ir

inform

ation

but a

l

so to

provide other se

rv

ices at the Thusong Service Centres.

The purpose o

f

this study

will

,

amongst other things,

be to e

valuate

whether or not there has

been

good community

participation

or

involvement

i

n

the

estab

l

ishme

n

t process

of

t

h

e

aboveme

n

tioned Thusong

Service Centres.

This

study w

i

ll a

l

so veri

fy

whether or not the

community

needs analysis

was con

d

ucted

i

n t

h

e

beg

i

nning,

and

whether or not th

e

feedback thereof

was taken in

to consideration.

1.6

ASSUMPT

IO

N

OF THE

STUDY

The

s

tud

y

was

g

uided

b

y

the

assumpt

ion

th

a

t:

Government'

s

appro

ach

of establishing the Thu

song Service Centres was a

pettinent

solution

to

a challenge

of lack of access to

info

rm

at

i

on and

se

r

vices,

wh

i

ch

was

experien

ced

by the majority of citizens

of Sout

h

Africa

,

patticularly those

from

previously

marginalized areas.

In

subsequent years

this e

n

terpr

i

se

has registered progress

and

has been

very

s

uccessfu

l

.

Members of

commun

i

t

i

es

are now able

to successfu

ll

y

access the

1.7 RATIONALE FOR

THE

STUDY

It is very

much

evident th

at

i

n the history of South Africa,

the previously

disadvantaged people

h

ave a

l

ways exper

i

enced

serious problems,

such

as

no access to basic serv

ices and to the

i

nformation that they have dese

rved.

T

h

is

stud

y

is

go

i

ng to

assist

a

great

deal

in

thi

s

r

ega

rd

as

it

is goi

n

g

to

ex

plore

whether or not

the

abo

vement

i

oned

Thusong Serv

ice

Centres

aro

u

nd the

Nort

h

West Province

are reaching th

e

obj

ecti

ves

of

their

establ

i

shme

n

t as per the

vision of Government.

I

ss

ues suc

h as

buy-in or suppott

by various stake

h

olders

from government,

academic

i

nstitutions,

non-governmenta

l

organ

i

sations

(NGO's),

comm

unity

-based

organi

sations

(CBO's),

private

sectors,

and civil

soc

ieti

es w

ill

have to

be looked into w

i

th a very cri

tical

eye.

Ownership

and

acceptan

ce

of

the

Thusong

Serv

ice Centres

project by

community

structures,

such as

the

traditional leaders,

wa

rd

commun

i

ty

leaders, and communal property associations

(C

P

A

's) will be co

n

sidered to

be

of

primary

imp

ortan

ce

when invest

i

gating

t

h

e

e

ffect

and

the

effec

ti

ve

n

ess of

those centres in different areas.

Accord

i

ng to the

Policy Statements

by

the President

of South Africa (

1999

June), "the

ru

r

a

l

a

reas of

our country represent the worst concentrations of

poverty.

No progress can be made towards a

lif

e

of

human di

gnity

for our

people as

a who

l

e unless

we guarantee

deve

l

opment of those areas

"

.

Thi

s

study wi

ll

al

s

o

establ

ish

wheth

er or not

the four Thu

s

ong Service

Centres are really

improving

and

empowerin

g the live

s

of the poor people

,

in

a way

that brings about development

s

in

their areas

as per the plea of

the

Pre

s

ident of South Africa in his

above

mentioned policy

s

tatement.

1.8

S

IGNIFICANC

E OF

THE STUDY

This

s

tudy i

s

go

in

g

to

assist government

to measure

wheth

e

r or not the

approach

of

establishing the

Thu

s

ong Servic

e

Centres,

all

over

th

e

nine

pro

vi

nces

,

was a

goo

d idea; checking on

the

exte

nt

to which

the

centres

have

been helpful to the

communities.

The

s

tudy i

s

a

l

so

goi

ng to

reveal

the loopho

les

that

existed

in the 1

generation

s

mce

the

instigation

of

the Thusong Service

Centres, w

hi

ch

have

caused

the centre

s

not to

operate successfu

lly and

attain

to the

The

id

e

n

t

ifi

cation of

s

u

ch

l

oopho

l

es wi

ll

be very

h

e

lpful

as

it

w

ill

be easie

r

to

avoid them in the

2"d

ge

n

e

ration,

provided

t

h

e

a

ppr

oach of the

es

tabli

s

hment of th

e

Thu

song

S

ervice

Centres persists.

Ul

timat

e

l

y

, the

s

tud

y is go

in

g to

assist

government

through

mon

itori

ng and

eva

l

uatin

g

reports

s

ubmitt

e

d

concern

i

ng th

e s

t

ate of operation

a

nd

se

r

v

i

ce

d

e

li

v

er

y.

There

i

s

a

n

ee

d

to establis

h

w

h

ether

or

not

government

s

hou

ld

ca

r

ry

on

wit

h

the

es

t

ablishment of the

Th

u

song

S

e

r

vice Centres

to the third

_

_

""'"\

gene

ration

or

ph

ase, as

we

a

r

e

presentl

y

on

t

h

e

2"d ge

n

e

ration

.

:J

~~

s~'

_z

_cc

-The

recommendation

of t

h

e

2

"d

Generation

i

s

that th

ere

shou

ld

a

t

least be

..1

one Thu

so

n

g

S

e

r

v

i

ce

Centre in

each an

d

eve

r

y

loc

a

l municip

a

lit

y

by

2

014

,

in

a way

that

brings serv

i

ces an

d infonn

ation

closer to the

p

eop

l

e,

especially t

h

e rura

l

com

m

unities.

1

.9

RES

EA

RCH D

ES

IG

N

T

hi

s st

ud

y

aims

a

t

ge

ttin

g as

much data as possib

l

e

f

rom the questionnai

r

es

d

i

s

t

r

ibut

e

d

to t

h

e

participants

t

h

at wou

ld

h

ave been

random

l

y selec

t

e

d

Data should

ba

sica

ll

y

be respon

ding to the question as to whether or not

there is

a

n

eed

to

establish

more Thusong Service Centres,

particularly in

the rural

areas.

Analysis of data

wi

ll

be

cond

uct

e

d

as

soon

as all the

questionnaires have

bee

n

collected from the participant

s

(sample).

1.10 D

ELIMITATION

OF THE STUDY

The researcher i

s

going to concentra

t

e

on

the

four operational Thu

s

ong

Ser

v

ice

Centres

,

i.

e

.

Victor

Ton

g,

Tshedimosetso,

Tshidilamolomo

an

d

Leretlhabetse centres,

si

tu

a

t

e

d in

the fo

ur

district

s

of the

North

We

s

t

Province.

The

four di

st

rict

s a

r

e,

Dr Ruth

Segomotsi

Mompati

,

Dr K

e

nneth Kaunda

,

1.11 DEFINIT

ION OF TE

RMS

CDP

Community

D

evel

opment Project

Th usong Service Ceo tre

A one-

stop

information

ce

ntre provid

es se

rv

rces

and

information

from

gove

rnm

e

nt to

c

ommuniti

es,

close to

w

h

e

r

e

they

li

ve,

as

part

of a

comp

reh

e

n

sive s

trat

egy

to better their

li

ves.

This

serv

tce

t

s

rend

e

r

e

d

through

the

de

v

elopm

e

nt

communication approach,

in

an

inte

g

rated

manner

.

Thu

song

Service

Cent

r

es are also establ

i

s

h

e

d

as

hub

s

of deve

lopment

communicat

i

on base

d

on

Batho

P

ele va

lues

a

nd

principles,

wh

i

ch

put

people tir

st.

M.P.C.C.

Multipurpo

se Com

munity

Cent

re

s

(currently known

as,

Thu

s

on

g

S

erv

i

ce

G.C.I.S.

Government Commun

i

catio

n

and

Inf

o

rmation

Syst

e

m.

It

is a

national

departm

e

nt

of communication

that i

s

ba

se

d

at

the Pre

s

id

ency

. Go

ve

rnment

Co

mmuni

cat

i

on

and

I

nformation Sy

s

tem over

sees

the deve

lopment

,

coo

rdin

at

ion

and

impl

e

m

enta

tion of

co

mmun

ication i

ss

ue

s

such as

th

e

co

mmuni

cat

i

on strategies and

poli

cies,

throu

g

hout all

g

o

vern

m

e

nt

department

s

in the countr

y

.

GCCN

Go

ve

rnm

e

nt

Common

Core Netw

ork

COMTASK

A

Communication

Task Gr

oup R

ep011

that

was

published

in

1

996; it

includ

e

d in

its

r

eco

mm

e

ndation

s

th

e

n

ee

d to

overhaul govern

m

e

n

t's

co

mmuni

catio

n

sys

t

e

m.

Telecentre

A centre

th

a

t i

s

in

mo

s

t

cases

part

of

the

Thu

so

n

g

S

e

r

v

ic

e

Centre where

people

access computer t

r

a

inin

g,

serv

i

ces

on

internet,

e-

mail

,

typin

g,

fa

x,

te

lephone

, a

nd

s

o

forth.

S

e

r

v

ices

such as

these are brought closer

for the

be

nefit

of

th

e

people.

Telecentres

are also

known

as c

om

p

u

ter centres.

Recommendation

65 conce

rn

s

th

e

development of

Thu

song

Service

Ce

ntr

es,

that

can expa

nd

access to

infonnation

and services,

particularly

govern

ment

serv

i

ces. A

ta

sk

g

r

oup

that

compile

d

tha

t

report

was e

n

trusted

with

the

task of

d

eve

loping

a

vis

ion

for

gove

rnment

communica

ti

on

in

So

uth

Africa.

Th

e

s

urvey

t

h

at

was

con

du

cted

b

y

the

ta

sk g

roup indi

ca

ted

that t

h

e

South

African media, especially

the

p

r

ess,

lack

s ex

perienced

jou

rnali

sts w

h

o will be

ab

l

e

to cover stories in depth and context.

"S

impli

city

of lan

g

ua

ge

and easy access is

ne

e

ded

-

new

tec

hn

ology ca

n

overcome barriers of i

lli

teracy and

the

cost of distribution, and

Thusong

Se

r

vice Centres

are a good way

to faci

li

tate

access (Commun

i

catio

n

s

2000:

A

vis

i

on for Government Co

m

munications

in

South Afr

i

ca)."

l

mbizo

An interactive meeting between membe

r

s

of

com

muni

ty

and leaders i

n

governme

n

t w

i

t

h

out a

n

y

m

ediation.

Durin

g

that

meeting

,

community

me

mb

ers are afforded an opportunity to

interact

w

ith

government

by

way

of ra

i

sing questions a

nd

, passing comments on government related

matter

s,