Management and implementation of youth development programmes in Mpumalanga province: an evaluation of the National Youth Service (NYS) programme implemented by the Department of Public Works
Research Report submitted in accordance with the requirements For
the degree of Master of Management (MM) in the subject Public and
Development Management at University of Witwatersrand
MARCH 2015This study evaluated the management and implementation of the National Youth
Service (NYS) Programme launched in July 1997 by the Department of Public Works
(DoPW) in Mpumalanga Province.
It explored the implementation challenges affecting the NYS over three year period.
In order to respond to the above the research applied different qualitative data
collection and analytical methods.
The research found implementation challenges including, a lack of NYS
Implementing structure in the responsible Department, poor planning and allocation
of requisite financial resources leading to delayed payment of stipend for learners
plus procurement challenges.
Further, the study went on evaluate outcomes of the NYS in relation to both its
objectives and to the specific objectives of the implementing agent i.e., DoPW in
order to thereby draw lessons learnt and best practices for management and
implementation of youth development programmes.
The researcher concludes by observing that the NYS programme has great potential
for employment creation and skill development for the intended beneficiaries.
However, the NYS implementation requires intensive planning, resource allocation,
training of implementing staff and timeous payments of beneficiaries as key success
factors to the programm
