Tourism SMEs

Over the past five decades, a vast literature on gentrification has developed. Evidence of gentrification in South African cities has been recorded in historically White neighbourhoods or city districts. The presence of gentrification in peripheral, poor, traditionally Black townships has had very little (if any) consideration in the literature, and this investigation aims to address aspects of this scholarly oversight. The paper is set in the iconic South African township of Soweto. It is argued that the Vilakazi precinct in Orlando West is an example of tourism-led gentrification. The investigation unpacks the development and gentrification of the precinct and the range of tourism roles therein. The study found that residents' experiences were mixed; some aspects of expanded leisure and services were seen positively, while forms of economic and social exclusion were also recorded following the literature on township tourism. This unique case study connects the Global North and South experience of tourism-led gentrification, arguing that much common ground between these regions is to be found.

Recently, the awareness of protecting the environment has changed the way business activities are conducted.Thus, many public and private agencies are moving towards sustainable development which would encourage event organisers to practice event greening process and eventually would increase demand for attending green events.However, despite the demand of the attendees, green practice is also influenced by other motivation such as competitiveness, legitimation and so on. Due to the fact that path to greenness is varied, motivation to adopt green practice may differ between event companies because different types of event company would display different types of motivation.Therefore this paper will highlight numerous types of motivation that motivate event practitioners to practice green. In doing so, it provides an extensive review of the literature associated with motivation that may encourage practitioners to implement event greening process. Consequently, motivations that lead t...

This study considers current attitudes towards and adoption of environmentally sustainable practices of Victorian tourism enterprises. Using a purposive sample of businesses in the Geelong Otway region, in-depth interviews were conducted. These interviews provided a wealth of information relating to perceived benefits and barriers to adopting environmentally sustainable practices. The findings demonstrate that, while many operators are aware of environmentally sustainable practice and have a positive personal philosophy towards implementing them, they remain constrained by business needs such as customer demands and limited acceptance of certification and accreditation programs. The study concludes with a number of recommendations to assist the industry bodies supporting operators in the take up of environmentally focused practices. The final recommendation is to continue to develop knowledge in this field and extend the research to a broader base via a questionnaire based on the fi...

This study focusses on the current situation in the European Union regarding quality and sustainability labelling in tourism. There is concern that the existing volume and variety of labels has become a barrier to consumer choice, which in consequence may lead to lost opportunities to increase the competitiveness of the European tourism industry. The study analyses the possibility of the introduction of an EU standard(s) for tourism services through the initiation of a harmonised EU certification system and the potential for the establishment of a single European tourism label.

Heritage tourism is an increasingly popular form of tourism across many destinations globally. Maximising the opportunities from heritage tourism is a critical policy issue in the global South. Against a backcloth of the rising importance of heritage tourism for local development agendas across the global South this paper seeks to analyse the local impacts of one major new heritage development project operationalised in South Africa, namely the Cradle of Humankind. In the international context this heritage project is a state-led, infrastructure-led initiative introduced into an economically marginal area in search of pro-poor growth. The analysis suggests that currently this anchor project has not reached its anticipated potential for energising local development.

Creative industries are increasingly attracting the interest of academics and policymakers around the world. Policy enthusiasm is also directed in many countries towards developing knowledge-intensive or high-technology sectors. The new media sector is considered an innovative growth sector which holds potential for emerging countries. This case study examines innovation in new media firms situated in Cape Town. Theoretically, creative industries are linked to post-industrial and knowledge-based economies and the growth of services, and innovation in high-technology small and medium enterprises is also considered. This paper provides micro data regarding the innovation activities of new media firms based on purposive interviews. The study found that these firms are dynamic in terms of technological innovation. However, their innovation activities tend to be incremental and localised. Furthermore, various barriers limit their innovation enhancement and growth prospects. Public policy can support new media firms in terms of access to new business development funding and programmes supporting small enterprise innovation, improved design education and network opportunities.

Entrepreneurship associated with small businesses is regarded as a key vehicle for the creation of new enterprises, as it generates job growth and stimulates competition. In hotel, tourism and leisure industry, even if they still are a huge number of multi-corporations and multinational chains, industry is dominated by a substantial number of small businesses.

Tourism ecocertification programs persist and proliferate despite low market penetration and apparent consumer indifference. This has been viewed simply as an early-adoption phase. A two-decade historical analysis of development patterns for 17 programs, however, suggests that they can be analysed as a multi-move political game between corporate and civic advocates, where neither can quit without losing. The political-game framework yields predictions which are testably different from a pure-market early-adopter framework. It also draws a key distinction between consumer-benefit and social-benefit measures, applicable to corporate social responsibility initiatives in many industry sectors.

This article examines the attitudes and behaviors of New Zealand travel agents in relation to providing travel advice for destinations that have known human rights abuses. A postal survey was undertaken of travel agencies throughout New Zealand. Generally, while supportive in principle of ethical travel, travel agents do not operationalize this concern in terms of their workplace behavior (e.g., continuing to sell products for destinations that have known human rights issues). A range of workplace and personal factors appear to be influential in the way in which travel agents behave. However, the primary obstacle acting against travel agents participating more actively in ethical travel is the ethical dissonance imposed on the ethical decision-making situation through the agent's obligation to give credence to their clients' rights of freedom of choice over where they travel.

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the perceptions on the role of locally owned small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the economic development of Rustenburg, South Africa. The study was motivated by theoretical findings that SMMEs are the cornerstone of economic development; yet, the levels of unemployment and poverty were still escalating in Rustenburg. This prompted the researcher to investigate the perceptions on the role of locally owned small, medium and micro enterprises in the economic development of Rustenburg, South Africa, and the extent of their contribution. The study adopted a descriptive research design and a quantitative approach to determine the role of SMMEs and the extent of their contribution to the economic development of Rustenburg. The study focused on Rustenburg, which had 223 registered SMMEs at the time. The registered 213 SMMEs were identified as the target population of the study, and 10 registered SMMEs participated in the pilot study. A structured questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument. Two hundred and thirteen (213) copies of questionnaires were self-administered. One hundred and eighty-two (182) completed questionnaires were returned, which represented an 85% response rate. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data by utilising the Statistical Analysis Software (SAS). Statistical techniques used in this study comprised frequency analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson's correlation test, and Tukey's studentised range test. Empirical findings revealed that SMMEs play a significant role in contributing to the economic development, employment generation and poverty reduction of Rustenburg, with SMMEs in the mining sector making a greater and more significant contribution than other sectors. The study concluded that SMMEs perform a critical role in contributing to the economic development of Rustenburg, especially those in the mining sector. Recommendations were that government should consider increasing the development programmes for SMMEs that operate in Rustenburg, invest in SMMEs' technology and provide practical SMMEs development training. In addition, government should provide sufficient funding for SMMEs and improve the regulatory framework that governs the SMME sector. This particular study focused on SMMEs operating in Rustenburg. Another study could be conducted on foreign-owned SMMEs. iii DECLARATION ON PLAGIARISM I, Samuel John Chiromo, student number 43431542 hereby declare that I am fully aware of the University of South Africa's policy on plagiarism. I have taken every precaution to comply with the regulations. ………………. Signature iv DECLARATION ON RESEARCH ETHICAL CLEARANCE I, Samuel, John Chiromo, hereby declare that I am fully aware of the University of South Africa's policy on research ethics. I complied with the regulations by obtaining an ethical clearance certificate reference number 2017_CEMS_ESTTL_014. Signature ……………………. v DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my late father, Mr John Chiromo and my daughter, Diana Chiromo. May the soul of my late father rest in peace and may God protect Diana Chiromo and give her a prosperous life. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to God for providing me with the academic strength that I utilised to complete this master's degree. I would also like to convey my gratitude to the following individuals for their contribution towards the successful completion of my studies:  I sincerely thank my supervisor, Dr Gwendoline Vusumuzi Nani, for her intellectual guidance, support and constructive criticism as I navigated through my master's programme. She even reviewed and provided feedback on my work over weekends or after normal working hours; the time she was supposed to spend with her family. I really appreciate her hard work.  I also thank the late Prof. Nkoana Simon Radipere, who was my main supervisor, cosupervising with Dr Gwendoline Vusumuzi Nani at the beginning of my master's studies. Sadly, he passed away before the completion of my studies. May his soul rest in eternal peace.  My late father who used to say, "Never cease in educating yourself as that is where your bright future lies."  My wife, Grace, my son, Gregory and my daughter, Diana for their patience, love and support.  Rustenburg Municipality personnel for authorising me to access a list of SMMEs registered with the municipality. Indeed, without their helping hand this study could not have been conducted.  The SMME owners operating in the Rustenburg area who participated in the study. They sacrificed their own productive time and willingly participated in this study.  Unisa librarians working at the main library in Pretoria and Rustenburg who assisted tirelessly as I searched for literature for the study. Unisa staff members in the Department of Entrepreneurship who were more than willing to render a helping hand when I was in a dilemma at some stage of my studies.  The statistician, Mr Andries Masenge, who assisted in analysing the data for both the pilot and full study.  My friends, for encouraging and supporting me on this academic journey. vii May the blessings and love of the good Lord be bestowed upon you all! 'Learning is a treasure that will follow its owners everywhere'-Chinese proverb viii

Rural urban migration results in rural decline as well as in congested cities, but how can towns avoid this fate and also intercept these migrants on their way to the cities in search of perceived better opportunities? Tourism development can play a central role in the development of rural areas in South Africa, and Clarens is a success story in this regard. This research investigates what made a tourist town such as Clarens succeed whereas other towns faltered and failed. Data was collected using three dif-ferent questionnaires: one for each target group to cover a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the tourism milieu of Clarens. The research indicates that allowing multinational enterprises in a small tourist town is something that should be considered carefully because it might disturb a small town's ambience.

Heritage tourism is an increasingly popular form of tourism across many destinations globally. Maximising the opportunities from heritage tourism is a critical policy issue in the global South. Against a backcloth of the rising importance of heritage tourism for local development agendas across the global South this paper seeks to analyse the local impacts of one major new heritage development project operationalised in South Africa, namely the Cradle of Humankind. In the international context this heritage project is a state-led, infrastructure-led initiative introduced into an economically marginal area in search of pro-poor growth. The analysis suggests that currently this anchor project has not reached its anticipated potential for energising local development.

Heritage tourism is an expanding segment of the global tourism economy. Industrial heritage is one element of this niche tourism sector and remains under-investigated in South Africa. Using a mixed methods approach this study investigates the case of The ‘Big Hole’, Kimberley as an example of industrial heritage tourism in South Africa. It is revealed that despite optimism and major investment into heritage tourism at the local level, heritage tourism is under-performing. Kimberley is a settlement rich in cultural and industrial heritage but shown to be currently a declining tourism centre. The study demonstrates the limitations in local tourism marketing, poor budgeting, as well as lack of leadership and strategic direction for tourism development at the local government level. These issues must be addressed if heritage tourism in South Africa is to contribute successfully to local economic development.

The technical reports present data and its analysis, meta-studies and conceptual studies, and are considered to be of value to industry, government or other researchers. Unlike the STCRC's Monograph series, these reports have not been subjected to an external peer review process. As such, the scientific accuracy and merit of the research reported here is the responsibility of the authors, who should be contacted for clarification of any content.

Tourism as an industry is increasing rapidly in developing countries. Due to historical inequality in global trading relationships on the basis of`core±periphery' dependency, globalisation and liberalised free trade, mainstream mass tourism reinforces the social and economic disadvantages of southern destinations. The`Fair Trade Movement' has sought to redress unequal trading by promoting fair trade in commodities with small producers in the South, enabling them to take control over the production and marketing process and challenging the power of transnational corporations. This paper examines the feasibility of fair trade in tourism. It explores the obstacles and opportunities that might lead to establishing a de®nition of fair trade in tourism, incorporating criteria that would be workable and practical for both partners in the South and North.

This study undertook to chart the spatial footprint and size of South Africa’s white water rafting industry. It was found that distribution of the 49 white water rafting operators is geographically uneven, with the majority located in the Western Cape and the Free State. There was a significant dearth of operators in Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. The presence of raftable rivers influences operator numbers, as does proximity to source markets. Most rafting businesses were well established and owner operated, who are a mix of local lifestyle and classic entrepreneurs. Overall the industry is well established, worth between R50 and R100 million and estimated to add R320 million to the South African economy per year. The majority of the approximately 539 direct employees are locals, who, due to the highly seasonal nature of industry, are mostly part-timers. The industry is skills intensive, with employees holding a range of technical and ‘soft’ skills. Finding suitably skill...

The present paper is an attempt to integrate the concept of human rights into the mainstream tourism discourse. In the name of development, human rights are often neglected while there are definite long-term advantages to be gained by actively promoting it. The paper examines the human rights perspectives of the major stakeholder groups in tourism to finally arrive at a comprehensive picture. Implications of some of the general principles and proclaimed guidelines of human rights for tourism are discussed. It is concluded that sustainable development of tourism is not possible until human rights as a relevant category is recognized by all the stakeholders. In addition, a case study is provided as an account to make the readers understand the ways in which tourism practice can potentially violate the human rights of a destination community.

Research on sustainability and sustainable tourism has thus far avoided evaluating how tourists actually understand these terms. Instead, scholars have focused on the supply side, presuming a common and precise understanding of sustainability and sustainable tourism among all tourists and stakeholders. This study shows that most consumers link sustainability only to environmental issues, and understand sustainability differently from sustainable tourism. It finds significant interpersonal and intercultural differences regarding consumers’ conceptualisations of sustainability. The results illustrate that empirical research methodology for conceptualising consumers’ sustainability understanding frequently is doubtful or weak. This research exposes tourists’ limited understanding of sustainability, and helps tackle widespread scepticism about the effectiveness of sustainable tourism, by creating better informed sustainable tourism marketing.

The tourism infrastructure and more specifically the hotels and all other tourism accommodations, contribute utmost to the tourism development of a country and an area. This paper describes ecological practices implemented by Greek hotels and examines whether the performance and economic results of the Greek hotels awarded with the EU Ecolabel is worth the investment made by the ownership. The research included in the paper shows that the Greek establishments awarded with the EU Ecolabel have significant financial benefits compared to the industry averages, although the examined period falls into the global financial crisis.

In South Africa, the promotion of tourism has been identified as a key strategy that can lead to economic growth, community development and poverty alleviation. This appears to reflect that in the recent years, tourism has emerged as a significant development option in the post-apartheid South Africa. Tourism is perceived as an adopted strategy to creating more equitable economic growth in South Africa. According to the White paper on tourism (1996) the tourism sector is expected to be the leading economic sector in the country by 2014. The tourism industry is an integrated and multi-sectoral, aimed at poverty alleviation through pro-poor economic growth. The study looked at the socio-economic impacts of tourism on emerging tourism entrepreneurs in the George municipality. The study will contribute in increasing awareness of the socio-economic impacts of the tourism industry on emerging tourism entrepreneurs, who are mostly from the previously disadvantaged groups in South Africa. T...

Information search is a recognised aspect of tourism decision-making process theory. However, there remains relatively little empirical research that demonstrates the complexity of information search in relation to the temporal sequence of decision-making. Further the literature fails to problematise the relationships between age, knowledge acquisition and information needs. This paper discusses these conceptual issues in relation to a small pilot study of 'silver surfers' (older members of society-the so-called 'grey market'-who actively use the Internet). It suggests tentatively that information needed and used is different, not connected to an immediate purchase and proposes further study into this crucial aspect of consumer theory and information use.

Growing international debates surround the notion of inclusive tourism development. The objective in this paper is to examine the issues around inclusive tourism development in South Africa through a locality study. The analysis focuses on the small town of Dullstroom which has experienced considerable tourism growth over the past decades as a consequence of its rich tourism products of fly-fishing, agritourism and second homes tourism. Findings are reported from qualitative interviews with black (African) employees of tourism establishments in Dullstroom. The results reveal tourism development in Dullstroom provides a range of positive economic and social benefits for local residents and that this small town exhibits evidence of an inclusive trajectory of tourism development.

Accommodation providers such as hotels, campsites, and holiday villages can use ecolabels to show their green credentials to potential customers. Whereas there is extensive literature on ecolabel adoption in the Hotel and Bed and Breakfast (B & B) sector, no such research exists for other accommodation sectors. In this paper, we present the results of statistical analyses of survey data from firms in the Dutch accommodation sector (including hotels, campsites, and group accommodations) with and without the Green Key ecolabel, which is a third-party certified international label for the tourist and leisure sector. We obtain insights into the motivations for adopting (or not), analyze the characteristics of firms with and without the label, and get an indication of the perceived impact of ecolabel adoption on costs and profits. We find that previously found results for hotels and B & Bs do not always apply to other subsectors of the accommodation sector. We also find that obtaining th...

The technical report series present data and its analysis, meta-studies and conceptual studies, and are considered to be of value to industry, government and researchers. Unlike the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre's Monograph series, these reports ...

Located in a broad Political Economy approach, this paper presents a new conceptual framework, based on Ferguson (2011) and Mosedale [2011. Thinking outside the box: Alternative political economies in tourism. In J. Mosedale (Ed.), Political economy of Tourism: A Critical perspective (pp. 93-108). Routledge], to assess the reciprocal relationship between tourism development and the power relations of the main actors within the backpacker tourism sector: backpackers; businesses catering for them; and tourism policy makers. We explore how these power relations change through the actors' social, cultural and political embeddedness. An ethnographic multi-method approach was applied to the under-researched Latin American context with fieldwork conducted in Salento, Colombia. The analysis demonstrates that power inequalities exist concerning knowledge, financial and social power that did not seem to be diminished by backpacker tourism development. We further found that social and cultural embeddedness informed the political embeddedness of the actors. Our findings have important implications for policy makers addressing power inequalities in tourism. ARTICLE HISTORY

The aim of the research is to assess current status of SMEs in the tourism sector across the European Union. The results could be used to initiate effective interventions and provide opportunities to develop skills, as well as design and implement effective education and training programs.The 8 organizations participating in the project employ the same research methodology enabling comparative analysis with reference to the following features of SMEs:competitiveness, liquidity, financial situation, innovation, human resources features, as wellas their role in quality of life.

This study explored the experiences and perceptions of transformation within the tourism value chain in the South African context. Through a series of focus group discussions (FGDs) held with relevant stakeholders and small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), the paper reveals key factors related to promoting and prohibiting the active participation of black-owned SMMEs in the tourism value chain, including opportunities for collaboration with large enterprises; exposure to the industry; policies, procedures and the business practices of large enterprises; and government-related matters. The paper concludes that factors prohibiting the active participation of black-owned SMMEs in the tourism value chain far outweigh those that promote it. It is recommended that, if transformation is to occur in the tourism sector, more attention than in the past needs to be paid to the potential that black-owned SMMEs hold, through securing careful and committed collaboration between all stakeholders in the tourism value chain.

Issues concerning post-productivism have not seen any direct systematic research attention in South Africa. Nevertheless, it has recently been proposed that post- productivism, although difficult to discern in its early stages, has gathered sufficient momentum to warrant scholarly attention in the local context. This study develops this contention by focusing on the role of second homes tourism as a contributor to developing a South African post-productivist countryside using four study areas, namely, Rhodes, Greyton, Dullstroom and Clarens. It is argued that the initial development of productivist countrysides was linked to the apartheid regime’s concerns over white land ownership, black labour distribution and food security. It is then suggested that although the productivist countryside was under strain towards the final years of apartheid, the dismantling of apartheid agricultural policy and financial support for white farmers led them to seek out other economic opportunities. Movement towards consumptive leisure practices such as tourism and leisure functions has led to a diversification of farming practices resulting in a countryside in which agricultural production has decreased in importance. It is then argued that the stage was set for second homes to emerge as a new phenomenon in the countryside which further enhances the trend towards post-productivism. The project then provides an analysis of the various economic impacts of second homes in four study sites mentioned.

— The increase of tourist arrivals recently reach more than a billion and marked above average growth since the 2009 economic crisis globally. The increase of business cope with the increase of tourist needs such as food, water, and energy in a well condition while travel agent ignore of those resources and continue to exploit them. Travel agent practices arise in term of business to get cheaper prices from food supplier or international restaurant franchises as well as the use of transportation vehicle without compromising the negative impact on environment. The paper outline weaknesses in relation to the lack of implementation of ethical standard related to sustainable tourism. To do so, the concept of general framework on sustainability as travel agent continues to gain their business ethically. The magnitude of travel and tourism industry trends endangers mostly on environment while tourist also attract mostly to high quality environment. The purpose of this paper is to articulate a set of ethical standards for travel agent. The standards are focused on promoting sustainable holiday principles for travel agent. The mission is based on literature review from previous studies focus on ethical standard at tourism industry. Global code of ethic for tourism becomes an important concept to be aware of by today tourism business that already left behind the practices. The code features implementation mechanism for responsible and sustainable tourism which contain comprehensive principle account for economic, social, cultural and environmental component of travel and tourism. The code also promote into government legislation, business practices and traveler's attitude. Therefore, as the commitment of sustainable holiday for travel agent, the standard should be applied in travel agent business operation to improve the quality of environment, economic and socio culture at the destinations.

Local economic development (LED) in South Africa has grown in significance since the 1994 democratic transition. This article examines the evolution of LED policy from 1995-2006 and specifically focuses upon the implications of the 2006 National Framework document. The 2006 LED Framework document is important as it represents the first national guidelines issued for LED in South Africa. The paper critically argues that a set of severe challenges faces LED in South African small towns and that LED policy needs to recognize these challenges and take on a specific focus on the needs of small towns.

Tourism is currently one of the world’s fastest growing industries (Cluster Consortium,1999). The phenomenal growth of tourism worldwide has led to tourism becoming big business and highly considered by governments as part of their developmental strategies. Tourism is able to create local jobs, empowers communities and distribute income are some of the reasons that both private and public sector players want to attract tourism to their destinations. For the purposes of the envisaged research, accommodation shall be the focus of the research within the Mangaung municipal area in the Free State Province. ‘’The tourist economy of Bloemfontein is dominated by the tourist accommodation sector. In addition, this sector comprises mainly guesthouses and bed-and-breakfast establishments’’ Visser (2007:356). Bloemfontein is at the centre of the tourist system in the Free State as the centre of the government, and business. The accommodation sector is very important to the tourism industry bec...

The ongoing importance of the tourism and hospitality small business sector to the economic wellbeing ofa country has been widely acknowledged internationally, Such businesses are important contributors to the environmental,. social and cultural sustainability of their regions, There is growing pressure for such businesses to pursue sustainable development principles, commonly perceived by the owners to elevate costs and reduce competitiveness. In this review paper we consider the benefits for small businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry to gain ecoaccreditation. We conclude that, despite a large number of such schemes, market awareness is typically low but has potential to provide a competitive edge. Small business operators who choose to lead in eco-accreditation would, however, be wise to ensure that they clearly articulate their scheme to potential customers, and target consumers from countries where interest in s[{ch schemes is highest.

Tourism is currently one of the world’s fastest growing industries (Cluster Consortium,1999). The phenomenal growth of
tourism worldwide has led to tourism becoming big business and highly considered by governments as part of their
developmental strategies. Tourism is able to create local jobs, empowers communities and distribute income are some of
the reasons that both private and public sector players want to attract tourism to their destinations. For the purposes of the
envisaged research, accommodation shall be the focus of the research within the Mangaung municipal area in the Free
State Province. ‘’The tourist economy of Bloemfontein is dominated by the tourist accommodation sector. In addition, this
sector comprises mainly guesthouses and bed-and-breakfast establishments’’ Visser (2007:356). Bloemfontein is at the
centre of the tourist system in the Free State as the centre of the government, and business.
The accommodation sector is very important to the tourism industry because it serves as a supporting product to the
tourism destinations which are the core product. Accommodation provides a necessary facility that makes it possible,
convenient, and comfortable to engage in the primary reason for travel (George, 2008). Accommodation is a supporting
service to the primary reason for visiting a destination area. ‘’Accommodation provision in cities as elsewhere is a major
influence on the volume and value of tourism o any locality. Accommodation should therefore precede any other type of
development at a tourist destination’’ Nuntsu et al (2004:516).The availability of a range of types of accommodation is
important for the competitiveness of a destination area as tourists would compare destinations each other also considering
the destination amenities before deciding to travel to one destination at the expense of another. This therefore means that
the availability of accommodation is one of the influencers on the motivation to travel to a certain destination area. This
research study will unpack the challenges, opportunities and threats to the accommodation industry located in Mangaung
that includes the city of Bloemfontein and the towns of Botshabelo and Thaba ‘Nchu.