Evaluation of the sustainability of poverty alleviation projects in Chris Hani District Municipality

After 18 years of democracy South African government is still faced with challenges such as high levels of unemployment, inequality and high levels of poverty. There have been various policies, poverty alleviation programmes and projects that have been established in an effort to eradicate poverty. According to Gathiram (2005: 123) despite these efforts, poverty in South Africa has worsened. The challenge has been that a number of such projects have not been properly implemented and as a result, they were not sustainable. This paper investigates the reasons for some of these poverty alleviation projects to be successful and others to be apparently unsustainable. The research focuses on two poverty alleviation projects in Chris Hani District Municipality. The research methodology used is descriptive study. The findings of this report revealed that some of poverty alleviation projects are sustainable and some are not sustainable. The study reveals factors contributing to sustainability of poverty alleviation projects. The study recommends the sustainable development approach as an approach that can assist in the sustainability of poverty alleviation project