Supporting Local Economic Development in Post-Apartheid South Africa

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Binns ◽  
Etienne Nel
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Development Fund ◽  
Support Mechanism ◽  
Massive Scale ◽  
The Impact

South Africa's apartheid era has left a bitter legacy of retarded economic development. Local Economic Development has been identified by the South African government as a key strategy through which issues of development and, more importantly, poverty alleviation can be addressed by local governments. This paper reviews current Local Economic Development policy in South Africa, before proceeding to an examination and analysis of the impact of the primary government support mechanism designed to promote such development initiatives, namely the Local Economic Development Fund. Whilst such support is of vital importance, far greater levels of intervention will be needed to fully address the massive scale of current local development needs.

scholarly journals Tourism and Local Economic Development in King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality, South Africa: Stakeholder Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 10(1) (10(1)) ◽  
pp. 145-164
Author(s):  
Thobeka Dlomo ◽  
Christian Rogerson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
Stakeholder Perceptions ◽  
Stakeholder Perspectives ◽  
Local Municipality ◽  
The Impact

Over the past two decades a major burst of scholarship has occurred around tourism and local economic development futures in South Africa. This study addressed the question of key stakeholder perceptions of local economic development through tourism as the economic driver. In addition, it examines the challenges for enhancing the local development role of the tourism sector. Arguably, stakeholders at the coalface of tourism and local development issues, such as tourism business owners and local government officials, can offer useful insights into the everyday problems of maximizing the impact of tourism in local municipalities. The focus is on the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality (KSDM) in Eastern Cape province. The results are presented and dissected from 33 interviews conducted with private sector stakeholders as well as 20 government stakeholders. Stakeholder perceptions were investigated concerning three major themes: (1) the role and prospects for tourism and local economic development, (2) the use of municipal assets for tourism development; and, (3) the challenges facing tourism businesses for local economic development The research findings underscore several factors that explain the decline of the tourism economy of KSDM since 2006 and reduced its contribution to local economic development. Central issues surround crime and safety, infrastructural deficiencies, and shortcomings of the local government itself, including its failure to maintain critical municipal assets essential for tourism development.

scholarly journals Konektivitas Pelabuhan Dan Pembangunan Ekonomi Daerah Provinsi Maluku Utara

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-41
Author(s):  
Yetty Yetty ◽  
Abdurrahman Senuk ◽  
Chairullah Amin
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
Random Effect Model ◽  
Container Port ◽  
Effect Model ◽  
Port Throughput ◽  
Development Approach ◽  
The Impact

The local development approach based on islands is different with the developing of land area. The natural limitations possessed by the islands region that constrained by some characteristics such as isolation, smallness, boundless, and fragmentation. The study analyzes the impact of port connectivity to the local economic development by taking the case in the island province (North Maluku) in east Indonesia. The analysis method using the panel data model of 9 residences in period 2010-2016 in which the indicators that used are GDP, roadway, port throughput, economic density, and also container port, sea-tollway as the dummy variables. According to the common effect, model shows that all independent variables have a significant influence on the GDP except roadway. While based on Hausman test suggest that random effect model is more appropriated than FEM of which the result shows that container port and sea-tollway have not a significant impact on the GDP. These results implied that the policy of port connectivity within sea-tollway is not effective to improve the local economic development in particular in the islands based on region.

Law and Economic Development in South Africa: An Assessment through the General Theory of Law and Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. K. Pooe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
General Theory ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Law And Development ◽  
Theory Of Law

Abstract The ascension of the African National Congress into formal politics through its electoral victory in 1994 resulted in South Africa adopting one of the world’s most heralded social justice and human rights-based documents, the 1996 Constitution. Yet, two-decades of ANC governance this paper argues has not led to the types of economic development needed to advance the formerly oppressed African majority, Colored and Indian populations. This lackluster economic development is even more troubling when one considers the giant economic development steps Asian developmental states have made, without a human rights and social justice approach. It is the contention of this paper that the newly presented General Theory of Law and Development allows for a new type of analysis exploring the reasons why South Africa’s economic development trajectory has been so lackluster, when so many authorities praise the South African legal framework. In making this argument using the General Theory South Africa’s local governments sphere and local economic development will be the subject of analysis.

Is a Self-help Orientation Sufficient Basis for Local [Economic] Development?

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-166
Author(s):  
Eris D. Schoburgh
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Participatory Development ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Governance Reform ◽  
Local Authorities

Local government reform in Jamaica aims (i) to refocus local authorities to providing leadership and a coordinating framework for the collective efforts of the people towards local development and (ii) to assess local service distribution modalities between central and local governments, the private sector and CSOs for more cost-effective arrangements. The institutional context in which these objectives are to be pursued is characterized by a new local governance framework populated by ‘a federated system of development committees’. Development committees are expected to work in partnership with local authorities in pursuit of economic transformation of geographic spaces. Participatory development that development committees exemplify conjures up images of ownership of local [economic] development projects and an empowered citizenry that has the capacity to direct resources in their favour. Development committees represent a differentiated method of local economic governance. But the concern is: Are development committees fit for purpose? This is the fundamental question with which this research is concerned. A survey of parish development committees (PDCs) was conducted to determine the extent to which the organizations are giving effect to their mandate. The study is exploratory in design and relies on qualitative methodologies. The results of the study will be important for assisting the local governance reform process currently underway in Jamaica but should contribute to the discourse on the alternative approaches to managing development in developing countries.

scholarly journals Legitimacy of uncertain policy work: Exploring values in local economic development projects

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 440-459
Author(s):  
Albin Olausson
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Organization Theory ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Development Work ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
To Come ◽  
Development Agents

This article takes the standpoint that, due to high levels of uncertainty, local economic development work suffers from both input- and output-based legitimacy. Nevertheless, local governments are active development agents and try to come up with economic development initiatives. In order to better understand the legitimate basis for uncertain economic development work, this article offers an unconventional analysis of economic development projects. Drawing on scholars of organization theory, legitimacy is defined as congruence in values between the studied projects and the stakeholders in the surrounding environment. The article examines what kinds of values pervade local governments’ economic development projects. The empirical material is based on thick interview and observation data derived from a study of eight local development projects in Sweden. The results show that values of professionalization and deliberation pervade the analysed projects. Taking the two sets of values together, the results indicate that local government administration seeks to legitimize its economic development work as being based on professional directed processes of public deliberation. Both these sets of values challenge the local representative democratic system of government as the prime source of the legitimacy of local governments’ interventions.

LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STIMULATION. EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVENESS OF NONFINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

2012 ◽  
Vol 166 (4) ◽  
pp. 177-185
Author(s):  
Iwona CHOMIAK-ORSA ◽  
Michał FLIEGER
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Financial Instruments ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Local Leaders

Local governments support local development with various instruments. It is often the case that they focus on financial instruments. Thus they are no longer the base of competitive advantage and local governments have to search for nonfinancial instruments to attract companies to the region. Those instruments are of different effectiveness, so it seems crucial for local leaders to know which instruments are the most effective. The article presents the research results indicating the level of effectiveness of each nonfinancial instrument that local offices may use.

scholarly journals Municipal Development Strategy as an Instrument of Local Economic Development Policy

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 13-25
Author(s):  
Mariusz Wiktor Sienkiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Economic Development Policy ◽  
Development Policies

The main objective of this paper is to determine the importance of local development strategies for formulating and implementing local economic development policies by local authorities. In particular, an attempt is made to answer the question of whether local authorities properly and effectively use public management tools (i.e. a development strategy) to promote economic development in their area. Furthermore, the aim of this article is to analyse instruments for supporting economic development, which can be potentially used by local governments in Poland.

Agritourism and local economic development in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (26) ◽  
pp. 93-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian M. Rogerson ◽  
Jayne M. Rogerson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Special Significance ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
National Economic ◽  
Policy Suggestions ◽  
National Economic Development

Abstract The role of tourism for local economic development (LED) is a topic of critical importance for geographers. In the case of South Africa tourism is a priority sector for national economic development. The significance of research issues around tourism and LED is underlined by the ‘developmental’ mandate of local governments. Although tourism has received attention in a growing body of LED writings on South Africa issues around agritourism so far have been overlooked. Agritourism represents an evolving form of rural tourism which is targeted at mainly urban consumers. Against the background of a review of international scholarship on agritourism this article explores its potential implications for LED planning in South Africa. A national audit of agritourism is presented which shows its uneven geographical distribution. Agritourism is of special significance for small town economic development in South Africa’s intermediate tourism spaces. Policy suggestions are offered for strengthening agritourism as a driver for LED in South Africa.

scholarly journals The District Assembly Common Fund and Fiscal Decentralisation: What is the Impact on Local Development in Ghana?

2020 ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Harrison Kofi Belley
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Rural Poverty ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Development Fund ◽  
Common Fund ◽  
The People ◽  
The Impact

Local governments have been created as agents of local development in which the people in the local areas are given greater opportunities to influence policies and programs that directly affect their well-being and thereby reducing their poverty levels. But the implementation of the policies and programmes is bedeviled with many problems. Key among them is the issue of financing the local development projects in order to reduce rural poverty. The government of Ghana attempted to reduce this problem when it introduced a development fund in1994 known as the – District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to encourage local governance and deepen Government’s commitment to decentralization in general and fiscal devolution in particular. The study therefore, seeks to assess the impact of District Assembly Common Fund on Local Government Development in the Adaklu District Assembly in the Volta Region of Ghana. The study mainly adopted qualitative methods of research to obtain information on the experiences of the poor people in the Adaklu communities selected as study areas. Interview guides were used to obtain information from the people in the communities, staff of the Assembly and some heads of the decentralized departments. A major finding of the study is that the assembly did not involve the rural people in the poverty reduction programmes in the district.

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