Bridging the urban–rural gap in facilitating Local Economic Development: The case study of uMgungundlovu District Municipality in KwaZulu–Natal, South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 026909422110363
Author(s):  
Ayanda C Makhaye ◽  
Mogie Subban ◽  
Cecile N Gerwel Proches
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Resource Planning ◽  
Local Municipalities ◽  
Infrastructure Provision ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
South African Constitution ◽  
Rural Service Delivery

Municipalities are faced with poverty, unemployment and inequality, to the detriment of growth and development. As specified in the South African Constitution (1996), municipalities are obligated to advance Local Economic Development (LED). Municipalities cannot accomplish this task alone; therefore, participation of all stakeholders is required. The aim of this study is to investigate bridging the urban–rural gap in facilitating LED within uMgungundlovu District Municipality in KwaZulu–Natal in understanding this phenomenon. The district is made up of seven urban and rural local municipalities. Using a qualitative research method through an interpretive paradigm, data were collected from purposely selected participants through in-depth open-ended interviews. Collected data were analysed through induction using thematic and content analysis. Results revealed gaps in understanding LED planning, facilitation and implementation, including gaps in resource planning and provision. The study revealed numerous stakeholders were relevant in facilitating LED within the District. It is recommended that the District improves rural service delivery and infrastructure provision enabling access of opportunities and creating platforms for stakeholder engagement, with inclusion of traditional leaders driving LED facilitation. Priority areas for enhancing LED initiatives are suggested, with LED viewed as a good initiative in achieving sustainable development in district municipalities.

scholarly journals Cooperative Governance and Local Economic Development in Selected Small Towns: A Case Study of the Western Cape Province, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 405-422
Author(s):  
Richard D. Kamara
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
The Body ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Governance Mechanism ◽  
Western Cape Province ◽  
Local Municipalities ◽  
Document Review ◽  
Cooperative Governance

This article reports on a study based on cooperative governance and Local Economic Development (LED) in selected small towns in the Western Cape Province. The dearth of an integrative institutional framework to promote collaborative participation negatively influences local municipalities ability to successfully manage LED cooperatively with relevant stakeholders. Promoting such inclusive representation and participation of all relevant stakeholders provides a viable and complementary alternative to the traditional bureaucratic governance mechanism. The study investigated the specific factors involved in designing and implementing cooperative governance for LED in selected, comparable municipalities in the Western Cape. Specifically, the study aims to determine the push and pull factors for the successful functioning of cooperative governance aimed at promoting LED in those municipalities. Data were collected through three data collection instruments, namely, document review, interviews, and focus group discussions. The document review is complemented by data from interviews and focus groups discussion. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on cooperative governance by identifying the specific cooperative governance factors, enabling the efficacy and governance of LED in small towns, aimed at positively influencing municipalities ability to successfully manage LED cooperatively with relevant stakeholders. An in-depth understanding of the relationship and dynamics of these variables helps to offer recommendations as to how to improve the management and responsiveness to socio-economic concerns within the municipalities through improved LED governance.

A conceptual framework for using social innovation as an approach to local economic development

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pontso Chomane ◽  
Maréve I. Biljohn
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences ◽  
The Impact

Background: Approaches such as social innovation were visible during many of the responses that public-sector organisations, civil society, communities, and the private sector collaboratively implemented to address the issues of unemployment and the impact of economic challenges during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The use of social innovation as an approach to local economic development by South African municipalities, however, reveals a research gap in terms of a conceptual framework for enabling such use.Aim: This article explores a conceptual framework for using social innovation as an approach to local economic development by South African municipalities.Setting: Conventional top-down local economic development approaches by South African municipalities have become inadequate for dealing with contemporary local economic development challenges. Such inadequacy calls for municipalities to rethink and adapt their approach to dealing with economic challenges and to developing and implementing their local economic development strategies.Methods: Through an interpretivist paradigm, the adopted methodology is underpinned by a qualitative research approach. Content analysis was performed of relevant research documents concerning social innovation and local economic development. From this content analysis, a conceptual framework was developed through an inductive approach.Results: The findings illustrate that the praxis for using this conceptual framework is vested in the interconnected nature of its attributes, antecedents, and consequences, which will contribute to the achievement of certain local economic development outcomes.Conclusion: This article suggests that a conceptual framework could contribute to stimulating future research concerning the phenomenon and can serve as an impetus and direction for research inquiry.

scholarly journals Power laws, demography and entrepreneurship in selected South African regions

2018 ◽  
Vol 114 (5/6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daan Toerien
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Power Laws ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Skewed Distributions ◽  
Enterprise Growth ◽  
Different Parts

Statistically significant Pareto-like log-log rank-size distributions were recorded for population and enterprise agglomeration in the towns of three different regions of South Africa, and are indicative of skewed distributions of population and enterprise numbers in regional towns. There were no distinct differences between groups of towns of regions from different parts of the country. However, the regional agglomerations differed from those of groups of towns randomly selected from a database. Regions, therefore, appear to have some uniqueness regarding such agglomerations. The identification of Zipf-like links between population and enterprise growth in regional towns still does not fully explain why some towns grow large and others stay small and there is a need to further explore these issues. The extreme skewness in population and enterprise numbers of different towns’ distributions should, however, be considered in local economic development planning and execution.

Developmental State No Birth Right: South Africa’s Post-1994 Economic Development Story

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. K. Pooe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
Law And Development ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Legal Frameworks

AbstractThis paper explores how South Africa despite having one of the most lauded constitutions and legal frameworks in the world has been unable to advance as a developmental state in economic development and institutional building endeavours. The contention of this paper is that the South African government, prioritising law and development, did so at the expense of institutional building for economic development purposes. Law and development is conceptualised in this paper as States prioritising liberal actions such as separation of powers (judiciary, executive and legislature) and human rights. Consequently, this paper is not arguing against some of the tenants characterising the law and development agenda. Rather it asks, did South Africa lose its credentials as a possible developmental state by prioritising law and development initiatives over building developmental state institutions for local economic development purposes in particular? Ultimately, this paper contends that for South Africa to become a functional developmental state it needs to reconsider its constitutional/law and development aspirations, in favour of reconfiguring government institutions to prioritise economic development.

Taking responsibility for entrepreneurship development in South Africa: The role of local municipalities

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-268
Author(s):  
Thanyani S Madzivhandila ◽  
Mazanai Musara
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
National Development ◽  
Academic Journal ◽  
Entrepreneurship Development ◽  
Local Municipalities ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
Entrepreneurial Development

Local economic development policies around the world increasingly emphasise entrepreneurship as a tool to mobilise local and indigenous economic potential. This paper explores the role of local municipalities in entrepreneurship development in South Africa. In particular, it provides a critical review of local economic development strategies and their effect on entrepreneurial development. Special attention is placed on deeply rural municipalities, primarily because of their marginalisation from national development efforts and the acute need for entrepreneurial development to tackle the triple challenges, which are unemployment, poverty and inequality. The paper argues that local municipalities should play a pivotal role in enhancing the development and upliftment of entrepreneurs in their areas of jurisdiction. The paper uses an integrative literature review method in which sources such as academic journal articles, reports and books are analysed, critiqued and synthesised. Lessons are drawn from other developed and developing nations, combined with the observations and thorough review of literature, to develop a framework that can inform South African Local Municipalities in mobilising entrepreneurship development in their communities. The paper concludes that for entrepreneurship development to be strengthened and for local economic development to be accomplished, local municipalities should invest in the development of entrepreneurship within their municipalities.

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