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.

Has it Reinvented Iron Law? South Africa’s Social Industrialisation, not Iron Industrialisation

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 467-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. K. Pooe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
South African ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
African State ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Action Plans ◽  
Law And Development

Abstract This paper examines whether the current South African legal framework and subsequent policies post-1994 encourage and have emphatically fostered industrialisation in South Africa primarily and Southern Africa more generally. The primary contention of this paper is that the South African State, unlike fellow Southern African States, has a long history with industrialisation and should have laid the foundations for Southern Africa’s large scale industrialisation trajectory. However, the post-1994 government vision for South Africa has never had a Law and Development philosophy that prioritises and fosters industrialisation. Industrial Promotion in Africa, is understood as being concerned with drafting, strategically implementing and investing in industrially minded action plans. Through the prism of Local Economic Development policy and legislation in the Sedibeng region, this paper contends that industrialisation is still a farfetched endeavour despite industrially minded policies like the New Growth Path and the Industrial Policy Action Plans in South Africa. Moreover, South Africa’s industrialisation agenda is compromised by the Law and Development philosophy of the African National Congress led government. At the core of this philosophy is an overestimation of social justice activity like Human Rights promotion at the expense of Asian Developmental States’ non-human rights approach to economic development activity, like industrialisation in rural and township regions of South Africa.

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.

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.

scholarly journals Probing the efficacy of local economic development in South African Municipalities: A case of POLOKWANE local municipality

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
CM Mashabela ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

The government of South Africa adopted Local Economic Development (LED) as part of its development policy in its quest for an inclusive economic development and growth. LED is intended to create a conducive environment for an inclusive local economy. However, unemployment and poverty rates are high in local communities with some SMMEs struggling to secure funding. Although municipalities do not create jobs directly through LED, they should, however, ensure that strategies implemented talk to inclusive economic growth, particularly the mitigation of unemployment and poverty rates. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the efficacy of LED in South African municipalities. The paper aims to evaluate and analyse the impact of implementing LED in South Africa. The quantitative research approach was adopted, and questionnaires were utilised to collect primary data. The paper found that LED in South Africa produces desired results at a low rate in that only a small fraction of the participants agrees that the municipality facilitates funding for SMMEs; only a small fraction of the participants is of the view that LED units provide adequate infrastructure and create industries. Moreover, the paper found that only a fraction of the participants is able to create job opportunities. Consequently, the paper recommends that municipalities should facilitate SMMEs funding, provide adequate infrastructure, develop industries and design LED strategies that enhance job creation. The paper argues that effective measures of implementing LED will enhance LED impact rate and fast track the prospects of inclusive economic growth in South African municipalities.

scholarly journals Local economic development agencies and peripheral small town development: Evidence from Somerset East, South Africa

Urbani izziv ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol Supplement (30) ◽  
pp. 144-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faith Lawrence ◽  
Christian M. Rogerson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Small Town ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Economic Development Agencies ◽  
Development Agencies

The activities of Local Economic Development Agencies (LEDAs) represent a channel for place-based development. In South Africa national government has supported the expansion of LEDAs to improve the weak performance of local economic development planning, one of the cornerstones of the developmental state. This article investigates the evolution and operations of a small town LEDA which is situated in one of South Africa’s peripheral regions. The local development facilitation and project work undertaken by the Blue Crane Development Agency (BCDA) in the small town of Somerset East in Eastern Cape Province is discussed. It is shown that this LEDA was innovative in development initiatives which were launched during the period 2004- 2014 for Somerset East and its surrounds. In terms of the projects and operations of BCDA considerable effort was made to identify catalytic opportunities and to support the unlocking of projects in this small town through development facilitation and project management. Nevertheless, the evidence from this case study demonstrates that despite successes, development agencies in South Africa have a strong dependence on parent municipalities which can determine the future direction and sustainability of LEDAs.

scholarly journals Local economic development agencies and place-based development: Evidence from South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (41) ◽  
pp. 29-43
Author(s):  
Faith Lawrence ◽  
Christian M. Rogerson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Global South ◽  
Institutional Constraints ◽  
African Experience ◽  
Economic Development Agencies ◽  
Development Agencies

Abstract Local economic development agencies (LEDAs) are increasingly important actors in place-based local economic development particularly in the global South. In South Africa there has been an expanded role for LEDAs in terms of the policy significance of local economic development. Although considerable research has been undertaken concerning the merits, challenges and contributions of LED in South Africa only limited material is available concerning the institutional and organisational arrangements to support the implementation of LED. Using policy documents, close engagement with the key national policy-making government departments and a national survey of the activities, operational challenges, and institutional constraints facing LEDAs, the findings from this investigation provide new insight into their role in place-based development. From the unfolding South African experience the strategic establishment of LEDAs potentially can contribute to maximizing the efficiency of place-based strategies. Arguably, key findings confirm the important contribution that LEDAs can make to locality development in the global South albeit that contribution is influenced by context realities.

scholarly journals Township Tourism: The politics and socio-economic dynamics of tourism in the South African township: Umlazi, Durban

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (4(J)) ◽  
pp. 14-21
Author(s):  
Nsizwazikhona Simon Chili
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Economic Dynamics ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Township Tourism ◽  
South African Township

The paper analyses how tourism development at Umlazi which is one of the second biggest Townships in the Southern hemisphere has been hampered by politics and socio economic dynamics that stifle the empowerment of both tourism entrepreneurs and local communities respectively. The impacts of tourism have been given much attention by scholars to examine the perceptions and attitudes of local residents towards Township tourism in South Africa. However, there is little research that focuses on how much political and economic dynamics of the past and present dispensations have adversely impacted on the tourism economic development of small emerging entrepreneurs and local residents of the Townships. This study attempts to make a little contribution to South African Township tourism by examining political and economic dimensions that hinder small businesses and local residents of uMlazi to thrive and get empowered through tourism. Township tourism in South Africa has slightly improved and grown in popularity since 1994 and is considered by the government and other social agents to be an appropriate opportunity for small businesses and the stimulation of local economic development. However, the paper argues that tourism fails to act as a panacea of economic development in the township of Umlazi, since there is lack of business opportunities, intervention and support of local government, private sector and racial groups that are endowed with more than enough financial resources. Data were collected by means of interviews that allowed the interviewer to pose some open-ended questions so that the interviewee could express his or her own opinion freely for the extraction of more information. Based on 30 respondents surveyed, the findings show that there are numerous obstacles that are directly linked to political and economic dynamics. These obstacles include lack of political intervention and financial support for tourism entrepreneurs and local residents of UMlazi Township. On the whole respondents viewed Township tourism negatively. They were generally of the idea that township tourism can only be of benefit to residents once it is often visited by racial groups who are better off financially after their fears about safety and security have been allayed.

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