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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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local Economic Development is at the epicentre of South Africa's growth, and government is emphasising its implementation in policies, strategies and developmental goals of the country. Therefore, different government institutions, private sector entities, civil society organisations and even communities have been tasked with the implementation of Local Economic Development in their local areas. However, in reviewing the implementation processes, there is evidence of a lack of information sharing amongst all respective stakeholders as well as information quality constraints relating to relevant, accurate and up-to-date information regarding Local Economic Development implementation. The research in this paper undertook an exploratory approach aimed at identifying and establishing how a management information system can be customised to be used by all relevant Local Economic Development stakeholders within the province of KwaZulu-Natal and a framework was produced. A qualitative design was utilised through conducting 16 in-depth interviews with Local Economic Development managers from three government departments and district municipalities and one metropolitan municipality in KwaZulu-Natal and two development agencies. The overall findings of the paper revealed that there is currently no integrated management information system in place for Local Economic Development stakeholders to create, store and share critical information required for effective and efficient economic development practice. Results imply that such information sharing could, in turn, enhance Local Economic Development implementation in various ways if designed according to the needs of the users. Recommendations include each stakeholder to address internal-oriented data-management techniques for information management strategy or culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the entrepreneurial opportunities and value-adding activities of buy-back centres in the recycling industry. Using Porter's firm-level value chain framework as theoretical framework for this analysis, a concurrent mixed method design was used to collect information from 67 buy-back centres across South Africa by means of face-to-face interviews, accompanied with a questionnaire with open-ended and close-ended questions. Buy-back centres' competitive advantage is that they have the facilities to add value to the recyclables according to the recycling industry's standards and specifications. To be viable, they need to attract large and sustainable volumes of recyclables, which often poses a challenge. Increased volumes of recyclables can translate into more jobs and income earning opportunities at all hierarchical levels in the recycling industry. A recycling model that increases the volumes of recyclables recovered by buy-back centres through informal sector activities is proposed. Such a model should facilitate changing citizen behaviour and implementation of, among others, responsible separation at source programmes to increase the volumes of cleaner recyclables. Increased supplies of recyclables should, however, be accompanied by an increase in the demand for products made from recyclables, to absorb the increased supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leading regions drive economic growth and development, and it is important to determine which sectors are driving growth. Leading sectors need to be supported while lagging sectors need to be guided towards growth. The location quotient method has been used as a regional economic development measurement tool using a single variable, mostly employment data. This paper aims to formulate and apply a multi-variable location quotient index (MVLQI), which includes four variables, allowing for a more comprehensive and consistent model. A new formula was developed as part of the methodology, and a classification matrix and index coefficient values were categorised. The new model was tested and applied in the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, between 2012 and 2017. A normal index was calculated for both years and a dynamic index based on the four variables included in the model. The study's contribution is that the outcomes from the MVLQI provide analysts with more comprehensive and consistent results for economic strategy development. The new MVLQI could be used with success in regional economic analysis in identifying sectors with high levels of concentration, comparative advantage and calculation of multipliers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hallmark of post-apartheid South Africa has been the introduction of bold and innovative policy in areas ranging from the national Constitution to resource management policy. In line with this approach, there has been a clear commitment to principles of decentralization and participatory development, with Local Economic Development (LED) featuring prominently in national, provincial and local government pronouncements and planning. Despite considerable policy and funding support for LED, results at best can be described as only modest. This paper critically reflects on the importance attached to LED in South Africa, what has been attempted over the last decade, and the various reasons that might explain the limitations experienced with applied LED, including those that are inherent in the nature of LED and those that can be attributed to local factors. The paper draws upon field-based research undertaken over more than a decade and the findings of a major study undertaken by an international development finance organization. The paper raises challenging questions about the nature, focus and potential of LED as an appropriate development intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saldanha Bay Port is located 110 km north-west of Cape Town. The port is one of the best natural harbours on the south-western coastline of the African continent. Historically, the establishment of the town of Saldanha Bay and the development of the greater Saldanha Bay region (its hinterland) were linked to the port and its functions. In July 2014 the South African government launched the 'Phakisa' strategy to unlock the economic potential of South Africa's oceans – stylised as the 'blue economy' – with Saldanha Bay Port as part of the strategic plan to create jobs and alleviate poverty in the West Coast region. This paper examines the role Saldanha Bay Port has played in the establishment of the town of Saldanha Bay, the transport network in the region, as well as the ongoing evolution and development (socio-economic transformation) of its hinterland. First, an overview is presented of appropriate literature on evolutionary economic geography and on the role of port cities in regional development. Second, the Phakisa strategy for unlocking the economic potential of South Africa's ocean areas and harbours is introduced. Third, a case study is reported of the co-evolution of Saldanha Bay Port and its hinterland. Finally, conclusions are drawn on port–town and port–region relationships and some suggestions are made for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local economic development is one of the key development strategies pursued by localities in South Africa. Local economic development is a core local government mandate and one which is notionally conceptualised as allowing for the pursuit of both socio-economic redress and economic development. Despite the significant support put into applied local economic development for nearly 20 years, results have been modest and concerns about a potential over-focus on pro-poor local economic development, at the expense of simultaneously working with the private sector on pro-market interventions, have been identified as a stumbling block to the potential success of this developmental approach. This paper charts the development of local economic development policy and practise in the country before focussing on the findings of a detailed analysis of the local economic development strategies adopted by all of the country's 278 local authorities. Findings show that most local governments are choosing a narrow band of pro-poor interventions to focus their attention on, with little support, except in the larger centres, being given to more market-focussed interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uneven geographical development is deeply entrenched in South Africa with apartheid era spatial economic disparities persisting to the present day. This paper examines South Africa's recent re-engagement with spatial economic interventions designed to help address the challenges faced by the country's 'lagging regions' or what are designated as the 'distressed areas'. Current moves to support such areas through infrastructural, manufacturing and tourism interventions are detailed and critiqued in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The settlements that spring up around mines have huge environmental, social and economic consequences. The environmental consequences have been well studied, but less attention has been paid to the social and economic consequences, particularly the effects of mine closure on what are often significant urban settlements which grew up around them. This paper relates the history of the urban centers of the Free State Goldfields and draws lessons for questions of economic and social sustainability in mining settlements. We argue that the rushed way the mining settlements in the area established, the emphasis on modernity in their planning and the over-arching context of decentralized planning under apartheid did not lay the right foundations for dealing with the long-term effects of mine closure. We highlight the way that booming commodity prices can hinder economic diversification. The paper concludes with some recommendations for new mine settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper interrogates regional competitiveness by analysing tourism innovation and networking as a case study example from the Western Cape region, South Africa. The economic significance of services and tourism to the region, as well as the innovation performance of tourism firms, and the policy environment which supports innovation and tourism are examined. An analysis of micro-data discloses that innovation is widespread and therefore is significant for the competitiveness of the regional tourism economy. The results of this investigation point to the critical need for regional policy to focus on strategic networking linkages to access global knowledge flows, as well as the need to develop tourism as core regional competency, and to strengthen the capacity of local institutions to foster regional innovation, competitiveness and growth in the Western Cape economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a review of recent themes in the investigation of small towns in South Africa. The paper is divided into two main sections of review and analysis. The first section furnishes an overview of the different types of research themes that have been engaged with. It is argued that a narrow set of issues, mainly concerning economic expansion and change have formed the key vantage point from which to view small town South Africa. The second section outlines a range of research questions that require also attention. It is argued that there is a need to more closely consider how small town knowledge production takes place and that research themes need to move beyond issues of economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on local economic development in South Africa has been dominated by reflections on the larger metropolitan areas, while secondary cities have received scant attention. This paper evaluates local economic development initiatives in six secondary cities in South Africa. It advances three arguments based on South African and international literature. First, the local economic development strategies for these cities pay too little attention to creating effective links with their rural hinterlands. Second, while globalization increases both vulnerabilities and opportunities, these cities are ill-prepared to deal with the former or benefit from the latter. Third, local economic development strategies tend to focus on cluster initiatives, which in essence are inward looking. Such strategies increase competition with the larger metropolitan areas. The secondary cities are unlikely to compete effectively with these larger areas if they continue to follow inward-looking or cluster-oriented approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In common with much of the global South, the policy environment in South Africa surrounding the informal economy is highly significant for local development futures. The objective in this paper is to unravel the shifting trajectories and reframing of national government policy towards the informal economy in South Africa since the 1994 democratic transition. It is disclosed that, notwithstanding a rhetoric of support for the informal economy as part of small, medium and micro-enterprise (SMME) policy, a national policy framework for supporting the informal economy in South Africa was initiated only in 2012. A pro-development narrative is provided in national policy documents and is accompanied by the progressive roll out of support interventions seeking to address certain of the key challenges of informal entrepreneurs. The most controversial aspects of the new policy framework surround initiatives introduced in proposals to 'improve the regulatory environment' for local informal entrepreneurs. What exists within national policy is a pro-development approach for South African informal entrepreneurs linked to an anti-developmental agenda towards migrant entrepreneurs. Arguably, South Africa is far from having established a set of inclusive policies towards the country's informal economy and a suite of interventions that acknowledge its contributions for national economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Confronted with a sluggish growth and very high rates of rural unemployment, South Africa has put local beneficiation at the core of its strategy for employment-intensive re-industrialisation. Its industrial policy action plan identified agro-processing as one of the priority areas for this strategy because of its potential employment multiplier in rural areas. Despite the appeal of its industrialisation potential, beneficiation strategy is often contested and its effectiveness as a viable engine of industrialisation in African countries is recurrently questioned. This paper presents an empirical evaluation of the income and employment effects of an agro-processing beneficiation programme launched by the Department of Science and Technology for the processing of abundant mango harvest in the area of Tzaneen in Limpopo province. Using inverse probability weighting estimation on a sample of 385 households residing in and around the beneficiation target area, we find clear positive income effects of the agro-processing project for the beneficiary households. The success of this project in the domestic and international agro-processing markets suggests that local beneficiation strategy can provide a sound basis for rural industrialisation if adequately prepared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption is an obstacle to democracy and the rule of law. In a democratic system it is therefore essential that public offices and institutions retain their legitimacy by being accountable as stewards for the scare public funds. However, in a developing country such as South Africa, it may be difficult to develop and maintain accountable political leadership in a climate that is widely acknowledged to have become corrupt. This paper reflects on the ethics and the cost of unethical behaviour in general, and of corruption in local government procurement in South Africa in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban peripheral growth takes diverse forms, including the development of new economic centralities, raising questions about access to employment for residents, especially in contexts where unemployment is high and economies are shifting towards more skilled and service-related employment. This article explores two case studies of residents' experience of access to employment close to economic centralities on the urban edge in South Africa: the growing northern eThekwini area (Durban), which has developed major retail and office complexes since the 1990s and more recently a new airport and industrial spaces, and a declining industrial decentralisation point established in the 1980s on the eastern edge of the City of Tshwane (Pretoria). It shows the severe impact of industrial decline in the Tshwane case, but while unemployment is less in northern eThekwini, access to employment for low-income residents in these areas is still very limited and constrained. Experiences are however differentiated, suggesting a complexity of outcomes. The cases point to the vulnerability of these economic centralities to economic change and the limits of new developments on the urban periphery to addressing unemployment. These findings have implications for the current advocacy of 'new cities' in economic contexts such as South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the recent experience of regional and local economic development in South Africa. It mentions spatially based economic interventions have had a long and contested history in South Africa where support for market based interventions have sat uncomfortably alongside the direct pursuit of political objectives; and also mentions spatially based interventions have become a deeply embedded element in South Africa's self-proclaimed ‘development state' and the government.

There has been growing interest in the role and potential which co-operatives can play in terms of economic and community development in the Global South as alternatives to more conventional models of business organisation. One country which has been particularly proactive in this regard is South Africa, where co-operatives feature prominently in national and provincial level development strategies and support. This paper overviews key themes in the literature before proceeding to a case study of the effectiveness of state support for co-operatives in the Free State Province of South Africa. Findings show that the well-intentioned objectives of state interventions are not being realised due to poor business planning, lack of training, poor market links and the seeming prioritisation of political over economic considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 15 years, creative industries have emerged as a popular focus in urban policy discourses and have been used as a lever for several urban regeneration initiatives in Northern cities. Minimal scholarship exists on creative industries and urban regeneration in the global South. Notwithstanding that in South Africa creative industries have been recognised in policy frameworks, limited scholarly research exists on creative industries and their relationship with the urban landscape. In terms of geography most creative enterprises in Johannesburg are scattered across the northern suburbs of the city. Over the past few years, however, there is evidence of creative enterprises re-centralising and clustering in inner-city fringe areas such as the Maboneng precinct. Using interviews with creative entrepreneurs and stakeholders the purpose of this paper is to analyse the case of the Maboneng precinct Johannesburg in terms of the role of creative industries in urban regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the dilemmas at the heart of the new urban agenda globally is whether population growth should be accommodated by extensive or intensive urban development. Both approaches have gained support in South Africa in recent years, albeit in different parts of government. The paper provides a critical and constructive assessment of what lies behind these contrasting agendas. It considers the positive and negative features of mega-projects and urban consolidation, with an emphasis on their implications for urban efficiency and social justice. It concludes by stressing the need to reconcile these policies in order to avoid wasteful duplication and damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the emergence and role of the South African Cities Network (SACN) in the South African urban policy landscape. Since its establishment in 2002 the SACN has evolved as an organisation, which plays an increasingly influential role in defining and framing the urban agenda in South Africa. The article reviews the form, functions, role and practice of the SACN and highlights the role it has assumed in driving urban policy development issues. The argument presented is based on key stakeholder interviewers conducted with the leadership of the SACN and an analysis of the policy reports and outputs generated by the organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread globalisation, democratisation and decentralisation process that took place in developing nations in the early 1990s created unique opportunities for subnational governments to play an important role in delivering developmental outcomes. Revitalising regional and local economies is one important mandate that emerged with the decentralisation process as a key function for local governments. However, the local government sphere in South Africa faces failures in driving regional and local economic development due to various institutional and market-related challenges. Against the failure of decentralised entities to drive regional and local economic development in South Africa, this article considers the utilisation of deconcentration through dedicating national administrative powers and resources to the regional level to revitalise the prospects of local economies. The article argues that there are better prospects for regional and local economic development through deconcentration due to the expertise, resources and capacities found within the national and provincial governments, as they receive a significant share of the national division of revenues. The article further demonstrates how deconcentration can be implemented through the state deconcentrating and managing its economic development functions at the regional level to municipal-owned district economic development entities tasked with stimulating regional economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa’s Local Economic Development Agencies have emerged as appropriate institutional structures for advancing socio-economic development in the local government-led development landscape, due to the inability of local municipalities to lead local economic development. This shift signifies that South Africa is turning to local economic development strategies to address developmental challenges, such as poor socio-economic conditions (unemployment, poverty and inequality), by creating local development solutions and employment opportunities. This article utilises the developmental state theory to examine the role of Local Economic Development Agencies in South Africa’s aspirations of becoming a capable developmental state. While the developmental state literature is concerned with the central role of the state in economic development, this article extends the developmental state theory to the subnational level by arguing that the developmental local government is the local developmental state. In addition, the article locates Local Economic Development Agencies within the developmental state paradigm by showing that Local Economic Development Agencies were established as economic development coordinators at the subnational level to assist local government in addressing South Africa’s triple challenges. Although the roles and functions of South African Local Economic Development Agencies are aligned to the developmental state ideology, their developmental mandate is undermined by the lack of coordination within local institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality is situated on the Eastern Coastline of South Africa. The metropolitan itself has the potential for major local and regional economic growth but has experienced significantly low growth over the past few years. Internal constraints that the province faces include high production costs, limited economic development and support, deteriorating infrastructure and limited financial resources. To assess the local economy of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, the methodological techniques used include the location quotient and shift-share analysis. The empirical analysis showed that the municipality is highly specialised in industries such as agriculture, forestry and fishing, and transport equipment. The evaluation of the top five industries revealed that business services, wholesale and retail trade, transport and storage, catering and accommodation, and social and personal services have the highest growth potential and may contribute to future development initiatives. Efforts to stimulate industrial growth include the promotion of tourism, increasing the market share of wholesale and retail trade, establishing an integrated approach to the services industry, and finally, expanding the market share of the transport and storage industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a major factor impacting upon local economic development futures. South Africa is one of the most vulnerable parts of the world in terms of projected climate change. This article examines issues around climate change impacts for South Africa's tourism sector and in particular implications for local economic development. It is argued that, whilst tourism represents one of the main drivers of local economic development in small towns and peripheral areas, as a result of capacity and financial constraints municipalities often struggle to undertake effective tourism planning. Accordingly, capacity building for tourism practitioners and policy makers around climate change must become an essential component of the roll out of government tourism support programming to enable South African local governments to manage and sustain partnerships with the private sector, to ensure a deeper understanding of how municipalities can manage the tourism assets within their areas, and to maximise the opportunities of tourism for local economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operations of local economic development agencies (LEDAs) are of growing concern for local and regional development. This article reflects on the evolution and changes occurring in one LEDA operating in the global South. Although the activities and experiences of a range of LEDAs functioning the global North have been documented, knowledge about the operations of LEDAs in other parts of the world is limited. The case of the Amathole District Economic Development Agency (Aspire) in South Africa is analysed with regard to contextual changes and organisational shifts taking place and impacting upon the unlocking of the region's economic development potential. This incorporates issues relating to sustainability of both the agency as well as projects it helped to establish. Two distinct chapters in the evolution of the agency are differentiated, namely an establishment and then a maturation phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, innovation has become a critical parameter for contemporary regional and local development policy in the global North. In South African debates about regional and local development policy issues of innovation rarely are discussed and the country's most recent policy documents and frameworks around local economic development (LED) make no mention or acknowledgement of issues around innovation. This disconnect between South Africa's national innovation policies and those around regional and local development planning is under review as the country's Department of Science and Technology (DST) with responsibility for innovation policy in the country, released a new strategy document intended to inform the DST's involvement in the policy space of LED with the mandate of strengthening local systems of innovation and production in a systemic and systematic manner. It is argued that in terms of LED policy and practice across the global South this South African policy document represents a potential benchmark policy intervention which merits scrutiny and discussion. The aim is to examine the shift in national policy thinking towards the use and role of innovation for driving economic and social change in the marginalised spaces of South Africa. Against a background of debates around national, regional and local systems of innovation in the global South and of the emergence of new perspectives around the potential of innovation to contribute to poverty reduction, job creation and LED a critical review is provided of new policy directions and strategic proposals for the application of innovation to drive economic and social change in South Africa's marginalised spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is used as a community development tool. It has been incorporated into national development plans. In South Africa, it is incorporated into local economic development (LED) plans. The LED strategy for the City of Mbombela Local Municipality includes the development of a tourism route in the former Umjindi Local Municipality. Through the application of the descriptive research design, we use the Likert scale to investigate perceptions of the community around the area where the tourism route is proposed. A sampling frame was developed by listing all the 224 households who live in the section of the road covered by the tourism route. From the 224 households in the sampling frame, a simple random sample of 89 households was drawn using the SPSS random number generator. A structured questionnaire was used to solicit the perceptions of respondents concerning the economic, socio-cultural, environmental and infrastructural attributes of the tourism route. Although they need to be interpreted directionally, most of the economic, socio-cultural and environmental attributes were significant. Of the infrastructure attributes electricity and water supply were significant. Generally, respondents had positive perceptions of the tourism route. Therefore, we strongly recommend the development of the tourism route with the caveat that sustainability issues need to be paid attention to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Value chains in their entirety, within the South African context, have not been the focus of much research thus far. A plethora of research has been done on the various actors within the value chain, but the rest of the value chain has not been identified and depicted. Failing to understand and describe the entire value chain of polyethylene terephthalate plastics has led to many unanswered questions and misunderstood impacts on the plastics waste economy. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to document and depict the value chain and its activities within the polyethylene terephthalate waste economy in South Africa, which, according to the available literature, has not been done before. The documentation of the value chain and its activities will assist in identifying the possibilities of job creation within the waste economy, which could impact the diversion of waste from the landfill. Method: A qualitative research approach with an exploratory research design was followed, and the data collection was done by means of a workshop. The participants in the workshop included captains of industry, entrepreneurs, academics, government, environmental groups and environmental non-governmental organizations. The workshop was recorded audio-visually, and concepts and discussions were documented for this purpose. All information was transcribed and documented in a final document. Results: The value chain and its activities were documented. Conclusion: The information collected is a starting point for more research within the waste economy, as the process will be followed with other waste streams. Job creation gaps have been identified and further research has started creating a better understanding of the value chain, which will influence policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protracted negotiations between the main role-players steered in the new South African state on 27 April 1994 and final Constitution, 1996, which constitutionalised local government. A cursory analysis points to some municipalities which are pockets of excellence; however, local government generally is in 'distress'. Local communities are rapidly losing confidence in the system as the majority of municipalities are unable to discharge even basic functions. Local government has been characterised by violent service delivery protests; abuse of political power and increasing corruption; financial challenges; poor infrastructure planning/maintenance/investment; political strife and factionalism and staff turbulence. Despite governmental interventions to improve local governance, there are still major constraints hampering good governance, namely political posturing and factionalism; corruption; lawlessness and poor service delivery, symptomatic of virtually all post conflict states. Good local governance is an integral part of post conflict reconstruction and development and is key to building a new local government dispensation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many parts of the world, housing is as an economic commodity, with the property acting as an asset that accumulates passive wealth for the owner. This trend stems from housing markets in the Global North, yet many formal housing markets in the Global South demonstrate similar characteristics. However, in the Global South, there is a prolific shortage of housing at every level; this has pushed many individuals to seek shelter in the informal housing sector. This situation has meant that the informal housing sector and any associated economic activities are lost to the official development agenda, and housing does not contribute fully to local economic development. This article explores the role of housing in development in South Africa and how a 'developmental state', with a housing-driven development strategy, can accelerate development at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa's distressed areas are the country's spaces of despair. Alongside national government interventions designed to target spatial inequalities, there are Local Economic Development policy interventions taking place. The objective in this article is to analyse the state of current local economic development policy proposals in the municipalities that are categorised as part of South Africa's distressed areas. After reviewing the roots and persistence of socio-economic and spatial inequalities in South Africa, attention turns to dissect the key challenges and directions of local economic development policy and planning across the distressed areas. The local economic development policy foci in distressed areas are described and set against a national profile for local economic development. Overall, it is argued that given the weak state of local economic development in South Africa, its constraints and limited successes, minimal prospects exist for local economic development plans across the distressed areas to impact substantially the structural nature of spatial inequalities in South Africa. New policy frameworks for local economic development in these areas are, therefore, needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local economic development has played a significant role in South African cities as an approach to achieve economic upliftment in the democratic era. Although there have been critiques of this approach in the light of project failures and the neoliberal positionality of local economic development, South African cities continue to pursue the strategy and city policy formulation currently includes a direct focus on local economic development within their long-term development strategies. Despite a sense of the need to explore new lines of development, there is apparent continuity in terms of the pursuit of what have become traditional local economic development interventions in many of the country's cities. While this study highlights the evidence of the continuation of these trends in current urban economic development strategies, a closer examination of emergent local economic development practice in Durban points towards areas in which shifts in the practice of local economic development in South African cities are beginning to take place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an economic manifestation of informality the activity of street trading is widespread across many countries of the global South. In particular, cities of sub-Saharan Africa are characterised by the growth of informality. In South Africa the activity of street trading is one of the most significant and yet most problematic policy concerns that must be addressed by local governments. The objective is to unravel and chart the ambiguous and changing policy pathways that have impacted upon street traders in inner-city Johannesburg with a focus mainly upon the period post-2000. It is argued that a disconnect occurs between the rhetoric of progressive development policy frameworks and often of repressive restrictive implementation practices. In addition, it is shown that there is no necessary alignment of local urban policy with national policies towards the informal economy. The analysis represents a contribution towards international policy debates and scholarship about street trading, local economic development and the informal economy in cities of the global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is one of the fastest growing economic sectors in sub-Saharan Africa. Although African tourism is dominated by nature tourism and cultural tourism products it must be appreciated that a large segment of the continent’s tourism economy is urban-based and that urban tourism represents a significant element of the continent’s expanding tourism economy. From analysis of the post-apartheid South African experience it is argued that debates about resurgent African urban development and the economic dynamics of urban Africa should not overlook the potential contribution of urban tourism for both driving economic growth and promoting inclusive development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With money, we tend to forget that a bigger amount can be nothing but a total of smaller amounts added together, and hence the craft industry is often overlooked in discourses of development. In the course of ‘bigger picture’ discourses, the significance of the ‘particular’ tends to be overshadowed. This article seeks to illuminate the significance of craft production to inner-city regeneration, local economic development, rural—urban development, and socio-economic change by evaluating the effects of a particular craft project known as Beautiful Things, located in the inner city of Johannesburg in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]