Local economic development and local government : a case study of the Ingwe Municipality.

Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.On a global scale, the challenges of confronting poverty and inequality continue to dominate the development agenda. The ability of local economic development to empower local people has earned favour with national governments and development theorists. The imperative facing South Africa to achieve a more equitable and sustainable economy is essentially the challenge to adopt and implement a development approach that will reduce poverty and inequality to the greatest extent. It is within this context that the South African government has sought to incorporate local economic development into their economic development framework, predominantly through the decentralisation of development control and planning to the local government level. This dissertation seeks to examine the potential for South African local government to have a positive impact on economic development through fulfilling the roles and responsibilities provided in the government's mandate for developmental local government. The analysis focuses on the local economic development strategy adopted by the Ingwe Municipality, with specific attention given to the diversification of their economy through the tourism sector. The dissertation seeks to identify key lessons and contributions for local economic development that Ingwe has to offer, as well as providing recommendations for the Ingwe municipality's benefit. An extensive range of research methodologies, including interviews, questionnaires, secondary data analysis and literature reviews, were employed in this study. Analysis and evaluation of the Ingwe Municipality's local economic development strategy was achieved using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework and the guidelines set out by Nel (1999). This dissertation revealed the potential that does exist within local government to play a developmental role. The Ingwe experience illustrates the benefits gained when local leadership and vision is extended on behalf of the local communities. Through the acquisition of funds and the formation of public and private partnerships, the Ingwe Municipality has created an economic environment conducive to further economic growth through the avenue of tourism. While success cannot be guaranteed, the Ingwe Municipality is evidence of the potential that does and can exist within local government to embark on innovative pro-poor development initiatives

The free basic electricity policy : a case study of policy implementation in the Msunduzi Municipality.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.No abstract available

2001 Annual report New Durham, New Hampshire.

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire

Review of periodical articles

[First Paragraph] There is only one true city, wrote St Augustine, and it is not of this world. The pessimistic Christian response to the fall of Rome in AD 410, epitomized in Augustine's City of God, affected the development of the later medieval city to a degree which has yet, even now, to be fully appreciated. In the Christian city of the Middle Ages the divinity was normally confined to the sanctuaries of his churches, whose topographical prominence and harmonious proportions made manifest an otherwise hidden spiritual order. Outside the cloister gates, disorder reigned: a general lack of planning revealed the meaninglessness of the outward, secular life. This dichotomy between an inner world of spirit and a public world of transient matter was embodied in the recurrent tensions between spiritual and secular space which ran as a motif throughout the history of medieval towns. Modern studies which have emphasized (not, of course, without reason) the secular political and economic power of ecclesiastical institutions in the medieval city have perhaps distracted attention unduly from the real differences of ethos which, within the town, distinguished religious space from that of the surrounding lay world

An assessment of the experience of small town local economic development in the Eastern Cape Midlands

This thesis is an assessment of the experience of small town local economic development in four towns namely Graaff-Reinet, Somerset East, Aberdeen and Pearston situated in the Eastern Cape Midlands, South Africa. It aims firstly to provide a critical overview of these selected small town economies before evaluating their local responses to the changing economic climate. The study is contextualized within the framework of locality development and emphasizes the heterogeneity of small towns with regards to physical, socio-economic, demographic and historical elements. From this, the original economic reasons for existence of these small towns are ascertained and then the major changes that occurred are identified. Amongst other aspects, the changes in the agricultural sector, the demographic changes particularly with regard to the significant increase in the urban population and the fluctuations in the quantity and types of businesses have all played a part in transforming the small towns' economies. As a result of these changes and many external driving forces such as changes in the regional and national economy, there are many severe challenges facing these small towns especially regarding the high unemployment rate, the associated poverty, HIV/AIDS and the low volume or absence of private investment into these localities. The responses of these small towns to the daunting challenges that they face have been considered in terms of Local Economic Development (LED) strategies that have been implemented. The LED initiatives in each town are examined in the context of their general characteristics, objectives, achievements and challenges. Emphasis is placed on Somerset East as it is the only town in the study area that has a development agency actively promoting various forms of LED. What has ultimately been established is: in all four towns, LED is not making a significant or meaningful difference and that natural market and economic forces play an important role in shaping and dictating the local economy. Somerset East is the only town where the economy could potentially be restructured with the proposed mega market-led approach to tourism and planning in the form of the Boschberg Development node. Four sectors perceived to be required for locality development are considered in this study, namely the export sector, the human resources, the local service sector and the government agencies. It is ascertained that although these sectors need to be part of a symbiotic relationship to promote and enhance economic development, they are not present in all the towns and as a result development, at both a household and a macro town level, is further hindered. Ultimately, these small towns in the Eastern Cape Midlands defy the notion that they are dying. 'Growth' and 'decline' have been two central features throughout this thesis and one of the biggest contradictions and challenges that these small towns face is the population growth with a declining or stagnant economy that cannot accommodate the increased number of people