Commonwealth Local Government Forum

Southern Africa \ Local economic development

Local economic development is a central part of developmental local government. It is a process which brings together different partners in the local area to work together to harness resources for sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. Local economic development is increasingly being seen as a key function of local government and a means of ensuring that local and regional authorities can address the priority needs of local citizens in a sustainable way. There is no single model for LED; approaches reflect local needs and circumstances. Themes include local economic development guides, tourism, support to small, medium and micro enterprises, microfinance and credit and public-private partnership.

Sub-topics:

  • Local economic development guides
  • Support to small, medium and micro enterprises
  • Microfinance and credit
  • Tourism
  • Extractive Industries
  • Workforce skills
  • Trade

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Critical Considerations for Local Economic Development Strategy Design in South African Municipalities

Contemporary socio-economic discourse reveals that development agencies and actors increasingly emphasise place-based planning and peoplecentred approaches to deal with local economic development (LED) challenges. In addition, the role that local government plays in facilitating sustainable and resilient local communities is almost universally recognised. On this basis, a number of strategic approaches to LED were designed by local government to realise developmental objectives. LED strategies form a critical component of the broader national and regional strategic development planning effort in a country like South Africa and incorporate various dimensions such as social and economic realities, and environmental concerns. However, a multitude of strategic considerations should be encapsulated in a more systemic and integrated approach to LED strategy design. The purpose of this article is to uncover critical considerations in the design of place-based LED strategies in South African municipalities by means of an extensive literature review.

Author: C Auriacombe, G van der Waldt Publisher: academia.edu Publication year: March 2020


A CASE STUDY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WARD BASED LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (LED) PROGRAM

The local economic development (LED) had been in existence prior to the advent of democracy in 1994 government. At that time there was a strong focus on the agricultural sector. The apartheid government at that time fully supported the LED initiatives but not all citizens of South Africa benefited from that support. The Acts and policies of the apartheid government such as the Group Areas Act forced black people to move out of places with resources and placed them into areas with poor resources. After 1994 the South African government adopted LED as a strategy to deal with the disparities of the past such as poverty, unemployment, and poor standards of living. Several strategies were put into place to overcome the challenges that was as a result of the apartheid past. The Zululand district with similar intention of the post-apartheid government embarked on initiating the ward based LED program to deal with the consequences of the past. The status quo report of the Zululand district still identified high levels of poverty and unemployment and a slow growth in the local economy as a major concern. This study aimed to investigate the ward based LED program in order to establish if the program has made the achievement towards its objectives and also to establish what challenges are encountered by the local government in the implementation of the program. The study used a qualitative research method which was conducted with the adoption of one on -one interview as a tool for data collection. The researcher prepared an interview schedule of open ended questions to allow the liberty and a flexible expression of perceptions, experiences and understanding of participants on the phenomenon under investigation.

Author: N. L. Nxumalo, L.D. Naidoo Publisher: International Journal of Public Policy and Administration Research Publication year: 2018


ENHANCING THE CAPABILITIES OF MUNICIPALITIES FOR LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SKILLS TRAINING

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which the existing training interventions in municipalities can be able to build skills capacity for municipal staff to promote local economy, with special focus on two municipalities (Stellenbosch and Drakenstein), in the Cape Winelands District. Thus, it seeks to answer the following primary research question: To what extent can the existing training interventions help to build skill capacity for LED projects in two of the Cape Winelands’ municipalities? To do this, the study seek to analyse LED training for municipal staff carried out in the two municipalities for the past five years with special focus on the transfer of the acquired skills into job in the work place. The study is situated within the interpretivist paradigm, which focuses on meanings and attempts to understand the context and totality of each situation by employing the qualitative method of interviews which were conducted with staff and representatives of the municipalities and other key LED stakeholders in the two municipalities. The methodological finding reveals the following mixed results: Although the two Municipalities seems to be making great strides in providing trainings, there are some contextual issues in their working environments which disenables transfer of skills to the job. These issues are: Limited supports, limited opportunities to career progression, lack of motivation, working in silos and limited opportunities to practice. However, this conclusion does not invalidate the promise of capacity building to transform the two municipalities into an efficient developmental agent, but highlights the importance of the critical factors which tends to shape the positive outcomes of capacity building initiatives.

Author: Kamara, Richard Douglas ; Leonard, Samantha ; Haines, Richard Publisher: ARMG publishing Publication year: 2017


SMMEs promoting Local Economic Development (LED) in UMlalazi Local Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal

The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) such as tourism and hospitality enterprises for example, towards promoting Local Economic Development (LED) in rural areas within UMlalazi Local municipality (ULM), Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. South Africa is facing the challenge of a high rate of unemployment which leads to poverty amongst many households, particularly in rural areas. In response to unemployment and poverty reduction, people in rural areas established SMMEs to earn a living. SMMEs are regarded as a major source of income generation and strategy for poverty alleviation in most rural areas. The objective of the study was to assess whether SMMEs contribute towards enhancing LED including reducing unemployment rates and contributing towards economic growth in ULM.

Author: N.N Jili., M.M. Masuku and B.M. Selepe Publication year: 2017


LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA: IMPLEMENTATION, CONSTRAINTS AND PROSPECTS

Dialogue and capacity building of local and regional authorities in EU partner countries in the fields of development and local governance

Author: Platforma Publisher: Platforma Publication year: 2015


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