| Summary: | Although several cases of successful Local Economic Development (LED) programmes and
initiatives addressing poverty and inequity are present in South Africa, there are still a number of
challenges to overcome.
Firstly, the definition of LED varies, however the essence of LED is local partnerships for locality
planning â based on economic growth. Consequently, the analysis in this thesis uses the
âL-E-Pâ model, combining elements of âLocalityâ, âEconomicâ and âPartnershipsâ. This model
could be an answer for LED policy and practice to make use of all these elements.
Secondly, LED strategies need to go beyond merely compiling LED documents. Municipalities
need to engage with communities and the private sector in prioritising and designing appropriate
strategies that unlock local potential. However, in South Africa partnerships have not always
been central to LED planning. Furthermore, the soft factors of co-operation â trust and social
capital -, which are considered essential for effective collaboration between state and non-state
actors, should be constructed. Consequently, LED practitioners need to pay greater attention to
social relationships and networks, which fundamentally mould local economies.
Thirdly, academic research is only starting to incorporate social resources into economic
development practice. Furthermore, only a few authors have taken the concept of civic culture
into consideration when analysing LED. Local civic culture relates to how local problems are
defined, how solutions are found, how the local economic problems can be solved, who is
involved and how the decisions are made. International civic culture literature has been
contextualised to classify civic culture in South African terms. If an understanding of the civic
culture of an area is acknowledged, planning and development of this area can be simplified. Beaufort West is used as an example of a typical Karoo town to illustrate how the type of civic
culture a community has, can influence local economic growth.
Fourthly, there is a lack of research related to the establishment, growth and development of
mining towns. Although numerous international mining companies have identified the Karoo
surrounding Beaufort West for uranium extraction, planning documents of the Western Cape
Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS) and also in the Integrated Development
plans (IDPs) of the Central Karoo District Municipality and the Beaufort West Local Municipality
do not make any suggestions for the economic âroller-coasterâ ride ahead. The sustainability of
mining (non-renewable resource) towns is not as important as are the economic developments
of and the proactive planning (in partnerships) in these towns.
Fifthly, business confidence helps explain the sentiments that business owners or managers
have towards current and future business conditions. Several ways of measuring business
confidence are compared. Business confidence is mostly surveyed at national level. A
methodology for business confidence surveys at the local level is provided. This approach has
been piloted in the town of Beaufort West in the Karoo area of South Africa. There are plans for
a new uranium mine near Beaufort West, and the researcher speculates on its impact on the
broader local business confidence. The results of the 2007 and 2009 study in terms of the
opinions of business confidence in Beaufort West are compared.
There are very few comparative studies in terms of all the above-mentioned factors. Therefore,
the researcher proposes that these methodologies and models should be tested in other towns.
This will then determine whether the results differ in other Karoo towns and from the rest of
South Africa.
|
|---|
