A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Development Studies in the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies at the University of Zululand, 2017 / Local government structures have a particularly important role to play in harnessing national and regional resources to promote their areas and in facilitating strategic local partnerships to enhance and sustain economic growth. The study sought to examine the implementation of Local Economic Development Strategy implementation in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality (BLM) in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. The sample comprised of BLM LED officials and at least 5 respondents selected from10 projects and these included the project management team and workers. The Chosen projects were chosen based on proximity and availability but maintaining balance to cover the entire municipality. This allowed the researcher to have a balanced view from both the municipal officials and people at the project sides. A purposive sampling method was used to select the sample for the study. The primary data was collected using interviews and structured observations. Secondary data was collected using the document analysis method. SPSS and the content analysis methods were used in the study. The study found that BLM has an LED strategy as prescribed in the municipal IDP and projects have been implemented to promote local economic development in the region. However, there is a knowledge gap from project participants as some have no access to information and cannot access and use the services from the LED offices to enhance their economic activities, due to their peripheral location. The BLM LED strategy is implemented following the Location Theory, projects were planned and positioned in places where they will maximise profit and minimise production costs by employing local ideas and resources, packing them to attract outside interest. The participatory model adopted by the municipality in planning and implementing LED activities does not yield the desired results due to some projects that are unable to be part of the participatory planning processes. The consultative activities during the conception and planning should target the poor. The study recommends therefore, that LED in BLM has to be a participatory model which is based on a holistic approach to incorporate different activities from different areas based on their local potential and available resources to create economic Spin-offs. The study also makes a number of specific recommendations to facilitate the planning and implementation of LED strategy in BLM.First, participatory processes such as the IDPs at local municipal levels should be used to facilitate people’s participation in the whole process, from conception, planning, implementation and evaluation of all LED activities in the local municipality. The beneficiaries have to be active participants in their own development; hence this will ensure full and active participation. The study also discovered that there is lack of coordination among the stakeholders to create viable establishment of cooperatives development and to formalise their economic participation in order to promote sustainable SMME development, growth and sustainable cooperative movement. Challenges of LED strategy implementation in BLM included that the municipality, like many others in the country, do not have adequate economic growth strategies, and if they do, it will only sound good on paper but the implementation on the ground does not happen as depicted in the strategy. This further perpetuates the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality.

Quickening the rate of economic growth and the conquest of poverty are the primary expressed objects of public policy in the underdeveloped countries of the world . In the new countries, particularly in Africa and Asia which have recently become independent, it was necessary to start almost from scratch in the construction of an advanced economy. Such countries have usually had (a) a high proportion of population in agriculture, with low productivity; (b) little capital per person and crude technology; (c) major expenditures for food; (d) high birth and death rates; (e) poor health and sanitation; and (f) a low level of education. These and other characteristics not only indicate the situation they are in politically, economically, and socially, but also what needs to be done to improve their status.

This study examines Jordan's development policy and analyzes the role of Jordan's external public borrowing in economic development during the period 1967-1983. Mainly, Jordan's rapidly increasing external indebtedness is related to its development strategy which is based on the concept of unbalanced growth . This strategy has emphasized' the concentration of development resources (including external loans) in certain areas (e . g . Amman and Zarka) and certain economic sectors (e.g. industry and service) which are assumed to be growth propelling. The agricultural sector has been seriously ignored in Jordan's development process. Jordan's growth has been quite impressive, but the problems of poverty and inequality have remained intact. On an ave rage, the real growth rate of t he GNP was 7 percent per year during the period of study. However, the Jordanian economy suffers not only from inequality i n income distribution but also in opportunity (i.e . lack of access to goods and services). In order to show the impact external borrowing has on Jordan's economic growth and on a set of macroeconomic variables , an econometric model based on the production function approach was developed and a set of regression equations was specified. The findings of the model and a series of regress ion analyses showed that external borrowing was negatively associated with GOP growth rate and domestic savings. Howe ver , it was positively associated with in vestment, imports and exports. The association with consumption was positive, but statistically insignificant. Overall, external debt retarded economic growth and didn't help to reduce Jordan 's deficits during the 1967-1983 period. Increasing debt deteriorate the balance thereby affecting the service obligations recently may of payments in the near future, level of Jordan's international reserves and possibly threatening its development process. Hence, it is argued that Jordan should adopt vital policy measures to curb its external debt burden.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy / This study explores the challenges of urban planning for poverty reduction that are faced by public institutions in urban Kenya. The existing studies in urban planning show that very little is known about these challenges. However, it is well acknowledged that globally urban poverty has increased at rates much higher than rural poverty. Indeed, poverty presents a dilemma for policy makers and citizens in Sub-Saharan African cities such as Nairobi and raises questions as to why poverty continues to grow despite the implementation of urban plans, policies and poverty reduction programmes. As a largely uncharted research area, it was necessary to explore the problem in significant depth; thus a qualitative research methodology was adopted to explore the case study of the Local Authorities Service Delivery Action Plans (LASDAP) in Nairobi’s Viwandani ward. Data were gathered and triangulated by means of focus groups and in-depth and semi-structured interviews. These were supplemented by key informant data, document reviews and an extensive review of urban planning and political science literature. A total of ninety-nine people including sixty-six men and thirty-three women participated in this study. The respondents were drawn from communities in Viwandani, city planners and other staff from the City of Nairobi, central government, and politicians. To analyse these data, a range of analytical techniques, namely a hybrid of categorisations, data displays, pattern matching and in some cases theoretical propositions were applied. These generated a set of themes for discussing the challenges of urban planning from the case study. The results were cross-checked with interview respondents and key informants and then validated in key feedback consultations in the study communities. This study shows that a long tradition of “power over the constitution”, embodied by the notion of an imperial presidency not only imposes one’s will over the people, but also can virtually destroy institutions. This study also finds that the legal framework for urban planning in Kenya is anchored in stakeholders’ involvement that only pays lip service to citizen’s participation and to accountability. Since the old Constitution was not supportive of participation and accountability, the planning predictably restricted space for citizen participation and did not provide for significant accountability by public officers. Therefore, the participation in the LASDAP in Viwandani was simply a sophisticated form of manipulation of citizens that is conceptualised as facipulation in the study. Facipulation here refers to the facilitation of a project to give the impression that citizens have the power to influence decisions of the state while at the same time being manipulated to ensure that the covert interests of powerful actors in the state are not undermined. The study reveals that challenges which public institutions face in urban planning for poverty reduction are both multi-layered and complex. The results show that the institutional framework for implementing the LASDAP in Kenya was by design defective in planning for poverty reduction. The study further reflects that the processes of constitutional development affect the form and types of political institutions established for urban planning. To achieve an urban planning framework for poverty reduction, therefore, institutional reform processes should be cognisant of and address the insidious power represented by the reluctance to shift the current institutional framework away from the status quo. The framework should also be aligned to the aspirations as expressed in the recently promulgated Constitution. In this Constitution citizens of Kenya are vested with all sovereign power and power is to be exercised only in accordance with the Constitution.

Nigeria, in 2007 unveiled a seven point agenda with the purpose of promoting economic growth and reducing the level of poverty by 2020. This action propelled Nigeria to intensify partnerships with some countries, notably China. This research focused on Nigerian-Chinese relationship as it relates to three key areas such as Energy, Education and Infrastructure. This research found that Nigeria’s relationship with China is a continuation of past relations and concludes with some recommendations that will help Nigeria maximize the benefits of its relationship with China. The recommendations made include the elimination of corruption; requirement that foreign investors must provide suitable working conditions for Nigerian workers, with penalties for violators; projects within Nigeria undertaken by Chinese corporations must require at least 60% of the labor force to be Nigerian nationals and finally, that a regulatory body composed of professionals should be formed to oversee infrastructural development promised by the Chinese government.

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