Thesis (M.Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023 / Local economic development was instituted as a strategy by the new democratic government to boost employment, local economic growth and reduce poverty at local level. This research investigated the impact of LED towards livelihood strategies in the communities of Botlokwa , Molemole Local Municipality. A normative and correlation research design was used in this study. Utilizing surveys, interviews, observation and a literature study, data was gathered. Three key informants and 97 community members in total took part in the research. The results showed that the LED has been used by Molemole Local Municipality. For the municipality, local economic development is crucial for several reasons, including tackling the local economic growth backlog, reducing unemployment and poverty, fostering community involvement in setting needs and goals, and enhancing integration and coordination. However, the execution of the LED ran into some difficulties, including, among others: a bad resource scarcity, unfinished projects, a poor level of community involvement and political interference. Additional verdict demonstrates that local government has improved the quality of amenities provided to recipient households and community members, particularly the provision of electricity, but that additional amenities, such as the delivery of water, creation of jobs, better living conditions, sanitary conditions and refuse removal are still insufficient. However, the community members evolved various coping mechanisms because of high prevalence of poverty and unemployment cut-off. The majority of community members voiced their displeasure with the delivery of programs intended to improve their living conditions. Respondents emphasized that municipality organized ward council meetings, IDP forums and consultation sessions to include communities in service delivery. Communities are still unhappy with their level of participation, though. Notwithstanding that municipality's general successes in providing basic amenities, there is still a backlog in service delivery and LED initiatives because of corrupt practices, a lack of resources, a capacity issue and incorrect project targeting. The results also demonstrate that the municipality's local economic growth has been greatly boosted by the adoption of the LED. All of the municipality's development planning and programs begin with the LED and IDP; as a result, municipality is able to develop and execute in agreement with planned requirements of the population. The municipality has been helped to offer essential services including water, electricity and sanitation thanks to the services and infrastructure projects that have been implemented. Additionally, the municipality has built roads and other infrastructure for the community's benefit. However, outstanding of inadequate execution of the LED, which was brought on by capability issues, limited public involvement and resource shortages, the municipality has not entirely completed the delivery of essential amenities. The report suggests that the municipality prioritize enhancing the supply of LED programs aimed at the community members' modes of subsistence as a cure. Additionally, it is advised that the municipality focus on enhancing community involvement, making effective usage of MIG and strengthening its ability for the development and execution of the LED.

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Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2018 / The aim of this study is to investigate and assess the effectiveness of Greater Tzaneen Municipality in implementing LED strategies in rural communities. Although the concept of Local Economic Development has been studied and widely debated in South Africa, the present study intends to determine the extent to which the implementation of LED strategy by Greater Tzaneen Municipality contributes towards improving the livelihood of communities for sustainable local economic development. In other words, the study purports to develop a more holistic understanding of the dynamics of local economic development efforts. This is a mixed method study in which elements of qualitative and quantitative approaches to collect, analyze, validate and interpret data were used. Quantitative design was used to profile respondents and do some statistical analysis of the population. The quantitative design used was in the form of a semi-structured survey questionnaire to acquire statistical data. Since the study is heterogeneous, stratified random sampling was used for the quantitative design whereby ward councillors, ward committees, project leaders and community stakeholders (n= 60) participated. For the qualitative aspect of the study face-to-face interviews schedule was used in order to construct the reality from the interviewees‟ world and to gain more in-depth dynamics and complexities by virtue of being the more natural form of interaction with respondents. Key municipal officials directly involved in LED and those who have more knowledge and information concerning LED implementation were identified by means of purposive sampling technique (n=10). The findings revealed that even though Greater Tzaneen Municipality on average is on the implementation side, there are some factors that hinder it from achieving the 100% LED strategy implementation. Even though policies are in place, it appears like LED strategies have produced very few success stories for various reasons country wide which among others includes lack of capacity within municipalities, financial constraints and poor and incorrect implementation. The other challenge is that communities regard LED as employment creation by municipalities and should not be viewed only as creating economic benefits, but as playing a vital role in poverty alleviation and therefore should have a strong social focus. As per the constitutional mandate Section 152 (1), (2) and Section 153 LED should be an integral part in the planning activities of municipalities across departments and not be afterthought. The process should clearly reflect participation by all wards and their respective communities, local economic growth, poverty alleviation and job creation as well as prioritizing human development initiatives.

This thesis is an anthropological study of local understandings of economic development in a small regional town in far North Queensland, Australia. How do preferences regarding lifestyle and social wellbeing impact on those living in the community? The study takes a particular interest in the aspirations, values and choices of the residents and their desires for the future and the future of their town. Throughout this thesis I argue that social wellbeing and lifestyle are important factors in Cardwell residents' choices and feature predominantly in their approaches to economic development. I contextualise this study through a comparative analysis of the effects of economic development on the wellbeing and lifestyle of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in the Cardwell region of north Australia. This comparison arises firstly from an anthropological interest in the circumstances of Australian Aboriginal people as a significant minority in regional towns. Explicit attention is directed toward the Aboriginal people of the Cardwell region as they constitute a socially and culturally distinct sector of the local population. Secondly, my study explores ways in which comparative work of this kind may be instructive on cultural issues relevant to economic development. This is a study of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, who live in similar circumstances, and who, I propose, regard factors other than economic development as important. It is argued that while the Cardwell region does not provide ample nor a variety of economic opportunities, outward migration remains undesirable to many residents.

Zugl.: Göttingen, Universiẗat, Habil.-Schr., 2005 u.d.T.: Faust, Heiko: Perspektiven einer integrativen Kulturgeographie. / Zsfassung in engl. Sprache.

Eskom makes a significant contribution to social and economic development in South Africa, which is realised through its corporate social investment policy. Eskom could reinforce its contribution by adopting Integrated Community Economic Development (ICED), which addresses issues of poverty in a holistic way. Nthomang and Rankopo (1997:209) regard (ICED) as “...a holistic approach that seeks to address socio-political constraints preventing marginalised communities from attaining humane standards of living”. The goal of the study was to explore the views held by corporate social investment practitioners’ on Eskom’s contribution to socio-economic projects within a sustainable framework to alleviate poverty and unemployment. The research followed a qualitative approach, and data was gathered by means of semi-structured interviews. Participants in the study came from four regions, the Central, Southern, Northern regions and part of the North Western region of Eskom’s terrain. From the key findings, it was evident that Eskom contributes to the social and economic development of communities, but its contribution could be more effective and meaningful if funding policies, partnership involvement, the role played by corporate social investment practitioners’ and community economic development strategies were more closely aligned with an Integrated Community Economic Development approach. The study concluded that the Solertia Institute Model Program for the advancement of capable communities provided a relevant framework that could be adapted as a viable strategy whereby Eskom could contribute to sustainable Integrated Social and Economic Development. The researcher recommends that the Eskom management adopt the proposed strategy as part of Eskom’s corporate social investment policy. Further, the implementation of the respective projects should be aligned with the phases of the Solertia Institute Model Program. Projects should therefore be continuously monitored to assess and evaluate Eskom’s contribution to sustainable Integrated Community Economic Development. Copyright / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

There are three lines of poverty in South Africa, the first line is that of people living at less than R271 per month and constitute one third of the population (about 33 percent), second being those people living at less than R422 per month (50 percent of the population) and the last group being people living at less than R1 230 per month, constituting 79.1 percent of the population (Oosthuizen. 2008: 7 – 9). The poorest provinces are Eastern Cape and Limpopo with a poverty rate of 68.3 percent and 60.7 percent respectively, Western Cape and Gauteng the poverty rates are 20 percent and 28.8 percent respectively (United Nations Development Programme. 2003) To respond to the poverty challenges the government has come up with poverty alleviation strategies which were later translated into anti-poverty programmes. The Anti-poverty programmes undertaken by Government since 1994 can be grouped into various categories of public expenditure such as (Friedman and Bhengu, 2008:14), Social assistance and grants, Employment generating programmes, enterprise development and income support, Basic household security, Social services, Disaster relief and Employment related social insurance. This study assessed Mogabane Community Project to find out reasons why the project did not reach its objective of poverty reduction in the community. Qualitative Research methodology was used to arrive at the findings.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / This study focuses on a critical analysis of sustainability of Local Economic Development (LED) projects in Mutale Municipality in Limpopo Province of South Africa. It furthermore investigates the extent to which the projects sustain project members. Based on an extensive review of the literature, the study explains an understanding of the emerging trends and challenges in sustainability of LED projects nationally and internationally. A mix of quantitative and qualitative research methods is used. The data were collected by means of unstructured interviews and questionnaires from purposively sampled project members and local economic development officers who came from randomly selected projects. The study demonstrates that while there are some benefits derived by LED project members, to a large extent, the projects are not sustainable. LED is not prioritized in terms of resource allocation by the Municipality. In addition, inadequacies of members‘ capacity in leadership and management also retard sustainability. It is therefore recommended that the Municipality has to prioritise LED in terms of resource allocation and building capacity of beneficiaries in management and other business-related competencies.

Thesis (MPAM.) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of Local Economic Development (LED) in South African municipalities. LED is meant to address socio-economic injustices inherited from the apartheid regime and provide economic emancipation for all in South Africa. It has been two decades since the inception of LED in South Africa; however, the objectives of LED are seemingly declining. The country is currently experiencing weak economic growth with high unemployment and poverty rates in its communities. The study investigated the nature and role of LED unit as well as strategies in place for implementing LED in local economies. It also investigated the challenges that LED official encounters in the implementation process of LED. The opportunities of the local economy have been identified in order to provide a platform for local economic policy reforms that can be used to recover economic bottlenecks. The study is empirical and used Polokwane Local Municipality as its study area. Both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were employed in the study in which interviews and questionnaires were used to collect primary data. The target population of the study included LED officials in Polokwane Local Municipality and individuals who benefit from LED strategies. The population was sampled randomly and purposefully based on the participants' contextual experience on the objectives of the study. The study found that LED unit in Polokwane Local Municipality is not effective in its implementation of LED. There are LED initiatives in place; however, such initiatives are not entirely effective. The study argues that the role and strategies of LED unit are sound on the paper; however, it lacks maximum impact. The study therefore, provided a number of recommendation that could enhance the effectiveness of LED. The following are some of the recommendation: the LED unit should establish LED awareness that will educate and inform community members of LED; the LED unit needs to have adequate measures to regulate informal trading that is inclusive of foreign traders; LED unit formulates LED policies and strategies in line with opportunities of LED in the municipality; sufficient skills development programmes in the LED unit; the LED unit must provide adequate infrastructure that is suitable for economic growth and should undertake available economic opportunities in each community.

Thesis (M.Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Unemployment in South Africa has prompted the government to shift focus in terms of employment creation resulting in encouraging citizens to become entrepreneurs. This took effect after 1994 and small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) have since been the important drivers of the economy. They have provided jobs to many unemployed people and reduced poverty in many communities. Despite their importance, these enterprises encounter challenges that threaten their sustainability and growth. The purpose of the study was to investigate the internal and external factors affecting SMMEs. To get a clear understanding of the challenges confronting managers of SMMEs in Lepelle Nkumpi Municipality (LNM), a comprehensive investigation of this problem was conducted through a literature review. The study adopted a mixed method approach, where the researcher used both qualitative and quantitative methods to elicit information from the participants. The study also adopted the interpretivism and positivism paradigms. Data were collected through the usage of structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews from the respondents who were selected purposively. Analysis of quantitative data was done through SPSS and presented in tables, graphs, and pie charts. For qualitative data, thematic analysis was used. The findings confirmed what was reviewed in the literature, namely, that managers of SMMEs encounter operational difficulties; and inaccessibility of funding is a major challenge. The study revealed that 78% of the respondents used personal savings and some borrowed from friends and family, whilst only 22% received funding as a form of government grants and bank loans. To confront the challenges of funding, government and parastatals should ensure that SMMEs receive funding in an impartial manner; and government should also serve as collateral for SMMEs with financial institutions in cases where government could not offer funding since lack of collateral proved to be a blockade for SMMEs. Chapter 5 of this research report provides a conclusion and recommendations arising from the data collection on the improvement and accelerated support to ensure the sustainability and growth of SMMEs.