Partant d’une analyse à la fois historique et ethnographique, ce travail, qui s’inscrit dans les débats contemporains relatifs aux processus d’identification collective, vise à analyser les usages sociaux des références aux singularités locales, principalement dans leurs dimensions politiques et économiques. La recherche est centrée sur un « pays » des Pyrénées centrales, le Couserans, en Ariège, mais se déploie aussi au niveau du département et de la région Midi-Pyrénées. Une première ligne historique permet de revenir sur le processus de formation et d’institutionnalisation des références aux singularités locales ainsi que sur le développement de politiques de promotion territoriale s’appuyant sur ces références, insistant sur le pittoresque folklorique du Couserans et de l’Ariège. Une seconde traite plus spécifiquement de la période du gouvernement de Vichy en Ariège et dans la région toulousaine. Une troisième s’attache aux redéfinitions des mouvements régionalistes après-guerre et à la relance de politiques de l’authenticité dans les années soixante-dix dans le cadre des politiques d’aménagement du territoire. Dans un deuxième temps, en se centrant sur des phénomènes contemporains, l’approche ethnographique aborde les liens entre les processus de patrimonialisation du monde rural et les logiques de « développement local » engagées dans le cadre de la politique de pays, initiée par les lois dites « Pasqua » et « Voynet » de 1995 et 1999. L’analyse traite tout d’abord de la question des usages sociaux du patrimoine, en se centrant sur les pratiques associatives tout en les rattachant aux transformations sociales perceptibles sur la zone d’étude. Ensuite, à partir du suivi de la mise en place d’un pays « Voynet » dans le Couserans et de certaines actions menées au niveau départemental, elle s’axe sur la stratégie de l’authenticité utilisée comme politique de développement local à ces deux niveaux. / This thesis seeks to analyse a series of issues pertaining to social uses of folklore, traditions and rural heritage. Based on historical materials and an ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in the Couserans, a small “pays” located in the western part of the French (department of the Ariège, in the central Pyrenees), the analysis focuses on the economic and political dimensions of “policies of authenticity”, promoting local singularities. First, the thesis investigates historical issues: the genesis of social representations of this “pays”, in having a look to the part played by nineteen century’s folklorists in the institutionalisation of these images, the political uses of folklore and tradition under the Vichy gouvernment and the consequences of such uses after the Second World War. The analysis focuses then on the relations between two main aspects of contemporary process. First, I begin by describing the “rural tradition renewal” wich can be observed in this part of the Pyrenees during the 1990s. I stress on the fact that the aim of such renewal practices was the valorisation of rural heritage and the promotion of “local authenticity”. In the same time, this aim was directly integrated in contemporary public policies towards rural development, especially with the creation of new territorial development public structures, the pays, created by the “Voynet” act in 1999. After the creation of such a pays in Couserans, the use of rural heritage as a key tool for social and economic development will enhance the construction of images of authenticity and the transformation of the socio-economic functions of the territory.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / The Republic of South Africa is faced with an extremely problematic high rate of poverty, shortages of skills and youth unemployment. This phenomenon is amongst blacks (predominantly African and coloured). This thesis therefore, argues that job creation is a very important measure to address youth unemployment and related socio-economic problems though; the majority of youth in South Africa have been classified as unskilled, uneducated and unemployable. The implementation of skills development programmes remains a huge problem. It has been also assumed that youth development programme have been inaccurately interpreted. TheYouth development is an evolutionary development in which all young people are engaged in attempting to build skills, and competencies, to meet their social needs and for the development of the community (Pittman 1993: 3). It is in this regard that the researcher selected Belhar in the Western Cape as a setting to investigate the problematic mentioned above. Although the 2011 census report stated that people living in the area of Belhar have access to electricity, refuse removal, water and sanitation, up to now poverty and youth unemployment remain alarming in this community. The study indicates that there is a youth development policy existing on paper at all levels of South African governments however its implementation remains a major problem. The research is exploratory in nature and uses qualitative techniques of inquiry. The researcher also uses secondary data such as conference papers and the City of Cape Town’s budget documents as a form of gathering information for analysis. The study explores the present youth programme and local government’s capacity in the surrounding community of Belhar. The data collected during this study through interviews, reveals that the youth programme is in existence in Belhar, however there is incapacity and lack of cooperation between the councilors, Belhar youth leaders and the City of Cape Town’s Municipality. The study further reveals that since ever the youth programme started in December 2013 under the leadership of the Belhar councilors, there were only two beneficiaries from the “youth” of that entire community who got employment after attendance for skills training. The finding further indicates that the programme mostly did not achieve its goals.

The central objective of the research study was to evaluate the 2020 Citywide Economic Growth and Development strategy, with reference to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM). The Citywide Economic Growth and Development strategy for the NMBM was developed in 2004 in relation to the need for Local Economic Development. The need for Local Economic Development (LED) has been mandated by the national government of South Africa as prescribed in the direction toward developmental local government post - 2000. The National Framework for Local Economic Development in South Africa serves as a strategic implementation guide for municipalities. The National Framework for Local Economic Development provides a supportive foundation to assist municipalities such as the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in improving its economic development through concentrations on suggested actions. Through support for municipal Local Economic Development strategies, the objective of Local Economic Development was to offer local government, private sectors, non - profit organisations and local communities the opportunity to work together to improve the local economy. The aim has thus been to enhance competitiveness and encourage inclusive sustainable growth. The 2020 Citywide Economic Growth and Development strategy for the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality includes its strategic approach to promote sustainable growth within its specified municipal environment. Formulation of the strategy includes descriptions of sector strategies as a mechanism to promote transformation and improved economic development in a sustainable manner. Content Analysis and the case study methods were utilised to evaluate the 2020 Citywide Economic Growth and Development strategy in the undertaking of the research study as a way of examining the formulation of the Local Economic Development strategy of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, in order to determine v the shortcomings in Local Economic Development as brought about by ineffective policy formulation process. Discourse Analysis was also used to understand the policy foundations as influenced by the previous apartheid regime and its accompanied injustices on the citizens of South Africa. The brief descriptions of major economic developments and sector strategies for the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality shows the detachment of policy content from clear strategic action plans has depicted an incongruence in efficiency and sustainable development. This has placed developmental policy formulation under scrutinisation and evaluation. The findings indicate that there is a need for revision and/ or reformulation of the current 2020 Citywide Economic Growth and Development strategy of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in promotion of effective sustainable development and an improved local economy. The impact of a failure to revise and rework the strategy has detrimental effects on the promotion of an effective and efficient economy in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. Therefore, the lack of detail within the 2020 Citywide Economic Growth and Development strategy must be tackled by policy formulators to ensure economic growth and an alignment with the objectives as contained in the national mandate for economic development.

Thesis (M. Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / The rationale for the establishment of nature reserves and protected areas has emphasized community benefits in terms of job and market opportunities, generation of income, facilitation of entrepreneurship and business, and the creation of an enabling local development environment within which locals would acquire the ability to make productive use of available opportunities and to resist the threats associated with poverty, deprivation, social exclusion and inequality. Evidently, the promotion of nature reserves has in recent years seen an unprecedented and, in many ways, uncomfortable convergence of the local economic development and environmentalism. Theoretically, the increasing popularity of nature reserves rests on the assumption that an enabling local economic development environment would be established wherein increased tourism would precipitate economic growth, job-creation and such other qualities which are collectively characterized as local economic development. However, in practice the interface of nature conservation remains scarcely tested. The study used Timbavati Nature Reserve which is adjacent different Villages including among others Timbavati Village to argue that the practice of nature conservation is far from popular pronouncements, captivated by the conjecture of an enabling local economic development environment. For the purpose of this study, a sample of 99 households from Timbavati Village was used to investigate the effects of nature conservation on LED. The findings of the study affirm that nature reserves are inherently preservationist and focus on protection of biodiversity, maintenance of critical ecological processes as well as ecosystem goods and services rather than “pro-poor growth” and “growth-focused” development paradigms. That is, the findings demonstrated that the Timbavati Nature Reserve is not contributing optimally towards LED as expected by the local communities. Although a general judgement could not be made, however, 28.3% of the respondents disagreed that the nature reserve produces desirable effects and 15.1% agreed that the nature reserve have undesirable effects on the village while 86.5% of the respondents were neutral on both effects. Additionally, the dearth of LED activities in the village vi indicated that the Timbavati Village does not get an injection from the nature reserve towards LED. Such findings indicate that the question of community ownership and access to natural resources remains unresolved where abundance of natural capital co-exists with poverty among communities. Thus, lack of integration, coherence, access to resources, local ownership, community participation and equal benefits sharing is apparent in most nature reserves and other protected areas including Timbavati Nature Reserve. Therefore, the study concludes that the Timbavati Nature Reserve is yet to contribute towards local economic development because its practice is devoid of community development principles. / University of Limpopo

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / For the last seventeen years I have been actively involved in local government management and I have also been schooled in this academic field. I made this milieu my career as I have an intense yearning to stand in service of the general community, - more specifically the rural communities in South Africa. Practical engagement in this field also taught me that democracy goes hand in hand with urbanisation and, if not countered, the pauperisation of rural districts. The result of this is impoverishment and increasing unemployment.

Thesis (M. Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Local Economic Development (LED) has been practised in different countries to deal with poverty and unemployment at the local level. The success that the LED brought upon towards addressing these economic problems, led to the South African government to also undertake the LED initiatives to address poverty and unemployment that exist at the municipal level. Therefore, municipalities which are strategically closest to communities are responsible for poverty alleviation and employment creation in their local areas. The study sought to investigate the effectiveness of LED on poverty alleviation in rural areas of South Africa. The research objectives were as follows: to explore the concept of Local Economic Development, determine the types of poverty alleviation models and to assess the effectiveness of Local Economic Development to alleviate poverty in rural areas of South Africa. The study applied a semi-structured questionnaire and further considered literature review to achieve the research objectives focusing on Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality. A simple random sampling method was employed to select appropriately 100 participants in the study. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to process data, whilst, the content analysis method was also used for descriptive statistics. The study discovered that lack of resources including staff, skills and budget affect the undertakings of the LED activities in the communities negatively. Moreover, it was revealed that there is a need for community participation particularly towards successful implementation of the LED.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Evolving out of my past experience as municipal manager, the study addresses one of the topical issues in municipalities, viz. the quest for more effective and sustainable local economic development (LED) in small towns. Through an extensive review of the literature and best practices of LED among South African and international municipalities, viable and reproducible strategies were examined and compared. The focus of my in depth research falls primarily on towns in the Western Cape, but lessons from other parts of South Africa also form part of this research. The conclusions drawn are not only relevant in South Africa, but can also be applied in southern Africa and other African sub-continents. Based on the qualitative evidence gathered from three in-depth case studies and a Western Cape sample of tourism places, the study explores the interaction of public- and private-sector involvement in the generation of LED momentum. As such the study focuses on the principles of successful public-private partnerships and how such partnerships can be enhanced through different types of projects. The study presents an LED framework, also referred to as a "development hub", to bring together the different elements of an integrated strategy. Based on the lessons drawn from the case studies and the literature review, the final section of the study presents a strategy framework which should be useful and applicable to other small towns, even if their growth is not tourism-based, and they are not located in South Africa's Western Cape. Hopefully the study will stimulate serious and in-depth debate among policy planners as well as key development stakeholders in small towns regarding viable LED strategising and the practical implementation of those strategies.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Evolving out of my past experience as municipal manager, the study addresses one of the topical issues in municipalities, viz. the quest for more effective and sustainable local economic development (LED) in small towns. Through an extensive review of the literature and best practices of LED among South African and international municipalities, viable and reproducible strategies were examined and compared. The focus of my indepth research falls primarily on towns in the Western Cape, but lessons from other parts of South Africa also form part of this research. The conclusions drawn are not only relevant in South Africa, but can also be applied in southern Africa and other African sub-continents. Based on the qualitative evidence gathered from three in-depth case studies and a Western Cape sample of tourism places, the study explores the interaction of public- and private-sector involvement in the generation of LED momentum. As such the study focuses on the principles of successful public-private partnerships and how such partnerships can be enhanced through different types of projects. The study presents an LED framework, also referred to as a "development hub", to bring together the different elements of an integrated strategy. Based on the lessons drawn from the case studies and the literature review, the final section of the study presents a strategy framework which should be useful and applicable to other small towns, even if their growth is not tourism-based, and they are not located in South Africa's Western Cape. Hopefully the study will stimulate serious and in-depth debate among policy planners as well as key development stakeholders in small towns regarding viable LED strategising and the practical implementation of those strategies.

Abstract The aim of this research analyses municipal economic development capacity, using Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) as a case study. The research report endeavours to find out whether EMM’s Local Economic Development (LED) unit is adequately equipped to implement the Policy Guidelines for Implementing Local Economic Development in South Africa (a draft LED policy). This report argues that municipalities must be well resourced or capacitated to implement local economic development. However, the capacity problem has been a serious challenge in South Africa, particularly on issues of service delivery, nevertheless, studies have not adequately been done in relation to municipal capacity to implement LED. Additionally, this report established an understanding with regard to the role of municipalities in implementing LED. The report also discusses challenges confronting EMM’s LED unit as an institution to promote LED within the metro. However, this report also concludes that EMM’s LED unit is one of the well performing, perhaps resourced municipalities in terms of LED implementation.

Student Number : 0407355G - MSc research report - School of Architecture and Planning - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / The re-admittance of South Africa into the community of nations brought opportunities and challenges. South Africa had to adapt and conform to the prevailing global economic architecture and adhere to neo-liberal principles prevailing at the time while at home it had to face a restructuring economy and worsening social conditions for a majority of its people: unemployment, housing and infrastructure backlogs. Policies and programmes where devised and adopted. The EPWP and local economic development programmes are just two of the many programmes meant to deal with unemployment, skills development, inequality and poverty. This report investigates the potential of the EPWP as a tool for local economic development by reviewing the theoretical underpinnings of public works and local economic development; and the intergovernmental relations and planning policies, processes, mechanisms, and institutional arrangements in place to enable the programmes’ implementation. Based on the investigation, findings and recommendations are made.