Various governments in post-independent Ghana have attempted to alleviate poverty among the citizenry. In furtherance of this, several poverty reduction strategies have been employed with different results. Even though the rate of poverty has fallen over the years, it is still high at 21,4% (Molini and Paci, 2015) with women unfortunately bearing most of the brunt of this (National Development Planning Commission, 2012). This dissertation looks at filling the gap in information by exploring the role women can play in poverty reduction, using Ghana as a case study. In doing that, the study analyses poverty and the underlying reasons for endemic poverty among Ghanaians. The objective of this study was to contextualize and make a dimension of poverty broadly in Africa and Ghana in particular. It also sought to critique the current policy alleviation policies and programmes, in relation to various factors contributing to endemic poverty among Ghanaian women, with the aim of identifying the roles that women can play in poverty reduction and making recommendations. In this regard, a descriptive research design coupled with qualitative research methodological technique was employed, where relevant publications in the form of government reports, journals, textbooks and internet were used to collect data. Inferences were extracted based on the requirements of the research topic. The study found that women play an important role in food production, trade, and business. It also emerged from the study that there are numerous factors inimical to the reduction of poverty among women in Ghana. They included their inability to negotiate labour matters; a lack of, or limited education; patriarchal culture or customs; and economic sabotage. In addressing the aforementioned factors, the study recommended that in its pre-assessment of NGOs, government tailor their intervention to synchronize with the development strategies to alleviate poverty among women. It also advised educational awareness and public-public partnerships in the establishment of schools targeted most especially at women for empowerment purposes. Finally, there was an emphasis on advocacy for the reservation of land exclusively for women through land reforms. / Public Administration and Management / M. Admin. (Public Administration)

Can rural renewable energy projects simultaneously meet the multiple goals of sustainable development, climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation? If so, under what conditions? Rural communities throughout Latin America have increasingly suffered the impacts of climate change and few policies exist to help them adapt to these impacts. The basic infrastructure and services that they frequently lack can be provided by low carbon technologies, potentially funded by international carbon finance flows that could enable the Millennium Development Goals of economic growth and poverty alleviation to be met while minimizing carbon emissions. This research will focus on this interrelationship among development, climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation policies and practices using political ecology to analyse community renewable energy projects in rural Central America. I assess fifteen community-owned renewable energy projects in Guatemala and Nicaragua to analyse whether current renewable energy projects are achieving these goals in an integrated way. The projects were established primarily as development, emissions reductions, climate change adaptation and disaster relief. The projects are evaluated on economic, development and climate change indicators that include sustainable development, poverty alleviation, emissions reductions, and climate vulnerability. I examine how the type of common property governance, local historical and environmental background and project implementation process influence the project success in meeting multiple objectives of climate adaptation, mitigation and development. Research methods include participatory poverty assessment techniques, semi-structured interviews, stakeholder analysis, and a combination of rapid and participatory methods. The analysis of sustainable development and vulnerability used the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach methodologies and emissions reductions were calculated using standard carbon reduction methodologies. The results show that, under certain conditions, renewable energy projects can simultaneously meet these three objectives, and thus that responses to climate change can be integrated with poverty alleviation and sustainable development. Small scale hydroelectric and solar systems can reduce emissions, enable adaptation and help local livelihoods although there are numerous problems that limit the success of projects including poor design, inequitable distribution of benefits, and poorly designed governance and maintenance structures.

Thesis (MPhil (Animal Sciences. Livestock Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Information from 200 randomly selected egg project beneficiaries was obtain during 2008 to evaluate the impact of managerial factors on the sustainability of poverty alleviation egg laying projects in the Vhembe district, with special reference to the three municipalities (Mutale, Makhado, and Thulamela). A high proportion (80%) of the beneficiaries was poor rural women. The majority of these beneficiaries are old and illiterate. A high proportion of the beneficiary households is composed of extended families and headed by unemployed women. The majority of beneficiaries are sole breadwinners. The majority relies on agriculture and social grants as a source of income. All the beneficiaries indicated that the project increased the household income as a result of the revenue collected from the sale of eggs. From the study, 96% of the projects were initiated by Government, while only 3.52% were initiated by the beneficiaries themselves. A very high proportion of the beneficiaries (88.94%) was not given any opportunity to decide about the type of the project they were interested in. This also included a high proportion (60.61%) of beneficiaries who indicated they were not interested in starting an egg laying project. A high proportion of beneficiaries (60.71%) were not satisfied with the project, and 51.52% indicated is because of lack of funds and the remainder been because of lack of support from the government. A proportion (53.77%) of beneficiaries indicated that they are visited only once a week by extension officers. A high proportion of the beneficiaries (73.23%) rated the support that they get from the extension officers as poor. A high proportion of the beneficiaries received 36 layers, and only 3.02% were having more than 36 layers. About 69.35% of the beneficiaries didn’t know the causes of mortalities of their layers. This also confirmed the high proportion (65.85%) of beneficiaries who indicated that they were not trained to identify and treat diseases. About 73.87% of the beneficiaries rated the performance of the project as good. About 53.27% of the beneficiaries indicated that the project can sustain itself. A proportion of beneficiaries (52.76%) indicated the sustainability indicator as good market of the products. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Inligting van 200 lukraak geselekteerde eierprojek begunstigdes is tydens 2008 ingesamel, met die doel om die invloed van bestuursfaktore op die volhoubaarheid van armoede verligtings eierproduksie projekte in die Vhembe distrik, met spesiale verwysing na die drie munisipaliteite Mutale, Makhado en Thulamela. ‘n Groot proporsie (80%) van die begunstigdes was arm landelike vroue. Die meerderheid van hierdie vroue was oud en ook ongeskool. ‘n Groot proporsie van die begunstigde huishoudings bestaan uit direkte en verlangse familielede, met dié huishoudings wat werklose vrouens as familiehoofde het. Die meerderheid van die begunstigdes is ook die alleen broodwinners. Die meerderheid van die huishoudings maak staat op landbou en welsyn toekennings as ‘n bron van inkomste. Al die begunstigdes ht aangedui dat huishoudelike inkomste toegeneem het as gevolg van die verkoop van eiers geproduseer in die projekte. In die studie was 96% van die projekte deur die Regering geïnisieer, terwyl 3.52% van die projekte deur die begunstigdes self geïnisieer is. ‘n Groot proporsie van die begunstigdes (88.94%) was nie die geleentheid gegun om ‘n keuse te kan uitoefen oor die projek wat hulle wil doen nie. Hierdie laasgenoemde proporsie het ook die begunstigdes (60.61%) ingesluit wat aangedui het dat hulle nie in eierlê projekte belanggestel het nie. ‘n Groot proporsie van die begunstigdes (60.71%) was ontevrede met die projek, met 51.52% van hierdie groep wat dit aan ‘n tekort van fondse toegeskryf het. Die oorblywende 9.19% het dit aan ‘n gebrek van ondersteuning vanaf die Regering se kant toegeskryf. ‘n Proporsie van die begunstigdes (53.77%) het aangedui dat hulle een keer per week deur ‘n voorligtingsbeampte besoek word. ‘n Groot proporsie (73.23%) het die kwaliteit van ondersteuning deur die voorligtingsbeamptes as swak beoordeel. ‘n Groot proporsie van die begunstigdes het 36 lêhenne ontvang, met slegs 3.02% wat meer as 36 lêhenne ontvang het.Ongeveer 69.35% van die begunstigdes was onseker oor die redes vir die afsterwe van hulle lêhenne. Dit ondersteun die groot proporsie (65.85%) van die begunstigdes wat aangedui het dat hulle geen opleiding om siektes te kan identifiseer en te behandel, ontvang het nie. Ongeveer 73.87% van die begunstigdes het die projek as goed gereken, met 53.27% wat gevoel het die projek kan ditself onderhou. ‘n Proporsie (52.76%) van die begunstigdes het die bemarkingswaarde van hulle produk as ‘n volhoubaarheidsindikator beskou.

Thesis (MSocialWork)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As poverty is becoming a growing concern in South Africa, poor families should not be seen as service recipients but more concern should be directed to their empowerment. Community work is an essential method to utilize for the empowerment of poor families since it involves working with people from individual up to community level. The Department of Social Development does not have guidelines based on the utilization of community work; as a result this method is not utilized to its full potential. The purpose of the study was to formulate guidelines on the utilization of community work on the family level. In order to achieve this aim, the objectives of this study, which mainly focused on describing the socio-economic circumstances of the poor families and the utilization of community work, were explored. An exploratory study was utilized in order to achieve the stated goal and objectives. The population for the study consisted of practicing social workers in the Department of Social Development. Purposive sample was used. The research methodology was a quantitative design with a data collection instrument being in the form of a questionnaire. To be able to gain insight about the utilization of community work, the questionnaire consisted of both closed and open-ended questions. Literature review enabled the researcher to compile a questionnaire. The empirical study focused on the knowledge and skills of social workers in utilizing community work. In addition, data was obtained on the community work process as a main procedure to follow when implementing community work. Despite the respondents' theoretical knowledge of community work, it was concluded that community work is utilized at a minimal level. The most utilized social work method by the respondents is casework. The reason for the lack of community work practice is based on the fact that the Department of Social Development does not have guidelines with regards to community work. It was recommended that the Department of Social Development should formulate a new regulation that will oblige the social workers to practice community work. In-service training should be held quarterly. Supervision should be offered regularly. Relevant qualification and extensive social work experience should be considered as a minimum requirement for managerial positions. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Alhoewel armoede 'n al groter probleem in Suid-Afrika raak, behoort arm gesinne in 'n toenemende mate nie net slegs as ontvangers van dienste beskou word nie, maar moet ook aandag geskenk word aan hulle bemagtiging. Aangesien gemeenskapswerk betrokke is by die persoon sowel as die persoon in die gemeenskap, kan dit beskou word as die aangewese metode om arm gesinne te bemagtig. Die Departement Maatskaplike Ontwikkeling beskik oor geen riglyne vir die aanwending van gemeenskapswerk nie en gevolglik word die metode nie ten volle benut nie. Die studie het ten doel om riglyne vir die implementering van gemeenskapwerk op die vlak van die gesin te formuleer. Derhalwe word die klem op die beskrywing van die sosio-ekonomiese omstandighede van arm gesinne en die gebruik van gemeenskapswerk as metodiek geplaas. 'n Verkennende studie is gebruik om die navorsingsoogmerke te bereik. Respondente vir die studie was praktiserende maatskaplike werkers in diens van die Departement van Maatskaplike Ontwikkeling. 'n Doelbewuste steekproef is benut. Daar is hoofsaaklik op kwantitatiewe navorsing gefokus en inligting is deur middel van vraelyste ingewin. Ten einde insig te ontwikkel in die gebruik van gemeenskapswerk is beide oop en geslote vrae gebruik. Die literatuurstudie het die navorser in staat gestel om die vraelys saam te stel. Die empiriese studie was gerig op die kennis en vaardighede waaroor gemeenskapswerkers beskik en hoe dit geïmplementeer word. Addisionele empiriese inligting is ook ten opsigte van die proses van gemeenskapswerk verkry. Dit het aan die lig gekom dat ten spyte van voldoende teoretiese kennis van gemeenskapswerk die metode minimaal gebruik word. Gevallewerk word steeds die meeste tydens intervensie aangewend. 'n Gebrek aan riglyne vir die gebruik van gemeenskapswerk, word as die rede waarom gemeenskapswerk nie implementeer word nie, aangevoer. Dit word aanbeveel dat die Departement Maatskaplike Ontwikkeling regulasies vir die uitvoering van dienste deur middel van die gemeenskapswerk metode moet instel. Hierdie riglyne behoort maatskaplike werkers te inspireer om die voordele van gemeenskapswerk te ondersoek en aan te wend. Indiensopleiding behoort op 'n kwartaallikse basis te geskied. Supervisie moet geredelik beskikbaar wees. Relevante kwalifikasies en uitgebreide praktykervaring as minimum vereistes vir bestuursposte sal oorweeg moet word.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH SUMMARY: The study looks at the different elements of a business strategy developed for a cultural tourism project in the township of Langa, located in the city of Cape Town. Its unique nature lies in the fact that the operators of the enterprise are volunteering young residents of the area, who will benefit through support provided by the community-based organisation in their subsequent training. Thus, the venture is at the same time a tourism enterprise, a generator of development funds and a community organisation. In line with a systematic approach to business strategising the study consists of four major sections. The first section (chapter 2) provides a broad background to the cultural-tourism industry, incorporating lessons to be learned from Cyprus, Papua New Guinea and Botswana as well as other parts of South Africa. It also reviews tools available to segment the cultural tourism market and estimate its size. With the focus on skills shortages in township environments, the third chapter outlines some of the challenges likely to confront the project. It also indicates the skills-development needs and expectations which are likely to motivate the project participants. As a further background for the preparation of the business strategy, chapter 4 summarises the relevant core elements of the business environment around cultural tourism in township areas. It also covers critical elements of the tourism industry’s competitive environment and relevant stakeholders. The fourth key chapter covers (with respect to the particular Langa-focused community-based cultural-tourism venture) all conventional topics, including vision, mission and goal statements, envisaged product offerings and marketing plans, value-chain characteristics and an assessment of the (expected) competitive situation. The final chapter briefly touches on the appropriateness of this township project or business as a tool for the social and economic transformation of the township youth. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie ondersoek die verskillende elemente van 'n besigheidsstrategie vir ‘n projek binne die gebied van kulturele toerisme, met besondere klem op die Langa woongebied in Kaapstad. Die besondere karakter van die projek word bepaal deur die feit dat die projekdeelnemers vrywillige jeugdiges is, wat hoop om deur hul samewerking hul verdere opleidingsgeleenthede te verbeter. Die projek is dus terselfdertyd ‘n toerisme onderneming, ‘n skepper van ontwikkelingsfondse en ‘n gemeenskapsorganisasie. In ooreenstemming met ‘n gestruktureerde sakestrategie bestaan die studie uit vier hoofdele. Die eerste afdeling (hoofstuk 2) verskaf ‘n breë agtergrond tot kulturele toerisme, met besondere verwysings tot Ciprus, Papoea-Nieu Guinee en Botswana asook ander dele van Suid-Afrika. Dit behandel ook konsepte wat gebruik kan word om die mark van kulturele toerisme in segmente op te breek en sy grootte te beraam. Met die klem op vaardigheidstekorte in townships gee die derde hoofstuk ‘n oorsig van enkele uitdagings wat die projek sal tref. Terselfdertyd gee dit ‘n aanduiding van die opleidingsbehoeftes en verwagtings wat die jeugdiges betrokke by die projek mag koester. As ‘n verdere agtergrond vir die voorbereiding van ‘n sakestrategie skets hoofstuk 4 sekere van die kernelemente van die sakeomgewing rondom kulturele toerisme in gebiede soos Langa. Dit dek ook kritiese aspekte van mededinging in die toerismebedryf asook van die betrokke belangegroepe. Met die fokus op Langa en gemeenskapstoerisme behandel die vierde deel alle relevante aspekte van ‘n sakemodel: Dit sluit in doelstellings en mikpunte, die beoogde dienstespektrum en bemarkingsplanne asook die mededingingsdinamiek. Die laaste hoofstuk besin oor die toepaslikheid van hierdie projek of sakemodel as ‘n instrument vir die sosiale en ekonomiese transformasie van die “township”-jeugdiges.

Rural areas, globally, are characterized as poor regions, with two-thirds of the world’s poor people residing in rural areas. In South Africa, 70 percent of the poor population or 3.6 million households, live in rural areas. In the last three State of the Nation Addresses (SONA) in South Africa by President Zuma since 2011, rural development has been placed high on government’s developmental agenda. The formulation of a comprehensive rural development policy, with coordinated implementation by all spheres of government is however still lacking. This research project was undertaken to explore solutions for the revival and development of rural areas in South Africa. The northern Free State region was selected as the geographical focus area and “testing ground” for the research. Rural South Africa has been deteriorating over the last few decades mainly due to globalization and urbanization. Two specific tools to achieve accelerated rural development were identified and analysed namely, local economic development (LED) and spatial planning. The research has shown that rural development is a complicated and difficult process. It is not only about agriculture and economic development, but also about other aspects such as spatial planning, social development, the environment, politics and public management aspects. For the purpose of the research, the theoretical statement was stated as “the chronic state of underdevelopment, poverty and unemployment, especially in rural South Africa, with a specific focus on the northern Free State, can be turned around by means of the implementation of revitalization strategies, which include innovative policies and programmes of LED and spatial planning”. Rural development requires strong committed local leaders and “champions”, skills, patience and funding. The research methodology included a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the concepts relating to rural development, as well as global and local case studies. Local rural development policies were also analysed as currently being implemented by government. Primary research included a community socio-economic survey in the study area to determine levels of rural poverty, unemployment, services delivered by local government and skills. In this survey of poor rural areas and the socio-economic analysis of the northern Free State, it was found that: • close to 50% of all households were living in poverty, • 50.7% of all households lack employment, • 40% of households have an income of less than R 1 500 per month, • The average annual household income in the area relates to just less than R20 000, • The ratio between formal and informal jobs is 1: 0.25, which indicates a low level of informal job opportunities, • Most job opportunities are found in agriculture, manufacturing, community services and households. • The tourism sector only provides in 3.1% of the regional GDP. Local business chambers were also visited in order to determine their perceptions of rural development and local government as well as the level of partnerships with the various local authorities in the area. It was found that partnership formation and cooperation between local business chambers and local authorities in the region were limited, although business chambers are willing to cooperate and assist. Rural development needs a coordinated effort and partnerships between government, business and communities. The focus of the research was on the finding of possible solutions for rural development. Solutions such as a rapid rural assessment (RRA) and a strategy for the study area, which has been provided to the specific local government for implementation, have been formulated. Globally and locally no universally accepted definition of rural concepts such as rural development and rural regions exist. Definitions and classifications of rural areas were formulated for South African conditions. A major component of the research is the proposed rural development model known as the “Feza iSimangaliso” model. Pillars for rural development and best practice aspects for rural development were also formulated. Some of the main findings of the research regarding general rural development aspects are listed below: • Rural regions are slowly but surely becoming in “fashion” as popular regions again due to a number of reasons such as quality environments, the need for a sense of community and belonging and food security. • Well formulated strategic rural development strategies, which are implementable in a coordinated way, can make a positive impact. Rural areas could be seen as a viable alternative, but requires strong governance, especially at the local sphere. • The integration of spatial planning and LED could lead to accelerate rural development, especially when national policy exists and are implemented in a coordinated manner. • The creation of jobs will lead to improved quality of life. Labour intensive sectors of the economy such as tourism, agriculture including agro-processing, manufacturing and retail should be the focus of an economic strategy. • Rural development is dependent on hard and soft infrastructure provision and strong local government. • Rural development must be people centred, with the utilization of local indigenous knowledge. • Rural towns are critical for rural regional development and creation of rural-urban linkages. • The “pull factors” to rural areas include quality of life and environment, sense of belonging, unique culture and history, and a positive economic environment. Future research projects could include more detailed research on the study area and provision of assistance to the relevant local municipalities. A possible rural development matrix will be developed for the evaluation of the level of development and gaps in the development of a rural region. In conclusion, successful rural development planning must be based on strategic planning principles for implementation in order to prevent ad hoc implementation of isolated projects with limited impacts. / PhD (Public Management and Governance), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:13:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2008 Marie Therese Yaba Ndiaye.pdf: 7814625 bytes, checksum: d4eab4a0a17148cd52fe0a71238c8c15 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-08-21 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / In 1998 Senegal passed laws that transferred authority over the management of forests to local communities. This dissertation studies the impact of this decentralization on the health of the Samba Dia and Sambande forests and the livelihoods of forest-dependent populations. I use this analysis to reflect on the broader question of the impact of decentralization on conservation and poverty alleviation. I employ temporal and spatial modes of comparison in this study with qualitative research methods. Decentalization has contained forest degradation in both areas. But while people in Samband? forest report benefits to all from the forest, in Keur Samba Dia members of one village report benefits while others decry a reduction in their benefits from the forest. I argue that the transfer of authority from a largely absent and incapable state to well-organized and knowledgeable local communities account for the containment of environmental degradation in both forests. But while the uniform use of the forest by community members has helped people in Samband? solve distributive conflicts and so universally benefit from the forest, a significant divergence in how the two villages in Keur Samba Dia exploit the forest has worsened distributive conflicts allowing the more powerful people of Yayem to benefit more but exclude the less powerful people of Samba Diallo from these new benefits. The impact of decentralization on poverty alleviation and forest health is mediated by important local factors and we should not expect it to have good effects in all areas in which it is pursued. / A descentraliza??o florestal no Senegal constitui o tema desta pesquisa. Em 1998, o Senegal promoveu novas leis florestais que transferiam as compet?ncias de gest?o das florestas para as comunidades rurais, para frear a pobreza e a degrada??o ambiental. Neste contexto, a tese investiga os impactos destas reformas nas vidas das popula??es e nas florestas. A tese tentou lidar com as duas perguntas, se ap?s a descentraliza??o: - as popula??es locais seriam capazes de manejar efetivemente as florestas e o manejo florestal comunit?rio participaria na redu??o da pobreza rural. Fiz um estudo com varia??o espacial e temporal, comparando duas florestas: Keur Samba Dia e Samband? durante dois per?odos diferentes: antes e ap?s a descentraliza??o. Antes de 1998, a gest?o das duas florestas estava sob a responsabilidade do Servi?o Florestal Nacional. Depois de 1998, as comunidades rurais se tornaram as novas autoridades na floresta Samband? enquanto que a floresta Keur Samba Dia permaneceu sob um sistema de co-manejo entre as comunidades rurais e o Estado. A pesquisa deparou com o fato de que, em ambas as florestas, os impactos ecol?gicos da descentraliza??o foram positivos, pois houve uma regenera??o florestal. Todavia, os impactos econ?micos resultantes da descentraliza??o, foram diferentes de uma floresta para outra. Na floresta de Samband?, todos os vilarejos foram beneficiados pela descentraliza??o, enquanto que na floresta de Keur Samba Dia, um vilarejo se sentiu mais prejudicado do que o outro. Estes resultados nos informam, que a participa??o popular foi ben?fica ? sa?de das florestas, mas n?o foi suficiente para que as popula??es se aproveitassem economicamente de uma floresta regenerada. A distribui??o eq?itativa, dos benef?cios econ?micos da descentraliza??o, ? mediada pela uniformidade ou formas conflituosos do uso florestal e por fatores s?cio - hist?ricos.

Thesis (M.Sc.) --University of the North, 2004 / Refer to document

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of the North, 2001 / Refer to document

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.