Bibliography: leaves 187-197. / Botswana has been considered as one of the few post-independence development successes in Africa. The country's recent status is attributable to the growth of the minerals sector, with diamonds and copper/nickel matte forming the basis of exports and government development revenues. Mining has not only been responsible for boosting export earnings, but has also stimulated most recent urbanisation, resulting in the some of the highest urban growth rates in sub-Saharan Africa. The problem of urban in-migration has been compounded by a bias in development expenditure, with the towns receiving a disproportionately large share of scarce resources. All new towns since independence have been established as service centres for the mines, with limited wider development occurring. Resultant vulnerability and instability in the urban sphere has been reflected in the case of Selebi-Phikwe, where a decline in the copper/nickel industry has threatened the future integrity of the town. That mining has not contributed towards development which is sustainable over the long terms calls into question, the resilience of Botswana's progress. A political-economic analysis of the development history of Botswana indicates a continuity between colonial neglect and the migrant labour system, and the current problems of dependence on the mining sector and external employment opportunities. The reasons for the dearth in diversified productive activity in mining towns in Botswana are related to an externally orientated development policy, with dependence on the world mineral markets. As the mining industry is based on the extraction of finite, non-renewable resources and is susceptible to fluctuations in mineral pricing, towns exclusively based on mining are latently unstable and have similarly finite lives. The problem is compounded by the lack of a local entrepreneurial class capable of stimulating the 'modern' sector which is related to the historical lack of an urban elite in the country. Given that there has been minimal associated development of productive opportunities outside of the primary sector in Selebi-Phikwe, the Government has instituted a crisis management strategy to deal with the situation. Proposals to diversify the economic base of Selebi-Phikwe are focused on attracting foreign investment, as a means of stimulating local, export-orientated industrialisation. As the incentives for locating in the town are primarily based on cheap, malleable, labour supplies, transnational investment is likely to be of a highly mobile nature and is unlikely to sustain employment and development in Selebi-Phikwe Certain conclusions are drawn from the experience of Selebi-Phikwe: Firstly, the problem of continuity in Selebi-Phikwe has historical roots indicating that short term panaceas are unlikely and that structural solutions are needed. Secondly, the town's fate holds important implications for the maintenance and support of the wider urban system in Botswana. Thirdly, expectations of indefinite economic prosperity have been generated in part, by continual Government emphasis on urban infrastructural development, something which is potentially problematic given the potential for urban discontinuity. A more rational evaluation of the urban sector in Botswana is required. With the precarious foundations of urbanisation in Botswana borne in mind, surplus revenues generated by mining should be channelled into rural employment creation rather than urban areas. An approach which treats the urban question in its entirety is required. There is thus a real need for a national development programme which integrates population and environmental policy with rural and urban sector planning, and which bases future development on the criteria of equity and sustainability.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uct/oai:localhost:11427/15422 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Haynes, Michael J |
| Contributors | Davies, R J |
| Publisher | University of Cape Town, Faculty of Science, Department of Environmental and Geographical Science |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Master Thesis, Masters, MA |
| Format | application/pdf |
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