An assessment of the impact of local economic development on urban poverty alleviation: a case of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality
- Authors: Mbeba, Roland D
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Poverty -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poor -- Services for -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Strategic planning -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Soc Sc (Dev)
- Identifier: vital:11424 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/548 , Poverty -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poor -- Services for -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Strategic planning -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Local Economic Development has in recent years, gained wide spread acceptance, as a locality-based response to economic challenges. It is now firmly on the agenda of many national and local government and key international agencies. Adopting a desk study approach, reviewing extensive literature on LED, the study sought to establish the impact of LED strategy employed by Buffalo City Municipality, and assess the extent to which it has alleviated poverty. The study shows that the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM) LED strategy has limited impact on poverty alleviation due to a myriad of factors, which reinforce and interact with each other thereby limiting development and trapping residents in poverty. The thesis argues that there is significant room for a paradigm shift from predominantly pro-growth to pro-poor LED, and the need to adopt a comprehensive LED strategy that seeks to include of both pro-growth and pro-poor strategies. Both cannot operate without the other in the bid to promote development in Buffalo City, mainly with Agriculture, Tourism, and SMME having significant potential to bring about local economic development. Moreover, the promotion of Private-Public Partnerships play an integral role in the socio-economic development of Buffalo City, and more so the participation of local people is even more fundamental, which will give them the opportunity to take charge of their own development. Therefore, the study suggests a new LED agenda, which is pro-poor, holistic, and moves away from ‘piecemeal’ project based LED activities, and adopts comprehensive economic programmes so that LED has significant impact on poverty alleviation.
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An exploration into the challenges faced by rural communities in the effective use of land for subsistence agriculture for poverty alleviation: a case study of the Mpongo and Twecwana communities in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Mlonyeni, Xolani
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Land use -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Community development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Soc Sc (Community Development)
- Identifier: vital:11844 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1005645 , Land use -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Community development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The escalation of poverty simultaneously with the decline of small-scale agriculture in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape in particular, raises serious concerns within the government circles in South Africa and among researchers. Of the nine provinces of South Africa, the rate of poverty in the Eastern Cape is a pathetic one and is the largest contributor to poverty statistics in the whole of South Africa. Machete (2004) stresses that high levels of poverty are visible in the rural areas and the large proportions of the people who are poor in South Africa are found in the rural areas. It is widely accepted that small-scale agriculture plays a vital role in and contributes substantially to socio-economic life of people living in the rural areas and is one of the strategies most suited to combat poverty for the majority of the people in the rural areas. This study explored the challenges that limit the effective use of land for subsistence agriculture as a strategy for poverty alleviation at Mpongo and Twecwana villages in Tsholomnqa. The study adopted a qualitative approach in order to get in-depth understanding of the challenges as experienced by the participants. The sample comprised of fifteen (15) subsistence farmers and three (3) extension officers from the department of agriculture. The data was collected from the participants through the focus group technique with an interview schedule containing open ended questions. The findings of the study indicated that the communities lack capital such as money, machinery, labour and other resources needed to pursue agricultural livelihoods. The findings also showed that agricultural infrastructure such as dams, rivers, fencing have deteriorated. Machete (2004, p.8) concurring with Pote (2008) says “inadequate physical infrastructure in the rural areas, particular in the former homeland areas remains a major obstacle to smallholder agricultural growth in South Africa”. In the two villages the situation is worsened by a total lack of irrigation scheme development. These communities rely entirely on seasonal and natural rainfall for their crops to be cultivated and grown. It was also found that the introduction of state grants contributed for the rural communities to do way with their traditional socio-economic agricultural livelihoods. The end results were for food production from gardens and communal fields come to a total collapse in many communities in the rural areas. The findings also show that youth is less interested to participate and pursue agricultural based activities in the rural areas. Williams et al (2008) claim that young people are unwilling to pursue agricultural studies as career of choice because of negative image attached to it. Many youths regard agriculture as an activity which belongs to adult and ordinary people. Drought was also cited as the worst natural disaster that has threatened the already disadvantaged small scale agriculture in these rural areas. These deficiencies have rendered subsistence agricultural centred activities to a total collapse.
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