- Title
- An assessment of local economic development as a mechanism for poverty alleviation: a case study of selected municipalities in Amathole District
- Creator
- Dube, Kethiwe
- Subject
- Economic development -- South Africa
- Subject
- Poverty -- South Africa
- Date Issued
- 2011-06
- Date
- 2011-06
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/24410
- Identifier
- vital:62788
- Description
- The legacy of apartheid created uneven development in South Africa, which led to lack of effective service delivery, high levels of poverty and unemployment. This resulted in many people within the communities being vulnerable to poverty. In response to the retarded development, the post apartheid government formulated a number of policies and legislations. Local Economic Development (LED) is one of the policies mandated to guide developmental local government initiatives in addressing poverty, unemployment and redistribution. The aim of the study was to assess LED as a mechanism for poverty alleviation, focusing on the effectiveness of the LED strategies employed by the selected municipalities in Amathole District Municipality (ADM). The literature and the empirical study revealed that LED is seen as a tool through which socio-economic development can be achieved. To achieve the objectives of the study, the study employed both quantitative and qualitative research methods. A thematic content and pie chat analysis were employed to analyse data, which was gathered using questionnaires, interviews, non-participant observation and documentary survey. The findings of the study revealed that LED strategies have a significant impact on improving infrastructure and service delivery, have both a pro-poor and a pro-growth focus on improving the general welfare of the residents and that LED agencies play a pivotal role in promoting sustainable development, thereby alleviating poverty. Though the current LED strategies employed by ADM are deemed to be effective, they do not fully meet the intended goal of eradicating poverty. Therefore, the researcher recommended that the municipalities should, inter alia, encourage responsible leadership, expand capital investment, promote capacity building and communities should be fully committed in working together with the municipalities in promoting sustainable development.
- Description
- Thesis (MPA) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2011
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (xvii, 204 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Management and Commerce
- Language
- English
- Rights
- rights holder
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
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View Details Download | SOURCE1 | KETHIWE DUBE.pdf | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |