Abstract
This paper focuses on poverty and inequality in the Frances Baard District (FBDM) and discusses a local economic development (LED) initiative in the Sol Plaatje Municipality (SPM), as a tool to combat poverty. LED is defined as a collaborative approach that brings together diverse stakeholders from the local community to promote economic growth, foster resilience, and achieve long-term sustainability. Since the new political and economic dispensation, the South African (SA) government has implemented regional and LED initiatives in the country to eradicate poverty. Combating poverty and inequality by helping marginalised rural communities earn an income and reducing wealth and income inequality between the rich and the poor in rural and urban areas has not met the intended goals of these national LED strategies. After 30 years in the new political dispensation, it is evident that these strategies are failing, and the problems are worsening as resources dwindle and the population grows.
Targeted poverty alleviation strategies in SPM were conceptualised in line with the National Framework for Local Economic Development 2018/28 (NFLED). The 2018/28 NFLED is the revised LED framework in South Africa, that aims to advance an understanding of LED and its role in national, regional, and growth development, identifying necessary actions for successful LED implementation (SA CoGTA, 2017).
This paper gives an analysis of poverty and inequality in the FBDM and the projects that the Sol Plaatje Municipality conceptualised as targeted poverty alleviation strategies in partnership with the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD).
From the analysis it can be concluded that, for the unique conditions of any rural area their unique poverty characteristics must be considered when conceptualising poverty alleviating LED strategies.
It is recommended that the FBDM and its local municipalities overcome its rural disadvantages by facilitating an enabling environment, reducing red tape, revising bylaws, implementing a business retention and expansion programme, and executing vast infrastructure maintenance projects that will promote economic
inclusion while addressing the varying characteristics of poverty among poor communities