Abstract
M.A.
Given the emphasis in praxis and literature on sustainable economic development in
general and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in particular and ways to
involve governments, private sector institutions and citizens globally and nationally in
better implementation and coordination processes on all levels of government, the
focus of this dissertation was on local economic development (LED) policy to promote
sustainable development in South Africa.
The research approach entailed the application of unobtrusive research techniques as
research analysis instruments based on a qualitative research paradigm. The main
research question addressed by this dissertation was to determine how LED policy
can serve as a mechanism to promote sustainable development in South Africa and
which strategic actions can be taken to improve its implementation.
The dissertation provided an integrated focus on the context of LED in general and
LED policy and strategy development in particular in South Africa. It incorporated the
development of a generic analytical framework to investigate LED; the conceptual and
contextual variables that influence sustainable development; the legislative and
theoretical underpinnings to provide an understanding of the context, meanings,
foundations and processes of the statutory, regulatory and policy frameworks and
theories aligned with LED in general and in South African local government in
particular; and the variables influencing the dynamics, processes and steps
appropriate to LED strategy development.
The study found that with the pronouncements in the White Paper on Local
Government of 1998 the country embarked on an ambitious journey to promote LED.
But the achievement of the aims of the White Paper have arguably been frustrated by
unsettled and parochial paradigms, the lack of a structured integrative approach that
recognises its dividends as the shared outcome of complex deliberate, mutually
supportive actions across governmental spheres and jurisdictions; as well as by
ancillary problems such as deficiencies in the Integrated Development Plan (IDP)
planning processes and lack of capacity of key role players at multiple points in the
LED process. LED in South Africa, over two decades, despite continual evaluation...