Abstract
Two towns in the Renosterberg local municipality (RLM) in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, Petrusville and Philipstown, have high Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) prevalence rates. FASD is linked to poverty and imposes high economic costs which impacts Local Economic Development (LED). LED refers to the adaptive and responsive process where various partners work collectively to improve economic conditions in a particular community. LED offers solutions to address socioeconomic challenges in local municipalities.
Existing LED approaches in RLM do not usually target FASD directly, despite knowing the extent to which FASD prevails in the community, leading to a fragmented approach. Thus, it is critical to understand and rethink LED strategies and approaches used to mitigate the high prevalence of FASD. Moreover, there is sparse literature examining adult communities where FASD children reside. Understanding these adult communities is essential because FASD cannot exist without adult gestational exposure to alcohol consumption. A mixed-method approach to this study used a six-phase analytic approach to investigate the drinking culture and motives in RLM, applied to two in-depth cross-sectional community needs assessments, five in-depth interviews, and three focus groups.
This study also evaluates how the RLM targets FASD, and binge and risky drinking, in its municipal economic strategy by analysing its Integrated Development Plan (IDP) concerning an eight-stage policy development process. The results indicate that 57% of respondents expressed concern regarding the unhealthy drinking culture in RLM; 40% felt that the residents of RLM drank in response to unemployment-related hopelessness, and 52% attributed the drinking culture to a lack of hobbies and recreational opportunities. The results of an analysis of the RLM IDP through the lens of Ryder’s eight-stage policy development process suggest that the decisive policy development process is not open to the public and that FASD is neglected. A dedicated alcohol consumption census-style study is recommended to capture alcohol consumption in RLM, allowing researchers to identify the exact alcohol consumption patterns and priority areas for the IDP and public health policy. RLM should publicise its policy development process directly so that its IDP is inclusively formulated to address FASD, risky and binge drinking, and gestational alcohol consumption.
Keywords:
Local economic development; Renosterberg Local Municipality; Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder; drinking motives; alcohol consumption