SMALL TOWN REVITALISATION IN INTSIKA YETHU MUNICIPALITY: COFIMVABA AND TSOMO
By
SIYABULELA KOYO
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
MASTER OF ARTS (DEVELOPMENT STUDIES)
in the
Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences at the Nelson Mandela University
November 2017
SUPERVISOR:
Ms Elizabeth Saunders
DECLARATION
NAME: Siyabulela Koyo
STUDENT NUMBER: 20616471
QUALIFICATION: MASTER OF ARTS Development Studies (Coursework)
TITLE OF PROJECT: SMALL TOWN REVITALISATION IN INTSIKA YETHU MUNICIPALITY: COFIMVABA AND TSOMO
In accordance with Rule G5.6.3, I hereby declare that the above-mentioned thesis is my own work and that it has not previously been submitted for assessment to another University or for another qualification.
………………………………………..
SIGNATURE
DATE: 29 November 2017
i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Lord Almighty for granting me an opportunity and the strength to write and complete this research report, for by His Grace I can do all things.
Great gratitude goes to my supervisor, Ms Elizabeth Saunders for her guidance, interest, time and patience during the development and writing of this research report. Without her guidance and support, this research report would never have materialised.
I would like to extend my great gratitude to the officials from the Town Planning & Land Use Unit, Infrastructure Planning and Development Department: Cofimvaba that aided the process of data collection. I would also like to thank Mr A Makhanya, head of Town Planning & Land Use Unit, and colleagues for their support and their willingness to help.
I also extend my appreciation to my family whose unwavering support made this research project a success.
ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Bernstein (2000) defines small towns in South Africa as settlements in commercial farming areas as well as former or dense homeland towns. These settlements are usually said to lack higher-level services and facilities, which usually leads to their decline (Donaldson & Marais, 2012). The above is likely due to the experiences of rapid urbanisation, which facilitated the decline of the agricultural sector and rural jobs.
The research examined the challenges facing small towns in South Africa and sought possible solutions to address issues relating particularly to infrastructure, public and social amenities as well as institutional arrangements and socio-economic growth through small towns revitalisation. The case study for the purposes of the research focuses on two major towns in the Intsika Yethu Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, namely Cofimvaba and Tsomo.
Research questions relate to the policy frameworks, institutional arrangements and funding that are able to guide revitalization efforts in rural municipalities to enhance an environment that fosters socio-economic development. Ultimately the research attempted to establish whether the revitalisation efforts have resulted in discernible improvements across the challenges that have been identified in Cofimvaba and Tsomo, the two principle towns in the Intsika Yethu Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province.
The overall aim of the research is to assess the impacts of efforts by the various spheres of government to revitalize Cofimvaba and Tsomo.
Several specific objectives were identified. These include a literature review on challenges facing small towns, particularly in developing countries such as South Africa, and strategies to address their revitalization; an assessment of the socio- economic status of a sample of residents in the two towns; to conduct research in Cofimvaba and Tsomo to review government strategies and interventions to revitalize these towns; an opinion survey among formal businesses and business structures to assess the impacts of the revitalization efforts on the business sector; and, finally, to use the findings of the research to make recommendations to the various stakeholder
iii groups in Cofimvaba and Tsomo in order to support the efforts of government to revitalize the towns.
The methodology adopted for the purposes of the research, is a mixed approach making use of qualitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative data was gathered from the municipal Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and the government departments’ implementation plans. Qualitative data was gathered by focussing on interviews with people living within the towns of Cofimvaba and Tsomo, the business community and municipal officials.
Findings related to improved livelihoods show that most interviewed individuals are middle to lower income earners, meaning that there is a high proportion of people who are likely to be dependent on the state for assistance.
Challenges that have been noted by municipal officials, range from issues relating to illegal building constructions to invasion of land earmarked for development and funding for development initiatives.
It became apparent that there is limited knowledge of small town revitalisation from both the municipal officials and the citizens that were interviewed.
In light of the above findings there are a number of recommendations which range from firstly a better application of the Back-to-basics approach, to the idea of better service delivery that has been introduced in all local municipalities. This calls for local government to serve their communities better by being responsive and accountable during the delivery of any service. Secondly, improved institutional collaborations are the key to small town revitalisation, through knowledge sharing and funding provision. Thirdly, by-laws and developmental plans are to be formulated in collaboration with the key role players, as they are paramount in attracting prospective inward investments to the towns. Lastly any revitalisation efforts are to incorporate the town’s culture and diversity.
iv TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ...... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... ii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... iii
LIST OF ANNEXURES ...... ix
LIST OF FIGURES...... x
LIST OF TABLES ...... xi
ABBREVIATIONS...... xii
CHAPTER ONE ...... 1
INTRODUCTION ...... 1
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ...... 1
1.2 STUDY AREA ...... 2
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT ...... 3
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ...... 5
1.5 AIM OF THE STUDY ...... 5
1.6 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ...... 6
1.7 METHODOLOGY ...... 6
1.8 ORGANISATION OF THE REPORT ...... 7
1.9 ANTICIPATED LIMITATIONS...... 8
1.10 CONCLUSION ...... 8
CHAPTER TWO...... 9
LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 9
2.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 9
2.2 SMALL TOWN IN FOCUS ...... 11
2.3 OVERVIEW OF SMALL TOWNS IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES ...... 11
2.4 REVITALISATION EFFORT IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES ...... 13
v 2.5 OVERVIEW OF SMALL TOWNS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ...... 13
2.6 CHALLENGES OF SMALL TOWNS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ...... 15
2.7 REVITALISATION EFFORTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ...... 15
2.8 SMALL TOWNS IN SOUTH AFRICA ...... 16
2.8.1 Challenges of Small Towns in South Africa ...... 17
2.8.1.1 Urbanisation ...... 17
2.8.1.1.1 Access to Health Services ...... 18
2.8.1.1.2 Access to Social Services ...... 18
2.8.1.1.3 Spatial and Economic Development Contexts ... 19
2.8.1.1.4 Local Economic Development in Municipalities . 19
2.8.1.1.5 Revitalisation Efforts in South Africa ...... 20
2.9 AN OVERVIEW OF THE CASE STUDY ...... 22
2.10 SUMMARY ...... 24
CHAPTER THREE ...... 25
METHODOLOGY ...... 25
3.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 25
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN ...... 25
3.3 QUESTIONNAIRE ...... 26
3.4 SAMPLING ...... 27
3.5 DATA COLLECTION ...... 27
3.6 DATA ANALYSIS ...... 28
3.7 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF SAMPLE ...... 28
3.8 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ...... 29
3.9 SUMMARY ...... 29
CHAPTER FOUR ...... 30
4.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 30
vi 4.2 RESULTS OF INTERVIEWS AND QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY ON URBAN REVITALIZATION IN COFIMVABA AND TSOMO ...... 30
4.2.1 Comments from municipal officials ...... 31
4.2.1.1 Town Planning and Land Use Unit ...... 31
4.2.1.2 Building Control Department ...... 31
4.2.1.3 Project Management Unit ...... 32
4.2.1.4 Local Economic Development Department ...... 32
4.2.1.5 Water and Sanitation: Chris Hani District Municipality ...... 32
4.2.2 Comments from Government officials ...... 33
4.2.2.1 South African Local Government Association (SALGA): Eastern Cape ...... 33
4.2.2.2 Department of Roads and Public Works: Eastern Cape ..... 33
4.2.3 Comments from the Business Sector ...... 33
4.2.4 Comments from property developers ...... 34
4.2.5 Summary of the government and business surveys ...... 35
4.2.6 The community survey ...... 35
4.2.6.1 Economic Status ...... 36
4.2.6.2 Access to Government Services ...... 37
4.2.6.3 Access to Municipal Services ...... 38
4.2.6.4 Projects Developmental Plans ...... 39
4.3 PROJECTS IN THE IDP THAT RELATE TO URBAN REVITALISATION ..... 40
4.3.1 Office Space ...... 40
4.3.2 Shopping Mall/Complex ...... 41
4.3.3 Solid waste removal ...... 41
4.3.4 Small Town Development Plans ...... 41
4.4 SMALL TOWNS DEVELOPMENT PLAN ...... 42
vii 4.5 EVIDENCE OF CURRENT IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS WITHIN THE TOWNS ...... 43
4.6 CONCLUDING COMMENTS ...... 44
CHAPTER FIVE ...... 45
5.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 45
5.2 SUMMARY OF AIM AND OBJECTIVES ...... 45
5.3 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ...... 45
5.4 OVERALL CONCLUSIONS ...... 47
5.5 RECOMMENDATIONS TO VARIOUS STAKEHOLDER GROUPINGS ...... 47
5.6 FINAL CONCLUDING COMMENTS ...... 49
REFERENCES ...... 50
viii LIST OF ANNEXURES
ANNEXURE 1: Letter Requesting Permission ...... 55
ANNEXURE 2: Questionnaire – General Public ...... 56
ANNEXURE 3: Questionnaire for Businesses ...... 60
ANNEXURE 4: Interview of Government or Municipal Official ...... 65
ANNEXURE 5: Turnitin Report ...... 67
ANNEXURE 6: Letter from the Language Editor ...... 68
ANNEXURE 7: Permission to Submit...... 69
ANNEXURE 8: Declaration by Candidate ...... 71
ANNEXURE 9: Ethical Clearance ...... 72
ix LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Locality Map ...... 3
Figure 4.1: Employment status of respondents in Cofimvaba and Tsomo...... 36
Figure 4.2: Recently completed street lights and tarred roads in Cofimvaba ...... 43
Figure 4.3: Street lights and road construction in Tsomo ...... 43
Figure 4.4: Tsomo Resting area adjacent to the new municipal offices in Tsomo .... 44
Figure 4.5: Tsomo Public Library ...... 44
x LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1: Home ownership in Cofimvaba and Tsomo ...... 37
Table 4.2: Level of service of government offices per town ...... 37
Table 4.3: Showing services that respondents have access to in Tsomo and Cofimvaba ...... 38
Table 4.4: Proportion of respondents that are paying for municipal services in Cofimvaba and Tsomo ...... 38
Table 4.5: Knowledge of Municipal Planning and Development ...... 39
Table 4.6: Projects proposed within the Small Town development Plans ...... 42
xi ABBREVIATIONS
LED : Local Economic Development
SMMEs : Small Medium Micro-sized Enterprises
IDP : Integrated Development Plan
COGTA : Cooperative government and Traditional Affairs
MIG : Municipal Infrastructure Grant
USDG : Urban Settlements Development Grant
SALGA : South African Local Government Association
ECDPW : Eastern Cape Departments of Public Works
DRDLR : Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
xii CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of the research is to examine the impact of small town revitalization strategies in an Eastern Cape rural municipality, and to seek possible solutions in order to address the current challenges relating to infrastructure, institutional and socio-economic growth through small towns revitalisation. The research will focus on the two major towns in Intsika Yethu Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, namely Cofimvaba and Tsomo.
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
According to (Bernstein, 2000) there are 500 small towns in South Africa, with a combined population of 3.3 million, which makes it 8% of the total population. Bernstein (2000) further defines a small town by looking at the context of South Africa. Rapid urbanisation, with changes in the agricultural sector, has recently seen some depopulation of rural areas with an accompanying growth of large urban metropolitan centres. This trend has impacted small towns, resulting in small town decline (Donaldson & Marais, 2012).
There is an assertion that small towns are closely linked to the servicing of people’s needs from the surrounding rural areas. These towns are the service centres (areas) where communities collect their grants, access markets to sell their agricultural products, access health care services and do their shopping, while to others, it is their place of work and daily living (Wessels, 2010). LED projects are usually the driving force behind development in small town communities and initiatives linked to these projects, range from craft centres to poultry farming and building arts. In most cases, these initiatives take place outside town centres by passing the economic hub that could have formed the basis for rural development in the area (Donaldson & Marais, 2012).
The government is seen to be a vital role player in terms of attracting investments into these small towns where they can provide tax breaks, loans and subsidies to attract
1 wealthy individuals and companies. Small Town Revitalisation is a government initiative initiated to address conditions of poverty and inequalities in small towns.
One note-worthy aspect is that small town revitalization never got the marquee status to be part of the Urban Renewal Projects that focused on eight (8) urban nodes in six (6) cities across South Africa. With the birth of a democratic state, urban renewal had a founding policy, envisaged to eradicate past injustices spatially, economically, socially and institutionally (Donaldson & Du Plessis, 2013).
The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has initiated a process of drafting Guidelines for the Revitalisation of Rural Towns and Regions in South Africa. These guidelines can be conceptualised as a focus on transforming rural places, rather than the blanket application of policies and approaches in rural development (DRDLR, 2010).
1.2 STUDY AREA
Intsika Yethu is mainly a rural municipality with a total population of 145 372 in 2011 and 146 341 in 2016, and that after years of population decline the population has stabilised and even increased slightly since 2011. The two major towns of Tsomo and Cofimvaba had a joint population in 2011 of approximately 16 221 which constitutes 11,16% of the municipal population. Geographically Tsomo is located at 32° 2'16.06"S 27°49'12.19"E and Cofimvaba is located at 32° 0'10.23"S 27°34'49.56"E. Cofimvaba is located 148 km from the town of Mthatha and 79 km from the town of Queenstown. The town of Tsomo is located 149 km away from the Buffalo City Metropolitan area and 102 km away from Queenstown. Tsomo and Cofimvaba are located 25 km away from each other. In terms of the Small Town Development Plans of both towns (N.R.M Consulting, 2010), the towns are characterised by weak economic opportunities, a large dependency on social grants, government employment and seasonal employment in the agricultural sector.
2
Source: IYM GIS: 2016 Figure 1.1: Locality Map
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT
In a paper published in August 2017, the Eastern Cape Premier outlined the challenges that face South Africa’s small rural towns:
‘Overloaded old and collapsing infrastructure. Lack of capacity in infrastructure development and maintenance. Small towns are not attracting new private investment. New private investment is constrained by lack of public land transfer and including tenure issues. There are typically poor relationships between municipalities and business and ratepayers. Provincial government support has been rather fragmented.’
Masualle (2017)
Cofimvaba and Tsomo are known as the economic hubs for Intsika Yethu Municipality, yet the towns display many of the challenges outlined by the Premier. Both towns have notably shown minimal signs of economic development arising from various issues,
3 such as non-adherence to planning frameworks, land invasion and the lack of adequate infrastructure or funding to support economic growth. This has affected the long term development of these small towns. Added to the above challenges, is an increase in population numbers in these two towns, which is a result of people migrating from the surrounding rural areas. The national planning frameworks suggest that urbanization occurs in the already developed towns or cities (NPC, 2011), but it is also prevalent in small towns.
The Intsika Yethu Municipality in 2010 with the assistance of the Chris Hani District Municipality funded the development of the Small Town Revitalisation plan for both Cofimvaba and Tsomo. The objective was to have a strategic plan that will guide the municipality in better allocating resources and development programs towards revitalisation efforts with the hope of attracting investment and opening up economic opportunities for the locals. When the plan was ready and adopted by the council, Infrastructure and improved town planning which include land ownership were the key catalysts for the plan to be realised and that needed a huge cash injection which the municipality on its own could not afford. Backlogs in infrastructure delivery and land issues which impacts negatively on town and settlement planning meant that the plan could not be implemented although it was key in changing the condition of the two towns.
The municipality also had a Local Economic Development Strategy which the council adopted in 2007 which was relying heavily on the irrigation schemes like Ncora, Qamata and Bilatye which once were sources of employment and locals directly benefited from them in the 70’s but since collapsed. For them to get back to their potential, needed huge funding which the municipality did not have. The Department of Rural development and Land Reform had plans to revive these schemes including the one of Agri Parks but the poor Inter Governmental Relations and Coordination resulted in those efforts being frustrated and at the centre was funding that a rural municipality like Intsika Yethu could not access directly.
Funding mechanisms from national government are concentrated in the already developed cities through grant programs such as the Neighbourhood Development Grant, Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG), Municipal infrastructure Grant (MIG) and other urban renewal related grants. When comparing the basic level of 4 services in Cofimvaba and Tsomo, to more developed municipalities, funding for Infrastructure and other amenities for revitalising is limited only to the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) (Department of Provincial and Local Government, 2006).
The Premier noted that the Eastern Cape government has adopted the Integrated Small Towns Revitalisation Strategy with the overall goal to address the socio- economic decline of small towns in the Province. While Cofimvaba and Tsomo are not on the list of prioritised towns, the two towns are nevertheless part of an initiative by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (2010) to revitalize small towns in rural areas.
The research initiative will attempt to assess the socio-economic impacts of recent revitalization efforts in Cofimvaba and Tsomo.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Are there pieces of legislation/frameworks available in South Africa on small towns that are able to guide revitalization efforts in rural municipalities to enhance socio-economic development What institutional arrangement or governance is in place to address efforts to revitalize the towns of Cofimvaba and Tsomo? How has funding mechanisms availed from national government, assisted in the revitalization of Cofimvaba and Tsomo? Have revitalization initiatives in these two towns shown any discernible improvements across the challenges that have been identified?
1.5 AIM OF THE STUDY
The overall aim of the research is to assess the impacts of efforts by the various spheres of government to revitalize Cofimvaba and Tsomo.
5 1.6 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The first objective is to review the literature that relates to the challenges facing small towns, particularly in developing countries such as South Africa, and strategies to address their revitalization; A second objective is to assess the livelihoods and socio-economic status of the residents of Cofimvaba and Tsomo as a background to the revitalization efforts in towns; A third objective is to conduct research in Cofimvaba and Tsomo to review government strategies and practice to revitalize these towns. The research seeks to determine how Cofimvaba and Tsomo can be revitalized through a range of interventions, such as collaborative institutional arrangements and capital investment in infrastructure. The fourth objective is to conduct an opinion survey among formal businesses and business structures to assess the impacts of the revitalization efforts on the business sector; The final objective is to use the findings of the research to make recommendations to the various stakeholder groups in Cofimvaba and Tsomo in order to support the efforts of government to revitalize the towns.
1.7 METHODOLOGY
A mixed approach was adopted for the purposes of the research by making use of qualitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative data was gathered from the municipal IDP and government departments’ implementation plans. Qualitative was obtained through interviews with people living within the towns of Tsomo and Cofimvaba, as well as the business community. Municipal officials were interviewed to assess the challenges that they face in the development of the towns and their roles in urban revitalization.
6 1.8 ORGANISATION OF THE REPORT
Chapter Two: Review of Literature
The second chapter of this research will provide a review of literature on the revitalization of small towns in both developed and developing countries. This will include a history and definition of small towns along with a definition of revitalization and a discussion of policies related to revitalisation/regeneration focusing on international and South African examples. This chapter will identify the economic and social characteristics of small towns, both internationally and locally as well as highlight successful examples of development interventions in small towns that are making reference to case studies.
Chapter Three: Methodology
In chapter three a mixture of methods will be used to access primary and secondary data. This will include explanations as to why both quantitative and qualitative data was used in the research process. Additionally, the methodology chapter will also justify the use of semi-structured, open-ended interviews and questionnaires as the chief source of primary data, while the reasons for using various sources of statistical data will also be stated. Ethical issues will also be addressed.
Chapter Four: Findings
Chapter Four will focus on the data gathered through questionnaires from the 40 respondents and interviews of municipal officials. The data gathered will be analysed and validated against municipal plans and policies.
Chapter Five: Conclusion
The final chapter of the research report ties together the findings from the research process, and concludes the research with findings, providing suggestions and lessons for future revitalization practices in small towns.
7 1.9 ANTICIPATED LIMITATIONS
Language barrier as questionnaires will be in English. While participants from the municipality, government departments and the business community are unlikely to have problems in answering questions in English, the fieldworkers conducting the community survey will have to translate the questions into Xhosa, which is the language spoken by the vast majority of the inhabitants of the two towns. Unavailability of municipal and other government officials may delay the completion of the questionnaires. Government officials may be busy with other obligations and are frequently in meetings, whether locally or elsewhere. The researcher will first ensure that the officials understand the relevance of the research. He will make arrangements in good time to engage with the officials and check periodically to ensure that the dates for interviews are adhered to. Incomplete questionnaires may necessitate that the researcher and/or the fieldworkers have to repeat some interviews to obtain the missing information.
1.10 CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the purpose of the chapter was to provide a background to the research problem and to unpack the aim and objectives of the research. The proposed structure of the report is outlined while anticipated limitations are noted.
8 CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 INTRODUCTION
The concept of revitalisation is that of revamping and rejuvenating with a clear objective to achieve the results through revitalisation. As South Africa assumes a new political and social form there is also a growing need to reconstruct and revitalise the foundations of socio-economic growth (Dewar, 1994). The big cities are now over crowded by people looking for economic opportunities and access to better education and healthcare facilities. Now that the big cities are not coping, people now are moving towards small towns and the infrastructure and facilities in these small town need to be revitalised to accommodating the fast growing population and expectations for better services. It is why now government policies are focussing in the revitalisation efforts of small towns.
Many small towns face growing challenges of physical, environmental and socio- economic decline. Even if there appears to be growth and development in that particular community, there may be decay as well resulting from outmigration and a gradual decline of economic activity in that small town. There are four categories of small towns which are as follows: “Performing Well, Maintaining, Under-performing and struggling. Performing well- defined as having employment rates above the national average. Maintaining – defined as having an employment rate within 3% of the national average. Under-performing – defined as having an employment rate 3% to 5% lower than the nation’s average; and Struggling – defined as having an employment rate more than 5% lower than the nation’s average” (Donaldson & Marais, 2012).
The numerous problems that small towns are facing range from fragmented land uses, decaying infrastructure to deteriorating facilities and buildings. There may also be a higher percentage of low income households, with households depending on social grants rather than on salaries and wages. The towns may also be characterised by weak land and housing markets. The above problems must be addressed if a healthy
9 economic and social environment is to be maintained, in essence, revitalising a small town in that process (Cook & Bentley, 1986).
The purpose of this chapter is to unpack issues and challenges faced by small towns in both developed and developing countries. A review on small towns revitalisation efforts that have been made internationally and in South Africa will also be provided and analysed.
Small towns may share similar characteristics but they may differ in the history of their origin. Historically, their existence was a result of establishment of sectors like agriculture, mining and tourism in the surrounding areas, which supported the local economy and which may be linked to external investments and global economic activities and trade (Donaldson & Marais, 2012).
As a result of the often fragile global economy, it impacts on the survival of small towns when it periodically collapses. When the local economy collapses, the local socio- economic environment suffers due to services offered by that small town, no longer being in demand or relevant in the global economy. Small towns may die a slow death, hence it is important to look at way of revitalising them for the benefit of the people who reside in these small towns and call them home. This is why it is important to look at ways of revitalising small towns in order to rejuvenate the activities that can support the local economy to a stage where it can improve the living standards and services of the local people so that they may be able to attract investments into the small town once again.
There is a substantial literature of examples regarding the revitalisation in more developed countries, such as Europe, the United Kingdom and the USA, as well as countries in Asia and Latin American, which compares their efforts to those in African countries. The literary review will consider problems facing small towns in both developed and developing countries and revitalisation strategies. Furthermore, for the purpose of providing a substantial support of cases of revitalisation in South Africa, this chapter will also focus on work done on the changing demographic trends of small towns by various organisations and researchers, such as the Centre for Development and Enterprise (Bernstein, 2000), (Dewar, 1994) and (Krige, 1995). The literature review will consider the challenges of creating economic bases for small towns by
10 authors such as Marais (2004), Nel (2001) and Parhanse (2007), as well as the potential of small towns by Van der Merwe, et al (2005) and others.
The challenges of small towns globally are well documented, but the focus of the current research is to focus on two small towns in rural Eastern Cape, namely the towns of Cofimvaba and Tsomo, looking at revitalisation approaches and methods that have been implemented.
2.2 SMALL TOWN IN FOCUS
With the literature covering issues around small towns and their revitalisation in developed and developing economies being reviewed, it is evident that the scale or the coverage of revitalisation is not the same. In developed economies, the focus is on revitalising parts of the city which in many cases are main streets and city centres, whereas in developing economies, the focus tends to be on the entire town.
2.3 OVERVIEW OF SMALL TOWNS IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
International literature on small towns, describes the concept of small towns as localities that are service centres serving the local market. These service centres vary and are based on the specialisation among local businesses, such as butcheries, grocery stores and filling stations, serving the same local residents. One also finds businesses such as local general practitioners who refer patients to more specialised doctors in the cities. Small towns receive input from the larger higher–order centres. This system of service centres comprises a hierarchy of settlements. Extraneous variables may change the role played by a small town compared to larger towns; for example, very low rural incomes will reduce the local market and discourage local business, while efficient long distance-transportation may reduce the local market. This may be due to the local consumers preferring to travel to larger centres where there are sophisticated services and a greater variety of shops (Atkinson, 2008). Oakley (2015:18) sees “regeneration as being a broad term, encompassing environmental, social and economic aspects’’.
“Regeneration should be far more than a ‘bricks and mortar’ type improvement in the local environment, but should also ensure improved employment opportunities, particularly for poorer communities, increased
11 health and well-being and enhanced quality of life for citizens”. (Oakley, 2015:18)
Collits (2003) and Davies (1998) allude to a number of factors that have had a significant impact on small towns in developed countries by causing them to decline. These factors include a decrease in population due to history and geography such as unstable micro and macro-economies in communities which have been dependent on primary economic sectors such as mining, fisheries and agriculture. There has been a growth in environmental concerns, rapid technological changes as well as a change in consumer habits and lifestyle, an increase in debt levels and low income levels; a gradual decline in health and education services and a deterioration of infrastructure. Seemingly there are different viewpoints on the extent of pressure which is placed on small towns by the above phenomenon. Ultimately there have been calls for rapid policy responses by governments to address the above factors.
Four views are provided by Collits (2003) when considering whether or not the decline of small towns is indeed a policy problem. Firstly, Collits (2003) sees this decline as an inevitable and logical result of geography, history and globalisation. Secondly, he notes that this decline is unavoidable, but states that special assistance is owed to small towns to enable them to maintain an adequate level of services. Another suggestion is that small-town decline is the result of a mixture of short- and long term causes linked to actions (and inaction) based on government policies. Another suggestion is that the communities themselves can turn their economies around.
Deficiencies of small towns are exacerbated by their inability to retain their social, economic and institutional status. Small towns in most developed countries previously had flourishing industries, ranging from mining, fishing, shipping and textile. With industrialisation and globalisation, advantageous locations or bigger towns or cities caused an exodus of most small towns. The lifeline of small towns is placed on the youth who also migrate to bigger towns and cities primarily to seek better education as there are few or no recognised education institutions in small towns. Even after getting their degrees in urban education institutions, they are unable to come back to small towns as there are minimal job opportunities (Lambe & Morgan, 2010). Property ownership and minimal rateable values also cripple the economy and viability of small towns to be able to sustain themselves. Most properties are owned by previous or
12 closed industries and government institutions. As such, these towns are in conditions of disrepair, this making them un-rateable. Investments in infrastructure become uneconomical as there are no revenue streams to fund repayments of loans. There is also a recent problem that small towns are facing in their mission of revitalisation and that is the issue of gentrification, which results in the locals being unable live in these towns due to an increase in property values and services (Collits, 2003).
2.4 REVITALISATION EFFORT IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Revitalisation is a process to rehabilitate and improve the physical, environmental and socio-economic condition of an area. In her report, Sutton (2008) states that American cities, predominantly those in the northeast and Midwest, have endeavoured to address the prospects and the challenges of the shift from an industrial to post- industrial based economy. Northeast in America encountered a decline when employment and manufacturing firms migrated to the south and oversees. This resulted in the decline of the middle class population and an increase in the low income and poor residents. Municipal services were also affected as the revenue for the city declined, causing a burden to the infrastructure as it could not be maintained. This led to the city in the beginning of the 20th century, to innovatively deal with spatial and social strategies in order to deal with the revitalization of neighbourhoods and to stimulate urban growth and development. This process was aided by the adoption and implementation of polices by the US government.
2.5 OVERVIEW OF SMALL TOWNS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
The overview of small towns in developing countries will focus on Africa. Since independence of a number of African countries, African cities have gone through a metamorphosis. They have grown in terms of size, form and use, where large cities have expanded continuously. An influx of people has been experienced from rural to urban areas in the earlier post-independence period. At the dawn of the 20th century the medium sized town is growing rapidly, thus contributing to the deteriorating condition of the existing infrastructure and public services. This deterioration of services and infrastructure can be attributed to the un-parallel mismatch between urban and economic growth. Urban populations continue to grow, out pacing urban
13 economies and the resources needed such as roads, sewers, water systems, schools, housing and hospitals (Pacione, 2009).
The current spatial phenomenon shows a movement of people from the former colonial central business districts (CBD) to the urban periphery where land is cheaper and more accessible. This has led to conflicts because of urban encroachment on rural areas. Now this has put pressures on the state or government to encourage peri- urban development zones economically, institutionally and socially.
Small town challenges and revitalisation in Nigeria serves as an example of how these issues have impacted on developing countries.
Nigeria has been one of the fast growing economies in Africa and currently has the second most viable economy in Africa second to South Africa. Lagos is the capital city of Nigeria and Lagos Lagoon is one of the lagoons along the coastal area between the coast of the Republic of Benin and Nigeria. Lagos Lagoon has its origin from being a fishing and farming settlement. Due do urbanisation, the capital city of Lagos grew exponentially, the inherit problem was that not everyone could fit or be able to maintain the city life. With the lagoon being the closest area to the city, most of the people moved into the lagoon. The other inherited problem is pressures on land use management, where there was a wide spread sprawl within the lagoon area. There has also been a pressure on services and infrastructure such as sanitation, roads and water (Dimuna & Omatsone, 2017).
Nigeria is one of the countries that have vouched to meet the millennium development goals and most importantly, the ones related to human settlement and economic growth. Lagos Lagoon provides solutions that other coastal towns may use in revitalisation efforts. Proposals takes into consideration a revitalisation approach that is based on improving the tourism outlook of the lagoon. Focus is to be placed on recreational, tourism and housing improvements. Highlighted revitalisation elements include landscaping, infrastructure upgrading and control of land uses along sensitive areas (Dimuna & Omatsone, 2017).
14 2.6 CHALLENGES OF SMALL TOWNS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Unplanned urbanisation has been highlighted as the significant contributor to urban slums and the general decay of towns and cities of all scales. Unplanned urbanisation has had a huge impact on small towns that are abutting bigger towns and cities, where there has been an accelerated mushrooming of shanty areas or locations characterised by land invasions. There is a general freehold approach in these towns where there is a disregard of municipal bylaws that relates to how the land is used, to how land is to be demarcated. These areas are characterised by encroachments over public open spaces and road reserves. Connection to available services, if any, is done illegally thus causing outrages of water and electricity as demand generated by these has not been planned for. Due to the close proximity of buildings in these small towns, and most of them abutting major access roads into the cities, they are characterised by heavy traffic congestions. Being close to the big towns or cities, these small towns also face the problem generated by urbanisation which is housing shortages. Adequate land to provide the abovementioned housing is a challenge in most instances as the land that is suitable, is far from the areas accessible to transport, areas of work and areas of schooling. Social disorder is prevalent in these small towns as most of its inhabitants are unemployed. Their source of income comes from part time jobs and government grants (Dimuna & Omatsone, 2017).
2.7 REVITALISATION EFFORTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Regeneration of small towns in developing countries plays an important stimulus to achieving a harmonious, attractive and aesthetic environment which can generate centres of delight. It would also boost socio-economic development and the quality of life in urban and rural centres (Dimuna & Omatsone, 2017). The nature of small towns between developed and developing countries tend to differ as small towns in developed countries were completely functional before their decay, whilst small towns in developing countries were either just mere satellite services centres which served rural settlements or shanty towns that developed on the out skirts of bigger urban centres. Revitalisation efforts in developing countries area town based where the whole town landscape needs changes. Successes in revitalisation are not as prominent in small towns in developing countries as their small towns face challenges
15 related to land use management, policy implementation, lack of funding and lack of staff within government institutions (Duyar- Kienast, 2010).
2.8 SMALL TOWNS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Donaldson & Marais (2012) outlines a number of characteristics that define small towns in South Africa, such as a static or declining economic base, high unemployment rates, a growing number of poor households on the outskirts of the towns, a disproportionately high population of older people, poor and declining quality of urban service and a lack of capacity of local municipalities to provide basic services.
South Africa was predominantly rural, serviced largely by small towns that had been initially established for administrative, judicial, religious, military and mining. Rapid urbanisation coupled with changes in the agricultural sector has recently seen some depopulation of rural areas with an accompanying growth of large urban metropolitan centres. This trend has impacted small towns and while benefiting a few places it resulted mostly in the decline of small towns (Donaldson & Marais, 2012).
Since the dawn of our new democracy, the government of South Africa has introduced a number of plans and adopted policies and frameworks to address the work of an apartheid era that divided the population according to racial lines. This started with the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) as a coherent socio-economic policy framework that seeks to mobilise people and resources to eradicate what was created by the apartheid system and to create an environment conducive to every South African (Finance Department, 1996).
Soon after that, South Africa focused on growing the economy and initiatives like the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) were introduced as a macro- economic strategy though they faced resistance from the labour movement (Finance Department, 1996). The plan was to grow the economy, create an enabling environment for investment and thus creating employment opportunities for a new democracy. This was to keep up with the goals of RDP. Over time, due to challenges and frustrations, GEAR was replaced with Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA) which was launched in February 2006 again to make sure that South Africa does provide economic opportunities for its citizens. This plan was
16 supported by spatial development frameworks (SDF’s) to create zones and land use parcels for growth and development (The Presidency SA, 2007). The three (3) spheres of government have aligned plans that talk to the national initiatives, where you would have a Local Spatial Development Framework (LSDF) talking to the Provincial Spatial Development Framework (PSDF) that too is aligned to the National Spatial Development Framework (NSDF).
South Africa as a developing economy faces challenges of migration and urbanisation due to the increasing need for economic opportunities and better services. It then prompts the government to look at programs like urban renewal/regeneration to revive township economies and improve services to curb urbanisation which is occurring at an alarming rate. Big cities like Cape Town, Johannesburg and to some extent Durban and Pretoria are being challenged as their infrastructure is under enormous pressure due to in-migration. The poor levels of services and lack of economic opportunities are the main reason why people leave their places of birth and where they grew up to more from rural areas or small towns to the cities for greater opportunities.
2.8.1 Challenges of Small Towns in South Africa
Having reviewed challenges that face small towns in other parts of the world, we will now turn our attention to challenges facing small towns in South Africa. There are a variety of challenges ranging from the effects of migration and urbanisation to the access to health and social services and local economic development
2.8.1.1 Urbanisation
Outward and inward migration play a role in creating the character of small towns. This innately determines the social, economic and institutional growth of small towns. Most people from small town and the surrounding areas move to bigger towns and cities for the betterment of their livelihoods. Thus this leaves these small towns deprived institutionally and economically (Desai & Potter, 2014).
To resolve the above issues, a call for effective revitalisation of economic hubs in small towns needs to be looked at in order to improve the quality of living and access to economic means. This can be done by the upgrading of infrastructure which primarily
17 benefits the locals and this in turn can be a catalyst to attract much needed investment towards small towns (Desai & Potter, 2014).
The push towards higher densities of small towns and also large population concentrations can lower the costs for the provision of most needed infrastructure and services. Governance or the putting in place of regulatory frameworks and by-laws can ensure adequate quality environments and sustainable livelihoods for the inhabitants. In all settlements, rural and urban, environmental management can be a task that can be intensely political and this can be attributed to different competing interests for the ownership of advantageous locations or the use of the limited resources (Desai & Potter, 2014).
2.8.1.1.1 Access to Health Services
Small town are labelled as not having the required population size to obtain the full quota of medical services, from the specialised doctors to private clinics. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC, 2007) acknowledges that many South Africans cannot access higher level health services, as they are not able to afford the transport needed to access such facilities. Most rural or small town hospitals lack the needed doctor capacity; in most cases there is only one doctor per shift and without any doctors on duty over the weekend. Government has made provisions for a rural allowance that has been paid to medical doctors in ensuring medical services in rural areas. Small towns face the challenge of not having a full-time medical practitioner as more highly-skilled people are unwilling to settle in a small town. Considering the lack of skilled people in many of these settlements, there should be a cause for concern (Donaldson & Marais, 2012)
2.8.1.1.2 Access to Social Services
Nel (2001) notes the heightened importance of social grants for the local economic development of small towns. People can only have access to social grants if they have specific documentation, and approval, provided by the Department of Social Development and the Department of Home Affairs. Yet, there are irregularities of the service rendered by the Department of Social Development. This is exacerbated by challenges facing the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), both at district and local levels. There is also a lack of institutional integration in the Departments of Home
18 Affairs, Labour, Health and Social Development that makes it hard to achieve the social-support objectives of the government in general or to assist small-town residents in their desperate bid to access social services and grants (Donaldson & Marais, 2012).
The solution to the above problem may be the creation of service centres where the offices of the abovementioned departments are housed in one building. One other solution would be the decentralisation of services from national and province to local government
2.8.1.1.3 Spatial and Economic Development Contexts
Economic Planning and strategic spatial planning form part of the challenges to small town development where they are not implemented correctly (Meyer, 2014). Spatial Planning is a new phenomenon to small towns and the current or existing plans are not implemented to their fullest. Integrated Development Plans of municipalities also provide a challenge as some government programmes do not make it to the IDP document. The National Spatial Development Perspective (Oranje, et al., 2009) stipulates that growth opportunity should be given to small towns with limited potential, allowing them to showcase their potential, yet it fails to provide any operational framework. The Industrial Development Corporation in 1997 initiated the Spatial Development Initiative programme with its principles based on the growth of development corridors that link key economic nodes and regions in the country.
Local planning processes also contribute to general challenges in small towns. This is attributed to planners being used for purposes of advising instead of making decisions on how the small town landscape should look (Donaldson & Marais, 2012).
2.8.1.1.4 Local Economic Development in Municipalities
Some reflection is to be required on policy and practice in respect of local economic development (LED). Local economic development is a process managed by municipalities by promoting social and economic development (RSA, 1996). Significant progress has been made in the cities and local governments in small towns are left behind due to funding issues since there is limited funding mechanism from the national treasury available (Nel, 2001). The top–down style of national policy
19 implementation in small towns has also created various practical problems while demoralising people rather than assisting in LED promotion (Nel, 2001).
2.8.1.1.5 Revitalisation Efforts in South Africa
In the South African context, the concept of urban renewal has its origin in two distinct policy trajectories. These are the RDP White paper, which emphasises social transformation and basic needs, and economic development policy documents emphasizing the need for economic growth and transformation. This reflects the policy complexities arising out of the South African concern for maintaining a balance between the mutually reinforcing processes of growth and development (Engelbrecht, 2004).Meyer (2014) notes the two priorities of government in the National Development Plan, which are job creation and rural development. Most small towns that have been earmarked for revitalisation, are in rural areas that are in need for government related interventions. For the purpose of the section, giving a definition for rural development is important. Chambers (1983) defines rural development as a strategy to enable a specific group of people that includes poor rural women and men, to gain for themselves and their children more of what they need. Local Economic Development is therefore very important in realising what is stated by Chambers’ definition of rural development. Therefore Local Economic Development is the foundation for any development in cases of small town development in South Africa. This approach calls for initiatives done by the people for the people. Ownership by the people during and after revitalisation process is an important factor in the growth of the small towns (Meyer, 2014).
The lack of opportunities in small towns has led government through departments such as the Treasury and the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to formulate Guidelines for the Revitalisation of Rural Towns and Regions in South Africa (DRDLR, n.d.).
The Guidelines document contains a wide range of possible interventions to address urban revitalization. These range from improved accessibility, revitalizing dilapidated physical infrastructure, bolstering economic opportunities for formal businesses, SMMEs and informal traders, upgrading social and public amenities to urban
20 beautification and more. It considers the roles of different stakeholder groupings and notes the importance of inter-sector collaboration.
Recently the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, introduced a concept of Agri-Parks which will be used, amongst other things, to process local produce and create market opportunities. The strategic objectives of the Agri-Parks is to combine and utilise the National Development Plan (NPC, 2011), the New Growth Plan (NGP) and Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) to revitalise agriculture and the Agro processing value chain, thus unlocking the potential of SMME’s, cooperatives, townships and rural enterprises (DRDLR, 2016). In Intsika Yethu Municipality this has started up in the area of Ncora to use mainly Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a vehicle of investment in small towns of Tsomo and Cofimvaba. This is to help promote the second economy in these towns and the use of existing public infrastructure to boost tourism and agro-processing.
Other structures have also addressed the need for small town regeneration. One of these is the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). According to its website (https://www.salga.org.za/Salga%20News110.html) ‘The Small Town Regeneration (STR) and Regional Economic Development (RED) initiative has been one of the flagship initiatives of SALGA since 2014/15. It is aimed at influencing municipalities to target small towns as entry points to effective spatial transformation, stimulate economic growth, create employment and make optimum use of available services and resources.’ SALGA hosts annual conferences around the country at which information and research findings are shared and municipalities are encouraged to employ innovative approaches to achieve the objectives of small town regeration. At SALGA’s inaugural Small Town’s Conference that was held in October 2015, Minister Gugile Nkwinti emphasised the role of small towns in rural economic transformation. The conference was aimed at tackling the challenges that hamper the economic potential of small towns in South Africa.
Efforts that have been applied in the town of Sutterheim all advocate for the betterment of the environment that people are living and working in. Stutterheim is a small town in the District of Amatole in the province of Eastern Cape and it is located along the N6. Its revitalisation was needed as it was part of the N6 development corridor. The revitalisation of Stutterheim fostered Local Economic Development, which involved
21 boosting small and the informal businesses. The important things one would see at the outset in the town of Stutterheim, is formalised informal traders that are trading in wooden hawker stalls that were built by the local youth. Another element of revitalisation within the town involved road infrastructure, landscaping and street landscaping. The key lessons from the revitalisation of the small town of Stutterheim needs to be adopted in all small town developments in South Africa, such as; strong relationships between government, the public and the private sectors. People should be the key drivers of the programmes within the project of revitalisation and key emphasis should be placed on youth involvement and development as well as the use of local resources. These implementations are the key to boosting the economy of the small towns (Donaldson & Marais, 2012).
2.9 AN OVERVIEW OF THE CASE STUDY
Intsika Yethu Municipality (IYM), which has approximately 145 372 in population, is located within the Chris Hani District Municipality of the Eastern Cape. It has 21 wards, and is bounded by municipalities such as Sakhisizwe, Engcobo, Emalahleni, Enoch Mgijima, Amahlati, Mnquma, and Mbashe. Cofimvaba and Tsomo are the main towns and the rural residential component comprises 213 villages scattered throughout the municipal area. IYM prides itself in providing the best agricultural resources in the land, with three irrigation schemes viz. Ncora, Qamata and Bilatye Irrigation Schemes.
These schemes are considered to be the biggest not only in the province but in South Africa as the whole. With its rich biophysical endowments in the form of rivers and plains, its pristine natural veld, valleys and unique landscapes (for tourism), its rich heritage resources and its relatively good soils; Intsika Yethu natural and heritage resources should be what gold is to Gauteng, platinum to North West, and coal in Mpumalanga in so far as economic development is concerned. It is incongruous that the area with such abundance of natural resources (water and land) remains trapped in abject poverty and high levels of unemployment (IYM, 2016).
The area faces the daunting challenge of addressing the legacy of poverty, unemployment and under development that has been brought by decades of apartheid neglect and mismanagement. Despite progress being made at the national level in terms of economic development and job creation, the Intsika Yethu Municipal area
22 continues to be characterised as one of the poorest municipalities in the country. The municipality has two major towns, namely Cofimvaba and Tsomo that need to be revitalised to position the municipality economically by using its available resources to improve its economic potential and deliver quality services (DBSA, 2007).
The small town development plans for Tsomo and Cofimvaba in the Intsika Yethu municipality highlight the importance of looking at developmental strategies to improve the functioning of the towns economically, social, institutionally and spatially aspects. People are migrating from the surrounding rural areas and moving into the commonage boundaries seeking to be closer to government services, employment opportunities and town life. The migrants are predominantly people who are there for work purposes and most of them are likely to be low to medium income earners. One of the main challenges that these individual face when they arrive in these towns, is the issue of accommodation, where most have no choice but to choose rental accommodation which is most affordable, or else to construct informal dwellings.
This flow of people to these small towns also has an implication on land use management, particularly since the current policies are out-dated and do not accommodate or guide the spatial growth patterns of the towns. The partial implementation of spatial and related municipal by-laws has also had negative impacts on the control of land invasions.
Before outlining the findings with regard to the aim and the objective of the research, giving a description/character of the study area is important. The study areas are the towns of Tsomo and Cofimvaba with an estimated combined population of 16 221. The town of Cofimvaba is preferred by people coming into Intsika Yethu municipality due to its higher level of economic and institutional services. The town of Cofimvaba is more developed compared to Tsomo. Most government district offices have chosen Cofimvaba to be the base of their offices, while their satellite offices are located in Tsomo. Furthermore, most of the townships in Cofimvaba have water-borne sanitation, which is not the case among all of Tsomo’s townships.
23 Efforts have been made by the municipality even before the approval and adoption by the council of the Small Town Revitalisation Plan. The municipality saw the need to invest in infrastructure for both towns. In 2008 they started with the upgrading program of their internal roads from gravel to surfaced standards. This was the municipality’s first effort to make their town accessible.
The Chris Hani District Municipality also as the water services authority embarked on a program to eradicate the bucket system to a full water borne sewerage system and water network meant businesses can expand their services which were not available due to these facilities. Both Eskom and Telkom as the energy and telecommunication authorities respectively in the region upgraded their networks and that enabled growth and development for both towns. Town planning and formalisation of settlements efforts are underway to deal with land allocation and invasion challenges that both towns are experiencing with the newly gazetted Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA) guiding those efforts.
2.10 SUMMARY
It is clear from the literature on small towns that while they remain important as places to live, work and access social services, small towns such as Cofimvaba and Tsomo face great challenges and need to be revitalised in order to survive and thrive. The next chapter will consider the methodology that will be used to assess revitalization efforts and their impacts in these two towns.
24 CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
The aim of the research was to look at the characteristics of small towns and seek solutions to address the challenges relating to infrastructure, institutional and socio- economic growth through small towns revitalisation in the towns of Cofimvaba and Tsomo in Intsika Yethu Municipality. This section of the study addressed the methodology used to achieve the desired result of the study, which was to assess the livelihoods, socio economic status and business opportunities of the two towns by looking at various development indicators.
A mixed approach was adopted for the purposes of the research by making use of the qualitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative data was gathered from the municipal IDP and government departments’ implementation plans. Qualitative data focused on ethnographic interviews with people living within the towns of Tsomo and Cofimvaba and municipal officials working within the municipality to find out their wishes and the challenges that they face in the development of the towns.
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN
Research design is a plan that shows how the researcher plans to investigate the problem (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003). It sets out the exact plans on how the research will be carried out and outlines each step in the process of getting to the findings of the research. In this study a mixed research method will be employed to investigate the studies aims and objectives. According to Creswell (2003), a mixed method approach to research is a method which combines both qualitative and quantitative research methods for in-depth understanding and verification. Bell (2010) cites that quantitative researchers collect facts and study the relationship of one set of facts to another; she adds that they make use of numerical data and their research tool usually consists of structured and predetermined research questions. Qualitative research is, on the other hand, is based on field observation analysis without using statistics (Dooley, 1995). Bell (2010) also notes that it is an approach that is more concerned with the
25 understanding of the individuals’ perceptions of the topic being studied. Babbie & Mouton (2010) supports this by saying “qualitative research allows the researcher to receive understanding of the research topic from the insider’s perspective and stays at the level of observation”. Qualitative research methods include ethnography, case studies, in-depth interviews and participation observation (Cook & Reinchart, 1979). Matthews & Ross (2010), notes that quantitative research is defined as a formal, objective, systematic process where numerical data is utilized to obtain information about the world.
The specific research designs that this study will make use of will be survey research. A desktop document analysis will also be done and this study will also look at analysing the urban regeneration and small town revitalisation policy environment through a literature and document survey and analysis. The survey will be conducted with government officials focusing on municipal employees, and the business community in both towns of Intsika Yethu Municipality and the general public. In terms of municipal officials, key personnel will be interviewed due to their involvement in the developmental sections within the municipality such as town Planning, project management, local economic development units.
A sample of 40 individual respondents from civil society will be interviewed (20 from each of Cofimvaba & Tsomo) using the purposeful sampling technique method. The information will be gathered by means of questionnaires. For the purpose of gathering data, the researcher will be assisted by a team of five (5). This will take place over an estimated period of three (3) months commencing on the 1st July 2017 up to 30th September 2017.
3.3 QUESTIONNAIRE
A questionnaire is defined by Strydom, et al (2005) as a set of questions on a form which is completed by the respondents in respect of the research projects. An unstructured or open ended interview will also be conducted with stakeholders within the municipal departments involved in creative industries within the two cities. According to Salking (2012), the use of unstructured open ended interviews allows the interviewee to elaborate upon responses. The reason for choosing this research design is informed by Babbie & Mouton (2010), where it is cited that a survey research
26 design enables indirect observation through the use of interviews and questionnaires while getting a broad overview of a sample of a larger population.
There are a number of limitations to questionnaires, Matthews & Ross (2010) give the following limitations such as giving the research limited access to in depth experience and feelings, limited opportunities for respondents to answer questions in their own way and questionnaires are generally more effective with a large sample. Despite these limitations, it was concluded that questionnaires will yield the answers that are required to achieve the aim and objectives of this research project.
3.4 SAMPLING
Matthews & Ross (2010) states that a sample is a subset of the population that is drawn to be representative of the whole population in a research project because it reflects characteristics of the entire population. There are different types of sampling such as purposive sampling, which is a sample showing a selective case or cases that will best enable the researcher to explore the research questions in depth. The other type is a probability sampling through which a sample can be shown to be highly representative of the whole population or all the potential cases in terms of relevant criteria. The third is population sampling, which refers to the total number of cases that can be included as research subjects. (Matthews & Ross, 2010).
A sample of 20 individual respondents were taken from each town using the purposeful sampling technique method. Purposive sampling represents a group of different non- probability sampling techniques also known as judgemental, selective or subjective sampling. Purposive sampling relies on the judgement of the researcher when it comes to selecting people, cases or organizations that are to be studied. The sample to be investigated is usually quite small, especially when compared with probability sampling techniques (Matthews & Ross, 2010).
3.5 DATA COLLECTION
The data will be collected using two main research techniques that are questionnaire and written sources such as books, journals and reports. These methods haves been combined in order to collect the necessary data to answer the research question of
27 the study. The World Wide Web and various research data captured there, will be used for research on the revitalisation programs in the developed and developing economies with focus on the Intsika Yethu Municipality. A policy document analysis will be conducted where all policies regarding the revitalisation efforts shall be examined using a desktop document analysis mentioned above. Data or information will be collected through observations, reading through existing documentation and questionnaires from candidates in this study from both towns. Additional questions can be treated as an interview.
3.6 DATA ANALYSIS
The data in this study will be analysed using thematic analysis and a deduction of research findings from the survey questionnaires that will be administered to the participants. The findings will be divided into biographical information, which is the information gathered about the participants in Cofimvaba and Tsomo. Findings on the participants Socio-economic status will be analysed based on their employment status and income. Information will be gathered regarding the participant’s perceptions on the plans and policies that govern the small town urban revitalization. The interviews conducted in this study will be analysed based on interpretation of the responses. Sampling answers will be selected to avoid repetition.
3.7 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF SAMPLE
The validity and reliability of the sample is linked to the different types of samples that one chose to use for the purpose of the study or research, example a purposive sampling is usually derived from the research questions themselves and the types of purposive sampling. For a small scale piece of research undertaken by a student, a sample that is stratified or a quota sample based on the key areas and issues one will be identifying in the research questions, is the most common approach to take. The general approach one would take in validating information would be to make comparisons to existing policy documents, interviews, municipal developmental and economic plans. When checking the reliability of your sample or findings, the above shall also apply when the findings are correlated against existing data, plans or research.
28 3.8 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The Ethics Clearance form from the Nelson Mandela University was used to guide the researcher in ethical conduct during the research process (Annexure 9). Only consenting adults were interviewed and their anonymity and confidentially of individual responses were assured.
3.9 SUMMARY
This research design will allow for a select number of Intsika Yethu stakeholders to be included in the research and it is appropriate to use the mixed research method when gathering information regarding their opinions on the contributions of the small town revitalisation, to the local economic development in the two towns.
29 CHAPTER FOUR
ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH FINDINGS
4.1 INTRODUCTION
In order to obtain information that pertains to the revitalization efforts in Cofimvaba and Tsomo, questionnaire surveys were conducted among sample of residents, the business community and municipal officials. This chapter will present the findings that emanated from these interviews.
4.2 RESULTS OF INTERVIEWS AND QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY ON URBAN REVITALIZATION IN COFIMVABA AND TSOMO
The goal of the research is to look at the characteristics of small towns and to seek solutions to address the current challenges relating to infrastructure and institutional and socio-economic growth through small towns revitalisation in the Intsika Yethu Municipality.
Proactive planning and coordination of developmental programmes and strategies are vital for any revitalisation efforts to be effective within small towns. It is evident, based on reading through municipal policies and what has been gathered from the questionnaires, that there is a lack of policy implementation when it comes to by-law implementation. In conversation with municipal officials, there are issues of noncompliance to municipal by-laws where people are illegally selling land, not paying rates, not paying business license fees, not complying with building regulations and also not disposing refuse in an incorrect manner.
One issue that can be lifted from the data gathered from the respondents in the town of Tsomo, is that there seems to be a developmental bias when it comes to infrastructural and institutional services, with more investment in Cofimvaba than in Tsomo. This allows Cofimvaba to attract more business investment when compared to Tsomo.
An official from the municipality has highlighted one important factor that has had an effect on the growth of the towns, which is the issue of land ownership, where some
30 of the vacant properties are owned by national departments. Land claims is a further challenge that the Municipality faces.
It appears from site observations, that local economic development strategies are not implemented as they should. Informal trading is not properly coordinated and controlled using the existing municipal by-laws and there also appears to be no system of appropriate demarcation of trading areas for the informal traders.
4.2.1 Comments from municipal officials
Interviews were conducted during 2016 with officials from relevant municipal departments to obtain their views on the impact of urban revitalisation strategies in the towns of Cofimvaba and Tsomo, and their responses will be summarised below.
4.2.1.1 Town Planning and Land Use Unit
In terms of spatial strategies, the municipality has, in the municipal financial year 2012/2013, adopted a local spatial development framework for Cofimvaba and has also adopted a local spatial development framework for Tsomo in the financial year 2015/2016. The town planning technician stated that these plans seek to assist in the coordinated growth spatially of both towns, by guiding any developments, being residential, business, and institutional. The municipality has had issues of land invasions. To address this issue, the municipality is in the process of establishing township with the end goal of transferring land tenure. This will allow the municipality to bill property rates.
4.2.1.2 Building Control Department
In conversation with the building inspector, he noted that the building control department has been trying to rectify the issues related to illegal buildings where people are building houses without approved building plans. The department has also been encouraging property owners with old buildings either to renovate or demolish these structures. The department has, in the past, been using a by-law that has been ineffective, but recently the Municipality has reviewed and adopted a building control by-law that will, hopefully, contribute to the revitalisation of both towns. As a measure
31 of the success of the by-law mixed with community engagements and regular inspections, the rate of submission of building plans has increased.
4.2.1.3 Project Management Unit
One of the project managers has highlighted the challenges that the municipality has in terms of the delivery of services such as roads and lighting, which are the delegated functions of the Intsika Yethu Municipality. The major challenge relates to funding that is given by the national department of COGTA under the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG). The allocation is not enough to address the infrastructural backlog that the municipality has. The project manager gave an example of the tarring of roads within the town of Cofimvaba with a total cost of over forty million rands. The Municipality does not have the budget to address infrastructural backlogs for the whole of the municipality.
4.2.1.4 Local Economic Development Department
The LED officer noted the challenges they are experiencing when it comes to boosting the local economy. One of the issues that they highlighted was that insufficient funding for LED is set aside when the municipality approves its budget. They note the issue of people not being committed to the payment of trading license fees. The LED officer also noted that not all informal traders are participating in meetings which the department tries to coordinate.
4.2.1.5 Water and Sanitation: Chris Hani District Municipality
The district municipality is responsible for the provision of water and sanitation services. The Water and Sanitation technician highlighted the infrastructural challenges that the two towns are experiencing, with Tsomo being the worse off. The town of Cofimvaba is developing at a rapid pace and has out grown the water and sanitation capacity. The town of Tsomo currently doesn’t have a water-borne sanitation system. The provincial Department of Human Settlements has funded an unblocking project to address the sanitation challenge in this town.
32 4.2.2 Comments from Government officials
4.2.2.1 South African Local Government Association (SALGA): Eastern Cape
The SALGA Advisor: Planning and Economic Development noted planning and economic development were new roles that SALGA will be playing in revitalisation programmes of small towns. They have incorporated within their functions, a new role for advising most rural municipalities in the Eastern Cape on how to seek funding for revitalisation projects. They are also planning to have quarterly steering committee meetings on urban revitalization to which they will invite all municipalities within the Eastern Cape.
4.2.2.2 Department of Roads and Public Works: Eastern Cape
During an interview the Acting Manager: Properties noted that the towns of Cofimvaba and Tsomo are included in their small town revitalisation plan. Efforts to assist the municipality have been stalled due to no funding being allocated specifically for small towns from National Treasury. The official further noted the poor attendance at steering committee meetings, as municipalities feel that they are attending meetings and presenting their programme, whilst the department of Roads and Public Works is unable to assist due to budgetary constraints.
4.2.3 Comments from the Business Sector
The business sectors of both towns, Tsomo and Cofimvaba, play an important role in the growth or decline of the towns. Their role is more economic and social in nature. In order to assess the opinions of the business sector on the success of the urban revitalization efforts, interviews were conducted with a sample of business representatives in the two towns.
The chairperson of the Tsomo Business Forum was not familiar with the concept of the urban revitalisation of small towns, but on explanation understood what it entailed. He noted and appreciated some of the infrastructural work that is currently taking place within the town of Tsomo. These improvements will provide better access to their
33 businesses through better roads. He also noted that the recent implementation of the street lighting project is likely to improve security for their businesses.
During an interview with one of the business owners in Tsomo, there was an appreciation for the improved infrastructural conditions within the towns, noting that there are sections of Tsomo that have recently been tarred. The town also appears to be much cleaner, with improved refuse infrastructure. The business person expressed his dissatisfaction on the issue of containers that are used by the informal traders, for trading that are not properly controlled by the municipality. He also complained about taxis that are using parking bays that are demarcated for businesses within Tsomo, which limits the available parking for business customers.
An interview was conducted with the owners of Evergreen, which is a supermarket in Cofimvaba. They commented on issues relating to the current roads and general conditions within the jurisdiction of their business. Areas of concern included:
roads that are not maintained or upgraded, uncontrolled placement of containers and the presence of informal traders.
The comments from the Cofimvaba Business Forum are aligned with those of the Tsomo Business Forum, such as the positive impact infrastructure upgrade, cleanliness and security on the business environment.
4.2.4 Comments from property developers
There are a number of private developments that are planned for both the towns of Cofimvaba and Tsomo. A developer that is planning to develop one of the sites in Tsomo, noted a number of issues that may be addressed by the implementation of the urban revitalisation of Tsomo, which involves the upgrading of the current sewer infrastructure, the tarring of the roads and the upgrading of the electricity infrastructure of the town. The above are a number of hindrances that are currently affecting most of the private developments in Tsomo.
Private developers that have earmarked Cofimvaba for investment have highlighted the similar issue experienced in Tsomo. In addition, they highlighted the issue of sites 34 earmarked for development were not properly zoned for business or retail purposes in terms of the applicable land use by-laws within the municipality. Furthermore, there are challenges when these sites are being rezoned in terms of timeframes and procedure which are aligned with the old ordinances.
In summary it appears that the business communities agree that the revitalisation efforts are addressing critical shortcomings and are likely to improve the business environments in the two towns.
4.2.5 Summary of the government and business surveys
In summary from the findings from all the sectors that were interviewed, views of the Department of Public Works note that there still needs to be more funding channelled to the revitalisation of small towns. There seems to be a lack of understanding of what small towns revitalisation is within municipalities and this is where SALGA can play a role by training municipal officials that should be playing a pivotal role in the revitalisation of small towns. Developers highlight an issue of the availability of infrastructure that inhabits them from investing in the small towns of Tsomo and Cofimvaba. From the comments of all sectors members that were interviewed, one has noted that a joint approach to revitalization is needed to have a coordinated approach to growing the towns of Tsomo and Cofimvaba.
4.2.6 The community survey
A survey was conducted among a sample of 40 individual respondents (20 each in Cofimvaba and Tsomo) in order to provide a brief socio-economic profile of the respondents as well as an assessment of their access to municipal services. An attempt was made to gain the opinions of the respondents on development planning and urban revitalization within the two towns.
35 4.2.6.1 Economic Status
25
20
15 14 of people of
10 9 No. 6 5 5 4 4 2 1 0 full time Contract part time own boss No employment Tsomo Employment status Cofimvaba
Figure 4.1: Employment status of respondents in Cofimvaba and Tsomo.
Based on the data was gathered on the employment status of respondents of both towns, it appears that from the above figure(s), that Cofimvaba offered more full time employment opportunities than the town of Tsomo. This is likely due to the considerable gap in service levels between the two towns. This may be due to Cofimvaba being the main administrative centre where all the government departments have their main offices, which supports the above findings. Also important when looking at the both the graphs, is that there are more self-employed individuals in the Tsomo than Cofimvaba. These findings are likely also due to there being less formal employment opportunities in Tsomo. Therefore this calls for residents of Tsomo to create their own jobs, generally through self-employment.
36 Table 4.1: Formal Home ownership in Cofimvaba and Tsomo
OWN HOUSE OR RENTING Cofimvaba Tsomo %
Own House 6 (30%) 9 (45%) 37.5
Renting 14(70%) 11 (55%) 62.5
20 20 100
The above table shows that a high number of respondents’ are renting rather than being owners of a house in both towns. The high number of individuals renting rather than owning, illustrate that people go to these towns to seek employment, and consider buying as a secondary option. It is possible that levels of unemployment and poverty are possible reasons why people are unable to buy or build their own houses.
4.2.6.2 Access to Government Services
Table 4.2: Level of service of government offices per town
Type of offices Cofimvaba Tsomo
Municipal offices Main Satellite
Home Affairs offices Main Satellite
Social Development offices Main Satellite
SASA offices Main Satellite
SAPS offices Main Satellite
Post Office Main Satellite
Clinic Main Main
Hospital Main No Hospital
The above tables highlight that the level of service of government offices per town. This likely shows that Tsomo has only satellite offices, which may (or may not) offer limited services by the particular government or municipal department. Something that was evident during data collection phase, was that respondents from the town of Tsomo where not happy due to the above. There is no hospital in Tsomo but there is 37 one in Cofimvaba. One other issue that was raised, was the service and size variation of the clinics in both of the towns where Cofimvaba had a new and bigger clinic.
4.2.6.3 Access to Municipal Services
Table 4.3: Showing services that respondents have access to in Tsomo and Cofimvaba
What basic services do you have access to Tsomo Cofimvaba %
Water 20 20 100
Water Bourne Sanitation 0 11 27.5
Electricity 20 20 100 refuse collection 16 18 85
The key to life of the people living in any town is access to municipal services, such as water and sanitation, refuse collection and electricity. Access to the above services vary between the two towns, in the sense that the town of Tsomo does not have a water-borne sanitation system, and people are using a combination of ventilated pit latrines and septic tanks. The town of Cofimvaba does have a water-borne sanitation infrastructure even though it is not inclusive of the whole town. Water service level for both towns is a combination of service sites and communal taps. In terms of road infrastructure, most of the roads in the towns are surfaced with others being either constructed or in the planning phase.
Table 4.4: Proportion of respondents that are paying for municipal services in Cofimvaba and Tsomo
No. of respondents paying for services Cofimvaba Tsomo %
Yes 4 5 22.5
No 16 15 77.5
TOTAL 20 20 100
38 Table 4 above: shows the number of respondents that are paying for services that are rendered by the municipality for the towns of Cofimvaba and Tsomo. Based on the data collected, a high proportion of respondents being 77.5% in Cofimvaba and Tsomo are not paying for the services that are provided by the municipality. The 22.5% portion that is paying, are people that are living within the town centres and are receiving all of the services. It is likely that the people that are not paying for the services are people who are living in the townships that are not fully serviced.
4.2.6.4 Projects Developmental Plans
Table 4.5: Knowledge of Municipal Planning and Development
COFIMVABA TSOMO
Do you know about the Integrated Development Plan?
Yes 13 (65%) 12 (60%)
No 7 (35%) 8 (40%)
TOTAL 20 20
Do you know about the Spatial Development Framework?
Yes 6 (30%) 5 (25%)
No 14 (70%) 15 (75%)
TOTAL 20 20
Do you know about the Small Towns Development Plan
Yes 4 (20%) 3 (15%)
No 16 (80%) 17 (85%)
TOTAL 20 20
Have you ever raised development issues with the municipality?
Yes 13 (65%) 10 (50%)
No 7 (35%) 10 (50%)
TOTAL 20 20
39 The above table indicates whether the respondents have knowledge of municipal planning and development and if they have previously raised developmental related issues. Based on the data gathered, almost two thirds of respondents know what an IDP is. Fewer are aware of other developmental or planning strategies and frameworks. Approximately three quarters of respondents’ do not have any knowledge about Spatial Development Framework and Small Towns Development Plans. More than one half of respondents have raised issues related to development, probably during the IDP public participation process, as a considerable proportion have indicated that they are aware of the IDP.
Few of the respondents were familiar with issues related to development planning and, more particularly, with the concept and implementation of urban revitalization plans. The interviews did not provide useful insights into community perceptions on the impacts of revitalization efforts in the towns.
4.3 PROJECTS IN THE IDP THAT RELATE TO URBAN REVITALISATION
The key to urban revitalisation of small towns is the prioritisation of projects related to redevelopment of small towns in the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) of the municipality. The IDP is the strategic plan or guiding document of all developments that is to take place within any municipality. The IDP contains a number of sector plans or developmental plans, which guide development within the municipal space. The Small Towns’ Revitalisation Plan, Local Economic Plan, Transport Integration Plan, Spatial Development Framework, operationalize and guide how small towns are to develop. These plans and frameworks therefore guide how key initiatives or projects are to be implemented to revitalise small towns as well as bigger towns. Below are a number of developments or projects that are planned within the IDP of the municipality, pertaining to both towns of Tsomo and Cofimvaba;
4.3.1 Office Space
Due to the limited office space in Cofimvaba, the municipality has initiated a project in conjunction with the Department of Public Works in order to address this challenge. The municipality has identified a site in the town of Cofimvaba where a one-stop government servicing centre is to be built (Intsika Yethu Municipality, 2016). The
40 project is currently in the planning stage (Town Planning Technician, personal communication).
4.3.2 Shopping Mall/Complex
Most of the people that are residing in and around the small towns of Cofimvaba and Tsomo are currently going to the larger towns and cities, such as Queenstown, Butterworth, East London and Mthatha, to seek higher order goods and services. As a result of the above, the municipality initiated the process of making land available for the construction of shopping centres in both small towns (Intsika Yethu Municipality, 2016). This is likely to save consumers the money that is currently used for transport. The ability to shop locally will also curtail capital leakage to the larger urban centres and retain money within the towns.
4.3.3 Solid waste removal
As part of a waste management and LED strategy, the municipality has established a functional landfill site in Private Public Partnership arrangement with Buyisa e-bag. This has resulted in the formation of a business structure in form of a Co-operative that is currently in operation, mainly made up of women (Intsika Yethu Municipality, 2016). The co-operative plays a dual role of waste recycling and creating employment opportunities. The recycled material, comprised mainly of plastic and cardboard, is sorted, compacted and sold to recycling companies in Port Elizabeth, Durban and Johannesburg. Income gained through the sale of the solid waste is thereafter used for the running of the business as well as the salaries of the members in the co- operative.
4.3.4 Small Town Development Plans
In trying to boost the growth of both towns economically and socially, the municipality formulated small town development plans in the year 2010. As the key to addressing the aims the research, a number of projects have been highlighted in trying to check their progress at the time of data collection.
41
4.4 SMALL TOWNS DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Table 4.6: Projects proposed within the Small Town development Plans
Target Project Comments Achieved
Main Street upgrade: Cofimvaba No Road owned by DRPW
High street Upgrade: Cofimvaba Yes
Church and Market street No Project will be done during Upgrades: Cofimvaba 2017/2018 financial year
Civic Square: Cofimvaba No Appointed constructor is busy with planning stage
Public Transport interchange Partially Complete in Cofimvaba and both towns currently at the planning stage for Tsomo
Social and gap housing Partially Department of Human settlements is busy with procurement process to get private partner to build structures
Integrated transport plan Yes
Building By-law Yes
Local Spatial Development Yes Planning
Upgrade of Transido: SMME’s No Seeking funding
Tsomo Streets Partially Close to 50% has been tarred or construction work is taking place
Tsomo sewer bulk service Partially in tender stage
Tsomo water treatment works Partially currently in construction phase
Some progress has been made since 2010 to move ahead with urban revitalisation in Cofimvaba and Tsomo. Various plans and a building by-law have been adopted by the
42 Municipal Council and are being implemented. Infrastructure projects, such as road construction, street lighting, provision and the upgrading of bulk water provisions in both towns, have commenced. Efforts to revitalise the economy have been less successful due to the inability to attract the necessary funding from private funders and government sectors.
4.5 EVIDENCE OF CURRENT IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS WITHIN THE TOWNS
Figure 4.2: Recently completed street lights and tarred roads in Cofimvaba
Figure 4.3: Street lights and road construction in Tsomo
43 Figure 4.4: Tsomo Resting area adjacent to the new municipal offices in Tsomo
Figure 4.5: Tsomo Public Library
4.6 CONCLUDING COMMENTS
The gathered comments vary in terms of the purpose of small town revitalisation in the towns of Tsomo and Cofimvaba, and the progress that has been made. These comments are aligned with the plans that are in place such as the small revitalisation plans (2010) and the Integrated Development Plans. Key points to note is firstly that plans pertaining to the revitalisation are still considered to be works in progress. Secondly, adequate housing and concrete plans for economic revitalisation must still be addressed to improve the quality of the lives of the residents of Cofimvaba and Tsomo. Thirdly, there is still a lot that has to be done by all stakeholders, being the private and government sectors, NGO’s, business forums and the business people of both towns as well as the people living within the towns, to further drive social, economic and institutional revitalisation of both towns.
Based on the engagements with various stakeholders which include government, community and business people, the need to strengthen Inter-Governmental Relations (IGR) and Stakeholder engagements is important in efforts of revitalising the towns and its economies.
44 CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this chapter is to re-state the overall aim and the specific objectives of the research and also to assess whether the research findings have allowed the researcher to achieve these in order to draw final overall conclusions and to make recommendations to the various stakeholders on how to ensure that viable strategies are in place to ensure effective urban revitalization in small towns, particularly those in rural areas
5.2 SUMMARY OF AIM AND OBJECTIVES
It was stated in Chapter 1 that the overall aim of the research is to assess the impacts of efforts by the various spheres of government to revitalize Cofimvaba and Tsomo, the two principle towns in the Intsika Yethu Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province.
Several specific objectives were identified. These include a literature review on challenges facing small towns, particularly in developing countries such as South Africa, and strategies to address their revitalization; an assessment of the socio- economic status of a sample fo residents in the two towns; to conduct research in Cofimvaba and Tsomo to review government strategies and interventions to revitalize these towns; an opinion survey among formal businesses and business structures to assess the impacts of the revitalization efforts on the business sector; and, finally, to use the findings of the research to make recommendations to the various stakeholder groups in Cofimvaba and Tsomo in order to support the efforts of government to revitalize the towns.
5.3 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Outward migration has had an effect on rural small towns such as Tsomo and Cofimvaba, as skills and employment opportunities are prevalent elsewhere in bigger towns and cities, thus imposing limitations on the growth of these towns economically, socially and institutionally. The towns continue to attract people from the surrounding 45 rural areas. Small towns in rural areas frequently have not caught up with to the needs of their current inhabitants , who require access to social institutions such as hospitals, social grant offices, and clinics, as well as educational resources. Service infrastructure such as roads, water and sanitation is a problem that is currently prevalent within the towns. Although Cofimvaba, the more populous town and administrative centre of the Municipality, enjoys better services than Tsomo, it appears that population and economic growth has outpaced the current provision of these services in both of the towns.
It is clear that these towns need intervention in order to address the challenges. Small town revitalisation requires a guiding document or framework that is specific to the conditions of the effected towns.
The Instika Yethu Municipality currently has small town revitalisation plans for both towns, which were drafted and approved in 2010. Upon perusing the available documents, some of the strategies and plans have already been implemented. Others, however, need to be reviewed to take cognisance or the current economic, social and institutional realities.
In general, it was found that the term or approach of small town revitalisation is not fully understood. This is true not only among the surveyed residents, but there appears to be a lack of integration and seamless collaboration among the strategies and plans of the government role players.
The business sector is an important stakeholder in the economic and social development of small towns, as they generate employment opportunities and pay rates to the municipality. While the business sector reacted positively to the infrastructure upgrades, may be necessary for them to collaborate more closely with the government sector to ensure that the revitalization plans create an environment that is condusive to business establishment and growth in order to provide more employment opportunities.
In conclusion it is paramount that one doesn’t divorce small town revitalisation from the people who live in these towns, as their full worth will not be achieved if they are not included.
46 5.4 OVERALL CONCLUSIONS
There are a number of conclusions that can be made when one unpacks issues that talk about the revitalisation of small towns and in particular rural towns. One can draw from the assumptions from authors such as Wessels (2010), Nel (2001) and Ramsey et al (2001) that small towns will be faced with a problem of a deteriorating economic, social and institutional environment, unless strides are made by all relevant stakeholders, being government, business and civil society, to ensure that these small towns are revitalised in order to arrest their decline.
Small towns face challenges of out-ward migration of potential middle and high income earners and strategies are to be in place as a blockage or retainer to ensure that small towns grow in a sustainable manner. The attraction of investment or funding should be the role that the municipality actively plays to ensure that small towns can be revitalised and thereafter be sustainable. Demographics for small towns and the hinterlands dictate a call for better delivery of services due to the levels of poverty and the dependence on governments grants. The level of the above services are to be improved in terms of services that are provided and this is due to the notion that small towns are places of retirement, thus increasing the population of people who are elderly.
Despite government policies to revitalize small towns, the bulk of government funding for this purpose is still allocated to larger cities. Lack of adequate financial resources are likely to delay the implementation of revitalization plans in towns such as Cofimvaba and Tsomo.
5.5 RECOMMENDATIONS TO VARIOUS STAKEHOLDER GROUPINGS
SUGGESTION – GOVERNMENT SECTOR:
The back-to-basics approach to service delivery, is the new delivery vehicle that has been introduced in all local municipalities which calls for municipalities or local government to serve their communities better by being responsive and accountable in the delivery of any service. As highlighted in chapter 4, when it comes to project
47 implementation, the municipal Integrated Development Plan (IDP) is the cornerstone to any developments within the municipal space.
Talking to plans in the IDP, all the relevant stakeholders are to play their required and legislated roles. Government, be it national, provincial and local, are to adhere to their legislated mandates of support, monitoring and the channelling of funds to projects that are for small town revitalisation and general economic, social and institutional growth.
Institutional collaborations are key to small town revitalisation, where in terms of knowledge sharing and funding, the private, public sectors and NGO’s can play paramount roles. SALGA, the Department of Public Works, other state institutions and the municipality can initiate working groups that can sit down together on a quarterly basis to share strategies, knowledge and programmes that can be a catalyst to the revitalisation of the towns. SALGA
By-laws and developmental plans are key in attracting prospective inward investments to the towns; the above, if formulated properly, can make it easier for developer to invest their funds in both towns. The service delivery model of the district municipality is to also accommodate prospective plans within the local municipalities IDP and the small town development plan for water and sanitation is also important. Any revitalisation efforts are to incorporate the town’s culture and diversity.
SUGGESTION – BUSINESS COMMUNITY:
The business community, both larger formal businesses, SMMEs and the informal sector, all contribute towards vibrant economic development in small towns. SMMEs and local businesses should be key stakeholders in, firstly, benefiting from the revitalisation efforts and, secondly, driving the revitalisation of their town(s). There are a number of economic aspects that local businesses can be involved in, such as the general planning of the towns’ landscape in terms of drafting local economic policies, location of market areas and the drafting of precinct plans that drive economic growth.
SUGGESTION – CIVIL SOCIETY:
48 Civil society should be encouraged and educated to participate in planning processes, such as the IDP, to inform the Municipal staff of their concerns and development priorities. An engaged and active civil society can play a role not only to help shape their own future, but also to monitor the activities of the municipal staff.
5.6 FINAL CONCLUDING COMMENTS
Small town revitalisation is diverse and unique to that particular town due to culture and location. Therefore when it comes to mechanisms and strategies, small town revitalisation is not a one size fits all. Through small town revitalisation issues of poverty and unemployment, economic decline can be amicably addressed. Through interactions with municipal officials and communities as well as businesses, relevant government policies and municipal plans, the successfulness of the revitalisation of Tsomo and Cofimvaba is on-going and can be achieved at the end.
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54 ANNEXURE 1: Letter Requesting Permission
SMALL TOWNS REVITALIZATION IN INTSIKA YETHU MUNICIPALITY– COFIMVABA & TSOMO
I am a student at (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality), completing (MA Development Studies).
The title of my Guided Research is SMALL TOWNS REVITALIZATION IN INTSIKA YETHU MUNICIPALITY– COFIMVABA & TSOMO.
The aim of this research is to look at the characteristics of small towns and seeking solutions to address the current challenges relating to infrastructure, institutional and socio-economic growth through small towns revitalization of Cofimvaba and Tsomo in Intsika Yethu Municipality.
The research study shall make use of interviews and the completion of questionnaries with key selected potential participants or respondents. The potential participants or respondents would thus include the general public of Tsomo and Cofimvaba, members of the forums, government and municipal officials. The study will be benefitial to IYM in understanding small town revitalisation challenges which are to be gathered from the interviews of sample population and government officials.
I therefore request your assistance in the answering of the questionnairs and being part of the data collection process.
Yours faithfully,
------
S. KOYO
55 ANNEXURE 2: Questionnaire – General Public
BIOGRAPHICAL DATA
GENDER Male Female
OCCUPATION – Unemployed Employed as: list job if you have on MONTHLY R0 – R1000 – R3000 – R5000 – R7000 up INCOME R1000 R3000 R5000 R7000 BRACKET
QUANTITATIVE GENERAL SURVEY: Town and access to services
QUESTION ANSWER
Which Town Do You Cofimvaba Tsomo Stay In Do you Own a House Own House Renting Or Renting Do you use Public or Public Private Private transport to move around your Town Where do you do Locally Other Town If other town please your grocery specify: shopping Where do you do Locally Other Town If other town please shopping for clothing specify: Where do you buy Locally Other Town If other town please fuel/electricity specify:
Where do you bank Locally Other Town If other town please specify:
56 Do you have the Municipal Home Social SASA SAPS Post following government offices Affairs Development Office service centres in your town Rate the experience Municipal Home Social SASA SAPS Post you had at the offices Affairs Development Office following government service centres from 1-5 [1 = poor;2=Bad;3=Avera ge;4=Good; 5 = excellent]
Rate the experience Water Road maintenance Electricity Cleansing services Beautification you had at the following municipal
service centres from 1-5
[1 = very poor; 5 = excellent]
QUALITATIVE GENERAL SURVEY:
1. How do you find (rate) the quality of municipal services in your town? ______
2. What would you change about the way you are serviced? ______
3. What do you appreciate about your town? ______
57 4. Do you have any suggestions on what may be done to make this town a better place in which to live or do business? , i.e. relating to quality of life, safety, doing business, etc. ______
GENERAL SURVEY: Knowledge of Municipal Planning
QUESTION ANSWER
Do you know the Yes No Integrated Development Plan? If yes, where did you hear about it? Do you know about the Yes No Spatial Development Framework? If yes, where did you hear about it? Do you know about the Yes No Small Towns Development Plan If yes, where did you hear about it? Have you ever raised Yes No development issues with the municipality? If no, why not?
If yes, what was your Awful Poor Average Good Excellent experience and reception like?
58 QUALITATIVE GENERAL SURVEY: Knowledge of municipal planning & development
1. What do you think about municipal planning? ______
2. What would you change about your town? ______
3. What would you keep the same about your town? ______
4. Any other comments? ______
Thank you for your time and energy!
** All responses will be treated confidentially. We confirm that your details will not be used for data-mining. **You may be at a later stage be contacted for further clarities on some of the questions/answers
*OPTIONAL
NAME *
CELL PHONE NO*
EMAIL*
59 ANNEXURE 3: Questionnaire for Businesses
BIOGRAPHICAL DATA OWNER/S
GENDER Male Female
BUSINESS AREA
MONTHLY R0 – R1000 – R3000 – R5000 – R7000 up INCOME R1000 R3000 R5000 R7000 BRACKET
QUANTITATIVE GENERAL SURVEY: Town and access to services
QUESTION ANSWER
What Kind of business do you operate
Which town they Cofimvaba Tsomo operate their business?
Do you Own a Own House Renting House Or Renting
Do you use Public Private Public or Private transport to move around your Town
Where do you Locally Other Town If other town please do your grocery specify: shopping
Where do you Locally Other Town If other town please do shopping for specify: clothing
60 Where do you Locally Other Town If other town please bank specify:
Do you have the Municipal Home Social SASA SAPS Post following offices Affairs Development Office government service centres in your town
Rate the Municipal Home Social SASA SAPS Post experience you offices Affairs Development Office had at the following government service centres from 1-5 [1 = very poor; 5 = excellent]
Water Road maintenance Electricity Cleansing services Beautification Rate the experience you had at the
following municipal service centres from 1-5
[1 = very poor; 5 = excellent]
61 QUALITATIVE GENERAL SURVEY: MUNICIPAL SERVICES, E.G. WATER, ELECTRICITY, CLEANSING SERVICES, BEAUTIFICATION, ETC?
1. How do you find (rate) municipal service in your town? ______
2. What would you change about the way you are serviced? ______
3. What do you appreciate about your town? ______
62 GENERAL SURVEY: Knowledge of Municipal Planning
QUESTION ANSWER
Do you know the Yes No Integrated Development Plan?
If yes, where did you hear about it?
Do you know about the Yes No Spatial Development Framework?
If yes, where did you hear about it?
Do you know about the Small Towns Development Plan
If yes, where did you hear about it?
Have you ever raised Yes No development issues with the municipality?
If no, why not?
If yes, what was your Awful Poor Average Good Excellent experience and reception like?
63 QUALITATIVE GENERAL SURVEY: Knowledge of municipal planning & development
1. What do you think about municipal planning? ______
2. What would you change about your town? ______
3. What would you keep the same about your town? ______
4. Any other comments? ______
Thank you for your time and energy!
** All responses will be treated confidentially. We confirm that your details will not be used for data-mining. **You may be at a later stage be contacted for further clarities on some of the questions/answers
*OPTIONAL
NAME *
CELL PHONE NO*
EMAIL*
64 ANNEXURE 4: Interview of Government or Municipal Official
** All responses will be treated confidentially. We confirm that your details will not be used for data-mining. **You may be at a later stage be contacted for further clarities on some of the questions/answers
*OPTIONAL
NAME *
CELL PHONE NO* EMAIL*
1. Designation: ______
2. Name of institution: ______
3. Department/division: ______
4. Number of year working in that institution: ______
5. What developmental projects has your department undertaken in the towns of Tsomo and Cofimvaba in the past 5 years?
Or
6. What new services have you introduced to the towns of Cofimvaba and Tsomo? ______
7. What challenges is your department facing when it comes to the delivery of services to the town ______
65 8. What is your perception(s) of the quality of the living / working / business environment in the town? ______
9. What their institution or department is doing in terms of the urban revitalization programmes to improve these conditions? ______
10. How long they’ve been managing/promoting such programmes, whether they consider that their efforts have been successful? ______
11. How they measure ‘successes? ______
12. What in their opinion should be done better to revitalize the town(s)? ______
Thank you for your time and energy!
66 ANNEXURE 5: Turnitin Report
67 ANNEXURE 6: Letter from the Language Editor
68 ANNEXURE 7: Permission to Submit
69
70 ANNEXURE 8: Declaration by Candidate
71 ANNEXURE 9: Ethical Clearance
72
73