UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL THE IMPLEMENTATION AND SUSTAINABILITY OF PRO-POOR LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES IN THE KING CETSHWAYO DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY by Nokukhanya Noqiniselo JILI 204008634 A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Administration School of Management, IT and Governance College of Law and Management Studies Supervisor: Prof TI Nzimakwe APRIL 2019 DECLARATION I, Nokukhanya Noqiniselo JILI, declare that: (i) The research reported in this dissertation, except where otherwise indicated, is my original research. (ii) This dissertation has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. (iii) This dissertation does not contain any other person’s data, pictures, graphs or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons. (iv) This dissertation does not contain any other person’s writing, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted, then: a) their words have been re-written but the general information attributed to them has been referenced; or b) where their exact words have been used, their writing has been placed inside quotation marks and referenced. (v) This dissertation does not contain text, graphics or tables copied and pasted from the Internet unless specifically acknowledged, and the source being detailed in the dissertation and in the bibliography section. Signature: Date: 15 August 2019 i DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my late father, Ndabakhe Gerald Jili for the massive role he has played in our lives in ensuring that my siblings and I got a better education. He will always have a special place in my heart and I am very grateful that I had a father like him. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people for their input and support in making this work a success: I would like to start by thanking my supervisor Prof Thokozani Ian Nzimakwe for his guidance and encouraging spirit and for agreeing to be my supervisor since I had been looking for a supervisor for quite some time. Your expertise in this field has been very helpful in enhancing the quality of this study and in ensuring that this study was undertaken until the completion stage. Without your guidance I would not have been able to push through until the completion stage. I would also like to thank all the people who played a role in encouraging me to further my studies, particularly my family as they have been a source of strength, especially my mother, Caroline Jili and my brother, Mfanofikile Jili. I thank them for their support and their love that they have showed me. Moreover, my deepest appreciation also goes to Dr Mfundo Mandla Masuku for consistently encouraging me to finish my PhD and also for supporting me academically and personally. His role in my life has added a positive value. I would also like to thank the King Cetshwayo community, particularly the uMhlathuze and Umfolozi participants for their valuable input in ensuring that I was able to collect the relevant data. May our father God bless all of you. Lastly to God be the glory for giving me strength to pursue my studies up to this level, I believe that everything is possible through Him. iii ABSTRACT The main aim of the study was to critically explore the implementation and sustainability of pro-poor Local Economic Development in the KCD municipality. The secondary objective of the study was to determine how the implementation and sustainability of LED initiatives are organised, assessed, strategized and reviewed in the KCD. The implementation of economic development policies seemed to be a persistent problem hindering Local Economic Development (LED) in South Africa. Local government is a sphere of government that is closest to local communities and is so placed to identify, drive and implement programmes aimed at addressing unemployment, poverty alleviation and developmental challenges facing local communities in South Africa. The King Cetshwayo District (KCD) is not excluded from these challenges, which include the challenges of stimulating pro-poor LED by creating jobs and promoting the growth of small and medium business enterprises (SMMEs). The need to address poverty and unemployment is one of the most critical issues in this municipality. This research study was founded on the theoretical framework of the World Bank Local Economic Development model that involves several stages of LED strategic planning. A qualitative approach was adopted whereby eight in-depth interviews were conducted to interview municipal officials which included the mayor, the municipal manager and LED officials in two local municipalities in the KCD. The study further conducted 14 focus group discussions with community members which included co-operatives. Thematic analysis through an interpretive approach was used to analyse and present data for this study. The findings have shown that LED in the KCD is conceptualised generally as a form of partnership or coalition undertaken between the key players in a local municipality and involves the development of partnerships between the private sector, government and civil society. Moreover, the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ) together with other stakeholders, including the municipality, have put measures in place to assist SMMEs to benefit from the RBIDZ activities. LED initiatives in the uMhlathuze local municipality are intended to stimulate both the enhanced growth of the local economy (pro-growth) and to address concerns of persistent poverty (pro-poor). The study also noted that both local municipalities have adopted the LED strategy but they are not sufficiently guided by the strategy to respond to the people’s needs. Pro-poor LED iv initiatives allow community members to showcase their skills and their desires and at the same time they can earn a living. Both municipalities are, however, not adequately monitoring and reviewing the LED strategies and initiatives, hence most of the pro-poor LED initiatives in the KCD are not sustainable. From the discussion of the findings the study concluded that LED initiatives that are established in different communities, particularly the KCDM, lack uniqueness and face stiff competition. There is also a lack of skills to manage LED initiatives, a lack of knowledge about the processes and the procedures of implementing and sustaining pro-poor LED initiatives. Moreover, there is inadequate funding to facilitate and implement LED and there is a need to involve the people from the planning stage and a request for more community participation. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .................................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. iii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xi LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ...................................................... xiii CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY ............................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Rationale for the study ........................................................................................... 2 1.3 Background to the study ........................................................................................ 3 1.4 Problem statement ....................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Objectives of the study................................................................................................ 6 1.6 Key research questions .......................................................................................... 7 1.7 Research methodology ........................................................................................... 7 1.8 Research design ..................................................................................................... 8 1.9 Preliminary literature review ................................................................................. 9 1.10 Limitations of the study .......................................................................................... 12 1.11 Overview of chapters ........................................................................................... 12 1.12 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 14 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................ 15 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ................. 15 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 15 2.2 Defining LED and understanding the relationship between LED and poverty ........ 15 2.2.1 Role players in