The Challenge of Sustainable Land-Based Local Economic Development in Poor Communities of South Africa: The Case of Groblershoop, Northern Cape

Since the advent of South Africa’s democracy, there have been many pressing questions; one of which has been: ‘to what extent has the newly found political and civil freedoms, which is guaranteed for all South Africans, translated into an a more economically-viable life?’ This research investigates whether local economic development (LED) interventions necessarily improve the livelihoods of poor communities. More specifically, the goal of this thesis is to explore some of the reasons why land-based economic development interventions often struggle to meet their main objective of improving the livelihoods of local poor people. It is hoped that the findings of this research will assist policymakers and local economic development planners in making more informed decisions. Using a qualitative research methodology, a three- pronged approach is adopted to address the key goal of this thesis. First, a review of the literature on LED was conducted: a comparative study into its origins in wealthy, developed countries; and the experiences on the successes and failures of LED as a developmental tool. Secondly, a review was made of the experiences of the application on LED approaches in a South African context, with special reference to the policy and support of LED strategy. Thirdly, a case study of Groblershoop, which is in the Northern Cape, is presented. It focuses on LED that is based on land, and the role that it plays in the livelihood approaches of poor people. In conclusion, it is posited that while the potential of land-based LED is not disputed, the implementation of such strategies are often inconsistent with the overall objective of poverty alleviation and economic development. For this reason, local municipalities will not be able to do this without clear policy guidance; institutional capacity-building; inter-sectoral collaboration of political ‘champions’ to drive the process; and real empowerment of the beneficiaries whom the projects are supposed to assist.

自南非民主转型以来，诸多亟待解答的议题应运而生，其中之一便是：为全体南非公民所保障的新兴政治与公民自由，在多大程度上转化为了更具经济可行性的生活？本研究旨在探究地方经济发展（Local Economic Development, LED）干预举措是否必然能够改善贫困社区的民生福祉。更具体而言，本学位论文的研究目标是探析以土地为依托的经济发展干预举措往往难以达成改善本地贫困群体民生这一核心目标的若干缘由。本研究期望其研究成果能够为政策制定者与地方经济发展规划者提供更具依据的决策参考。本研究采用质性研究方法，运用三位一体的研究路径以达成核心研究目标：其一，开展LED相关文献综述，对其在富裕发达国家的起源，以及作为发展工具的LED举措的成败经验展开比较研究；其二，梳理LED模式在南非语境下的应用经验，重点关注地方经济发展战略的政策支撑与配套支持；其三，以位于北开普省的格罗布洛斯胡普（Groblershoop）为案例展开研究，聚焦于以土地为依托的LED举措，以及其在贫困群体民生生计模式中所发挥的作用。综上，本研究提出：尽管以土地为依托的LED的潜力毋庸置疑，但此类战略的实施往往与减贫与经济发展的总体目标相悖。有鉴于此，地方市政当局若缺乏清晰的政策指引、体制能力建设、由政治‘领军者’开展的跨部门协作以推动进程，以及对项目拟帮扶对象的切实赋权，便无法有效推进此类举措。