The evolution of developmental local government in South Africa : issues, trends and options

Abstract

The role of local government in promoting economic growth, job creation and alleviation of poverty has poignantly been expressed in array of policy frameworks formulated by the South African government. This has clearly positioned the sphere of local government to become developmental both in form and content. An important feature of developmental local government is the local economic development policy initiated with a view to address the pressing problems in areas of poverty, unemployment and inadequate resources. This paper seeks to examine the evolution of developmental local government in South Africa from policy, institutional and administrative perspectives. Thus, pertinent and plausible strategies aimed at addressing the bottlenecks hindering the achievement of developmental local government objectives are outlined. The paper is based on the premise that developmental local government is the sine qua non of local economic growth and social development imperatives within the South African context.