Abstract:
This article examines the implementation of Local Economic Development
(LED) within the context of the Emakhazeni Local Municipality situated in
the Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. The objectives of this article
are to examine LED policy implementation and the bottlenecks facing
the achievement of LED objectives within the local sphere of government
in general and the Emakhazeni Local Municipality in particular and to
develop an LED policy implementation model based on the findings of
the case study and literature review.
For the purpose of this article, LED serves as an important strategy to
boost local economies to address the high levels of poverty, unemployment
and inequalities facing the majority of the South African population, and
more importantly to ensure global competitiveness and the integration of
the South African economy within the global economic context.
