Evaluating the effectiveness of local economic development strategies within UMhlathuze Local Municipality

Abstract

Local Economic Development strategies were formulated in response to the stipulations made by the national government of South Africa. The national mandate placed the responsibility on the local sphere of government to promote economic progression from a grassroots level and to contribute to developmental activities within the state. The National Framework LED has been created as a basis for the effective practice of LED in terms of implementation. This paper focused mainly on evaluating the effectiveness of Local Economic Development strategies in uMhlathuze Local Municipality within Empangeni town. This paper and its problem were developed by the researcher due to the growing unemployment rate in South Africa which mostly affects young people, more especially at the municipal level. The researcher was convinced to evaluate how the economic development strategies or initiatives addressing the issue of unemployment and assisting economic development within the uMhlathuze Local Municipality, intending to come up with mechanisms that may be put at hand to ensure the effectiveness of these strategies provided to address economic issues with the municipality. This paper employed qualitative methods to collect and analyze data. Qualitative data were collected from community members and staff of the municipality within the Department of Economic Development through the use of questionnaires. The analysis of qualitative data was done through thematic analysis. The findings of the research revealed that there is a communication breakdown between the community and the municipality to enable the community to use the opportunities for economic development. This paper recommends that the municipality needs to develop/advance communication methods to ensure that the community is informed and aware of the development opportunities that are provided by the community.