Fostering Developmental Local Government (DLG) for Effective Local Economic Development (LED) Implementation: A Case of the Polokwane Local Municipality (PLM)

Description

Page: 18-25

Maela Khutso Delphus¹, Munzhedzi Pandelani Harry², and Mathebula Ntwanano Erasmus³ (Department of Public and Development Administration, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa^1,2 and School of Public Management, Governance and Public Policy, University of Johannesburg, South Africa³)

The paper examines the importance of Developmental Local Government in implementing Local Economic Development in Polokwane Local Municipality. The paper continually argues that DLG plays an effective role in implementing LED strategy in South African local government. It is thus important for the Polokwane Local Municipality to rely more on DLG which helps in facilitating LED for effective service delivery. The study is limited to PLK. The paper adopted mixed methods for collecting data to support the proposed argument. Closed-ended questionnaires and structured interviews were used as techniques for data collection. Thematic and statistical analysis was applied in this paper to analyse the findings. The study population was based on traditional leaders, councilors, selected community members, municipal officials, and community stakeholders within the PLM area. The paper discovered that DLG can foster community participation, effective municipal policies, effective service delivery, support the informal traders, effective infrastructure development, and local capacity building through LED projects. Therefore, the paper recommends that the PLM should invest more in or capacitate DLG as it is effective in fostering the LED project implementation. The paper recommends further studies on DLG and LED implementation in the local government of South Africa. This paper proposes sustainable developmental local economic stimuli theory (SDLEST) on the application of below principles: community-stakeholder participation, public/community value, utilisation of local resources, job creation, accountability measures, local education and training, participative NGOs, regional investors, and empowerment.