Browsing by Author "Cupido, Omar-Shariff"
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- ItemSocio-economic development activation of small towns in the Northern Cape(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Cupido, Omar-Shariff; Burger, A. P. Johan; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.ENGLISH SUMMARY : When South Africa’s first fully democratically elected government came to power in 1994, the new government was faced with inequality at a Gini coefficient of 0,59 and an unemployment rate of 24,7%. This was a direct result of more than 300 years of oppression, under colonial and apartheid rule. Hence, the government put addressing the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment high on its agenda, making this a priority, and included it in its first manifesto, promising the people of South Africa that poverty and deprivation would be reduced. The African National Congress-led government introduced several programmes to fulfil this mandate, focusing on reconstruction, fundamental transformation, and economic growth. The current programme, the National Development Plan, is specifically targeted at addressing poverty, inequality and unemployment. However, after more than two decades of democracy, the triple challenge remains, with the Gini coefficient worsening to 0,63 and the unemployment rate at 29,1%in the third quarter of 2019. This presents a worrying trend and poses a serious challenge to policy researchers, developers and implementers. The resources available to address poverty are diminishing. Hence, many commentators argue that the government must focus its investment where it has the most impact. To this end the focus is now on localities with a high population density and growth potential. This implies that rural areas, and especially small rural towns, are allocated development resources based on a generalized categorization which favours towns with a larger population and economic growth potential. In this dissertation, various theoretical concepts and models were analysed. In addition to the interpretation of the relevant literature and qualitative research conducted through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, a people-centric capability investment (PCCI) approach was developed. The main elements of this PCCI approach are fourfold. The first is profiling small rural towns, consistent with a people development capability methodology. The second is categorizing small towns based on the Social Investment Capability Principle, the Human Development Capability Principle and the Economic Development Capability Principle. The third is aligning these categories to related intervention vehicles. The fourth is implementing the intervention vehicle through a people-centric implementation method appropriate to the categorization of the small rural town concerned. In conclusion, the dissertation proposes a people-centric capability investment approach in the allocation of resources and implementation of programmes in small rural towns based on their capability and growth potential. It is suggested that on the one hand, premised on this approach, small towns with a larger population and growth potential be considered for economic investment. On the other hand, towns with very small populations and little or no growth potential should be considered for social investment, basic standard of living investment and market intelligence to allow for migration to towns that are economically active and with development activation potential. Even more importantly, the dissertation highlights the need to ensure that socio-economic development in small rural towns is driven by a progressive policy shift to target under-development and poor resource allocation, and to promote people-centred interventions underpinned by sustainability.