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Abstract
The Gijima Programme in one of KwaZulu-Natal's peripheral economic areas represents a fourth phase of local economic development (LED) approaches in South Africa. This paper assesses the programme by comparing it with international trends and recent developments in South Africa. Despite some noteworthy innovations, the overall programme reflects a supply-driven approach that seldom considers projects funded from the market side. This is evident from the overall approach and the quality of the plans, both of which tend to focus on ensuring legal compliance rather than on the quality of the end product. The sectoral distribution of projects seldom takes account of the latest knowledge economy requirements or the need for differentiated products and services that are appropriate for the poor. Partnership formation remains a major stumbling block. Consequently, projects are dominated by supply-driven approaches and their pro-poor nature is not well defined.
Acknowledgements
The research is based on an assessment conducted for the Learning, Monitoring and Research Facility in KwaZulu-Natal.