Urbani izziv Volume 30, No. supplement, February 2019
: 144-157
(Articles)
doi: 10.5379/urbani-izziv-en-2019-30-supplement-010
Author
Faith LAWRENCE
University of Johannesburg, School of Tourism & Hospitality, College of Business and Economics, Johannesburg, South Africa
faith.lawrence@gtz.de
Christian M. ROGERSON
University of Johannesburg, School of Tourism & Hospitality, College of Business and Economics, Johannesburg, South Africa
crogerson@uj.ac.za
Title
Local economic development agencies and peripheral small
town development: Evidence from Somerset East, South
Africa
Abstract
The activities of Local Economic Development Agencies (LEDAs) represent a channel for place-based
development. In South Africa national government has supported the expansion of LEDAs to improve the weak
performance of local economic development planning, one of the cornerstones of the developmental state. This
article investigates the evolution and operations of a small town LEDA which is situated in one of South
Africa’s peripheral regions. The local development facilitation and project work undertaken by the Blue Crane
Development Agency (BCDA) in the small town of Somerset East in Eastern Cape Province is discussed. It is
shown that this LEDA was innovative in development initiatives which were launched during the period 2004-
2014 for Somerset East and its surrounds. In terms of the projects and operations of BCDA considerable effort
was made to identify catalytic opportunities and to support the unlocking of projects in this small town through
development facilitation and project management. Nevertheless, the evidence from this case study demonstrates
that despite successes, development agencies in South Africa have a strong dependence on parent municipalities
which can determine the future direction and sustainability of LEDAs.
Key Words
place-based development, local economic development, local economic development agencies,South Africa