Economic, social and political/institutional assessment of spatial development initiatives (in South Africa)

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The Spatial Development Initiatives (SDIs) became the Department of Trade andIndustry's (DTI) official policy in 1995/6 to accommodate problems, such asunemployment and empowerment, through sustainable development. We consequentlypose the question whether the government has realised a strategic fit, i.e. whether theinitial intention with the SDI strategy has consequently been achieved and, if not, whatthe main lessons are to fill the strategic gap? This question will be addressed in fivechapters. The first chapter will provide the reader with the necessary backgroundinformation on these initiatives. Before concluding (Chapter 6), the following threechapters will follow the inherent logic of the SDI strategy, i.e. economic investments arecrowded in (Chapter 3) through a facilitating and mediating role of government (Chapter4) in order to solve employment and empowerment (Chapter 5). Each realm, i.e.economic- political/institutional-and social, is evaluated on its contribution to the successof the Spatial Development Initiative.On the one hand it is difficult to say categorically whether or not there was a strategic fit,because the strategic aims were not initially written out in measurable detail. If the aimwas to employ and to empower, while strengthening the institutions, we couldqualitatively discern only when institutional capacity building (like in Lubombo) was aclear aim, that the resulting effect of the SDI strategy was significant.The employment and empowerment efforts may have been more disappointing thanhoped for. But again this is difficult to discern because it may be too early to observe thetrickle down effects. Neither is it easy to measure the many achievements that wererecorded, and still then, they will probably look very relative because of the immensity ofthe problem. In 2001 the South African Government acknowledged that it has failed in itsempowerment programme, while a Presidential Summit was convened in 1998 to searchfor employment solutions. Against this background and given that not more effort ismade to measure the results of the efforts to create employment, has to indicate that theSDIs have not left behind an impression of having performed well in terms of theirstrategic aim. On the one hand this was because government strongly tended towardsattracting foreign investment while paying too little attention to the subsequent needs ofSMMEs. Moreover is there a need for an integrated and long-term development plan thatallows rational choices to be made. Nevertheless, the fact that evaluations arecommissioned and that government publicly admits a mistake could be the signs of alearning organisation, which again is the start of a positive process.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University